The History of Tournaments in Habitat   
                                        
Tournament play in the Arcade began on  
a rather bizarre note when Mixolydian,  
Keeper of the Trans-dimensional Vault,  
was turned into a tree by Dada Salesh,  
noted eccentric wizard, after Salesh    
accused the Vault-keeper of cheating at 
backgammon in the first (and,           
understandably, last) Populopolis       
Backgammon Tournament.                  
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        

                                        
                                        
Salesh, full of remorse at his deed but 
unable to recall the spell required to  
return his friend to avatar form,       
subsequently placed the leaf-laden      
Vault-keeper in a densely wooded area,  
hoping to hide either his short-        
tempered nature or his poor memory of   
magic spells.                           
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        

The Vault-keeper's absence was soon     
discovered, however, as he had in his   
possession at the time the only known   
keys to the Vault -- a chamber with 10  
safes containing vast amounts of        
jewels, magic items, tokens and other   
things of great value -- as well as the 
knowledge of when and where the Trans-  
dimensional doorway (the only path to   
the Vault) will appear in Habitat       
("Even the great Salesh does not know   
how to find the Trans-dimensional       
doorway," the Vault-keeper was rumored  
to have said shortly before his mouth   
became a knot).                         
                                        

Since the Trans-dimensional doorway     
only appears in Habitat once every 1625 
years (that's 119 years for humans, 17  
years for their dogs), the Vault        
remains hidden to this day, though it   
is rumored that avatars who can find    
the Vault-keeper's wooden form can      
elicit from him a key to the Vault and  
even some clue as to where the Trans-   
dimensional doorway will next appear in 
Habitat (if you're persistent).         
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        

Meanwhile, Tournament play in the       
Arcade has been rather sparse, though   
it is hoped that the recent boom in     
Populopolis will bring this sort of     
organized, relatively safe              
entertainment back to our fair town.