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    Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams
    Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams
    Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams
    Ebook88 pages1 hour

    Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams

    By Kevin L. O'Brien

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    About this ebook

    After ten Waking-years of sojourning to the Land of the Dreams of Men every night -- the equivalent of over 600 Dream-years -- Sir Differel Van Helsing has become a veteran Dreamer and a formidable force. Though she frequently adventures solo, between Team Girl, her Dream-husband Victor, and their mutual friends she has no dearth of traveling companions in case she wants one. However, she regrets that her frenemy, Lady Margaret Rose Chesham, never learned to Dream.

    So when an opportunity arises for her to introduce "Maggot" to the Dreamlands, "Dribble" jumps at it, and while Margaret is reluctant, she is sufficiently intrigued to give it a try. Differel hopes that Margaret will learn to love the Dreamworld as much as she does, and thereby give her another adventuring companion, but she just wants to relax.

    Too bad she won't get her wish.

    In the Bonus Story, two saurian scientists examine two hominids, a man and a woman, and begin to question the nature of what it means to be "human".

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKevin L. O'Brien
    Release dateApr 6, 2014
    ISBN9781311921413
    Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams
    Author

    Kevin L. O'Brien

    Kevin L. O'Brien was born with a pen in his hand.Well, not quite, but he has been writing for as long as he can remember, at least since First Grade. Writing has always been his first, true love, but it hasn't always been his career. He worked for 15 years as a biomedical researcher, then for 3 years as a web designer. However, after 30 years of trying to be published in print with little success, he has decided to try his hand at self-publishing.He writes primarily speculative fiction -- fantasy, science fiction, horror, and their sub-genres -- but he also likes to try his hand at thrillers, suspense, mystery, and even westerns. However, his stories tend to have a fantasy element, no matter how subtle.Most of his stories involve the following three main characters:Medb hErenn (http://www.medbherenn.com/) -- One-time queen of Ireland, she is over 3500 years old. A warrior and a sorceress, she cannot be harmed by any weapon made by the hand of man.Eile and Sunny, Team Girl (http://www.teamgirlforever.com/) -- They are two adorable, vivacious, fun-loving young women whose motto is ONWARD TO ADVENTURE!!! Yet trouble follows them like a love-sick puppy wherever they go.Sir Differel Van Helsing (http://www.sir-differel.com/) -- The descendent of Abraham Van Helsing and King Arthur, she heads the Caerleon Order, the premier monster-hunting organization of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She commands Dracula, the most powerful vampire extant, and the greatsword Caliburn, better known as Excalibur.He also writes a series of sword & sorcery stories set in an alternative universe known as the Lands of the Dreams of Men.Kevin lives in Denver with his family and 4 cats.For more information, see his website: http://www.kevinlobrien.com/

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      Book preview

      Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams - Kevin L. O'Brien

      Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams

      Kevin L. O'Brien

      Smashwords Edition

      +++

      Text Copyright 2013 by Kevin L. O'Brien

      Cover artwork copyright 2014 by Ariel Roberts

      Cover design and typography copyright 2014 by Kevin L. O'Brien

      Victoriana font distributed under a free-use license by Gophmann A.L.

      +++

      License Notes

      Thank you for downloading this ebook. It is licensed for your personal enjoyment and remains the copyrighted property of the author. This ebook may not be sold, reproduced, or copied, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, but it may be given away if no changes are made. If you enjoyed this book and would like to share it, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from Smashwords or their favorite online retailer, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support, and for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Please consider writing a review for this book on the retailer's website.

      If you see any misspellings or typographical errors, please notify Kevin L. O'Brien using one of his online social networks. Thank you.

      +++

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents, including those based on the real world, are either products of the imagination of Kevin L. O'Brien or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      Because some ebook platforms do not support special characters, certain words may appear misspelled, but this was done deliberately to avoid the problem of the platforms deleting the characters. Also, the LRF platform used by older models of the Sony Reader does not permit the use of links to external URLs, whereas the PDB platform used by Palm reading devices does not support any form of linking whatsoever. Finally, certain words use British instead of American spelling, to simulate the characters' English accents.

