Once upon a time, there was this stupid guy named Tommy B. Tommy B was super bored one day, which seemed to happen quite often, and so he decided to go on a trip. Well, as you all know, he lives on a quaint little farm down a long path through the woods, on an island that floats high in the sky.
"I really need to get out more," he declared to nobody in particular - a good sign that he needed to get out more. "Hmm." He grabbed a coffee mug, which magically filled itself with a steaming brew, threw on a backpack full of odds and ends (that is, odd socks whose mates he's lost, and the practically unusable stub ends of candles ... not sure why he had a bag of these things, but wizards are weird), and stepped outside his hatchery tower and onto the path. As he passed by his hatchery, he glumly noticed the continued absence of any Malachite eggs on the nests, and his parks' lack of Gold dragons or a Ruby pedestal, and sighed. But his Love dragon Mellissa nuzzled his shoulder, and that made everything better!
It was a beautiful afternoon, and the sun was warm but the breeze up in the sky was cool, and taking in a deep breath of fresh air Tommy B started down the old stone path towards his home island's warp-in, Sham-Rock Henge. Muttering a quick incantation, the old wizard rubbed an odd sock between his fingers, and a spark of magic flew to the Sham-Rock stones, setting the warp-in aglow, and *poof* he was gone!
"Well, it's been a long year, and not much good has come of it. So many frustrations, such as how we're gonna keep the park open, and what to do with all the dragon droppings ... It's gonna be nice when the baby comes, though, except I'm halfway afraid he's gonna be a really powerful magician and cause all sorta weird things to happen before he learns to control his magical abilities. Should be interesting. Humm. Well, I'm sure we'll figure stuff out. Been cooped-up too long at the hatchery. Sure is nice to get out. Change of scenery. Hmm, maybe I'll even discover a little trinket or trick somewhere on my travels. Haven't been to a good friend's park in a while. Maybe I'll even get some ideas for the layout of that eyesore Junk Island of mine. Can't just keep randomly dumping new dragons and decorations there forever! Yeah, definitely need some inspiration. Hmm. I really look forward to this little trip," he thought in the split-microsecond as his discorporated spirit shot through the aethir from his park to his destination.
There was a reverberating *zhzhzhzh* as he was re-materialized by the warp-in point, and getting his bearings (and making sure all his, er, parts had successfully made the transition back to flesh), Tommy B looked around. Behind him, he heard the pleasant plattering of little drops of water from a pastel vernal fountain. He turned to look at it, and also saw a dormant sun stone display and a pearly pool. "Nice," he thought, as he took in the little scene. Well-tended marble paths ran through the grass, and rows of beautiful golden- and red-leafed trees surrounded the little warp-in glade. He took in a deep breath, smiled, and set out down the path. Heading north, the first exciting sight to see was a Ruby egg incubating atop a nest at his friend's hatchery. "Lucky ..." Tommy B thought - briefly - about hiding the egg in his backpack, to bring home for his pedestal collection. But that wouldn't be nice. His nose tickled, and he looked around, and saw eight big farms, set out in a pair of grids with their fields fallow and their stone walls in good repair. "Hmm, no crops growing."
There was a roar, startling the veteran dragon breeder, and he turned north again just in time to glimpse the mighty horn of a well-fed Metal dragon, well, we'll keep this G-rated. A beautiful breeding cave, fully-upgraded and glimmering a gorgeous rose, was presently home to said Metal dragon along with a Plant dragon. "My money's on a Malachite. Yup." To his right and left, Tommy B saw a Fountain of Youth and a Hibernation Cave. He lifted his eyes higher and took in the greater island views, smiling as a warm summer breeze rustled through wave after wave of deep red and brilliant golden leaves, happy trees' limbs waving gently in the wind. It was a nice day. From this vantage also, he could see away to a Gemstone Island, where waterfalls splashed down to rain on lands far below, and a Gemstone dragon of every known variety could just be seen playing or napping in peace and quiet. There was a party hat over there, completely unreachable from where Tommy B stood, which he thought was cruel and unfair. He was pout.
Off to the west, floating in air but chained to this island, was an Epic Breeding Island, something Tommy B himself had never gotten the gems to upgrade. From this distance, though, it sure looked pretty, and shiny! A Poison and a Forge dragon were rollicked in the green verdure there. "Yup. Malachite. I'm not the only one missing that one." Tommy B skipped his old bones back toward the warp-in, to head to another island in the park. He made no spell, allowing the warp-in's magic to dot him to whichever local island it chose.
"Brr!" Okay, it wasn't that bad. But an igloo stood to his right, and a tall, weird-looking building just in front of him. He looked closer (or, for you grammar geeks, more closely) at the tall building, and identified it as the weird-looking building just in front of him. Weird. It was an Air Boost Building, which of course he had at his own park. The old wizard muttered and shook his head, wondering again why the Air Boost was the only Boost Building that didn't match the design of its element's habitats at all. Well. There was a neat spell, at least, on its slate shingles, which at first glance made them look to be dripping with gleaming, slowly-melting ice and snow, but upon further inspection were clearly only magicked to look that way. Kinda fit in with the rest of the island. To his left he saw a deep and tall Air habitat, and the *whomp whomp whomp* of flying dragon wings made a little breeze. "Let's see, a nice collection ... Willow, Air, Pollen, and Firechicken."
