Chapter 1

Leon awoke slowly the next morning and remembered the night he had spent at Katie's, downing beer after beer. He wasn't worried about the tab, as he would pay it the next time he was in, like always. It was then that he realised that the roof over him was made of rock and not wood.

Leon sat up slowly and looked around. He was in a cave but couldn't see the entrance, only a small bend in the tunnel which was letting in some light. Though it wasn't much, it allowed him to examine his surroundings.

He was laying on a raised section of rock that looked to be about 8ft long by 12ft wide, covered in furs. Examining the furs, Leon couldn't tell what animal they were from but they must have been big, as the furs covered nearly the entire section of rock. Looking at it again, he realised it was a bed.

He moved over to the side of the bed and dropped his legs to the floor. Something wasn't right. They didn't look like the legs of a 63 year old. The skin was too tan, the musculature, too defined. Leon stood up and discovered that not only was he naked, but his entire body had changed. Like his legs, his entire body was more tanned and defined. And there were some other changes. His hair was shoulder length and a black colour instead of his brownish-grey. His penis had grown some too. In his youth, he had sported a fair 6 inches, but now it looked to be more like 8, with proportionate girth. Something wasn't right.

Having finished examining himself for the moment, he looked around the cave again and spotted a pile of furs sitting on a rock. Leon got up and moved over to look at them. He discovered that they were clothes; 2 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, a leather belt and 2 coats; one of them an ankle length trench coat. The jackets and pants were made of the same fur, but again, Leon couldn't place it. Putting that to the side, Leon dressed himself in a set of the clothes, choosing the short coat. While tying the belt, he looked under the pile of clothes, where a pair of animal-hide boots sat, so Leon put them on. Feeling better now that he was covered, he decided to explore the cave.

Rounding the corner of the tunnel, Leon was blinded for a moment by the light as he walked into the cave proper. When he could see again, he saw a large cave, with an opening to the outside on the far side. What he had thought was a small bend in the tunnel was really a double-door sized opening into a smaller cave. Looking around, he noticed a sheet of paper laying on a rock. He walked over, picked it up and read it.

Leon didn't understand why they had done everything they did but decided on taking their advice and get settled in as fast as possible. He looked around the cave he was in, searching for the items they said they had provided. Not finding any, Leon concluded that they had meant the clothes and furs for the bed. A little dissatisfied, he got up and started towards the cave entrance. Part way there, something caught his eye.

Near the entrance to his cave was a tunnel that led off to the side. Deciding that he should check this out first, he detoured to the passage and walked through. He was shocked at what was sitting there before his eyes.

Sitting on a rock just past the entrance, was a large knife in an animal-skin scabbard. Under the knife was a sheet of paper. Picking up the paper first, Leon read it.

We hope you like the knife. It is a Bowie knife with a 7 inch long, 2 inch wide and ¼ inch thick blade. The handle is 5 inches long while the guard extends 1 inch from either edge the knife. It will only need sharpening once or twice a year, depending on amount of use. The scabbard can be hung from your belt.