2 The Dream Orb

CHAPTER 2 THE DREAM ORB Come into my workshop. My gazing ball will show us what happened," Jayana said. The dragons waited in the hall while Drake and Bo followed the Head Wizard inside. Jayana walked over to her gazing ball. Magic flowed from her fingers.

The ball glowed with silver light. A picture appeared inside it. Drake saw a room in the Castle of the Wizards. A green orb sat inside a glass case. "This is the Dream Orb that was stolen from our room of forbidden objects," Jayana said. "With the right spell, a wizard can use this orb to open a pathway to the Dream Gate. That gate is the entrance to the Dream World."

"I've heard of a dreamworld before," Drake said. "A Dragon Master named Llew told me storytellers sometimes visit there in their dreams." "Yes, that is the same Dream World," Jayana told him. "When a storyteller enters in their dreams, only their minds travel there. They leave when they wake up. But when a wizard activates the orb, they—and anyone they bring with them—can enter the Dream World in their physical form. And wizard law strictly forbids that." "Why is that forbidden?" Bo asked. "A wizard could use magic in the Dream World to make dreams become real," Jayana replied. "And that would be very dangerous." Bo's eyes got wide. "I have scary dreams sometimes. I would not want them to be real."

"That is why we have protected the Dream Orb," Jayana said. "Until yesterday, when it was stolen by an evil wizard." A scowling face appeared inside the gazing ball. The wizard had slicked-back hair the color of straw. Cold, blue eyes stared out of his pale face. His long mustache curled at the ends. "His beard and mustache remind me of Maldred," Drake said, with a shudder. Maldred was the most evil wizard the Dragon Masters had ever encountered. "His name is Zoltan," Jayana said. "He stole the orb." The image in the gazing ball changed to a broken glass case, with no Dream Orb inside.

"We believe Zoltan took the orb to Gothica," Jayana said. "And you two are the only Dragon Masters who can get it back." "Why us?" Bo asked. "Zoltan is a very powerful wizard," Jayana answered. "If he casts any spells, Shu can break them with her healing mist." Bo smiled proudly. Jayana turned to Drake. "If Zoltan brings you, Bo, or Shu into the Dream World, you cannot leave unless he opens the pathway again," she explained. "But Earth Dragons can never be trapped in the Dream World. Their connection to earth is too strong." Drake looked at his dragon in the doorway. "She's talking about you, Worm!" Jayana's face became serious. "The Dream Orb is dangerous. You must find it and bring it to me right away!"