Qadim was hurrying along his own path, trying to find off the wave of foot-tall tribesmen as he worked to race back to the metal gate. When the hallways seemed too cluttered, he would reach for an arrow with a tiny crystal shard beneath the arrowhead and fire it off. Upon impact, the crystal would shatter, which would cause an unstable burst of magical properties dependant on the crystal's element. Fire crystals were easy to get, and it was much easier to run through their ashes instead of the electrical storms lightning crystals left for them.

Of course, when he reached the metal door, it was still sealed shut. Of course it is, echoed in his mind. Then again, there was no real sign about where Alma had to head off to beyond that wall, and if there was anything he would guess, it was that it was possibly worse on her end in terms of the maze, which meant more need to hunt her down once she did get the gate open.

"CRE-KEEE!!!" A spear was suddenly tossed, finding its way into Qadim's upper right arm, and almost immediately found it harder to move, which in turn made it difficult to shoot. Luckily, these little guys were a nice punt-size for his boot. Still, that numbing agent would be a  major worry. Strong and fast acting, yet slow in terms of spread. Good bet it would not get far before it wore off, but hitting a more vital area could shut down his entire being. Qadim's body then began to glow green as his skin turned into stone, granting him an extra layer of armor to his chest, neck, and legs. Enough to save what he wanted while conserving his mana. All he had to do now was to survive until the gate opened back up.

The creatures were quick and had more experience in the maze, perhaps they had little care of the walls and could traverse over them while she was confined within, but regardless of the possible faults, Alma was quite sufficient in running. The path winded and curled, and through it she was desperate to find her goal. A level, a key, anything that would open that metal door that now separated her from her partner, but as she ran and her heart continued to pound in her chest with increasing fury, she found nothing. She couldn't claim she knew how to get back to it with any given accuracy given how much the path had shifted her away from it. However, as she ran and turned a corner, she saw what she was looking for, a large stone level that stood proud from the ground.

With heavy breath she approached it, wrapping both hands around it as she gave it a fierce tug. Despite her strong initial efforts, it did not budge, and she pushed and pulled upon it to try and budge it, but even with all her might it only began to shift slightly. Angling herself between the tip of the lever and the ground, she wedged herself to give as much force as possible, until it shifted into the other position with a sickening creak. She looked down the path she had come from, distant images of the beings chasing her, before the route shifted and was hidden behind a wall that had had connected to the ship. She let out an exasperated sigh, shifting as she watched the walls move to turn the area between her and the metal turn into a hallway, with the room she stood in shifting to have more exits. "You still there?" She yelled out with a tinge of worry.

When the doorway presented itself, Qadim was quick to dash through, firing off one last arrow into the group of masked minions before dashing through the hallway. How did it even take so long for her to find something sitting in plain sight, too?! … Well, it was not like he could see how things were rolling on her end before the metal door opened. It could have very well been yet another, more complex labyrinth before she got there and it was being kind to him upon reaching his partner.

As soon as the two got side to side, the chattering of the masked ones quieted down before retreating back into the small holes that decorated the ceiling. "So that's it, huh? Seems those masks make them aggressive against a solo being, yet anymore than that, they are utter cowards," he explained before letting out a sigh, his skin shifting to normal before turning back to Alma. "What about you? You alright?"

As he checked in with her, he tried to move his fingers, but it still felt like a challenge. Whatever they used to numb his arm was strong, indeed. However, he was still able to rotate his shoulder, meaning it had not spread too far from his cut. Hopefully, the poison would wear off by the time they reached another separation point such as that, or maybe even find the exit. That would work even better!