Book 4 | Agent 34 and the Last Gem

Chapter 25 | Venon's Second Chance

Paöminar flew over the water and then up above edge the storm.

"Where are we going?" Agent 34 asked.

"Look," Paöminar said, tilted his head in the direction of the floating island.

Braunick's giant floating island hovered over the middle of the cloud, a giant castle placed atop that.

"We are not going to fight Braunick," Ismara stated.

"You're right," Their dragon agreed. "We are getting Venon back,"

Agent 34's excitement jumped when he heard his friend's name. It'd been around two weeks since they had to abandon their dragon friend up here after facing Braunick and losing. Venon had been waiting up here for their return, most likely beginning to think they never would.

"Over there," Ismara pointed. A lump sat on the cloud, breathing heavily.

The dragon landed beside it, dropping the elf out of his mouth and Ismara climbing off.

Agent 34 ran to his friend's head, tapping it lightly. "Venon?" He asked.

The dragon's weary eyes flickered open, a smile spreading across the scales on his head.

"We told you we would be back," Ismara said, placing her smooth palm on his snout.

"Got any food," Venon asked with a scraggly voice.

"The pouch tied to my back," Paöminar told the elves. "There's some food for him in there. Water if he also pleases,"

"Please," Venon croaked.

Agent 34 climbed aboard the brown dragon and spotted a decently large bag tied to a spike on his back. He unzipped it and a couple slabs of meat were revealed to be inside. He grabbed them all and tossed one to Ismara who waited beside the starving dragon. She fed it to him and he growled with pleasure.

Agent 34 slid down Paöminar's back and tossed the rest of the meat in his friend's mouth. He ate it all in one big gulp and asked for the water when Agent 34 realized he had forgotten it in the bag. Ismara went to retrieve it and poured all of it into his mouth as he drank it. They tossed the canister aside as Venon slowly rose to his feet with wobbly knees.

"You still have a few wounds, correct?" Paöminar asked, Venon nodding. "I'll heal them and wait up here for a bit to regain strength and go home,"

"How are you going to heal them?" Agent 34 asked.

"Spells," Paöminar told the elf, laying himself upon the soft man-made cloud.

"You can spellweave?" Ismara asked, surprised.

"Most dragons can to an extent," The brown dragon told them. "but I've lived around powerful spellweavers and sorcerers all my life and it's rubbed off on me a little bit," He smirked a little before beginning the healing process.

When he was done, all the open wounds and cuts on Venon's skin were now sealed and fixed like he was new. Paöminar visibly looked out of energy now from casting a spell to heal the immense amount of damage Venon had taken from the battle.

"You gonna be okay?" Ismara asked their original ride.

"Yeah," he told them. "I'll live. But whatever you do, do not reveal yourselves to the Zena until you find that last gem,"

"Got it," Agent 34 nodded.

"Where are we going?" Venon asked.

"To find the final gem," Ismara explained. "By the way. Do not contact the Zena. We faked our deaths mainly so Braunick wouldn't hunt us anymore. We cannot tell anyone, not even the Zena,"

"Why not the Zena?" The dragon asked.

"Braunick often searches our minds out of nowhere for whatever reason," Paöminar explained. "Agent 34 and Ismara, however, have something that prevents Braunick from doing that. Either way, if Braunick searches their minds and find out they know that these two are alive, we can be in big trouble,"

"I see," Venon cleared his throat, preparing to leave the cloud after two weeks of sitting here.

Agent 34 and Ismara climbed aboard their newly healed friend and positioned themselves between two of his spikes sticking out of his back.

"Thank you," Venon told Paöminar who rested upon the black cloud. "See you back at the Zena,"

"Farewell," Paöminar nodded his head to them as the dragon took off into the sky, flying towards the edge of the storm. Once he reached the end of the cloud, he flew down and under the storm and asked for where they were going.

"The Ar'guals old place," Agent 34 told him.

"Where's that?" Their ride asked, flying in any general direction.

"At the northwestern tip of Renya," Ismara told him.

Venon repositioned the direction he was flying and decided this time to fly over the water and not under the storm to prevent him and his friends from getting rained on. It was amazing they hadn't been rained on yet.

"Hopefully the Ar'gual with the Crippled Leg hasn't been turned," Ismara said to Agent 34. "They are our one ticket to finding that gem,"