Wk 6 Crossroads of Knowledge -- Recap 2024

The final adventure of the 2024 summer season featured a mystery for bibliophiles called Crossroads of Knowledge. The story took us on a tour of five of the world's numerous libraries, starting with the Library of Alexandria in Egypt during the Greco-Egyptian period.

Thoth, the Egyptian moon god of wisdom, sent our detectives to Alexandria, in search of the legendary Book of Thoth. Stories about this book were kept in the library at Alexandria, and have come down to us in modern times.

In our story, shadowy serpents were attacking the Crossroads of Knowledge--the network of golden orbs and filaments that connect one library to another across time and space. The filaments were breaking, and a few of the libraries went dark, so our team went on a mission to repair these delicate connections. The only clue to the immortal causing the problems was the serpents referred to them as a "he."

They needed the Golden Orbs kept by the muses from each of four libraries that lie roughly north, west, east, and south of Alexandria.. The muse of Alexandria's library was an Owl named Uma. He gave our detectives a Bookwyrm for traveling from library to library.

The library of the North turned out to be the one St. Columba began at the Isle of Iona in Scotland in 563 CE. We visited twenty years later, when his monks and he had built up a small library of works.

The Salmon of Knowledge, Columba's muse, was imprisoned by one of the Black Serpents, so the saint had a touch of writer's block. Fortunately, our team was able to rescue the Salmon with a quick game of Blind Magician. The Salmon of Knowledge provided the first of the Golden Orbs, and gave the team a clue about the blood moon coming on Friday.

Our team had a long list of suspects from the Egyptian pantheon -- Geb, Ra, Seth, Apep, Heru Wer and Ammit were all on that list as male deities who work with serpents or are serpents.

The second Golden Orb was from the East, where our team visited the Saraswathi Mahal Library in Thanjavur, India. This beautiful library dates to the 16th century. We visited in 1830, during the final days of the reign of King Serfoji II. He was a great scholar and patron of the library, who believed in freedom of religion and spoke many languages, including English. That served him well in our encounter -- he was able to read the detectives' IDs to learn who they were.

The king's muse was Sarasvati, Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom. Our team created a Circle of Stillness to call her to their midst -- and she road one of her elegant glass swans. Her Golden Orb also arrived on the back of a swan. She also came with a clue, and the team narrowed their choices.

The third library was in the West at the Durham Community School in Durham, ME. Laura Dunbar, the librarian, turned out to have some secrets that surprised the detectives who knew her. She showed the team the white owl that is her library's muse. It's name is Hedwig. The team left with the Golden Orb of Durham, ME -- and a clue that the black serpents were talking about someone called "the traveller."

This clinched the choice for our team -- they were pretty sure the Egyptian god behind the troubles was Khonsu. He was a moon god who was a serpent at one time, a child at another, and an old man. He wanted all knowledge to himself, and his name mean "The Traveller." He was also mad at Thoth, because Thoth won a game that gave Thoth the power to create five extra days of the year.

The fourth library was to the South, in the Lake Tana region of Ethiopia. The library was in the Azwa Maryam Monastery. The monastery was in a round hut built of straw and much, with a thatched roof. Seven ostrich eggs adorn the top of its roof. Inside are beautiful tapestries and paintings.

The detectives met with the Abba who showed them some of the reliquaries he kept there. The muse turned out to be a Hornbill with a good friend, a tiny White Rhino. The Hornbill and that Abba was pleased that our heroes were going to deal with the shadowy black serpents -- they had been fighting them off all week.

The detectives returned to Alexandria, to find Oma the owl. He had the final orb -- the largest and most central one from Alexandria. They traveled into the Dreamtime to meet with Thoth, to draw up the Book of Thoth.

The black serpents tried to intervene. Our heroes talked with them about Snake's Rights -- and convinced them to petition Khonsu for vacations and other rights. (Granting Serpents vacation rights has been a them since February's adventure). They also learned that the black serpents were in awe of the Ororborus, who is an Egyptian god named Mehen who brings the Serpent Roads to every mystery.

Khonsu finally came to confront the team. He was in his form as a young child -- and quite upset that the detectives weren't cooperating with his plan for world domination of the Crossroads of Knowledge. The star in his shadow was tipped in red, but as the detectives talked with him about the need for libraries to remain open to all people, the star gradually turned from red to blue and finally, to gold -- a sign that balance was restored.

I can't reveal all the secrets of the week -- but our heroes managed to turn things around before the blood moon took full effect. The exhausted toddler Khonsu fell fast asleep behind a wall of books the detectives gave him, with his brand new library card flying as a white flag of surrender.

