had crossed the wands, I had determined they were securely caged. That had given me an excellent start, as I had planned. I had eluded them. I had planned well. I had been clever, extremely clever. I had even placed my blanket in the laundering vat. There were many dangers in the forest, of course. A branch might break free in the storm. A boulder might slip, dislodged in the rain, and tumble down an incline. One might even fall, unaware of a ledge. But what I most feared, the animals, I had even glimpsed a sleen, would not be likely to be about in such a night. I was sure of that. Prey would be quiescent, withdrawn, unstirring, not venturing out; sign would be little deposited, if at all. If there were scent the rain would confuse it, or wash it away. Surely a long, deep burrow, or a sheltered lair, would be preferable on such a night to prowling about, futilely searching for absent quarry.
So, in the darkness, as I could, I continued my flight. I moved carefully, often putting my hands out before me. Lightning occasionally gashed the darkness, turning the night for an instant into a bright, cold, frightening noon, but then again, as quickly as a door might close, I found myself once again in darkness, as though shut in a room, the room of the forest, with no light, only rain, wind, cold, darkness, and thunder.
Once I screamed with fear when lightning, like an ax of light, split half a tree from its trunk, not yards away. Briefly there was a sudden coat of fire on the sundered wood, narrow, diagonal, to my right, but it was extinguished by the rain, only an Ihn or two after its appearance.
I continued on my way.
Though I was weary, and hungry, so hungry that I was almost faint with hunger, I forced myself to go further, and further, to put every tenth of a pasang I could between myself and the kennels and chains of Shipcamp, and the great, fearful, mysterious ship restless at its cables, the purpose of which seemed obscure, and which for some reason so many feared to board. I had escaped in time, shortly before her departure. I would not be aboard when she descended the Alexandra, and would open the wings of her canvas to the winds of Thassa, capricious, vast, turbulent Thassa, the sea.
The rain stopped after a time, I supposed somewhere in the vicinity of the twentieth Ahn.
The cloud cover was still heavy.
The moons were obscured.
I continued on, and on, in the mud, stumbling in the darkness.
Surely I walked for a very long time, and then, exhausted, unable to continue, but content with my progress, I lay down to rest, I think a little before dawn, and must have slept for better than two Ahn.
It was light when I awakened, and I drank, as might have a tabuk doe, from a puddle of clear, gathered water in a hollow, in the wet grass. Then I found a Sul plant, the golden Sul, and dug out the tuber, washed it clean in the water, and consumed it, I fear voraciously. Looking about, gathering my bearings, I noted Tur-Pah clinging about nearby Tur trees. The Tur tree is tall and hardy, and the common host to Tur-Pah, but Tur-Pah, interestingly, does not thrive on all Tur trees. The difference apparently has to do with the grades and natures of the soil in which the tree is rooted.
I washed my body with wet grass and leaves, wiping away dirt. I brushed back my hair, and, as I could, combed it with my fingers. My tunic was muchly soiled, and rent in more than one place. I had a scratch on my side, and my right calf was sore, where it had been punctured by the thorns of the leech plant.
My body ached but I was not displeased, with yesterday, and the night.
I had done well, quite well.
I located a pool of water and, kneeling and bending down, examined my reflection.
I did not think I was bad-looking, for a common slave. I thought I might even be such that some might consider me beautiful. Certainly, when permitted access to mirrors, I had thought I had become much better looking on Gor than I had been on Earth, more relaxed, more vital, glossier haired, smoother skinned, trimmer, better-postured, and more excitingly curved. In any event, I was far from Shipcamp. I had escaped. I congratulated