// Text Library  - Town 20-24

begintextlibrary;

1 = "This is interesting. Someone has placed a hidden door in this wall. Behind it is a small, natural cavern, blocked off by the barracks wall. Someone wanted to cache supplies back here.";
2 = "These barracks are still pristinely clean and completely unused. No soldiers have been brought up to fill them yet, but it probably will happen soon.";
3 = "Someday, this room will be the office of some powerful Avernite bureaucrat. Right now, it's only being used to store office supplies and furniture.";
4 = "These chambers are a lot nicer and more carefully built than the other areas you've seen. This is probably where the high-ranking officials work. This is also probably where you're supposed to get your orders.";
5 = "You find a splintered and broken pedestal. The scraps of a shredded velvet pillow are still on top of it. Whatever valuable item was kept here, it's gone now.";
6 = "There was once a large, heavily reinforced iron door in the south wall. Someone has recently blasted it cleanly off of its hinges.";
7 = "This is a small, side storeroom here, full of useful equipment. You find a note on the door: _Please reserve items inside for secondary surface exploration team._ You would guess that this means you. Nice.";
8 = "In this warm, dry room, bread is made to feed the soldiers of Fort Emergence. Since Avernum lacks flour or corn meal, the bread is made from dried, ground mushroom powder. It's bitter and unpleasant, but, given years, you begin to forget how horrible it is.";
9 = "This is the north gate. You must pass through here to return to the world's surface. The way is protected by a lava pool. A narrow bridge arcs over it, built to be quickly collapsible in case of Empire attack.";
10 = "You read the tiny runes on the pages of the tome, but, try as you might, you can't make any sense of them. Perhaps if you studied your Mage Lore a bit more...";
11 = "The tome is a book of prayers. There are many arcane holy rituals to supplicate the gods. One of them seems useful. After intense study, you learn about a ritual for causing an intense, localized earthquake to terrorize your foes.";
12 = "The tome contains a variety of magical incantations. Most of them are either irrelevant to dungeon crawling or too bizarre to understand. One of them, however, is quite useful. You learn to create a spray of acid from nothingess and direct it at your enemies.";
13 = "This chamber is thick with the raw stink of animal feed and fresh dung. There are cells ringing the room, several of which hold strange creatures from the surface world. They must be here for study.";
14 = "The corridor here is blocked by a magical wall. It's a cube of faint, glowing energy and seems, at first, to be insubstantial. However, you know very well how misleading appearances can be when dealing with magical matters.";
15 = "You touch the barrier lightly. It throws your hand back with daunting force. Your wrist is slightly sprained. You back away quickly, before something worse happens.";
16 = "You encounter the magical wall Mazumdar told you about. You make the hand motions she described. The barrier disappears.";
17 = "A lit brazier and buckets of water keep this room hot and humid. The moist air is full of the rich, strange smell of live plants. To the north, you see a wide variety of surface flora, neatly organized and ready for careful study by the fort mages.";
18 = "When you step on the rune, a misty cloud of liquid shoots out of a hole in the ceiling. It envelops you and makes your skin sting and your eyes water. Then it dissipates. This must be some sort of magical cleaner to be used in case of lab accidents.";
19 = "You step out of your quarters and into one of the many cavernous halls of Fort Emergence. The corridors are eerily quiet. Only a small fraction of the troops that will be stationed here have arrived yet. It's time to find Anaximander and get your orders.";
20 = "These are Runes of Confining, designed to hold all manner of dangerous creatures. When you step near one one, every hair on your bodies stands on end. It's not a comfortable feeling. If you stepped directly onto it, it would be quite painful.";
21 = "There is a small graveyard back here. The gravestones are recently carved and still free of mold and lichen. The people who died in the construction of this fort, mostly from cave-ins, rest here.";
22 = "When these barracks are completed and soldiers to fill them are brought up, Fort Emergence will be able to defend itself from a minor Empire raid. Until then, this room just gathers mold.";
23 = "You relax in a comfortable bed, are brought a delicious hot meal, settle down for a nice bath, return, and suit back up. For those in your profession, it's very rare to bask in so much luxury.";
