They were both dirt covered and out of breath, but they were alive and Lana counted that as a win.  It took her a moment to fill her lungs again, as she spat out dust and dirt to clear her mouth.  When she finally got her senses back in order, she looked to Ellion.  He was clearly nursing an injury and she felt the sudden and strong impulse to step toward him and work her literal magic on his hurt shoulder.  The instincts she had built up over the last few years seemed to fall away with him.  Lana would never even consider doing magic in a public area like this for anyone else.  Even now, she realized it was not an impulse she could follow.  She would just have to wait.<br/><br/>Lana lifted her age and looked around them.  There were a few landmarks she could get a feel for, so she lifted her hand and gestured toward the south.  "Redcliffe is just beyond this area, a mile or two south.  I know it's still very close to the tower, but yes, there is a river that flows into the lake just over that way..." Her hand now pointed East, and she began to head toward that direction, craving to get a bit of the dust and grime off of her body.  "We can clean up and then head into town.  I actually have an room at the inn there, because I had hoped..."<br/><br/>Her words drifted off as she continued to head toward the river, but she was not sure they needed to be spoken.  She had hoped she would remain free.  She had hoped for some kind of reward for giving up her freedom to save the known world.  It had felt like a fool's hope, but she had not abandoned it.  The world was changing, slowly, as mages and their allies pushed against the chains that had bound them for so long.  If she ever had children and they were blessed with her abilities, perhaps they would not face the control and confinement she had experienced.<br/><br/>They crested a hill and the clear, flowing waters of the river could be seen in the small valley below.  The cascading waters beckoned them, glittering in the afternoon sunlight.  Lana moved to the shore and began to take off her bag and belt, and then set about removing her robes, until she remained only in her small clothes.  If she had any thoughts about modesty, she did not show it...or perhaps it was simply unimportant next to the priority of getting clean once again.