Summer 2016 Session I: Shining Jewel of the Tides

The Sea Witch & The Selkie
Pen & Colored Pencil
RL McNulty, 2016

Our first summer session for ages 6 to 9 features a case drawn from Irish and Scottish tales about the Selkies, seals who turn into humans and back into seals again. The story begins with a request for help from the youngest Selkie, who tells the Detectives about a Sea Witch who has stolen the Jewel of the Tides.

Sea Witches specialize in water magic. This one is just a tad miffed at a certain magical fish known as the Salmon of Knowledge. She's threatening to unleash the Tonn Taoide, the tidal wave, upon the mortal lands, if she doesn't get her way.

Can the Detectives locate the Salmon of Knowledge in time?

We'll be making Black Seal Stones and Quartz Salmon Callers as our projects. Black Seal Stones are soft river stones used to call upon the Selkies for help.

Quartz Salmon Callers are special stones laid in rivers on moonlit nights during the salmon-running season. The quartz reflects the moonlight and the salmon are drawn to them. Use the Quartz Caller in the secret grove where the Salmon of Knowledge appears, and you just may have a visitor.

Dragon Sighting at the Landing Y

Dragons have been spotted circling the Landing YMCA at the old base in Brunswick. Naturally, I had to investigate. I visited the Y and talked with the great folks there, and sure enough, there's a room full of dragonmages there!

Or at least, there will be!

Dragon's Eye is moving to the Landing Y in Brunswick this summer.

The Y is the new branch of the Bath YMCA. It's located at 24 Venture Ave. on the old navy base, right next to Brunswick Recreation Department.

We'll have a wonderful room large enough for sneaking games, art activities and a briefing zone. Parking is plentiful and the building is wheelchair accessible. The room's size will allow for fifteen detectives -- which means a second teacher will be joining me full time.

We'll have access to the gym on occasion, and quiet spaces to sneak. There are plenty of trails and opens spaces to find this summer. I'm hoping that we will be able to have the sprinklers going on hot days, too -- so plenty of reasons to celebrate the move!

Summer 2016 Plans in the Works

The new year has come and plans are in the works for another Dragon's Eye summer. I'm finalizing the dates, but I hope to offer six sessions, two for ages 6 to 9, two for ages 9 to 12 and two for ages 12 to 16. Final dates and adventures will be up soon, along with the Summer 2016 brochure.

Jewel of the Dragon's Eye - Recap

Trouble came to campus in the form of two chaos demons named Oscar and Otus (played by Lou Ensel and Ken Walden). Our team of detectives tracked the demons across campus and intercepted the black suitcase the demons meant to exchange. After deciphering the hidden messages, the detectives learned that the demons were headed to a tiny Welsh village to meet a mysterious lady.

Following the clues and an internet search, the detectives took a little side trip to a castle where they thought they might find some answers from a ghost wandering the castle halls. The uncooperative ghost had to be coaxed into talking with them, but they soon found that they were on the wrong track. A narrow escape from the castle's security guards ended their little side-trip rather nicely, leaving the security guards convinced they were dreaming as twelve kids vanished through a magical snake portal.

The detectives continued on to the Welsh village, and soon discovered more clues about dragons and wizards and ancient battles. The adventure soon led into the heartland of Dragon's Eye Detectives, the secret mountain where the Jewel of the Dragon's Eye is hidden. This jewel provides the magic power that makes all of the detectives' magic work. If stolen, their whole operation would fail.

Entering the secret mountain, the Detectives chose the Path of Compassion as their challenge. They soon found themselves being sorely tested as they had to choose how much they would sacrifice for a certain lop-eared creature they rescued along the way. Let's just say that this group of detectives passed the test of compassion with a deep, aqua blue river overflowing with bunny love. And they did pretty well by the spider, too!

The Detectives made it to the heart of the dragon realms with no time to spare. The enemy was there, too, having chosen the Path of Courage. A final magical battle ensued and the detectives prevailed, saving the Jewel of the Dragon's Eye from a thief who meant little good.

Thank you to Lou and Ken for a wonderful start to our adventure! What a fun tracking and trailing event we had that first day--always fun to have parents join us for a game! Images of the adventure may be found here. Artwork may be found here, and the Dragon Warding Stones here.

Wind Horse - Recap

A small and courageous group of detectives raced through time to find the missing spirit banner (sulde) of peace that once belonged to the legendary conqueror, Genghis Khan. They relied on their wits to evade the demons tracking every move, hoping to stop the demon plot to usher in the end time battles.

Their first stop was a secret 18th century Buddhist monastery that moved from place to place, hiding from enemies to keep Genghis Khan's two spirit banners hidden. When our spirited team decided to arm themselves to the teeth, they found a less-than-friendly welcome from the monks, who were trained to protect their ancestor's two spirit banners from the enemies of their own time. It took some doing, but the detectives managed to convince Zanabazar, the monastery's revered leader, that their intentions were honorable.

