Counterfeit Monkey — 98 of 292

Section 3 - Church Forecourt

The Church Forecourt is [south of Food Corner,] northwest of Fair, west of Park Center, [southwest of Postcard Stalls,] and north of Midway.

Rule for distantly describing the Church Forecourt:

if the player is in New Church:

say "It is much brighter out there in the Church Forecourt.";

otherwise:

say "That way lies the Church Forecourt, with the facade of the New Church itself visible on the west side. It's a handsome and dignified building, and still draws its share of tourists, if few worshippers."

[Some salespeople are an alert person in Church Forecourt. The description is "They are all male, somewhat scruffily dressed in bright-colored clothing. This is amateur hour: the real smugglers and counterfeiters and inventors, the [i]pidgitiers[/i], work down by the docks, or in concealed places around town; when you see them out of doors they are always respectable, and their wares are proof against authentication scopes."

The initial appearance is "Several enterprising salespeople have set out [blankets] on the sidewalk and are hawking wares almost guaranteed to be linguistic counterfeits."

[The introduction is "The salespeople are particularly daring because they are only a few hundred feet from the front door of the Rotunda. Nonetheless, no one has the right to arrest these characters except a special branch of the police, the black-caped Authenticators. The Authenticators ride around the city [--] slowly [--] on horseback. Notably, they never speed up enough to outpace the lookouts."]

Report the salespeople saying hello to the player:

say "[one of]'Buy a nice [random thing which is on the blankets]?' wheedles one of the salespeople. I fix them with a practiced cold stare.[or]'Bargains,' says one of the salespeople in a dull voice.[or][one of]The salespeople, recognizing us again, do not bother with another sales pitch.[or]There is a perfunctory nod from the salespeople.[or]The salespeople acknowledge us with a small nod.[at random][stopping]" instead.

The blankets are a supporter in the Market. The description is "Synthetic fleece, grubby from being spread on many sidewalks." Understand "blanket" or "cloth" as the blankets. The scent-description is "hot polyester".

Instead of putting something on the blankets:

try the salespeople discussing warning about blankets.

Instead of buying something which is on the blankets:

say "[The noun] [is-are] certainly fake."

On the blankets is a watch. The description of the watch is "A valuable watch with diamonds set in the face and a chunky metal band."

Instead of taking the watch when the watch is not handled and the watch is on the blankets:

say "Dubious though it is, the watch is being offered for sale: the salespeople would hardly permit us to walk off with it."

Rule for disclosing contents of the blankets:

say "Laid out on the blankets carefully as though precious merchandise [is-are a list of mentionable things on the blankets]. " ]

The church exterior is a facade in Church Forecourt. Understand "new church" or "plaster" or "entrance" or "entry" or "flank" or "building" or "flank of the building" as the church exterior. The printed name is "New Church".

"This corner of the park, in the lee of the church, has been left free of kiosks and booths. Contrary to the usual rules of cathedral layout, the [church exterior] is oriented toward the north, so [you] are standing by the flank of the building, though there is an entrance on this side."

The description is "It manages to be austere without seeming in the least modern: the walls are white and the windows clear, but the proportions, the texture of the plaster, the irregular leading between the panes of glass, all come of the age of handmade things."

Instead of touching the church exterior:

say "We rest our spread palm on the wall of the church. It is reassuringly solid."

Some clear windows are part of the church exterior. Understand "panes" or "glass" or "leading" or "irregular" as the clear windows.

The description is "They reflect the lucid blue of the sky."

Instead of searching the clear windows:

say "The lighting conditions are such that [you] can't see in, only catch the reflection of the sky above."

Rule for listing exits when in Church Forecourt:

if boldening is true:

say "[b]South[/b] and [b]east[/b] lead to more of the park; there is a small [cinema-exterior][if the backpack is not handled] (where I left my pack)[end if] to the [b]north[/b], and the entrance to the [church exterior] is [b]west[/b].";

else:

say "South and east lead to more of the park; there is a small [cinema-exterior][if the backpack is not handled] (where I left my pack)[end if] to the north, and the entrance to the [church exterior] is west.";

The cinema-exterior is a facade in Church Forecourt. It fronts north. It is scenery. The description is "Large red letters on the marquee announce the latest film from Cannes." Understand "small" or "cinema" or "theater" or "theatre" or "movie" or "red letters" or "large red" or "large letters" or "large red letters" or "marquee" or "film" or "cannes" as the cinema-exterior. The printed name is "cinema".