Window Shopping

Recently I took some of the girls shopping (well window shopping!) in the City Square.
Steffany thought she saw a squirrel in the Antique Shop so she was off to check.
Gabbi Griffin saw some strange-looking animals on top of the Glass Painting so she flew off to investigate.
Petunia Pig & Heather Hippo, liking all things girly, went to look in the Doll Showcase.

I took Perdita Pegasus to meet Christian the Bard. He took one look - another one (male) bites the dust!! He exclaimed that she inspired him to compose a song
"Give me a head with hair.. ...Long, beautiful hair... ..Flowing, gleaming..." . While Perdita gazed enthralled at a singing Christian, I went to check the others.

Steffany was a tad bewildered. There WAS a squirrel in there but it kept disappearing each time there was a "clicking " sound. So Steffany explored the shop. She found a lovely silver chest filled with coins which she bought back to me. I looked at Steffany & said "What else!" She showed me the Golden Flower (bling!). "Put it back, Steffany!" Reluctantly she did. That girl!
Gabbi returned with a wooden chest. I tried to warn her about 'stranger-danger' but to Gabbi, 'a stranger is a friend she had not met yet. Besides a secret agent loves danger!'. I gave up.

That's when I heard the tinkling of glass. Looking over to the Doll Showcase, I saw the front window broken. Just then an officer of the Unified Law arrived & proceeded to question the girls. Amid much eyelash batting & coy smiles, the girls said innocently that it was like that when they found it & that they saw something fleeing over towards the City Clock. Thanking the girls, the officer chased the gargoyles on the roof. Both Petunia & Heather handed me silver chests. "Where?" Giggling they replied "From the Doll Showcase!" Then trotted off home.

Just then Christian finished singing so I went over. For such an appreciative audience, Christian gave Perdita a gold chest.

It was time to go home. As we trudged off wearily, I hoped Christian watched where he put his feet. Perdita still wasn't toilet-trained.

Prickles’s First Gold Chest

I went to see Anabel at the Castle Gates about an item she was requesting for a quest of hers. Snazzy, Happy & Prickles came along. While I talked to Anabel.......

Snazzy Snail took part in the Broken Well Relay. Being a sprinter, Snazzy was to run the final leg of the relay. All spruced up in her best colours, Snazzy waited to be handed the baton. Then there was a wolf whistle!! Snazzy's eyes went right & then left before she spotted a good-looking male snail, also waiting to be handed a baton. He smiled & winked at Snazzy. She started to preen, completely forgetting about the relay race. When the Baton of Swiftness was handed to her, she dropped it. With a laugh the male snail took off & poor Snazzy was unable to catch him. While the other team got the Winner's Reward, Snazzy's team had to settle for a rusty chest. Currently the other team members are not talking to Snazzy.

Happy & Prickles played 'hide & seek' in the Rock Garden. Much laughter could be heard. Then Happy cut his foot on the Grave Blade. While I was tending to Happy, Prickles went up to Anabel. Blushing furiously, he handed her a gold chest & stammered "Y-Y-You- your Gar-ar- den!" Thanking him for his honesty, Anabel let him keep the gold chest. He was chuffed - his first GOLD chest!

Waving to Anabel, we headed home - me carrying Happy with Snazzy hiding in my pocket & Prickles floating on his euphoric cloud. What a day!

The Itch

Yesterday Cuddles Panda went for his regular morning jog around the Castle. Mandy Manticore & Fireball Phoenix went with him. Emerald Dragon was supposed to go with them but she was a little "hungover" from a party she went to the night before. When Cuddles, Mandy & Fireball reached the Castle Entry, they stopped for a 'breather'.

Mandy noticed that the Werewolf (Iron) Knight appeared in distress so she went over & asked what the problem was. "It's this Infernal Armour! My back is itchy & I can't reach it to scratch it." Mandy offered to scratch it for him.

Meanwhile Cuddles & Fireball went over to talk to the Keeper of the Castle. He said how pleased he was that the boys had filled in all the holes that "that dratted puppy had dug around his domain". For services to Midnight Castle, the Keeper gave both of them a gold chest.

Mandy finished scratching the Werewolf Knight's back. He was so grateful that he gave her a silver chest containing 2 unique stamps & some coin. Mandy felt her breath hitch, all she had done was scratch an itch. "Any time!" she said.

The threesome decided not to continue with the jog. Instead they headed for home to show off their surprise treasures.

Sebastian Discovers His Green Thumb

You may remember that Sebastian Seal was out on bail. Well he has had his day in court. He pleaded guilty to growing a prohibited substance. The Crown of Justice sternly lectured Sebastian & warned him if he came before the court again, he would be handed a Prison Baton, not a suspended sentence.

