// Text Library  - 

begintextlibrary;

1 = "None of the fungus in this flower patch are ready for use in alchemy right now.";
2 = "You draw your weapons and attack. As you approach, the brigands throw off their cloaks, and their features shift and change. You are no longer facing starving thugs, but tall, healthy infernals. They laugh, pleased with their little joke.";
3 = "They laugh mockingly at you. _Fine, cowards. If you ever grow a spine, we'll be here, waiting for you._";
4 = "You have slain the demons. The bodies rot and disappear before your eyes, leaving charred ground and some bits which look like overcooked bacon. Pleasantly, you find that the gold coins the creatures wagered were real. You take them.";
5 = "You find an isolated cluster of farms, far from any town or fort. The farmers, suspicious and reasonably armed, come out to greet you. When they see that you mean no harm, however, they become guardedly friendly. Visitors are rare out here, after all.";
6 = "You find out that they moved out into the wilderness to get away from the control of the Empire, a motive you can easily understand. The land has been slowly dying over the last year, but they can still scratch out a meager existence. You tell them the sobering news from the rest of Valorim, and, after an excellent home-cooked meal, you depart.";
7 = "The valley suddenly gets a lot colder. Your noses and ears begin to sting, and your feet find uncertain purchase on the icy rocks. Suddenly, you realize the things off the path that you thought were snowbanks are, in fact, moving.";
8 = "";
9 = "The farmers recognize and greet you, taking you home for news, conversation, and a meager snack. The land here is poor. As you chat, they mention idly that there are no human settlements to the north. There's  just the massive wall that blocks off Valorim from the rest of the Empire.";
10 = "A gust of stinging, icy wind hits you in the face. You turn your head away and shut your eyes for a moment. When you turn back you realize you are no longer alone. The wind has carried in several large, blue drakes with it.";
11 = "You meet a swift moving platoon of Empire troops, operating out of Tevrono and hunting for golems. The Dervish leading them nods briefly to you, before they move on.";
12 = "You find what was a lovely forest grove. It's been blasted by flame and trampled by stone golem feet. Happily, none of the golems are visible right now. In the middle of the clearing, you see a stone circle. In the middle, you see an odd spectral light.";
13 = "When you charge the golem patrols, a band of soldiers from Tevrono, seeing an opportunity, rush out of the fort to help you. There's a lot of golems. The help may be needed. The battle begins, Avernite and Empire soldier fighting side by side.";
14 = "You find the bodies of a mother bear and her cubs, burned to death by a golem fireball. The constructs were programmed by their creators to strip this entire province of all animal life.";
15 = "";
16 = "None of the toadstools here are of sufficient quality for use in alchemy. Maybe some of them will grow back later.";
17 = "The Empire soldiers bring their wounded back into Tevrono, pausing to thank you for your help in breaking this blockade. A dervish looks you over. Something about you makes him suspicious. Then he shrugs and says, _Come inside. General Baziron will want to meet you, I'm sure._";
18 = "You find a large glade. It has been stripped of vegetation. The grass and shrubs have been burned away by the golems. In the center, you can see a huge stone circle. It glows with an eerie light.";
19 = "You see a huge clearing. The ground has been burned by fireballs and torn up by golem feet. There seems to have been much golem activity here. You look closer. Concentrating, you manage to just make out an enormous tower, dominating the glade. It takes great concentration, but you manage to see past its magical concealment.";
20 = "You see a huge clearing. The ground has been burned by fireballs and torn up by golem feet. There seems to have been much golem activity here. However, try as you might, you can't find any structures or tunnels. If anything is here, it is somehow being concealed from you.";
