// TOWN TEXT DATA
//    Town 40: Portal Fortress


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20 = "At the end of the passage, you find several large metal boxes bolted to the southeast wall. They are well-sealed, and the largest one has a stone pedestal next to it, featuring a large red button. It is labeled, _Class D Magical Protection Required._";
21 = "";
22 = "Several buckets of water have been placed here for safety reasons. Apparently, if the portal explodes, destroying all of Upper Avernum, someone will first throw a gallon of water onto it.";
23 = "";
24 = "The box is sealed shut. A pedestal is next to it. The two are connected by wires.";
25 = "";
26 = "There is a heavy book on this pedestal. It's not magical. It looks more like a work of history, with large, colorful illustrations. Potentially interesting.";
27 = "";
28 = "Walner takes the notes, examines them, and nods. _Magical research. Avernum needs to catch up on the new techniques of the surface world. This could be quite useful._ He gives you some coins. It's a very fair payment.";
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32 = "ON THE VAHNATAI PEOPLE - The vahnatai (pronounced Vah-Nah-Tie) are a very interesting race, only recently discovered and barely understood. They are friendly, however, and great allies to the people of Avernum.";
33 = "They are purely a people of the caves, living in tunnels far below Avernum. They live in ecologies maintained by magic. When they have used up the nutrients of their lands, they hibernate en masse for centuries while the land restores itself.";
34 = "Their magic is powerful and based on the use and shaping of crystals. Most amazingly, the souls of their most powerful and valued ancestors are brought back to life in the form of large blue crystals, called Crystal Souls.";
35 = "It was because of these Souls that we first discovered the vahnatai. The Empire learned of them before us, and stole three of their Crystal Souls. A band of brave Avernum adventurers recovered the Souls, proving our good intentions.";
36 = "In return, the vahnatai joined our side and helped turn the tide of the Empire War. They have fought beside us and are invaluable allies.";
37 = "";
38 = "ON DRAGONS - When Avernum was discovered, it contained strange and wondrous creatures in it. Most amazing of these were the dragons. Most dragons on the surface were killed by the Empire.";
39 = "Five dragons lived in Avernum. They were siblings, children of a mated pair we know nothing of. Motrax was the eldest, and the best friend to humankind. Alas, he died as the result of wounds suffered during the Empire War.";
40 = "Most powerful was Sulfras. She was taken prisoner by the Empire during the Empire War. When Avernites rescued her, she slew many Empire soldiers, restored her horde, and disappeared. Her current location is unknown.";
41 = "Pyrog was an enemy to Avernum and had to be slain by humans not long before Hawthorne was assassinated. Athron is a recluse by nature and hasn't been heard from for years.";
42 = "Finally, Khoth was known to have a huge appetite for learning and an awesome library. However, he had the ill-fortune to be captured by the Empire and forced to aid them with his learning. After the Empire War, he was nowhere to be found.";
43 = "";
44 = "ON THE HISTORY OF AVERNUM - The history of Avernum is long and complicated but may still be easily summarized. It was discovered by Empire magicians several decades ago.";
45 = "A band of soldiers and great heroes was teleported down to explore this new, wondrous land. This First Expedition was slaughtered to a man and woman. Later, the Empire had the idea of using Avernum as a dumping ground for 'undesirables.'";
46 = "Misfits and magical creatures alike were sent through a one-way teleporter into Avernum. Among these were several powerful mages, all of whom were at the losing end of a political struggle.";
47 = "These were Solberg and Patrick, Rone and Linda. And, most importantly, Erika. They imprisoned the demon Grah-Hoth who ruled the caverns, and formed a nation, which they called Avernum as a constant reminder that this was not our true home.";
48 = "Erika, the most powerful of the mages, however, was not content. Her hatred of the Empire was absolute, and she masterminded a plan to assassinate Hawthorne, the brilliant and vicious ruler of the surface world.";
49 = "The result was bloody vengeance. Garzahd, master archmage of the surface world, led an invasion force down into Avernum. The troops who teleported down waged the Empire War, a conflict that ravaged Avernum.";
50 = "Through the help of the Vahnatai, however, we won the Empire War and slew the invaders. Our future is now uncertain, but with our new allies, perhaps we may stride boldly forward to a wondrous destiny.";
51 = "You stand before this powerful portal. It is not that large, but two massive crystals, made with vahnatai magic, focus huge amounts of energy into it. It is powerful enough to take you across (or far under) the world, if that is what you want.";
52 = "";
53 = "You stand before this powerful portal. It is not that large, but two massive crystals, made with vahnatai magic, focus huge amounts of energy into it. An intern tells you that it is configured to take you to mysterious, unexplored caverns, in order to recover the Orb of Thralni.";
54 = "";
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56 = "";
57 = "Once again, you stand in the presence of this portal. It is as powerful as always, but it wavers and sputters occasionally, as if all of its energy is not entirely under control.";
58 = "";
59 = "There are a host of buttons and control runes on this pedestal. They must control the portal below. Perhaps, with your cunning and magical experience, you might be able to figure out how to operate them.";
60 = "";
61 = "You barely manage to touch them before a massive guard grabs your hand. The technician on duty says, _You're going to kill us all if you keep that up!_ You are pushed away.";
62 = "";
63 = "On this stone lectern, you find a long, vellum scroll covered with neat, careful writing. Unfortunately, it is all gibberish. Not a single word of it has any meaning to you. You replace it on its pedestal. Very strange.";
64 = "";
65 = "On this stone lectern, you find a long, vellum scroll covered with neat, careful writing. The writing is all gibberish. Fortunately, Walner told you how to decode it. It takes several hours, but you eventually make some sense of the scroll...";
66 = "";
67 = "Someone has placed a steel box in the middle of a magic circle to the west. The box is etched with lines of strange symbols. Some of them glow. The room feels unusually warm.";
68 = "There is a lever next to you. You wonder if it has something to do with the box.";
69 = "";
70 = "You pull the lever. There are some grinding noises and a wisp of smoke. Nothing else happens.";
71 = "";
72 = "You pull the lever. An electrical sound and a flash of light comes from the west. You smell ozone. Nothing else happens.";
73 = "";
74 = "You pull the lever. An electrical sound and a flash of light comes from the west. You smell ozone. You look at the platform and see that an item sitting on it is glowing.";
75 = "";
76 = "_It's not as easy as it sounds. We're still working on it. Go back to the surface and give us some time._";
77 = "";
78 = "_We have succeeded in recharging it, but we suspect that this particular device only has one more use in it. If you really think it would help, though, go ahead and use it. Just be sure it's something you really need._";
79 = "";
80 = "_I'm afraid your last use burned the charger out. It will take some time to repair it. I honestly hope that it helped you._";
81 = "";
82 = "There are four huge crystal pillars here. They look nearly identical to the two magical crystals which power the portal to the southwest. Each of these four, however, has a large crack or flaw.";
83 = "They must be the failed efforts to make a power crystal. They're very heavy things. That must be why they're still here.";
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