Chapter 2

It turned out that Victoria was right about that so called safe zone. Thank the stars I was ready.

I materialized on Game World only to find myself standing on the edge of an escarpment. The escarpment overlooked a broad valley that was a good hundred plus feet below me. An inch closer and I would already be dead. As my mind adjusted to my new body and my body adjusted to the new environment that we had just entered, I sensed a prickling at the back of my neck. Worried I spun about and brought up my bow, drawing back the nocked arrow as I did. To my surprise I got a good look at what constituted a safe zone for the wonderful people who managed Game World. Before me stretched a wide plain covered with herds of milling animals. Most of them were a fair distance away and none were heading my direction. Unfortunately, directly in front of the spot where I had appeared was a small pride of big cats. They looked like your typical African lion, although slightly bigger. The male was currently gorging itself on a recent kill, while the females of the pride and the cubs sat back and waited their turn. I quickly noted that there were two females and two cubs that appeared to be about a year old. Naturally my arrival had startled the pride.

Instantly the female closest to me started to her feet and glared at me. I took her down first. The distance between us was only about fifty feet and as I loosed my arrow into the female's chest, I quickly drew another arrow from my quiver and nocked. By then the first arrow had slammed into the chest of the first lioness and it dropped her. Even as she fell the second lioness was bounding to her feet and beginning to move towards me. As she did I drew back my bowstring and let loose with my second arrow. The second lioness dropped a second later. Of course the male was on his feet and making his presence known by then. He let out a deep rumbling roar as he got to his feet and then bounded over the kill that he'd been feeding on. As he did I drew another arrow from my quarrel and nocked it to my bow. As the great beast rushed me I let loose my arrow and then instinctively I ducked to one side and rolled out of his path of attack. The arrow took him in the chest and when he came down, the big cat tumbled head over heels. His body rolled a couple of times stopping just at the edge of the escarpment. I watched it for a moment with another arrow nocked and aimed at its massive bulk. The beast stayed down and after a moment or two I turned my attention to the cubs. They were hissing and spitting at me and they tried to look brave and fierce. I just put an arrow in each of them and then breathed a sigh of relief.

I took a moment to scan my surrounding some more before doing anything else. After a minute or two I was satisfied that there wasn't any new danger that I needed to deal with. Once I had ascertained that small detail I put my arrow back into my quiver and started shucking my kit. I quickly slipped out of my travelling pack and laid it down by my feet. I then removed my travelling cloak and laid it down on top of the pack. Then I started slipping my weapons off of me and laying them down on top of the cloak. My big sword went first followed by my quiver of arrows and bow, and then my bandoleer of throwing knives. After that I unbuckled my belt and dropped it on the ground at my feet. I followed that up with my heavy tunic and my light tunic leaving me standing there in only my high-tech chainmail shirt and the high-tech quilted undershirt. While the chainmail was designed to stop the penetrating capabilities of standard calibre high velocity rounds the undershirt was designed to absorb and disperse the impact energy. Between the two layers of armour and my own enhanced physique it was hoped that I would survive any encounter with traditional firearms. Of course there were no guarantees against something like a fifty calibre sniper rifle. If somebody out there had one and used it against me the chances were that I'd be dead.

Once I was down to my armour I strapped on my belt again and then got to work. My first task was recovering my arrows. Victoria had given me high tech arrows fabricated out of something even better than titanium. They were light weight and essentially indestructible. With care they would serve me well over the next year. The only drawback was that I only had a specific number of them and there were no replacements in sight so retrieving spent arrows was an important task. Carefully I went from one lion to another and with the assistance of my dirk I cut the arrows out of the carcasses. Amazingly, on the big cats the arrows had sunk deep into the beasts. On average they had gone eight or more inches in, piercing internal organs as they had. It took time to dig the arrows out. When I was done I cleaned up the arrows and returned them to my quiver. Then I turned my attention to skinning all five of the animals.

While I did this I kept an eye on my surroundings. I knew that eventually the smell of all the blood that had been spilt would draw in scavengers and I didn't want to be caught napping. While I knew that the smell of the big cats was probably keeping the scavengers away for the moment, I kept looking just in case.