21 = "Your nature skills come in handy. You move quietly off the path, slipping from tree to tree, moving forward when the golems are looking away. Soon, you're safely past!";
22 = "You try to slip past off the pathway. Unfortunately, you lack the skills to move quickly and quietly through the brush. Your clumsy thrashing soon brings the golems down on your heads.";
23 = "You find signs of a skirmish between the Empire and the golems. A dozen of the bladed golems lie about, chopped into pieces. There are no dead humans. The Empire soldiers are getting better at fighting them.";
24 = "You find the body of a deer, frozen and then shattered by an ice golem. It was a horrible, senseless act of violence. The golems must be killing every animal in these woods. Maybe, when they're done with the animals, they'll move on to the plants.";
25 = "You enter the cave, expecting bears, goblins, or the like. Instead, you find a pack of muscled, vicious beasts. They've been hiding here for some time. Their simple minds sense prey, and they lurch towards you.";
26 = "There is a massive stone spire near you. At the top, the granite has been carved, by random processes of wind and rain, into the shape of an eagle. Even after all you have been through, it's impossible to not appreciate this amazing sight.";
27 = "The fungus hasn't recovered from your last raid.";
28 = "Something that could pierce this wall is something you don't want to deal with. You move away quickly. You look back once and catch a glimpse of several gray shapes moving off into the brush. With a flash of light, the hole under the wall reseals itself.";
29 = "You draw your weapon and wait. Soon, with a final push, the creatures break through the magical defenses. They're massive reptilian beasts, five feet tall at the shoulder. With joyous roars, they attack.";
30 = "";
31 = "You emerge from the caldera into a huge valley. It's high in the mountains, barren, and icy cold. You look over the dead fields, searching the desolation for signs of life. The land is criss-crossed with the trails of alien beasts.";
32 = "As you step out, the creatures that were hiding behind the snowdrifts charge out. An assortment of vahnatai creations rush at you, hoping to stop your advance.";
33 = "";
34 = "You look out over a large subterranean bay, with two massive, recently built docks. You see a dozen stone boats swiftly flowing away from them downstream. This must be how the vahnatai get from the deep warrens to here and back.";
35 = "This tunnel has a rough, narrow path running down the center. There is a deep pair of parallel ruts in the stone, left by sledges. This corridor has seen a lot of heavy traffic.";
36 = "You are on a huge, stone bridge, almost a mile long, arcing over a massive chasm. It must be held up by magic. It's the only possible explanation. To the east, through the thick, green-tinted mist, you can make out a massive, squat blue tower.";
37 = "Now that you're closer, you get a better view of the tower. It's enormous, and ghastly green light pours out of the windows. You can feel the power radiating from it even out here. Your long quest may finally be close to an end.";
38 = "";
39 = "You grimly butcher the rest of the guards, confident that this battle was a mere appetizer for the banquet of carnage to come.";
40 = "";
41 = "You move quietly off the path, slipping from tree to tree, trying to moving forward when the golems are looking away. Sadly, you just aren't skilled enough at traveling through the woods. You step on a twig. There is a quiet snap. They spot you.";
42 = "";
43 = "There is a steep cliff at the end of this valley. You won't be able to climb it without magical aid.";
44 = "There are bits of bone and torn armor on the ground around these guard towers. The rest was eaten by the alien beasts. People, weapons, clothes. Everything.";
45 = "Ahead, you see the ruins of the Keep of Tinraya. Once, it was the largest city in Valorim, a major center of trade and learning. Then it was abandoned to the continuous onslaught of the alien beasts.";
46 = "The walls have huge holes in them. Alien beasts lurk around the edges of the city, ripping chunks out of the walls with their mighty jaws. The creatures are devouring this once proud city, bit by bit.";
