The five companions made their way through the trees. It had been hours since Liam had nearly sacrificed himself to fight off the Lizard Men and been saved from certain glory by Jep. Liam wasn't sure if he was relieved that he hadn't needed to fight off the giant kittens or if he was upset that Jep had received all the credit while Liam was entirely overlooked.

The way forward wasn't quite as smooth traveling as the way to the Lizard Men Village. There were many hills and rocks to climb over or around, but Jrasta explained they would save time by moving cross country. The way they had come would have been the easiest route, but from the village, they could move east for a time until they reached the foothills of the Aron Mountains, then head southeast across the Aron Plains toward the path. That path would, according to Jrasta, be quite a difficult journey, but would save about a day's travel. They had already lost a significant amount of time, and the Regent's Guards had had a head start.

For a time it was slow going as they entered a forest of pine trees. The branches hung low, and the trees grew close together. Finding a way through proved difficult. Jrasta pushed them on until evening, and they made their way to the far side of the forest. They set up camp in a clearing with the pine forest to the West of them and the Aron Mountains up ahead.

Liam built the fire that evening, and the meal was simple: cheese and bread they had pilfered from poor Harv's house. They ate in silence, thinking over the day's events.

Finally, Liam spoke up. He knew he should let the whole "Harv thing" go. He also knew it was a waste of time to try to convince Jrasta that Harv didn't see him as a friend. The whole mess, however, was bothering Liam so much he had to at least try.

"So, Jrasta, I bet it was a surprise when Harv turned you over to the Lizard Men. It has to be hard to realize someone you thought was your friend could betray you like that and end up not caring about you at all."

Jrasta stopped chewing on his stale bread and dry cheese for a moment, then swallowed what was in his mouth. He looked thoughtfully at Liam for a moment before replying. "Liam, sometimes you say the strangest things. I wonder if perhaps your world might be a little different than ours. I get the impression you find certain things here strange. Perhaps I would find some things strange in your world."

Liam nodded, and Jrasta continued. "Let me tell you about Harv. I met Harv when I was about ten years old. We instantly became fast friends. His dad was a carpenter, and he was trying to learn the craft. He would work day and night on a chair, making sure it was perfect. I would come over and sit on it and jump on it to see if it could hold my weight and most times it would break eventually. If not at first, I could find a way. He would then weep and say something about spending day and night working on that or some other such nonsense. He was always such a joker."

"Eventually, he gave up on such a foolhardy, 'I wanna be a carpenter like my dad when I grow up' plan. I mean, who learns a craft like carpentry and tries to do it well? Instead, he tried moving to another city. He said something about how he needed to get away. I tracked him down and found him in the new city. He was trying his hand as a soldier. I would take his armor and leave it out in the rain so it would rust. I would hide his sword. I told him how a short little guy like him could never succeed as a guard or soldier. Eventually, he gave up that foolish dream as well. He then moved on to another city and another. I would always track him down and see what he was up to."

"Liam, maybe all this seems strange to you, but I would do this because that's what friends do. Occasionally after I would find him in a city, he would call in guards and ask them to help me move out. Maybe that seems strange to you as well, but that's also what friends do. They help each other!"

"As time wore on, he obviously started to notice that I was very thin-skinned. Insults and hurtful words were hard for me to hear and I didn't respond well to them. So when I showed up, he would start to insult me and tell me to go away. At first, I wondered if he really wanted me to go away, but then I realized this was the greatest proof of his friendship toward me. He was trying to teach me how to respond when someone insulted me. Sometimes I would find he would make some soup for me and he would slip some poison in. I was always very grateful for those times. If it wasn't for that, I would not have learned to test each meal ahead of time to make sure it was safe to eat. Who knows how many times I would have been taken by surprise and maybe even died by poison from someone who didn't care for me as Harv does! Harv has taught me many things."

"When he moved out to the house along the path, near the Lizard Men, he didn't tell me where he was moving. He just suddenly disappeared. I had to search for months for him, and when I finally found him, the look on his face was wonderful. He was so surprised. I guess he didn't expect me to find him so quickly, but I have learned to be such a good tracker because of Harv and his frequent moves."

"I'm not sure yet what Harv was trying to teach me when he handed me over to the Lizard Men. He was probably just trying to keep me on my toes. But you see, Liam, Harv has always been such a good friend to me. Perhaps in your world, friends express their love and concern differently, but this is how Harv and I show each other our love for one another as close friends."

As Jrasta shared the story of his "friendship" with Harv, Liam looked on in wonder. He wasn't really sure what to say in response. He wanted to argue with Jrasta and help him to see that Harv didn't seem quite as interested in this friendship as Jrasta. He wanted to help him see that Harv was actually a danger to him, but he realized Jrasta seemed to enjoy the friendship and the danger. The biggest issue, however, was Liam felt bad for poor Harv! There didn't seem any way to convince Jrasta to leave that poor man alone.

"But enough about my good friend Harv!" Jrasta declared, standing up. "There's still a little bit of light left. Grab your practice swords, everyone. No real swords today. Let's get some training in!"

After having traveled for so many days and having practiced just about every night, Liam's muscles were no longer sore. He was noticing some new muscle developing and finding it took a lot of practice before he would get tired. When he had first started on his quest, practice times were fun but exhausting. In those early days, he had wondered how he could survive in a sword fight if it lasted more than a couple minutes. The exhaustion would set in, and he would be gasping for air in no time. By that point, he was practicing longer without getting tired, and he was always disappointed when sparring ended.

He and Ezra were also getting better by the day. Neither were as good as Jrasta or DOHNK, but it was clear the boys were improving.

Tonight, however, Jrasta announced they were going to learn something new. Liam and DOHNK paired up, and Jrasta and Ezra paired up. The goal was for Liam and Ezra to learn how to disarm their opponents and keep their opponents from disarming them.

Within seconds, Liam's sword was on the ground. DOHNK seemed to have a way of simply knocking the sword out of his hand or striking the fingers hard enough that he lost his grip on the handle. Ezra didn't seem to be doing any better as Liam looked over to see Ezra's sword on the ground and his friend rubbing his hand.

As the sun began to set, Jrasta and DOHNK each taught them how to hold their sword to keep it from being knocked out of their hands and how to disarm their opponent. They were quick learners, and in short order, they could hold on to their swords and even occasionally disarm DOHNK or Jrasta!

When the sun set, they put their swords away and settled down for the night. Ezra looked over at Liam, and both were proud of what they had learned.

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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