As soon as Gorden had woken up, Lara gave him the soul gems. A screen had appeared in front of him that had asked him if he wanted to regrow his leg for 10 soul gems. When he selected that he wanted to regrow his limb, he fell to sleep again.
But even now, two hours later, he still didn't look healthy. First, the healing and now the regeneration was a massive burden on his body. His closed eves had sunken deep into his skull, and the black circles under his eyes were in stark contrast to his pale skin.
He was now lying on a bed of leaflets besides the small fire. Ella and Lara had carried him into the forest about a hundred meters away from the ancient city.
While Lara had gathered dried foliage and moos, so that Gorden didn't have to lie in the dirt, Elo had lit a fire. Now the three were all sitting near Gorden.
During the time in that Ella cooked, Lara was looking after Gorden. Ever since he had woken up for the first time, she hadn't said anything. Elo hoped that they would both get better once again as soon as Gorden would wake up.
When the meal was ready, Lara only ate a small piece of meat before lying down next to Gorden.
To not disturb their sleep, Ella and Elo lied down a few meters away from the fire.
The only problem was that this night was relatively cold. Elo had used his shirt to tie up Gorden's cut off leg, so he started shivering pretty fast.
That was when he suddenly heard someone approaching. When he was about to turn around, a hand touched his shoulder.
"I'm only here to warm you, don't think anything of it", Ella whispered.
Shortly after, he could feel her back pressing against his. He felt her warmth, but his body didn't stop shivering.
"I'm still could, though."
When she set up, Elo was about to ask her if she could lie down again when she whispered:
"Turn around."
As he did what he was told, Ella put her arms around him and lied down again. Now that he felt her entire body, the cold was washed away from his whole body.
"Thank you."
That was Elo's last words before he fell asleep.
**
When he woke up again, he was still in Ella's embrace.
"Ding"
"You received:
-17 Power Stones, gifted by Plantinum12 and others"
The red crystals had fallen out of his pants' pocket. He carefully picked them up again, to not disturb Ella's sleep.
**
When Ella opened her eyes, her face was directly in front of Elo's. She bushed as she hasty stood up. After Elo had followed her example, they went into the forest to gather sticks for a fire.
It was a beautiful morning, the sun shone brightly over the horizon's edge, to illuminate the blue sky and the green forest. Elo had a great time just looking around and watching the forest while gathering sticks.
When the two came back to the fireplace, Gorden was already awake. His smile was as radiant as before, which made Elo very happy.
-"I have started to like him, I am amazed by myself."-
In his previous live, Elo didn't have any friends, so it was hard for him to accept that he had not only met one but two people he respected.
"I am happy to see you again, I already thought you wouldn't come back."
Elo was happy to hear that his newfound friend did not judge him for his idea back in the dungeon. He didn't know if he would have been able to be as happy as Gorden if his leg got bitten off by a huge rat.
"We would never leave you two alone. We just sacrificed ten soul gems for your leg."
When Elo mentioned his leg, Gorden's mood seemed to drop significantly. Elo was already afraid that he had not forgiven him when he started speaking again.
"Dammed, I could have used those gems to level up, but instead, I had to waist them on regrowing my leg. Next time I won't let those monsters get away so easy!"
As Lara heard a loud voice, Lara finally woke up too. When she saw Gorden laughing, a big smile appeared on her face, and she jumped at him from behind. When Gorden realized that the arms around his shoulders where Lara's, he seemed to become even happier.
"But let's eat now, I feel like I could devour an entire elephant." Gorden laughed.
While Elo was lighting the fire, the others kept talking in a lively manner. As soon as the fire was lit, Gorden turned in his direction.
"Hey Elo, what should we do next?"
Elo had asked this question to himself a few times now, and he wasn't sure if the others would like his answer.
"I think we should go back into the dungeon. All of the rats seem to drop a soul gem, which could greatly help our team level up. Of course, we would have to create an entrance that can let us out of the dungeon, but I think that should be worth it. What do you think?"
To Elo's surprise, Gorden seemed to be pumped. He threw both of his arms into the air and laughed.
"I think that's a great idea. I will be able to kick the rat's buts, and nobody will get hurt if we create a new entrance."
Lara had looked like she didn't like Elo's idea, but as soon as Gorden started talking, a brought smile appeared on her face.
"Any objections?" Elo asked.
When Ella suddenly spoke up, Elo was surprised once again.
"I think it's a good idea, but there is still a big rat, and we don't know how strong it is. We will have to be very careful if we choose to fight it. But if we create a new entrance, I have no objections.
When Elo heard what Ella said, he was relieved.
-"A Leader is only as strong as his followers. That's why I want them to level up so that I can become stronger as well."-
"Ok, so it's resolute. We'll be going into the dungeon once again."
"…when we have eaten."