The Great Turtle Con

Our second mystery of the summer featured a story called "The Great Turtle Con." Oma, Avo, and Eru, the first three Dreamers, sent the Detectives back to Kuroshima for the coming of the Azure One, the Blue Turtle revered by terrapins all around the world. It was "turtles all the way down" for this adventure, with turtles and turtle eggs all along the beach, turtles in the crystal blue waters, and even a celestial turtle in the sky.

Our team carried the World-Ending Egg back to the island, hoping to learn how to return it to its natural state: A Dragon's Eye ending with the retirement of Rebecca the Dragonmage. Last week's detectives heard the marine biologists talking about a Turtle Con, so they returned to the same beach.

Fuka and Kiba, the Shisa (lion-dogs), were still guarding the beach, and asked the team to get permission for the new detectives to be on the island. They headed to the shrine of Amamikyo. The fruit bats were still giving them trouble, zapping them when their invisibility spells failed.

Amamikyo was gracious, as always, and blessed the team with another Luck Cat. This time, they chose the Black Cat that wards off demonic and evil forces. They knew they might encounter the Sea Fox, and chose black to combat her magic.

Amamikyo revealed what happened to Umiyako the Sea Fox from last week's adventure that turned her against the world. She was once a beautiful, nine-tailed kitsune who lived on the island of Kuroshima. She had a small shrine, and people left flowers and food and other offerings for her. Over time, people began to forget about her, and her powers began to fade. 

As she grew more desperate, the kitsune lost the letters of her name on the beach, and the waves took them into the sea. She turned herself into Umiyako, the Sea Fox, and dove into the ocean to find them, but the letters were lost in the depths of the sea.

Umiyako grew angry. If the world turned away from her, she would repay them by turning away from the world. She found Doro the Seaslug and his friends planning the birth of a Dragon's Eye ending egg, and saw her chances. She bespelled Doro, turning him into Sludge the Slug, and sent him and his friends to the Turf and Twig to work their evil magic on the poor little egg of ending.

The detectives knew the rest of the story, and added another set of tasks to their to-do list: Find and restore the kitsune's shrine, locate the letters of her name, and return her to her former self.

On their way back to Fuka and Kiba, the team ran into more trouble with the Fruit Bats. Thanks to the team's random suggestions, the leader of the fruit bats now had a Secret Keeper. He hoped to use it to reveal the lies the detectives were telling him, but he was foiled by the detectives when they decided to tell him the truth about who they were and why they were there.

The leader of the fruit bats could not believe his adorably large ears. They were trying to help the bats escape from the spell cast by Umiyako! He gathered the fruit bats for a court hearing, and the bats voted to trust the detectives and secretly help them. What a red glow of courage came from those little bespelled bats!

Our team continued to the Kuroshima Research Station, where a small conference of marine biologists was meeting to discuss the most recent findings about turtles. The detectives met Kehlani, an American researcher from Hawaii who was helping with the conference. She took them through the small exhibit halls, where they found tanks with turtles, coconut crabs, and other marine creatures. 

Kuda the director was an immortal friend of dragons, so she was able to help the team with the location of the broken shrine. A handy spell protected our detectives from the island's infamous pit viper as they headed off into the tropical woods to locate the ruins. With their dragon eyes open, they soon found the shrine and the two Inari spirits who guard it.

They went to work restoring the shrine with magic and decorating the stone altar with a lovely array of wildflowers and bark. Umiyako came rushing back from the sea, sensing that someone was disturbing her home. When she discovered how beautiful it was, she melted into tears at the thought that someone had done such a kindness. When she learned it was the heroes she had been hunting, she was horrified at all the cruel things she had done. The detectives made gentle suggestions for reparations, and she went to work on those, as they dove into the ocean to search for her name.

They hired tiny deep-diving turtles to find the letters, and soon puzzled the pieces back into their correct order. The Umiyako's true name was Hoshitsuki. Upon learning her name, the Sea Fox turned back into a 9-tailed Kistune -- and we have many lovely drawings to show this on the Dragon's Eye Facebook page.

Finally, the detectives could return to their search for the Great Turtle Con held by the sea turtles. They turned themselves into sea dragons and headed off into the deep blue waters surrounding Kuroshima.

