Locations
These are places that don't fall into any other category; most often, they are large areas comprised of several smaller subsections, but all identified as the same place (Valley of the Krell, e.g.). Some few of them (like Greenwood) are friendly, but most are hostile.
Anthill Mountain
This large mountain, located just west of Salazad is hardly worth noting except for the long tunnel bored through it, which is only one of two ways to reach Salazad on foot from the river (the other being a path around to the south). There is a strange white light in a cavern in the middle of the mountain, but its purpose, if any, is unknown.
The Badlands
The Badlands is only place in Alhanzar besides arenas and special events where players can fight each other. Unlike the other two cases, someone killed here loses experience as if he had been killed by a monster. The only way to get to the Badlands is via a teleportal located southwest of clysmort; anyone already in the Badlands is alerted when another player joins or leaves. The place itself is divided into several different sections according to terrain: urban, forest, caves, ruins, etc., to provide a variety of challenges.
Other Information: Each minute someone remains in the Badlands, a crystal appears on the ground at his feet. These crystals grant a number of XP based on the character's current total. Best of all, training points gained from these crystals do not need to be bought like normal. The Badlands is accessible only to those on GP 5 or higher, and you must have a positive TRP total. For anyone else, the red TP sends the person to the Haven dock.
Clysmort Swamp
The Clysmort Swamp is located north of Clysmort, an expanse of dark, misty water between it and the Old Minton Ruins. For those thinking of entering the swamp, be warned - visiblity is very limited, and swamp monsters prowl the area looking for victims. There are only two safe paths through the swamp, known to a pair of brothers named Jethro and Jimbo; one goes to OMR, and the other goes to IUN.
Other Information: As mentioned, visibility is poor - only one square in any given direction. As noted, there are only two safe routes through the swamp - as long as you remain on the path, you can wade through the water and avoid the swamp monsters (which, by the way, are L40).
Dunsmore Castle
Dunsmore is a large, three-story castle located to the south of Haven, across the Misty River. It is used mainly for events and hero gatherings, but otherwise remains unused and uninhabited save for a small staff to keep the place up. A rune square has been placed at the entrance to keep out the riff-raff. Rumor has it that there is a hidden teleportal on the second floor that will send unwary explorers to a maze under the castle, where they must find their own way out.
Other Information: The castle is accessible only to those with a game plan, though they are welcome at any time. The teleportal does indeed send people to a maze; while you can follow it to the end, there is no way out as such, and thus you must TP Return to get free. Those able to access the desks at the entrance can also use them to check their RPP total.
Greenwood
Located due south of Verbonic and due east of Clysmort, Greenwood is home to the halls for the various guilds, as well as the Greenwood Arena, the Council Hall (for LORs) and Hall of Justice, and Litho's Pub (once owned by the hero of the same name). Greenwood can be reached via a TP in the something or other in Verbonic, which places the traveller just north of the arena.
Last Chance Pub
The Last Chance Pub, located just northeast of Sanctuary, is the last friendly place heroes will find until they reach Uswick. Here one can find the path north into the Krell Valley, and also buy passage on a raft across the river to Anthill Mountain and Salazad. It otherwise has little of interest to adventurers.
Mystic Realms College
The first place all new adventurers come, the Mystic Realms College is where heroes get their preliminary training before they are sent to Haven. Multiple classrooms have been set up to teach heroes a variety of topics, from combat to spellcasting; there is even an area where they can fight crazed rabbits without fear of harm.
XON
At the far north end of the Valley of the Krell, the path from the south peters out at a bridge across the river, which leads nowhere. At random intervals, however, a town appears in the clearing and lasts for one hour. It has a simple sign over the gate: "XON". Only those who have an amulet from Harold, one of the Lords of the Krell, can enter this town. There are four different mazes inside, each of which grants an amulet needed to open a door in the cliff to the north (mroe on this later). The town is otherwise friendly, inhabited by normal people. Anyone inside when the hour ends is teleported into the clearing on the other side of the bridge, unharmed, but if they die inside the town, they lose any held items (weapon/shield).
Dormun, the bartender at the pub, is a fount of useful information. If you ask about local rumors, he give some information the town itself, as well as the four mazes. He can only give information on one particular maze at any given time (each time the town appears, his knowledge changes). If you ask him about the right maze, he directs you to ask someone else about him. Thsi leads to a chain of 4-5 other people; the last person grants the perseverant hero a key, which can be used to unlock the door at the end of the maze. Unfortunately, the key is usable only for that maze; if XON appears and a different maze is "active," the key is useless (Dormun claims that keys acquired on one visit cannot be used on the next, but I suspect that they can still be used when the proper maze is "active" once again).
Other Information: The town does appear at random intervals, but there is a way to determine when it will appear: the river north of the bridge has shallows along it on one or both sides (depending - see below). The number of light blue squares (shallow water) denotes the number of hours until the town appears again.
There are four mazes - Your Very Own Maze, the Mirror Maze, the Maze of Martok, and the Water Maze. your Very Own Maze is different for every person (hence the name); the Mirror Maze is, of course, a maze of mirrors; Martok's Maze is a simple TP maze; and the Water Maze is a TP/water maze that requires 4 people, some of whom "must chug water in order to let the other advance," according to Dormun. No one to date has solved the Water Maze, and the others vary in difficulty.
As a final note, if you use TP RETURN anywhere in the town, you will end up in the center of town. If you stand in the center and TP RETURN, it will work properly.