// Text Library  - 

begintextlibrary;

1 = " ";
2 = "Weapons drawn, you carefully approach the glowing water. As you do, the lights rise up off the water and form into some sort of shape. It is humanoid, but so faint and unstable you can't make out the species. When it has formed, it speaks:";
3 = "_I tell you I know of you. I send warning. You are sent, but it is futile. Others are ahead of you, to destroy. But I can still give you this gift, in hope for you._ The shade waves its hand, and you feel an odd tingling feeling. Then it disappears.";
4 = "You back away. After a moment, the sparkling lights fade away. You feel relieved to have evaded any potential danger.";
5 = "You stand on a large, rickety bridge, built to carry troops and supplies across the river to Fort Emergence. Soon an army will cross here, in hopes of carving out an area for the Avernites on the surface of the world.";
6 = "To the north you see a huge, open cavern, dotted with recently built towns and settlements, populated with Avernites recently teleported from far below. To the west is the Portal Keep, where everyone up here (including you) arrived from the Tower of Magi.";
7 = "You find a section of floor where the mold has small boot-prints in it. There are also spots of what looks like dried blood. You follow the tracks for a while. They lead up to the west wall and disappear without a trace. Interesting.";
8 = "(When you approach an odd-looking wall outdoors, it might sometimes disappear to reveal a hidden passage.)";
9 = "A band of the many Avernum soldiers patrolling this area approaches you. The paleness of your skin immediately identifies you as Avernites. They look you over and leave.";
10 = "This corridor stinks. The bones and trash scattered everywhere are clear signs to your keen adventurer's senses. There's a goblin infestation nearby.";
11 = "The mighty drake is amused that someone would dare to attack it. It growls a few magical words, and aid appears.";
12 = "You come upon a pack of massive, feral rats. You try to walk slowly by, hoping they won't take any interest in you. It doesn't work... ";
13 = "The massive slime flows over the rock towards you. The air gets colder and colder the closer it approaches, until your noses and ears start to sting. The creature is totally silent, and implacably deadly. You wonder if retreat might be wise.";
14 = "You manage to escape the lethal creature, easily outrunning it over the rocks. It disappears off into the tunnels. If you wanted to, you might be able to find it again if you returned later. Heaven knows why you'd want to.";
15 = "After much hacking and chopping, all the bits of the creature stopped moving. Victory is yours. You can only hope people appreciate your ridding the cave of this beast.";
16 = "You prod at the crude warren, ice flaking off the stones as you poke at them with a sword. Suddenly, white goo starts bubbling up through the cracks in the lair! As the air becomes intensely cold, the goo starts to form into one gigantic blob...";
17 = "A familiar sight comes into view: the Portal Fortress. Inside it is the huge teleporter which is the only route from deep Avernum to Upper Avernum and back. The raw magical energy of the place makes your scalp tingle even from out here.";
18 = "This small patch of healing fungus is still exhausted. Perhaps if you returned later.";
19 = "At first glance, it looks like there is a spire of rock sticking out of the river to the south. Closer inspection reveals otherwise. It's some sort of ancient shrine, partially submerged and worn to the point where its carvings are completely illegible.";
20 = "You ponder for a moment who might have built the thing, and for who, and then leave it behind. It's only one of the multitude of mysteries and odd places dotted all over these caves. It's just another sign of some ancient race you'll never learn about.";
21 = "To your disappointment, you find that this tunnel contains nothing more interesting than piles of rock and ancient rat droppings. Nothing useful. You turn around and start to head back.";
22 = "As you do, however, you hear squeaking behind. Loud, nasty squeaking. You start to wonder if perhaps the makers of the suspiciously large rat droppings ever wander back to this secluded passage.";
23 = "This secluded passage is not very interesting. Yet another long gallery filled with scree and debris. The only landmarks are the piles of cave rat droppings, and even they look old and dried out. Even the glowing roof fungus that lights these caves is sparse here.";
24 = "";
25 = "A vahnatai patrol approaches you. They look you over with their strange, alien eyes and wave you on. _Searching we are for bandits. Caution we think you should have._ They move away soundlessly.";
26 = "This corridor is eerily quiet. It is decorated by many totems and mounted skulls, bearing dire warnings to trespassers. The bandits here must be a strong group indeed if they can display their position so blatantly.";
27 = "You decline to shop. Silverlocke nods. _That's all right, dears. Come back whenever you want._ You finish your tea and depart.";
28 = "You back off. The warrior shakes his head in disappointment. Then, with a strange, keening howl, the vahnatai plunge into the hollow. You hear combat for a while, and then half of the vahnatai emerge, bloodied, and head off to the north.";
29 = "The vahnatai treat their wounds and approach you. _We have thanks. The chitrach are being an old and bad foe to many of we._ After taking a few grisly trophies from the enormous bugs, they depart.";