      +++

      Table of Contents

      Preface

      Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams

      Bonus Story: Who Put the Man in Human?

      About the Author

      Other Books by Kevin L. O'Brien

      Connect with Kevin L. O'Brien

      Sample Excerpts

      +++

      Preface

      I never was a great fan of the Highlander movies and television series, though I found the premise intriguing. The thing I always wondered about was why Immortals took on students to teach them about the Game, considering its highly competitive nature. I mean, assuming they were not killed beforehand, at some point teacher and student would have to face each other in mortal combat. I even conceived of an idea in which the very first immortal killed all potential rivals, thus setting up the premise of the Game, until he got bored and instead began training them to give him more worthy opponents. His students in turn trained other students, and the tradition continued.

      Regardless, I use a similar idea in the Dreamlands, except there is nothing equivalent to the Game. Instead, veteran Dreamers mentor novices to teach them about the Dreamworld so they have a better chance to survive. New Dreamers enter the Lands almost every night, and while all must pass through the Cavern of Flame to be judged by Nasht and Kaman-Thah, and all must negotiate the dangers of the Enchanted Woods for the first time on their own, once they enter the valley of the River Skai they will find people and cats willing to help them. This is especially true when they reach Ulthar, and while a few unscrupulous individuals will try to take advantage of them, most townspeople are genuinely eager to offer advice and help as needed. In fact, depending upon how the new Dreamer behaves, what his or her plans are, and how long he or she stays in town, it isn't long before someone, human or feline, offers his or her services as mentor.

      When Medb hErenn first entered the Dreamlands, she was mentored by Carbhfind, a former adventurer turned farmer, as well as by her companions, Teehar'owan the Bird, Conaed the Zoog, and Cremedevoyager the Cat. She in turn mentored Eile and Sunny of Team Girl when they found the Land, and they in their turn mentored Sir Differel Van Helsing. Now it's her turn. She has invited her frenemy, Lady Margaret Rose Chesham, aka Maggot, to take an extended vacation in the Dreamlands, in the hope that she will come to like visiting there as much as she does, and give her an adventuring companion for when Victor or Team Girl are unavailable.

      This is the first of a series of stories describing their adventures together as Differel introduces Margaret to the Land of the Dreams of Men.

      Back to TOC

      +++

      Sir Differel Van Helsing strolled into the recovery room of the infirmary in her manor. Lady Margaret Chesham was awake, and she tried to make herself comfortable in the hospital-style bed. She pulled up a chair and sat beside her.

      How do you feel?

      She rubbed her stomach. Like I was put through a wringer. Just what the hell did that crackbrain do to me!?

      The 'crackbrain' was Dr. Mabuse, the Caerleon Order's resident mad scientist. She's developed a whole technology based on the Schrodinger wave function. You remember what that is?

      Barely.

      Never mind. In essence, she used a device that sped up your pregnancy, so you came to term in a few hours instead of nine months.

      And that was better than an abortion how?

      The baby is alive, and will be adopted by a loving childless couple, anonymously. While you avoided the embarrassment, inconvenience, discomfort, and maternal bonding. That's what you wanted, wasn't it?

      Yes, but I didn't expect it to hurt so bloody much!

      She smirked. Think of it as payback, for being a selfish slag.

      Margaret scowled. You're all heart, Dribble.

      She returned a grin. What are frenemies for, Maggot?

      So what happens now?

      Mabuse says you should rest for a day, but I have a better idea. How would you like a fifteen week vacation? On me?

      She made a sour face. The way I feel, I'd rather sleep for that long.

      Differel chuckled. Funny you should say that.

      Margaret flashed a puzzled look. Besides, I don't have the time.

      She stood up. Neither do I. Meet me in my bedroom after supper. We leave tonight. She ignored her look of alarmed confusion and hurried out.

      "Hey! What

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