The armory was huge. The room was dark, lit only by two lamps and some windows up near its ceiling. The walls were stone, and there was only one door into the place. The room was around the size of a small gym and shaped like an octagon. In the center of the room were racks loaded neatly with various weapons, entire suits of armor and a bin full of chain-mail shirts. Each of the eight walls was dedicated specifically to one item. There was a wall covered in various types of knives. There was a wall with swords of every type, style and size. There was a wall with just helmets. There was a wall with just breastplates. Everything in the armory shone like it was polished every day.

Liam stood there in shock. He had never seen anything like it before. He was also surprised to think that the soldiers he had met might have had access to something like this. Especially considering how dirty, old and ugly their armor had been.

Ezra made straight for the swords, grabbing one in each hand and swinging them in a way that gave Liam the impression someone was going to die: maybe Ezra, maybe Liam. Maybe they would simply be having chicken for supper. Liam was sure of one thing, he needed to stay away from Ezra anytime his friend had a sword in his hand.

Upon seeing Ezra swing his swords, Jrasta spoke up. "All right, Ezra, put those away!" Ezra looked at Jrasta like he was crazy and then slowly turned back to the wall and put the swords away.

"Each of you, come with me." Jrasta led the way over to the bin full of chain-mail. He equipped each one with a leather shirt, putting chain-mail over top. The chain-mail actually went down below their waist and nearly to their knees. The older man then gave each of them what looked like a large shirt and a belt to cover the chain-mail.

Jrasta then led the group over to the wall of helmets and found one to fit each of them, followed by some armor for the legs and some sturdy boots. When they had finished suiting up, they looked quite impressive. Even Jep sported the armor quite well.

It was at that point that Ezra began to complain. "I wanted a full suit of armor! Like one of those over there!" He pointed at one of the suits and began pulling his new outfit off. Jrasta just watched as Ezra ran over to a suit of armor that looked as though it would fit him and began to put it on.

Ezra was quick to suit up and, in a matter of minutes, was lowering the helmet over his head. It was a good fit, and he looked quite dangerous.

Jrasta smiled to himself and called, "Hey Ezra, come on over here and let me show you something."

Ezra took one step and collapsed.

Jrasta collapsed as well but in laughter. After a few more seconds, Liam could hear Ezra gasping for air and crying out, "It's hot in here! So hot! Someone help me get this armor off!"

Jrasta and Liam wandered over and began pulling the armor off of Ezra. Jrasta grabbed Ezra by the shoulders and said, "Do you see why maybe we should go for something you can actually wear? The chain-mail is hot, and it does get heavy, but it's nothing like that armor. When you wear that armor, you can barely stand in here. Can you imagine trying to cross Arestana wearing that thing? Now, let's get you back into some proper armor and get each of you armed."

After dressing Ezra for the second time, Jrasta took the boys and the chicken over to the wall of swords and picked out a sword for each of the boys. Liam and Ezra each ended up with a two-handed sword, double-sided. They were heavy, but Jrasta promised they would develop the muscles to wield them. For Jep, Jrasta provided him with spears about his size which he could wield equally well in each wing. Jep went through some moves with the spears, and it was clear that he was no stranger to battle. Liam was gaining a new appreciation for him.

Liam bent down to adjust his boot and Jep came up and latched onto his nose again. This time it felt like the chicken wanted to take the nose right off Liam's face and might have, if Jrasta had not pulled him away.

Jrasta then went to work on creating packs for each of the team members. There were packs for each of them to wear as well as a pack for them to put on their horse, which apparently they would be getting soon. He also found two knives for each of them, one for them to wear on their belt opposite their sword and another to place in their pack. Finally, he went into a side room and collected a number of odd looking sticks and strapped them to the back of his own pack.

"Alright, to the kitchens!" Jrasta announced.

Liam was all for that idea as he was getting quite hungry. He could tell from the way Jep was looking at his nose that he wasn't the only one.

