The Dunraven Fair - Nov. 9 & 10 Ages 6 to 16

The merchant from the Irbit Fair will return for these quests

Dragon's Eye is offering two mini quests on  Thursday, Nov. 9 and Friday, Nov. 10 at the Landing YMCA in Brunswick. These full-day programs will run from 9 am to 4 pm, with after hours from 4 to 5 pm. The programs are open to children ages 6 to 16.

Our story will be "The Dunraven Fair." These are quests, rather than mysteries. The Detectives will travel to the site of Dunraven Castle in south Wales, in search of a mythical fair held by the goblins, gnomes and fairies each fall.

Detectives should bring small magical trinkets for trade at the fair. There will be goblin, troll and fairy vendors who will have items that may be traded. Miniature drawings on artist trading cards would work for trading, if they are magical and colorful, or dark and mysterious. Jewels will work for the games at the fair, but may not work for trading unless they are unique. Old artifacts from Dragon's Eye Adventures would work, if a detective is no longer using the artifact in game.

These two days may be undertaken as single-day quests, or paired for a 2-day experience in the goblin lands. Visit the Upcoming Programs page for the registration form.

The Paper Lantern

Dragon's Eye Adventures will offer a full-day program on Friday, October 6 from 9 AM to 4 PM at the Landing YMCA in Brunswick. This program is designed for all ages, 6 to 16. It provides a solid introduction to the Dragon's Eye experience. The fee for the 9 to 4 program is $50, with after hours from 4 to 5 PM for $10.

The story is "The Paper Lantern," a mystery that connects to the Monday, Oct. 8 adventure called "The Autumn Festival." The two adventures may be experienced together or as single-day mini adventures.

Both stories take place in Takayama, Japan, the sight of an annual festival held on the 9th and 10th of October. In "The Paper Lantern," preparations for the festival are interrupted by a ghost with dire warnings for the day. Something is amiss in the spirit world, and the detectives must investigate.

The Autumn Festival -- Mystery for Ages 6 to 16 -- Columbus Day, 2017

Japanese carving of a dragon, Boston MFA
Photo by RL McNulty 2017

Dragon's Eye will offer a full-day mini mystery on Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. The program will run from 9 AM to 4 PM, with after hours available from 4 to 5 PM. The location is the Pilgrim House chapel of First Parish Church, at 9 Cleaveland St. in Brunswick. The fee is $50, with after hours at $10.

Our mini mystery is called "The Autumn Festival." The story leads to the annual Takayama Matsuri, the autumn festival held each year in Takayama, Japan. This beautiful celebration involves eleven elaborate floats that the town's artisans have lovingly preserve and maintained for about four centuries.

Lanterns will be lit. Mechanical puppets will come to life.  And detectives will learn some of the secrets behind the festival, secrets that date back to 5th century Japan.

Session VIII: The Golden Cage -- Recap -- Summer 2017

The final adventure of the summer took place at the Landing YMCA in Brunswick. Eighteen adventures set out to solve the mystery known as "The Golden Cage."

We bounced on and off the page as the detectives made some unpredictable choices. The final mystery had some new twists and turns that were very entertaining. The first variation was provided by the moon, with a solar eclipse on our first day. We made our own pin-hole cameras so we could watch the eclipse, but the images were so small that we ended up sharing the one pair of solar eclipse glasses we had.

The eclipse fit neatly into the mystery, since it involved the Firebird from the Golden Mountains of the Sun. This group of detectives came with all kinds of knowledge and research on Russian mythology and folktales, so they were onto the devious plot pretty quickly, but there were still a few surprises along the way.

Knowing whose advice to follow can make a big difference in outcomes. The detectives decided not to trust a character, and that meant several days of off-book adventuring. It led directly to the capture of a sunspark stone and a number of detectives in serious trouble.

Our bold detectives took on Koschei the Deathless in his magic chamber, where he was most at home. This resulted in the biggest twist of the story, when Koschei decided to use the sunspark stone of a certain horrified detective to summon another big bad into the game.

We can definitely say that our team was bold, adventurous and courageous. They were skilled at getting out of the trouble they devised.

One of the Secret Keepers the detectives made this week

The hapless detective caught in the Golden Cage along with the Firebird had her own adventure, too. The dragons couldn't leave her captured, so they sent Sayehmoosh for a little assistance.

