Heroes Field

An open grassed area, a lake with wild flowers, bounded by trees, tall hedges and rocky outcrops - with building lots around the outside. The 'sky' is a good forty feet above ground level, making it one of the largest open spaces in Netherworld.   It is a 'country park', suitable place for adventurers to build their homes, but still close to the central facilities.

An open grassed area, a lake with wild flowers, bounded by trees, tall hedges and rocky outcrops - with building lots around the outside. The 'sky' is a good forty feet above ground level, making it one of the largest open spaces in Netherworld.   It is a 'country park', suitable place for adventurers to build their homes, but still close to the central facilities.

The lake is full of fresh water, and dotted with small reed covered islands, and would be suitable for swimming, canoes or rowing boats -  although there is never enough wind for a sailing boat.  Water lilies, and other more exotic surface plants appear in patches, although there is plenty of clear water between them.  While it looks as if it would make a great place for fish, frogs or water birds, it is bereft of animal life.

The water of the lake is only about five feet deep, at its deepest points, and the water is flat and mirror-like without a single ripple.

The margins of the lake abound with reeds and wildflowers, of all sorts.  Some will be familiar from your own world, while others are completely new to you - and look as if they would normally be found in strange and exotic locations.  Again, you would normally expect to find them teeming with life, bees, dragon flies, small birds and mammal -  but not a single creature disturbs the tranquillity.

The parkland is made of short grasses, that never grow more than a couple of inches high - although the varying shades of green, some almost blue, others almost yellow, make pleasant patterns as you look out across them.  The grasses are punctuated by small, low growing, flowers of white, yellow and purple - some of which exude a pleasant floral fragrance.

The rocks and trees that form the boundary walls also display a range of colours.  The rocks are all grey-ish, but some areas have a slight purple hue, others have a yellowish cast, while others are dark enough to be almost black.  The trees all grow to just below the top of the cliff, the trunks close to the rock face, but the branches and fronds stretch out to provide a fringed edge to the skyline.  The trees all appear to be in different seasons, some are the bright green of spring, others the yellowy brown of late summer, with the occasional copper-coloured trees dotted about.  If you should try to climb them, however, you find that handholds and branches become smooth and slippery as you climb up, and the last ten feet, or so, is practically impossible to cross.  Nuts, berries and random fruits hang from the lower branches, and you would expect them to be alive with small birds -  but, once again. Nothing disturbs the tranquillity of the scene.

The sky is unusual for Netherworld.  This is one of very few areas with any sort of open sky, for just about every other area is roofed by trellises or a woodland canopy.   The sky looks like an overcast day in the northern parts of the world, perhaps   the occasional patch of   very light blue, but mainly painted in shades of grey, that swirl and change slowly.  During the day, there is normal daylight, as if clouds are lit from above, but at night the sky fades to a darker grey, as if it were only lit by the light of a moon  (Low-light level).



John D'oh's House - A small stream runs from a spring in the surrounding rock face, towards the lake.  At one point it broadens into a small pond, before dropping over a  small waterfall, to continue its journey.  The waterfall drives a simple mill wheel, the paddles turned by the small cascade.  The wheel is attached to a simple, two storeys, redbrick building with a peaked slate roof.  The sign over the door says John D’oh.  On days when John is working, you may well hear a regular thumping noise as the mill drives a forge hammer.

Zoho Perse's House - A small cottage, less grand than many of the others, but built in red brick with yellow string lines and decorative panels.  It has a low-pitched roof, and green shutters at the window.  The sign on the plain wooden door reads, Zoho’s House.  You can, occasionally, see the monk leading an exercise or meditation session on the grass outside.

Macawi's Houseboat - As you walk around the lake, you come across a jetty, stretching a short way out into the water.  The main walkway is square, a good fifteen feet in each direction, and ends at a narrower walkway which runs alongside the lake, with short gangways lead onto each end of a houseboat.  The houseboat is about fifty feet long, with a small deck at each end and a low cabin amidships.  Small round windows dot the side of the cabin. A rowboat is tied up at one end of the jetty. A signpost at the entrance reads, Macawi’s