The afternoon went much like the morning had, just hotter and the sun was behind them. Liam realized he had not yet ridden Lenny for so long without a break. He found his legs beginning to cramp up a bit and his butt cried out for a break. Lenny seemed to manage just fine.

As the sun started to get low in the late afternoon, Liam noticed something up ahead as he crested the top of a particularly high sand dune. It stuck up out of the sand, was a darker color and ran right across the horizon.

Ezra saw it as well. "Jrasta, I see something up ahead! Is that the end of the desert?"

"It's close. We're nearly there. There is a ridge of rocky ground running through the edge of the Sandy Desert. If we can survive that, then there is just a little bit of desert on the other side before we get back on solid ground. When we get there, we can search for the pit where Kenny the Dragon lives."

"This ridge is dangerous? What's so dangerous about it?" Ezra asked, getting that look in his eye he would often get. It was one of fear mixed with excitement. Ezra tended to be happiest when things were dangerous.

"Well, I told you this was the Sandy Desert, right? Lots of people have died in this desert, but there's something about this place where the bones of the person who died end up here at this ridge. Once the bones arrive here, they come alive again and attack anyone who tries to cross over to the other side. Kind of like the desert's last attempt to finish you off before you get on with your journey." Jrasta chuckled to himself like it was all just good fun.

Liam had long since learned that to ask a question, challenge anything or clarify any details was a foolish venture, but still found he couldn't let most things go. "So, we just have to battle a whole bunch of zombie skeletons intent on killing us off, climb down into a deep pit, slay a dragon without getting eaten and then we're home free?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Liam, don't jump to conclusions! Where did this dragon come from?" Everyone looked at Liam again like he was dumb. He thought perhaps he was getting used to it.

"The Regent described a large beast, covered in scales. It breathes fire and is named Kenny the Dragon. That doesn't seem to you like he might be a dragon... named Kenny?" Liam wondered why he even bothered, but he was upset they had to battle skeletons, and he wanted to take it out on someone.

"Kenny the Dragon... well, I guess I can see why someone might jump to that conclusion... if they didn't stop to think it all through. Liam, you should stop making assumptions like that. Just because this guy is named Kenny the Dragon doesn't mean he's actually a dragon. Did you know that Jep's full name is 'Jep the Chicken'? But he's clearly a Rooster! Try to make fewer assumptions, and you won't look so foolish!"

"But a rooster is a... oh never mind." Liam bit his tongue and decided to let it go.

By that point, they had arrived at the ridge of rocky ground. After the conversations Liam had with Jrasta about Kenny the Dragon and the Dark Jungle, it was a surprise that the ridge of rocky ground was in fact rocky... and a ridge.

Liam looked down at where the ground met the sand. The layer of little yellow scorpions stopped at the edge of the sand. Jrasta hopped down just inches from the scorpions, but not one made any move toward him. He drew his sword and started up the ridge. He led his horse behind him. The rest of the group followed his lead.

At first, there was no sign of skeletons. Liam hoped they could make it right across without meeting any at all. It didn't look like the ridge was all that large, perhaps maybe a five-minute walk from one side to the other. He thought maybe if they were really quiet, the skeletons might not notice them.

Jrasta began to sing in a really loud and off-key voice. Liam had not realized it was possible to be that off-key. His voice was like a cat, stuck inside a vacuum.

Liam shushed him right away. "Jrasta, aren't you afraid the skeletons will hear you? They'll hear you sing and come attack us! If we're quiet, maybe we can make it through here without being noticed."

Jrasta stopped his song and gave Liam a look. Liam had learned to recognize that look from many difficult conversations over the last number of days. "Liam, how many skeletons do you know who have ears?"

Liam let that one sink in for a moment before he replied. "Good point."

Jrasta started to sing again, if it could be called singing. Ezra and DOHNK joined in, somehow managing to recognize the tune. DOHNK had a voice like an angel... if that angel was in agony from getting her toe caught in a mouse trap. Ezra was the only one with a decent voice. He sounded like he could actually carry a tune. Unfortunately, he seemed to have absolutely no sense of rhythm. He would sing faster than the others, then slower, then faster. Right words, right tune, just faster and then slower than anyone else. Jep was the last one to join in. He sang just like one might expect a rooster to sing. Or maybe more like an angry rooster as it hollered at a dog which had come too close to the hen house. It wasn't good.

Finally, Liam decided to sing as well. He just picked a song he liked and started in, loud and proud. The rest of the group stopped the moment he began to sing, resulting in the first and only line of his song being a solo.

"I think I see movement up ahead. They might have heard us coming," Jrasta whispered. That annoyed Liam to no end.

