We've been hit by an unusual series of late snowstorms in this area, which is affecting my day job as a teacher. But this has given me a little extra reading time, so I thought I'd dive into the 1998 edition of Oziana again and report on "The Gauds of Oz" by David Hulan. Corum, the Yellow Knight of Corumbia (formerly known as Sir Hokus of Pokes) and his warhorse, Stampedro, discover some rare firestones, strangely glowing gems that he wants to have cut and set into jewelry for his wife, Princess Marygolden, and his friends. The local jeweler doesn't feel qualified to do the job, so he and Marygolden go off to the Emerald City to find either the finest jeweler in Oz, or where he may be located. When he hears about Joyero from the Glass Cat, he takes one of the Wizard's new transportation pills and heads off to the Zamagoochie Mountains. But Joyero is not such a nice guy, and steals the firestones and locks Corum up! Since Corum doesn't have another transportation pill, he's stuck until a groundhog, sent by the Emerald City, rescues him. An anti-magic barrier around his house protects Joyero, but a little assistance from the Lonesome Duck lets a group of Celebrities in, ash Joyero is quickly overcome, and the firestones recovered. But Corum had already planned to allow Joyero to have some of them as payment, so Joyero agrees to make the rest up into baubles for Corum, and everyone ends up happy—including the Lonesome Duck, who has a firestone to add to his palace of diamonds!
Although this was not an Oz-shattering story, it was a fun little look into the lives of some favorite Oz characters after their original stories ended. (This may be one of the greatest strengths of Oziana, as their arrangement with the Baum family makes it the only authorized publisher of any story involving books still under copyright.) The story also has a little background on Gayelette, Quelala, and how the Wicked Witch acquired the Golden Cap. I really enjoyed this one.
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