Winkie Country The Winkie Country occupies the western quarter of the land of Oz. The people there prefer the color yellow. This land was previously ruled by a Wicked Witch, but her wicked ways left her so dried up that she dissolved when Dorothy splashed her with water. Ever since then, the Winkies have been ruled by their Emperor, the Tin Woodman. Bear Center "But there are no houses, there are no bears living here at all!" exclaimed Cayke. "Oh indeed!" retorted their captor, and raising his gun he pulled the trigger. The cork flew out of the tin barrel with a loud "pop!" and at once from every hole in every tree within view of the clearing appeared the head of a bear. They were of many colors and of many sizes, but all were made in the same manner as the bear who had met and captured them. -- The Lost Princess of Oz Bear Center is not inhabited by real bears, but stuffed bears of all varieties. Their King is a large Lavender Bear, who squeaks when his body is squeezed. It is considered rude to mention this when it occurs. He has some magical skills, being able to create images of things that he wishes to view, much like Ozma’s Magic Picture. He also has access to the Little Pink Bear, who can answer any question put to it when it’s crank is wound. Bear Center Characters All of the bears in Bear Center are stuffed, and so should be built with the Crafted trait, if not using the Crafted Folk template. The Deadly Weapon trait is inappropriate, as none of these bears have dangerous teeth or claws and any weapons they possess are toys as well. Adventure Hooks The Little Pink Bear is never wrong. But he says that the person sitting on the throne of the Tin Castle is not Nick Chopper. What is going on? Herku In outward appearance the place was more imposing than Thi, and it was a square city, with a square, four-sided wall around it, and on each side was a square gate of burnished copper. Everything about the city looked solid and substantial; there were no banners flying, and the towers that rose above the city wall seemed bare of any ornament whatever. A path led from the fruit orchard directly to one of the city gates, showing that the inhabitants preferred fruit to thistles. Our friends followed this path to the gate, which they found fast shut. But the Wizard advanced and pounded upon it with his fist, saying in a loud voice, "Open!" At once there rose above the great wall a row of immense heads, all of which looked down at them as if to see who was intruding. The size of these heads was astonishing, and our friends at once realized that they belonged to giants who were standing within the city. All had thick, bushy hair and whiskers, on some the hair being white and on others black or red or yellow, while the hair of a few was just turning gray, showing that the giants were of all ages. However fierce the heads might seem, the eyes were mild in expression, as if the creatures had been long subdued, and their faces expressed patience rather than ferocity. -- The Lost Princess of Oz The city of Herku is ruled by the Czarover, inventor of the fabulous compound zosozo. Only one teaspoon of zosozo per year is necessary to give the people of Herku the strength to enslave the giants that serve the city. It has the side effect of making the Herku appear frail and bony. Adventure Hooks Enslaving anybody is wrong, but there’s no way to oppose the strength of the Herku. And if the Herku should lose their strength, the newly freed giants might decide to stomp their former masters. It’s a knotty problem worthy of the Sawhorse’s knot-hole brains. Merry-Go-Round Mountains "I guess these are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, all right," said Dorothy. "They must be," said the Wizard. "They go 'round, sure enough," agreed Trot, "but they don't seem very merry." There were several rows of these mountains, extending both to the right and to the left for miles and miles. How many rows there might be none could tell, but between the first row of peaks could be seen other peaks, all steadily whirling around one way or another. Continuing to ride nearer, our friends watched these hills attentively, until at last, coming close up, they discovered there was a deep but narrow gulf around the edge of each mountain, and that the mountains were set so close together that the outer gulf was continuous and barred farther advance. At the edge of the gulf they all dismounted and peered over into its depths. There was no telling where the bottom was, if indeed there was any bottom at all. From where they stood it seemed as if the mountains had been set in one great hole in the ground, just close enough together so they would not touch, and that each mountain was supported by a rocky column beneath its base which extended far down in the black pit below. From the land side it seemed impossible to get across the gulf or, succeeding in that, to gain a foothold on any of the whirling mountains. -- The Lost Princess of Oz The Marry-Go-Round Mountains seem impassable, but they are not. Scraps the Patchwork Girl accomplished it by creating a rope swing out of the Sawhorse’s harness. She then swung her way over the gulf and onto the mountains. The spinning mountains then bounced her from one peak to the other until she was thrown clear of the mountains on the other side. The mountains themselves are soft and rubbery, so that even people who are not stuffed with cotton can make the journey safely. Oogaboo "I'm Queen of Oogaboo," said Ann, proudly. "But," she added with a sigh, "my kingdom is the smallest and the poorest in all the Land of Oz." This was quite true. Away up in the mountains, in a far corner of the beautiful fairyland of Oz, lies a small valley which is named Oogaboo, and in this valley lived a few people who were usually happy and contented and never cared to wander over the mountain pass into the more settled parts of the land. They knew that all of Oz, including their own territory, was ruled by a beautiful Princess named Ozma, who lived in the splendid Emerald City; yet the simple folk of Oogaboo never visited Ozma. They had a royal family of their own—not especially to rule over them, but just as a matter of pride. Ozma permitted the various parts of her country to have their Kings and Queens and Emperors and the like, but all were ruled over by the lovely girl Queen of the Emerald City. The King of Oogaboo used to be a man named Jol Jemkiph Soforth, who for many years did all the drudgery of deciding disputes and telling his people when to plant cabbages and pickle onions. But the King's wife had a sharp tongue and small respect for the King, her husband; therefore one night King Jol crept over the pass into the Land of Oz and disappeared from Oogaboo for good and all. The Queen waited a few years for him to return and then started in search of him, leaving her eldest daughter, Ann Soforth, to act as Queen. -- Tik-Tok of Oz The kingdom of Oogaboo is a small one in the far northern corner of the Winkie Country. All of the men of Oogaboo are named Jo and receive a last name based on the curious things that grow on trees in their orchards. Jo Cone has an orchard of trees which produce ice cream cones. Jo Files has an orchard of trees that grow steel files, as well as book trees. Queen Ann Soforth once took all the men from her small kingdom and formed an army with which she hoped to conquer the world. By the time she realized that she had created an army full of officers, there was only one man left. Jo Files gladly consented to be the only private soldier in the army. After many adventures, including a trip through the center of the earth and the removal of King Ruggedo from the throne of the Nomes, Queen Ann decided that she had had enough and was glad to return to rule her small kingdom of Oogaboo. Oogaboo Characters Although most of the people in Oogaboo are farmers, all of the men have some military experience and adapted to the Soldier template readily. Adventure Hooks Queen Ann Soforth has gathered her army again. Who does she plan to conquer this time? Ozga, former Princess of the Rose Kingdom and distant cousin to Ozma herself, has consented to marry Jo Files, former Private of the Army of Oogaboo. A royal wedding in the Emerald City is underway! As long as the happy couple can make it safely to the Emerald City, that is. [Sidebar] Everything grows on trees! Oogaboo is not the only place where interesting things grow on trees. In the land of Ev, Dorothy discovers trees that bear lunch boxes and dinner pails. In the land of Mo, everything a person could want or need grows on trees. What does this mean for your as Narrator? It’s just one more opportunity to make the land of Oz interesting.