Chord Version 1
Over the last two weeks I have aligned Sharpee with a new parser-IF modeling language called Chord. This effort was not to adhere to one side or the other. It was a true alignment where both sides were required to maintain their "way", be elegant, and in their own way provide a path for an author to create parser-based IF that publishes to a browser. There were changes across the Sharpee packages to enable this alignment and Chord matured into what I consider a highly readable and usable interactive fiction modeling language.
Chord is a declarative pseudo-code styled language. It compiles to IR (intermediate representation) and can be deployed to a framework-less web application the same as a standard Sharpee story. It has the same features as the Sharpee Typescript API and a few additional wrinkles.
The details for Chord are on the Sharpee website. I posted the work-in-progress syntax last week and today it's a complete and working new IF language.
The GenAI created sample story is listed at the end and that hits all of the Sharpee capabilities. I use the Typescript version for regression testing changes to Sharpee and now this version will also be used to regression test Chord.
Full documentation for Chord is on the website and in the GitHub repository on main.
I call it a modeling language because it is not a programming language. It does not have if-then-else blocks or boolean flags. It asks the author to find the correct domain meaning and implement its parts accordingly.
As in Sharpee, Chord also adheres to the post-turn text emission process in Channel-IO. Every piece of text is within a definition or defined as a phrase. Phrases can be listed in named phrasebooks with predicates to differentiate when they apply to the world. A Chord story can be one .story file or a .story file with .chord imports (though a .chord cannot also import other .chord files).
An author can replace the index.html template and add their own components to be filled with additional custom channel data. The template still has to follow a contract for its named styles and required components like the command line.
The website also has a sandbox/playground where you can try Chord live. I encourage you to give it a try.
##
## The Folly at Fernhill — one winter night to find the deed.
##
story "The Folly at Fernhill" by "The Sharpee Project"
id: fernhill
version: 0.1.0
blurb: One winter night to find the deed that keeps Fernhill in the
family.
states: evening, midnight
use state-machines
on every turn while one chance in 12
phrase distant-bell
end on
## The estate exterior — the night begins here.
create the Grounds
a region
containing the Iron Gates, the Gravel Drive, the Fountain Court
containing the Greenhouse, the Boiler Shed, Folly Hill
on every turn while one chance in 6
phrase night-wind
end on
after entering it
phrase cold-returns
play ambient night-wind when client has sound
end after
after leaving it
stop ambient when client has sound
phrase out-of-the-wind
end after
create the House
a region
containing the Entrance Hall, the Study, the Pantry
containing the Kitchen, the Cellar Stairs and the Cellar
after entering it
phrase house-hush
end after
create the Iron Gates
a room
aka gates, gate
north to the Gravel Drive
south is blocked: long-road
after entering it while the player has the deed
play music dawn-theme when client has music
win fernhill-saved
end after
first time
The cab is already grinding away down the lane, its lamps swallowed
by the dark. An auction notice is nailed to the left-hand gate,
ruffling in the wind: FERNHILL HOUSE AND GROUNDS, BY ORDER OF THE
ESTATE, AT DAWN.
Wrought-iron gates stand open on one hinge apiece, rust freckling
the scrollwork. The gravel drive runs north toward the dark shape of
the house.
create the Gravel Drive
a room
aka drive
south to the Iron Gates
north to the Fountain Court
The drive curves between bare lime trees, gravel crunching underfoot.
