Backyard — 2 of 15

Part 1 - Scenery

The Backyard is a room. "Your backyard is large. Very large[if grass-weed is in location] and in parts overgrown with grass[otherwise], with a big lawn[end if][if reeds are in location]; in one corner there's a patch of tall reeds[otherwise]; in one corner there's even a small pond[end if]. Behind the crumbling fence, a meadow is nibbled by an encroaching forest."

The forest is scenery in the Backyard. "Bushes, saplings, young trees, and then a mass of tall trees of all kinds upon a thick underbrush. [one of]A bird flies up, circles and settles onto a different branch.[or]One bush shakes vigorously.[or]A large shadow moves far off through the trees.[purely at random]" .

The meadow is scenery in the Backyard. "Sunny, with bees buzzing between the sweet smelling flowers."

The fence is scenery in the Backyard. "By this point, it's more of a statement than an actual barrier. Rotten and half-eaten through boards have fallen down in several places."

The grass is scenery in the Backyard. "[if the grass-weed is in location]Grotesquely overgrown.[otherwise]A nice lawn. You could dig a garden bed here, if you wanted.". Understand "lawn" as the grass when the grass-weed is nowhere.

The reeds are scenery in the Backyard. "Tall and almost unpenetrable."

The pond is scenery. "A hidden meadow spring forms a small pond by the edge of the yard.[if the lotus is in the pond] The surface is covered by large lotus leaves.[end if][if the reed nest is suitable] By the pond you see a reed nest." The pond is a container.

Carry out inserting something (called the floater) into the pond:

say "[The floater] doesn't need a swim." instead.

The tree is a container in the Backyard. "A solitary tree is growing in the middle of the space.". It is fixed in place. The description of the tree is "A largish beech tree with nice thick branches.[if scythe is in the tree] A scythe is wedged high in the branches. It's probably safer not to speculate how it got up there.". Understand "beech" as the tree.

A branch is part of the tree. The description of the branch is "Sturdy and reachable - like they were made for climbing." Instead of climbing the branch, try climbing the tree. Understand "branches" as branch. Instead of putting something on the branch, try inserting the noun into the tree.

Instead of climbing the tree for the first time:

say "You start climbing the tree. You go higher and higher, until you get within reach of the scythe. You give it a big push and it slides free. Unfortunately this is too much for your balance, and you start tumbling to the ground.

You grab onto banches on the way, but still end up wheezing on your back in the grass.

You stand up after a while, dust yourself and pick out all the twigs that caught on you during your fall.";

now the scythe is in the location;

now the scythe is described;

now the bunch of twigs is carried by the player.

Instead of climbing the tree:

say "Considering your previous attempt, do you think it's such a great idea?"

[Inside from the Backyard is the shed. ] The shed is a container in the Backyard. "A dinky wooden shed crouches to one side." The description of the shed is "A small unimpressive toolshed[if the shed is locked], securely closed and locked[end if].". The shed is opaque and locked. It is fixed in place.