The Gateway to Troglan

By Sas Huntwood and Elizabeth Huntwood

“One of the beast’s most gigantic heads loomed over the three adventurers whilst the other two long necks curled down and around to surround them. Patrick could smell dragon breath which reminded him of Grandad Peter’s smelly socks”

Declan, Patrick and Tilly must embark on an adventure to free Troglan, the land of t

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Huntwoods
• Release date: Aug 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781916151710

Sas Huntwood

Sas Huntwood is a children's author. Her debut novel has been written with her 8 year old daughter, Elizabeth Huntwood. They embarked on this journey of writing a children's adventure novel together. The Gateway to Troglan was created as a way to spend time together and have fun. Sas is passionate about children reading from an early age. A keen sportswoman often found on the tennis court. She lives with her wife, Nikki, Elizabeth and their mad English springer spaniel.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The Jollys and

the Trips

The street light next to the bus stop on Lichfield Avenue flickered. Declan was still awake. It was dark and he was sitting under his duvet reading his latest superhero comic. His mum did not approve. She would often say to Declan, Waste of time reading that. Declan would often pretend he was a superhero, especially in lessons or when his mum was nagging him to clean up his room. He would imagine he had a superhero power of invisibility, or being able to fly, saving people, or going up into space to meet a strange alien species. His favourite superhero was Spiderman.

Lichfield Avenue was a typical street in the small seaside town of Flowtree. Nothing particularly happened in Flowtree. There was a high street with the usual shops, a leisure centre and an out of town cinema and shopping centre. Oaktree School was the only primary school, which Declan had attended for the last two years. Oaktree’s only claim to fame was that the famous footballer, Stuart Spiker, had gone to the school, but that was years ago.

Declan lived with his mum and dad, Charlotte and Michael Trip. The Trips worked in the city. Declan didn’t really understand what that meant but he knew they wore suits and were both constantly attached to their phones. His mum often worked from home from their office downstairs. They lived in a three-bedroom terraced house with a long garden. The Trips were very disciplined and didn’t believe in fun. Declan would love to have a dog but his parents didn’t like pets and especially dogs. They bring in lots of mud and fleas, his dad would respond, scratching whilst he said it as though he was being attacked by fleas at the time.

The Trips lived at No 21. Their neighbours, the Jollys, lived next door at No 23. If the Trips were structured, loved punctuality and had a spotlessly clean house (one you could eat off the floors of) then the Jollys were the opposite.

The Jolly twins were Patrick and Tilly. They were nine, the same age as Declan, and in his class at school. The twins loved making noise, getting into trouble and riding their bikes up and down the street. Their mum was an artist and writer and she also loved baking. The result was that Declan could often smell amazing aromas wafting into his bedroom from next door. Who doesn’t love the smell of chocolate, lemon or strawberry?

The Trips and Mrs Jolly did not get on at all. The Trips did not like all the noise. They preferred peace and quiet. Mrs Jolly liked noise and was often heard saying that she worked better when the children were creating an ear-splitting noise.

Mr and Mrs Trip didn’t know that Declan was best friends with Patrick and Tilly. At the bottom of the garden was a loose fence panel. Declan would sneak into Patrick and Tilly’s garden and play with them. They had a secret club which they held in the shed. Mrs Jolly didn’t really use the shed anymore. It was left over from when Patrick and Tilly’s dad lived with them. It had a lawnmower, a couple of rusted tools, disused plant pots and abandoned garden chairs. The children had made it into a den. They had found a couple of old folding stools from their grandparents’ house and an old wooden box. In the box they had stashed away comics, sweets (strawberry laces – Declan’s favourites), superhero figures, pencils, paper and some Lego.

Mrs Jolly had allowed them to take a couple of blankets out to the shed. They had also painted the inside. They had found some old paint left over from when Mrs Jolly had painted the