The house looms ahead to the north; the gates are back south.
create the Fountain Court
a room
aka court, courtyard
south to the Gravel Drive
north to the Entrance Hall
west to the Greenhouse
east to the Boiler Shed
A paved court before the front door, holding a dry fountain crusted
with last summer's leaves. The greenhouse glimmers palely to the
west; a squat brick shed hunches to the east; the front door of the
house is north.
create the Greenhouse
a room
aka glasshouse
east to the Fountain Court
north to Folly Hill
north is blocked while the boiler is off: frost-sealed
Glass panes furred with frost on both sides. Staging benches run the
length of the house, and a door in the north wall — glass too — leads
up toward the folly, if it would open.
create the Boiler Shed
a room
aka shed
west to the Fountain Court
Brick, low, and bitter with old coal dust. The estate's boiler sits
cold as a tomb against the back wall, its pipes running off through
the earth toward the greenhouse.
create Folly Hill
a room
aka hill
south to the Greenhouse
north to the Folly through the folly door
The hill rises behind the greenhouse, and on its crown stands the
folly: a little stone temple, fire-scarred about the windows, that
nobody has entered in twenty years.
create the Folly
a room
Soot still ghosts the walls in here, twenty years on. The night sky
shows through a scorched hole in the dome, and a cache of ancient
estate fireworks slumps against the far wall.
after entering it, once
change the fuse to lit
phrase fuse-catches
end after
create the Entrance Hall
a room
aka hall
south to the Fountain Court
west to the Study
west is blocked while Mrs Kettle is guarded: kettle-blocks
east to the Kitchen
north to the Cellar Stairs
The heart of the house: a cold marble floor, a dead fireplace under
a wide mantel{mantel-hint}, and a tall case clock standing silent
against the stairs. Doors lead west to the study and east to the
kitchen; a colder passage runs north.
create the Study
a room
east to the Entrance Hall
Verity's study, exactly as she left it: a desk under the window, a
travelling trunk against the wall, and the smell of pipe smoke that
never quite left the curtains.
create the Kitchen
a room
west to the Entrance Hall
north to the Pantry through the pantry door
Copper pans hang in ranks over the cold range. The pantry door
stands in the north wall.
create the Pantry
a room
Narrow shelves of preserves and crockery. With the door shut, no one
in the kitchen would know you were here.
create the Cellar Stairs
a room
aka stairs, landing
south to the Entrance Hall
down to the Cellar through the cellar door
A bare landing at the top of the cellar steps. An oil lamp sits in a
wall niche, left where a careful hand could always find it.
create the Cellar
a room
dark
Brick vaults run off into the dark, cold enough to keep milk in
July. Somewhere back in the blackness, water is dripping.
on every turn
phrase cellar-drip
end on
on every turn while the oil lamp is lit, once
phrase lamplight-startle
end on
create the folly door
a door
aka warped door
A stone-framed door of oak, warped and silvered by the fire. It has
not been opened in twenty years.
on opening it while tobias is not shaken
refuse folly-jammed
end on
create the pantry door
a door, lockable, starts unlocked
aka white door
A plain white-painted door with a bolt on the pantry side.
create the cellar door
a door, lockable with the tarnished key
aka grey door
score unsealed worth 5
A heavy grey door, locked as long as anyone can remember. The
keyhole is tarnished black.
after opening it, once
award unsealed
end after
create the doormat
aka mat
scenery, a supporter
in the Fountain Court
A bristle mat worn bald in the middle, older than you are. It sits a
little proud of the flagstone, as if something kept it from lying
flat.
create the tarnished key
aka key
concealed
on the doormat
score found worth 5
A small key gone black with weather.
after taking it, once
award found
end after
create the oil lamp
aka lamp
light-source, switchable
in the Cellar Stairs
A hurricane lamp with a full reservoir and a clean chimney.
create the boiler
aka furnace
scenery, switchable
in the Boiler Shed
states: cold, filled, primed, running
score lit worth 10
A cast-iron estate boiler, cold now, its dial at rest. Pipes run
from its flank toward the greenhouse. A stopcock and a primer
plunger stand ready on its flank, and a small brass plate reads:
FILL. PRIME. LIGHT. IN THAT ORDER.
on switching_on it
refuse when it is cold: boiler-clank
refuse when it is filled: boiler-clank
award lit, once
end on
create the stopcock
aka cock, water valve
scenery
in the Boiler Shed
A quarter-turn stopcock on the feed pipe from the rain tank.
