Once past all the guards they had planned to encounter, Gallus stopped at nothing to get to the escape tunnel. He made no eye contact with passers-by, he kept Hiritus going at a steady march, and he anticipated that the most sensitive part of the ruse was close to passing.

When they reached the tunnel, only then did Gallus stop to look behind him for any followers. He couldn't detect anyone, but that was just as well. He didn't want anyone following him until they exited the tunnel ahead. Even then, Meesei's trailing party would have to keep their distance. Gallus proceeded through the gate of the tunnel with Hiritus in tow and locked the gate behind himself.

The journey through the tunnel was noticeably quieter and darker than their trip through the clan home. The only thing they could hear was their echoing footsteps through the manufactured corridor and the only thing that Gallus could see was rough outlines of the masonry. There were torch sconces that could have been lit, but Gallus wanted to waste no time. His night-eye would do for now.

The tunnel seemed to stretch on for a long while. It was surprisingly damp smelling in places, though a long while in a cool, sunless environment would allow for such things. The end of the tunnel came around eventually, with Gallus and Hiritus emerging to be blasted by the hot desert air. Gallus had Hiritus stop for a short while so he could replace the boulder before leading him a short distance away and untying his blindfold and gag. Gallus didn't give Hiritus any warning against the bright morning sun.

"Well, that's the first part done," Gallus said, stuffing the cloths for the gag and blindfold in a pocket. He looked around to the rocks around them to look out for any strangers. There seemed to be nothing but the wind for now. "We should cover as much distance as we can. They would have found Meesei's body by now."