That detective emerged from the cage with newfound powers that she will have for future adventures. She restored the team's lost artifacts
and revealed that three of the detectives were still under Koschei's power.

Those three detectives tried to defeat their comrades. Fortunately, the detectives won back their freedom.

With the whole team restored, the group rescued the Firebird, defeated Koschei and his little friend. The sun was not eaten; the Firebird flies free and all is well that ends well.

Right?

Well, maybe. The immediate problem was solved rather nicely.

Cernunnos the Horned God of the Wild Hunt from Celtic myths was summoned to chase down the little friend. He did this, but then he discovered that the detectives had transformed Koschei into a baby.

Cenunnos is known for his chaotic ways. Summoning him for "help" always has its down side. He took that ugly baby into the Underworld with him, creating a definite sequel for next summer.

Did Cernunnos foster the baby Koschei himself or did he deposit the adorable bundle with some unsuspecting foster parents? We won't know--until next summer.

Never a dull moment with this crew of detectives! Thank you for a whole week's entertainment--and for a new adventure! A wonderful way to end a fabulous summer of adventuring!

Images of the adventure may be found on the Dragon's Eye FB page, here.

Images of the Secret Keepers the detectives made may be found here.

Session VII: Star Chronicler's Journey -- Summer 2017

Artifacts the detectives brought for the week:
A Weedy Sea Dragon, a Winter Crown, a Serpent Time Trap,
two Moon Rabbits and a Secret Keeper

The seventh week of the 2017 summer featured an all-ages mystery called "Star Chronicler's Journey." The story led to Huangshan, the Yellow Mountains. This World Heritage Site is an incredible mountain range in Anhui Province of south eastern China.

Huangshan is known for its strange rock formations and cloud seas. It is high on my list of places I hope to visit--and after this adventure, a few of the detectives might just want to visit it as well.

In our minds, we visited Dragon's Daughter Pool, where we met the daughter of a Dragon King. A lady bug told us a secret. Two park guards discovered chickadees doing the strangest things in the night, and then a group of orphans needed rescuing by the wise one who stayed a chickadee.

We exchanged magical freezing spells with Hsigo and shadowy mist beings along the trails leading into the mountains. We talked with Immortal Pointing the Way and Monkey Gazing at the Sea, two of the rock formations found in the mountains.

We made our way to Lotus Peak, where we found a pool and a cave that may not be on the park maps, and from there, Flying Cloud Shoes took us into the heavens.

The Dragon King's Daughter

Trouble came from both chaos and order in this adventure, as the detectives ended up in a celestial prison. Fortunately, they were able to escape with some help from a turtle friend of dragons.

It's rare that a case is solved by stillness--yet that was the case with this mystery, where the forces of order and chaos went to battle on the celestial seas. Holding still wasn't easy, but our team managed to settle the forces. Everyone's happy, except the Empress of Chaos and the Emperor of Order. They are having tea over a nice game of chess.

Our artwork this week was amazing--the group created the whole park on a table. Images of the week's presentation may be found here.

Images of the adventure may be found on the Dragon's Eye FB page, here.

Session VI: The Dream King - Recap - Summer 2017

The sixth adventure of the 2017 summer season drew a small band of determined and experienced detectives. They entered the deep layers of the dreaming to rescue the dragonmage, Nyxos, played by Max Middleton. Nyxos is an order mage who works with dream magic, so the mystery led the detectives deeper and deeper into the Dreamtime.

The detectives dove right into the waters of the dreaming--and naturally, that caused a little trouble. Fortunately, a few stayed on shore to rescue their sleeping comrades. Nyxos was caught in the tentacles of a famous whirlpool, the same tentacles that nearly trapped our heroes.

Once they freed him, Nyxos was able to reveal the reason he entered the deep dreaming in the first place. Someone powerful needed his help--and now, the detectives were on the case, too.

I can't say much without revealing secrets ... but I can say that the Dream King of the story's title did get involved. Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, sent the detectives to retrieve his Dream Cabinet of Curiosities, so that they could take up the Dreamweaving to defeat their foe.

The opening of the Dream Cabinet of Curiosities was an event each day--strange things inhabited the box, each a useful tool in the dreamweaving. A detective described it like "Christmas every day." I'd agree if Christmas were designed by Tim Burton's team from Nightmare Before Christmas."

