Birch Island

Birch Island is aimed at Experts and above. There are plenty of low level mobs here but there are also a lot of capped mobs and rooms with five or more mobs in. A high level mage with Incendiary Cloud and sanc should have a problem with the latter, but some of the shop keepers are still quite tough. I mapped the area when invisible and sneaking and noone attacked me, I can't guarantee you'd be able to walk around safely when visible.

The toughest mobs are to the east of the zone, in the town and the palisades. Once such mob, Jarl Ragnulf has two keys. The heavy steel key opens the door to his Treasury (Jt) and the second opens a steel chest within.

If you wait in the Trackless Sea to the south of the Shallow Coastal Waters (Cw) you will find yourslef attacked by a longship! You'll be moved to the Longship Bow (Lb). The rooms tend to be full of vikings intent on taking your equipment from your still-warm corpse. There are typically 8 vikings per room at about 20k xp each. A few area effect spells should keep them under control. The last room on the boat, The Aft Deck (Ad) is the hom of the longship's captain, Styrbiorn. He has a key to the steel bound chest and some loot!

I had no real problems with this zone and was even able to dispel the High Priest (even though I'm only a level 49 mage). I'd recommend it for a change if you'd like some xp and plenty of cash.

If you'd like to make a quick run to this zone, we recommend the following directions, starting at The Common in Shadowdale: 9sws3ws2w2s2w3sws5w2sws2w3s6wswsw2s2w2sws2wsw5seses 5e5sw4s2w2s2w2nwn3wswsws2w2n6wn2wsws7ws2w2s2ws3wnwn 2e3n. You must be either flying or swimming to use this route.

            Rr Ob Tm
            |  |  |
            Ha-Bo-Wr
            |  |v |
            Gu Gu Mb

Aa	- Amongst the Aft Rowers!	Ab	- Amongst the Beds
Ad	- The Aft Deck	Af	- Amongst the Forward Rowers!
An	- Antechamber	Ba	- Barn
Bc	- Bed Chamber	Bd	- Bedroom
Be	- Bay Entrance	Bf	- Barkley Field
Bk	- Barracks	Bo	- Balcony overlooking the Stairway
Br	- Brewery	Bt	- Battle Circle
Cc	- Children's Chamber	Cf	- Corn Field
Ch	- Sittryg's Sleeping Chamber	Cl	- Closet
Cq	- Cook's Quarters	Cs	- Chieftains Sleeping Area
Cw	- Shallow Coastal Waters	Dc	- Dirt Cellar
Dd	- Dry Dock and Quay	Df	- Deep Fjord
Dg	- Dias of the Great Hall	Dr	- Dining Room
Dy	- Dayroom	Eb	- Eastern Burial Mound
Ey	- Entryway	Fe	- Fjord Entrance
Fg	- Finngal's Gold and Jewelry	Fh	- Fishing Hut
Fj	- Fjord	Fo	- Food Storage
Fs	- Freja's Smile	Fv	- Fjord Valley Trail
Gb	- Giant Boulder blocking the Path	Gc	- Guest CHamber
Gh	- Grand Hallway and Stairs	Gp	- Grassy Patch
Gr	- Great Hall	Gu	- Guestroom
Gw	- Gioldsmith's Workshop	He	- Hearth
Hl	- Hall of the log House	Ih	- Inside the Harbour
Iw	- Indoor Workroom	Ja	- Jarl's Bedchamber
Jb	- Jarl's Brewery	Jm	- Jarl's Mooring Place
Jt	- Jarl's Treasury	Ki	- Tavern Kitchen
Kt	- Kitchen	Le	- Sittryg's Leather
Li	- Library	Lq	- Living Quarters
Ma	- Mast!	Mb	- Master Bedroom
Mf	- Merchants Foyer	Mi	- Military Quay
Mq	- Merchant Quay	Mr	- Moonsdottir's Room
Mt	- Mountain Trail	Ne	- Northeastern Corner of the Yard
No	- Northwestern Corner of the Yard	Nv	- Novices Room
Nw	- Northwestern Square	Ny	- Norther Edge of the Yard
Oa	- Open Air Market	Ob	- Outdoor Balcony
Oc	- Office	Of	- Oversized Foyer
Oh	- utside the Harbor	Oj	- Outside the Jarl's Log House
Ol	- Outside the Log house	Os	- Outdoor Smithy
Ot	- On Top of the Boulder	Pf	- Practice Field
Pr	- Priests Chambers	Rd	- Road
Rr	- Restroom	Ru	- Ruin of a Warehouse
Sa	- Southern Edge of the Yard	Sb	- Small Bay
Sc	- Sanctuary	Sd	- Southern Road
Se	- Servant's Quarters	Sf	- Shipyard
Sg	- Stony Ground	Sh	- Storage House
Si	- Sitting Room	Sl	- South of the Boulder
Sm	- Smith's Residence	So	- Sacrificial Oak
Sp	- South of the Path	Sq	- Sleeping Quarters
Sr	- Showroom	Ss	- Stony Shore
St	- Stables	Su	- Square
Sv	- Sverkel's Room	Sw	- Southwestern Corner of the Yard
Sy	- Smithy	Ta	- Trail along the Palisade
Tb	- Timberyar	Tc	- Tavern Common Room
Td	- rail down the Southern Face of the Hill	Te	- Trail on the Eastern Mountain Slope
Tf	- Tannery	Tg	- Torgard's Room
Th	- Trail up the Hill	Ti	- Trail along the Shore
Tk	- Tavern Keeper's Residence	Tl	- Trail
Tm	- Tower Room	Tn	- Trail on the Hill
To	- Trophy Room	Tr	- Trail up the Slope of the Eastern Edge of the Mountains
Ts	- Tool Storage	Tt	- Timber Toss
Tu	- Trail up the Western Slope	Tv	- Tower Veranda
Tw	- Trail on the Western Slope	Ty	- Training Yard
Uf	- Unused Field	Wa	- Warehouse
Wb	- Western Burial Mound	We	- Well
Wf	- Wheat Field	Wr	- Waiting Room
Ws	- Weapong Smithy	Yw	- Yngve the Youngers Workshop
Yy	- Yngve the Youngers Abode