Ezra watched his friend slide down the hill. He was somewhat relieved that Liam had gone first. He knew that he could be the one being carried away on the snot slide. He was also somewhat disappointed. Liam looked like he was having fun. The look of terror on Liam's face along with the speed told him that was the way to go. He decided he would not let Liam be the only one to enjoy snot-sliding and jumped forward.

The back of his shirt caught on something, and he felt himself yanked back. He looked over his shoulder to see Jrasta shaking his head. "What do you think you're doing? Look down there and tell me what you see!"

Ezra saw Liam, way in the distance, cleaning snot off his shirt. "He's wiping snot off his shirt! Looks like fun!"

"Look at the trees just past where he's standing," Jrasta said.

Ezra scanned the trees, seeing nothing but leaves and bark. "I don't see anything, just a bunch of trees with... whoa!" Ezra saw what Jrasta was talking about. About six Booger Bullies were sneaking up on Liam. Within moments, Liam was captured and being dragged back into the woods.

"We need to go after him!" Ezra declared, feeling frustrated with Jrasta. "I could be down there right now helping him fight off the Booger Dudes!"

"No, Ezra," Jrasta said. "You would have been captured as well. We need to take a different approach if we are to rescue our friend."

They turned back along the ledge and made their way to more solid ground. Getting the horses to walk back along the ledge was far more difficult than one might have thought. They found a place to leave the horses and tied them up, making sure their mounts had enough food and water to carry them through for a time. They found a safe way to climb down the hill, then carefully and quietly moved in the direction they had seen Liam slide.

When they had made some progress through the woods, Jrasta found a small area where they were fairly well covered. They stopped together, and he explained the plan.

"By this point, they have him in their village and are likely feeding him Snot Root. He will be a Booger Bully soon. There's not much we can do about that. However, we might be able to save him and save all the other Booger Bullies. They are not evil, they have just eaten the Snot Root, and it turns them into these large-nosed, snot-flinging monsters. They lose control and attack anyone who comes near, trying to turn them into what they have become."

"It is said there is an antidote," Jrasta explained. "Growing near the Snot Root is a mushroom which counters the effect of the root and is capable of turning the bullies back into people. The village itself is built around the area where the Snot Root grows. If we can find their village, we should be able to find some of these mushrooms!"

Ezra listened intently, excited about the possibility of Liam's rescue. When Jrasta finished, Jep was the first to nod his agreement with the plan and each person followed in turn.

It was getting close to supper time, but Ezra didn't feel like eating. As he looked around at his friends, none of them appeared hungry either. They were clearly all just as worried sick for Liam as he was. He also felt the many boogers all over the bushes and trees didn't help with his appetite.

They continued on their way through the forest. When they found the spot where he'd been captured, they found a long line of snot which led through the woods. They followed the snot. Ezra hoped it would take them where they needed to go.

Ezra was nearly shaking with excitement. He was scared, for sure, but he loved the idea of another fight with the Booger Bullies and hoped he could take on Liam before he was turned back into a normal human. Liam was his best friend, but he knew the two of them were pretty evenly matched when they would spar each evening. He hoped Liam's extra-large nose would put him at a disadvantage so he could take him down.

The sun was starting to set by the time they came to the village. They could see lights up ahead from fires and torches.

Jrasta split them into two groups to search for the mushroom antidote. The older man went with DOHNK, and Ezra went with Jep. Before they parted ways, Jrasta warned everyone to be careful not to eat the Snot Root. He warned them that it smelled great, but would change them in moments.

They searched the woods for any sign of Snot Root or mushrooms. There was no sign of either at first, but then Ezra started to smell a turkey dinner. It smelled so good! It also smelled like steak and maybe even like some of Masha's homemade soup. He couldn't imagine where that smell was coming from out there, but he knew he wanted some.

They crept around a tree and Ezra saw the Snot Plant. It looked like a small tree with seven or eight leafless branches. He could see the occasional root sticking out of the ground and knew the glorious smell was coming from there. If it weren't for Jep giving him a look, he would not have been able to resist.

"Right. Okay. Don't eat the Snot Root. Gotcha!" Ezra said, trying to convince himself. "If the Snot Root is here, the mushrooms should be around here somewhere."

