The Maze of Mizaria: The Dream Defenders

By Neal DenHartog

Classes at the DREAM Institute are supposed to be informative and safe, but they've never had a student like Nolan Erling.

 

When Penchant Downing drops in for a guest lecture, Nolan can't wait to wow his favorite oneironaut with his navigation skills in the dream world, but his hopes to impress Penchant take a hit when he's forced to spend the lesson paired up with his least favorite classmate, Parker Bogman.

 

The two boys reluctantly band together to face off with their fellow students in a fierce competition to earn some extra credit points. When an argument sends them off track, they find themselves lost and isolated from the rest of the group in a strange dreamscape where nothing is as it seems.

 

Unable to wake or contact their teachers, their only hope of escaping lies in the center of a mysterious maze. Fraught with danger and full of puzzles, the pair must learn how to work together to find a way out, otherwise they might just end up stuck there forever, and forever is a long time to spend with your worst enemy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Neal DenHartog
• Release date: Apr 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781733839648

Book preview

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Table Of Contents

Chapter One: Selection

Chapter Two: Hide-and-Seek

Chapter Three: Camel Champion

Chapter Four: A Shocking Exit

Chapter Five: A Giant, Heaping Scoop of Mizaria

Chapter Six: What Is That Doing Here?

Chapter Seven: Lunch

Chapter Eight: Strike One

Chapter Nine: Strike Two

Chapter Ten: The Relic of Downing

Chapter Eleven: Cracking the Mirror

Acknowledgements

Author Bio

Copyright © 2020 Neal DenHartog.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN: 978-1-7338396-4-8 (Ebook)

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Front cover image by Streetlight Graphics.

Book design by Streetlight Graphics.

Editing by Melissa Gray.

First edition 2020.

Published by August Inkling Press

North Liberty, IA 52317

www.nealdenhartog.com

Chapter One:

Selection

A

gent Penchant Downing pressed his

dreamcatcher musket against a shoulder, the business end aimed directly at Nolan Erling’s head. I’m going to count to three. You should be running before I get there.

Nolan took a step back, bumping into one of his classmates standing behind him.

Perhaps you might explain what the exercise entails before you start shooting my students. Ms. Okasha, Nolan’s oneironavigation professor, tried her best to give Penchant a stern look, but the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth made it far less threatening.

Penchant turned and raised an eyebrow at her, to which she returned one of her own. She was young, in her mid-twenties, with a dark complexion and darker hair cropped at the shoulders. She stood two heads shorter than the O-Naut, but she wasn’t backing down from him. Their arched eyebrows battled each other as they engaged in a stare down.

You know I like to shoot first, explain myself later, Maira. Penchant leveled a magnetic smile at her.

Not in my classroom you don’t. In a blur, she spun at him, plucked the musket from his hands, and twirled away, all before he had a chance to blink. Now, if you don’t mind, would you please inform the students why I invited you in to guest lecture today?

Oneironavigation had quickly become one of Nolan’s favorite classes. Ms. Okasha kept things light and fun every lesson, which was a far cry from some of his other subjects, and the practical lessons outnumbered the theoretical, which meant he wasn’t stuck in a boring classroom all day. It also helped that he was actually good at this stuff. Navigating the dream world was one of those skills he was able to do almost instinctively, and, unlike some of his other random abilities, that instinct translated to the classroom. He often scored near the top of his class, and when he’d learned his favorite O-Naut would be dropping in for a lesson, he couldn’t wait to show off his talents to Penchant.

The big guy crossed his arms and stared at the dozen students present. So Maira informs me that some of you have been wearing your slacker pants to class. They might go on one leg at a time like a regular pair of pants, but the stench of subpar dreaming will not wash out of them. I’m here to rectify that by giving you a shot at some bonus points. Play your cards right, show me some skill, and you may just earn some extra credit today.

By letting you shoot us? The question slipped out before Nolan had a chance to stop it.

If only it were that easy. Penchant’s glowing smile turned devious. I don’t like straightforward lessons. Nothing in the Dreamstream is ever straightforward. Fair warning, though, I am going to keep you on your toes all day long. All you need to know right now is my musket is merely a selection tool. It will be solely responsible for how the next portion of the lesson proceeds. Now, if you don’t mind, Maira. He held a meaty palm out to the teacher, beckoning for the weapon. She sighed before handing it back to him.

