Rescuing Jrasta from the Lizard Men was going to be a bit of a problem. For one thing, no one actually knew where they lived, and Harv seemed unwilling to point the way. For another, they weren't exactly sure how they were supposed to defeat an entire village of people called, "Lizard Men." Even DOHNK seemed a little worried, wondering if they had what it took to rescue their friend.

They began to pack all their supplies and get the horses loaded, making sure to pack up Jrasta's belongings as well. As they were doing so, Ezra piped up, "Did Jrasta have a map of the area? Maybe it points out the Lizard Men's village."

They rummaged through Jrasta's pack, finding a number of old and smelly items of clothing, along with many weapons. There was also a decent amount of food and supplies, the tent, his bedroll and a few odds and ends. They were about to give up, thinking Jrasta must have had it all in his head when they noticed a pocket sewn right into the side of the saddle. Looking inside, DOHNK let out a cheer. They had found a map.

They spread out the map on Harv's table and looked over the whole countryside. Harv didn't seem bothered by their presence anymore. It seemed as though once Jrasta was out of the picture, they could stay as long as they wanted.

In the very center of the map was Kings-Home with a little scribble next to it that read, "Good soup at Masha's place." Moving east from there, they could see the path they had followed from the city and through Booger Bully territory. The Dark Jungle was there as well as the Sandy Desert, and part way between Booger Bully Territory and the Dark Jungle was a little mark on the path. A note scribbled by the mark read, "Harv's Hotel." A little to the northeast of Harv's Hotel was another note with two words, "Lizard Men."

"So we head north," DOHNK said. "I hope we're ready for a fight. I have never faced the Lizard Men, but tales are told of their skill in battle and their ferocity toward trespassers."

Liam and Ezra looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. "This sounds dangerous, but if Jrasta is in danger, we have to do whatever it takes to rescue him."

They turned to leave and found Jep had already saddled Jrasta's horse. Liam thought of asking how a chicken, or rooster, could saddle a horse with nothing but tiny wings and a powerful nose biting beak but didn't want to be rude.

They climbed up on their horses and started east. At that point along the path, the land to the north was too hilly and rocky for their horses to make it through. They would need to find an easier path to use to find the Lizard Men. After doing a quick scout of the area, they found if they traveled east a little bit, they could leave the path and head north through a forest. Because of the closeness of the trees, they had to ride single file and often duck under low hanging branches, but the path forward was relatively clear. According to the map, they had about a three-hour ride to get to the village. That would leave them arriving shortly after lunch.

At around 11:14 am (according to DOHNK who claimed the ability to look at the sun and shadows and accurately tell time) the woods came to an end, and they entered a rocky area. They each had to hop down off their horses and lead them for fear their horses might stumble along the way. Liam's horse, Lenny, seemed to appreciate the break from carrying him.

Liam and Lenny were starting to get along quite well. When Liam first climbed up on Lenny, neither one was sure of the other. Lenny had been quite hard to control, and Liam constantly had to fight to stay in the saddle. By that time, nearly a week into the journey, both horse and rider felt comfortable with each other. Liam found he could stay on Lenny's back without difficulty and Lenny even seemed to try to help keep him in the saddle. Somewhere along the way, he had started thinking of Lenny as a friend.

As they walked beside each other, Liam looked over at his horse friend just in time to see Lenny stick out his tongue, turn toward Liam and lick him right in the eye. Liam did not enjoy that. He wondered if anyone in the entire world of Arestana was normal. He didn't think so. He wanted to get Lenny back but realized the only way he could do that was to lick the horse in the eye. He believed he wouldn't enjoy that experience either, but Lenny might. Instead of seeking revenge, he just threw up on Lenny's face.

They walked on in silence until lunch time. Everyone wanted to push on to get to the Lizard Men's village as soon as possible in order to rescue Jrasta, but Jep looked at them all in such a way that they realized they needed food to keep up their strength in case there was a battle.

Jep scouted ahead a little bit and found a nice clear area where they could rest. Liam was on lunch duty today and managed to whip up a nice meal consisting of a hunk of cheese for everyone and some fairly stale pieces of bread. They ate in silence while Jep clucked at each of them in turn.

After lunch, they packed up. Their stomachs were unsettled as they thought about going into battle. Both Liam and Ezra looked ill, and DOHNK looked nervous.

As they set out, they found there were fewer rocks along the way. They were able to climb up on their horses and move at a faster pace. In a short while, they would be at their destination.

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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