Scroll Thief — 72 of 138

Chapter 1 - The Introduction

Section A - The Introductory Text

To wait for any key unless debugging: [Uncomment one or the other of these lines to change the speed of the intro.]

wait for any key.

[ do nothing. ]

This is the primary introduction rule:

redraw status line;

say "Not a single spell! After two full years of study![p]Every Enchanter[--]every mortal with the power to change the world[--]the very fabric of reality[--]the very [i]nature of the universe[/i] with their words[--]has a spell book! Filled with words of power collected over years, decades, generations...[p]And yours is blank after two entire years of study. It is shameful! The first marks must be made.[p]";

wait for any key unless debugging;

say "You pick up the quill. The frontispiece of the book has a space for your full name. You may as well fill that out now.[p]"

This is the secondary introduction rule:

say "You sign your name with a flourish. [i][player's forename]'s Spell Book.[/i][p]The ink shines on the page."

This is the tertiary introduction rule:

say "It still sounds a little strange to you. '[honorific for the player][player's surname]'. But once you are an Enchanter, people will start to look to you with deference and respect...[p]You turn back to your book.[p]The ink on the frontispiece is dry. You turn to the first page. You have practiced casting spells in your classes over and over until your pronunciation is perfect. [b][bi]Frotz. Gloth. Gnusto. Rezrov.[/bi][/b][p][i]Frotz[/i] should be the first page. The simplest spell, causing an object to glow with light. A warmup spell cast in preparation for a journey. Any Enchanter could cast it in their sleep if light were conducive to slumber.[p]";

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say "You write the name across the top of the page. Not bad. Flawless calligraphy, if you do say so yourself.[p]You turn another page. [i]Gloth[/i] should be page two, the second spell you ever cast.[p][i]Gnusto[/i]...[i]rezrov[/i]...you write out the titles in flowing script at the tops of the pages.[p]But this is not enough. The name of the spell is not enough to cast it[--]you need the [b]Presence[/b] from the scroll. And until you have your own copy of the gnusto spell, there is no way to transfer it into the spell book. It is used up when cast. Gone.[p]";

wait for any key unless debugging;

say "Which is why it has come to this.[p]Something is wrong. You have seen the Enchanters and Sorcerers discussing it in hushed tones.[p]Magic is failing.[p]And there are rumors that GUE Tech will be closed. That would end your dreams of magic forever.[p]";

wait for any key unless debugging;

say "You have prepared for this. Spent hours in the library researching the Circle of Enchanters, poring over books of law and policy. Usually you would need a Bachelor of Thaumaturgy to even apply. But if you can demonstrate independent mastery of twelve spells, they will have to consider you, degree or no.[p]The difficulty is acquiring twelve spells.[p]";

wait for any key unless debugging;

say "There is only one solution, although it is looking less feasible by the minute.[p]Take your newly-prepared spell book, break into the library, and steal some magic from the Guild of Enchanters."

Figure of Title Card is the file "logo.png".

After printing the banner text when the information-gathering flag is false: display the Figure of Title Card centered.