Penchant scratched his chin with his free hand for a moment. Now, does anyone remember what I was saying about a three count?

No one had an answer except for their teacher. Ms. Okasha tiptoed behind the big guy and tugged on a giant shoulder as she shouted, That three seconds isn’t nearly long enough! She swept his legs out from under him and added, Run, kids!

The thud of Agent Downing hitting the ground shook the dreamscape, but it was nothing compared to the rumble that followed. Ms. Okasha’s fingers dug into the dirt, and jagged ridges of rock sprang forth in a line from her fingertips as the students scattered. Making drastic changes to a dreamscape to distract them as they searched for objects within was a favorite tactic of hers. Now, it added cover for them.

Nolan ducked behind a newly formed ridge and ran in the opposite direction. He was certain Penchant would be as good a shot from his butt as he was from his feet, and although he didn’t understand why the man was shooting at them, he didn’t want to be the first to find out. Down in front of the ridge, Ernie Zimmerman, a short, round kid Nolan’s age, took the first hit. Bright pink webbing struck him in the face and pinned him to a nearby rock. A second pink burst took out another student.

Logically, Nolan should have kept his legs moving, but the sight of his struggling classmates distracted him. Ernie wrestled with the webs, though his effort did little. Soon a pink cocoon surrounded him and lofted him into the air. It floated back across the dreamscape and dropped the boy at Penchant’s feet. Another pink bubble joined him, followed by a couple of orange ones, each of them presumably carrying another student. Nolan didn’t need to witness any more to appreciate how the selection was taking place.

They were being paired up via Penchant’s musket.

Cool.

A web breezed by his cheek, a reminder he needed to run. The arid path underfoot turned mountainous, sloping up and away from Nolan. By his best estimation this would be the most logical direction to go. If he could keep Penchant from gaining the high ground, he might last a little longer. Another boy had the same idea. Nolan caught a glimpse of Marty Luna running up ahead, so he sped up to catch him.

Marty was only a year older than Nolan, but he had at least twenty dark hairs sprouting from his chin and a black set of glasses to match. His long strides made him hard to reel in, but Nolan’s feet turned over twice as fast with little effort.

How’s gravity? Regulated? Nolan asked as he pulled up alongside him. They’d been taught to test the limitations of their dreamscape early in order to determine the quickest way to navigate. Personal flying was an easy favorite, giving advantages to both quickness and maneuverability.

Marty shook his head. Sure is. Bet I couldn’t jump more than a foot in the air.

Bummer, Nolan replied. I think super speed is in play.

Not the best dreamscape for it, though.

Nolan took stock of all the crags and valleys. Every rock and root and crevice presented a trip hazard and made using any sort of speed ill advised. Any chance we can keep on running forever?

Pfft. We’re not getting off that easy. There is bound to be a barrier up, and if not, Downing can just open a switch point to the opposite end.

Nolan frowned. He can do that? But as the question slipped out, he remembered doing that exact thing himself inside the Deathstream several months ago.

This is Penchant Downing we’re talking about. There’s a reason he’s the best.

Most of the other students in class viewed Penchant in a reverent light. He had quite the reputation. Some called him untouchable, invincible. Not Nolan. Yeah, Agent Downing was pretty great, and he’d saved Nolan’s butt more than a few times, but he’d seen the man humbled before by more than one thing inside the Dreamstream. Now it was time for Nolan to try his hand at humbling him, too. By outlasting everyone else in this ridiculous game and finding a way to win. Although he wasn’t sure how to win. The rules hadn’t been explained well.

Nolan risked a glance over his shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Penchant’s location. He only caught sight of several yellow webs streaking through the air perpendicular to them. Perfect. He was after someone else. When Nolan turned back around, he crashed right into Marty, who had bounced off an invisible barrier in front of them. They tumbled to the ground together, and Marty rolled off him, holding the bridge of his nose.

Well, I was right about the barrier, he said.

Experienced dreamers could easily detect boundaries like these ahead of time, by sensing the somniatic energy, but Nolan often ended up on his butt instead. His energy-detection skills needed a lot of work.

"We’re boxed