ok first of all, you can climb up/down the "broken gate". theres actually a rope to the side which is hard to get the game to grab a hold of...i jumped down the first time too 
the door on the upper level will stay locked for a while. but there's definitely a way to open the other door without leaving the zone...keep looking...you probably missed a house somewhere (check your map).
i know i got stuck there too, but i finished it all with lvl 9 and 10ish chars. (hint: be sure to save before charging into closed rooms)