30 = "When you steer your boat close, you notice that the rocks to the west have a narrow open path between them. With care, you could steer your boat through it.";
31 = "A worn and haggard Empire patrol is following you. When they get close enough for a decent look, however, they turn and stumble away. They were close enough for you to see that their armor was pitted, as if by acid, and they were complete exhausted.";
32 = "As you trudge through the swamp, you stumble upon a nest of giant snakes. Prey must be scarce around here. The hungry beasts slither out in order to consume you.";
33 = "You come upon a bunch of shacks at the edge of the swamp. The people here are swamp dwellers: burly, tough, and naturals out in the bayou. They couldn't care less that you're from Avernum. They welcome you in for snake stew and to trade tall tales.";
34 = "They tell you they're basically snake hunters. They hunt giant snakes for their meat, skin, and venom. They mention that if you go south, wander around, and are really lucky, some snakes might attack you. They make this sound like a good thing.";
35 = "The crops around here have been destroyed. You see dead plants in neat rows. Long trails of land have been rendered lifeless, probably by the slimes that are wandering everywhere. After some hiking, you come across a farmhouse.";
36 = "It's abandoned. Some slimes have been inside it. The floors are pitted and ruined. Someone has painted a simple, grim message on the front door: _Gone to Krizsan. No point out here anymore._ You turn away, leaving this somber sight behind.";
37 = "";
38 = "";
39 = "A withered, gnarled old hermit waddles out of the hut, looking very angry at being disturbed. _Intruders! Get off my island!_ Having had his say, he waves a hand, curses you severely and storms back into his hut. You don't feel so good.";
40 = "You reach a watchpost at the very southwest corner of the continent of Valorim. You have a perfect view of the ocean, stretching out far, far beyond view to the south and west. You walk out onto the sand and feel the salt spray dotting your face.";
41 = "After years in the caves, you had forgotten that something so awe-inspiringly vast could exist. Staring out over this huge distance gives you a feeling of both wonder and vertigo. Soon, however, it passes, and it's time to journey on.";
42 = "You wander into the mine and are soon roughly escorted out again. Claim jumpers are a common hazard out here in these harsh lands, and nobody is taking the chance of fraternizing with strangers.";
43 = "You quietly slip away. You eventually look back and see the slimes digesting the rest of the soldiers. Oh well. Better to be cowardly a little than dead a lot.";
44 = "With a joyous howl, you rush into the combat, fighting alongside the Empire troops. The slimes are unconcerned. All they know is that there is more food in front of them ...";
45 = "The Empire troops are amazed. Not only were their lives saved, but by Avernites. The captain says, _Thank you, friends! We're from Delis. If you go there and tell Glydden what happened, she'll be sure to reward you._ They quickly move on.";
46 = "An Empire patrol, exhausted and harried from constantly fighting slimes, approaches you. Although your pale skin clearly marks you as being from Avernum, sworn enemy of the Empire, they give you only the most cursory of inspections before they wander off.";
47 = "A band of brigands charges you, thinking you an easy target. What surprises you the most are the slimes that travel at their side, seemingly following their commands. Very strange.";
48 = "You clean the slime off your blade and take one last tour around the farm house. You find a pouch of coins in one of the bedrooms. Other than that, anything that might have been useful there has been dissolved or eaten. There's not even fruit in the garden. You leave the ruin behind.";
49 = "You enter and look around. Many acidic slimes have been in and out of here, with the result that everything inside is ruined and holes have been burned in the walls and ceiling. While searching, you look out the window and find you've been surrounded.";
50 = "Much to your surprise, even though your paleness and thinness marks you as, if not Avernites, very strange characters, the people in the farmhouses are happy to welcome you in and give you a meal.";
51 = "They warn you not only about the slimes but about the brigands who somehow travel with the slimes without harm. Nobody knows where they came from, but they're convinced that the only way for the local farmers to survive is to stick together as much as possible. You bid them good day.";
52 = "You approach the farmhouses and a group of the locals come out to meet you. They're polite and apologetic and tell you that if you don't leave they'll have to try to kill you. They aren't trusting anyone at this point, let alone pale-skinned, weird, armed strangers. You leave.";
53 = "You approach this farm and find that it has recently been destroyed. All of the buildings have been burned to the ground and the slime' acidic chemicals have left dead trails through all the crops. You leave the carnage behind.";
54 = "You hurriedly shell out some of your hard-earned loot. The goblins laugh at you, harsh, mocking laughs. Ears ringing, you move away to safety.";
55 = "When the goblins see that their money isn't forthcoming, the mount their wolves and emit bloodcurdling howls. Then they charge.";
