Time could not be wasted. It was not a currency that the young faun could decide on her own to spend. Everything was now up to her - the destiny of Alerar and the friends she had made along the way was within her small hands, clutched in the palms that held no love for war, yet had passion for history and learning and culture.

Wildly, the goat ran across the country, veering at points and frustratingly clumsy, but she kept kicking. Indeed, she could feel the terror in the creature, and the exhaustion already as she bade it forwards, but there was nothing to be done. She could leave it behind and run herself - but the goat would still need to race to get away from the demons that likely were scattered throughout these lands. Perhaps thousands of them now were in the country - nobody knew - and perhaps they had already breached the walls of the fortress that made up Sanctuary, but Celandine had to hope. She had to risk herself as others had risked before her, and the goat had to push himself also.

"This is my land as much as yours," she whispered in its ear. "We are both strangers here but if we are to protect lives we have to get there. Keep going for me, dear one."

As if he understood her the goat, although foaming at the mouth, focused his eyes ahead and under her guidance leapt over the thinning river before them. Grassland stretched like an endless haven, bordered by a low series of hills. Using her mind and memory of the many maps she had studied, Celandine calculated the way to Sanctuary and set them towards it, opposite to the rising sun. It was a wide stretch of flat land, one which was easy to traverse and would allow a view if any enemies were to sneak up on them.

Run, run, she told herself. "Run."

And run they did. Kept running. All day, never stopping, away from the battle that had sprung up, towards more certain danger, but towards fate.

It was easily afternoon by the time she heard anything behind them. Twisting around, as weary as her mount, Celandine saw the cloud of dust on the horizon. It was a plume, far too small to be a dust storm, kicked up by some creature. Though she could not hear any obvious noise above the clattering of her own mount's hooves, the faun still could tell from the shouts that the cloud was not friendly. Or at least, not worth slowing down for. Grimacing, she shook her head, kicking the goat hard.

"South," she directed it. "South!"

It was too early really to turn that direction, from where she knew the gates of Sanctuary were, but Celandine was taking no risks. If an enemy was behind her from this distance she would need to get hidden - and fast. Through the previous weeks of hunting and searching she was sure she knew of a possible tunnel entrance here somewhere. There were a dozen or so across the land, hidden as outcrops or caves that no-one had really explored in the recent years.

This far away from the Jagged Mountains and the mines, and more specifically from where the storm had been she hoped truly that nothing would be improper and that the path would be clear. Cave-ins had been warned to her, but she needed to use her mind and memory.

And hope. Above all, hope.

Always hope. However much it was mentioned. It was worth mentioning again.

A whinny. A horse or some similar beast. Friend or foe, she could not know, but she had to be gone from here. Steering her goat down from the flat plain onto a slope she spied a splinter in the land before her and charged towards it. Eyes searching eagerly as they kept raising their speed, she scanned the exposed rock face. Grey and white, brown with a dappled texture from the many grasses and brackens within were obvious, but it was the shadows she needed. Growling at herself she guided the goat more directly towards the largest part of exposed rock and kept looking, chewing the inside of her lip until …

There. A deeper and darker shadow. A natural crack in the stone.

"There!" she yelled and pointed suddenly jubilant, and her mount obeyed.