Filthy raised the sword up while Geth held Bruce down. He’d placed a rock below the healthy portion of the thigh, making sure that there would be no ground to stop the swing. The blade swung down, making a squelching sound as it passed through skin, muscle, and bone.

The cut was clean but it started bleeding heavily shortly after. Geth cast Restoration almost instantly. The bleeding slowed as the outer portion started scabbing up. It would take a while before they could move.

They could finally be at ease. Geth pulled out a few of his makeshift canteens, handing one over to Filthy.

“Thanks,” Filthy nodded and continued. “How long can you keep that up. It can’t be a cheap Skill.”

Geth nodded and explained, “It isn’t exactly cheap, but I’ve heavily upgraded my Wisdom attribute. With my recovery, I can keep it up indefinitely outside of battle. That’s not to say it doesn’t wear on my mental state. The Rune heats up more if I use it without rest.”

“I see.”

“Now it’s your turn. How the hell are you able to fire those shitty arrows so smoothly? The bow isn’t even made that well,” Geth asked.

“Ahh, it’s a Talent I was offered at Level 5 called Precision. The first thing I did when I woke up was head to the woods. I found a suitable branch for a makeshift bow. The trees are different here, and the vines were tensile enough to make a bowstring. It isn’t much, but along with the Talents and Skills I’ve picked up, it works.”

Geth nodded again. “Maybe I should have taken you up on those offers to go bow hunting back in the day.” He chuckled, “All I’ve managed to do was become a good punching bag.”

They both started laughing, and a third strained laugh even joined in. The younger men both glanced over at Bruce. It seemed the ache had finally woken him up. He spoke up, “How can you boys share a good joke without me?”

The guy had a great sense of humor. Both of the young men smiled at the older fellow. “Sorry about your leg, old man. Restoration can handle most wounds, but it can’t replace the parts that had gone missing.” He sighed as he handed the man his canteen.

Geth intended on using the last of his canteens to wash off the blood. He was still worried that Direwolf could follow the smell if they didn’t clean it off. Bruce thanked him and took a few long drinks.

They all took time breaking bottles and cleaning as best they could. Geth and Filthy helped Bruce as best they could without damaging the scab that was forming. The dim white light from Restoration consistently filled the space.

“We should keep on moving while we have the night’s cover.” Filthy suggested while taking out two more cloaks he’d taken from Goblin Assassins.

The other men agreed with that assessment, donning the cloaks and keeping the hoods up. Geth and Filthy took turns assisting Bruce while heading east.

After many hours of slow walking, they could make out the doors of the Dungeon in the distance. The light of dawn was just peaking over the horizon, bringing warmth to their dirty and battered figures.

Geth smiled and looked at the other two, who were looking at the strange set of doors. He chuckled at them and said, “Welcome home, boys.”

Geth was quite happy to see the doors leading into the Dungeon. The other two were looking at them in confusion. Til was leaning on the wall outside of the cave.

When Til noticed them, he walked forward to greet them. “Glad to see that you made it back… mostly in one piece.” He gestured towards Bruce’s missing leg.

Bruce laughed loudly, “You should have seen the other guy!”

Geth shook his head at the antics of the two older men. “I’ll head inside, I’m still not sure of the specifics, but capacity should increase once I upgrade the Dungeon.”

He opened the door to the Dungeon and strolled in, happy to be back. It still hadn’t quite taken, but he was starting to consider this place home. As he walked down the long first corridor, he watched the Slimes that were guarding it.

‘Seems that Zolis has moved them to the front. We will be replacing them shortly anyway.’ He thought of the three cores he’d gotten from the Level 20 Hobgoblins.

Just as Geth was about to round the bend, he was tackled to the ground. Startled, he started to cast a spell. Before he had a chance, he felt the familiarity of the two soft lumps pressing against him. He smiled.

He rolled the woman onto her back and held her down by the arms, looking into her eyes. Zolis was beaming up at him, excited that he’d made it back. He scolded her jokingly, “It’s probably best to call out before surprising someone like that. I could have hurt you.”

“I might would have liked it.” She replied, sticking her tongue out.

He leaned down and gently kissed her lips. Her soft lips hugged his as they pressed together. She wrapped both arms around his neck, craving more. He nibbled on her bottom lip, then kissed her deeply. A soft moan echoed through the cave.

Geth pulled away from her, looking longingly down into her eyes. She stuck her tongue out again and pushed him away.

He just rolled his eyes and got off of her, then helped her to her feet. “So, how are things here? Is everyone getting along?”

“Yes, everything is fine at the moment. The cave hit capacity when Til made it back with Jen and Stark. Some wood has been brought in for makeshift huts, but we haven’t had time to start building. Your mom made sleeping bags from some of the large leaves.”

“Stark, huh? Well, I’m glad he didn’t name himself Iron Man.”