56 = "This is an all too familiar sight. There was a large, successful collection of farms here. Then the slimes got to them. Now, it's wreckage and ruin. Not even the slimes found it worthwhile to stay here.";
57 = "The road ends here. Beyond this area, the slimes have dissolved the stones, leaving a long, muddy morass. Odd. It seems like supposedly mindless slimes intentionally took pains to destroy this road.";
58 = "The gray-haired patriarch of the clan pokes his head over the wall and yells, _Nobody's comin' in here 'til all them slimes are gone! You ain't safe! Keep comin, and we'll kill ya._ You back away, in order to avoid slaughtering innocent, inbred townsfolk.";
59 = "You decline to purchase any of the hill peoples' brew. They don't look offended. _More for us,_ their leader chortles. They march back to their hovels.";
60 = "You reach the end of the valley. Slimes sun themselves on the rocks everywhere, and slide in and out of a multitude of caves and tunnels, all of them identical looking.";
61 = "As soon as you start moving forward, the slimes' inactivity ends. They glide gelatinously towards you.";
62 = "You reach an isolated glade, only to stumble upon a party of dryads bathing on the shore of the lake. They shriek when they see you. Then they melt off into the woods. You feel fortunate. Faerie creatures can do much worse when they want to. There's nothing else here.";
63 = "These goblins won't be hassling travelers anymore. Their camp doesn't have anything useful. They must have hidden their loot somewhere. You notice that their tracks come from the north.";
64 = "These slimes are dead. No doubt there's plenty more where they came from.";
65 = "";
66 = "Mandrake is a delicate, slow-growing root. This patch has not yet regenerated itself from your last visit. You'll have to come back later to get more.";
67 = "When you arrive at this remote isle, you immediately notice the lack of life. No birds chirp. No animals scavenge the shore. You only find one unnerving clue to what's been happening here: an absolutely perfect statue of a squirrel near the beach.";
68 = "Steam rises from several vents in these hills. You find a natural hot spring. These mountains must be full of volcanic activity.";
69 = "You agree to help the enormous, ancient creature. You have to wait a day before his expected attackers arrive. In the meantime, it stays apart and aloof, making you camp outside its lair and not speaking with you.";
70 = "Eventually, it moves out of its lair, each step making the ground vibrate under your feet. It says, _The enemy approaches. Ready yourself._ Sure enough, not long after that, a small pack of drakes slithers into the valley, ready for blood.";
71 = "You pay the money and cross the river. It's a quick, uneventful journey.";
72 = "You pull your weapons from the creature's body and search its lair. It was not as wealthy as you had hoped. There's plenty of gold, though, and a beautiful set of plate mail. You take the stuff and leave quickly, before any more drakes show up.";
73 = "The drake rises, having healed itself of its wounds. It flexes its enormous muscles, and, without a word to you, moves over to devour several of the dead drakes. Its undead allies absorb the rest. When the grisly meal is complete, it walks over to you.";
74 = "_I thank you for your assistance. You deserve a boon._ It moves a large boulder to reveal a suit of plate mail held underneath, which it gives to you. _Our business is done. Go now!_ You have little choice but to obey.";
75 = "The monks that survived your assault on their monastery have set up one vicious ambush, one final attempt to get vengeance and keep their secrets from reaching the mainland.";
76 = "With vicious intent and animal grace, they emerge from the trees and brush. No mercy will be asked and none shown. They ask nothing more from the rest of their lives than to be able to kill you.";
77 = "Your victory over the mad monks is complete. The last of this isolated band of psychotics lie dead at your feet. Your work is done here.";
78 = "You have been ambushed! You aren't attacked by humanoids or slimes, though, but by a vicious band of sneaky, muscular monks! They leap out of the scrub, shout, _Feisty Slap of Pain!_ and charge... ";
79 = "";
80 = "You hear the loud, harsh sounds of human speech coming from the top of the hill. From this distance, you can't understand what is being said.";
81 = "You find a watchtower, placed here to look out over the sea. It's empty and rotting, and trash is scattered about. It's been abandoned for at least a few years.";
82 = "";
83 = "Even though this island seems incredibly remote and unsettled, you find persistent signs of human occupation. A footprint here, a broken branch there. You look for signs of a village or settlement, but you find nothing.";
84 = "You find the remnants of an crude, wooden lighthouse. First, it was abandoned. Then overgrown. Then someone made a concerted effort to vandalize it. It's a mess.";
85 = "You reach the end of the valley. Slimes sun themselves on the rocks everywhere, and slide in and out of a multitude of caves and tunnels, all of them identical looking.";
86 = "The valley ends at a network of small tunnels. You suspect there's something interesting here, but there's no way you could search the whole area yourself. Maybe there's some information you could find elsewhere that would help you here.";
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