The area immediately around the Spire is little more than a barren waste. A fine, black dust covers the ground - a mix of ashes and sand which, when kicked up by footsteps, can sting the eyes and clog the throat. Nothing grows here - the air tastes dry with death. There is no birdsong, no insects, no life.

The ruins immediately around the Spire have been tamed by the new arrivals, creating a refuge in the chaos. Buildings have been renovated, repairs have been made to the streets and there are even a few rudimentary attempts to decorate.

Temple:

• Infirmary Situated at the back of the temple, the infirmary consists of a few rudimentary treatment rooms, a primitive ward and a large study.
• Rathskeller Situated in the Temple cellar, this is the name given to the makeshift tavern that has been set up there. It can be accessed via the Temple but also through cellar doors outside which open into a short tunnel, and then the Rathskeller proper.

Domiciles: What was once a well-established hamlet is now in fairly poor shape. As well as in the Fields and the Woodlands, the Naturals left inside of the bubble dwell here. The foundations of most of the homes are crumbling, though there are a few communities that seem hospitable with a little work.

Old buildings on the verge of collapse, winding, empty streets, skeletal structures and hidden lanes and alleyways. Ruins dominate the city and make up the majority of its landscape. Exploration is dangerous…but it might be rewarding, too.

The Underground: One of the streets has buckled inwards. Clearing the rubble away has revealed the entrance to a hidden cave system.

The Bonebridge: Composed entirely of stones so white and cracked as to appear like bones, this bridge stretches across an expanse that seems always bathed in mist. To fall into the gorge below would mean almost immediate death.

The Labyrinth: Once clearly the pride and joy of the Hollowed Grounds, now the Labyrinth stands as a deadly reminder of what nature can do when left on its own. The hedges have grown so wild that at times it is hard to see the sky from inside. Thorns grow from some of the hedges and it seems entirely unclear whether or not the bushes actually remain in the same place

The Settlement : The Settlement is perhaps the only area of the Ruins that looks moderately habitable and not completely run down. This is where the Naturals do most of their trading and where merchants and other peddlers set up their wares for sale and trade.

The Outskirts might once have been an extension of the fields, but are now clearly demarcated by the ring-like shape of absolutely barren land. This is largely caused by the magnetic field which was erected around the Hollowed Grounds roughly 300 years ago. Though the barrier is not actually visible, the magnetic resonance can be felt in your bones if you get too close. Symptoms of lingering too near the field include dizziness, nausea and headaches, and increase in severity the longer one is exposed (or the closer one gets) to include vomiting, bleeding from all orifices, disorientation and hallucination, finally to complete cardiac arrest causing death.

Fields: While the Outskirts are the most dangerous of the areas around the Spire, there is also fertile ground here. Soft earth and vegetable patches abound, making it an attractive place to grow crops. There are also a few herds of animals roaming.

Woodlands: The dense trees in the Woodland seem to stifle all sound making them unnervingly quiet. In some places the foliage is so thick that almost all light is barred from reaching the ground.

A small spot of completely natural beauty sits in the shadow of the Spire. So completely at odds with this desolate wasteland, the Glade boasts a circle of fragrant trees and a rolling expanse of sweet grass. The sound of birdsong and distant, babbling water suffuses the place.

Oasis: The Oasis is like a piece of paradise in an all but ruined world. A stream rushes out from between the face of two rocks, producing a pool of water which is deep and calm and serene. Some even say that it has healing properties.