The Far Canyon and the Fairy Lands
Where: walk out of Desert City into the further desert and keep going -- the Road Guide at the desert's northern edge opens the old road. In a hurry, the Conductress on Ape Mountain sells a shortcut straight to the Far Canyon. For whom: levels 42 to 120, depending how far you walk. The way home: the road works both ways, and the Adventure Zone's northern swirl drops you on Ape Mountain.
Beyond Ape Mountain lies a second world: a canyon, a wide plain, old woods and the caterans' camps. It was always drawn on the map -- there was simply no road into it. Now there is one.
The long desert road
The proper way in is on foot, out of Desert City. Cross the further desert to its northern edge and you will find the Road Guide standing where the old road comes out. He opens it; from there five stages of road lead north, each a swirl at the far end of the last:
| Stage | Levels | What walks there |
|---|---|---|
| First stage | 72-80 | Hill Monsters, Rock Monsters, Stone Monsters |
| Second stage | 80-85 | Water Snakes, Blade Ghosts, Blade Monsters |
| Third stage | 85-90 | Blade Monsters, Birdmen, Crazy Ghosts, the Bird King |
| The snail desert | 88-95 | Wild Bandits, Alien Apes, Hawks, Silver Hawks |
| Last stage | 95-100 | Silver Hawks, Bandits, Roaring Ghosts, Grand Bandits |
The road climbs as it goes, so turn back when it starts biting. Every swirl on it works in both directions -- you can always walk out the way you came.
The road ends at the Fairy Plain, and from there the whole second world is open.
The shortcut
If you have been already and just want to hunt, the Conductress on Ape Mountain has a Far Canyon stop for the usual 100 silver, which puts you at the canyon in one hop. A city gate scroll gets you home from anywhere in the chain.
What lives where
| Zone | Levels | What you meet |
|---|---|---|
| The Far Canyon | 82-97 | Huge Apes, Senior Apes, Alien Apes, Senior Snakemen |
| The Adventure Zone (south of the canyon) | 102-117 | four serpent territories -- see its own guide |
| The Fairy Plain (north of the canyon) | 58-78 | Thunder Apes near the road, then Snakemen, Sand Monsters, Hill and Rock Monsters, and Chief Caterans deep in |
| The Fairy Woods (north of the plain) | 42-57 | Huge Snakes, Bandit Leaders, Huge Spirits |
| The Cateran Camps (west of the woods) | 62-78 | Cateran Soldiers, Seniors, Leaders, and the Chief Cateran's own camp |
| The Meteor Zone and beyond (through the pass on the plain's western edge) | 100-120 | Meteor Doves, Evil Ghosts, Night Devils, and the Water Devils past them |
The plain is the crossroads: the canyon lies south of it, the woods north, and the packs get stronger the further you walk from the southern road.
Why it is worth the walk
- It fills the 42-78 gap with open country instead of city fields -- room for a party to spread out, and no competition for spawns.
- The Adventure Zone is on the same road, so a levelling character has somewhere to grow into.
- Nothing there is instanced or gated: no quest, no key, no minimum level. Walk in and fight.
How our version differs
- In the original game this chain had no entrance either -- every swirl in it points outward, which is why it went unused for so long. The Conductress stop is ours.
- The Fairy Plain's inhabitants are our choice, picked to bridge the woods and the canyon. In the original the map was empty.
- The Meteor Zone and the two zones past it are sealed in the original data -- no swirl leads in or out of them. The Pass Guide on the western edge of the plain (and his opposite number on the other side) is ours, so that corner of the world can be walked to like everywhere else.