Newbie areas

                Areas for beginning adventurers
                      
 Although finding monsters usually is easy, it can be harder
 for beginning adventurers to find monsters which they
 actually have a chance of defeating in combat. Here are
 listed some which have been found suitable for
 beginners. And do not make the usual mistake of attacking
 the innocent citizens of Vaerlon; you will regret that. Also
 remember to use the 'consider'-command frequently to check
 how hard the monsters you meet are. Remember, "Vaerlon" is
 the name of the city you started in.

House of clan Bloodaxe (#1 choice for every newbie)
----------------------
This house filled with wild animals, goblinoids and some orcs is just one block northeast from the Double Dragon inn. 

You will find very easy animals roaming the outer rim of the house perimeter. Kobolds and goblins occupy the inner yard and surrounding wall corridors, but are still relatively easy. Orcs and ogres occupy the house inside the walls and can be challenging for a newbie. Use listen ('help listen') to learn how to locate your prey. 

This area is meant purely for newbies to learn Icesus. Map of the area can be found from here: [[ House_of_clan_Bloodaxe | House of clan Bloodaxe ]]

Rat-infested warehouse (#1 choice for every newbie)
----------------------

 This warehouse lies in the southeastern part of
 Vaerlon. Once filled with the goods of merchants, it was
 abandoned due to an extraordinary amount of rats appearing
 there. Now Vizra, an old female dwarf from a rich merchant
 family, has gained permission to hire young adventurers to
 kill the rats from the warehouse. She hopes this will clear
 the warehouse and enable her family to gain control of it.

 Vizra stands at the entrance to the warehouse. Talk to her
 with the 'ask'-command, starting with 'ask vizra'. She will
 tell you how you can help, if you ask about it.

 There are usually plenty of rats in the warehouse which you
 can kill and get paid for, in the way Vizra explains. Note
 that she checks your level and amount of experience before
 paying you, adjusting the sum thereafter so that younger and
 more inexperienced player get paid more. Adventurers above
 level 10 does not get paid at all, no. Vizra also gives some
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 free torches to young players, if asked correctly.

 If someone recently has killed many rats, the warehouse
 might appear empty. More rats will appear soon, in that
 case. Beginners should not venture below the first basement
 level; it is said there can be dangerous monsters down
 there.

 Those who keep their eyes open and their wits about might
 find hidden things and tasks to perform.

 If you don't want to kill rats and would like to instead 
 hunt them on the streets of Vaerlon or Atherton you should
 go either to downstairs of the magic shop in Vaerlon or 
 at the adventurer's guild at Atherton and talk to the 
 small hooded ratling there. This way you don't risk yourself
 getting wounded by the rats and still receive money and
 experience.

Drudric's Hut
-------------

 Drudric can be found in his hut located east from Vaerlon.
 Just follow the road going east from the southern gate,
 cross a bridge and take the path going south. Greet
 Drudric and he'll help you to get started.

 After completing some tasks for him, he will allow you to
 use a portal for quick access to newbie areas. 

The dwarven mines of Vaerlon 
----------------------------

 The entrance to the dwarven mines is in the tunnel going
 through the mountains northwest of Vaerlon. First enter the
 tunnel in the northwestern part of Vaerlon, just southeast
 of the smithy. Then go through the tunnel southwest-westward
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 until you see a steel door. Beyond it lies the mines. If it
 is locked, look for the key nearby. The monster on the first
 level of the mines are suitable for all but the most
 beginning adventurers. The monsters further down might also
 be suitable, but there are also aggressive monsters down
 there. Aggressive monsters will attack any adventurer they
 see, and can be dangerous.  If your terminal supports
 colour, they will show up in red text so that they are more
 easily distinguishable.

 NOTE: Do *NOT* take the northwest tunnel, there lives a 
 dangerous cave bear. 

The forest of Namgeb 
--------------------

 Going all the way through the tunnel through the mountains
 which starts in the northwestern part of Vaerlon (see
 above), you come to a road. Following it you come to a
 crossing where two paths lead away. The northeastern path
 leads to the forest of Namgeb, if you follow it
 northwards. In the forest are animals and inhabitants which
 beginners might stand a chance against. Be careful of the
 aggressive wolf pack leader which also roams the forest,
 though.

The sewers of Vaerlon 
---------------------

 The sewers of Vaerlon are hard to get into, as the manholes
 are usually closed. The sewers are large and widely spread,
 so search the city carefully if you wish to go down
 there. Most of the manholes are locked, but the one in the
 dwarven quarter (northern part of Vaerlon) is usually left
 open by absent-minded dwarf mainters. But be warned, the 
 sewers are a dangerous place for a lonely player. Lots of 
 villains live there, looking for an easy kill.
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Gale's berry-farm
-----------------
A small berry-farm is established just northeast from 
Vaerlon's north gate. From there you can find a small forest, 
some farming fields and a small farmhouse and of course, all 
the usual farm animals. It is rumoured that the farmer 
himself is ill and his wife desperately needs some aid to 
take care of the farm.

An ancient crypt
----------------
There is an ancient crypt northwest from Vaerlon, said to 
contain riches beyond ones wildest dreams. While this may be 
exaggerated a bit, it does contain riches beyond your usual 
newbie's dreams. To get there, leave Vaerlon through the 
western gate and continue the road northwards. Take the path 
to the west after the river and you should find it. Beware, 
though, not all of the explorers have returned safely once 
gone inside.

The outworld 
------------

 The outworld is where you are when you step out of
 Vaerlon. Like in the city, you will see a small map of you
 surroundings when you walk around, unless you are in
 'brief'-mode ('help brief'). You can find some small
 monsters here during the day, especially on plains and
 meadows (shown on the map as "p" and "m") and in sparse
 forests ("e", "f", "d"). Do not venture into deep forests or
 any other rough terrain; the monsters there are usually much
 harder, and they can be aggressive. And remember, use
 'consider' if you aren't sure about the monster you are
 facing.

 WARNING! During the night, there are undeads roaming the
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 outworld. Many of them are aggressive and most are
 dangerous. Beginning adventurers should avoid moving in the
 outworld during the night, or only move along roads and
 paths then. The monsters do not normally come to roads or
 paths, but they might be there if they followed someone, so
 be careful.


 There are many other areas that you can explore once you are
 somewhat more experienced. A good aid in finding these is
 the graphical worldmap on our www-pages. Go to
 www.icesus.org/Icesus/ and click on the "World map"
 link. The city of Vaerlon is the big yellow spot in the
 middle of the western edge of the map, from which many roads
 start. Clicking on the map will zoom in on the region and
 show what the different colours represent.

 When traveling to areas, remember that there is an ep-cost
 for moving through outworld terrains other than roads, ie if
 you walk around in the outworld and aren't on a road, your
 endurance points will decrease. The rougher the terrain, the
 more tiring it is to move through.