24 = "You enter the Fort Emergence training hall. You can come here when you want to improve your adventuring skills. The trainer, Yanmitho, is keeping in shape in the battle pit.";
25 = "You descend into the Slime Pit. You have to be careful not to touch anything. Everything is coated with acidic goo, and all available surfaces have been pitted by slimy excretions. This place is dark, humid, and horribly dangerous.";
26 = "This cavern is still abandoned. The slimes stopped regenerating themselves following the death of the Alien Slime. The thick odor of decomposition fills the passages and clings to your armor.";
27 = "The slimes in this chamber make no move to attack you. Instead, they're doing something very odd. They seem to be trying to adopt a humanoid form. Each surges upward, taking on shapes which are crude parodies of the human body.";
28 = "Then, having no skeleton, they collapse, the humanoid shapes melting like candle wax. The slimes then try again. You can't imagine why they would be doing this, or how to reconcile it with the slime's apparent mindlessness.";
29 = "Someone has placed a tightly sealed, slime-proof box in this passage. It seems like a supply cache, but who left it here?";
30 = "The cave walls to the west are surprisingly clean of slime. It is as if the goos, mindless as they are, were hesitant to go any farther down this passage.";
31 = "The water makes your lips briefly glow green as you drink. The fluid contains a lot of energy, energy that flows into you and makes you feel warm all over. You feel refreshed!";
32 = "You drink some more of the water, and, as before, it makes your lips glow briefly green. The magic starts to act on your body, but in a different way. Waves of pain wrack your bodies. Soon, the pain fades, but you are left feeling very weak.";
33 = "You drink some of the water, but its magical energy has been used up. The green glow on your lips is the only effect that remains.";
34 = "You find a row of carefully sealed, slime-proof boxes. This is definitely a storeroom of some sort. It is clear that this room was neither constructed nor magically protected by the mindless lumps of protoplasm roaming these tunnels.";
35 = "You can hear low, gurgling, agonized moans. The noises are coming from the cave ahead. It sounds like something being tortured while its mouth is filled with goo. You don't think you're going to like what you see.";
36 = "You stick a sword into the writhing, agonized being, ending its misery. You then quickly clean off your blade. There is now one less horror in the world.";
37 = "You leave the mutating beast, glistening with acidic juices, behind. You can barely bring yourself to look at it, let alone touch it with one of your weapons.";
38 = "The insignia on their ruined armor mark these bodies as Empire soldiers. They must have been trapped here, and, unable to defend themselves against the inevitable waves of slimes, they perished.";
39 = "The entry passage ends in a large, moist cavern. The ceiling arches high overhead, reminding you of home. However, you have to walk carefully to keep from slipping on the pools of slime underfoot.";
40 = "As you begin to enter the cave, you are ambushed. Slimes ooze from cracks in the ceiling and drop in front of and behind you. You are in imminent danger of being digested.";
41 = "You're having to struggle to remain on your feet. The floor gets slicker and slicker the further in you go. The goop is slowly eating through the soles of your boots. You hope you aren't down here for long.";
42 = "This door is marked by numerous powerful magical runes. You can't figure out a way to get through.";
43 = "Inside the pool, you see rapidly changing images of these caverns. There are many tunnels, all filled with dangerous slimes.  You also see large green towers of writing goo, which constantly spit out a stream of small slimes. You aren't sure how many of these spawners there are.";
44 = "Most notably, you see a massive creature, all tentacles and teeth, hauling its bulk back and forth through a huge cavern. The presence of this viewer is evidence that someone created these caverns for the slimes. They couldn't have made this themselves.";
45 = "It is a simple pool of water. You see only your reflection within it.";
46 = "The slimes have dragged several bloated bodies here. The corpses are from a variety of humanoid species and have been decomposing for varying amounts of time. This is a horrifying place, making the rest of these tunnels seem homey by comparison.";
47 = "You get a little too close to one of the bloated bodies. Your stomach isn't strong enough to withstand it. You feel ill.";
48 = "This small, subterranean building was probably already here when the slimes arrived. The creatures have slowly been eating away at its walls. They haven't eaten through to the room to the south, but they're getting close.";
