// Text Library  - 

begintextlibrary;

1 = "This massive gate is triple locked and covered with numerous runes of protection. You aren't able to get through it.";
2 = "This massive gate is triple locked and covered with numerous runes of protection. You aren't able to get through it.";
3 = "";
4 = "Through the massive, closed portcullis, you are able to get a look inside the strange tower. It's a huge structure, forty feet high and several hundred feet across, made of one seamless sheet of shining blue stone.";
5 = "It looks like it was grown, not built, springing from the ground and throwing aside all the buildings that were there before. Inside, it is dark and smoky, and you hear what sounds like many alien beasts, growling and calling to each other.";
6 = "This was the meeting room of the keep's city hall. The alien beasts set this chamber aside for extra destruction. The floor is torn up and bones are everywhere. The masticated remains of a mayor's sash are in the corner.";
7 = "The alien beasts must not be interested in literature. All of the books on these shelves have been chewed up.";
8 = "The lever is sticking a bit, but you manage to get it to move. Nothing happens that you can see.";
9 = "As you step over the rune, a magical trap activates. Nothing fancy - just searing flames that bake you inside your armor. Fortunately, the flames die out when you reach a lovely golden brown, as opposed to when you're well done.";
10 = "Even though Tinraya was ruined over a year ago, this room is full of the stink of death. There is no rest to be had here.";
11 = "You sleep, but not well. The howls of the alien beasts grow louder and more insistent, echoing through the countryside.";
12 = "This room is for meditation. Thick, plush rugs are arranged in front of blue crystals on low pedestals. The crystals look dull and lifeless, and everything is dusty. Nobody's used this room for a while.";
13 = "There are quite a few flat stones emerging from the surface of the water here. You think that you might be able to cross.";
14 = "You wake up in a small, rectangular room. There's no door, just a huge plug of stone blocking the exit. The room is empty. No beds, chairs, or windows, no food, no light. You have a bad feeling. Whatever the vahnatai have in mind for you, it is not good.";
15 = "";
16 = "You find a massive gate, covered with protective runes. There is a strange keyhole in the center, made to fit a key with a very odd, twisted shape. None of the keys you have used so far open it. You will need to keep looking for a new key.";
17 = "You find a massive gate, covered with protective runes. There is a strange keyhole in the center, made to fit a key with a very odd, twisted shape. Fortunately, the key you stole from the vahnatai works just fine. The door opens.";
18 = "There is a loud rumble behind you. Looking back, you see two wall sections slide into the floor. Life has presented you with another bunch of alien beasts to fight.";
19 = "";
20 = "You find a massive gate, covered with protective runes. There is a strangely shaped keyhole in the center. On a hunch, you try the key you found in the murder cave near New Formello. It works! The gate opens.";
21 = "From this vantage point, you see to the east a series of broad stepping stones across the river. If you could reach them, you could cross.";
22 = "When you press the crystal into the pedestal, it stays there. With a satisfying rumble, one of the walls blocking off the cells slides away!";
23 = "You have freed your group! You gladly rejoin them. It is a great relief to get out of that filthy cell at last, especially considering that it could very easily have been your tomb.";
24 = "You step through the portal and find yourself in a muck-filled cavern. Tiny baby alien beasts, squeaking fearfully, burrow into the slime. You're free, but your companions are still prisoners.";
25 = "This cave is full of foul slime and muck. Swimming in the goo are small, squealing beasts, the size of small dogs. They're alien beasts! This must be where they grow up. The critters flee when they see you, no doubt looking for their mommies.";
28 = "A closer look reveals that most of the crystals are dark.";
29 = "The control panel is inactive. The glowing writing has faded, and the buttons don't respond when you press them.";
30 = "You are at the west end of a massive subterranean tunnel, burrowing down into this mountain. You are able to see because of a dim, green, familiar light. Someone has brought up some of the fluorescent mold common in Avernum.";
31 = "In the sickly light, you can see that the vahnatai have rapidly constructed defenses. Three walls have been built in this passage, each heavily guarded. They aren't yet completed. You may have a chance of fighting your way through.";
32 = "You pass through the first gate, emerging on the highest of the three tiers of the fortress. You hear the high pitched shouts of vahnatai running to defend the walls. You also notice that the amulets Erika gave you are starting to grow very warm.";
33 = "You pass through the first gate, emerging on the highest of the three tiers of the fortress. You hear the high pitched shouts of vahnatai running towards the fray.";
34 = "";
35 = "You descend from the first tier to the second. You hear the high-pitched howls of vahnatai guards, emerging from their warrens to block your passage.";
36 = "This cave is bare, except for several blank tombstones. It is waiting to be the final resting place of the vahnatai defenders that are lost. The vahnatai have been preparing for an invasion.";
37 = "You have to cover your nose. The filth and garbage generated by the fort is thrown in here, waiting to be chucked into a pit and burnt up with fireballs.";
38 = "You stare deep into the crystal and see maps and schematics! It looks like these are plans for some of the vahnatai fortifications. Unfortunately, before you can figure it all out, the magical defenses kick in. There is a flash of light, and you feel woozy.";
