Chapter 2

War grunted and returned to the sanctity of the capital. Uriel got on her golden horse.

"Lord War wants all available men searching for the prisoner, Strife. The person who finds him will be brought to the personal attention of Lord War." Uriel gestured to two men to follow her. It was only a thief after all. No reason to call a full army.

Uriel and her men rode throughout the day searching for Strife on the open road, but to no avail they couldn't find him.

As the day descended to an end the temperatures dropped dramatically. Strife only had a thin layer of tattered clothing that he was given after the soldiers had taken his armor to make him less of a threat. He was tired, cold and hungry, but he had to move on until he knew it was safe to rest. Hours passed before that happened. The skies were pitch black, save for the light offered by the full moon. Strife gathered sticks to make a fire. His dinner was a rabbit he killed, caught in his homemade trap.

Strife was fast asleep after his dinner until he was awakened by a tiger's roar. At first, the roar came from a distance so Strife relaxed and went back to sleep but what couldn't have been an hour later, the roar became louder and closer. Strife quickly killed the fire and continued to walk though the jungle for the rest of the night.

Just after dawn, the man in black rode his horse at the base of a green hill. A bird screeches in the distance. The man stops and raises his left hand. The bird quickly swoops down and lands on the extended hand. The man continued on his journey.

Having been on his feet most of the night, Strife was more tired and badly needed a change of clothing. Lucky for him, a cottage was nearby. The owner's clothes were hanging on a clothes line. Strife quickly snatched the clothes off the line and put them on. Now he had warmer clothes. All he needed now was some coin. Why not kill two birds with one stone? He quietly entered the house, found a pouch of money and made a quick but silent escape.

That was easy. Strife thought to himself. Now time to pleasure himself with a scrumptious breakfast. Another five-mile jog and he found himself at an inn. Unbeknownst to Strife, the man in the black cloak spotted him. The people in the inn looked rather harmless, some eating, drinking, chatting about their business and a strange group of cloaked figures sitting together, keeping their heads low but alert as to what was going on.

Strife walked to the owner at the bar.

"I'll have you finest meal and the same for anyone who'd join me in a celebration of escaping the dungeon of the white city."

"Really?" A woman in a gray cloak spoke.

"I've been in those prisons myself."

"Oh?" Strife smiled, thinking he still had the upper hand. To his knowledge, he was the only one to have escaped the capital's dungeons.

"Are you there as a servant? A cook? A blacksmith, perhaps?" The woman put her sword on the table. Strife's heart stopped. He knew that sword anywhere. It belonged to the second-in-command, Uriel. On cue, she turned around and pulled off her cloak. The other men at the table removed theirs as well. He knew who these were; they were the soldiers of the Hellguard who had arrested him.

"You should've stuck to the jungle, boy. Get him." Uriel ordered. The two soldiers went after Strife. He jumped over the counter and threw plates and glasses at them to knock them back. He jumped off the counter and made a run for the door, but Uriel caught him by the collar, pulling his head back and brought a knife to his throat.

"Did you think you could get away? If Lord War didn't want you dead by his hands, I would gladly do this myself."

"Let the boy go." Everyone turned their attention to the man at the door. His over six-foot stature nearly filled the door frame. His pose was threatening and formidable in his full black attire of a knight. His scythe was sheathed on his belt. He sized everyone up- two soldiers and Uriel. He could handle that. His orange eyes fell on Strife.

"You, out." Strife didn't waste any time. He released himself from Uriel's hold and ran out of the inn. This was his one and only chance away from War's men and he wasn't going to waste it.

Uriel took a few steps forward and looked the stranger over; only he wasn't much of a stranger as he was an enemy. She never thought she'd see him again.

"One of my Hellguard told me you had returned. I had thought he was foolish to make up such a fabrication, but I see he was telling the truth. I didn't think you were unwise enough to return, Death."