Three major rivers run through the land of Haldor. All of them originating from the mountains of Gorge.

The first one was named Icen River because its waters came from the melting snow-capped mountains in the Northern parts of Gorge during the summer. Icen River wind its way down through the Ferrest region before meeting up with the Western sea. The second, Rusum River, flowed down from the Eastern hills of Gorge and coursed its way through Mussur before ending at the Eastern sea.

The longest river, Peak River, earned its name because its water came from Peak Mountain, the highest mountain of the land. Peak River meandered its way through Ferrest, Solaris City, Yore, Mussur and back again to Yore before joining up with the clear blue waters of the Southern sea.

Gorge was also the home of the best horses in the land. The rough climate and landscape of that region had bred tough, brave and reliable horses from where Salamander hailed from. Gorge horses were unique from other horses because they were naturally gifted swimmers. Jaejoong made use of Salamander's abilities to escape their pursuers. Instead of going through the paved highways and roads and bridges, he had Salamander swum across Peak River. Even with two riders on his back, Salamander easily swam Peak River to reach the other side of the river and into the deeper parts of Ferrest's forest.

When daylight appeared, Jaejoong decided to start hunting for food along the banks of Peak River. Cloud came along with him, chattering endlessly about every possible topic that burst out of his smoky body. Jaejoong had allowed Salamander to wander off to find and nibble on fresh grass and young shoots. After several trials and errors Jaejoong finally succeeded in securing food for his hungry stomach. He was proud of the three big fish he caught from the river.

After all, he only used a handmade spear made from a tree branch. For the last two hours he was able to set aside all worries and forget that everyone was after him. But reality soon intruded his thoughts. He had after all become the most wanted man in Haldor and in a day or two, the soldiers sent after him would have caught up to him. Unless he could find a solution for his predicament, only death awaited him.

He shrugged his shoulders from such grim thoughts. For now, he was still free and alive. That's something worth cheering for at the moment. He took in fresh gulps of air. This was the first time he had appreciated breathing. After suffocating and getting burned by the fireshadow, just being able to breathe gave him pleasure and contentment.

"You should be worried, Prince Jaejoong," warned Cloud who was floating near the water. "Your father would never disobey the Oracle's words, and I doubt he would lift a finger to save you, even if you were his only child. He might even-"

"Let's not talk about my father!" Jaejoong cut off Cloud as he began tying the three fish together with a vine. "And call me, Jaejoong. I don’t think I deserve to be called a prince anymore. I have lost that title since the Oracle gave my future to Donghae." His thoughts drifted back to Wisdom. They had left her tethered to a tree. He didn't want her escaping and bringing back the soldiers to capture him. He thought it best to leave her alone in the forest while he hunted for food. The woman might scare off the fish with her relentless orders and commandments.

Thinking about Wisdom caused him to worry. He wasn’t sure what she would do the moment she regained consciousness. Would she remain the cold and emotionless Oracle or would she become something else now that she was separated from her fireshadow?

Jaejoong grabbed the three fish he caught and his hunting bag and walked back to the part of the forest where they had left Wisdom. Last night, when he asked for Salamander, he also asked for provisions including his hunting bag from his room in the castle. Food was put inside his bag, but he threw those away. After everything that had happened he couldn't help but become suspicious of everything. The food could have been poisoned in order to weaken him. He couldn't afford to simply trust anyone that believed in the Oracle. Besides, he needed the space for all his prize money from the Fist Fight Arena.

Before Jaejoong and Cloud went back to the temple to face the Oracle, Jaejoong had secretly buried his money in the forest. Salamander's speed enabled him to quickly outrun his pursuers and thus retrieved his money last night.

"Would you go on ahead, Cloud, and check if our prisoner is awake?"

Cloud darted to the direction of the tree where Wisdom was tied. Jaejoong had only taken a few steps before he saw the cloud bounding back to him.

"She's awake. And very, very angry!" he reported.

"Angry? When does an Oracle get angry? Aren't they supposed to be emotionless?"

"You severed her connection to the fireshadow. The fireshadow protected her from all distractions including emotions. Without it, she’s like a normal woman right now. A very angry woman!" Cloud warned.

"If she starts spouting obscenities, I can handle that. Her angry words can never hurt me."

"But the stones she had gathered could hurt you."

"Stones?" His brow arched. "Does she plan to kill me by throwing stones at me?"

"Most probably!" chuckled Cloud.

Jaejoong was amused. Wisdom seemed to be one feisty woman. But he was an expert in dodging stones. Stone throwing was one of the childhood games he had enjoyed. The game was simple, you run and avoid all the stones thrown at you by the rival team. Points were given to the rival team every time they hit you. No one had ever managed to hit him because he was too quick and agile.

Wisdom would never be able to hit him with her stones.

He was quickly proven wrong!

Wisdom was throwing two to three stones simultaneously! No matter what direction Jaejoong took, her stones would come hurling toward him! At first, he was able to avoid the stones, but one of her throws struck his left thigh! He barely felt any pain, but he was stunned that such a frail woman would be able to hit him when men trained to fight couldn't.