Windy Peaks
| Windy Peaks | |
|---|---|
| Level range | 6+ |
| Accessible from | Undermountain |
| Neutral Hub | No |
The Windy Peaks of Mt. Khor Lachista are populated by subsistence vulperine hunter-gatherers, harpies, and manticores. Despite the invasion of the Undermountain and siege of Khor'minos, the denizens of the Windy Peaks are almost no worse for wear, and Kasyrra has largely left the peaks alone. Tollus has stationed Demon Cultists as reserves for Kasyrra's invading force, with largely nothing to do on the stormbeaten mountain.
The Windy Peaks are split into two zones. The southern green zone (Zone 1) contains the entrance to the Undermountain and the Vulperine Village. The northern red zone (Zone 2) is home to an ancient bathhouse, and is the territory of the harpies.
In general, campsites set up in the green zone will last considerably longer than camps set in the red zone. Somewhat unusual for other regions of the game, Windy Peaks contains two Waystones, not one.
Locations
Zone 1 (Green)
Waystone (Vulperine Village)
On the riverside, just a few hundred yards west of the old Minoan road and in the shadow of a weatherbeaten stone bridge, stands a quaint little collection of squat huts. They're all round, made of stone packed tight with warming dirt, with a minimum of wood outside of a few doors — and even most of those are heavy cloth instead. There's a perhaps three dozen houses scattered around the water's edge, vaguely surrounding a circle of standing stones that makes for the heart of the village. In the midst of the stones is a crude idol of Sorra, wings spread and spear head high to the heavens.
A few of the foxes look at you curiously as you approach their Sorran statue, drawn to it by a familiar weight in the charm around your neck — a magical connection that charges the air around you as you draw nearer. You can't even see the waystone idol in the statue, buried inside the crude facsimile of what once might have stood here in ages past, but you can certainly feel it. You hold up your charm to the facade of Sorra, and there's a flash of light from between your fingers, mirrored by a dim glow from between cracks in the statue. One of Sorra's eyes crumbles, revealing a blue crystal buried beneath.
The locals watching you gasp, but the waystone is now open to you.
Home to the potter Arened, Vasha, his eldest adopted harpy daughter and her other adopted harpy sisters, and Natalia, the village Sorran priestess.
Encounter Table
| Priority Encounters | |
|---|---|
| Encounter | Information |
| Combat Encounters | |
| Encounter | Information |
| Vulperine Hunters | |
| Demon Cultists | |
| Manticore Trio | |
| Other Encounters | |
| Encounter | Information |
| Gianna's Caravan | 12 hour cooldown |
Zone 1 (Red)
Waystone (Windy Peaks Bathhouse)
As grandiose as the baths themselves may be, the courtyard that surrounds the resort complex is no less impressive. Heated by the warmth that spills from the marble and granite building's many exits, various garden beds once meant for ornamental flowers have long since been converted to the growing of more practical plants. Flagpoles that once boasted the banners of the kingdom of Khor'minos and the Belharan Imperium alike have been torn down, replaced by harpy fetishes and other decorations woven together from feathers and hide, declaring the bath resort's new masters for all to see. Parapets along the courtyard's northern balconies keep people from tumbling off; sheltered by the peak, the air in the courtyard is still and heavy. Not oppressive and dark, but more of a dense, cool mugginess like that of walking through heavy morning fog...
This, then, is as close as one can get to the heart of the harpies' domain without raising the alarm. It's probably a good thing that they're more focused on searching for aerial intruders rather than those on the ground, otherwise you'd have been spotted coming a long way off.
You approach the statue in the middle of the courtyard — it hasn't been removed like the rest of the original decor, although you see claw marks in the stone where the harpies have tried. The heavy granite statue depicts that of a Belharan in full imperial regalia clasping hands with a minotaur. A small stone relief upon its base reads:
"This bath resort was commissioned jointly by King Baros Junia of Khor'minos and Baron Victor Reverra of Hawkstone, both as a meeting grounds for our peoples and a place of rest and relaxation. May our mutual respect long stand the test of time."
Something about the statue draws you closer, a familiar sensation — and when you do, your waystone charm flashes briefly. The burst of light is mirrored by something within the statues' clasped hands, radiance strong enough to shine through the cracks in the stone. Well, that explains how the Belharan dignitaries came and went without making the miserable ascent... and why the waystone gem hasn't been plucked from the statue for the matron's hoard. At least now this waystone is open to you, too.
Encounter Table
| Priority Encounters | |
|---|---|
| Encounter | Information |
| Combat Encounters | |
| Encounter | Information |
| Vulperine Hunters | |
| Demon Cultists | |
| Manticore Trio | |
| Other Encounters | |
| Encounter | Information |
| Gianna's Caravan | 12 hour cooldown |