They found a trail of turtles swimming along a magical current that led to a great spiral of turtles singing about the Blue Turtle. "I am the Blue Turtle! Come to me, friends, and we shall join the Aonuma!" sang a beautiful blue turtle. All of the turtles were mesmerized, swimming toward their hero. The Secret Keepers began to glow, but the detectives had their Dragon Eyes open, so they could see what the turtles could not: The Blue Turtle was not a turtle at all, but an Umbozu in disguises.

An Umibozu is one of the most horrible of Yokei. The word means "Sea Monk" -- but this is no gentle priest with a blessing, but a black shadow of a monk that rises from the sea. This one was trying to capture all the turtles in a giant black void of a mouth.

Our team sprang into action, calling on their magic spells and abilities as sea dragons to take down the power of the Umibozu. They managed to drain it of magic, and then shrank it in size. They popped it into a tiny jar, sealed the lid with magic, and then sealed that with the Dragon's Eye Stone they were carrying.

The heroes removed the magic spell keeping the turtles mesmerized, saving them from the great turtle con, the fraud the Umibozu tried to cast upon them. Once the turtles were spell-free, they could hear the true song of the Blue Turtle coming from the sky above the ocean.

All the turtles and our heroic sea dragons swam upwards and broke through the waves. Looking upward, they saw a great leatherback turtle with a deep blue shell spangled with stars and an inner sun, drifting to the ocean along a shooting star from the Perseid meteor showers. Magic of the sea and stars sparkled all around her, and she graciously created a turtle island so they could all meet.

The Great Turtle Con was on again -- a fabulous festival of all things turtle. There was dancing and singing, and turtle magic all the way down. There was a feast -- and a meeting for the detectives with the Blue Turtle.

She gave them a Time/Space Jewel crafted by the fire lizards of the sun and cooled in the clouds of Suisei, the Water Star (Mercury). She used Celestial Mud to craft the amulet, and a serpent appeared on each one, curling around the jewel in the form of the Oroborus. Each detective's Oroborus was a little different from the others, each tailored to their personal magic.

After a weekend of celebrations, the Detectives returned to their homes. That night, Izu the Reveler and Ula the Dazzler came to them in their dreams. The heroes turned into dragons and flew with the Dreamers into the Night Sky for one more ride with the dragons.

 

Many thanks to the detectives who joined me for this lovely adventure! it was fun returning to an island we already knew. There were hints from "The Sea Sheep" that had surprises -- the Pikachu a marine biologist was seeking turned out not to be from the game Go, but was a sea slug that looks just like Pikachu!

Visit the Dragon's Eye Facebook page to see the amazing watercolors from this week. 

The Sea Sheep -- July 2025

Our first adventure of the summer was "The Sea Sheep." This delightful mystery picked up where "The Turf and Twig" ended. Sludge the Slug and his minions escaped from the Jeweled Moon Cage, trapping their Tomte guards in shadow vines. They stole the world-ending dragon egg and disappeared into a whirlpool made within a teacup.

Fortunately, his minions were goofing around with the sea urchin locket that held Sludge's secret message, telling them where to go. (Those minions! Always dropping clues for our detectives to decipher!) Our team made quick work of the cipher, and headed to "Heart Island" -- Kuroshima in the Yaeyama archipelago of Okinawa, Japan.

They found the beach where the rock has been carved into the shape of a cow, and using their Dragon's Eyes (third eyes that see invisible and magical things), they discovered two portals. The portals were guarded by two Shisa, lion-dogs named Fuka ("Luck") and Kiba ("Fang").

The lion-dogs sent our travelers to a local Shinto shrine, where they met with Amamikyo, the goddess who created the Okinawan islands. She was very sympathetic to their cause -- world ending dragon eggs are a pesky nuisance to creatrixes. 

She gave them a choice among three Luck Cats. The white one boosts very roll with random magic in their favor, the black one fends off demons and evil creatures, and the gold one brings random jewels that can be used for more spells. Our team chose the white Luck Cat. 

The detectives snuck back along the path above the beach, meeting fruit bats, marine biologists talking about a Turtle Con coming the next week, and random beach goers. They encountered a wild island boy called Kijimuna. He really earned the red star in his shadow (showing he walks a path of chaos). He tried to trade their jewels for his, which were chaos jewels (very unpredictable!) He challenged them to a game with all kinds of twists and turns -- clearly skewed in his favor. The team wisely negotiated the terms so they might gain the secrets he had about Sludge.