39 = "Fortunately, you have learned enough of the vahnatai tongue to read the writing. It is magical instruction. This is where vahnatai mage training takes place. You learn many tricks for making your spells more effective.";
40 = "To the south, you hear the faint sound of the massive portcullises.";
41 = "";
42 = "Fascinating. Rentar-Ihrno has built her keep over a small, active volcanic vent, and she is magically channeling and harnessing its power! The hot magma bubbles up and is then channeled into pits, where its heat can power the infernal machinery below.";
43 = "Everything in here is a bit dusty. This storeroom is unused.";
44 = "This room contains the starved bodies of two humans, both wearing rusted Empire armor. The vahnatai threw them in here and left them to starve, a grisly reminder of the fate that almost befell you.";
45 = "You push the button. It makes a satisfying click. You hear the rattle and clang of a portcullis, somewhere nearby.";
46 = "You peer into the crystal, trying to make sense of the schematics and plans moving by. They move too fast and are too confusing. You only succeed in giving yourself a draining headache. The crystal goes dark.";
47 = "You again try to understand the writing in these crystals. It continues to confuse you and gives you another nasty headache. However, you think you're slowly starting to make sense of it. This crystal goes dark.";
48 = "You again try to understand the writing in these crystals. It still confuses you somewhat, but at least it doesn't give you a headache. You think you're almost starting to make sense of them. This crystal goes dark.";
49 = "";
50 = "The walls and floor of this room show the scars of many battles. The walls were burned by spells gone awry, and semi-fresh bloodstains (and slime splatters and roach legs) are everywhere. This is where newly designed monsters are brought to test their combat effectiveness.";
51 = "This room contains two stone platforms. Crystal Souls are generally kept here, in order to provide guidance to living vahnatai. However, the Souls have been removed, probably in order to keep them from you.";
52 = "You peer inside and read an account of the killings of two miners near the Avernum town of New Formello. They stumbled upon a hidden vahnatai base and had to be killed. To keep the vahnatai plans secret, the base was destroyed. This explains a lot.";
53 = "";
54 = "Rentar-Ihrno decides she doesn't want you near her control panel. She tosses a powerful spell, and you find yourself elsewhere. Your head spins. Even the mightiest mages usually can't do such deeds without their energy weakening.";
55 = "Rentar-Ihrno still doesn't want you near her control panel. She casts the teleportation spell again, again moving you to the entrance of the hall. You notice, however, that she has much greater difficulty casting the spell this time.";
56 = "Rentar-Ihrno again tries to cast the teleportation spell. However, repeated castings of it are too draining even for her. Before she can complete the spell, you manage to reach the pedestal!";
57 = "You press the button. With a honking, blatting noise, you hear all of the energy beams in the halls below you deactivate themselves one at a time. The fiery lances of energy visible in the pit to the west fade away. The machinery below has been reset. You are at square one.";
58 = "You press the button. The controls beep at you. Nothing else happens.";
59 = "You press the button. With a deafening roar, you hear the churning of tons of messy goop in the pit to the west. The nutritive slime is being mixed, frothed up, and sent coursing down massive pipes. The floor beneath your feet begins to vibrate.";
60 = "You press another button. A powerful humming noise comes from inside the pedestal. The power systems in the foundry below double then triple in intensity. The controls grow very hot. You wrap up your fingers with a scrap of cloth before continuing.";
61 = "In seconds, all of the pent-up goo is released into the pit, pouring through the beams. The slime starts to change, writhing and taking shape. Creatures beyond description form in it, swim to the surface, and dive down, never to be seen again.";
62 = "However, at this point, there is nothing you can do but watch. The beam energy remains under control. There is a honking noise, and all the activated slime drains away, to be dumped into the chasm outside. You're back to square one.";
63 = "";
64 = "Eureka! The crystals are showing schematics of this keep! Below you is a massive vat, into which four energizing beams can be trained. The goo from which creatures are created can be poured through the beams using controls in Rentar-Ihrno's hall.";
65 = "You aren't able to tell much else from the crystal, except that using the controls to magically pour in chemical mix when all four beams are directed into the pit has volatile results. Very interesting. Then the crystal goes dark.";
66 = "Rentar-Ihrno's bookshelves, surprisingly, contain a large number of human works, fiction and nonfiction. She seems to have been studying your kind very carefully, probably looking for weaknesses.";
67 = "";
68 = "Suddenly, the amulet Erika gave you lets out brilliant lances of light. The force almost throws you backward, but you manage to brace yourself just in time. The bolts of energy fly through the wall, past the guards, into the east wall, blasting a hole through it. You now have an instant shortcut.";
69 = "As the light fades, an unpleasant burnt smell reaches you. When the gates below were smashed, the guards watching them were also destroyed.";
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90 = "You start to look into the crystal, but then you feel dizzy again. You back away. The magical defenses on it are still fully active.";
91 = "You peer into the crystal. Unfortunately, you don't understand enough of the vahnatai language and culture to make sense of what you see. Eventually, you give up.";
92 = "You start to look into the crystal, but you find that the lessons inside are exactly the same as they were before. You can't learn anything new.";
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