The next morning came early. Liam suspected that it came at the same time as the day before, but the night had passed too quickly, and he was quite tired in the morning. They packed up camp and loaded up without too much talk. It seemed everyone was a little worried about what was to come.

Jrasta had woken up a little earlier than the rest of them and gone out scouting that morning. They didn't know exactly where the path was since they had not traveled in a perfectly straight line across the desert. While out searching, Jrasta had located the path a little way to the south of their position.

The journey to the path was quite nice. There seemed to be a cool breeze coming from the north along the river, and it was very refreshing as they traveled south.

The ground was covered with thick grass and was quite flat along the way with the occasional tree growing near the river's edge. The difference between that side of the river and the desert side was remarkable. There even seemed to be some wildlife here as well. Liam saw some families of deer and even wild horses.

After about half an hour, they came across the path and turned onto it. It was sad to leave the river behind, but the cool breeze continued, and the way forward was quite relaxing. They came across some fruit trees and stopped by them for lunch. The fruit seemed like a cross between an orange and a pineapple in flavor but came in the shape of a purple banana with a peel and all.

They didn't stop long at the fruit trees but made sure they got moving again quickly. Now that they were close to finding the key, they wanted to get on with it, even though they were all a little tense.

Not far from the fruit trees, Jrasta reined up by a large rock. He announced they had arrived, although neither Liam nor Ezra could see anything up ahead. They tied off their horses on some trees nearby and left most of their supplies behind, taking only their weapons, some water and a small snack. They set out over the last little bit on foot, and within a few minutes, Liam could see where they were heading. It was a pit. It was simply a large hole in the ground. It was about the size of his classroom at school, but entirely without any sign or marker to show that it was there. If someone was riding their horse hard, they might not see the pit ahead of them until it was too late.

When they arrived at the edge of the pit, Liam saw a set of stairs following around the outside edge of the pit and leading down into the darkness. Without a word, Jrasta started down.

The stairs were carved right out of the rock on the side of the pit and were slightly damp and slippery. Liam steadied himself on the side wall as he made his way down. As they continued their descent, the light grew dimmer, and the temperature dropped until Liam felt himself shivering from the cold. Everyone moved in silence as they listened intently for Kenny the Dragon... who might not be a dragon.

Liam was still irritated by that one. He really didn't want to battle a dragon, but at the same time, he really wanted Kenny to be a dragon so he could show everyone how silly it was to think someone named "Kenny the Dragon" would not be a dragon.

When they reached the bottom of the pit, Liam looked up to see the entrance far above. From that depth, the opening appeared to be not much more than a tiny hole. They had come down quite a distance.

The room they found themselves in at the bottom of the stairs was round, like the pit. There was only one exit. It was directly across from the last step leading into a passageway, and there was a soft glow coming from that direction. They quietly made their way forward, listening closely for any sound that might signal danger.

The passageway was as straight as could be, traveling at a downward angle with the soft glow coming from far ahead. The light grew brighter as they moved along and in time they could see the passageway turn sharply into a well-lit area. They approached the corner, and each one peered around.

The passageway opened up into a large chamber. There were fires burning in little alcoves around the edge of the room giving light. In the center was a large pile of grass and sticks which looked like a large nest or bed of some sort. The ceiling was quite high, and there were some large bats hanging from little cracks and crevices. On the far side of the room was a large opening. If Kenny were, in fact, a large dragon, he would have to use the large opening. There was no sign of Kenny... whether he was a dragon or not.

They stepped into the room and spread out a little bit. Liam wondered if they could simply find the key and get out of there before Kenny showed up, but he didn't think it would be that easy.

As they started making their way around the chamber, a loud growl reverberated through the place. Out of the large opening, a scaly head appeared. The head had large eyes, the size of softballs and two horns on top. He was a dark gray color and, as the Regent had explained, covered in scales. Smoke curled up slowly from his nostrils. As he moved into the room and they saw more of him, they were each filled with dread, all except Jep who appeared bored with the whole situation and was stifling a yawn while eyeing Liam's nose.

The head was attached to a long neck, as large around as the head. As he moved, the neck slowly moved back and forth as if it were slithering like a snake. As his body entered the cavern, they saw he walked on all fours, with a large, solid, muscular body and legs like tree trunks. On his back were two large wings. The tail, like the neck, seemed to slither. Another loud growl erupted from Kenny's throat.

Kenny the Dragon was, in fact, 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!

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