Liam slumped against a wall and looked around the small room. He was mad, upset and very confused. He wanted to scream and cry and laugh all at the same time. He thought doing that might cause him to fit in a little better with this crowd. Suddenly the nose eating chicken seemed the most normal one around. He decided he'd better start to try to make sense of the situation.

"Ezra, why were the guards chasing you?"

"Hmm... that's a good question. I don't know."

"How can you not know why they were chasing you? Did you break the law?"

"Yes, of course I did." Ezra looked at Liam like he was out of his mind.

"Well then, wouldn't that be the reason they are chasing you?" Liam wondered if he was in for another really dumb conversation.

"Yes, I would think that would make sense."

"So, what did you do?"

Ezra looked at Liam with complete sincerity and said, "I have no idea."

Liam closed his eyes and shook his head. He looked at Ezra and tried to get some more information. "So you did break the law, but you don't know why they were chasing you? You know they are chasing you because you broke the law, but YOU DON'T KNOW WHY THEY ARE CHASING YOU?!" Liam was beyond frustration. He just hoped that there was some reason behind all the nonsense.

"Let me spell it out for you clearly," Ezra responded.

Liam leaned in close to hear the first clear answer he thought Ezra may have ever given.

"I... don't... know..."

Liam wasn't surprised. "Really? That's it? You just don't know? You don't know what?"

"I don't know. I know that they are chasing me because I broke the law. I know that's why they chase me each time they chase me. I just don't know why they are chasing me this time. Was it because I stole some food, broke into the blacksmith's stable, set fire to the candy store? Was it because I painted the jail a nice shade of blue in the middle of the night last Tuesday? Was it because this morning I released thirty-four piglets into the guardhouse over on Butcher's Row? Oh, wait, that was probably it. Come to think of it, they actually said to me, 'We'll catch you and throw you in jail for this.' Yep, that's probably it."

Liam buried his face in his hands. The frustration of it all was building. Add to the fact that he couldn't get out of that world until the "quest" or whatever was completed, and he just wanted to scream.

He took a couple deep breaths and started to think matters through. He could flip out, scream and yell and tell them their whole world was too snotty for his taste. He could try to find someone else who might be a little easier to talk to. He could simply just give in and enter into their little insane world and live out his days here. Or, he could figure out the quest, complete it and go home. That seemed like the best option.

Turning to Ezra, he said, "Ezra, I need to figure out what my quest is. I'm wondering if I won't be able to figure it out while I'm sitting here. Can you take me somewhere where I might be able to find out what I'm supposed to do? I want to get back home as soon as possible."

While Liam spoke, a very mischievous looking smile broke out on Ezra's face. "Now you're talkin'! The first thing we need to do is get back out on the streets where the guards can catch us. It's too boring in here, and we're not going to find our quest unless we're on the move." With that, Ezra stood up, grabbed Liam by the shoulders, swung open the door and pushed him out.

Liam landed on his hands and knees in mud—at least he hoped it was mud—but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that a matter of inches from Liam's nose was a pair of armored boots. He feared they belonged to a soldier. In seconds he was on his feet, held firmly by two guards, while the third clapped him in irons.

A fourth guard, presumably the lead guard since he had the largest hat out of the four, looked on as the three secured Liam. "We've been searching the whole city for you, and then you simply throw yourself right at our feet! Now, where's your friend? The one who owns all those piglets?"

Before Liam could answer, a figure slammed into the guard. The guard tumbled to the ground. Ezra rolled to a stop beside the now very angry looking man. The look on Ezra's face showed that he was enjoying every part of that experience. The guard reached for Ezra as two more figures emerged from the door ready for battle. Jrasta, as old as he looked, moved so fast it was hard for Liam to take it all in. In moments two of the guards were on the ground, both disarmed. The second figure, Jep, attacked one of the guards on the ground, giving Ezra the help he needed with his much larger opponent.

Liam thought they might just make it out of that situation when eight more guards rounded the corner and quickly put an end to the fight. In short order, all four were chained together in shackles, with Liam at the front, followed by Ezra, then Jrasta with Jep bringing up the tail.

The lead guard straightened up, brushed off his armor and commanded, "Search the house! See if they have any more accomplices!"

With that announcement, four guards began to make their way toward the shack but halted as Masha emerged.

"It's me in here! I'm the last one in this place." Masha stood there with a soup ladle in her hand. She looked surprisingly threatening standing before them in her apron.

"Hello, Masha. It's, uh, good to see you today. We're going to have to ask you to come with us." The lead guard seemed quite nervous of Masha.

"I'm not coming with you, Sergeant Dimwit," Masha declared in her angry voice. "I just made some soup, and I won't waste it. Which one of you wants to come in for soup?" With that offer, each soldier took a large step backward. Whether it was the taste of the soup or the tongue experience they feared, clearly Masha was well known by these men, and not one of them was willing to face her.

"It's, um, Sergeant Dimmock." The guard stood up straight and looked at Masha. She frowned back at him, and a look of fear passed over his face. "But Sergeant Dimwit is just fine. Thank you. But you'll still need to come with us."

Masha took a step forward and brandished her ladle.

Sergeant Dimmock took a step back, "Very well, then. If you won't come with us, we will be forced to move on."

Masha looked scornfully at the guard and slowly nodded her head. The guard nodded back and said, "Good day, Ma'am" before he turned to his prisoners and directed the guards to move.

Liam thought the day couldn't possibly get any worse. He had been sucked down a toilet, bit repeatedly by a chicken, force-fed soup, chased by guards, and now he had been arrested.

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!

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