The Dragon Sword - SAMPLE

Written and illustrated by

Jan Kjaer

www.theknomes.com

It’s competition day in The Knome Village.

It’s the day when the Knomes find out who is the best at their sport. So they will be running, jumping, lifting and fighting with all their might.

Everyone is so preoccupied with the competitions that no one notices that Dramon sneaks out of the village.

He sits down on a rock and stares dreamily out over Knome Forest.

Princess Zika finds Dramon up on the hill.

“What are you doing here?” she asks.

Aren’t you going to compete with the other Knomes?

Dramon points to the forest. “It’s as if there is something calling to me out there.”

Princess Zika nods seriously.

“Yes,” she says. “On rare occasions a Knome’s duty is outside of The Knome Village!”

“Do you think I’m such a Knome?” Dramon asks nervously.

“Yes, I do,” says Zika and hands Dramon an old map.

“A treasure map!” Dramon exclaims surprised when he sees a red cross marked on the map.

“Yes,” says Princess Zika.

“You can venture out and look for the treasure and perhaps in that way you will find your true calling!”

“WOW!” Dramon shouts excitedly.

“I’ll leave right away!”

He hurries home and starts packing for the trip: food for many days, a shovel to dig the treasure up with and a cart to carry it in.

And you can always use a rope.

Dramon is ready for the treasure hunt. He says goodbye to Princess Zika. She nods and smiles. “I hope you find what you are looking for! But before you leave, I have one more thing for you!”

If you ever feel sad or alone, open this package!

“Thank you, but I won’t be sad,” says Dramon and puts the package in the cart. “Because I’m looking forward to going on an adventure!”

“Good luck,” says Zika and waves.

Then the little Knome sets off out into the big wide world.

Dramon walks and walks. The treasure map takes him far out of Knome Forest. Out to where evil lurks at every turn.

The wicked flying thieves in Poverty Valley try to steal everything Dramon owns.

The hideous monkey-men in Cage Wood want to catch Dramon and imprison him.

And the sea monsters of Blood River want to eat him.

But Dramon evades all the evil creatures that are after him.

After many days of traveling, the exhausted Knome finally reaches Dragon Rock, which is shown on the map.

Dramon gathers all his courage and pulls the little cart into the darkness.

There are creepy drawings everywhere in the cave and Dramon thinks he can hear something moving in the darkness.

“M-maybe there’s a dragon guarding the treasure?” thinks Dramon.

“It’s probably not a good idea to provoke it! Maybe I should turn...”

But then he notices that the drawings form a cross on the floor.

“That must be where the treasure is hidden!” gasps Dramon and he grabs the shovel. He looks nervously around, but there are no dragons to be seen. So he starts digging.

Soon there’s a CLONK and the shovel hits something hard.

Dramon digs faster and finds two treasure chests filled with gold and jewels.

“Whoopee!” Dramon shouts and throws a handful of coins into the air. He totally forgets to be afraid.

Suddenly he sees a glowing flame ahead of him.

A shining sword floating in the darkness. It has a green leather grip and the blade is a flickering flame.

Dramon can’t take his eyes off the sword. It’s as if it’s calling him.

“The sword is calling,” mumbles Dramon to himself.

But when he goes up to the sword and grabs hold of it, a voice roars from behind him:

How dare you touch The Dragon Sword?