on turning it
phrase stopcock-turns
end on
create the primer plunger
aka primer, plunger
scenery, pushable
in the Boiler Shed
A long-handled primer plunger, worn smooth by fifty winters of use.
on pushing it while the boiler is cold
refuse primer-dry
end on
define machine the boiler works
role furnace is the boiler
starts cold
state cold
when turning the stopcock: filled
state filled
on enter
change the boiler to filled
phrase water-gurgles
end on
when pushing the primer plunger: primed
state primed
on enter
change the boiler to primed
phrase primer-thumps
end on
when switching_on the furnace: running
state running, terminal
on enter
change the boiler to running
change the vine to flowering
phrase pipes-warm
phrase vine-stirs
play sound boiler-thump when client has sound
end on
end machine
create the solicitor's letter
aka summons
readable
The letter that brought you here: Fernhill goes to auction at dawn,
and whatever Great-Aunt Verity hid is lost with it unless someone
finds the deed tonight.
on reading it
phrase summons-text
"…the property known as FERNHILL to be sold at public auction at
first light. Any party asserting prior title must produce the
original deed of the estate before the fall of the hammer."
end on
create the travelling trunk
aka trunk
a container with max items 3
openable
in the Study
Verity's old travelling trunk, papered with steamer labels from
ports she never mentioned. The lid is heavy but unlocked.
create the diary page
aka page, diary
readable
in the travelling trunk
states: folded, read
A page torn from a diary, the hand young and furious.
on reading it
change it to read
phrase diary-text
"K. says the greenhouse will take the worst of the frost and the
vine with it. Let it. What matters is safe where the fire went,
and only the little silver thing will open it. If I cannot keep
Fernhill, no bank and no buyer shall have the proof of it."
end on
create the half-burned letter
aka burned letter
readable with text "…arrangements with the county bank, where the deed may rest secure until…"
in the travelling trunk
Only the middle of the letter survived its trip through a grate. It
seems to say the deed went to the bank in town. It seems to.
create the mantel
aka mantelpiece, shelf
scenery, a supporter with capacity 2
in the Entrance Hall
A wide stone mantel over the dead fireplace, dusted but bare except
for a single framed photograph.
create the framed photograph
aka photograph, photo, frame
scenery
on the mantel
Verity at thirty, on the folly steps, squinting into some summer
long gone.
phrase detail while the diary page is read:
Knowing what the diary knows, you see it now: the folly whole
behind her, and on her knee a small steel box with a bright slot
in its lid.
after examining it
show image folly-photograph when client has images
end after
create the grey overcoat
aka overcoat, coat, verity's overcoat
wearable, a container
in the Entrance Hall
A great grey wool overcoat hanging by the door, too heavy for
anyone's shoulders but hers. The pockets are deep.
create the winding key
aka clock key
concealed
in the grey overcoat
A small brass crank key — the kind that winds a tall case clock.
create the crowbar
aka bar, pry bar
in the Cellar
A forge-made crowbar, cold and certain.
create the nailed crate
aka crate
a container
openable with the crowbar
in the Boiler Shed
A pine crate nailed shut hard, stencilled FERNHILL ESTATE — BOILER
SPARES.
create the tin opener
aka opener
in the nailed crate
A wooden-handled tin opener, estate issue.
create the brass valve handle
aka valve handle, handle
in the nailed crate
A four-spoked brass handle, sized for the boiler's water valve.
create the kipper tin
aka tin
a container
openable with the tin opener
in the Pantry
A flat tin of kippers with no ring-pull and no mercy.
create the kipper
aka fish
edible
in the kipper tin
One bronze kipper, pungent enough to summon any cat in the county.
create the garden shears
aka shears
in the Kitchen
Long-bladed garden shears, oiled and sharp — Tobias's pride, judging
by the edge.
