// Text Library  - 60-69

begintextlibrary;

1 = "You put the belt in your pack. Unusually, you receive no horrible magical retribution for your temple robbing. You leave the shrine, still having no idea who created it, to who, or why.";
2 = "This band of lumpy humanoids, heavily armed and out for blood, moves close to you and sizes you up. They seem to think you're easy pickings - they charge, howling all the way.";
3 = "A band of Empire soldiers moves close and looks you over. They clearly think you look very suspicious, but don't see you as their chosen prey. They move off without speaking to you.";
4 = "A band of Empire troops approaches. They look you over and seem about to leave, when one of them says, _Wait! Look at their skin! Those are the Avernites!_ They attack without hesitation.";
5 = "A band of Empire troops approaches and looks you over. As they mutter to each other, you hear a few words: _Avernites_ and _killed slimes._ Casting a few suspicious glances back at you, they march off. ";
6 = "When you approach, javelins rain all about you. When you keep going, the javelins are thrown with unerring accuracy. The troglodytes are ready for you. You manage to take more than a few scratches, only to find that the tips of the javelins are coated with something ...";
7 = "When you approach, several javelins thud into the ground in front of you. That was the warning shot. They look ready to heft a much more accurate volley. You decide to look for conversation somewhere else.";
8 = "Probably a wise choice. The troglodytes look relieved, and you avoid a big fight.";
9 = "Swords come out on both sides. The troglodytes are ready to fight to the death to defend their lucrative extortion enterprise.";
10 = "One of the troglodytes approaches and collects the demanded goods. Satisfied, they fade off into the hills, leaving you free to move on.";
11 = "As you work your way through the hills, a band of troglodytes notices you and gives chase. As they charge, they shout, _Death to the Empire!_ They've clearly mistaken you for Empire troops. They don't give you time to correct their mistake.";
12 = "You see a humanoid. It's like a human, but hunched, twisted, and has dark skin and piggy eyes. You've heard of these things from legend: it's a troglodyte. This is very strange. They were said to be extinct, and these are definitely very, very real.";
13 = "Troglodytes are muscular, cunning creatures, and you're facing an awful lot of them. Hope you're ready for this...";
14 = "You search the troglodytes' stuff. They had a map. It is of human make, still legible despite the brown stains. You take it with you.";
15 = "The troglodyte village destroyed, you help yourself to their massive piles of loot. Their career as brigands had been successful. Their ill-gotten gains become yours, including piles of gold, a wand, and a ring.";
16 = "A group of soldiers from Farport watch this bridge. As you cross, they tell you that they're making sure none of the slimes to the south can cross here and get to Farport. Not being slimes, they let you pass without comment.";
17 = "The nephilim thank you, saying in their purring way how ogres often capture nephilim for use as slaves (and food). By way of thanks, they give you a small flask. They then depart, a good deal more cautious than before.";
18 = "You knock and knock, but there's no response. The door is locked. You leave the hermit to his/her/its solitude.";
19 = "You knock, but nobody responds. You yell that you have a message. The door opens a crack and a filthy hand reaches out for it, grabs it, and pulls it back in. A sack of coins flies out, and the door shuts. The person inside yells, _Come back in a minute!_";
20 = "The door opens and the filthy hand reemerges. _Great! Give it here!_ You give the message, and get your payment. The person says, _I'll have another message for you in just a minute._";
21 = "At first, it's the same routine. You give the message and get paid. Then you hear shouts from inside the hut. The door flies open, revealing a tiny, filthy old woman. Behind her, on a table by a smoky fire, you see a chess board. A game is in progress.";
22 = "She screeches, _You and that old bastard can go to Hell! I was cheated, I tell ya'! Cheated!_ The door slams shut so hard that a cloud of ancient paint chips flies off the walls.";
23 = "A humanoid hand, so dirty you can't tell the race (or the species) of the owner, emerges from the darkness. It holds a folded and sealed message on ragged parchment. _Take this over the mountains, and hurry it up!_";
24 = "A group of ogres and bears tromps out of the woods ahead. They're too clumsy to set a good ambush, so they just charge at you. Oddly, it seems like the ogres are following the bears' lead, not the other way around.";
25 = "You examine the bodies of the bears. They are larger, misshapen, and lumpy. Most interestingly, they have unusually large skulls. They may have been intelligent bears. They were certainly nasty and cunning enough.";
26 = "You stare out at an unpleasantly familiar sight. You're back in Avernum. You don't see any towns or settlements, but you know these trees and mushrooms all too well. You don't know whether you're in Upper Avernum or original Avernum, far below.";
27 = "Although you don't see any towns from your vantage point, there is a crude trail heading off to the west. It soon fades out, but that's seems as good a direction to search for the Orb of Thralni as any.";
28 = "The thieves of the orb must know that you've arrived. A bunch of rogues are lying in wait for you.  They step out of the shadows with weapons drawn, ready to intercept you.";
