Dreamlands Series

In the Dreamlands, the Cats are probably the most powerful political, military, and social force extant. Even mighty rulers, such as King Kuranes of Celephais and Queen Elishat of Karchedon, bow to their will. They go where they want, do as they please, and answer to no one, except their Queen and her Council of Elders. They are quick to punish any wrong done to them, and their retribution is as brutal as it is swift and final. They fear little, and run from only the gravest of danger. So, when they summoned Medb hErenn to their council in the town of Ulthar, asking for her help, she understood that only sheer desperation would force them to call on outside aid, especially her own unique abilities, and that it likely involved great danger. The only thing she couldn't know was that it could destroy them all.

Medb hErenn serves Seidhloch the Moneylender of Ulthar as the steward of his business interests in the Dreamlands, because she owes him a debt. Though she serves him faithfully and honestly, she does not like being beholden to him, so when the Cats of Ulthar offer her a large reward to retrieve their most sacred artifact, stolen from the Temple of the Great Ones, she accepts without hesitation. It seems a simple enough task, but it has been taken to the onyx city of Inganok in the far north, where cats are forbidden to go. On top of that, who or whatever took the artifact seems to be after more than financial gain, despite its priceless value, because upon reaching the city it has vanished without a trace. Then Leng Men appear, old enemies from previous adventures. Are they somehow involved, or will they prove to be a red herring? Medb and her companions must find the artifact, not just for the reward, but also before it can be used to release an evil that could threaten the whole of the Dreamlands. But how can one find a needle in a haystack?

Medb hErenn's confidence exceeds arrogance to border on hubris. Subconsciously, she truly believes she is invulnerable, due to her prodigious strength and endurance, and her profound magical abilities, and while far from foolhardy, she often leaps into dangerous situations without thinking. Worse still, her enemies can use this weakness against her, by luring her into traps through appeals to her curiosity or pride. Once she realizes she is in over her head, she may curse her short-sightedness, but when she extricates herself, her subconscious conceit reinforces itself and she learns little from her experience. So when she heard of the deadly Upas Tree, which could kill anything that simply laid eyes on it, she had to see if it lived up to its reputation. She did not believe it would, but she also doubted it could harm her in any event. Her companions often warn her that one day her overconfidence will be her undoing. Perhaps this is finally that day.

The Plateau of Leng in the Northern Lands of the Dreamworld is a most dangerous place. Few people dare to travel its interior except as part of large, well-armed caravans, but one exception is Medb hErenn. As such, people will hire her to escort them across the Plateau, or to act in their stead on some mission of personal importance. Mephitis the Apothecary of Ulthar needs ingredients for her concoctions that can only be obtained from the Plateau and the surrounding mountains. She hired Medb to act as bodyguard and guide, and their mutual friend, Morgiana the Master Thief, to help her gather what she needs. In return, she will pay them a large remuneration, and they can raid the abandoned tombs and forgotten ruins to their hearts' content. Their expedition has been successful, but a migration of the gargantuan Leng Spiders has cut off the usual routes out of the Plateau. In desperation, they make for a rumored pass bisected by a deep chasm, over which a Spider has spun a bridge. Supposedly, it allows travelers to use it, but they must pay a toll, and the gossip claims that it will eat whoever cannot. They have no other choice, but the question is, can they pay its price? And if not, can they avoid the rumored fate?

Differel Van Helsing had been married to Victor Plunkett in the Waking World for four years before he was killed by an assassin seeking to kill her. The loss devastated her, and she very nearly resigned as Director of the Caerleon Order as a result. Years later, when she learned how to sojourn to the Dreamlands each night, she discovered that he had been a Dreamer himself, and that after his death he had retired there to live out the rest of his Dream-life. By the time they were reunited, he had become a diplomatic troubleshooter for the Island Nation of Punica, and had been made the Marquis of Elissa. They discovered that their love for each other was just as strong as ever, and he proposed to her. At first she was not certain if she should remarry him because of the time they would be separated when she awakens each morning, but finally she yielded to her heart and said yes. They wed between crises, so they never had a proper honeymoon, but then an opportunity presented itself that allowed them to spend a week alone on a tiny deserted island. They jumped at it, and spent six days in connubial bliss, doing little beyond eating, sleeping, the occasional swim in the ocean, and making love. On the seventh and last day, however, an old enemy, bent on revenge, crashes their party. Taking them prisoner, he intends to sell them as toys for others' amusement: Victor to a wealthy matron, Differel to the Moonbeasts. In both cases, they are unlikely to survive for long with either their lives or sanity intact. Differel and Victor have no weapons or retainers to help them, but they are far from helpless.

It is only Differel's fourth visit to the Land of the Dreams of Men, since she acquired the ability to travel there on her own, and she is still something of a novice. However, thanks to the mentoring of Team Girl and her husband, Victor Plunkett, Marquis of Elissa, as well as her Waking World monster hunting training, she is better equipped to handle the dangers of the Dreamlands than most newcomers. When she reaches Celephais, she discovers that Victor had been sent on an important diplomatic mission and will not return for some time. To keep herself busy until then, she decides to take a walking tour of the Naraxa River Valley. Kuranes, King of Ooth-Nargai, asks her if she will deliver important dispatches to the outposts and communities that dot the valley, and she agrees. She is now coming to the end of the her journey and she has one stop left, but to reach it she must cross a range of mountains, and she cannot do it before nightfall. As she looks for a place to spend the night, she stumbles upon the camp of a fellow adventurer, a person of short stature who extends an invitation of hospitality to share his fire for the night. Michael turns out to be a witty and mischievous rogue who puts her immediately at ease, but she eventually learns that he isn't what he appears to be. In the Bonus Story, the Princess in Orange is concerned that people mistake Sir Differel for a guy, and she takes steps to correct that.

A long time ago, Differel Van Helsing met and fell in love with Victor Plunkett, a diplomat with HM Foreign Office. She married him and bore him a son, but he was killed by an assassin that had targeted her and their child. She grieved for many years and refused to marry anyone else, but when she learned how to Dream, she discovered that he had "retired" to the Dreamlands and become the Marquis of Elissa, an archipelago of islands controlled by the Kingdom of Punica. They remarried, and while she can only be with him when she Dreams, she is content for the first time in decades. Her love for him is so great that she would sacrifice her life to save him, but will also kill anyone who threatens him. As such, when he was kidnapped and held for ransom, she decided to rescue him rather than pay, with the help of her BFFs, Eile and Sunny of Team Girl. She has vowed that the kidnappers, whoever they are, will pay the ultimate price, but if he is unharmed she might be merciful. Maybe. In the Bonus Story, Differel and Team Girl pursue a pair of shapeshifting predators that are preying on Dreamers. But how can they find creatures that can look like anyone, including themselves?

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".