The More Things Change

The Black Knight had become the White Prince. But he still found himself dancing with snakes. The surprising thing was that it had taken him so long to realise. Spidersense still not working.

The Golden Bough

In order to be admitted to the Sacred Cave on the Island of Dreams, a Knight must acqure a fragment of the Golden Bough; without this entrance is refused. To obtain his personal token, he must travel to the Glade of Unkown Dreams and confront the mysterious Mindstealers.

The Glade is a secret area in the deepest, darkest part of the Connected Forest and is protected from all sides by the Fog of Unknowing, for the Mindstealers jealously guard their secrets. It is not known how many there are in the tribe, for they are shapeshifters and appear in different forms at different times. - sometimes as an evil, flesh-eating troll who regards the brain of a Knight as a particular delicacy, but they can also appear as beautiful maidens (who are reputed, howver, to appear in this way to catch doughty adventurers off guard) or as wise women.

Sometimes the Mindstealer who is summoned (by the Psychic Horn) will warmly present a branch to a traveller and sometimes it must be wrestled from his grasp in a terrifying ordeal. On a few occasions the Mindstealer will present an additional gift. Such was the reward offered to Dances With Snakes.

A Winter Night's Dream

Dances With Snakes dreamed that he was walking through the wilderness with his friends the Woodsman and the Bridesmaid, and they talked and sang as they went. Then they came across a strange set of objects; there was a gown and a measuring stick, a statue of a small boy covered in gold paint flaking off, a small unopened packet of corn and a design for a flying machine, and an eyepatch and a black flag. But in his dream he did not understand what these items were and the party went on their way, dancing to an old Viking song.

A Cold Retreat

Dances With Snakes was searching for his Magic Flute. It had Ethereal Quality, so it could appear in different guises; Rugged Earthiness, Airy Spirituality, Wooden Stolidity and many others. Today he planned to enter the Dark Forest so he packed it in his travelling bag in case he needed it to play an Enchanting Heart-Warming Tune.

It often seemed to present in a form suitable for the task. It had The Power of Love, but Dances With Snakes never quite knew what tune it would play. What would it be today?