A path of marble and dark stone led through the island, and Tommy B set off, noting the various species of Cold dragons he found. "Ice, yes, Cold, duh. Ah, a Bloom - don't see too many of those any more, but so pretty. Iceberg, ugly stupid thing. Looks like a bloated rhinoceros that melted in the sun." It gave him a distressed bellow, so he hurried on. "Bluefire, neat. Snow, brr. What else? Lichen, diseased-looking creature. Wow, a Reindeer ... definitely won't fit in my backpack," he sighed. Continuing around, enjoying the beautiful autumnal foliage, Tommy B finally stopped before something that really did make him smile. "Ah, yes. Ha ha. An empty -
empty - Treasure habitat. Ha ha ha. I don't feel so bad, now. Hee-hee." Of course, he wasn't tempted to steal any of Smaug's gold, cuz, well, duh, being a wizard he could make his own gold any time he wanted. He turned to head back to the warp-in, and on the way he pressed his fingers into his forehead. "Mmm, sinus pressure. Ugh. I hope I'm not getting a cold." Which was odd, since the Cold habitats on this island should have made his nose run, and the Pollen Dragon should have made him sneeze - but a sinus headache was caused by neither of those. Strange.
*Zhzhzhzh* and he popped out to a dizzying sight: spread out before the wizard for what seemed liked miles was a grid of contrasts: squares of glittering gold flagstones surrounding gleaming golden statues and banners with element symbols on them, the symbols fluttering in the breeze. Beyond, alternating dark and marble flagstones made a checkerboard in the grass that was filled in by dozens and dozens of egg pedestals, and sparkling crystal displays that looked to be placeholders. There were rows of elemental flags, one row of which also was interspersed with rare dragon eggs. Far off in the distance, Tommy B spotted a row of highly-prized, limited-edition egg pedestals, and he counted nine different sorts. A little row of three Gemstone dragon eggs was on one side, and then the whole field full of egg after egg, no one variety duplicated. "Very impressive. I hope there's good security here, because any budding dragon collector would stop at nothing to get his hands on such a collection." Then he noted the fireworks cauldron in the corner, and knew that the field of dreaming eggs was well protected. He stepped back onto the warp-in, sneezed, and *zhzhzhzh*
A gentle breeze blew past, almost flowing through Tommy B, and rustling the majestic leaves of the semi-sentient Dragonsai Tree he found himself standing before. "Ahhh, nice to get out." It was almost serene, until he heard the sounds! Roars and *whomp*s and other weird dragony sounds filled the air, and in the distance the noise of a crowd cheering and gasping and applauding. A dark stone path led the way through the island's interior, and the highest branches of happy red trees waved at him from afar. Splashing happily in a large Water habitat, Tommy B noted a Water dragon, Current ("Bane of my existence ..."), ugly Plasma, and a Swamp dragon, while overhead a regal Rainbow dragon did the Stompy Stompy Dragon Dance. Moving on, he ticked off (well, like a list, not like made angry) a Lava, Crystal, Dodo, Sandstorm, Mud, Quake, Earth, Moss, Tree, Mountain, and very nice, a rare Bone dragon. There was also a pretty Sakura dragon, whom Tommy stopped to admire for a while, as it was one of his favorites. Tommy B pulled an odd sock out of his backpack and blew his nose into it. He also saw, cavorting in a little forest glade, a rare Clover, a Plant, and a pretty little Evergreen dragon. He stood for a minute to admire the way the Evergreen's needle-like foliage shimmered in the sunshine. Beside a couple of weird crystally thingies there was a bright, hot Sun habitat, home to a Solstice dragon, and the weird-looking Earth Boost Building. A pair of pots of gold was home to a pair of Leap Year Dragons, which was nice to see. He knew that there were few of those left in the world ...
But the sound of the crowds drew the old wizard farther north, and he quickly saw its source: a Colosseum! And inside the competitor was a Firefrost dragon! Er, Frostfire! Er, whatever! Wow, ever since Tommy B wiped his park clean and started over, he kept forgetting to try to breed another of these! He took out an end from his backpack, because he knew he needed to remember this idea. Muttering a brief spell of remembrance, which caused the little candle stub to light, Tommy B reached up and stuck it to the brim of his broad, floppy hat, trusting it to remind him of the idea it now held once he got home. Well, he watched the mustachioed little beast roll around in the snow for a little while - he really had no earthly idea how these games were judged - and then moved on, back to the warp-in point, letting it take him wherever in the park it wished.