Contrite for all the trouble he had caused, Sebastian has remained close to home. In fact he has been labouring in the backyard - out under the Burning Sun where he has become a regular Solar Seal. Sebastian has been transforming the Overgrown Pond into a Blooming Pond with the help of Pauly Parrot.
"B***** weeds! Bl**** weeds!! Hell. more B***** weeds!!!"
"Pauly!" I called "If you keep swearing, I am going to wash your mouth out with soap!"
"ACK! BUBBLES! ACK! BUBBLES!" Pauly squarked.
Next I could hear "Bubbles, WEEDS!" BUBBLES WEEDS!!" You gotta love them sometimes.

Sebastian has used the Stone of Wild Nature to create a floral haven. Around it he has cultivated the Life Flower, the Midnight Rose & the Sun Rose. He planted bulbs in another area & waits for the Ashen Lily & the Black Lily to grow. Using a Fancy Ornament, Sebastian has made a shady spot to grow the Night Orchid. If the Seed of Life sprouts, he may even get a Lucky Clover. Sebastian is turning out to have a green thumb (Nope! make that flipper!). Sebastian is certainly making amends.

Ahh! Good Intentions! Hope they last a long while.

An Outing to the Mystery Chamber

"Psst!! Have you heard there is an assassin in Town?" I have sent Fireball to investigate & while I wait for him to return I will keep the pets close to the Castle. Had a family outing in the Mystery Chamber recently - Steffany, Bright Eyes, Hooter, Emerald & I.

Hooter headed off to speak to the Wise Owl that lived in the Tree of Knowledge. Hooter had discovered that colour blindness can run in families so he wanted to trace his family tree & needed advice why to start. Wise Owl told him to consult the Horn of Ancestry. They were talking when a furry bundle (make that 2 furry bundles) bounded up the Tree of Knowledge & jumped from branch to branch, then disappeared. "Who Whoo Whoo!" said the Wise Owl. "Oh, it's just Bright Eyes & Steffany." replied Hooter. As a parting gift, Wise Owl unearthed a rusty chest & gave it to Hooter. Maybe he is colour blind too!

Steffany & Bright Eyes were having lots of fun scampering around the Chamber. Up & down the Column of the Fallen they went. "Steady!" groused the statue. Over to check out the funny-looking birds. As they neared the Chained Eagles, its legs (or was it?) began to scissor with a clacking sound. Steffany got such a fright, she raced back to the Column of the Fallen, up it she went & hid at the top. It took much coaxing & a gift of a gold chest from the Column of the Fallen to get her to come down. Bright Eyes, on the other hand, was intrigued. She investigated further & found a silver chest.

Emerald was pouting. I had insisted she come with us. It was family time. Emerald preferred party time. Suddenly Emerald belched - a Fireball flew out of her mouth & hit the Heart of the Chamber. It burst into flames. No! No! Oh, dear, no! I thought. The Keeper of Wishes sighed in relief & smiled. "Thank you," she said. "It was getting a little chilly in here but you have ignited the heater so things will warm up now." In appreciation, she gave Emerald a silver chest containing 3 diamonds & some coin.

I thought it prudent we leave before we wore out our welcome - after all we had a rusty chest, 2 silver chests & a gold chest plus a happy Keeper of Wishes. Time to go!

The Assassin

Fireball has returned. He found the assassin. "That is one rude dude!" Fireball also has some very disturbing news. which sends us hurrying to the Mystery Chamber. It appears Chris the Assassin was sent here to kill the Keeper of Wishes. This news really upset the Keeper & she readily agreed to Fireball's suggestion that he provide her with protection. She even gave him a gold chest. As we left the Mystery Chamber, I noticed a smirk on Fireball's face. What was he up to? I wondered suspiciously.

Hoppy had accompanied us but did not go into the Mystery Chamber. Instead he went to visit Arabella Scales in the Underground Grotto. When we came out into the Grotto, there was Arabella & Hoppy sitting on the Pedestal of Wit trading stories. Arabella apologised profusely that she only had a silver chest to give Hoppy. Hoppy smiled his mega-watt smile (you know, the one that showed his Teeth of the North) & said "No problem" "Come back soon!" cried Arabella. Looking pointedly at Hoppy, I said "Fan Club member?" He nodded & smirked.

Some days I feel like it is one step forward & two steps back with some of my pets.

Just One of Those Days

Pacing up & down..... right & left... Worrying, wondering "What is that pet up to?"