47 = "";
48 = "You see the group of vahnatai guards in the distance. They see you at the same time. You try to move away, only to find how amazingly fast the creatures are able to move through caves.";
49 = "The vahnatai army brings supplies for their surface force using this river. Huge cavewood barges land at these docks. Unfortunately, there are no boats here at the moment.";
50 = "";
51 = "";
52 = "";
53 = "";
54 = "";
55 = "";
56 = "";
57 = "";
58 = "";
59 = "This gateway is old and crumbling. It was made by humans, but many decades ago. If there were guards here recently, they have abandoned it. Ahead, you see a cold, dead wasteland.";
60 = "You ascend the steep pathway into the mountains. It's cold and windy up here, and the frost on the barren earth makes your footing treacherous. For once, you miss the mild dankness of Avernum.";
61 = "These jagged peaks are currently experiencing powerful volcanic activity. You will have to pass through some very hostile territory to proceed.";
62 = "Alien beasts have been destroying the roads in this province. They've been digging up the stones and crushing them in their mighty jaws. No traces of human civilization will be left when these creatures are done.";
63 = "";
64 = "You think you can make out structures at the top of the cliff to the north, but your view is obstructed by a massive stone wall. Not even magical flight could get you up there. Perhaps a tunnel leads up there, but no entrance is visible from here.";
65 = "";
66 = "A shadow flits across the ground towards you. You look up, see what casts it, and gasp. It's a massive lizard, eighty feet from head to tip, soaring across the sky. It circles over you, inspecting you carefully. As you prepare for your impending doom, it banks off and flies over the mountains to the south.";
67 = "";
68 = "";
69 = "";
70 = "";
71 = "";
72 = "";
73 = "";
74 = "";
75 = "";
76 = "";
77 = "";
78 = "";
79 = "";
80 = "";
81 = "";
82 = "";
83 = "";
84 = "";
85 = "";
86 = "";
87 = "";
88 = "";
89 = "";
90 = "";
91 = "";
92 = "";
93 = "";
94 = "";
95 = "";
96 = "";
97 = "";
98 = "";
99 = "";
100 = "";
101 = "";
102 = "";
103 = "";
104 = "";
105 = "";
106 = "";
107 = "";
108 = "";
109 = "";
110 = "";
111 = "";
112 = "";
113 = "";
114 = "";
115 = "";
116 = "";
117 = "";
118 = "";
119 = "";
120 = "";
121 = "";
122 = "";
123 = "";
124 = "";
125 = "";
126 = "";
127 = "";
128 = "";
129 = "";
130 = "";
131 = "";
132 = "";
133 = "";
134 = "";
135 = "";
136 = "";
137 = "";
138 = "";
139 = "";
140 = "";
141 = "";
142 = "";
143 = "";
144 = "";
145 = "";
146 = "";
147 = "";
148 = "";
149 = "";
150 = "";
151 = "";
152 = "";
153 = "";
154 = "";
155 = "";
156 = "";
157 = "";
158 = "";
159 = "";
160 = "";
161 = "";
162 = "";
163 = "";
164 = "";
165 = "";
166 = "";
167 = "";
168 = "";
169 = "";
170 = "";
171 = "";
172 = "";
173 = "";
174 = "";
175 = "";
176 = "";
177 = "";
178 = "";
179 = "";
180 = "";
181 = "";
182 = "";
183 = "";
184 = "";
185 = "";
186 = "";
187 = "";
188 = "";
189 = "";
190 = "";
191 = "";
192 = "";
193 = "";
194 = "";
195 = "";
196 = "";
197 = "";
198 = "";
199 = "";
200 = "";
201 = "";
202 = "";
203 = "";
204 = "";
205 = "";
206 = "";
207 = "";
208 = "";
209 = "";
210 = "";
211 = "";
212 = "";
213 = "";
214 = "";
215 = "";
216 = "";
217 = "";
218 = "";
219 = "";
220 = "";
221 = "";
222 = "";
223 = "";
224 = "";
225 = "";
226 = "";
227 = "";
228 = "";
229 = "";
230 = "";
231 = "";
232 = "";
233 = "";
234 = "";
235 = "";
236 = "";
237 = "";
238 = "";
239 = "";
240 = "";
241 = "";
242 = "";
243 = "";
244 = "";
245 = "";
246 = "";
247 = "";
248 = "";
249 = "";
250 = "";
251 = "";
252 = "";
253 = "";
254 = "";
255 = "";
256 = "";
257 = "";
258 = "";
259 = "";
260 = "";
261 = "";
262 = "";
263 = "";
264 = "";
265 = "";
266 = "";
267 = "";
268 = "";
269 = "";
270 = "";
271 = "";
272 = "";
273 = "";
274 = "";
275 = "";
276 = "";
277 = "";
278 = "";
279 = "";
280 = "";
281 = "";
282 = "";
283 = "";
284 = "";
285 = "";
286 = "";
287 = "";
288 = "";
289 = "";
290 = "";
291 = "";
292 = "";
293 = "";
294 = "";
295 = "";
296 = "";
297 = "";
298 = "";
299 = "";
300 = "";