Kijimuna revealed that Sludge and his minions were really sea slugs returning the the Scared Realm of the Umiuchi. He overheard them talking about ending the detectives as they arrived in a little whirlpool by the beach. They were talking about Sludge's friend, a sea fox.

Kijimuna enjoyed the eyeballs of the fish our heroes gave him (for losing the game), and turned the fishbones into a golden amulet that would grant them the shape of Umiushi. Our sleuths returned to Kiba and Fuka, and soon were off for the portal, but the Dragonstone was glowing with a dream from Oma the First of the Nine Dreamers. She told them to ask the Umiushi to make them their own Starbowls.

The Detectives finally dove through the right portal. 

The Sacred Realm of the Umiushi is found within the intertidal zones of the ocean, away from the many predators of the coral reefs, yet far enough off shore to keep them in water as the tides roll in and out all day. Out team turned themselves into tiny Umiushi, which range in size from 4 mm to 70 mm (and a few that are 200 mm).

They followed a deep turquoise stream within the sea that led them to an underwater palace made of sea shells. They met Hoshiori, the High Priestess (Nori) of the Umiuchi, who is a Sea Sheep. She and her court revealed that Sludge is an umiuchi named Doro. He is her brother, who is known for being sweet and kind. He and his little friends usually make deep and dangerous dives into the deep, bringing up the Magic Mud that is used to craft Dragon's Eye Starbowls.

The detectives soon learn the reason behind this change of character in Sludge. They travel to a Kelp Forest deeper in the sea, and find a cottage made of shells hiding there, where Sludge is held in thrall by a spell cast on him and his minions. The spell was made by Umiyako, the sea fox.

She was not happy when our team managed to steal the world-ending egg back. They were about to undo the spell on Sludge when she found them. She naturally tried to lure them to her side of the situation, but they were firmly in favor of world-saving over world-ending. They used their dragon forms to grow large, and entangled her in the sea kelp. Then they freed Sludge and his friends and swam swiftly back to the sea palace.

There, the Umiushi sang their songs and danced their dances to craft Starbowls. Sludge and his minion friends dove for Magic Mud. "Leaf" molded that mud into bowls. Hoshiori and the other Sea Sheep drew upon the light of the sun and stars to make the stars, and thirteen little Starbowls were born. Koji the Nudibranch called upon the Moonrabbits for dice, while Kirakira the Sea Rabbit polished a little bag of jewels from the Fire Lizards.

The detectives met with Oma again -- and they met Avo the Cantor (2nd Dreamer) and Eru the Dancer (3rd Dreamer). Avo sings the first notes of the Dreamsong, introducing Sound and Silence into the world. Eru performs the first steps of the Cosmic Dance, introducing Movement and Stillness.

The Dreamers revealed that the world-ending egg has been transformed by the bespelled Sludge. It is not normally a world-ending egg. It is, however, an ending. An ending meant for the Dragon's Eye Detectives Agency, because Rebecca the Dragonmage is retiring. She's hoping to take a little vacation -- hopefully in Kuroshima, where she can meet with her sensei Amamikyo.

This why the Nine Dreamers are meeting with the detectives this summer. They need to prepare them for the next stage of their journey as Dragonmages. They will be meeting each of the Nine Dreamers, to gather the artifacts they need to become their own Dragonmage leaders.

This sad news was met with lots of air hugs and spirit hugs -- and the newly invented water hugs. It mirrors the outer world, where Rebecca has announced her retirement from Dragon's Eye Adventures.

Our team took the news in stride, and joined the Umiushi in one final dance party where they released their inner forms -- one of which was a very impressive kraken. That night, the three Dreamers came and the detectives turned into full adult dragons, soaring through the starry sky on wings as wide as the sky.

Many thanks to Adam Shaughnessy, who assisted me with this week's adventure! Adam is a fellow adventure play expert, a skilled educator and grants-writer from Connecticut. He has written two fantasy books in the Unbelievable FIB series for middle grades, and has a graphic novel and other writings in the works! Here is a link to his website.

Visit the Dragon's Eye Facebook page to see the two albums. One has more beautiful paintings like the ones on this page, showing the way our detectives drew scenes from the story. The other has the Umiushi they each made. 

Thank you to the detectives for a wonderful week! My stories are never complete until each of you arrives to add your own special magic to the mix! What an extraordinary journey we have had!