Suddenly Liv stomped past, out the door & with a roar of motorcycles, she disappeared with Apocalypse Rider & his bikie gang.

The object of my worrying, Fireball, rushed in the door, dropped a gold chest at my feet - said 'from the Keeper of Wishes' - and disappeared out the door again before I could say a word. What was happening???

Now where is Pup? We were playing "Fetch" when I threw the stick a bit far. Hope he hasn't got himself into trouble. Oh well.

"Coming Perdita!" It is naptime. "How about I read you a story from your favourite - the Book of Dancing Shadows". Soon a soft snore lets me know someone in this household has settled down.

Excited yipping could be heard so I headed outside to find - Pup racing towards me carrying a long stout pole. He dropped it at my feet, sat back on his haunches with a look that said "See, I found it!" I glanced up to see Arabella Scales hurrying up my driveway - shaking her fist furiously at Pup. "THAT! That dratted puppy!" she panted. "He took one of the thick sticks I used to hold my Cauldron up - now my potion is spilled all over the ground! THAT! THAT! " she ran out of words but her look spoke a Volume of Fury. "Keep him out of my way!" she shouted as she headed back to the Underground Grotto. I look at Pup.  Now people tell me "He's just a puppy! He will grow out of it!" 'Please, I pray, give me Strength & Courage to last that long'!!!!

Now if I only knew what Fireball was up too?

Adventure

ADVENTURE! The pets were off & I had to race to catch up. We were going to Mirror Lake for an outing.

Pauly Parrot looked forward to catching up with Skull Pete's parrot. I warned Pauly "Any swearing & you won't be allowed back!" Petunia Pig & Heather Hippo wanted to investigate the Pirate Ship. Sebastian Seal & Pup Puppy just wanted to have a good time. Perdita Pegasus wanted to see the Lake.

When we got there, Pauly, Petunia & Heather peeled off to their respective objectives. Perdita found all that water a little intimidating & decided to stick close to me. Being friendly, I shared Skull Pete's bottle of amargnac (just one drink!) & as he got mellow the stories started. Perdita was spellbound & Skull Pete so loved having an audience that he gave her a gold chest ( "Another male bites the dust!")

Skull Pete's parrot was confused with Pauly speak. Instead of the usual 'colourful' language, Pauly kept saying "Not Bl****! Bubbles! Bubbles instead!" In the end the parrot gave Pauly a silver chest because he couldn't understand what Pauly was talking about.

Meanwhile, Sebastian & Pup had discovered the Kraken & decided to play "Tag" with it. Sebastian swam out with Pup dogpaddling behind him. Then they would bark & make a playful lunge for the Kraken's tentacle to see if they could "tag" it. The Kraken would wave its tentacles & give a fiery roar. They were all having a great time until one fiery roar came too close to the Bow Figure who shouted very loudly & very crossly. "STOP! STOP THAT, RIGHT NOW!" He tossed 2 rusty chests at Sebastian & Pup & told them to "Go Away!"

The loud roar startled Petunia & Heather who had been playing in the rigging. Heather fell out of the rigging & through the deck to the lower level in the ship. Petunia jumped after her friend. We rushed up onto the Pirate Ship to make sure the girls were okay. Heather was sitting on a silver chest while Petunia was lying on a gold one. They had found Skull Pete's treasure room! Petunia spotted Skull Pete & began moaning & squealing (what a ham actor!!!). Skull Pete gave Petunia the gold chest she was lying on & Heather Hippo the silver chest as compensation for any injuries.

I decide it was time to go home. We heard a loud shout. "SHIVER ME TIMBERS! WHO BROKE ME SHIP'S WHEEL?" We kept going although I am sure I heard giggling from behind me.

The Moonshine Episode

Cee_For has been one busy cat lately. He has been scrounging all the HOS for large clear bottles - to date he has found them in the Skulls, the Pirate Ship & the Winter Garden in the Castle while in Town, he has found them in the Doll Showcase & the Overgrown Pond. Why did he want them?
He has been schmoozing the cherub in the Scroll Storage & she has rewarded him with lots of Poisonous Flower. What was he doing?

Apparently Cee_For & Salty have gone into business making Moonshine. Whenever Arabella was away, Cee_For would use her Cauldron to brew his liquor. In went the Tears of Impurity (from the Rune Altar), the Poisonous Flower & another ingredient that is a Bloody Secret. When the Cauldron had expended its Boiling Power, Cee-For distilled his brew through the Purifying Fire. Then bottled it. Together, Salty & Cee_For took the Moonshine back to the Tavern & put it in the basement.

Beware if you have a drink at Salty's! That stuff has been known to cause you to go with Green Sickness.