The dreams the detectives wove took the form of board games played by the characters in the story. Each board game represents a different dreamscape, as each team tried to wear down the power of their enemy.

The final showdown was a series of games played against a vast army summoned from family and friends. Many thanks to Lou and Eric Ensel, Ken and Gideon Walden, Brad and Ingrid Bowman, and one other for joining us for a wonderful ending!

Photos of the amazing board games are on the Dragon's Eye Adventures FB page here.

Photos of the adventure are here.

Final Adventure Opens with an Eclipse

I didn't realize until recently that a solar eclipse would take place during the final week of our summer adventures. It works easily into a story about the abduction of the Firebird who lives in the Golden Mountains of the Sun, so here is my plan for Monday.

Anyone who has a pair of solar glasses that are safe for sun-viewing is welcome to bring them. For those of us who do not have them, we will be using the oldest image-creating technology known to humans, the camera obscura. We'll make simple box viewers, and also use some simple tools, to create images of the eclipse.

I thought about viewing the eclipse indoors, but it just seems crazy not to experience the event in nature. We have enough fear in the world right now, and with some clear-headed science and information, we can safely experience the strange change of light.

I'll work it into our story, naturally--and the rest of the week will seem so much brighter for the courage and wisdom of the choices we make on Monday.

Session V: Madame Drak - Recap - Summer 2017

Rebecca plays a merchant from the Irbit Underfair

Seven Mavens of Mystery gathered last week to take on the fifth adventure of the summer, "Madame Drak." This was one of our advanced teams of dragonmages, featuring three of our Maine Founders and four detectives who have earned their dragonwings, for solving 5 or more mysteries.

I wish I could say that the adventure oozed wisdom because of all of this experience, but I can't, because, well, we did use a couple of shadow and light jewels to negate another pair of shadow and light jewels, and well, now we know what that does! Maybe next time, there will be a green glow.

What I can say is that courage ran deep and wide, and the team fixed every problem they created. As the team remarked at the end of the week, good thing they had someone with them to restabilize things.

I really can't say much about the week, because this mystery gives away layer after layer of secrets about Madame Drak. Let's just say we now know why she prefers found copper pennies. We also know more about the jewels we use to power our spells in Dragon's Eye Adventures. We also know the lizard's name, and we know what it's like to negotiate help from a 3-year-old mountain goddess.

Special thanks to K.D. for designing a great set of games involving Greek discus throwers come to life! That section of the play will be called K's Challenge.

This week's project involved some amazing work--delicate, wild, mysterious. I can't say enough about the beautiful bowls and runestones the Detectives made. They may be seen on the Dragon's Eye Facebook page by clicking this link.


Photos of the adventure may be viewed here.

Thank you, Detectives! I had a blast with all the twists and turns of this adventure!

Session IV: The Sea Serpent - Recap - Summer 2017

Thirteen Experts of Enigma gathered this past week to tackle the adventure known as "The Sea Serpent." It was a tangle of a tale about Maine pirates, sea serpents and ghosts. There were two dreams that started the adventure, one from the dragons and another from a visitor named Jeremiah Benedict.

The dreams led the detectives to the lighthouse at Pemaquid Point, where a meeting with a ghost didn't go so well. The detectives ended up as kittens trapped in a seaweed cage. A swift waterbreathing spell saved the day when a sea serpent dragged the cage into the sea. The ending of that little venture didn't go as expected either ... let's just say there were 32,008 tiny daggers aimed at our heroes and they had to do some fast talking to escape being skewered.

Rebecca playing a merchant of pirate wares

Fortunately, our team had a gift for negotiations and trade. They managed to befriend the leader of the dagger-wielders and came away with pirate amulets and an ally. The group kindly sent this ally magical amulets of protection.

Their next trade didn't go nearly as well. I wish I could say more, but it would give away secrets for the next group. Let's just say that while the enemy won the first round, the detectives won the second round. They ended up with more pirate booty than any group of detectives in the history of Dragon's Eye.

The group was soon ambushed by a team of sealocks, warlocks of the sea. The sealocks had taken a prisoner and would have taken the detectives prisoner, too, had it not been for a little divine intervention by Au Set, the Egyptian goddess of magic. Good thing a detective brought that little amulet along!

