// Text Library  - Towns 90-99

begintextlibrary;

1 = "From this side of this stand of trees, you notice someone has placed a small leather bag in the crook between two branches. You take it. It's full of silver pieces.";
2 = "You hear an ominous click from the secret door behind you.";
3 = "You hear loud grinding noises beneath you, coming from ten feet ahead and ten feet behind. You leap away, but not soon enough. This whole floor section folds away, dumping all of you into a slippery, filthy chute!";
4 = "This old, crumbling tower was abandoned and then recently resettled. A multitude of small, polished agates were set into its outer walls. A few of them still remain. It would be quite lovely and welcoming, were it not for the skulls set on the ramparts and the tiny globs of brightly colored slime slithering everywhere.";
5 = "The farther you get into this small fort, the more little bits of slime you see wiggling around. Suddenly, you hear a loud ringing noise. The corridors echo with shouts of alarm. You lose any hope of a friendly greeting.";
6 = "With the ringing of chains and a loud, clattering crash, the portcullis to the north slams shut. You try to lift it, but the one-ton grid of steel bars is firmly locked in place. You have no choice but to go deeper into the fort.";
7 = "You step on the stone circle and realize in horror that a magical force is trying to hold you in place! With an effort, you manage to pull yourself off of it. Anything weaker (like a slime) would be firmly held in place.";
8 = "You pull the lever. You hear a series of soft clicks and a bell chiming. Something definitely happened.";
9 = "The bookshelf mostly contains heavily thumbed and grimy books on adult subject matters. There are also many scrolls with orders, all signed by someone named 'Bojar.' All the orders involve roaming the nearby roads, looking for merchants to waylay.";
10 = "Her secret uncovered, Erika reaches out to you. The amulet she gave you disintegrates. You suddenly feel you (and Avernum) are in a lot of trouble.";
11 = "You sleep very, very well and wake up refreshed.";
12 = "The moment you look at the first characters on the page, you start to feel ill. Despite your Anama rings, the book knows you are not a true member. You stumble away, feeling sick and confused.";
13 = "You try to understand the prayers in the book, but they're too complicated and elaborate for you to understand. Maybe a bit more Mage Lore training and they'd make sense.";
14 = "You read the prayers in the tome, eagerly digesting the complicated but powerful rituals. When you're through, you have learned a wide variety of priestly rituals.";
15 = "The air ahead of you shimmers. You sense raw power in the air. The sign on the north wall bears a dire warning. You have the feeling that you're about to enter a very well-guarded area.";
16 = "You walk through the translucent barrier. It disappears. There is no sound. Nothing happens. You don't feel any different. Not the most impressive defenses you've come across.";
17 = "There are benches here, set in front of narrow eyeslits looking down on the temple below. Someone sitting here could easily keep tabs on the parishioners as they worshipped. Interesting.";
18 = "You descend into the Shayder sewers. Foul effluvia pours through grates in the roof into thick, chunky rivers of graywater. The smell is overpowering. A section of river has been diverted to flow under the town, so at least the stuff is carried away.";
19 = "You try to row upstream, but the current is just too strong to go any farther.";
20 = "The river starts to get faster as you head downstream. You see ahead that the roof ahead descends to meet the disgusting water. You row back upstream before your boat gets smashed up and you drown in an unusually unpleasant way.";
21 = "There's a boat securely tied to the docks ahead. It's big enough to fit your group.";
22 = "The walkway here has crumbled into the water. You can't go any farther this way on foot.";
23 = "Several unfortunate Shayder guards were trapped in this cave by the roaches. They met an unfortunate fate in this foul place.";
24 = "You see a grate in the ceiling above. The bars are spaced wide apart to let things easily be dropped through. Sunlight pours through, although, unfortunately, there's not much fresh air. Garbage is heaped everywhere.";
25 = "You drink some of the fountain's fresh, crystal water. It tingles as it goes down. You feel very refreshed. No doubt the Anama imbued the pool with some sort of healing energy. It feels like the fluid is purifying your system.";
26 = "You stand at the entry to the Contemplation Hall. Large, stone benches are positioned in front of broad windows. Through each one, you can see a gorgeous, panoramic view.";
27 = "This room was created as a place for meditation and contemplation. No doubt, much thought on Anama beliefs and precepts took place here, until the roaches came. There is a beautiful carved stone basin full of water in the center of the hall. You note that the roaches try not to get too close to it.";
28 = "There were lots of Anama religious texts here. Then the roaches ate them all. Only a few illegible fragments of parchment remain.";
29 = "This was a small Anama shrine. However, some large roaches picked apart the altar, bit of stone by bit of stone. There's nothing left but gravel. Very peculiar behavior for these insects.";
30 = "This was a major Anama shrine, a place for thought, discussion, and contemplation. Now it is a ruin. The walls are cracked and moldy, and you hear, off in the distance, the hissing of roaches. It looks like it was abandoned very recently.";
31 = "Most of these books are on locks and locksmithing. There are training guides, treatises on lockpicks and their uses, and, of course, lots of fiction featuring locked doors in a prominent manner. There's also at least three copies of 'Bluebeard.'";
