Kayla pounded up the tunnels toward freedom and the open air, her claustrophobia swelling within her along with her desire to escape the hot dusty chaos of being underground. The nightmare sounds of panicked Lizardmen, along with the bone crushing rumble and distant gleeful cackle of the Durfle beast seemed to follow her up the rocky passageways. For some reason she was limping, her left leg having trouble bending and taking her weight, a strange tingle or burning high at the back of her thigh. She ignored it as she ignored the dust clogging her lungs, ignored the screams of the injured in the distance, ignored her companions somewhere behind her. All that mattered was the faintest shaft of diffuse light and the tiniest trickle of fresh air calling her onward like a promise. The very weight of the vast hills above her seemed to be concentrating and bearing down on the storm elf as she struggled to keep up her pace, panting and coughing her way onward. Was it her own imagination or an outside force determined not to let them escape? No, she must be free of this place finally!<br/><br/>And so, crushing down her emotions and increasingly random thoughts, Kayla rounded a bend and stumbled out into the dawn sunshine. The elf girl sank to her knees as she crept out onto the grass just beyond the ragged tunnel entrance. Tears carved tracks in the dust across her cheeks as she gazed up into the sky, full of blues and purples as the last of the stars were fleeing the rising sun. She realised that she had no idea of what time it was, barely an idea about the day after the blur of the chase since she met Ayesha. Breathing deeply of the cool clear air, she felt like a parched man drinking his fill from a ewer. The panic she had felt slowly began to ebb as her head stopped spinning, and she looked around to see her companions emerge from the depths of the tunnels along with a puff of dust. She gave them a wordless grim smile and staggered to her feet. She noticed blood on the ground where she had been kneeling but she took no notice for now. Instead Kayla stumbled back beneath the brow of rock, moving a few feet within the shadows. Squinting down the tunnel, the elf sighted on the beams supporting the walls and stretched out her hands. Gathering her energy she sent blast after blast of lightning down the tunnels, tearing chunks from the stout props one after another. She worked her way closer until at least twenty feet of rock was littered with broken debris and splinters. Gathering herself one last time, Kayla poured her energy into the roof, backing away towards the opening and finally throwing herself clear as the rumble started.<br/><br/>Rolling with a gasp of pain, she came to her knees not far from where the others crouched, and turned in time to see a good section of the rocky hill above collapse in on itself with a roar and a great cloud of rock dust. Kayla struggled to her feet, weaving a little as she made her way to the others. "Well I don't think we have to worry about being followed for a while. Between the confusion deeper inside and having to move a few hundred tons of rock, I think we should be able to get clear." Her leg almost gave way on her and she reached back to put her hand across the wound. She was shocked at how much blood there was as the fingers came away and her grey eyes widened a little. She glanced at the others, not sure if they had noticed or not. But in any case they needed to place to recuperate and hide for a while. She nodded in the direction of the wood a little way down the valley. "I think there is a stream down there, lets get into those trees before the sun gets any higher. Maybe we can lick our wounds for a while." So saying, she began to hobble down the slope, drawing on her magic and sending it through her tattooed skin to keep herself on her feet, aiming for the treeline and heading into the light morning mist.