Thoth and our team called up the Book of Thoth only to find it locked even to the great god of knowledge. Thoth's sister Seshet came to explain -- she was tired of Thoth and Khonsu fighting again and again. Surely they could work out their differences in a more peaceful way?

She unlocked the Book of Thoth and revealed it layer by layer. Let's just say there was one last surprise. Seshat smiled her Mona Lisa smile as the Crossroads of Knowledge came to its end.

Thank you to Rick Riordan, who made a special donation to each library we visited! May his works long be remembered! Thank you to the Broadwinged hawk who played the sun god Ra, and thank you to the clouds, who offered a very nice Serpent for our game.

Thank you to Laura Durham, who played herself as an augmented immortal sage blessing the community with her skills as a librarian. I've had the pleasure of seeing her in action with all ages visiting the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it has been a pleasure to make her acquaintance!

Very special thanks go to Morgan, Danielle and Sage Smyrl -- three friends who played Columba, the Black Serpent, and the Salmon of Knowledge this week.

Thank you, also, to Elisabeth Kelly, my amazing assistant this week -- and for the last three adventures! She played Sarasvati and Seshat with elegant perfection this week! This may be one of the few jobs that requires performances as a shadow serpent, various guards, a white ibis, and a baboon in the space of five days.

Thank you also to Missy Heald for yet another Moonrabbit rescue. We've had a lovely time at the Durham Community School, and Missy and her team of custodians have helped us each week!

Finally, thank you to Chris Guerette from RSU5 Community Programs, for providing a home for Dragon's Eye Adventures! I am most grateful to be one of many fine programs the Freeport and Durham communities offer to families! 

Photos of the Bookwyrms the children made are on the Dragon's Eye Adventures Facebook page.

Photo by Elisabeth Kelly

Wk5 The Night Wanderer - Recap 2024

Fifteen detectives gathered at the Dragon's Eye Detectives Agency for Madame Drak's Three-Penny Mystery called "The Night Wanderer." The Nine Dreamers sent a dream warning them about trouble in the Greek Underworld. 

Ghostly shades were clustering around a boat inside the Underworld, and the line extended all the way to the entrance and out into the Mortal Realms. There were Shadow Serpents and a mysterious Night Wanderer (the Black-Veiled Person or BVP) in the dream, both walking a Path of Chaos and Shadows.

Our team was able to decipher some of the clues from the dream to identify the location of the entrance. It was a famous cave near Lake Avernus, near Cumae, Italy. The Cumaean sibyl presided over the Oracle of Apollo there, when Cumae was a Greek colony. Odysseus and Aeneas entered the Underworld from this location, two of the few mortals who undertook this dangerous journey.

Our courageous detectives wasted no time in traveling to Lake Avernus. The shades were not happy to see them, but the doors leading into the Underworld were unlocked. They faced the Floating Eyeballs ("Why is it always eyeballs?" I have no good answer, other than I like floating eyeballs ...) in the Forest of Persephone.

They moved through the line of shades toward the boat that should have ferried the deceased across the River Acheron, but no one was there. Only a pole resting against the boat, and note in a cipher using Greek letters. As our team deciphered the note, the laughter rippled around the room as they each learned that it read: Gone camping.

Charon the Ferryman of the Greek Underworld had gone camping.

Cerberus was missing as well. No one was guarding the Gates to the Palace of Hades.

The Night Wanderer appeared in the distance, watching our team, while on the other side of the Underworld a huge orb of Dream Magic came from a cave. A perfect place for the cliffhangers we so love in our mysteries.

The next day, the team split into two groups. One would meet the Dream Orb, while the other stayed away, in case the Dream Orb was a trap. The orb turned out to be Morpheus the Greek god of Dreams, coming to greet the Heroes of the Dragon's Eyes. He is a Friend of Dragons, from the mystery called "The Mask of Dreams" -- so he recognized a few of the detectives.

He warned them about more trouble brewing even deeper within the Underworld, from the realm known as Tartarus. Our detectives are very familiar with the dangers lurking in Tartarus, including many of the Titans, the Hundred Handed Ones, and other monsters. Morpheus recommended that the detectives head to Hades' Palace, to get his permission and perhaps, his help.

The team reunited and headed to the Palace of Hades. They were intercepted by the Night Wanderer (BVP), who now had a black star with blue tips. This surprised our detectives -- a changing star in an immortal's shadow is not common. The color showed that the Night Wanderer was now on a Path of Shadows and Order.

