Book 1 | Agent 34 and the Desert of Beasts

Chapter 18 | A Normal Walk

The three elves decided to walk around Ilrenia to divert any other attention they could get. They definitely didn't want the army to go attack Ilrenia, especially since Ismara said it was the only elven city that was left.

When Agent 34 asked what happened to all of the elven cities, Ismara told him the story of Braunick's rage.

"Braunick is half-elf, as is his brother. His brother, and may or may not be dead right now, no one knows, is half-human, half-elf. Their father was elf, the mother was a human. They are the first children in history to be elf-human hybrids, and Braunick is more human than elf. He despised elves because of this, and longed to be a pure elf."

"And, like the evil man he is, he has nearly wiped out the elve's entire population. He slayed his parents, and he and his brother dueled somewhere in the desert. No one knows what happened to his brother, but they assumed Braunick either killed him or captured him. Braunick kills every elf he sees after torturing them. He is a deranged and dangerous man, he is." Ismara ended her tale.

"He knows nothing of Ilrenia, so for now, we are safe." Ismara said.

"Why would he be jealous of his brother though? Because he was more elven than human? And Braunick was more human than elven?" Agent 34 asked.

"Exactly. His brother was allowed to hang out with more elves than humans due to his pointed ears. Braunick never had the elven ears, so he was called a human for most of his life. There was no way to prove his elven heritage. The elves discarded him at the Old King's castle, thus giving him a terrible social life. Most of the elven slaves despised him because he was always trying to hang around with them, and they always thought he was human. They never allowed him into their friend group. But, his brother got in because they believed he was an elf."

"That sounds horrible." Agent 34 said.

"It is." Ismara confirmed. "The dwarves have gone into hiding as well, in fear of them too getting killed. Some are with the Zena, the others are hiding underground somewhere in Renya. No one knows for sure."

"So humans are pretty much the only ones left?"

"No, dragons are left, Ar'gual are there, and so are verom. Humans dominate, and those races have either been forced to work for Braunick or were left alone." Arenia explained.

"Ar'gual? Verom?" Agent 34 didn't know what those races were.

"Ar'gual have been left alone, and Braunick has not upset them yet. I believe the Zena is working on trying to persuade them to aid them against Braunick, but nothing has been decided. Basically, Ar'gual is like a goblin, but stronger. Veroms work for Braunick at his castle, and they are like buff trolls. They are purple and are short and strong, and Ar'guals are short and green and strong goblins." Arenia explained.

Agent 34 could see Ilrenia as they passed it. The elves that lived there were just now awaking as the sun emerged over the horizon. Each of them were milling about, greeting each other groggily. Sadness fell over Agent 34 as he thought that this could be the last time he saw that village.

"The dragon will welcome us kindly, but we must avoid the other dragons. The tunnels do not lead directly to his house, so we will have to exit them and then enter his living quarters." Ismara explained again.

No one said anything else, only continued to walk towards the dragon city of Vernaya and past the elven city of Ilrenia. Agent 34 could tell that Ismara was upset about leaving her father, and it upset Agent 34 a little as well.

He had grown used to Fáolar, and was going to miss not seeing him for every meal. Agent 34 ignored the feeling, and trudged on.

"Stop."

Everyone turned around to see a group of assassins behind them. It was Braunick's assassins. There was about fifteen or so of them that had gathered before them, and slowly began to circle them.

Agent 34 pulled out his green sword, and Arenia and Ismara drew their weapons as well.

"Whadda we got here?" One of them asked. "Some elves? Hm, the Lord will be happy about this one. We found an elven village! Wait until Braunick hears this! Trudgin, go report to Braunick."

"But, then I wouldn't get the honor of capturing them—"

"Go!" The soldier demanded, and the soldier named Trudgin started to run in the opposite direction.

"Let us go," Arenia demanded. "or you will have to face us."

"Three elves against sixteen soldiers? Go ahead, give it all you got." One said to Arenia.

Arenia let out a battle cry, and ran to the one closest to her. He didn't expect her, and she sliced off his head with an easy chop. "Anyone else?" She asked, raising an eyebrow to the other soldiers surrounding them.

The soldiers went silent, and the only sound heard was the body of the soldier that Arenia killed plop to the ground.

"What are you doing fools? Get them!" A soldier demanded.

The soldiers all ran at the three elves, and Agent 34 struck the nearest one with his blade. The green blade dug into the soldier's chest, piercing through the metal armor he wore. The soldier's face went blank, and his body fell to the ground.

Ismara whirled around and stabbed the one behind her in the leg. He led out an inaudible shriek and Agent 34 quickly stabbed the soldier in the back of the head. The blade was strong enough to crack through the skull and brain, and emerged bloody in between the soldier's eyes.

He quickly removed the sword, and the soldier dropped dead before their feet.

Arenia stabbed two soldiers in the arm, and then shoved them to the ground. Agent 34 quickly ran to her and beheaded them both for her, and she rolled her eyes. She had wanted to kill them.

Agent 34 quickly killed the two that came after him, and saw the minituare army had died.

"Trudgin is getting away! Do not let him get to Braunick!" Arenia cried. They all spotted a tiny figure running in the distance, away from the elves.

"I got this," Agent 34 said. Because of the gem, he could run incredibly fast, way faster than any elf or human combined.

Agent 34 took off after the human, and quickly gained more speed than he had. He reached the soldier quickly, and ran beside him at the same pace that the soldier ran at.

"Hey, how 'ya doing?" He said to the soldier. The soldier shrieked in horror as he spotted Agent 34.

"How did you reach me so quickly?!" The soldier gasped.

"Oh, nothing, you know..just a gem," Agent 34 explained. "I'm gonna have to kill you now that you know."

"Please! I have a wife and children! I won't tell Braunick about the gem, or the elven village! Please—"

The soldier's words were cut off as Agent 34 slid his sword through the soldier's throat as they ran. The assassin's legs stopped running and the body fell to the sandy ground and went limp. 

It gave Agent 34 a guilty and sad feeling that he had killed an innocent soldier just because he knew of Agent 34's secret.

The gem-wielder ran back to his fellow elves, and continued their walk to the dragon city.