Sure enough, Liam could see movement a short distance away. It looked like rocks and dirt were shifting back and forth. A hand appeared, then an arm, then a shoulder. None of what Liam saw was covered in skin, just bone. Other hands started emerging from the ground, and entire skeletons began to climb to their feet. Liam was shocked to think that many people could have died in the Sandy Desert. He didn't want to be one of them.

Liam, Ezra and the others drew their swords and prepared for battle. Liam worried about Lenny and the rest of the horses. He wasn't sure what would happen to them in the fight. He wasn't the only one concerned with the horses' safety.

"How do we protect the horses through this fight?" DOHNK asked.

Without taking his eyes off the skeletons, Jrasta replied, "They'll ignore the horses. They're like the scorpions. The horses aren't of interest. The skeletons just want us. Nothing else."

"I think I feel so much better," DOHNK said to no one in particular. "How do we kill these skeletons?"

Jrasta looked at her with the look he usually reserved for Liam. "DOHNK! Did you seriously just ask me how to kill a bunch of skeletons?" Liam didn't want bad things for DOHNK, but it did feel good knowing he wasn't the only one asking the most obvious questions and getting a frustrating answer. "DOHNK," Jrasta continued, "sometimes you amaze me. After all the dumb questions I've received from Liam and Ezra, you come out and ask the most brilliant question imaginable. Well done!"

Liam rolled his eyes.

"Here's what we do. Spread out and watch each other's back. The skeletons only have one real weakness. They don't like anyone pointing out that they look too skinny. They are very sensitive about their weight and too many comments, either positive or negative, cause them to simply collapse. But if you don't get them down fast enough, they will swarm you and drag you back to the sand where they toss you to the scorpions. Use your swords to knock them back to give you more time to talk." Jrasta took up position at the front of the group and prepared for the onslaught.

Liam began to think through what he would say, not entirely sure he was comfortable with it. He had naturally avoided any comments about people's weight as he thought it was rude, so he didn't have a list prepared. He readied himself.

Jrasta struck first with a real humdinger of a comment. "Hey, you guys look like you missed breakfast. You know it's the most important meal of the day."

At his comment, all the skeletons took a big step backward, and their jaws fell open. Some of them even covered up their mouths with their hands in a look of horror. How could anyone say something so cruel? Two of the skeletons in the front were so upset that when their jaws dropped open, they pulled them off and threw them directly at Jrasta. Jrasta took them both in the face and hollered back, "That was like being kissed by a skeleton with no lips!" That one seemed to need a little more work, and the skeletons began to advance again.

By that time, Liam had come up with a couple he thought he could pull off. He ran up to the closest one and yelled, "You need to eat more! You're looking a little thin right here!" He then stabbed it right through where its belly might have been.

The skeleton reacted immediately, and its eyes grew large. Actually, its eyes stayed exactly the same size which was already large. It then seemed to send out a silent scream and collapsed on the spot.

The rest watched the whole experience with awe at Liam's creativity and ran up shouting the same kinds of things. "You need to eat more!" "You appear to be a little thin!" "I think I can see your bones!"

Skeleton after skeleton collapsed before them, but not without a great deal of effort. By the time they had fought their way to the other side of the rocky ridge, they were nearly out of breath, and there were still hundreds of skeletons, all of which moved toward their position. They backed the horses up until they were just on the edge of the rocky ridge before the sand started again. One by one they climbed up into the saddle while the others covered for them. By the end, they could fight from the saddle while the last of them mounted and prepared to go. With that, they finally were able to turn away and head off into the sand again.

"That wasn't so bad!" Jrasta announced while everyone wiped the sweat off their brows and tried to catch their breath. Liam thought it had actually been quite bad. A fight with skeletons was kind of nightmarish.

Jrasta, however, appeared quite pleased with himself. "Just a short trip and we'll be at Kenny the Dragon's lair! We can get the key and then head back home!"

Liam was happy to see the end of the desert up ahead. It ended with a large river which they were able to wade across with the horses. They set up camp on the other side and settled down for supper. Everyone went for a bit of a swim after they ate. They were so excited about a swim, they refused to wait a full hour after eating before they jumped in.

That night, after they sparred for a bit with their swords and with hand-to-hand combat, they all settled down. Liam couldn't get the next day's mission out of his mind. He dreaded going after Kenny the Dragon and hoped they were right. He hoped the name was just a name and didn't actually mean he was a dragon.

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!

www.shawnpbrobinson.com/books

Newsletter Signup: https://mailchi.mp/01fa9bd43044/shawnpbrobinson