// Text Library  - 

begintextlibrary;

1 = "This moldy chamber is dimly lit by a pair of braziers, filled with glowing stones. There is a pit in the center of the chamber. Its floor is covered with numerous colonies of mold.";
2 = "You enter the first room of the test, a hall filled with statues of young vahnatai. Whether the statues are of victims of the test or victors is not immediately clear.";
3 = "When you enter the room, glittering motes of light rise from the pool and dance in the air around  you. You start to jump back, but you find they are energizing you. When they disappear, you feel magically refreshed.";
4 = "The water is refreshing and makes you feel energized. As you enjoy the invigorating, tingling sensation, the pool rapidly dries up.";
5 = "When you step inside this room, you try to close the door behind you. It refuses to budge. The fire continues to chase you.";
6 = "When you walk between the crystals, you hear an ominous clicking noise. Behind you, a section of wall drops into the floor, revealing a wall of flame. With a booming noise and a cloud of smoke, the flames pour out, roaring down the passage towards you.";
7 = "When you reach the end of this tunnel, the walls of the corridor rearrange themselves around you.";
8 = "Suddenly, a nearby wall slides away, revealing yet another wall of searing flame.";
9 = "Once again, with depressing familiarity, a wall slides away, revealing a caldera of quickfire. It's right behind you.";
10 = "";
11 = "The entrance to this cell is a narrow, sharply twisted corridor. It's very warm, and there is a strong, pungent smell you can't immediately identify.";
12 = "When you get too close to the rune, a huge demon appears, mist rising from its red, leathery skin. It bolts for the exit, but a wall slides shut behind you, locking you both in. Furious, it attacks.";
13 = "The crypt is completely empty. It seems to be here mainly for show. The 'undead' here seem to have been generated from chalk and old flecks of random bones.";
14 = "The cabinet is filled with scrolls. You browse through them. They're records of the goings on in Egli, along with lists of vahnatai mages, both awake and still hibernating. The vahnatai are a very magical race. They have a lot of wizards.";
15 = "The cabinet contains scrolls. Most are blank, while some form a record of recent goings on in the vahnatai community. Most aren't useful, but one mentions Rentar-Ihrno. _She's holed up like a vole in northwest Egli. I still can't find the second way in._";
16 = "As the vahnatai see that you are approaching the gate, they raise their weapons in a salute. One of them shouts, _The envoys approach Olgai._ Moments, later, the gates open. The vahnatai city of Olgai is allowing you to enter.";
17 = "";
18 = "When you approach the gate, it starts to glow with a faint light. Then the eerie light fades, and the gate silently slides open on oiled tracks. It would seem that you are welcome.";
19 = "This test seems very calm. A pathway runs between two placid pools up to a closed portcullis. You seem to hear, just at the edge of perception, gentle whispering coming from the walkways to the right and left.";
20 = "Click.";
21 = "The voice says, _Correct. You may proceed._";
22 = "The voice says, simply, _Wrong._";
23 = "As you root around in the trash pit, several large, green piles of refuse start to shift around. Bits of filth slide off of them, revealing several snuffling hellhounds. They decide that you are invading their territory.";
24 = "As the vahnatai see that you are approaching the gate, they raise their weapons. They aren't about to attack you, but they definitely aren't letting you in. They shout something at you, pointing to the northeast. You can't understand a word they're saying, except for one: 'Avit. Avit.'";
25 = "You open the box and find a reward. It is human equipment, taken by the vahnatai. They haven't cleaned it. It still bears spots of blood from the Empire soldier they took it from. You take the reward, taking pains to clean it up first.";
26 = "Your actions confirm all the vahnatai's darkest fears about humans. All their pent up fury about the stolen Crystals gets worked out on you.";
27 = "";
28 = "The Council greets you happily. Already, minor spells and mischief are being worked against the Empire. Soon, they will start wreaking serious revenge. They thank you again for your help.";
29 = "You show the evidence you found in the rebel fort to the Council. _This is very interesting,_ Prossis says, _but it is more important for you first to return to the humans through the portal and tell them of what is happening. Once that is done, return._";
30 = "This crystal box is closed and locked. You try to open it, but to no avail. The lid seems to have fused itself to the rest of the box.";