Their travels then took them to the court of Kubla Khan, and their fighter instincts caused more trouble with gaining the trust of a leader besieged with troubles. Fortunately, a certain European adventurer was there to lend a hand, and the detectives were soon off to find yet another elusive Mongolian warrior, a fierce princess named Khutulun.

Our group tackled every challenge with high courage--and eventually, learned to apply some wisdom as well. They began by seeking a spirit banner of peace with weaponry and threats and gradually learned the hard way that this technique only raised the hackles of a warring people. Gentle wisdom brought out the sincerity of their quest, and gained the help they so needed.

The time for courage and conquest finally came in the show-down with the demons. Each member of the group managed to hit the mark with a magical crossbow, and the demons gradually gave way as the team brought the Sulde of Peace that would balance the Sulde of War that the demons stole.

Photos of the artwork from this adventure are here, and photos of our valiant crew are here.

Pepper's Ghost Recap

Drawing of the Ghost Box
D. Jacobson

Our Experts of Enigma tackled a new mystery called "Pepper's Ghost" this past week. A visit to Pollock's Toy Museum in London led to a toy box that held a ghost prisoner. The detectives learned what they could about the box from Eddie Fawdry, the museum's proprietor, and then set off to the 1870's in London to find Benjamin Pollock, the original owner of Pollock's Toy Museum.

Benjamin told them what he knew about the man who sold him the box, the mysterious "J.D." A flyer the man had dropped led to the Egyptian Theatre and a ghost conjurer named Alissandro the Great. I can't divulge more details without jeopardizing secrets for a future group of detectives who may undertake this mystery, but I can tell you that the group followed the hissing lamp posts into the shadow realms.

Chaos was strong in this group of detectives, with delightful results that took us off the page in some crazy directions. The group summoned a tracker spell that was all purr and grin. They met a tiny, orange spider with an elegant web on the polar bear statue. Two Isaacs faced off with one another, followed by a showdown with Isaac's own shadow phoenix times two. Befriending a squirrel resulted in a secret tunnel into the shadow realms, and Wes gave a mole a magic ring that turned all of the moles into gargomoles.

Yarnball Game
M. Jacobson

Very special thanks go to Max Middleton, who tried his hand at writing a day's worth of adventures with wonderful results! The character of J.D. really took on new layers, thanks to Max--and we just may see him in another adventure.

Visit the Dragon's Eye Facebook page to see several albums about the adventure, including the Pepper's Ghost photos the children created and photos of the adventure.

Black Skystone of Doom - Recap

The Riddle Ravelers test their plant disguises

A meteor was fast approaching earth and the Dragon's Eye Detectives were on the move--first to the Flight of Mind Travel Agency to find Timedigger and his Tin Lizzy time machine, and then to the Atrocious Period, that little-known end of the Cretaceous Period when the dinosaurs had one last chance to save their world from the Black Skystone of Doom.

We spent the week befriending herbivores and dodging carnivores. The best advice learned along the way: Friends don't eat friends. The most hilarious game of the week? Activating our plant disguises as we ran from tree to tree across the campus quad.

Very special thanks go to Ken Walden, Lou Ensel and Max Middleton for their guest appearances as roaming spinosaurs, searching for something to eat. All they found were strange little plants cropping up across the jungle floor. Where did those Fuzztops go?

Another special thank you goes to Isaac Ensel and Drew Walden, two Mavens of Mystery who played baby quetzalcoatli (giant prehistoric pterosaurs) who turned out to be rescuers--older detectives sent to assist our Riddle Ravelers with their mission.

Humongasaura Regina in shadow puppet replay by J. Jackman

Our Dragon's Eye Adventures Facebook page has some hilarious photos of the plant disguises in the making and then in use as Isaac and Drew led the detectives from tree to tree, avoiding the spinosaurs. They left the spinosaurs so hungry, they seriously considered a vegetarian lifestyle.

The final showdown with Humongasaura Regina (Huge Lizard Queen) was yet another hilarious game of flying yarnballs and a pink purse. Max was a riot as the queen, Rebecca demonstrated her strange ninja skills at interceptions, and the children--well, they won the day! Magic ring captured, escape to 21st century achieved and Black Skystone turned aside -- all in a week's work.

Thank you, Riddle Ravelers! Your courage and determination were second only to your impressive imaginations!

Summer 2015 Update

There are still spaces in the upcoming Dragon's Eye Adventures programs:

Session IA July 13-17 Black Skystone of Doom (Ages 6-9)

Session II July 20-27 Pepper's Ghost (Ages 9-12)

Session III July 27-31 Wind Horse (Ages 9-12)

Session IV Aug 3-7 Jewel of the Dragon's Eye (Ages 11-16)

Read about our new intern, Max Middleton, here.