 

 

Summer 2025 Approaches!

The Summer 2025 season begins on Monday, July 7. 

We have four programs this summer: The Sea Sheep, The Great Turtlecon, The Potter's Guild, and The Shadow Dragon. There is still space in The Potter's Guild and The Shadow Dragon. 

My dining room table is full of  supplies and projects in the works -- sea slugs, turtles, dwarves, and mini soothsayer dragons. Here's a glimpse of the sea slugs in the works:

 

 

Recap: Turf & Twig April 2025

Some property rights are held by deed, but the Dragon's Eye Detective's Agency holds its rights from a Turf and Twig ceremony (called the livery of seisin) held in ancient times with a local troll named Gruntle. Our April vacation mystery featured a a deep dive into the Turf by our detectives, disguised as Tomtes (tiny house gnomes).

Each layer of the Turf had to be explored, starting with the grassy upper level, where the twig grows beside a serpent well. Our team interviewed the inhabitants of the grasslands, who told them what they knew about the troubles. Each clue confirmed the information from their 3-Penny Dream: A volcano deep inside the Turf was heating the water and rumbling the earth, sending sulphuric fumes into the air and threatening the safety of all of the Turf and Twig inhabitants.

The journey into the heart of the Turf and Twig spiraled lower and lower, following underground tunnels formed by the ancient Worm that hides inside every turf. One of our team's first questions was: Is this a worm, a wurm, a wirm, or a wyrm? (The answer is yes.)

Our team snuck through the tunnels, avoiding the green eyes that glowed in every nook and cranny. Some of them were friendly, and others tried to capture them with shadowy spells. Their 3-Penny nightmare had revealed the presence of a dangerous shadowslug, so the Detectives were happy when their efforts led to the rare procurement of a Light Jewel.

Each level brought new challenges. Fossils came to life. Underground rivers were uncovered, and a plan was made. The final showdown with the shadowslug and its minions will live as a legendary blowout featuring one team sneaking toward the volcano while a second team used the flying dragon forms to distract the enemies. 

A third team flew quietly to the spot where they could unleash their plan: A net of light refracted from the rainstorms unleashed by a detective's artifact, that would shower light upon the army, trapping each shadowslug in a waterdroplet. A beautiful plan that will look amazing when the movie finally arrives onscreen.

All of this teamwork was anchored by the fourth team -- the healers and anchors who kept the backup plan alive, just in case all of this glory went awry. Fortune shone down on our Heroes of the Dragon's Eye -- their plan worked. The first team captured the Black Stone Egg in the center of the volcano, while the second team drew fire. The third team unleashed their magic, and the slug and its minions were neatly trapped.

All's well that ends well ... but not quite!

The volcano started to erupt. A fissure split open and a huge roar was heard ... and Gruntle the Troll awoke from his long slumber.

He was none too happy to have a volcano raging on his head, or blinding rainbow light pouring into his eyes, or the water washing overhead. Yes. Gruntled was disgruntled.

Fortunately for him, our Detectives did a very courteous job of cleaning up. Stories and explanations were told and all ended well for our team. Not so well for our shadowslug and his minions, who remain in their light-filled cells, facing further inquiry by the Dragonmages. Rumor has it the Black Stone Egg may return this summer -- but for now, it rests safely in the hands of Rebecca the Dragonmage.

Congratulations to a fine team of detectives! We had an extraordinary week of teamwork and laughs. The Tomtes they made are on the Dragon's Eye Adventures Facebook page, along with an album of photos from the adventure! 

Many thanks to RSU5 and Chris Guerette, and the staff at Durham Community School. I'm amazed we didn't have a single Tomte in the lights and pipes above our head -- that may be our most surprising success yet! What's a mystery in Durham without someone needing a rescue from our friends on staff!

"Turf & Twig" Is Blossoming for April Vacation 2025

April vacation is quickly approaching, with the first day of our adventure scheduled for Tuesday, April 22. Our story is "Turf & Twig" -- a delightful dive into the underground world of homestead folklore from the British Isles and Scandinavia. 

The program runs from 9 AM to 4 PM on Tuesday through Friday, with after hours on Tues, Wed and Thursday from 4 to 5:15 PM. Children in grades three through eight are welcome -- and we have a mix of ages already enrolled.

Here is a link to the description of our story.