create the sherry bottle
aka sherry, bottle
in the Kitchen
A dusty bottle of oloroso, the good stuff, hidden behind the pans at
hip height where a housekeeper might know to look.
create the vine
aka determined vine
scenery, prunable
in the Greenhouse
states: seedling, flowering, fruiting
score fruited worth 5
Verity's vine, at the warm end of the staging over the buried
pipes: barely more than a seedling now, twenty years after the
frost that should have killed it.
after pruning it while it is fruiting, once
award fruited
end after
create Smoke
aka cat, grey cat
a person, follower
feedable with food the kipper
in the Pantry
A smoke-grey cat with lantern eyes, appointed to the pantry mice
and answerable to no one.
on every turn while it is fed and the player is in the Greenhouse, once
phrase smoke-nose
end on
create the furnace poker
aka poker
in the Boiler Shed
A long iron poker for the furnace grate.
on taking it while the boiler is running
refuse poker-hot
end on
define trait feedable
data
food: entity
states: peckish, fed
phrases en-US
no-morsel:
You have nothing that would interest a cat of standing.
already-fed-cat:
A slow blink. The account is already settled.
cat-eats:
The kipper vanishes with terrifying efficiency, and something is
decided about you. From now on, you have a shadow.
on feeding it
the actor must have its food: no-morsel
it must be peckish: already-fed-cat
change it to fed
phrase cat-eats
end on
end trait
define action feeding
grammar
feed :creature
the creature must be reachable
otherwise refuse not-feedable
phrases en-US
not-feedable:
That has no appetite you can help with.
define trait prunable
on pruning it
the player must hold the garden shears: need-shears
select on its state
when seedling
phrase vine-too-young
when flowering
change it to fruiting
move the silver locket to the Greenhouse
phrase vine-fruits
when fruiting
phrase vine-done
end select
end on
end trait
define trait windable
on winding it
the player must hold the winding key: need-winding-key
it must be stopped: clock-already-going
change it to ticking
phrase clock-wound
end on
end trait
define action pruning
grammar
prune :target
trim :target
the target must be reachable
otherwise refuse cannot-prune
phrases en-US
cannot-prune:
There's nothing to prune about that.
define action winding
grammar
wind :target
wind up :target
the target must be reachable
otherwise refuse cannot-wind
phrases en-US
cannot-wind:
That doesn't wind.
create the fuse
aka fireworks fuse
scenery
cuttable with the garden shears
in the Folly
states: coiled, lit, cut
score nerve worth 5
A long waxed fuse snaking from the fireworks cache across the
floor. Old, but not too old to burn.
on every turn while it is lit
phrase fuse-hiss
end on
on cutting it
change it to cut
award nerve, once
phrase fuse-cut-through
end on
define sequence the fuse burn
when the fuse becomes lit
phrase fuse-racing
3 turns later
kill the player fuse-blast when the fuse is lit
end sequence
define sequence the long night
at turn 14
phrase dusk-deepens
change the story to midnight
at turn 70
phrase small-hours
at turn 130
lose dawn-comes
end sequence
create the deed box
aka box, steel box, silver box
a container
openable with the silver locket
in the Folly
A small steel box under a shroud of soot, unmarked but for a neat
bright slot in the lid — the exact size of a locket that does not
open like a locket.
create the deed
aka title deed, title
readable
in the deed box
score recovered worth 10
Heavy paper, folded in oiled cloth, whole and legible after twenty
years in the dark: the original deed of Fernhill.
after taking it, once
award recovered
end after
on reading it
phrase deed-text
"…the house and grounds known as FERNHILL, held in perpetuity by
the family and heirs of the bearer of this instrument."
end on
create Mrs Kettle
aka housekeeper, kettle
a person, proper, guard
pronouns she
in the Entrance Hall
states: guarded, softened
score softened worth 5
The housekeeper, planted before the study door with her knitting and
no intention of moving. Her eyes say the study is not for visitors.