32 = "These shelves contain a host of treatises on crystals. There are books on their locations, working, and magical properties. There are also tomes on the vahnatai. The latter are filled with a bold combination of pure guesswork and just plain stupidity.";
33 = "";
34 = "Whatever this room was originally used for, it's been converted into a workshop dedicated to the care and crafting of crystals. Tiny flecks of quartz dust jab the inside of your nose.";
35 = "To the north, a ramp leads steeply up to the lighthouse lamp.";
36 = "You are halfway up the ramp up to the lighthouse lamp.";
37 = "You are at the top of the lighthouse tower. A fire burns in the middle of the charred stone floor. The fire is mildly augmented by magic. The small amount of wood in the bonfire is burning with a far brighter light than you would expect. Very interesting.";
38 = "The books are on death, the undead, putrefaction, embalming processes, the treatment of viscera to prevent spoilage, and similar grisly topics.";
39 = "You are at the bottom of a stone ramp. It circles up to the chamber where the light is kept.";
40 = "You are at the entry to Northpoint Lighthouse, the sole bastion standing between the ships that circle the Isle of Bigail and the jagged rocks in the water to the north. However, something is not right.";
41 = "The place has the stink of death, and the eerie sounds of shuffling, scratching, and gurgling emerge from the shadowy halls. If it weren't for the fact that the light above is going strong, you might think everyone inside was dead.";
42 = "You reach the top of the lighthouse and immediately see how it works. There is a massive, magical brazier. It takes a small amount of wood and turns it into a blindingly bright, long-lasting flame.";
43 = "The braziers are fed with kindling by several animated skeletons. They stumble around the chamber, wandering at random, until the fires get low, at which point one of them goes to get a stick to throw in the fire. It's an odd but efficient operation.";
44 = "You touch the chest and it sends a massive jolt of frost up your arm. Your skin is covered with frost. Eventually, you get circulation to return, but it really stings. The chests are magically protected.";
45 = "You reach a large cavern, filled with massive heaps of fragrant filth and wandering, happily chatting cockroaches. They don't seem to be about to attack you. In fact, they yell, _Hi!_ when they see you. Their voices are high pitched and cheery.";
46 = "At first, the happy, chirpy voices you hear ahead make you think you've found another colony of friendly spiders. Then the smell of garbage and filth hits you, and you realize that this place is inhabited by roaches. Happy, friendly roaches.";
47 = "At long last, the ogre has taken more punishment than it can withstand. It falls to the ground with a mighty thud. Almost immediately, the dryad's grove seems brighter and cheerier.";
48 = "You step into a patch of flowers, and sweet pollen rises from them. The scent fills your nostrils, making you feel happy and groggy. Then you fall over. You wake back up at the entrance to the grove, but your head doesn't entirely clear.";
49 = "The grove to the south is full of beautiful poppies, all of them fresh and in bloom. Their powerful, pervasive scent makes you feel light-headed. Your vision gets blurry.";
50 = "You carefully pick a few pods off of the powerful poppy plants. You're careful not to break any of them, knowing that doing so would unleash a big cloud of mind-clouding pollen.";
51 = "You quietly slip away from the grove.";
52 = "Sadly, the ogre is a light sleeper. The moment you set foot inside its glade, it begins to stir. The moment it smells you, it opens its eyes wide, grabs a club, and begins to lumber towards you.";
53 = "You reach a shadowy glade. There's something very cold and unwelcoming about this forest, as if a malevolent force has invaded it. In the glade, you see a gremlin. Oddly, it doesn't attack. It just stares at you.";
54 = "You walk out through the glowing trees and find the dryad Esselarea waiting for you. She walks up and kisses you on the cheek. _Thank you!_ she says. _Thank you for saving my home!_";
55 = "With a cheery nod to the rest of you, she walks off into the wood. You try to see where she went, but, as you watch, the forest has started to shift. The trees seem different every time you look. The dryad's grove is no longer welcoming visitors.";
56 = "You try to step into the portal, but you can't. You hear the voice of the dryad outside the glade. She says, in a soft, caring voice, _I'm sorry. My glade must be saved. I can't let you leave until it is._ ";
57 = "A chill runs down your spine as you walk through the glowing trees. You find a small, twisty path on the other side. When you look back, though, you realize that the forest seems to have changed. You no longer know the way back.";
58 = "";
59 = "You carefully make your way across a narrow stone ridge, curving through bubbling pools of magma. It's excruciatingly hot. You can barely breathe.";
60 = "";
61 = "This fumarole is the source of the dangerous geological activity in these caves. It's also the lair of a family of drakes. This is their chosen place to raise a brood of squirming, fire-breathing babies. And, of course, baby drakes are always hungry.";
62 = "You find an unpleasant surprise. Someone walled up a mage in this small chamber and left him to starve. The body is surrounded by rotting scrolls and tomes, the decaying remnants of the victim's magical research.";
63 = "";
64 = "You run in and crush the poppy pods over the groggy ogre's face. Startled, it inhales sharply and gets the pollen in both nostrils. It reels backwards, and falls into an incredibly deep sleep.";
65 = "This is the opening the gremlins in the grove were waiting for. Knowing that the creature won't wake up, fifty of them run in, bind its arms and legs with thick leather thongs, and drag it off to a horrible fate. The grove has been freed.";
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