   (top) Standing on top of cliffs, looking at sea (midde) Looking down from top of cliffs (bottom) Looking up from a lower ledge Looking south across sea (A1) / (A2) / (B1) / (B2) Art: (A) / (B) / (C) Looking down/up from top of cliffs (A) Art: (Ad) / (Au) / (Bd) / (Bu) / Art: (Cd) / (Cu) / (Dd) / (Du) Prototype Artwork Looking north from cliffs (A1) / (A2) / (B) / (art) Looking south from entrance (A1) / (A2) / (art) Tunnels: (low) / (high) / (B) / (C) / (art) Chuckle's, Int. (low) / (high) |
The Cliffs of Depression are at the southern end of the underground region of the Valley of the Sparrows, the sheer faces overlooking a great subterranean sea. These cliffs were engineered by Canuk in order to mine translumynite for the empire of Morphius in the 1640s, in an attempt to break the dwarven union permanently which were beginning to charge too steep of a price for the mining of their illumynite. The evil entity enslaved most of the people from East Shanbar to mine the ore, to build his new empire. The sorcery of Morphius was so strong that it radiated from the cliffs causing those within to grow so depressed that they could not get up to leave. The only ones that could temporarily stay without being affected were those with a bonding plant. But the spells of Morphius were so powerful, that the bonding plant could only survive a short time before wilting and its holder be trapped forever at the cliffs as a virtual slave—a worker in the translumynite mine. The translumynite, along with the illumynite stolen from the dwarven mines by the vultures was used to build the Citadel of Zork as a giant incubator for Morphius. The result against the dwarves was futile, as their union only grew stronger.
At some point, Chuckles Comedy Club, as well as an entire shopping mall, were built within labyrinthine translumynite mines. The club was managed by one of Morphius' slaves, Cliff Robinson; although the prioprietor warned those without bonding plants to keep away.
As the Zorkian Caverns were also engineered by Canuk, it is uncertain if they are identical, if they are the caverns within the cliffs, or another different area entirely.
With the destruction of Morphius and the dispersal of magic in 1647 GUE, the Cliffs and surrounding areas were freed of their curses.
| SOURCE(S): Return to Zork (game, design materials, storyboards) |