on giving it
change it to softened when it has the sherry bottle
award softened, once when it is softened
phrase kettle-softened when it is softened
end on
create Tobias
aka groundskeeper
a person, proper, patrol with route [the Gravel Drive, the Fountain Court, the Boiler Shed] and wait-turns 5 and announces-movement true
pronouns he
in the Gravel Drive
states: steady, shaken
score truth worth 5
The groundskeeper, out in all weathers on his rounds, a storm
lantern swinging at his knee. Weathered, watchful, in no hurry to
help.
on asking it
phrase tobias-shrug
end on
create the silver locket
aka locket
A little silver locket on a fine chain, its face engraved with the
folly before the fire. It is heavier than it looks, and it does not
open like a locket.
define topics for tobias
about the boiler:
phrase tobias-boiler-reply
about the silver locket:
phrase tobias-locket-reply
about "the folly", "the fire":
change it to shaken
award truth, once
phrase tobias-folly-reply
about "the bank": phrase tobias-bank-reply
end topics
define topics for Mrs Kettle
about the grey overcoat: phrase kettle-coat-reply
about "the study", "verity's study": phrase kettle-study-reply
end topics
create the player
starts in the Iron Gates
carries the solicitor's letter
Cold, underslept, and the last of the family who still believes
Verity hid the deed.
create the auction notice
aka notice, sign
scenery, readable
in the Iron Gates
Fresh print on old iron: FERNHILL HOUSE AND GROUNDS, BY ORDER OF THE
ESTATE, AT DAWN.
on reading it
phrase notice-text
"Sale to be conducted at the property at first light. Viewing by
arrangement with the solicitors, Messrs. Hobbes & Vane."
end on
create the lime trees
aka trees, limes
scenery, plural
in the Gravel Drive
Bare pollarded limes, planted two lifetimes ago, creaking in the
wind.
create the fountain
aka basin
scenery
in the Fountain Court
A dry stone basin drifted with last summer's leaves. The cherub in
the middle has lost his nose to some hard winter.
create the staging benches
aka benches, staging
scenery, plural
in the Greenhouse
Slatted staging the length of the glasshouse, empty but for one
determined vine at the warm end, over the buried heating pipes.
create the iron pipes
aka pipes
scenery, plural
in the Boiler Shed
Lagged iron pipes leaving the boiler's flank, running toward the
greenhouse through the earth.
create the fireplace
aka hearth
scenery
in the Entrance Hall
Cold ash and a firedog, under the wide stone mantel.
create the case clock
aka clock, tall clock
scenery, windable
in the Entrance Hall
states: stopped, ticking
A tall case clock, stopped at some hour years gone. The winding
hole waits behind the little brass door in its face.
on every turn while it is ticking and one chance in 8
phrase clock-chime
emit estate-clock with hour "evening" when evening
emit estate-clock with hour "past midnight" when midnight
end on
create the writing desk
aka desk
scenery, a supporter
in the Study
A leather-topped desk under the window, its blotter still dented by
a heavy hand.
create the long curtains
aka curtains
scenery, plural
hiding-spot with position behind
in the Study
Floor-to-ceiling curtains of faded bottle green, deep enough to
swallow a person whole.
create the copper pans
aka pans
scenery, plural
in the Kitchen
Ranks of copper pans, dull with disuse but hung in strict order.
create the cold range
aka range, stove
scenery
in the Kitchen
A black iron range, cold to the wrist, its fire door hanging open.
create the preserve shelves
aka shelves, preserves, jars
scenery, plural
in the Pantry
Narrow shelves of preserves in ranked jars: damson, quince, and
things gone too dark to name.
create the wall niche
aka niche
scenery
in the Cellar Stairs
A little arched niche worn smooth at the lip — a lamp has lived here
a long time.
create the scorched dome
aka dome, hole
scenery
in the Folly
The folly's little dome, breached by fire; the night sky shows
through the black-edged hole.
define sound night-wind from "audio/night-wind.wav"
define sound boiler-thump from "audio/boiler-thump.wav"
define music dawn-theme from "audio/dawn-theme.wav"
define image folly-photograph from "images/folly-photograph.png"
define channel clock
mode replace
gated by sidebar
return "The clock: (hour)" from estate-clock
end channel
define phrase long-road
The lane runs three dark miles to the village, and the cab is gone.
