// Text Library  - 

begintextlibrary;

1 = "You find scatterings of ruined mining equipment, carved totems, and bones. The debris is littered throughout the passage to the east. You must be getting near the land of the nephilim tribe.";
2 = "You step gingerly through piles of trash and shallow pools of filth. This tunnel serves the dual purposes of sewer and garbage pit for the nephilim. You see many bones, from a variety of sources.";
3 = "This enormous gallery is a successful farming area. Long, orderly rows of mushrooms surround you. Crude stone homes are visible among the smooth slopes and jagged stalagmites of the cave floor.";
4 = "A rickety stone and wood bridge spans the river here. The grim, shadowy tunnels to the west are heavily festooned with webs, patrolled by spiders the size of your fist.";
5 = "Your movement has attracted a bunch of huge spiders. Their eight legs propel them swiftly towards you, pedipalps twitching greedily ...";
6 = "The passage is blocked by a huge mass of webs. You try to get past them, but they're just too strong and too sticky. You back off before you get caught.";
7 = "The passage is blocked by a huge mass of webs. You try to maneuver past and find, much to your surprise, that they aren't sticking to you! You move past.";
8 = "You conceal yourself behind some nearby boulders. The humans are abducted and dragged off. It's gruesome, but brief.";
9 = "The road narrows abruptly here. Construction materials are strewn about. Someone was working here to widen the road and make things easier for merchant traffic. Work must have stopped when the recent disruptions began.";
10 = "It looks like the river here is shallow enough for a giant to cross it. You, on the other hand, would be swept away by the current in an instant.";
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15 = "You row into this isolated grotto. There is a large stone fortification to the west, but no soldiers are guarding it. The walls bear the crown symbol of the Empire.";
16 = "You greet the soldiers. You exchange news. Then they bid you luck and depart.";
17 = "This large, remote stone ledge is filled with jagged, protruding rocks. Maneuvering there will be difficult, but you can manage. At the rear end of the ledge, you can see a tower. Something glows brightly at its base.";
18 = "As you maneuver your fragile craft down this narrow tunnel, you notice that the water is starting to speed up.";
19 = "The water flows faster and faster. You hear a loud, familiar roaring ahead. It sounds like a waterfall. A big one. If you keep going, you may not be able to get back.";
20 = "The river in this little loop of cave is fairly calm. However, you can hear a waterfall to the east, much larger than the one before. Unfortunately, you don't seem to have any other way forward.";
21 = "There are two abandoned, broken, corpse-filled settlements here, one originally built by humans and one by giants. Although you have avenged the human settlers, you have a hard time feeling good about it.";
22 = "Odd. At the side of this crude road, trod into the stone by the giant, you find a small shred of pink ribbon.";
23 = "In the middle of this corridor, you find a crumpled length of pink ribbon.";
24 = "The huge totems in front of this crude castle display a variety of grisly trophies. A typical show of power for giants. Then a flash of color catches your eye. One of the poles has a pink ribbon tied around it. Interesting.";
25 = "Exposed at last, King Micah rips off his face, to reveal....";
26 = "You maneuver your boat delicately among masses of jagged rock. You guess that this obstruction isn't natural, and a glance at the ceiling proves you right. The Empire blasted huge chunks of rock out of the roof to block this waterway.";
27 = "An Empire patrol decides it just doesn't like the look of you ...";
28 = "You charge the guard tower. The archers wait patiently for you to get within range ...";
29 = "The narrow waterway ahead is clogged with jagged rocks. A small guardhouse stands on a hill overlooking the obstructions.";
30 = "Delicatessen is a majorly cool movie. [This Easter Egg secret message was added in 1995. Still totally true.]";
31 = "You look out over the water, and see a large spire of rock slide out of the way, leaving an opening for a boat to move through.";
32 = "The huge plant beasts start to slide hungrily towards you. As you approach, you notice several small, ugly lizards scuttling back and forth at their base.";
33 = "Aimee's shade does not appear again. However, you hear a brief whispering in your minds, refreshing your knowledge of how to cast Dispel Barrier.";
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36 = "You leap forward and strike a blow. It passes through the shade without effect. She shakes her head sadly and disappears. As she fades, you feel terrible, as if a heavy weight is pressing down upon you. The heavy feeling doesn't fade.";
37 = "You return to the crumbling fountain. You look around, but you can't find Aimee's shade again.";
38 = "You enter the tunnel in this gate, only to find a sheer granite wall. You search for secret passages, but the wall is too large. If there is a way past this wall, you won't be able to find it without help.";
39 = "You enter the tunnel in this gate, only to find a sheer granite wall. Remembering what the vahnatai told you, you search and find a secret passage at the back. It was well hidden and the wall was large. You couldn't have found it without the vahnatai's help.";
40 = "You emerge from the west end of the secret passage. From here, you have a clear view of the Empire Ziggurat. Its enormous granite tiers loom high above you. Many guards patrol around its base.";
