Just as they were about to be entirely overwhelmed, there was a new yell heard across the battlefield, and all the Booger Bullies took a step back, fear creeping across their faces. For a moment, the battle stopped as the yell sounded again. It sounded like a battle cry.

From the direction Liam and the others had come, a young woman appeared, a practice sword in each hand. She immediately began attacking the Booger Bullies. Some turned to run right away. Liam suspected the Booger Bullies had fought the new warrior before and weren't willing to repeat the experience. She moved with such grace and control that she appeared to be in the midst of a dance, rather than in battle. In seconds, most of the Booger Bullies were either unconscious or fleeing for their lives.

With the new arrival, Liam felt a surge of energy and attacked with more confidence. In very short order, the last of the Booger Bullies were fleeing into the forest.

The five stood there, breathing heavy and covered in snot. Liam and Ezra both slipped at the same time on the same large booger and landed on the ground in a pile.

Their new friend—if indeed she was a friend—stood there looking each of them up and down. She whistled off into the forest and, from the way she had come, a beautiful solid black horse trotted up to her. She rubbed its nose and smiled up at it. Turning to Jrasta, she laughed and said, "You're slipping, old man! I've been following you since you left the King's territory. I wanted to see if you'd notice me."

"I was a little preoccupied with what was ahead of us, not what was behind," Jrasta growled, clearly trying to save face, but not doing a great job of it. Finally, he smiled at her. "It's good to see you, young lady. We appreciate your help. You came in the nick of time."

"You're welcome, Jrasta. It's good to see you, too. It's good to see you as well, Jep. I've missed you," the young woman said to the chicken. Jep inclined his head toward her and gave her a look as if to say, "It's good to see you as well."

It was at that point that Ezra crawled to his feet and walked over to the young woman. She was fairly clean with little to no snot on her, but after Ezra wrapped his arms around her and gave her a long hug, she was covered. He pulled away, and there were about a dozen lines of snot running between the two of them. She was nearly the same height as Liam and had dark brown hair with a green ribbon in it. She looked just about the same age as Liam and had a big smile on her face.

The young woman turned to Liam and introduced herself. "Hello, traveler, my name is DOHNK! I have heard of you from my grandma, Masha. She told me that you all might need my help."

"It's good to meet you, Dohnk. Thank you so much for your help. We couldn't have done this without you," Liam said, trying to be as polite and grateful as possible.

At the moment Liam said her name, all the others reacted and stepped back in horror. "What did you say to me?" DOHNK asked, gripping the handle of her sword tightly.

"I said, 'It's good to meet you, Dohnk. Thank you so much.'"

"How dare you! I come here to help you on your quest, and you call me a name like that!" She advanced on Liam. After having seen her in battle, he realized he was in for a real beating.

Jrasta came to his rescue. "Whoa! Hold on. He's new to this land. Maybe he just doesn't realize what he's said. Liam, why did you call her that name?"

"I, uh, thought that's what she said her name was." Liam looked at each of his friends in turn, and all of them had a look of disdain on their faces. Jep looked especially upset.

"I said my name was 'DOHNK,' not 'Dohnk!'"

Liam paused for a moment, thinking through what he had just heard. The names sounded exactly the same except she had yelled her name, and he had said it with a calm voice. "I'm sorry for how I said your name. It sounds a lot the same to me. Do I need to yell your name for it to be right?"

"If you don't yell my name, it is one of the greatest insults you can give someone. To call someone a 'Dohnk' is just... wow! That is so hurtful. You need to watch how you pronounce my name in the future!" DOHNK fingered the hilt of her sword while she explained it all to Liam. He realized it was one matter of which he would need to be careful.

"Okay, DOHNK, I'll..." Liam paused for a moment. There was something about that green ribbon in her hair that didn't sit right with him. He put two and two together and realized what it was, but wasn't sure if he should tell her she had a large and disgusting booger up there. It seemed like it was slowly working its way through her whole head of hair. He decided since she seemed like an overly sensitive person, as evidenced by her anger over how to pronounce her name, he would simply let her figure that one out on her own. "I'll try to be careful with your name from now on."

"Well, let's get saddled up and back on the road," Jrasta commanded. "There isn't much light left, and I'd like to be out of Booger Bully territory before the sun sets."

I hope you are enjoying Arestana: The Key Quest. Keep reading to find out what happens next! If you want to get a hold of this entire story, you can pick it up from Amazon, Chapters, Foyles or just about everywhere else!

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