Start of a transcript of
Sparrow's Song

A Smoochie Comp Entry by J.D. Berry (berryx@earthlink.net)
This game is freeware (Type 'about' at any > prompt).
(An 'overview' is recommended for your first go.)
Release 1 / Serial number 010122 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/10 
Standard interpreter 1.0 (6F) / Library serial number 991113

>restore
Ok.

>council?
"I look forward to serving on the council and getting to know its members,"
Tilson says.  "Don't tell me too much all at once, though.  Let me ask you
questions as I go.  I'm getting slow in my old age."  (He's anything but slow.)

>tilson?
"I'm not one to talk about myself too much, Baron.  I hope my actions will speak
for themselves," Tilson says with a genuinely humble smile.

Tilson invites you to initiate a topic.

>g
You don't want to make him uncomfortable, so you let the subject drop.

>wizard?
"I've heard she's my neighbor here, but I have yet to meet her," he says.

Tilson asks a question that fails to interrupt your daydream.  When you finally
realize this, you apologize.

>religion?
"Well, " he says sincerely and humbly, "we strive for the greatest good for the
greatest amount of living creatures.  If laws will assist us in our goal, we
endeavor to implement those laws.  If they do not, we seek to remove them."

One of your leadership qualities has been the ability to blend people's
philosophical differences constructively and not to see them as threats.  Tilson
will be a nice balance to some of the 'law for law's sake' council members.  And
the overall effect should fit you nicely.

>ronqon?
His face reveals a subtle shade of concern.  "I have dealt with Ronqons, and I
assure you they are a formidable adversary.  While nobody has underestimated
their strength and stature, many have done so regarding their intelligence, much
to their demise.

>g
"Fortunately, they are easily avoided--stay away from the mountains," he says in
all seriousness.

>g
"If you ARE intent on dealing with them," he cautions.  "I offer one last piece
of advice.  Do not try to deceive them.  They seem to have an innate sense of
detecting this.

>sparrow?
"The sparrows migrate from the mountains.  Their flying patterns never fail to
fascinate me," he says.

>g
"I could tell you more than you ever cared to know about them," he says with a
refreshingly light self-deprecating tone.

Tilson invites you to initiate a topic.

>g
He mentions another fact about sparrows that only few would know and in a way
that tells you he cares about what the subject.

Tilson invites you to initiate a topic.

>g
He mentions another fact about sparrows that only few would know and in a way
that tells you he cares about what the subject.

Tilson queries you about the council.  You respond.

>tower

Hinter Street
There are many about their business here, but to you right now they are the
painted backdrop of a stage.

[Nearby locations:  Manor, Tower, Shrine]

You hesitate for more moments than you realize.  Your relationship with Cordelia
was simultaneously tender and tenacious.

When a house changes, the wallpaper inside does not go quietly.  Some of the
paper clings desperately, resisting all attempts to be removed.  The house has a
sentimental feeling for what was a warm part of itself, but it knows it has
changed.  The paper is no longer complementary.

Cordelia's Tower
A wizard living in a tower is a cliché, but certain things are expected of
people in certain professions.  This tacitly understood "agreement," while
occasionally an annoyance, usually benefits all parties.

The first level, the only place where visitors are allowed, seems not to be made
of the same stone the rest of the tower is.  Whether this is a trick of magic or
artistry, Cordelia isn't the type to reveal the answer.

[Nearby locations:  Keep]

It is not a bad dream; you can see Cordelia here.

Well, your first hope--maybe she wasn't in--just vanished.  So, your mind
entertains another remote chance.  But, no, you realize, her appearance is not
an illusion.

>ronqon?
"Ever the master of small talk, I see."  She rolls her eyes, but continues
talking.  "Well, I do know they are not magically inclined.  There are no known
magic items that they have produced."

Then she takes the opportunity to mock you by whispering common knowledge like
you didn't know.  "Oh, and they're giants.

>g
"What am I, your Ronqon encyclopedia?" she says bitterly.

Cordelia hints at getting back together, but you deflect it tactfully.

>peace?
You discuss the treaty with her, and your predicament.

"Well," she concludes, "I definitely think the treaty would be beneficial to all
of us.  As a council member, I would consider it my duty to help get the treaty
document there."  You admire her ability to put aside her personal problems with
you, but you wouldn't be able to tell her that without sounding patronizing.

"I could deliver it myself.  Or, although it's risky and unpredictable, I could
teleport you there," she says, offering a noble and conscientious ruler really
only one choice.

"If you decide to go, make sure you have everything you need beforehand.  When
you're ready, let me know--fly? teleport? or decline?"

>council?
"I'm really looking forward to being a member," she says.  "I appreciate you
inviting me personally, even if it IS only your duty.  It will be good to have
an excuse to see each other and even better to be in a formal setting when we
do."

"Oh!  Would you wipe that silly grin off your face, already!" she screams.

>stone?
That's neither a verb nor a topic I recognize.

>i
You are carrying:
  a signed Ronqon peace treaty
  an "unbreakable" walking stick (unconsciously being tapped)
  your clothes (being worn)

Cordelia asks you a council related question, and you respond.

>x me
You, Kellen of Moorwick, Baron of Hinter, are a distinguished and handsome
gentleman in his mid 30s.  Your natural, noble bearing is tinged with years of
frontier life and its practicalities.  And that big, goofy, "I'm in love" grin
still hasn't come off.

Cordelia asks you a council related question, and you respond.

>fly?
Sending her off alone into the mountains is something you'd never do.

Cordelia moves her feet, putting the one that was in front now behind the other.

>teleport?
"I KNOW you Kellen.  You haven't thought this through, just like you don't think
a lot of things through.  Why not walk around for awhile, clear your head, talk
to some people?

When you're REALLY ready, I'll be ready."

Cordelia hints at getting back together, but you deflect it tactfully.

>shrine

Hinter Street
There are many about their business here, but to you right now they are the
painted backdrop of a stage.

[Nearby locations:  Manor, Tower, Shrine]


Shrine