How a run ends
Four endings
The run ends when the one you went down to save comes up, and it is a victory only if both prizes come up and the saved one is alive. Come up with that one alive and the book still below and you may choose to go back for it or leave it there. After the ending is shown, a party that is still alive may keep on exploring the dungeon. A party that dies below ends the run where it falls.
The words below are the ones the game shows at the end. Switch Spoilers off in the top bar to keep them hidden.
YOU BROUGHT BACK EVERYTHING
The king walks up into the daylight beside you and the book comes up too. The kingdom has its king and its book back, and it knows who went down after them.
Going down alone: The hero walks up into the daylight beside you and the book comes up too. The kingdom has its champion and its book back, and it knows who went down after them.
The tale is told, and told well. The dark below keeps what nobody came for, and the door stands open.
YOU BROUGHT THE KING BACK
The book is still down there, and you left it lying. The king came up with you, and a kingdom lives without its book far better than it lives without its king.
Going down alone: The book is still down there, and you left it lying. The hero came up with you, and a kingdom lives without its book far better than it lives without the hero.
The tale is told, for now. The halls below stand open to anyone who would walk them.
YOU BROUGHT THE BOOK BACK
You found the king and the climb took him. What came up into the daylight was the book and a body. The kingdom has its book back, and it has a king to bury.
Going down alone: You found the hero and the climb took the hero anyway. What came up into the daylight was the book and a body. The kingdom has its book back, and a champion to bury.
The tale is told, and it cost what it cost. The halls below stand open, and they owe you nothing.
YOU BROUGHT YOURSELVES BACK
You found the king and the climb took him. The book is still down there, and what you carried up into the daylight was a body. The kingdom knows who went down after him, and it has nothing else.
Going down alone: You found the hero and the climb took the hero anyway. The book is still down there, and what you carried up into the daylight was a body. The kingdom has nothing else.
The tale is told, and it cost what it cost. The halls below stand open, and they owe you nothing.
THE PARTY HAS FALLEN
Nobody came up. The king and the book are still down there, and so are you now. The kingdom can send another party down after them, and it will be a descent of its own.