(Also known as: Stuff You Can Skip, But Probably Shouldn't)
Hi. Hello. Welcome to Verth, where the Wi-Fi is gone, hope is unstable, and zombies have evolved like they're speedrunning Pokémon forms. You're about to enter a world where surviving your crush's rejection is easier than surviving grocery runs.
I get it. You're here for the action, trauma, jokes, breakdowns, and morally questionable leadership decisions. You want to see if the main character gets eaten, crowned, or emotionally destroyed. I respect that.
But before we dive into the juicy parts of limb loss and leadership arcs, here's a little World Background, Zombie Breeds Compendium, and Author Spiral Section you can either read thoroughly like a student prepping for finals—or skip like a class you regret paying tuition for.
[ TL;DR: This is the Unofficial Survival Guide to the world of Verth. It won't save your life, but it might make dying funnier and there are some spoilers too ]
🌿 ISLAND ZONES OF VERTH
"You haven't lived until you've almost died on one of these."
Welcome to the wild, wonderful, and slightly cursed archipelago of Verth. These island zones survived the first outbreaks mostly intact—which is a lot more than we can say for the cities.
Think of these places as your starter map. They're like those tutorial zones in a video game. Peaceful. Beautiful. Lull-you-into-a-false-sense-of-security kind of places.
Let's explore....
🥬 SILVERMOON CAY
"Where crops grow fast, and paranoia grows faster."
Advantages:
Silvermoon Cay is like that wholesome farming sim you downloaded for cozy vibes, except you're one step away from being robbed by a guy with a machete who hasn't had carbs in two weeks.
The land here is volcanic, fertile, and aggressively productive. You can toss a seed in the dirt and come back a week later to find a tomato the size of your head. Rainwater flows clean. The nearby stream sings lullabies. The sun hits the fields like a well-edited Instagram reel.
It's quiet. Restful. Full of fresh food, soft grass, and that "maybe we could rebuild civilization" kind of energy.
Disadvantages:
Everyone wants this place. Raiders. Outcasts. Even that guy who thinks he's a prophet but smells like boiled socks. Defenses? Wooden fences, old nails, and a really mean dog named Pogi.
Also—spoiler alert—moisture means rot, and rot means mold, and mold in Verth doesn't just stink. Sometimes it grows a mouth. You heard me.
"Silvermoon is where hope puts down roots… and occasionally gets eaten by mutated snails."
🛖 THEREMIS
"Where peace lives. Right before it gets punched in the face."
Advantages:
Theremis feels like stepping into a screensaver. Cobblestone paths. Wind chimes. Thatched roofs. Chickens. Literal, clucking, eggs-laying-like-nothing-happened chickens.
Here, the apocalypse feels like a rumor. People still greet each other with homemade bread and barter soup recipes like it's the 1700s. There's laughter. Community. Even friendship—whatever that is.
This is the last place in Verth where people say "good morning" and actually mean it.
Disadvantages:
Peace comes at a cost. And in Theremis, that cost is preparedness.
Nobody here is battle-ready. The strongest weapon in town is a broom. People scream at the sight of a raccoon, let alone a howler-class infected. It's defenseless, delusional, and dangerously sweet.
When danger comes, it will be fast. And it will be fatal.
"Theremis is great if you love homemade jam and ignoring red flags."
💦 CEATON
"For when you want to die somewhere stupidly beautiful."
Advantages:
Ceaton was once a vacation haven. You can tell. Waterfalls sparkle like someone turned up the saturation. Natural hot springs bubble with mineral goodness. Birds sing songs that sound suspiciously curated for ambiance.
It's the ultimate spa getaway—if spas came with a mild chance of dismemberment.
For survivors running on empty, Ceaton offers rest. Warmth. An illusion of peace so convincing, even your trauma takes a nap.
Disadvantages:
The cliffs are steep. The paths are narrow. And if anything collapses, there's a 98% chance you're stuck until you invent helicopter wings.
Also..... the local wildlife? Not that wild. More like... zombie-deer hybrids that screech.
And that silence? Never trust it.
"Ceaton: Come for the hot springs. Stay because the only exit caved in."
🌲 DUSKWATCH HOLLOW
"Mother Nature called. She wants her nightmares back."
Advantages:
Duskwatch is thick with life. Medicinal herbs, rare flowers, edible fungi—all waiting for someone brave (or dumb) enough to forage.
The forest sings. And if you're quiet, and lucky, you'll find rare healing plants that don't exist anywhere else. Apothecaries and weird nature kids thrive here.
Survive long enough, and this place gives back.
Disadvantages:
You will get lost. No GPS. No signal. Trees so tall they block sunlight. Trails that vanish the second you look away.