Hecate, Goddess of the Crossroads

She was a formidable goddess with two black dogs -- confirming our team's suspicion that she might be Hecate, the Greek goddess of Crossroads, Magic and the Moon. She took no time to introduce herself, although she did flash a Waking Dragon's Eye in response to one detective's signal. She and her Black Dogs quickly dispensed with our detectives and sent them down a Serpent Chute into a stone prison.

Shadow dragonflies kept our team from escaping, but a door soon opened with a guard, who escorted the detectives into the presence of Hades. Elisabeth played Hades -- a very stern god who was concerned about the mortals traveling through his Underworld. He was resting in the palace, unaware of the troubles.

Hades had a guest, a teacup troll named Agni, who had brought some lovely troll tea, including a nice swirl of slug slime. Some of the detectives knew Agni, from "The Teacup Trolls." They were the ones who taught him about "vacations" and "breaks."

Persephone was in the Mortal Realms at her Summer house, but she and Hades were conversing via Zoom. As the detectives described the troubles they were finding in the Underworld, the cause of the troubles soon became apparent.

Agni was so excited about his vacation, that he was telling everyone about vacations and breaks ... and the Serpent Locks of the Greek Underworld wanted vacations, too. Word spread, and soon, even Charon learned about vacations -- and he is well-known for trying to take a break, so he took off with Cerberus.

Our detectives were sure that Hecate must be behind the troubles, but Persephone explained that Hecate was her best friend. She was the ancient goddess of the Tripart Year, and much revered by the Olympians and Titans. Her symbols of Goat, Lion and Serpent represent the three parts of the year. She came to the Underworld to protect Persephone and escorts her to and from the Underworld as the seasons change -- and she must have returned and discover the locks abandoned and the doors and gates all open.

Sending living mortals in the Underworld to Hades and Persephone is part of her job as Protector of the Realm. As the goddess of Crossroads and Gateways, she also has an interest in locks that work, so she often acts as the Night Wanderer, checking the sacred entrances and exits.

Hades, God of the Underworld

Hades and Persephone began brainstorming about the Greek Heroes who might be able to help them. Most of them were busy or unavailable ("Isn't he a constellation now ...?") so our detectives volunteered.

Their next step was a meeting with Hecate, the Night Wanderer in one of the smaller Groves of Persephone. Hecate apologized for her haste, explaining that she had to get to Tarturus to examine the locks there. The Shadow Serpents were slithering out from under those gates, and it was clear that some force inside Tartarus was working powerful magic, trying to undo those massive locks.

Our team did some research on the prisoners of Tartarus who work with Serpents. Achlys, goddess of Misery, and Nyx, goddess of Night, were on that list, as were some of Nyx's many children.

Hecate bestowed a gift to each of the detectives -- a Pocket Deity representing their favorite Greek god or goddess. They worked together to devise a plan to call upon each deity for a boon that would enhance their magical battle with the Shadow Serpents -- and whoever was leading this attempted outbreak.

Our detective used many of their jewels to pull up a very powerful scrying spell: A Dream from Morpheus that could reveal which prisoner in Tartarus was dreaming of vacations and world-ending chaos. The random magic went awry, and a little final bit of random magic came from Hecate, so the heroes won the toss of the die. The culprit turned out to be Eris, goddess of Strife.

Hecate explained that Eris has a good side and a negative side. The detectives knew all about the golden apple she tossed that started the Trojan War. That's the kind of mischief she loves -- if it draws in her brother Ares, she's even more excited. When her star turns from Red (Chaos) to Blue (Order), the striving she creates becomes productive -- artists work hard sewing their pouches and dolls, writers dig deep to come up with endings to their stories, and workers all over the world achieve all kinds of amazing things.

Artemis, Goddess of Moon & the Hunt

The game to end all games was the result -- the most complicated end game in Dragon's Eye history. It was magnificent -- and executed with the utmost effectiveness by our heroes. Hecate laid down the field with her powerful golden fire (her star was black with golden tips, so we had her most balanced aspect for this encounter).

There were yarnballs flying as Freezing Fire from the Shades conjured by our three Hades -- they took down each serpent by 2 points. There were the foam frisbee "arrows" flying from Apollo and Artemis, worth three points each. Half the team played the Shadow Serpents, while the other half brought in their deities. Asclepius moved through the game, healing players with his serpent magic and staff.

Elisabeth played Eris, with her Shadow Serpents. She was wonderfully cool, laughing quietly as the battle commenced. She didn't mind that the Shadow Serpents were slowly dwindling. She simply conjured a second wave of them.