49 = "You enter the innermost room of the ruins and find, in a magic circle, two dried-out husks. These people were trapped here by the slimes and starved. When you enter, they slowly rise from the ground. They're not quite dead.";
50 = "This mage was a bit of a deranged loner. The book mostly contains bizarre rantings. A careful inspection, however, does reveal a few useful notes among the weirdness. You learn a few things.";
51 = "This mage was a bit of a deranged loner. The book mostly contains bizarre rantings. There may be something interesting buried in here, but you don't have the magical knowledge necessary to pick it out.";
52 = "This room contains several slimes. They are sitting peacefully inside glowing stone circles. They seem to be sucking up energy. Your best guess is that the magical energy in the slimes can be depleted and must be restored.";
53 = "This hall extends beyond the range of your vision. The passage is lined with stone basins, full of fermenting goo. This must be the raw material for making slimes.";
54 = "As you try to cross this rune, a barrier of green energy flashes into existence, blocking your path. When you move away, the barrier drops. When you approach it again, the barrier reappears. It is too strong to be affected by your spells.";
55 = "The barrier is blocking you from the innermost chamber of the slime pit. It is flickering. The damage you have done so far has weakened it. To pass it, however, you will need to do more harm to the workings of this place.";
56 = "";
57 = "There are several humanoid bodies in the room ahead. Some were humans. Some were nephilim. The corpses are old, withered, and covered with goo. However, they show a worrying lack of decomposition. Sometimes, you think you see, out of the corner of your eye, the bodies vibrate. Fortunately, they don't attack you when you approach.";
58 = "Despite the pools of frozen-over slime crunching under your feet, these passages have the cool, clean, quiet feel of a laboratory. The air is still and slightly stale.";
59 = "You scrape off the fibrous goop holding the man in place. He must have been paralyzed by a slime, and then wrapped in webs and goo. He was imprisoned in his armor, and his equipment is still nearby!";
60 = "He stands up and blinks his eyes. You try to talk to him, but he can only grunt and twitch in return. His experience has left him completely unhinged. He grabs his equipment and runs off, howling angrily.";
61 = "You move close to the tiles and the energy the slimes were absorbing begins to course through you instead. You feel your extreme fatigue start to dissipate.";
62 = "The rune begins to pour energy into you. This time, however, the energy is not quite compatible with your bodies. You jump away quickly, but not quickly enough.";
63 = "The rune glows dimly now. It's burned itself out trying to energize you. You touch it, but you only feel a slight warmth. No more help is to be had here.";
64 = "This is very interesting. You find a torn scrap of parchment on the floor by the wall, carefully made from pressed lichen. You've only ever seen this sort of paper in Avernum.";
65 = "This corridor is here to provide the rest of the Tower of Magi insulation from the intense energy of the portal. Its power makes every hair on your body stand straight out. Your stomach turns slow, lazy rolls. Nobody spends time up here if they can avoid it. People using the portal get in and out as quickly as possible.";
66 = "This corridor has recently been walled off. Odd.";
67 = "This room looks like it contains an abandoned experiment or forgotten piece of magical machinery. There is a blue steel box on a platform at the back of the room. A wooden lever is nearby.";
68 = "";
69 = "Again, you feel the combined sensations of vertigo, nausea, and terror. The portal rips you into tiny pieces and reassembles you in the Portal Fortress.";
70 = "The plaque on this door reads: _Denise._";
71 = "This is a secluded meeting room. Three ornate chairs face each other over a brazier. A fire burns in the brazier, but you see no fuel sustaining it. You try to enter, but a powerful barrier blocks you. A voice says, _Triad members only, please._";
72 = "This is the laboratory where student mages first learn how to disrupt the delicate laws of nature. Mistakes are, of course, inevitable, which explains the layer of lead on the walls and the pervasive smell of burned meat.";
73 = "The passage is blocked by an powerful, impenetrable magical barrier. A disembodied voice says, _Linda has requested that this passage be off-limits. Attempting to pierce the bonds will result in extreme sanction._";