You are not leaving without what you came for.
end phrase
define phrase frost-sealed
The glass door to the folly path is sealed fast under a rind of
frost. Nothing short of real warmth in these pipes will shift it.
end phrase
define phrase night-wind, randomly
The wind comes off the downs and worries at the bare limes.
or
A gust rattles every pane in the greenhouse at once.
or
The wind drops for a moment, and the night is very quiet.
end phrase
define phrase distant-bell
Far off in the village, the church bell counts another quarter hour
gone.
end phrase
define phrase cold-returns, first-time
The cold finds you the moment you step out, and means it.
or
The cold again, familiar now.
end phrase
define phrase out-of-the-wind
You step out of the wind, and your ears sing in the sudden quiet.
end phrase
define phrase house-hush
The house holds its old hush — mothballs, cold ash, and wax.
end phrase
define phrase kettle-blocks
Mrs Kettle does not move from the study door. "The study is not for
visitors," she says, to her knitting.
end phrase
define phrase kettle-softened
Mrs Kettle turns the bottle to read the label, and something in her
shoulders comes down an inch. "Her ladyship's oloroso. Well." She
steps away from the study door. "Five minutes, mind."
end phrase
define phrase kettle-coat-reply
"Her walking coat. Twenty winters old and warmer than anything you
could buy now. She'd not begrudge you the loan of it tonight."
end phrase
define phrase kettle-study-reply
"Shut since the spring, and it'll stay shut. Unless," she looks at
you over the needles, "you were to bring me something that made the
evening kinder."
end phrase
define phrase tobias-shrug
Tobias turns his head and spits, which appears to be his whole
opinion on the subject.
end phrase
define phrase tobias-boiler-reply
"She's not dead, just cold. Fill her, set the valve, then light
her — in that order, mind, or she'll clank at you like church
bells."
end phrase
define phrase tobias-locket-reply
Tobias goes very still when he sees it. "Her little silver box.
She wore it the night of the fire and never after. Whatever it
opens, it's up at the folly."
end phrase
define phrase tobias-folly-reply
The lantern stops swinging. "Twenty years I've not opened that
door, and her ladyship neither." He looks up the dark hill for a
long moment. "Go on then, if you must. The door's only warped, not
cursed. Shoulder it."
end phrase
define phrase tobias-bank-reply
"Bank?" He snorts. "Bank never had it. Her ladyship trusted banks
the way foxes trust hounds."
end phrase
define phrase boiler-clank
You twist the dial and the boiler answers with a hollow CLANK, like
church bells dropped down a well. Cold, dry iron. The brass plate
insists: FILL. PRIME. LIGHT.
end phrase
define phrase stopcock-turns
You crank the stopcock a hard quarter-turn.
end phrase
define phrase primer-dry
The plunger sinks with a dry wheeze and comes up again. Nothing to
prime — the jacket is empty.
end phrase
define phrase water-gurgles
Somewhere inside the iron, water gurgles down into the jacket.
end phrase
define phrase primer-thumps
The plunger meets resistance at last and thumps home. The boiler
is primed.
end phrase
define phrase pipes-warm
Flame catches with a soft whump, and within moments the pipes begin
to tick and stretch as warmth crawls toward the greenhouse.
end phrase
define phrase fuse-catches
The warped door's first draught in twenty years drags across the
floor — and wakes a thread of sparks in the old blasting cord. The
fuse is burning toward the cache.
end phrase
define phrase fuse-hiss, cycling
The fuse hisses on, eating its slow way toward the fireworks.
or
Sparks walk the waxed cord, closer now.
end phrase
define phrase fuse-racing
It is racing you.
end phrase
define phrase fuse-cut-through
The shears bite through the waxed cord. The spark train staggers,
gutters, and dies a hand's breadth from the cache.
end phrase
define phrase fuse-blast
The cache goes up in one white roar, and the folly keeps its
secrets after all.
end phrase
define phrase dusk-deepens
Somewhere beyond the grounds the last light goes out of the sky.