31 = "";
32 = "You take the ring. You hear low moans to the south. Your curse for grave robbing takes a very immediate form ...";
33 = "The junk on the floor here may have been the possessions of the deceased when they were alive. There are clothes that crumble at your touch, empty stone jars, broken weapons, and other items of minimal value to you.";
34 = "You poke at the body. You think you see some sort of spores rise from it. You immediately feel ill. This body is diseased!";
35 = "This platform was used either to carve or polish crystals. There are small crystal shards littered all over the floor.";
36 = "You hear a soft rumbling noise. It echoes from the corridor behind you.";
37 = "These narrow, twisty passages are filled with bodies, some mummified and, strangely, some not. They should have rotted away long before now. The smell of rot hangs in the air.";
38 = "This room is dominated by its fountain. Water shoots out of the south wall, sails through the air in a graceful arc, lands in a pool, and runs out of the room to the north. Surrounding the room are niches filled with vahnatai mummies.";
39 = "";
40 = "When you step into the circle, the wall to your east slides away.";
41 = "You arrive at last at the Shrine of Crystals. It is a strange building, rounded and misshapen, bulbous alcoves growing out of a huge central dome. Despite your good intentions, it's easy to feel like you really don't belong here.";
42 = "You attack. The vahnatai have prepared well for another human assault. You don't last two seconds before being turned into a thick, raspberry jam-like substance.";
43 = "In the corner here, you find a scrap of chain mail with a bit of an Empire insignia on it. There is also a blood stain. Pity. If you had been here and seen this some months ago, you could have told the vahnatai who were responsible for the theft.";
44 = "As you cross the bridge, you start to strongly feel that you don't belong here. The feeling increases in intensity, until it attains the point where you cannot will yourself to continue. You back away.";
45 = "As you begin to enter the Shrine, the magical barrier ahead comes alive with a blistering barrage of lightning bolts, arcing from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. You back away, and the lightning disappears. You are decisively barred from entry.";
46 = "This is a well-hidden, ancient storeroom. Thick dust covers shards of broken pottery, bits of rusted-away metal, and other worthless bits of debris. There isn't much left of interest.";
47 = "There is a circle of runes on the floor here, which, even after all these centuries, still glows faintly. The runes surround the large, dusty stone slab.";
48 = "These caverns are icy cold. Frost covers everything. There are scales and claw marks everywhere, and a bestial reek hangs in the chill air. Growls echo through the caverns.";
49 = "A brief, steep stairway ascends to the control platform.";
50 = "This platform is raised ten feet above the rest of the room, looking out over the field of blue crystal coffins. There are some controls by the west edge.";
51 = "This ruined town is being rebuilt as quickly as possible, without the slightest bit of care. The walls are bent at strange angles and some of them are already crumbling. The sole street is narrow and everything is cramped.";
52 = "This building contains stone blocks, tools, and other building materials. The building itself seems like it was thrown together in a day. It's a good thing there's no wind underground. A good gust would probably knock this building right over.";
53 = "This is a small holding pen, used for the fierce beasts the vahnatai use for food. The vahnatai diet is not entirely unlike the human one.";
54 = "This half-finished building is going to be a store eventually. Several stone blocks have already been brought in here to make a counter. The vahnatai love to make things out of huge blocks of stone.";
55 = "This room is filled with farming tools and supplies. You find bags and barrels of mushroom spores and dried lichen, fertilizing paste, and tools.";
56 = "A crowd of statues have been left out here. They are dirty and mossy, covered with debris left by centuries of storage. They'll probably be brought into the town when they have a place to put them. Theft is not an issue. Each weighs over a ton.";
57 = "";
58 = "As you begin to enter the Shrine, the magical barrier ahead comes alive with a blistering barrage of lightning bolts, arcing from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. When the storm has concluded, a narrow gap has opened in the barriers. Entry is allowed.";
59 = "You find the frozen body of an Empire infiltrator. Interesting. When they came here, some of them wandered too far afield and were killed.";
60 = "";