I really didn't need the pelts. In my discussions with Victoria and her experts I'd come up with a plan that saw me moving about a lot. That meant I wouldn't have time to stretch or work any skins that I took along the way. However I also knew that the skins of all animals, but especially big cats were worth something in trade. It was the only reason I was stopping to do this; that and the fact I wanted to try out my memories. In my last life I hadn't been a hunter, but I knew that I had been on in many of my other existences. Truthfully I just wanted to see if I could do this. Grabbing my skinning kit from my travel pack I went to work. In all it only took me a little over an hour. I was amazed at how easy it was and how quickly the skills needed flowed out of my memories and into my hands. It was awesome. When I was done with the skinning, I rolled each of the pelts into each other starting with the smallest to the largest and then I secured them with a piece of rawhide from my belt pouch. While I was at it I also dug out my multi-tool and used it to yank the canines of the three big cats. They were the size of sabre-tooth fangs but I was certain that they would impress some one. I rolled them in amongst the smallest skin.

When I was done I found some dirt and scrapped it up to use to clean my hands. I could see a stream down in the valley below the escarpment, but until I found a way down to it I didn't want to use up any of my water from my water skins. The dirt would do for now. When I was satisfied I redressed and put my weapons back on and then I headed out. I decided to turn left and follow the lip of the escarpment for a while. Hopefully I would spot a trail or footpath in its wall that would take me down from the plains and into the valley. I'd have to see. For now I nocked an arrow to my bow and headed out at a fast walk. As I went I kept my eyes open for any more surprises.

It took an hour before I spotted anything that suggested a way down into the valley. During that time the day grew warmer and I grew hotter and eventually I had to slow my pace and take a swig or two from my water skins. I might have a superhuman body but it was brand new and it was feeling the strain. Hopefully it would get used to the exertions soon. In the meantime while I walked I kept a sharp eye out. I didn't see any more surprises but I did see a lot of wild life. For the most part the herds grazing the plains were a mix of buffalo, wild cows, and aurochs. There were even a few animals that looked like woolly rhinoceroses. I kept a sharp eye on them when I strolled by them. Thankfully the herds were at least five hundred or more feet away from me. The sight of the animals told me that it was a hunter's paradise here and it stirred a desire to go and bag some meat for dinner. Unfortunately I had other needs that called me and I focused on them instead.

What I'd spotted was a cut in the escarpment wall that reached a fair distance into the shelf and the plain that lay beyond it. To my eyes it looked like someone had taken an axe to the edge of the plain and they had sliced a massive wedge out of it. The cut reached back almost thirty plus feet from the stone face and it was about eight feet wide at its widest point. I paused and gave it a good looking over. The one good thing that I saw was the fact that the interior of the cut sloped gradually towards the face of the escarpment. All I needed to do was to slip over the side and drop down about four feet into the cut. Then I could slowly work my way along the interior wall until I had reached the outer face of the cliff. Of course the cut finished well above the valley floor and I would have to hope to find more handholds and footholds on the outer wall if I wanted to get down. If I didn't I'd have to climb back up and find another place to make an attempt.

I paused and thought about it for a moment or two. As I did, I pulled out my low-tech spy glass and took a look down the length of the escarpment in the direction I had been travelling. Regrettably, Victoria's people wouldn't let me have high tech binoculars. I guess there was a rule against them as well. Anyways I didn't spot anything that suggested a better place to descend so I decided to take a chance. The way I saw it, if the other Earth's networks were following me and broadcasting, their audiences were probably getting bored by now. By attempting this I'd give them something to watch and perhaps keep the networks from sending someone after me. I could only hope.

Surprisingly the climb down turned out to be easier than it had looked from above. The rock in the cut was rugged and it offered a lot of traction and footholds for me and the walls were equally rugged giving me plenty of protrusions to grab hold of as I worked my way downward. When I reached the face of the cliff I found that I was about forty feet above the valley floor. The rock face fell away at a sharp angle but there were still plenty of handholds and footholds for me to make use of to get down. It took a while because I was in no hurry to break my neck for the other Earth's networks and audiences, but time didn't matter. What mattered was that I got down safely.

Once down I took a swig of water from one of my water skins and then a good look about before moving out again, ensuring I didn't walk into the path of a waiting predator. When I was ready I moved out heading towards the stream that I'd seen from above. While I moved along I traded out my bow for another weapon that I'd brought along for this kind of terrain. From my belt pouch I pulled out a sling and a couple of round stones. While I'd turned my back on hunting on the plain, I knew instinctively that this valley would be filled with plenty of small game and that a bow was overkill for what I expected to find. A sling on the other hand would be perfect for any critter that I might spook out of hiding as I moved through the underbrush and tree-lined clearings that dominated this valley.