Midnight is coming on.
end phrase
define phrase cellar-drip, cycling
Somewhere back in the vaults, a drop falls.
or
Drip. The dark keeps its own time.
end phrase
define phrase lamplight-startle
Something small skitters away from your lamplight and is gone.
end phrase
define phrase need-shears
Bare-fingered pinching will mangle it. This wants the garden shears.
end phrase
define phrase vine-too-young
It is all stem and hope — nothing to prune yet. What it wants is
warmth in these pipes.
end phrase
define phrase vine-fruits
You take the dead growth off in three clean cuts, and the vine
answers the warmth almost while you watch: a single heavy fruit
swells, splits — and something small and silver slides out into the
leaf mould. Verity's own way of banking.
end phrase
define phrase vine-done
The vine has given everything it kept.
end phrase
define phrase vine-stirs
At the warm end of the greenhouse staging, something green stirs.
end phrase
define phrase need-winding-key
The little brass door wants its crank key — the kind a careful
housekeeper leaves in a coat pocket.
end phrase
define phrase clock-already-going
It is wound and walking. Tick, tock.
end phrase
define phrase clock-wound
The key turns, the weights climb, and the old clock clears its
throat and begins to walk again: tick, tock, after twenty years.
end phrase
define phrase clock-chime
The case clock counts the quarter, bright and even, through the
whole house.
end phrase
define phrase poker-hot
The poker has been drinking the furnace's heat — it would take the
skin off your palm.
end phrase
define phrase smoke-nose
Smoke pads down the staging, ignores the vine entirely, and noses
hard at the leaf mould at the warm end. Cats know where things are
buried.
end phrase
define phrase mantel-hint while the diary page is read
— and over it Verity's photograph, which you cannot stop looking
at now
end phrase
define phrase small-hours
The small hours settle over Fernhill. Dawn — and the auction — are
no longer an abstraction.
end phrase
define phrase dawn-comes
Grey light finds the gates, and with it the first motorcar of the
auction party. Whatever Fernhill still hides, it will hide it for
strangers now.
end phrase
define phrase fernhill-saved
You come down the drive with the deed of Fernhill inside your coat,
and the iron gates, for the first time tonight, look like they are
holding the world out rather than you in. At dawn the hammer will
fall on nothing: the proof came out of the fire after all.
end phrase
define phrase folly-jammed
The warped door doesn't shift. Twenty years of weather have set it
like a jaw — and something in you doesn't care to force Verity's
folly without knowing more of it.
end phrase
create the iron weathervane
aka weathervane, vane
scenery, pushable
in the Iron Gates
An iron weathervane on the gatepost, older than the house behind it.
after examining it
phrase vane-mood
end after
after pushing it
phrase vane-story
end after
after touching it
phrase vane-quiet
end after
define phrase vane-story
The weathervane creaks the same one story it always tells, whatever
the hour.
end phrase
define phrasebook midnight-voice while midnight
vane-mood, first-time:
The vane swings hard north, as if the night had opinions.
or
The vane holds north. Of course it does.
vane-story:
A book must never win this line.
end phrasebook
define phrasebook evening-voice
vane-mood, first-time:
The vane noses the evening breeze, unhurried.
or
The vane sits easy in the last of the light.
vane-story:
Nor this one.
vane-quiet:
The vane keeps its own counsel.
end phrasebook