The Next Morning

When the man opened his eyes he was greeted with the sight of a warm sun. He had found and slept in the throne room of the castle since it turned out that the room he had found last night had actually been a separate structure from the castle entirely, a quick perimeter check had also confirmed of a wall that had once wrapped around and protected the ancient castle, although it very nearly no longer existed thanks to a lack of maintenance. If he had to guess he'd say the castle was probably around 500 to 600 years old, 400 at the least. There were several rooms that branched off as well, which he had explored last night and found a kitchen, storage room, what appeared to be a few living rooms, staff quarters, a dining hall, and a few other rooms that were too run-down to tell what their purpose was. There we're also two staircases on each side of the throne room as well. One went up to bedrooms that probably belonged to the noble family that once lived here, and the other went up to another room that looked almost like a church. There were no pews or a place for a preacher to stand other than a small stone platform at the other end of the room, although any furniture that was once here had probably been destroyed, looted, or the original inhabitants of the castle took them with them when they left. Although the most notable feature of the entire castle was that it actually had two thrones, one on the right and one on the left. This was surprising considering that Monarchs and Noblemen that he knew of other than the ancient civilization that was called Sparta Monarchs had always ruled independently. Sure they had advisors but they never got the privilege of something like having their own throne. Perhaps these Monarchs ruled as King and Queen, as Nobleman and Noblewoman equally through a share of power, that would explain having two thrones. However the man did not have a lot of time to dwell on that as he had bigger problems.

Wondering what time it was the man decided to look up at the sun. From its position in the sky he guessed that it was around ten o'clock, he was honestly quite surprised (and annoyed) that he had woken up this early considering how late he had stayed up the previous night surveying the castle. However he supposed that it might have been a blessing in disguise since he needed to get a lot of things done today. The first of those things was to get a base of operations to protect himself from the elements and wild creatures as he didn't think that the manticore was only thing in this forest. Well he supposed the castle could fit that role, especially as he could always repair it as he saw fit as he had taken a few design classes in high school. Okay they had been energy and aerospace, a design your product for production class, and a woodworking class, but he had learned a little bit about building and designing/making blueprints from them. As well as time management but that was a story in itself. Anyway the castle could be a perfect base of operations, now he would need a source of food and water. Okay the first problem found, don't have any sources of food or water.

"Well it looks like I'm going exploring today then, oh well maybe I'll figure out where in the world I am" he thought.

Before that however the man decided to open one of his MRE food packs as he had gotten quite hungry from the events of the previous night. Once he had eaten he decided to put on his combat outfit as it was better suited to this environment then his uniform was. The only problem was that it had desert camouflage on it and not forest so it wouldn't blend in. However just as the man thought that something happened that he didn't think was even possible in the real world. To his astonishment the colors of his outfit began to change, it went from a desert tan to a woodland camo with the U.S. army style. The man almost passed out from amazement as to what he just saw.

"Okay it's official I have died" he stated. Apprehensively he examined his outfit, it still looked the same. Minus the fact its color had changed completely but other than that it still looked safe to wear. He then began to put it on with the pants and shirt going on first, then he put his boots on with his bulletproof vest, helmet, mask, and then gloves. He also put his flashlight, knives, and pistol on his body as well as his rifle on his back. Everything else stayed in his backpack which he then put on his back as well. After that he grabbed his machine gun and made a mental note of the castle's location and began walking in a random direction.

Two Hours Later

The man had been walking for a while now and had actually managed to locate a few water sources which were just small streams but they would serve their purpose well. Unfortunately he had not been able to locate a reliable source of food which was just as vital as water. Suddenly he emerged from the foliage and found another, bigger gorge emerge right in front of him. Upon looking down (which was more difficult than he liked) he saw a river. He then looked to his right and saw that the gorge opened up to a wide plain with what appeared to be a small town in the distance with the river running straight through it. To his left he saw that the river and gorge continued on into the forest and past his ability to see. He then turned back to look at the village.

"Well then what a pleasant surprise, they'll probably have food, and American money is useful almost anywhere in the world, and if that doesn't work then I can always offer protection services from mercenaries in exchange for food and shelter. I can probably get into contact with Washington from there as well... and then deal with this goddamn forest" he thought. He would definitely have to report what he had found here so it could be dealt with and didn't become a threat to the world. The man then pulled out his wallet that had been in his pocket and come here with him from his backpack and opened it seeing that he had around $500 in cash.

"Okay good that's more than enough for food" he thought. He then put his wallet away and began walking along the cliffs edge towards the town.

1 Hour Later

It had taken longer than expected but at last he was finally approaching the end of the forest. However when he got there he realized that he would have to cross about 1/2 mile of an open field in order for him to get a good look at the town, something that in todays world would be suicidal. Mostly because if the townsfolk saw him they would most likely think he was a scout looking at the town, sizing it up for a possible raid, or identifying weak points for an already planned raid. Either way it did not matter since he would most likely be chased down, dragged back there, tortured for information and then killed. Most towns had a watchtower with or just a small, local garrison at the least. These days this was how most towns dealt with scouts from mercenary or outlaw groups as law and order had broken down many years ago. However the man was well known in the world, why, well you don't get to be the Supreme Commander of allied forces in the entire world, lead them to victory in multiple campaigns in the deadliest war in human history, and then become leader of the United States Of America and not become a media sensation. It was almost a challenge to find anyone who didn't know about him. But any guards in the town would not be able to tell who he was from a distance and would likely just shoot him with a rifle before he could even get close so he would have to approach the town at dusk and hope he could find someone who wouldn't instantly shoot him.

With there still being way too much sunlight for the man to even consider going out into that field yet he decided to get some extra shut eye for the time being. However he could not fall asleep for whatever reason so he eventually just decided to plan what he would say to the townsfolk. He would have to gain their trust first, and that was easier said than done in todays world. Then he would ask for food, buy it, or work for it. If he offered a protection service to the town then he could probably just stay at the castle and protect the town during the day, then on his way home he could asses any threats to the town that may be lurking in the forest. But that would only happen if he couldn't contact Washington, a few minutes later while he was thinking he heard voices quickly approaching him. He quickly ducked into a bush as they voices passed him but the foliage obstructed his view of them.

"I just don't get why Shining Armor had to give us this job... or why. He knows how dangerous the Everfree is" a male voice said.

"That and half of us just got back from dealing with those bandits out near Appaloosa" another voice said.

"Come on you two, we're royal guards" a female voice spoke up. "This is our job" she added.

"Royal Guards" the man thought, "where am I England".

"I know that, but all I'm saying is that it would be nice to get a rest every once and a while" the first voice said.

"That and why don't we just wait for the poacher to leave the Everfree so we don't have to go in there" the second voice said.

"There's too many ways the poacher could get out of here, we have to go in to get him" the female replied.

"Besides the sooner we get this poacher, the sooner you can get your beauty sleep Sword" the female added.

"Is sword their undercover name".

"Yeah yeah Rosemary, besides ill need it if I'm to keep you in line" Sword shot back.

"Guess not, but seriously who the hell names their child Sword".

"Why you little-" but they then went out of earshot as they advanced deeper into the forest.

"Well they really need to shut their mouths if they want to catch a poacher or he'll hear them coming a mile off" he thought. "Wait a minute if I am in England then why are the Queen's royal guards going after a poacher, I thought they had more important problems to solve. Plus if there's other humans then I need to make sure that they don't find the castl... wait other humans perfect. I'll just go to them and get to London that way, assuming that I am in the U.K. of course" he thought.

The man then got up and began to chase after the guards.