I can't wait for the opportunity to make Tomtes with our team -- this is one of the fastest sewing projects I have, so we will have time to augment our Tomtes with handcrafted accessories.

I am working on a 3D needle-felted sculpture of the Turf and Twig, plus some 2D felt maps that will help us navigate the subterranean world of the turf. Some of the artifacts for this week have come all the way from Tucson, AZ, to bring to life some of the inhabitants we will meet.

 

 

Recap: The Mudlarkers Feb 2025

Ragabash the Rude and The Roustabout

Madame Drak's Three-Penny Mystery "The Mudlarkers" turned into a lively romp through the underground rivers of London. The ten detectives caught the Ghost Bus to the Rat Queen's palace, resulting in a harrowing encounter with a Fatberg and the Blue Eyes capturing ghosts. Fortunately, our detectives were skilled at rescuing ghosts from ghost traps, using invisibility spells like pros.

Our detectives took on the Rat Queen's quest to join Ragabash the Rude and his crew of Rabblerousers, turning themselves into rats, complete with tiny costumes for the job. Our Facebook page has photos of the wonderful crew. The work the team put into the sewing this week was impressive!

Ragabash tested our team's skills with a game of Overboard. A quick visit to the brig didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm, as they battened hatches and hoisted the sails. They excelled at swabbing the decks, adding mops and brooms to the task with such enthusiasm that Ragabash hired them on the spot ... well, almost on the spot. They cleaned that spot so well that Ragabash hired them spotfree.

The Roustabout sailed through the sewers into the deeper levels of underground rivers, with our team on the lookout for Ragabash's nemesis, Cap'n Dreadheart. The ship encountered countless Blue Eyes flooding the caverns in search of the ghost humans who stole their captive ghosts, but our team managed to evade them each time.

They went in search of the missing treasure of Granny Dregs, Ragabash's beloved grandmother (rest in peace). She disappeared in a legendary encounter with the Blue Dragon of the Thames River. Granny-eating dragons, lost treasures, ghostly encounters, fierce battles with other treasure-seekers -- we had it all in a space of four fast-flowing days.

Did we find the lost treasure? Yes we did, but the secrets of when and how must be kept so future detectives can run this adventure again. Let's just say that some rats were tickled pink to discover the sparkly meaning of the treasure -- and Ragabash is now learning court etiquette to give up his oh-so-rude ways.

Thank you to the detectives for a lively week of fun! The rats they made were inspiring, and I can't wait for their pirate mischief in future adventures.

2025 Season for Dragon's Eye Adventures

Welcome to Dragon's Eye Adventures!

Scroll down to view the posts for the eight adventures we're offering this season.

View details, prices, after hours and other information on the Current Programs tab.
The title of each adventure is a link to the description for that mystery.

Winter 2025, Session A: The Mudlarkers

The Mudlarkers
RL McNulty 2024
Colored Pencil & Micron Pen

Our Winter vacation program will run from Feb 18 through 21, 2025. This four-day adventure for grades 3 though 8 will run from Tuesday through Friday, in the Art Room at Durham Community School (654 Hallowell Rd,  Durham, ME).

Our story will be The Mudlarkers, featuring a crew of pirate rats in London.

The Rat Queen summons the Detectives back to the London sewers to join her team of mudlarkers and privateers. Ragabash and his pirate rats sail the underground rivers of London, searching for buried treasures. They are hoping to locate the long-lost treasure of the legendary mudlarker, Granny Dregs (may she rest in peace). Can they find it before the ghost of Jack Black the Royal Rat Catcher finds them?

Our project this week is Pirate Rats.

Spring 2025, Session B: Turf & Twig

Turf & Twig
RL McNulty 2025
Colored Pencil & Micron Pen

Spring vacation will run from April 22 - 25. This four-day adventure for grades 3 though 8 will run from Tuesday through Friday, in the Art Room at Durham Community School (654 Hallowell Rd,  Durham, ME).

 

Our story will be Turf and Twig, featuring Scandinavian folklore.

Madog and Rhosyn are the Tomte couple who guard the Dragon’s Eye Detective’s Agency. These tiny house gnomes keep the Turf and Twig safe from thieves. Something strange is happening to these ancient artifacts, so our heroes transform into Micro Tomte to investigate. What could go wrong within a three-inch square of grass and dirt? Something only a shadowslug would believe.

We will craft our own tiny Tomten for this adventure.