2021 Session III: Mask of Dreams

"Mask of Dreams" was written in 1999, and is among my most repeated adventures. It's always fun to see how each new group approaches this adventure! This year's group of experienced detectives resisted the urge to put the mask on -- so the backup plan kicked in and the mask chose the one person who confessed that she wanted to don the mask.

This launched the troubles from the Greek dream world. The detectives gathered their resources and set off to see the Oracle at Delphi. They chose the oldest oracle in legend, with a temple made of laurel and a small encampment rather than the more famous time period visited by kings and queens.

The Oracle tapped into the dream visions, revealing the merging of the Gates of Ivory and the Gates of Horn. This would bring all dreams and nightmares into the world as prophesies, unleashing horrors on the world at large. While some dreams might be fun if true, the team generally agreed that we'd like our nightmares to remain fictional.

With the help of Dog Tinker's Dream Boxes, the team was able to track down the one who tampered with the mask. They started with a visit to the Underworld, with the usual challenges -- crossing the River Acheron, coping with Cerberus at the crossroads (they don't care for "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star), and managing the field of poppies.

The visit to the Cave of Hypnos was quite productive. Thanatos was entertained by the team's creativity in taking on Morpheus' dream challenge. Competitive shadow puppetry will be coming to the Olympics one day. We're quite sure it will catch on at any moment!

A visit to the ancient god of dreams, Oneiros, brought the team to the Palace of Dreams. The team's discoveries there led to more peril, yet a possible solution as well. A glimpse into the dream work of three assistants to the gods revealed who the tampering god was -- and the team made a careful selection from Dog's final Dream Box to assist them.

What did we learn from our adventure on the edge of the Dreaming? Beware of sleepwalkers bearing unknown golden masks. It's better to have a dream of Koschei the Deathless on your side, than a nightmare of him working against you. Charon originally ferried passengers across the River Acheron. And Ballerina Kitty is still the worst nightmare of all.

Thank you to Pete Kautz, my good friend and former colleague in adventuring from my days in Ithaca, NY, for his role as Dog Tinker. Zoom brought us something special this week--a chance to have a master D&Der join us for some good fun!

Thank you also to Oliver Van Soest -- he fits the part of Morpheus so well, and crafted those shadowpuppet nightmares with his usual blend of comic horror and imagination! Good thing the detectives held their own, undoing those nightmares! 

I also want to compliment the group on their teamwork, and on the beautiful masks they made this week! Here is a link to the mask work on the Dragon's Eye Facebook page. Here is a glimpse of some of the shadow puppetry work.

Summer 2020, Session III: Mask of Dreams

Mask of Dreams
RMcNulty 2020
Micron Pen & Colored Pencil

The "Mask of Dreams" is one of the tried-and-true classic adventures for Dragon's Eye Adventures, first written in 1996. This summer, it will be the feature story for Session III, July 13 - 17.

Detectives aged 9 to 14 are invite to tackle this mystery. The program runs from 9 AM to 4 PM, with After Hours until 5:30 as needed. We will be in Searles Science Building, Room 314, at Bowdoin College.

A mysterious mask leads the Detectives to ancient Greece to seek counsel from the Oracle at Delphi. It’s a race against time, as the Detectives enter the Underworld in search of two dream jewels. Will Morpheus the god of dreams help, or will the world plunge into a chaos of nightmares come to life?

Our projects include a double-sided mask of dreams and nightmares.

Mask of Dreams - Report

Eleven Detectives took on the mystery known as "Mask of Dreams" last week at Bowdoin College. While rain kept us traveling from building to building on some days, we managed to eek out a really fun week. Our three new Detectives dove right into the spirit of adventure and the group took on the Oroborus challenge without a single hitch all week!



Kate Sibole joined us as an assistant, opening up possibilities for game play. Ken Walden and Lou Ensel returned for another role as Phantasms. Kate's team and my team were able to split up and track the Phantasms through the labyrinth of the Cave of Sleep. It was a game for the record books, sure to become legendary among those of us who were there!





We started in the Searles science building, where the two Phantasms parted ways. The trackers crossed paths through the bowels of the art building and the trail became twice as dangerous as the Detectives had to watch for freezing spells coming from both directions. Both groups passed an amazing wall of eyes and I had to take a picture -- it was so perfect. Bowdoin is wonderful for the bits of serendipity it provides.


Morpheus the god of dreams challenged the Detectives to a competition in the dreaming. This turned out to be a shadow puppet competition. Each side has three minutes to make shadow puppets. Morpheus began with a story about a hero sailing through the waters in a dragon boat.

The dream became nightmarish when the dragon boat swallowed the hero. The first group of Detectives had three minutes to turn that nightmare into a good dream again. Then Morpheus turned it back into a nightmare and the second group of Detectives turns it into a dream.

Our poor hero was saved by rainbows and unicorns, only to have them turn into pits of doom and sharks. Along the way, the hero enjoyed many burritos and occasionally a taco, but even that came back to bite him in Friday's version for parents, when the Taco monster rose. Fortunately, our clever Detectives saved the day--and Morpheus was entertained by their creativity, their humor and their ingenuity.



It was an amazing week, and the dream masks and shadow puppets are all in albums on the Dragon's Eye Facebook page. The children's art never ceases to amaze me, and these albums are becoming treasure troves of memory for these brief and fleeting adventures!

Thank you to Kate Sibole for such capable help this week! From Phantasms to Charon to Athena to Oneiros the ancient god of dreams, Kate played them all with style and ease!





Thank you also to Ken and Lou for another great morning--tracking and trailing of that kind is an advanced maneuver for the Detectives! More adults on my side even for a short while means trickier games and richer challenges!

Thank you, Kate, Ken and Lou -- and thank you to my wonderful, clever Detectives. This was one memorable mystery! The Mask of Dreams will never be the same.

Session IV: Mask of Dreams

Mask of Dreams
R L McNulty

Session IV features "The Mask of Dreams," a mystery for ages 9 to 13 that draws on Greek myths about Morpheus and Oneiros, two ancient gods of dream.  A mask of unknown origins has some secret powers that unlock the dream world. This story is a tried-and-true adventure guaranteed to augment the detectives' knowledge of Greek mythology. One 4th grade teacher friend of mine uses "Mask of Dreams" every year during her unit on Greek myths.

The activities this week include making our own two-sided masks of dreams. One side represents a happy dream and the other represents a nightmare. Morpheus also challenges the detectives to a shadow puppet duel in the world of dreams--and parents, family and friends will get to see the duel on Friday at our usual 3:30 presentation!