Quick, down! To the left! Aaugh! He dove behind a giant crystalline metallic structure jutting out of the ground, just in time to dodge the globs of magma and ash bombs that pelted the ground, singeing grass and smudging marble paths. "That was close." The volcano in the middle of the island subsided for the nonce (a good word, by the way). Dusting himself off, Tommy B got his old wizard bones back in order and stood with a creak. "Aha," he thought, "a nice assortment of habitats! And the decor is very well-suited." He grabbed an odd from his backpack and, stretching the mismatched sock with his fingers, spelled it and tossed it in the air. It grew to many times its size and stretched out until it made a nice, sock-shaped shield that hovered in the air above him wherever he went. "That'll keep the volcano from getting me." Safe now, he set out to explore the island, enjoying the continued theme of autumn trees.
"Let's see, a Rust, okay, and a Chrome. Dumb-looking beast, that. A Mine dragon, sure." The Mine dragon, as he watched, was selfishly hoarding all the food in one corner and guarding it as though everything belonged to him. Another dragon, which Tommy hadn't immediately recognized, was surreptitiously trying to snag food from the Mine dragon's hoard. "Ah, Steel dragon. Over here, another Chrome, great for trying to breed Rubies and Golds, all right. Another Rust, and, ah, that must be a Malachite! Very nice, and
big!" He continued on, skirting the volcano and ignoring the occasional rain of fiery particles that bounced harmlessly off his giant floating sock. "Lightning hab, whatcha got? Ugly Lightning, check. Plasma, okay. Aha, a Love dragon, very pretty." The Love dragon winked at him, cuz that's what they do. Then he plugged his ears as he identified a Sonic dragon. "Oh, and the awkward acne teenager Cactus dragon, hello. Moving along, a nice pair of Magnetic dragons, an Iron, good." He stopped a minute to admire the way the Magnetic dragons' wings flew apart and re-coalesced as they flapped them. Quite a beast.
Next, and continuing around the volcano, there were also a Forge, Scorch, Copper, Firefly, Iron, and Brass dragon. Then, to the west, Tommy B admired the rare Butterfly, along with her companions a Blazing and Fire. "Very nice collection here," he noted. His nose tickled, and he blew it again on the old mismatched sock from before. "Glad I brought my odds and ends." He tromped back to the warp-in point, and -
*Zhzhzhzh* rematerialized at a basic sweatshop island. The familiar roars of a multitude of Panlongs filled the air, and he watched a veritable army of attendants rushing in and out of the island's many pagodas as they scurried to feed, clean, maintain, and - of course - collect coin from the Panlongs' Earth habitats. "Quite a setup," though he figured a couple more habitats could be squeezed on to this island. In one corner, a Fire Boost Building could be seen. As he watched, the horns running along its roof peak occasionally opened up and foggers rose up out of them on articulated mechanical arms to shoot a fine ash into the air. Glad that his odd sock had come along through the warp-in, Tommy B followed the clouds of ash from the nozzles to the many cacti growing around the island. No doubt magma, pumice, and ash were brought to this building from the volcano next door, to be processed into fertilizer and plant food for the cacti. Scanning, and, yes, there it was: a Water Boost Habitat. A dozen or more pipes came out from the building straight into the ground, and, the canny wizard guessed, carried pure mountain stream water from the building to the cacti. Such a setup was ideal for growing that particular favorite food of the Panlong dragons, a specific cactus that traditionally grows only in the northern steppes of Mongolia. "Quite a setup, very nice." Tommy nodded his approval, whereupon a sneezing fit suddenly overtook him.
A few Panlongs looked his way in alarm as he blew his nose loudly upon the sock, but more sneezes came. "Ugh." He suddenly remembered why he couldn't stay long at this park. It wasn't the cold, or the pollen, or the ash, and it wasn't the flowers or the autumn foliage, or even the farms lying fallow. The sneezing fit grew worse, and it became hard to take in enough air between sneezes, so Tommy B rushed to the warp-in. "A shame I can't stay and - *achoo!* - enjoy the park," he muttered to himself.
He jumped on to the warp-in, but it took him a couple attempts to get the incantation right that would take him home, in-between sneezes and blowing his nose. Finally, he managed to get the spell out, and *zhzhzhzh* disappeared into the aethir.
"Ahh - *achoo!* - home. *Snort* Phew." The sock floating above shrunk to its original size as he grabbed it down and stuck it back into his bag. "Ugh. Really too bad I can only spend so much time there," he thought as he came down the familiar winding forest path to his home. He wiped his nose on the mismatched sock that had become his new handkerchief. Stepping inside, he didn't have to light any candles, because the one on the brim of his hat lit up the room quite well, which reminded him of the bright idea that he needed to get back to trying to breed that Frostfire. "That was fun," he thought. "I always enjoy visiting the park of my good friend ...
mc_(s)neeze."
Aaa-CHOO!
just having tea, so if people are having bad luck, try breeding for it while drinking tea. Like captain Picard, it is tea, earl grey, hot.