41 = "You catch up with Fort Haledon's troops. They are pleased to see you. Mahr-Tel shows you the preparations they have made and the magic their shapers can unleash. If you reach the gates of Ornotha soon, they will attack with you, helping you to battle your way inside.";
42 = "You find where Fort Haledon's troops were camped. You didn't get here in time. They have already attacked. It is a sad reminder of the awesome sacrifice they made to help you obtain their people's treasure.";
43 = "As you look for the route the vahnatai raiders took, you notice that someone has scratched a crude crystal design onto the cave wall. Looking more closely, you can see that there is a concealed passage in the wall to the west.";
44 = "Thousands of Empire soldiers have passed through here. There are abandoned camps, piles of trash, lots of tracks, and skeletons hanging from the walls. You are far past enemy lines. If you keep going, you may meet an enemy force too strong to be resisted.";
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46 = "This narrow channel is blocked to the west by a profusion of jagged rocks, pointing out of the water. At this point, you can't pass.";
47 = "The golem says, _Present your gray pass._ You don't have one. The golem slowly, ponderously shakes its head. Fortunately, it doesn't attack. Frustrated, you leave the tower.";
48 = "The golem says, _Present your gray pass._ You get your pass out and present it. After a long pause, the golem says, _You may proceed._ It doesn't say or do anything else, so you leave.";
49 = "Nothing happens.";
50 = "You stumble upon a small Empire guardpost. There's none of this pass-checking or questioning business this far behind enemy lines. As soon as the enemy sees that Avernites have arrived, they attack.";
51 = "You find the shattered ruins of a tower. It was quite small. Only a handful of people lived here. They are gone now. Whoever attacked this place wasn't satisfied with merely entering or destroying it. They razed it to the ground.";
52 = "The jagged rocks ahead slide out of your way when you get close.";
53 = "You are close to a huge Empire fortification, surrounded by the lights of dozens of bonfires. Through the smoke, you can see hundreds of Empire soldiers, waiting, practicing, preparing. You back away before you are seen.";
54 = "You stumble into an Empire force. It just came out of the large fortification to the west, expecting an easy patrol. They are shocked to find you out here, brazenly spoiling an easy job.";
55 = "Again, you find a section of river blocked by long, sharp, jagged stones. Unfortunately, this time you see no way to move them. You'll have to head back.";
56 = "You are at the entrance to a large cave with a high, arched ceiling. In the distance, you see a huge encampment with hundreds of soldiers. Their stone buildings surround a huge dragon, lying in the middle of the plain. You back away before you're seen.";
57 = "You are at the beginning of a very remote and well-hidden secret passage. There are ruts in the stone floor, left by the passage of many wagons. Corridors lead away to the north and south. You start to get the uneasy feeling you're being watched ...";
58 = "The lizards in here are happy to ignore you as long as you keep your distance. Some are not so wise. A band of lizards works up its courage enough to try to eat you.";
59 = "When you grab the spear, nothing happens at first. When you reach the entrance to the shrine, however, you see that the lizards have gathered around it, staring at you with emotionless eyes. Several glowing humanoid figures stand with them. They attack.";
60 = "The shrine is still there, but it's been thoroughly looted. There's nothing left of value.";
61 = "This cavern is choked with hills, debris, and thousands upon thousands of stalagmites. There are multitudes of giant lizards wandering among the mess, some green, some red, all enormous. They don't seem interested in you. At the moment.";
62 = "A crude path has been marked out with stones, heading north. There are lots of scattered bits of trash and gnawed lizard bones. Wherever you're heading, a lot of people have been this way before.";
63 = "You emerge from the secret passage. From here, you can see to the east a horrible, blasted wasteland of sulphur and ash. Bats and imps circle overhead, howling. To the north, past an enormous chasm, you see an enormous black fortress.";
64 = "The hundreds of imps circling over the inferno decide to have some fun with you. A mob of them encircles you, grabs you, holds on until your flight spell wears off, and then lets go. Not the best joke, perhaps, but they seem to find it hilarious ...";
65 = "To the south is a seemingly endless hell of magma, ash, and bands of roving demons. Dozens, if not hundreds, of imps fly over the chasm, climbing, diving, and eating bats. Flying over the inferno would be very dangerous.";
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68 = "The glowing figure nods and says, _If ever you need my help in escaping, please return._ Then it and the portal disappear.";
69 = "You are rowing deep into Empire territory. There will be no friendly faces or restful outposts here. Anyone you meet is likely to want to kill you instantly.";
70 = "Your skin starts to tingle. Your hair stands on end. You feel like you're getting much closer to some powerful source of magic.";
71 = "There is a tiny, isolated lake here. The passage continues on the other side. Unfortunately, all of the boats are gone. Without some way to fly, it will probably be impossible to get over there.";
72 = "A section of this narrow stone bridge has recently been collapsed. The Empire warriors ahead have realized that you are coming.";
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