The three amigos approach.
Cue ominous music

The detectives learned more about the sea serpent and the sea captain from a blue lobster. The captain was the 17th century fur trader turned pirate known as Dixey Bull (also spelled Dixie Bull).

Another visit with a Jeweled Crab revealed the final piece of the puzzle. This led to the showdown with a powerful sea witch named Oceana. The detectives disguised themselves as sealocks and challenged Oceana to a board game. She couldn't offered to sweeten the game with a good wager. If she lost, she would grant the Sealocks a boon of their choice. If she won, they would have to go after these annoying pests called the Dragon's Eye Detectives.

In spite of Oceana's unsportsmanlike conduct, the Detectives managed to win. Their boon: Oceana had to be nice to ... everyone. I wish I could say that she's happy about that, but she's not. She is, however, bound by the rules of the wager. The pirate jewels were spent in a wild spree, creating the best party the detective have ever seen--pizza, fireworks, and revelry that lasted into the night.

Images from the adventure may be found here on the Dragon's Eye Facebook page.
Images of the board games and pirate amulets may be found here.

Special thanks go to Lou and Isaac Ensel, and Ken Walden for playing the sealocks with such flair. Our team loved having a couple of dads and a brother as part of the week's fun!

Session III: Turtle Mountain Dreams - Recap - Summer 2017

Thirteen detectives gathered last week for a case called Turtle Mountain Dreams. The detectives were asked to travel to the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota, to investigate the disappearance of the turtles. Their journey soon led into the Dreamtime, where the earth rests on the back of a turtle and yes, it's turtles all the way down.

When a fierce lightning god descended on the Dragon's Eye Detectives' Agency, some members of the team courageously ran to confront him--right into lightning cages. Good thing half the group stayed behind, exercising their wisdom. Yarnballs flew and the caged detectives were soon rescued.

The Oroborus transported the detectives to the Turtle Mountains. "Beware of the Watchers," said the fortune from Madame Drak. There were watchers everywhere--some helpful, like the squirrel and the tiny dragonfly, and some not so helpful with their freezing spells.

The  detectives entered the Mound of the Black Warrior, stepping into the mythical realms of Grandmother Spider. When a stranger offered them a hand, the detectives were reluctant to take it. Let's just say a Serpent Trap was used and the detectives found themselves boxed into a corner.

Good thing there were tents and sleeping bags, hotdogs and the makings of s'mores in that box.

The Moon Rabbit was there to help once the detectives returned to the right path, and the detectives set off again through the tunnels of the cave. At a crossroads, the group split temporarily to investigate different avenues. Good thing cell phones were still working. A lesson in meditation came in handy for one detective, while others used magical artifacts, like the Earth Amulet or a fairy.

At the center of the Mound of the Black Warrior was a chamber where Dreaming Lizard slept in peace. The Detectives had a tough time reaching him at first, thanks to the orange fins and tails a few of them grew, plus the faulty memories they acquired. Teamwork and magic saved the day again.

Finally, the detectives learned who was behind the flooding of the Dreamtime and the missing turtles. In the interest of preserving secrets for the next group that tackles this adventure, I shall say very little here. Dreaming Lizard provided some very special amulets to turn the Detectives into turtles and tortoises (equipped with waterbreathing apparatus, as needed). Much joy was had by all as we swam through the deep waters of the Dreamtime!

The detectives had to steal a key from a certain guard, and then use it to free the turtles and tortoises imprisoned in the Cave of Lost Hope. They led the turtles to freedom with Grandmother Spider's gift--and then up into the heavens for a Turtle Feat of Extraordinary Courage: A performance to convince an Emperor of Heaven to cease the rainfall and save the turtles.

The fact that we're all still here, imagining this wonderful story, means that they succeeded. It would have been a drab world without their heroism. Thank you, Heroes of the Dragon's Eye! I salute your courage, your deep, deep compassion for turtles and your growing wisdom!

Photos of the adventure may be found on the Dragon's Eye Facebook page.
Photos of the artwork from the week may be found here.

Session II: The Leafy Sea Dragon - Recap - Summer 2017

Kirra the Leafy Sea Dragon

During the second week of July, twelve Riddle Ravellers came together to tackle the adventure known as "The Leafy Sea Dragon." The Detectives paid a virtual visit to the sea dragons at the New England Aquarium, uncovering a mystery in the Great Australian Bight.

