CHAPTER 2

"Sorry sir, I don't know where he is. All I heard was that he went to the industrial side." a young man said. He was wearing nothing except a short sleeved robe which by the looks of it, had not been cleaned for a long time. Nothing but a peasant. Cenaria had their few, though the Warrens were literally overflowing with them.

Sergeant Gamble let out a small sigh.

"Very well, carry on with your business," he replied. The peasant walked away. God damn it! Doesn't anyone know where exactly he is? Sergeant Gamble and his four men had been scouting the whole city, asking people what they had seen for hours and no one knew. Still, the peasant did say he could be in the industrial side. There was a merchant who he knew as one of the best apothecary Cenaria had. He would take a look at his shop first. "Come on men!" the sergeant ordered.

Regnus Gyre was still sparring with his guards. They were pretty good, he thought. Indeed some of them had been close to beating him, after all he did tell them not to hold back. When he pinned the last man to the ground, he sheathed his stick sword and helped the veteran up. The guard looked astounded.

"Well done Lieutenant!" Regnus encouraged.

"Thank you your Excellency!" the guard replied and walked out. Regnus retreated to the small lake in his private rooms. He deserved one hell of a bath. Just when he was about to enter, one of his couriers arrived.

"Excuse me your Excellency? Sergeant Gamble requests to have a word with you. He says it's urgent." Regnus looked up. About time the Sergeant had found Frial Bane.

"Let him in immediately!" the duke commanded. The courier bowed, walked out when Sergeant Gamble walked in. "Well sergeant? Where is he?" Something in the Gamble's eyes looked wrong. He finally spoke.

"I'm afraid he is dead. We were too late. We found his corpse lying in the merchant's shop. We barged into his private quarters and interrogated, but we believe he did not kill him." Regnus was angry. The news of Frial's death was very unsettling. Despite even his stealth, the new wetboy had succeeded. That raised another question.

"And what have you found out about the new wetboy?" The sergeant was looking ashamed. His face was covered in despair.

"I'm afraid nothing sir! The Sa'kage is always slippery and they probably have half of our city on their payroll. Fuck! This was just the news he had been afraid of and pushed the thought out while sparring. The duke walked over to his desk and wrote something on a piece of blank parchment. When he finished, Regnus folded it into a small size that could fit in a pouch.

"Sergeant, I want you to continue your investigation and pass this message to King David," Regnus handed the paper to Gamble. "It's a request for more troops on the hunt for the Sa'kage. That will be all!" Sergeant Gamble placed the message into his pouch and walked towards the door. As his hand grasped the knob, the duke called out. "Be careful old friend, I do not want you to end up dead!" The sergeant opened the door and walked down the white-pillared hall with in a hopeful mood.

The four men that had arrived with Gamble were waiting in the dining room. At his presence, they instantly snapped to attention. They had their hands ready to draw swords. It was the reason why Gamble had chosen these men; they were the best.

"Listen up men! You are to return to the barracks, inform all the others to be ready by dawn. I will go to King David to pass an urgent message. Move out!" With the last word, the four veterans marched out of the main entrance of the castle.

"Are you sure we can trust him mistress? We don't know anything about him!" Gwinvere was already in a foul mood. Her spies had just come to tell her that the duke is preparing for another attempt on taking out the Sa'kage. As if that was not enough, her stupid, bald guard doubted the new wetboy. 'Imbecile!' she thought. She turned around to face him. She had enough gazing beyond the window, looking at the corrupt, busy, yet clean city. She could not even be bothered to shut it.

"I have addressed my concerns on the matter. Since I have overcome them, I don want hear more of this!" The Shinga was about to walk out when the bald man spoke again.

"Um- mistress you sh- shou-" By the gods, the man just doesn't know when to shut the fuck up! She turned around again to shout at him and froze. Right on the edge of the open window was Durzo Blint, sitting comfortably with his left leg crossed over his right. His mottled gray robes were slightly flapping with the wind.

"Well you certainly like to make an entrance!" Gwinvere smirked, hiding her surprise. The wetboy for some reason did not seem eager for a conversation. Then she remembered why. Durzo acknowledged the realisation with a small nod.

"Frial's dead. Am I in or what?" he said. 'The man does get to the point rather quick!' she thought. Gwinvere let herself smile a little.

"If you wish to join, then come here and kneel before me," she said. Surprisingly, Durzo laughed. When he calmed himself, his look said 'In hell I will'. Gwinvere was now really annoyed. "Very well, if you do not bow down before me, you will be banished from the Sa'kage and I will have my guards order your death!" Of course, she knew full well that Durzo would not be killed by her guards; they would end up dead instead. And yet surprisingly, Durzo knelt before her.

"This better be worth it," he said. Gwinvere recited an oath and gestured to Durzo to repeat it. For a moment, it seemed the wetboy was going to laugh, but he did not.

"I am Sa'kage, a lord of shadows. I claim the shadows that the Shadow may not. I am the strong arm of deliverance. I am Shadowstrider. I am the Scales of Justice. I am He-Who-Guards-Unseen. I am Shadowslayer. I am Nameless. The coranti shall not go unpunished. My way is hard, but I serve unbroken. In ignobility, in nobility. In shame, honour. In darkness, light. I will do justice and love mercy. Until the king returns, I shall not lay my burden down." Durzo replied. As he got up, he smirked at Gwinvere. 'Coranti' meant the damned, and as far as he could see, everyone in the Sa'kage was damned. He thought that by king, the oath was talking about the return of the High King, who ruled all of Midycru united.

"Now that you are part of the Sa'kage, you will take all your orders from either me or other members of the Nine. Do you understand?" Gwinvere said. One threatening expression on Durzo's face told her that she should not have said that. Although she had gotten a little red, she still managed to continue. "Fortunately for you, I have another task that needs to be dealt with quickly. Since you like showing off so much, it's your job to do it." The wetboy grinned like a little kid.

"Who?" he said. The Shinga looked at one of her exquisite pictures on the wall before she answered. It was a picture of an angel with bright white wings.

"A woman who has been bothering the Sa'kage for a long time," Gwinvere said. "Yelda Graesin. She is one of the politicians of Cenaria. Although she doesn't have much influence, she has been trying to destroy us. For the past few months, my guards have captured agents sent by her to enter this castle. She is becoming irritating. The Nine has agreed that it's time for her to move on to another place." she finished. With that, Durzo instantly turned and dived out the window. Gwinvere leaned against to see his silhouette break through the small frozen lake below. "Not bad," she thought…