Some say the forest is alive. Not metaphorically. Literally. And sometimes, it doesn't like guests.
Bugs are huge. The air feels sentient. And at night, you'll swear the shadows whisper your name.
"If the moss doesn't kill you, the screaming mushrooms might."
⛰️ MARROWRIDGE
"High-altitude, low-sanity."
Advantages:
Need metal? Marrowridge has it. Copper, iron, silver—you name it. This is where survivors mine materials to build bases, forge weapons, and maybe start a steampunk revolution.
The cold air slows zombies. The elevation keeps most infected out. It's a crafter's paradise... if you don't mind bleeding from your palms daily.
Also...caves. Many. Deep. Mysterious.
Disadvantages:
You'll starve before you smelt anything if you didn't bring your own food. Nothing grows. Water is scarce. Friends are scarcer.
And those caves? They echo wrong. Like something in them never stopped screaming.
Mining is good. Until the mountain decides otherwise.
"Marrowridge will either make you a blacksmith... or a cautionary tale."
🌫️ GRAVESEND SHOAL
"The fish are fresh. The air is cursed."
Advantages:
Gravesend is foggy but functional. Fishing villages still thrive, sorta. The sea offers food. Old cargo sometimes floats in. It's quiet. It's eerie. It's the kind of place introverts flock to and forget they're in a horror story.
Great for laying low. Even better if you like boat repair.
Disadvantages:
That fog? It's not just atmospheric. It muffles. You'll never hear the infected until they're breathing on your neck.
The sea brings things ashore. Sometimes helpful. Sometimes hungry.
Locals don't talk much. Probably because the mist stole their voices. Or their sanity.
🏙️ THE MAINLAND
Where Everything Went Wrong
(The land of ruins, desperation, rare loot, and legendary bad decisions.)
Not recommended unless you're armed, desperate, or main-character
🧟 ARGENTA
Advantages:
This is it. Ground zero. The city where the world stopped spinning and humanity collectively screamed "Oh no."
Argenta was once the commercial heart of Verth—glassy skyscrapers, shopping districts, glitzy campuses, shiny train stations. Now it's a graveyard for the ambitious and the unprepared.
But… it's also a goldmine. Abandoned pharmacies, high-rise panic rooms, emergency caches never opened. If you can move fast, think faster, and have the nerve of a poker-faced assassin, you'll walk away with medicine, high-tech gear, and enough stories to fuel nightmares for decades.
Disadvantages:
The infection started here. It lives here. It thrives here.
Argenta is a maze of collapsed highways, unstable towers, and broken promises. The infected are fast, numerous, and sometimes… organized.
You don't just need to sneak—you need to know where not to step. Or else the entire street might come alive with hungry limbs.
"Argenta doesn't just kill you. It shows you why you should've stayed home."
🏫 WESTBURNED
Advantages:
Welcome to the ruins of academia. Westburned was a dorm town—filled with students, libraries, and second chances. It holds knowledge, leftover supplies, and echoes of normalcy.
It's quieter than Argenta, and if you know how to break into campus storage or raid a chemistry lab, this place can arm you in ways no machete ever could.
Also: forgotten classrooms mean forgotten shelter. Books, bedding, lockers—makeshift everything.
Disadvantages:
Nothing here has truly moved since the outbreak. That includes bodies. And memories.
It smells like paper and grief. The infected here are old—slow, quiet—but unpredictable.
It's a ghost town wrapped in unfinished plans. And your own brain might be your worst enemy here.
"Westburned is where the world paused. And forgot to press play again."
🧪 EMBERLYN
Advantages:
Think blinking screens, humming servers, and labs with motion-activated doors that still open—sometimes. Emberlyn is Verth's tech graveyard, and maybe… just maybe… the place where it all began.
Rumor says someone was working on a cure. Or a bioweapon. Or something worse.
For the brave, this place offers hidden tech, medical devices, half-finished experiments, and maybe even files worth dying for.
It's the city of secrets. And secrets are power.
Disadvantages:
Electronics flicker. Lights turn on… and no one is there.
Some computers still talk. Some corridors are sealed with biohazard tape. Others are broken wide open.
Emberlyn doesn't feel empty. It feels like it's waiting. And whatever was being tested here… might still be in the air.
"Don't touch what glows. Don't open what hisses. Don't trust what speaks."
🏚️ CRAVENTON
Advantages:
Craventon is chaos incarnate—but somehow, it works.
It was a slum before the outbreak, and now it's a survivor stronghold. Bartering is currency, and everyone here has a knife or five.
You want something weird, useful, or questionably legal? You'll find it here. Weapons, food, gossip, soap, rumors, maybe even black-market maps.
If you're tough enough to stand your ground, Craventon might become your home base.