Right from the start, it was clear that this was no ordinary visit. Our team crafted their own golem, a clay figure they brought to life to play the part of a camp counselor taking children to the aquarium. While this allowed the team to blend in well to their environment, the sting rays were not fooled.

Time stop spells and freezing fire flew every which way as the detectives took on the challenge. The sting rays retreated with the usual promises to return, and the detectives continued to the sea dragon exhibit. They transformed themselves into snails so they could enter the exhibit unnoticed.

A chat with Kirra the Leafy Sea Dragon and the weedy sea dragons in the exhibit soon led to more trouble. The sting rays returned, kidnapping poor Kirra and then, Dr. Miras.

The detectives soon found themselves bound for southern Australia, to Kangaroo Island Diversions (KID), a scuba diving outfit in Kingscote. Our wily sleuths woke up the proprietor, Captain Kid, in the middle of a winter's night sleep. He was less than happy.

After freeing a weedy sea dragon and meeting an unexpected visitor, the detectives used a troll-tooth amulet to turn into trolls. Trolls can shapeshift at will, so they quickly turned into dolphins and headed into the water.

The weedy sea dragon

They faced sea tulips and wobegong sharks, met with a Time Raveller named Merneith, and discovered the invisible orb where Kirra and the doctor were being kept as prisoners.

I can't reveal what happened next, since it would give away too many secrets for the next crew to tackle this adventure. I can say that our detectives came up with a most creative solution for the problem at the base of the problem. Vegetarians were happy. The Society for the Celebration of all Things Small and Beautiful were happy. The fairies and the serpent traps were happy. Even the Queen of Summer was happy.

And yes, the Leafy Sea Dragon and the Weedy Sea Dragons were also happy.

Congratulations to the team for a mystery solved--and the rolling of the 1 on the 100-sided die. Rebecca also rolled a 100, but it didn't count against the Detectives, since it rolled right out of the bowl.

For images of the adventure, visit the Facebook page here.
For artwork from the week, click here.

Session I: Midcoast Trolls - Recap - Summer 2017

The Detectives use their Dream Catchers
to capture one of Bindel's Dream Bubbles

The Dragon's Eye Adventures launched the summer 2017 season with a mystery called "Midcoast Trolls." Ten young detectives traveled to a mythical forest in Norway to meet with some old friends who needed help. Their cousin, a mountain troll named Bindel, set off on an adventure to the west about 500 human years in the past. This may be a short time in troll years, but long enough that the cousins wanted Bindel to phone home.

Our detectives followed the tracings of old troll magic and discovered that Bindel used a very unusual form of transportation. While I cannot provide many details here (we will run this adventure again some day), I can say that the method made for a most dizzying ride.

The detectives followed the trail the old troll left from Norway to Scotland to New Brunswick to Maine. Along the way they met some interesting characters ... like a white snake and a very large sow and some teeny tiny fairies. Oh, and a couple of hunters searching for trolls and dragons.

We had some very exciting moments. The birthday girl rolled 100 on her birthday, which was doubled to 200. A certain detective saved the day with his troll tooth amulet and the powers of slime. Another detective called upon his long-bearded fairy to turn the group into fairies--very helpful for reaching some challenging places!

The final showdown cannot be described in full detail, since it involves so many secrets that must be preserved for the next group ... but I will say that the detectives called on some very unusual forces to work some truly amazing earth magic. The earthquake was only a very small one ... felt only by the local fire chief and a meteorologist who didn't believe the children who warned them about an upcoming earthquake.

Mathea plays Belinda the Sea Troll, fast asleep

The detectives summoned mermen and mermaids, sea and water creatures of all kinds, earth creatures and even plants helped with the last big spell. Did I mention the phoenixes? Yep. There were phoenixes with healing spells to keep everyone strong. Somehow, they pulled it off! The day was saved, the troll was found and Bindel could breathe more easily.

Naturally, there was one little snag ... two little snags ... no, three little snags. The troll hunter, the dragon hunter and their helper, the fire fairy. But the detectives defeated them and escaped on the tiny airplanes the fairies made. A hop, skip and a jump through those troll portals, and they were all safe.
Home sweet home in troll land.

A very special thank you to Mathea Hoy, who was our CIT this week! She did a wonderful job playing Belinda the Sea Troll.

Photos of the adventure may be found here.
Photos of our artwork from the week are here.