Session I: Winterlands Recap

Our first summer session of Dragon's Eye featured a delightful group of Detectives who faced many fearsome challenges with great honor. Our mystery took us through the campus, following the paw prints of a dream bear. We traveled from one campus bear to the next, dodging mist monsters all the way.

The journey led to the Arctic Museum, where we had a wonderful morning tracing the meaning of photographs our little dream bear sent our way. The group learned about Donald MacMillan and his journey to the Crocker Lands off the shore of northern Greenland. The Crocker Lands turned out to be a mirage, an illusion the Inuit refer to as poojok, or mist, but our Detectives had their Dragon's Eyes open, so they learned a few secrets that the great arctic explorer missed!

I won't give away too many secrets here, since I may run this program again in the future. Let's just say that our clever sleuths managed to find the moon-lit road into the Crocker Lands. They discovered who was keeping our dream bear prisoner and why -- and found a clever way to rescue their little friend.

Max Middleton, our intern, introduced his character Nyxos, a dragonmage who specializes in dream magic. Future detectives will learn more about Nyxos as the summer continues!

Thank you to the Detectives for a wonderful week! This group had everything they needed to form a top-notch team of Detectives: They were brave even though they were a little scared of those mist monsters. They were amazingly kind to one another and to the animals they met along the way. (While working on our bumblebees, we even saved a real bumblebee from being trapped inside Sill Hall.) They were wise in choosing the right moment to use their special magic (so wise that the cheetah and stone amulets are still waiting for the right moment). They were deeply respectful to one another and to the Sea Mother and the King of the North. All of this adds up to a group of great honor!

And their imaginations? They blew me away ... along with the Crocker Lands.

Visit our Facebook page to view some images of the beautiful sculptures, oil pastels and the adventure play from this week.

Welcome, Max Middleton, Dragon's Eye Part-Time Intern

Max Middleton in Winterlands, Session I

Dragon's Eye has had a change in personnel since the newsletter was published. Robert Choi was unable to join us this summer, but his good friend Max Middleton has stepped up to help out part-time! Max is working two jobs on campus, splitting his time between the music library and Dragon's Eye. I can't say thank you enough!

It's wonderful to have someone who has read Homer in the original Greek join the team. He comes with his own foundation of fantasy and myth -- and then adds to that a really solid instinct in working with young people. When Max stepped through the door just at the moment the children had seen a magical baby bear at that same door, the children's eyes were huge -- and Max quickly became a beloved addition to the team!

Here is Max's letter of introduction:

Hello Parents of Dragon’s Eye Adventurers,

My name is Max Middleton. I will be Rebecca’s part time helper. I am a member of the Bowdoin class of 2016, studying Classics and Music. I am a huge theater fan/fanatic, and I have performed in productions of plays and musicals at Bowdoin and around the state from a young age. I went to High School at Hebron Academy, where I was a member of the residential life team and class president. For the past few summers, I have worked with the various camps that use Hebron Academy’s campus while school is not in session. I am incredibly excited to participate in Dragon’s Eye Adventures!

Sincerely,

Max Middleton

Summer 2015 Begins with an Arctic Expedition

Session I: The Winterlands starts Monday, July 6 at 9 AM in Sills Hall, Room 209. I am excited to welcome our Riddle Ravelers to this new mystery, which features an old campus friend.

Newsletters went out a week and a half ago, so families should have them by now. If yours didn't arrive, let me know. There's a copy of the newsletter on the Current Program page.

One big change from the newsletter is that Robert Choi will not be able to join us this summer. Instead, Max Middleton will be helping out part-time during each day. Like Bobby, Max is an avid D&D player, a singer and a student at Bowdoin College. The bio will be up in the next few days, and as the summer progresses, Max will introduce a new character to the Dragon's Eye pantheon.

There is still room in three of the upcoming adventures. Check the Current Programs page for details.

Summer 2015 Update

2012 Maine Founders anticipating the roll of the 100s die.
There is no roll with a Maine Founders Amulet.

We have five Maine Founders joining the "Jewel of the Dragon's Eye" crew this summer. What does that mean? The Maine Founders are those detectives who joined Dragon's Eye during its first season in Maine. Each of them has a Founders Amulet, which brings one powerful spell that costs no jewels and is guaranteed to work.

I guess the other side will have to step up their game.

Here's an update on enrollment:
Session I July 6 - 10  Winterlands (Ages 6-9) -- FULL
Session IA July 13 - 17  Black Skystone of Doom (Ages 6 - 9) -- OPEN
Session II July 20 - 27  Pepper's Ghost (Ages 9 -12) -- OPEN
Session III July 27 - 31  Wind Horse (Ages 9 - 12) -- OPEN
Session IV Aug 3 - 7  Jewel of the Dragon's Eye (Ages 11 - 16) -- FULL