Yes, just

A blast of hot, wet air propelled Teysa forward as the beast roared. The carrion stench enveloped her. She screwed her eyes shut and prayed as desperately as she ever had before. Agamor, please, deliver this thy servant from evil. Please.

Something wet and slimy brushed against her ankle for just a moment and then she was free, soaring past it, sailing through the doorway and crumpling into a heap on the stone floor beyond. Next to her, Aliara landed with none of her typical catlike grace; the half-elf's knees gave out as she landed and she sagged against the wall. Teysa rolled over weakly. If the beast pursued them here, she knew, she would die; her sides burned and her breath came in ragged gasps. Peering into the tunnel, though, she could see some vast, unfathomable bulk in retreat. The glow of the brazier was faint but after the darkness of the caverns it was enough to blind her, and everything beyond the stone doorway was a dark smear. She supposed she should be grateful for that. If she saw the face of the thing that had pursued her, she supposed her mind would unravel. The darkness here is merciful.

That was her last thought, before darkness wrapped her up in its merciful embrace.

She awoke some time later. The first sensation she was aware of was pain: a dull ache in her sides and legs. The second was a cool, moist pressure on her forehead. She groaned and tried to **** her eyes open, but it seemed that leaden weights had been affixed to her lids. She mustered her strength and tried again.

She was on her back, her head in Aliara's lap. The half-elf smiled down at her and wiped something across her forehead, something damp and soothing. She cradled Teysa's head in her hands, knotting her fingers below Teysa's chin, and bent down to plant a single kiss on her lover's forehead. Despite everything, Teysa smiled.

"Li..." she croaked. Her voice sounded brittle and elderly to her own ears. "How long was I out?"
"An hour or two. Not too long. You needed the rest. You were sweating like crazy in your sleep. Bad dreams?"

Teysa tried to remember, but any dreams she had had were fading like morning dew. "I don't know, but could you blame me? Do you have any water?"

To her surprise, Aliara lifted a stone cup to her lips. Teysa hesitated a moment, then drank. The water inside was shockingly cold, but clear and pure and delicious. It made her teeth hurt but as soon as it hit her belly she felt better. Another sip, and she sat up, wincing as her bruises flared.

"Where are we, Li?"
Aliara pursed her lips. "Somewhere in the sub-sub-sub-basements of the Basilica, that's all I know. We're in a storage room. There's water here, and cloth, and a bunch of stuff I don't want to look too closely at. No weapons, I checked. It looks like they don't come down here much, so we should be safe-- the dust is an inch thick. I looked around a little but I didn't want to go upstairs and leave you here."

Teysa replayed their last frantic moments in the tunnels in her head and shivered. "Li, what was that thing? Have you ever heard of anything like it?"
Aliara looked away, her face suddenly somber. "No. Never. I don't... I don't like to think about it." Her voice wavered. "When slaves were... really bad, when they killed a drow or something, they would... they would drop them in the tunnels to fend for themselves... tell them that if they made it out, they were free... none ever did. I wondered what happened to them. I never thought I'd find out." She shuddered. Teysa wrapped her arms around her, even though the slightest contact raised angry protests from her bruises. Aliara silently accepted the hug and leaned in, resting her head on Teysa's shoulder.

"It's ok, Li. We're out. We made it. We are not taking the same route out of here."

Aliara nodded and for a moment, they sat there, neither willing to be the one to break the contact. Teysa moved first. "We can't wait here forever. We have to get moving. Somewhere in this place are the answers we're looking for. We're going to find what happened to Siri'ka, I promise." She stood up, wobbling just a little. "Come on. No time like the present."

Aliara smiled and accepted a hand up. "All right then. Lead on, fearless leader. I'll be right behind you."