74 = "This corridor is cool and calm. You see a series of ornate doors along the south wall. A nameplate hangs on each door, each with a single mage's title carved onto it. These must be the wizard's quarters.";
75 = "This is the exit from the Tower of Magi. You stare longingly at the passage that leads out to Avernum, but then you turn back. Your business is back up on the surface.";
76 = "The vahnatai decor in this room takes you by surprise at first. Then you notice that the chairs have been built for humans, not the much lighter, thinner vahnatai. Someone must have decided to build this council room in this alien style.";
77 = "The case is filled with scrolls! You're excited at first, until you realize that they are covered with records of Tower of Magi business. The scrolls are so tedious and repetitive that they could drive an accountant to suicide.";
78 = "This is where people are billeted while waiting for their turn to use the surface portal. The barracks are cramped and uncomfortable. The Tower of Magi is not at all worried about providing creature comforts for outsiders.";
79 = "This is a rough dining hall. People waiting to use the portal can eat here. The room is cramped and dirty, and a pot of stew is burning on the fire. The Tower of Magi was not meant to host large numbers of people, but they are making do as best they can.";
80 = "For aesthetic reasons, the door to the room where gardening supplies are stored has been concealed. The stuff inside doesn't look that interesting.";
81 = "You crack open the book and begin to read it. It's a journal of someone named Orvid and his dealings with dark powers. It's disturbing stuff, but you find yourself unable to stop reading. You learn a powerful summoning spell, but you feel unhinged.";
82 = "You nervously crack open the pages of the book, only to find that it's written in a magical dialect you don't understand. Maybe if you studied mage lore a bit more, you'd be able to comprehend it.";
83 = "Nobody disturbs your rest. You get a very refreshing 8 hours of sleep. When you wake up, an apprentice brings you warm water for your morning ablutions. What luxury!";
84 = "These chambers are set aside for the important guests of the Tower of Magi. Everything in here is dusty. It doesn't look like the residents have been here for a while. Surely nobody would mind if you rested here.";
85 = "This room is filled floor to ceiling with webs. Peculiar, but you have a hard time finding anything that happens in this place to be unusual. Some mage must have wanted a constant supply of spider silk.";
86 = "This concealed hall is the robing room for the temple. Most temples have one, where the priest prepares before beginning a service.";
87 = "";
88 = "This is a small store, cramped in the back corner of the tower. It is cluttered with amazing amounts of junk, most of it clearly useless. Making your way to the counter will take some effort and some careful stepping.";
89 = "This is the Tower of Magi's creature storage. Here, creatures waiting to be used in horrifying experiments are imprisoned until it is time for them to meet their fates. There is very little equipment here. You hear snarling coming from behind the barriers.";
90 = "The altar glows and bathes you in a warm light. Your donation and your life of questing is rewarded, in the form of greater knowledge. Your mind opens up, and you see things much more clearly now.";
91 = "You browse the notebook as you pass. The Tower of Magi somehow caught several of the surface creatures you've been fighting and has been studying them. A note on the front of the notebook requests that visitors stop here, to avoid damaging the specimens.";
92 = "This portal was Avernum's connection to the lands of the Vahnatai. It still exists, but just barely. It flickers in and out of existence, and it's clearly far too weak to use. The room is filled with dust. Nobody has been here in a while.";
93 = "You place a few coins into the chest. You feel very responsible.";
94 = "Nobody is looking. You help yourself to the tithes.";
95 = "You kneel at the shrine and pray. Soon, you experience a warm, satisfied feeling. Nothing else happens. You get back up.";
96 = "You kneel at the altar. Immediately you feel a heavy weight press down upon your mind. Your thoughts become confused. Then, after a few minutes of mental chaos, the altar releases you.";
97 = "Someone has carved a crude symbol in the stone wall here. It's partially obscured by fresh slime, but you manage to make out the sun symbol of Avernum. The markings are recent. Odd.";
98 = "You think that you can see some long, straight cracks in the wall here. The acidic slime ate enough of the edges away for you to be able to see them.";
99 = "Happily, someone left a map on the table in your quarters. It will help you find Anaximander's office.";