29 = "A large and well-armed armed group of thieves emerges from the trees. They seem to be quite serious about keeping you from proceeding farther.";
30 = "You search the bodies, trying to find some sign of who they are or where they're from. Each has a symbol painted on the chest of his armor: a gold square with several objects inside it: a crown, a sword, a potion, a wand. Unusual.";
31 = "You meet an Empire patrol, out of the city of Golddale. They're hunting for troglodytes or ogres. As you're neither, although they're suspicious of you, they let you continue.";
32 = "The mining operations have a large smelter here. Iron, gold, and silver are pulled from the stone by huge fires and formed into bars to enrich the people of Golddale.";
33 = "The wastes and ash left behind are dumped into the aptly named Sludge River. The goo and muck turns the water gray and ill-smelling. Seeing all of this filth dumped into the water makes you feel strangely sad. What the monster plagues don't ruin, the humans do.";
34 = "This secluded valley is home to a number of nasty, ravenous lizards. Sensing easy prey, they decide to gang up on you.";
35 = "A small, quick band of troglodytes, far from home and looking to cause some damage, spots you. Bands such as this mainly make fast and vicious raids against isolated farms, but gladly bushwhack travelers when they get the chance. They attack.";
36 = "You fill your packs with as much of the ore as you can carry, pretty much playing out the vein. This won't make you rich enough to retire, but the stuff is valuable enough to justify the effort.";
37 = "You've played the vein out. You emerge from the mine, happily lugging along your sacks of gold nuggets. When you get outside, however, you find the owners of the mine waiting for you. Having let you mine their gold for them, they attempt to reclaim it.";
38 = "You make your way carefully into the lair. You try to tread carefully and silently, but your scent gives you away. The ursagi inside are waiting for you, and their goblin slaves are eager to help.";
39 = "Having defeated the monsters, you search their lair. There's gnawed bones and fetid meat aplenty. You leave that behind. There's a bunch of gold. You take that. There's also a very nice halberd. The looting done, you leave this grisly lair.";
40 = "You encounter a group of undead creatures, wandering through the trees looking for some unlucky soul to vent their hatred of the living upon. Deciding that they wish to devour you utterly, they charge you.";
41 = "You suddenly realize that you're being watched. You look carefully, and see undead all around you, skeletons and zombies, watching you. When you spot them, they flee, disappearing into the woods. You've just been spied upon.";
42 = "You emerge from the mine, packing a few sacks of valuable gold nuggets. The valley is still empty. You have escaped safely.";
43 = "Bones crunch underfoot. An icy breeze blows through this eerie, dark forest. You look around and see shadowy shapes in the distance, circling and pacing you. You are being stalked ...";
44 = "You plunge into the woods, searching for the source of the lights and singing. However, you don't reach it. The flames seem to recede into the woods ahead of you. Suddenly, the light and music disappear and you find yourself lost in a dark forest.";
45 = "As you start to pick up some of the gems, you notice that the others start to disappear. You only grab a handful of them before the rest are gone. You turn back and find that the trees have sacred protectors.";
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50 = "You encounter a group of Anama, striking out from the Isle of Bigail to preach their strange faith. Unfortunately, this group has heard of your crimes against their church. They attack.";
51 = "You meet a group of your fellow Anama. They recognize you by the rings you wear and greet you happily. After trading news and pleasantries, you both move on.";
52 = "You meet a group of your fellow Anama. Your rings convince them that you are a member of their faith. They greet you warmly and trade news and pleasantries with you. Then they move on.";
53 = "The friendly priest explains how the Anama believe that magic is a harmful influence in the world. It invariably causes more harm than good and leads the practitioner to ruin.";
54 = "After about fifteen minutes of their beliefs, you manage to extricate yourself from the conversation. The priest says, undeterred, that, if you wish to learn more, you should go to Shayder on the Isle of Bigail.";
55 = "The priest begins to explain the Anama's beliefs. You soon realize that this is the speech you have already heard. You explain this to the priest, and he nods politely.";
56 = "_I understand. I don't wish to bore you. If you wish to learn more, you should go to Shayder on the Isle of Bigail._";
57 = "";
58 = "A large and armed group of thieves emerges from the trees. They draw their weapons and take a good look at you. Then they realize who you are. Your reputation precedes you. They flee in terror.";
59 = "";
60 = "An icy wind cuts through your armor, chilling you. This forest is deathly quiet. There are no signs of animal life, and you see pale bits of bone poking out of the underbrush. This is an unfriendly place.";
61 = "";
62 = "Through the mists, you can see patrols of cultists wandering the woods. With care, you might be able to slip past them.";
63 = "";
64 = "After the troglodytes are dead, you search the island. You find a small hidden camp, with a concealed raft nearby. The creatures were watching the Isle of Bigail. Probably scouts or spies.";
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