Ghost Ship (text)

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  Written by Lloyd (aka Matt Ginsberg) in the early hours of November 16, 1999.
  Yes, I know it sounds all formal, but hey... 
          I gotta practice my investigative reporter tone.
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  The Ghost Ship

  Just past midnight, on November 10, 1999, Astaria began searching the ocean when Alexia made a 
  post on the wizard board entitled 'Rumors'.  It read as follows:

          While one can overhear many a tale of ghost ships and ancient
          shipwrecks during a brief stay at the Blushing Mermaid, it has
          been only of late that an interesting rumor started to appear in
          hushed conversations among seafarers.

          This rumor tells about the discovery of a very old ship that has
          marooned on the shores of Astaria in a time long past. This ship
          has all but disappeared from view, half-sunk into the water and
          covered by sand through the years. However, according to some, a
          way through the sand has been found, leading to the decks of this
          ancient and mysterious vessel.

          While this rumor has not yet been confirmed, it does ring true.
          It is well known that not all the ships traversing the Whispering
          Sea were so lucky as to dock safely into their harbor of destiny,
          and many were lost forever to the might of the sea. However,
          another somewhat stranger, and rather unbelievable part of this
          anecdote is that this ship, despite the eons forgotten beneath the
          waters, is still inhabited, and by the phantoms of its former
          crew, no less. While this unfounded rumor can be shrugged off as
          an eccentricity, or even lunacy, of storytellers and drunkards,
          this ancient ship may be of interest to those searching for
          treasure or interested in the old history of Astaria.

          Alexia

          PS. This new area was originally created by Mustafa during her 
          tenure as a wizard of Astaria. The administration has kindly 
          allowed me to add the finishing touches and open her area as a 
          token of our gratitude and appreciation for her work. We miss 
          you Muffles! :)

  After over 30 hours of scouring the 10000 square ocean, Kelesk and Tharak found it on Thursday
  November 11, at 7:22:35 EST.  In the following days, it was scoured top to bottom.  Soon after 
  it's discovery, Lloyd found what appears to be the strongest offhand weapon in the game in 
  it's lower depths.  Called the 'emerald dagger', it is still being investigated today, under
  the suspicion that there is more to it than meets the eye.

**Update on December 9, 1999
  We now know that the emerald dagger is an artifact, of such rarity, that only 5 of them are 
  created during each incarnation (reboot) of Astaria.

  The following is the knowledge which Lloyd gathered during his surveys.

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  How to get to the Ghost Ship:
    From the entrance to the beach, proceed three east, 47 north.  Then <move boulder>, 
    <dig hole> and a down exit should be revealed.  Proceed through it to enter the ship.

**Update on December 9, 1999
  The entrance was recently moved three squares south.  To get to it, you now proceed three east
  and only 44 squares north.

  LEGEND:
                [ ] = room
                [d] = room with down exit
                [u] = room with up exit
  - or / or \ or |  = exits between rooms (w-e, sw-ne, nw-se, n-s)
                 +  = normally locked door between rooms
                 .  = a trail of these links [u] with [d] between floors

        [ ]     FLOOR 1
       / |                   (entrance)
    [ ]  |                       ||     [C]      Notes for this floor:
     +   |                       \/      |          A: <get bracers> to get silver bracers and
[d]-[ ]+[ ] [ ]-[ ]-[ ] [ ]-[ ]-[u]-[ ] [ ]-[D]        bring statue to life
 .   |           |       |   |   |   |   |          B: <get amulet> to get Amulet of the Dragon
 .  [ ]     [ ]-[ ]-[ ] [ ]-[ ]-[ ]-[ ] [ ]            and bring statue to life.
 .     \         |               |     /            C: <get dagger> to get an Amethyst dagger 
 .      [ ]-[ ]-[A]-[ ]-[ ]-[ ]-[B]-[ ]             D:  The cook is here, he has a white marble
 .                                                      key (see B on third floor).
 .
 .  [ ]    FLOOR 2      [ ]-[ ]-[ ]
 .   | \               /           \                    Notes for this floor:
 .   |  [ ]         [ ] [ ]      to F [G]    \ | /         A: None, used for note D
 .   |     \         | / | \         / | \----[F]-         B: All exits lead back to itself, 
 .   |      [ ]-[ ]-[ ]-[ ] \     [ ]-[ ]    / | \            except for the east exit.
 .   |                       \   / | \   \                 C: All exits lead back to itself, 
[u]-[ ] [ ]-[A]-> to B        [ ] [ ] \   [ ]                 except for the southwest exit.
     |     \                           \                   D: All exits lead back to itself,
    [ ]     [ ]        |                \                     except for the northwest exit.
       \   /         -[B]-to C           \     \ | /       E: All exits lead back to itself,
        [ ]            |                  \    -[E]-[d]       except for the southwest and 
              \   /          to A          \   / | \ .        east exits.
               [C]              \   /       [ ]      .     F: All exits lead back to itself,
              /   \              [D]                 .        except for the west exit.
           to D                 /   \                .     G: South exit is one-way.
                                                     .        (this may be a mistake by Lexie)
NOTE:                                                .
On these lower two floors, moving takes a whopping   .
40 ep, and if you don't have an Amulet of the Dragon .
equipped, you will lose hp from lack of oxygen.      .
                                                     .   Notes for this floor:
              FLOOR 3       [ ] [ ]                  .      A: Every so often, upon entering 
                           / | / | \                 .         this room, you will be sucked 
        [d]-[ ]-[ ]-[ ]-[ ]-[A]-[ ]-[ ]-[ ]-[ ]-[ ]-[u]        down into a whirlpool, leading
         .                 \ | \ | /                           you to a single room with an up
         .                  [B] [ ]                            exit.  This room has 4 ghouls 
         .                                                     that will not let you leave until
         .                                                     they're dead (cannot be paniced).
         .                                      B: The trap door, an obvious exit called <trap>.
         .                                         It is locked, but can be unlocked with (1) a 
         .                                         white marble key (see D on floor 1) and (2) a
         .                                         tiny charcoal key (see A on floor 4).  See 
         .                                         floor 5.
         .   FLOOR 4
         .             Notes for this floor:
        [u]-[ ]-[A]       A: The Captain of the ship, has a nasty special that knocks you two 
                             rooms west, usually right in the middle of an auto-attacking ghoul.
                             Her loot (which is mostly crud) includes a tiny charcoal key (see B 
                             on floor 3).

      FLOOR 5
         If you go into the "trap" exit on floor 3, you will find yourself in a dusty attic.
         In this room, you will find a chest, which (when it finally repops) will contain amonst 
         other worthless things, an emerald dagger.  This dagger, when sharpened has the potency
         and accuracy of an Energy Crossbow!  Although you are free to leave the way you came, 
         it is faster, and often safer to use the secret tunnel.  If you <dig sand> in this room
         you will reveal (and go through) a secret passage to the west.  Although this tunnel is 
         (as far as I know) not very interesting, if you go:
                    2w nw 2w 2nw w nw w nw w 4nw w 2n 2nw 2n ne s
         You will find yourself in a room with a circle of rocks surrounding a pond, and a 
         platform in the middle of it.  If you <stand on platform>, you will be magically
         transported one square east of the entrance to the beach.  Simply go west and up, and 
         you will be on the south path.  This is certainly a faster way back to StarKeep.

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