Thanks, yes hyperlinks are acceptable. (Actually they’re more than acceptable, providing the player with short lists of links to click on to choose between options is exactly what I want) So Quest is on the list!
Btw: I’m almost giving up on Twinkle, because 1) little to no activity in the support group 2) no real documentation (which macros are there?) 3) the GUI tool seems unstable and not really suited to larger projects 4) I’ve encountered bugs in my simple 5(!) paragraph test story. (The twee command line interface is something else and I’ve not given up there but I can’t figure out to make it plus Python work 
- again the instructions are minimal; and besides, even if I get it up and running, I really do need a comprehensive reference document of the twee/twinkle language; several question are posted at the google groups but left unanswered for months). A shame really, it seemed to be wonderfully simple and yet powerful enough.
Also btw: Googling found this: https://intfiction.org/t/there-are-a-lot-of-people-making-new-languages/1571/1 Interesting - everybody seem to agree there is a real need for exactly the tool I wish for 
A bit strange really - those TADS-like systems are incredibly complex, huge projects. Is it just me that is wondering how come such enormous resources have been spent on Infocom-style adventures but next to none on simpler tools. (I’m gathering you could create ten twee’s for even one tads!)