They searched the ground and within moments had found a large patch of mushrooms growing at the base of a tree. By that time, the sun had set, and most of the light they had left was coming through the trees from the village.

Ezra reached down to pick a mushroom. The instant it broke away from the ground, it released a very different smell than the Snot Root. It stunk. Bad. Not a bad smell like socks which had been in a shoe a little too long. Not a bad smell like when an outhouse blows up (Ezra had seen that happen more than once). Not even a bad smell like if you were to run a marathon with no deodorant and covered in pig manure. It was more like all of those together, times six hundred. Maybe worse.

Ezra and Jep both fell over and started puking everywhere. They tried as hard as they could to puke silently, but it turned out Jep was a loud puker. It was as if each upchuck had to be screamed out of his belly.

Ezra quickly grabbed as many of the mushrooms as he could hold in one arm and grabbed the puking poultry in the other. He ran as fast as he could in the direction Jrasta had gone. He hoped they could get together and regroup before the Snot Buckets came for them. From the sounds of the people in the village, he knew they had heard Jep. A glance in the direction of the village told him the Booger Bullies were on their way to investigate the noise.

Ezra could hear the sound of puking ahead. Jrasta and DOHNK must have found some mushrooms as well, and they were both clearly as loud as Jep. Within moments he could see them and burst through the bushes to get to them.

Jrasta was on the ground, holding a bunch of mushrooms. In between heaving, he told Ezra to leave the three of them behind and take the mushrooms. "If you... hhhwwuuooo... hide in the woods... haaaahhh... you can sneak into the village tonight... hhhhrrrreeehhh... and throw the mushrooms into the well... bleeeehhhh."

That was all Jrasta seemed able to get out. Ezra could feel the adrenaline pumping through his body. It was the kind of thing he lived for! Adventure! Fun! Seeing other people puke! It was a story to be told for generations!

He could barely contain himself, and without thinking, he yelled, "LET'S DO THIS!" and kicked Jep like a football. Jep did not like being kicked, judging by the look he gave Ezra as he soared away. As he flew, he let another puke flow from his mouth with a scream that echoed through the trees.

"I probably shouldn't have done that," Ezra said out loud, before grabbing the mushrooms from Jrasta and disappearing into the bushes. He hid out of sight just in time as the Booger Bullies burst through the trees and came upon Jrasta and DOHNK. Another one walked up carrying Jep. Ezra realized with horror that the last one was wearing Liam's clothes.

He was instantly filled with rage. That monster had stolen his friend's clothing! What would possess a creature to do such a thing? It took Ezra a few moments to figure out it was, in fact, Liam, just with a huge nose.

While Ezra watched from the bushes, they dragged all his friends back to the center of the village. The Booger Bullies tied them up, and Ezra could see DOHNK, Jrasta and Jep all being offered Snot Root. Jep looked the most confident as they all tried to resist, but within seconds even Jep was chewing on something, and his beak seemed a little larger than normal. It wasn't long before all had given in to the temptation and become Booger Bullies.

Ezra realized he was their only hope. He couldn't be careless. He had to take his time. He settled down where he was and waited for complete darkness and for the Booger Bullies to go to sleep.

While he waited, he began to think matters through. He wondered if the mushrooms were not only the antidote for someone who had eaten Snot Root, but maybe they could help prevent the Snot Root from working in the first place. He grabbed one and popped it into his mouth, thinking it would disgust him beyond measure. He was surprised to find it was sweet. In fact, the moment it touched his tongue, the nasty smell seemed to disappear, and the mushroom became the best tasting food he had ever eaten.

He pulled his small sack of supplies from his back and emptied the contents onto the ground. He grabbed all the mushrooms and began breaking them up into small pieces and stuffed his sack with them. He watched as the village settled down for the night and the Booger Bullies all went to bed. His friends, by that point, looked just like all the other monsters. The only way to tell them apart (aside from the large-beaked Jep) was by their clothing. Their noses had grown large, and the snot had begun to flow.

When the village had quieted down, Ezra left his hiding place. He could see a well just at the edge of the village and made his way toward it through the trees. When it appeared as though most Booger Bullies were settled down for the night and the few who remained awake were not looking, he crept out and emptied the contents of his sack into the well.

He silently moved back toward the forest and found a place with thick bushes to settle down for the night. He would just have to wait it out.

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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