FENSHIRE

REPORTED FAUNA/BEASTS/FOES:    Bedbug, Giant (GMU)    Dornbeast (GMU)    Eldritch Vapor (GMU)    Frobgoblin (GMU)    Ghoul (GMU)    Hellhound (GMU)    Horror (GMU)    Hungus, Rabid (GMU)    Kobold (GMU)    Lucksucker (GMU)    Rat-ant (GMU)    Skeleton (GMU)    Slug, Giant (GMU)    Surmin (GMU)    Toad, Giant (GMU)    Troll (GMU)

The endless marshes of Fenshire are vast square bloits of dismal swampland, which stretches east of the Flathead Mountains, presumably to the edge of the world. This swampy region is filled with impassably thick reeds, malodorous patches of quicksand, puddles of putrid sludge, and many carnivorous creatures which have yet to be seen by men. Despite it being a sprawling, festering swamp swarming with vile, dangerous creatures, the summer castle of the Flatheads was located in a remote section of Fenshire. This now decrepit building is said to have been fashioned from a small portion the ruins of the ancient Eastern Empire which ruled as far north as the Flathead Fjord. Despite its wet, putrid and lethally poisonous nature, Fenshire is surprisingly well known for its culinary delights. One of these popular lunchtime meals is Borphbelly Stew.

Fenshire is also known as the location of the fudge-melting plant, built by Lord Dimwit Flathead to melt down the pieces of fudge that his castle had been turned into in 785 GUE. However, when the fudge was sent to be melted several of the balloons carrying it were hit, and the fudge made its way onto the street, where it was sold on the black market.

The fringes of Fenshire to the north is a trackless wilderness where wild creatures and cannibalistic men rule (which survivors have said are difficult to tell apart). When the Great Underground Empire fell in 883 GUE, the newly formed Aragain Province was bombarded by wave upon wave of these barbarbian natives and those from the unsettled regions of the Flathead Fjord. Only the emergence of Syovar at the head of the last royal armies was able to preserve the Aragain region. He gathered the surviving remnants of the imperial army and plunged them into a never-ending war between the barbarian invaders.

The evil warlock Malifestro dwelt in his castle on the outer fringes of Fenshire, near the base of the Flathead Mountains and was defeated in the late ninth or early tenth century.

At least one of the Thaddeus Research Facilities, which was destroyed in the second quarter of the tenth century when a Thaddium experiment went awry, was located within Fenshire.

The Spear of Zoz was located within and removed from the swamps of Fenshire during the Great Monster Uprising.

SOURCE(S): Zork 1 (map), Zork Zero, Zork: Nemesis, Zork: Grand Inquisitor (official strategy guide), Legends of Zork