Clifford was starting to feel somewhat secure now. Looking behind him, no one was in pursuit. Not those people, or that fiery visage, [i]or[/i] the chimera. Coast looked clear, so amid the hilly plain he was running through, he stopped and leaned forward.

Panicked, half-gurgling breaths traveled in and out his face wound. Heart was pounding, arm still stung a bit from the bruise, but it was dying down well enough. Cliff stood back upright and scanned the area around him. The mountains in the distance, the forest just a short walk away, everything. It was all unfamiliar, alien to him. Back on Earth he'd been around nothing but white desert sands and clear blue skies for the longest time. He was sleeping in a tent the same as his fellow men, and then he was just...

Here.

Where was here? It wasn't in the same continent, that was for sure. Not even on the same [i]planet[/i] with chimeras and fiery elementals wandering around.

Was he too abrupt in running from that crowd? He had an inkling they were in the same position as him, so they wouldn't know anything, but-

[sub]"I spy! With my little eye!"[/sub]

Shouting. In the distance.

Clifford turned his head. Over the nearest hill, five men rode on horseback, galloping straight towards where he stood. They were wrapped in leathers and beast hides, well armed with iron and oak alike. They began whooping like jackals as they neared.

"Get him!"

Clifford turned and began running once more. But the fatigue was already getting to him. He was no match for the speed of the horses. The riders began twirling knotted ropes in the air, riding past him and lashing them at his feet. He fell forward, into the grass, and desperately attempted to regain himself.

One of the assailants practically [i]leapt[/i] off his horse and jumped around Clifford. "Yeah! YEAH!" He called out, brandishing a wooden club and striking Clifford's leg with it. Another swift blow to the head, and he was out cold, lying on the grass. The other assailants joined in.

"Get the rope! We're taking this one to camp!"

"Look at the gob on this one... like a rotten fuckin' apple."

"He don't gotta be pretty, he just gotta be useful."

"That he does! Now get the GODDAMN ROPE."