They arrived at the kitchen to find a rather grumpy looking woman standing in the center of the room, directly in front of the pantry. On the other side of her, rows and rows of food and supplies could be seen. Jep, normally quite bold and willing to be right in the thick of things, seemed to hold back and refused to enter the kitchen. It was as if he knew a kitchen was no place for a chicken.

"Who are you and why are you in my kitchen!" the woman asked, her voice just above a whisper. The quiet voice had a sinister sound to it, and her stare caused fear to grow in Liam's heart. Liam could see Ezra was shrinking back as well.

Jrasta, trying to keep his voice steady, spoke up. "We are here by permission of the Regent. This here is a traveler by the name of Liam, and we have come to get some supplies for the quest we have been given."

"What if I don't want to give you supplies?" the woman asked, her voice rising in volume and pitch.

"It is not your decision, and this is none of your business. We are here for some supplies, that's all. If you will step aside, we will take what we need and be off." Jrasta then turned to Ezra and whispered, "You know what to do." Ezra smiled and nodded.

"Everything in this kitchen is my business!" With that, the woman grabbed two pots, one in each hand and charged.

From the look on his face, Jrasta appeared completely unsurprised by this turn of events. He threw down his pack, pulled out two of the sticks he had fastened to his pack and charged at the woman. Using the sticks like swords, Jrasta attacked with a fury and speed which Liam would have thought was beyond Jrasta's ability. The sticks and pots flew back and forth, moving in a blur of motion as the two fought in the center of the kitchen, battling it out over who might gain access to the pantry.

Ezra grabbed Liam by the arm and said, "Let's go!"

Ezra bolted for the pantry, narrowly avoiding a stray swing of a pot and ran inside. Liam followed and, taking off their packs, they each began loading up supplies while Jrasta kept the Kitchen Lady busy.

"How much are we going to need?" Liam asked, not really sure what kinds of things to take or how much.

"We'll need a lot. We have a long journey. We won't need much water—at least at first. There will be rivers along the way. Grab food that will last a long time. Food like cheese, salted meats and some of those crackers up there will do just fine. Grab some fruit as well, and we will eat it first before it has time to go bad."

When they had nearly filled their packs, the sound of a great wail came from back in the kitchen. The Kitchen Lady had apparently spotted the boys in the pantry and realized what was happening. She renewed her attack on Jrasta with a ferocity that could only belong to a woman whose pantry was being cleaned out, and Jrasta's face began to show the first signs of worry. The woman and her flying pots were clearly more than he expected.

The boys finished up and ran out, sneaking around the edge of the kitchen, away from the battle in the center of the room. They ran out the door, calling to Jrasta to let him know they were done. Jrasta began to back away from the woman, but she did not let up her attack. As she attacked, Liam started to notice the farther she moved from the pantry, the slower her attacks came. Jrasta must have noticed it as well as he yelled out, "The pantry is the source of her power! Quick, someone close the door!"

Liam, bewildered by the turn of events, paused for a moment but decided it was no more shocking than anything else he'd experienced. He bolted back into the kitchen and to the pantry, grabbing the door with both hands and slamming it shut. He turned to see the woman slump to the ground, gasping for air and begging them to not leave her like that.

"Please. Please. I only ask for the right to live," the woman sobbed.

"Do you mean you'll die if the pantry door stays closed?" Liam asked, shocked and a little disturbed by how absurd that was.

"Yes. I can only live for a matter of minutes if my pantry is closed. Please... please..."

Jrasta looked at the woman and was clearly moved with pity. "Liam. Open it a crack. Just enough for her to survive."

Liam grabbed the handle and opened the door just a little bit. The smell of food inside crept out. It appeared to be reviving the woman, and Jrasta said, "You'll forgive us if we do not stick around while you recover. We must be off on our quest."

They bolted for the door as the woman climbed to her feet and began stumbling toward the pantry. They had only seconds before she would have the door wide open and be ready to resume her attack.

I hope you are enjoying the first part of 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!

www.shawnpbrobinson.com/books

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