A detective summoned Aries. This was a risky move, as Hecate warned them, but the detective wisely asked Aries to remove the magical boundary separating the two sides. Aries did this with great glee. Another detective called upon Athena to make a new border, pushing the Shadow Serpents back towards the gates of Tartarus.

A second boon from Artemis called her back for a second round of foam frisbee arrows. Hera was summoned for three powerful zaps -- her zaps sent a Shadow Serpent out of the game, no matter how many hitpoints they had left! A detective called upon Hecate, so she split into two of her three aspects. Hecate 2 healed, while Hecate 1 kept up the boundaries, preventing anyone from escaping. Hecate 2 also had one powerful zap like Hera's. She used it to remove the last of the Shadow Serpents from the game.

Finally, only Eris was left.

Our heroes pelted her with yarnballs, but she only laughed -- and grew larger and stronger. Some detectives called for their friends to stop, but the yarnballs kept coming. Eris grew stronger and stronger. Hecate revealed that Strife grows stronger when you fight against it.

Fortunately, one member of our team remembered the Circle of Stillness from adventures of the past. They created a Circle and went still, closing eyes and refraining from looking at Eris as she split into two parts. The two parts circled around, growing stronger when someone looked at them or giggled or moved in any way. Eventually, the Circle began to grow quietly stronger and stronger-- and Eris slowly melded into the single Eris, small and quiet, with a Blue Star of Order.

Athena, Goddess of Wisdom

Our final wave of Greek deities stepped in to fulfill their parts of the plan. The oh-so-powerful and dangerous Chaos gathered up a bowl of darkness to hold Eris. The mighty Queen of the Sea, Amphitrite, created a wave that washed the bowl all the way to Persephone's Grove, where Athena, goddess of Wisdom took on the roll of Judge. She asked the detectives to tell her about Eris' recent crimes.

She asked Eris why she had done what she had done. "It was fun." said Eris. "So worth it."

Athena asked Nyx, Eris' mother, to create the punishment for her daughter. "I'm not angry," said Nyx, "Just a little disappointed." [Quote of the week.] She sent her daughter to her room in Tartarus, grounding her for the next millenia or two.

Hecate invited our heroes back to the Palace of Hades for the after-party celebration, complete with fireworks. Hera sent food from the Upperworld, so our team could have pizza and other delectables without endangering their mortal lives. The Detectives asked Hades to provide vacations and breaks to his Underworld workers, and Hades agreed to draw up a planned rotation, so respite could be had without leaving the gates open.

That night, the dragons came to them in their sleep, and flew into the heavens. Morpheus, god of Dreams, joined them for a romp through the heavens.

Thank you to the detective who conjured up the idea of offering Serpent Locks to the Cailleach's shadowserpents. The detectives have been offering these in each mystery since February -- and my writing took a turn that was truly fun! Eris and her breakout were the original plan, but having the detectives cause said breakout was just too priceless to ignore!

Thank you to Elisabeth for spot-on depictions of Hades and Eris. She and I agreed that Hades in the Greek world is not as evil as he is depicted in many modern books and movies. Her Eris was delightfully understated -- and somehow more ominous because of that!

To view all of the detectives' beautiful artwork, visit the Dragon's Eye Adventures Facebook page. The work that they each put into their Pocket Deities is remarkable!

Dunraven Fair Brings Visitors from Away

This week, Adam Shaughnessy and his daughter, May, will be joining us. Adam is an author, educator, and grants writer from Waterford, CT. We worked together at Kids' First in Wellesley, MA, where I introduced him to the joys of adventure play.

Adam moved on to teach in CT elementary schools. During summers, he directed Red Dragon Adventures to showcase the live roleplaying mysteries he was writing. He eventually moved into grants writing for non-profits, as he turned his hand to writing children's books.

One of his mysteries grew into a delightful series called The Unbelievable FIB. I recommend this series to our readers -- and can say that I was there when Mr. Fox began his enigmatic journey. I still have a copy of the mysteries Adam wrote in 1997, and am very proud to have played a role in his creative journey.

The illustration above shows how the FIB (Fantasy Investigation Bureau) first began, as a spoof of the TV series The X Files. Adam drew this in 1997 for our program, as a self-portrait for the Kids' First summer program.  We offered ten adventures that summer!

Adam's website is here for more information!

As a fellow Dragonmage, Adam will be teaming up with me to play various characters in our mystery. His daughter May will be joining our small group of detectives to enter the Dunraven Fair.