It didn't take long to reassure me that my thinking was correct. From the rock face of the cliff I moved carefully through the brush that edged it and then out towards the centre of the valley. This course took me under a few big leafy trees and then out into a clearing. As I stepped beyond the trees I spotted movement to my right. Instantly I had a rock in the cradle of my sling and the sling in motion even as my eyes darted toward the motion and confirmed what it was. It was a pair of big fat rabbits who had been nibbling on the tender shoots of the grass that grew under the spread of the trees. Both rabbits were now bounding off as fast as they could towards taller grass and safety. I quickly tracked the movements of the rabbit closest to me and then I let loose with a rock.

My aim proved true and the rock struck the rabbit as it bounded frantically for safety. The rock struck it in the back of the head and sent it tumbling to the ground. As I brought my arm back from the throw I grabbed another rock and quickly placed it into the cradle of the sling and prepared for another throw. It wasn't needed. The rabbit I had hit remained down and the other rabbit had scampered away. Swiftly I crossed the clear, keeping an eye out for any possible dangers and headed to where the rabbit lay. Once I got there I knelt down and inspected my kill. To my surprise the rock had actually penetrated the skull of the creature. I had expected to find a stunned animal that I'd have to finish off myself with my bare hands. This was something else. Obviously my new enhanced body was more powerful than I had imaged. After rooting around in the entry wound I was able to recover the stone. Pocketing it in my belt pouch I then drew out another length of raw hide. Making a loop I tied the hind legs of the rabbit together and then tied the string to the frame of my travelling pack. Then I was on my feet again and off. I'd field dress it and skin it once I got to the stream that I was heading for.

The trip took me another hour. I took my time and moved carefully, keeping an eye on everything, both in the valley and above on the edge of the escarpment. Fortunately I ran into no more surprises. I did however spook some more game. Just as I neared the stream I startled a pair of roosting quail. As they took to running for it I brought the sling back into action, dropping one of the birds. This time I found that I'd lost my rock on this throw. However, while I recovered the downed bird I spotted its nest. A quick glance in showed me a nest with two small eggs in it. Carefully I scoped them up and held them towards the midday sun. From what I saw the little eggs looked fresh. Gently I placed them into my belt pouch for later. I'd cook them with the quail when I made camp later on.

Once I got to the stream I had another quick look about. There were tall grasses everywhere and I had to be careful. Obviously from the abundance of growth and the warm weather I was either in late spring or early summer. It was good to know. Unfortunately it was also a bad thing. The tall grasses obscured much of the stream from down here in the valley and hid anything that might be waiting to pounce on any unwary travellers. I'd have to be careful.

I worked my way along the bank of the stream for a few hundred feet, moving slowly and carefully. Eventually I came out of the grasses and into a broad open track that looked well travelled. The track went down one bank of the stream and then back up a few feet further down the stream. From all the sign that I could spot it was obviously crossed by many types of animals. I spent a good fifteen minutes checking it out before moving down into the water and crossing over to the far side of the stream. Eventually I spotted the sign that I was looking for; human foot prints marked the edge of the stream on the far side of the track. There was only one print but it was fresh. It was of a bare foot and it was quite small and not that deep in the earth. It could have been made by a child or a small woman. I paused and glanced about some more. Then after a minute or two I decided that I was alone. Stepping up on to the bank I started to shuck my clothing and kit once more.

I quickly stripped down to my armour and then stepped back into the stream. The water was about six inches deep here and it flowed quickly. Squatting by the edge of the bank I quickly field dressed the rabbit and the quail. I then skinned the rabbit and quartered it with my skinning knife. I then I plucked the bird. Once I was done I quickly washed the quarters and the bird in the water of the stream. Once I was done cleaning the pieces of meat I wrapped the individual portions in some broad leaves that I'd gathered and soaked in the water of the stream. I then placed the wrapped pieces into the skin of the rabbit and made a carrying bundle out of it by tying the four corners of the pelt together with the lashing of rawhide that I'd used to carry the rabbit with. When it was done I secured it to the frame of my travelling pack once again. I then took a few minutes and washed myself in the cool clear water. The water felt refreshing against my sweaty skin. I made certain that I washed my face and the back of my neck as well. When I was done I wandered up stream with my water skins until I found a deep spot that still flowed swiftly. I refilled my skins and then head back to my kit.