Disadvantages:
No rules. No mercy. No refunds.
If you look weak, someone will sell you. If you look strong, someone will test you.
It's loud, violent, and one wrong move can make you enemy number one in a district that doesn't call the cops—they eat them.
"Here, everyone's a criminal. The smart ones survive. The loud ones get stabbed."
💼 HALDENRISE
Advantages:
The city of suits, deals, and skyline dreams—now a vertical dungeon.
The towers still stand tall, shimmering with glass and eerie silence. If you manage to climb to the upper floors, you'll find untouched supplies: designer emergency kits, bottled champagne, solar chargers, encrypted data.
It's like looting the apocalypse from a CEO's panic room.
Disadvantages:
Elevators don't work. Stairwells do—but they creak. And echo. And sometimes bleed.
Some towers are completely infested—others sealed from the inside. And high up? Oxygen thins.
People say a group of survivors still live on Floor 40. They haven't opened the doors in a year.
"The higher you go, the more you question if the view's worth the fall."
🪖 DORNE VALE
Advantages:
Once a military checkpoint—barbed wire, guns, walls, security.
Dorne Vale was humanity's last real effort to fight back. Its bunkers might still hold weapons, maps, rations, and gear designed for war, not survival.
If you're lucky, you'll find drones, flares, radios, even a working jeep.
Disadvantages:
The soldiers didn't survive. But something patrols the area.
No signs of struggle. Just… silence.
No birds. No bugs. Just perfectly preserved death.
"The silence in Dorne Vale isn't peaceful. It's patient."
👠 SOLMERE
Advantages:
Luxury gone rotten. Condos, restaurants, spas—all beautifully preserved in undead decay.
Looters come here for the high-end supplies: expensive alcohol, medical-grade skin treatments, designer boots, fine knives.
Even apocalypse looks better in marble. Also, the rich stocked up before anyone else. You might hit the jackpot.
Disadvantages:
Too clean. Too still. Too pretty.
The infected here… don't scream. They glide. They wear pearls and rotten tuxedos.
And there's always music playing somewhere. But no one alive plays it.
"If you die here, at least you'll die in style."
🚄 IRONMARK
"All aboard the trauma train."
Advantages:
Trains! Railyards! Underground bunkers! It's a scavenger's goldmine of gears, fuel, batteries, and rusty weapons just waiting to be turned into something lethal. You can jump from train car to train car like you're in an action movie.
It also has deep tunnels that, theoretically, could be fortified. Plus, you might get lucky and find working rail power.
Disadvantages:
Everything echoes. Every step. Every breath. There's an old cult that used to "worship the engine" down here. They may or may not still be around. Either way, you'll hear chanting you didn't ask for.
Also? Zombies on rails = surprise speedrun death.
"Ironmark's a great place to loot… if your idea of fun is being chased by locomotives full of teeth."
📚 VELLUM HEIGHTS
"Read. Run. Repeat."
Advantages:
Home of the grand libraries and archives of Verth. Thousands of books, maps, blueprints, journals—basically, Wikipedia before everything got sticky. Great for nerds. Excellent for base planning, history buffs, or bored introverts.
It's surprisingly quiet, too. Zombies don't seem to like books.
Disadvantages:
Everything here is paper. One spark and the whole district becomes a bonfire of bad choices.
Also, it's full of weird coded diaries from pre-collapse scientists. Most of them end in phrases like "do not proceed with trial—fatal" or "we created something we can't stop."
"Vellum Heights: where brains go to grow. And sometimes melt."
🌬️ ZEPHYRA CITY
"All wind. No chill."
Advantages:
Massive wind turbines spin above empty plains. You could power an entire base if you figure out how to tap the energy grid. Air here is clean, crisp, and surprisingly good for cardio.
You're also unlikely to be snuck up on—open visibility for miles.
Disadvantages:
No cover. Nowhere to hide. Just you, the wind, and the unsettling feeling that something is watching—just too smart to be seen.
Also, there was a prototype drone defense system out here. Some say it's still running. Others say it's bored and trigger-happy.
"Zephyra: the wind will carry your screams across five towns."
🚇 NIGHTREACH
"If hell had subway rats the size of dogs."
Advantages:
A vast underground network of tunnels, subways, and old escape routes. Perfect for stealth missions, ambush setups, or going full cryptid. You can travel across half the mainland without being seen.
Bonus: zombies don't see in the dark very well.
Disadvantages:
You can't either.
Claustrophobic. Cramped. Echo-heavy. You'll hear something, but not know if it's in front of you, behind you, or inside your own brain. Also, this is where the Crawlers hang out. Let's not talk about Crawlers.
"If the dark doesn't break you, the whispers will."
