Gawain was tossed from the horse, whom reared like an angry bull, yet it was not anger that took it's place in the horse but fear in it's stead. The elf took a hard fall, a cry of pain escaping the elf's mouth. Gawain was very, very unsure of what was going on - being seated on a horse with someone behind you, especially as a captive, wasn't the best place to be if you were trying to figure out what was going on. So when he was thrown - that was a big surprise to Gawain. Luckily he fell on top of the elf, likely hurting him even further.

Gawain's hands were still bound, but he managed to turn his body quickly using his hands in the sand to give himself some leverage. He mounted the elf, Lothren, and decided now was the perfect time for some payback. He raised his hands together in the sky and sent the fists pummeling into the man's face, before spitting at it to add insult to injury. Then, as quickly as everything had happened, Gawain rose to his feet and laid eyes upon those gigantic creatures. Gawain had seen a lot - Eretol whores, Elven whores, many whores, even a mage whore at one point. But this was not a whore - far from, it was a spider. A gigantic spider, and it wielded a staff as if it were some Viceni mage, the same that had captured him earlier.

For a moment he wavered, seeing elves choosing to flee rather than fight. If they were aware of the danger of these creatures then perhaps Gawain would be wise to, for once, heed elven knowledge and flee as well? Then again there were also some foolish elves who shot their guns at the creatures, which only seemed to anger them. For a moment Gawain was at a loss, but in the corner of his eye, he noticed the glimmering of a sword. And not just any sword, [i]his sword![/i]

He took off sprinting and stumbling through the confusion, even pushing aside an elf who was attempting to re-mount her horse after being tossed like Lothren had. The push sent her stumbling back, closer to the spider-like creatures. For a moment Gawain felt bad, but then he remembered her face as the one who had hurled a particularly venomous insult at him as Lothren had paraded him through the warband earlier. All guilt was immediately resolved. He kept running, and stumbled over a loose rock, tumbling through the sand and kicking up a small sandstorm. But finally he reached his sword and without wasting a moment, he began using it to cut loose the binds that held his hands together. 

And finally the binds were removed. He quickly gathered what little had fallen off of the horse, namely his armored boots, gauntlets and his shoulder plates. The rest that hadn't fallen off, such as his belt and other items as well as his helmet, he'd have to replace later. The steed seemed to have taken off, and if need be he could always take some loot off of the dead elves once these.. these [i]vile creatures[/i] had been dispersed. Once he'd gathered the stuff and put it in the linen sack that Aust had used to keep it all together, he slung it over his shoulder and made way for the nearby cliffside, hoping to climb it and escape the monsters.

Once again he took a quick pace through the sand, now being left with less and less elves to cover his retreat, making him a more viable target for the monsters by the minute. His steps took him quickly, but clumsily, through the sand, and finally helped him reach the cliffside. One of the spiders shuffled closer to him, and Gawain shook his head. He was tired, beaten by the elves and the mage, had barely had any food or drink at all for the last few weeks, and now there was [i]bloody giant spiders upon him. [b]MAGE SPIDERS NONE THE LESS![/b][/i] His eyes turned to the sky and for a moment he cursed his luck, and told God to stop testing him for he was not ready. 

But as he was about to cry out a cry of anger, a bolt of fire crossed across his vision and landed onto the nearby spider, sending it screeching and furrowing back to where it had come from. Momentarily, at least. But Gawain was not delighted - magic was magic, and whether it was a Viceni mage or a spider mage, both were equally blasphemous to Gawain. [i]Well..[/i] at least you could talk with a Viceni. 

Gawain took off again, attempting to quickly pass the spider, though it was much too slow. The spider seemed accustomed to traveling in the desert and Gawain was, by far, the most clumsy man to ever travel a desert. The spider hurled it's blade forwards, and Gawain dove underneath it, rolling underneath the spider. 

It was more by chance and luck than real skill. [i]Fighting men and eretol.[/i] Yes, Gawain was good at that, he could kill ten men before he even took a scratch of damage. But fighting [i]spiders? [b]SPIDER MAGES?[/b][/i] No. That was beyond Gawain's capabilities. 

It should come as no surprise then that Gawain immediately attempted to cut the spider, climbing and clambering to his feet and swinging his sword wildly at the beasts legs. For a moment he seemed to be missing every strike - he was afraid to come close. But the spider seemed unsure how to deal with the pesky human underneath him, and only toiled left and right. It gave Gawain enough time to finally hit it's leg, and while it did little damage, the spider screeched again and reared back once more. It seemed even spiders did not like a combination of magical fire and cold Aretian steel.

Gawain used this brief moment of respite to continue his way, reaching the sandy hill that lead up the cliffside. He climbed, and climbed as fast as he could. The spider seemed to give up chase, turning towards some elfs again. 

Upon reaching the top of the cliffside, Gawain looked back for a moment and noticed a few familiar faces among the elves. Lothren was still there, as was the Eretol whore and her friend. It even seemed like one of the spiders was headed for that elven bitch. [i]“Perfect.”[/i] Gawain said as he finally had a moment of rest. Finally free of those elves. Hungry and thirsty - but free.

Then it occurred to him that the mage, whomever it was, was still there. Not wanting to take the risk of leaving a mage alive, he immediately got up and ran towards the edge of the cliff. As soon as Marcus came into his vision, he dropped the heavy bag of equipment and pointed his blade at the mage. [i]“Mage! You insult the gods with your magi- wait, I recognize you..”[/i] His rough voice was roughened up even more by the sand, that had spread into the air by all the shaking of the ground. 

[i]“You're that mages' apprentice, aren't you.. I remember more clearly now..”[/i] For a moment Gawain thought on the boys' fate. He was young, and possibly not aware of the critical situation surrounding Viceni and Aretian politics. And would a boy that young really be a threat to a man of noble birth like Gawain? On the other hand, he was an accomplice in kidnapping a royal knight of Aretia, and should pay a price for that. And he was a heretic in Gawain's eyes. 

Making up his mind he lowered his blade and ran closer. [i]“No time to explain! But you owe no allegiance to these treacherous elves! They murdered your master, I tell you. Saw it with me own eyes! Strangled him, until he turned blue and purple, and then brutally murdered him. Didn't even give him a chance to wake up.”[/i] To make the situation a bit easier he decided not to tell the mages' apprentice that Gawain had vouched for the mages' death, and that he'd told the elves to kill him. That'd make the entire situation more tiresome than it was already. 

Gawain's large burly hands grabbed a hold of the mages shoulders, grabbing the tunic and pulling the buy as hard as he could. If the mage resisted, Gawain would let go and grab his sack of equipment before making his escape. But Gawain was a strong man and the mage seemed frail at best.