My portrait from the 1997 summer of adventures is posted here, too, for your entertainment. This was before Dragon's Eye became Dragon's Eye, which happened around 1998 or 1999. Dragons were still front and center in my concept of adventure play, and this self-portrait shows that the Asian dragons of water and wind have always been foremost in my mind.

"Dunraven Fair" Starts on Monday, July 1

The Summer 2024 season begins on Monday, July 1 with "The Dunraven Fair". This mystery features a visit to a goblin trade fair, where our detectives will exchange wares they make for the magical ones the merchants are selling. 

Our crafts this week include tiny dolls that represent the disguises our team will don as they enter the fair. They may go as goblins, fairies, Tomtes, elves, dwarves, wizards, witches or other magical beings. The trade fair is known for its danger to humans, so we'll be dodging freezing yarnballs and mortal traps as we make our way to the trading grounds.

Our day begins at 9 AM, with pick up at 4:00 PM. After hours run from 4 to 5:15 PM on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. There are no after hours on Fridays.

This is a short week, with a break on Thursday for the July 4 holiday. The main portion of the mystery, including the trading, will finish by Wednesday at 4. Everyone will end the week with one artifact they made and two that they traded. Those who come on Friday will have the opportunity to trade or make one more artifact!

Please visit the "First Day Reminders" tab to review what's needed for each week! The address of the school is listed there, as well as things the children will need each day.

Summer 2024, Session I: The Windhorse

The first mystery of the Summer 2024 season is The Windhorse.

Mongolian legend and history come to life as the detectives try to prevent the Windhorse (Spirit Banner) of Genghis Khan from falling into the wrong claws. This adventure will examine the challenges of waging Peace when the Winds of War are blowing strong.

Can a mythical winged horse help our team? Only if they can reach it before it's spirited away.

We will be making Spirit Banners and shadowpuppets. Please bring a white sheet so we can construct our own Ger (a Mongolian yurt). The sheets need to be white for the shadow puppetry.

Summer 2024, Session II: Dunraven Fair

The second session of the Summer 2024 season involves a repeatable mystery called Dunraven's Fair. This is a four-day adventure, designed to accommodate the July 4 holiday. There will be no program on Thursday, July 4. Most of the case will wrap up on Wednesday. Those who come on Friday will experience a bonus mini quest with an additional trade possible.

A mysterious well in the gardens of Dunraven Castle glows with a strange light. When the Detectives investigate, they are drawn into a legendary goblin trading extravaganza known as the Dunraven Fair. This fair is normally in November, but something has drawn it into the summer months.

Can our team evade the more dangerous denizens of the fair, while trading with the merchants for magical artifacts rarely seen by mortal eyes? Only if the Floating Eyes don't find them first.

We will be making artifacts and art for trading at the fair.

Summer 2024, Session III: Nine Fallen Suns

The third session in our 2024 summer season features a mystery named Nine Fallen Suns.

This is one of two mysteries devoted to the calendar myths of ancient China. The second one is The Moonrabbits, which we are offering in Session IV.

According to Chinese mythology, Yi the Archer shot the Nine Sons of Xi He when the impish Sun Ravens climbed into the sky with their brother (Tenth Sun), threatening to burn the mortal world to a crisp. Thousands of years later, Tenth Sun is now ill, and only his brothers can restore him to health. Can the Heroes of the Dragon's Eye find the nine fallen sons of Xi He, or is the world doomed to a cold and comfortless end?

We will be making our own Sun Ravens.

Summer 2024, Session IV: The Moonrabbits

Summer 2024, Session IV presents the mystery called The Moonrabbits, a sequel to The Nine Fallen Suns.

The myth of the Ten Sun Ravens is balanced by reports of Twelve Moonrabbits. Stories of these twelve moons are not easy to find in English, so I have created one based on what I know about them.

When twelve elusive Moon Rabbits go missing, the Detectives set out in search of a lost tale from ancient China. Their journey takes them to one of the oldest libraries, and from there, into the Celestial Heavens. Good thing they have their Moon Lanterns, because the White Road is long, dark, and cold.

We will be making Moon Lanterns and Moonrabbits.

Summer 2024, Session V: The Night Wanderer

The Summer 2024 Session V mystery is The Night Wanderer.

Stories of the Night Wanderer drift through the Underworld into the dreams of dragons, leading our team on a search for this mysterious being. Why are the ghosts lining up at the River Styx? Are the black dogs friend or foe? Is the Veiled One leading the Detectives into a trap?  

Come find the answers to these questions and more, before the Shades spill into the mortal realms.

We will be making Greek Pockets Gods and Goddesses.