❄️ FROSTHOLLOW
"Beautiful. Deadly. And always... always freezing."
Advantages:
Snow covers everything, including your tracks. Most infected freeze or slow down in the cold, giving survivors a tactical edge.
Plus: it's stunning. Like someone dipped the apocalypse in glitter and frost.
Disadvantages:
Frostbite. Thin ice. Snow-blindness. Oh, and Frost-zombies—infected that don't rot, just freeze solid and wait. You don't know fear until one cracks open like an icicle and lunges.
"Winter is here. And she's hungry."
⚓ BRIARSHORE
"Salt, rust, and regret."
Advantages:
River access = boats. Boats = mobility. Mobility = survival. Briarshore's old dockyards still hold canoes, speedboats, even cargo ships—if you know how to fix one.
It's good for traders and smugglers. Or cowards with style.
Disadvantages:
Rotting piers. Engine trouble. And that one time the river started boiling.
Also....river zombies. You think they can't swim? Think again.
"Briarshore: where escape plans float… and sometimes sink with you on them."
🚓 REDACRE
"Sirens. SWAT vests. And really aggressive corpses."
Advantages:
Used to be law enforcement central. Guns, shields, riot gear—all ripe for the taking if you're fast enough. The place is solidly built. Metal doors. Surveillance systems.
Think: fortress… if the fortress didn't want you alive.
Disadvantages:
A lot of the infected here died in uniform. Bulletproof. Helmeted. Tactical.
You can't just shoot them in the head—you have to outmaneuver a literal riot squad of the undead.
"Redacre: where even the zombies yell 'Freeze!'"
🛍️ NEW LYSORIA
"Shop 'til you drop. Then rise and maul your friends."
Advantages:
Was the main market district. Still stocked with canned goods, bottled water, gear, meds, and... chocolate? Probably expired, but who cares.
Looters dream of this place. And a few make it out alive.
Disadvantages:
Tripwires. Traps. Rival scavenger groups. This is a Hunger Games arena wearing a shopping mall's skin.
Oh, and the mannequins move sometimes. But that's probably fine.
"New Lysoria: The only thing sharper than the deals are the teeth."
🌊 CINDERVALLE
"Mall of your nightmares."
Advantages:
Shopping mall turned apocalypse haven—until it flooded. But the upper floors are dry, and surprisingly fortified.
There are still pretzels. That's... unsettling.
Disadvantages:
Lower floors are flooded. With what, you ask? Don't.
Also, the power flickers. Music plays by itself. Escalators move. There's a reason nobody sets up permanent base here.
"Come for the snacks. Stay because you're trapped in a haunted mall with legless swimmers."
🖼️ GLASSMERE
"Culture is dead. Literally."
Advantages:
Old museums, art galleries, and historic archives. Calm, beautiful, weirdly untouched. You'll find maps, blueprints, artifacts—things that hint at what caused all this.
Quiet, peaceful. A mental breather.
Disadvantages:
Too quiet.
Most places are glass and marble—echo chambers for footsteps. And the infected here? They're slow, but they remember how to wait.
Also, the wax figures? Don't blink.
"Glassmere: A beautiful place to learn. And maybe die dramatically."
🌉 EAST HALLOW
"The bridge between hope and hell."
Advantages:
Massive connecting bridge between the island zones and mainland cities. Structurally sound (mostly), and wide enough for caravans. Some say it's still guarded by old-world drones. Others say it's cursed.
A crucial crossing point. Especially for traders or military remnants.
Disadvantages:
Everything crosses this bridge. Including the infected. And raiders. And that one weird guy who screams "Toll!" then throws rocks.
If you're here, you're visible. You will be seen.
°°°°°°°°°°°
And that's just scratching the surface.
The cities of Verth weren't built to survive an apocalypse—but somehow, they haven't collapsed completely. Each one's a gamble, a weird mix of scavenger jackpot and mutant game show. Whether you're the type to sneak through tunnels, build a bunker, or just yell "YOLO" and sprint into the mall with a frying pan—Verth's got a flavor of danger just for you.
☠️ But be warned: This guide doesn't cover everything. It doesn't explain why some zombies have wings, or why that one vending machine in Cindervale dispenses live frogs, or what exactly is under the subways of Nightreach.
That's for you to find out.
📌 DISCLAIMER AGAIN!
Whew. Yeah, that was long. If you're not a fan of reading background lore, zombie types, or weird author thoughts about bridges and pretzels—feel free to skip the next page.
But for the rest of you weirdos who actually enjoy this stuff?
Congrats. You now have the unofficial survival advantage.
Keep reading. Stay alive longer. Laugh harder.
Because in Verth... it's either brains before brains, or brain gets eaten.
👣 See you on the next page.