(SHORT Chapter, but a necessary one :]).
I remember holding Alora in my arms. The heat from the torches illuminated the cave giving her face an orange glow. She was beautiful. I ripped the cloth from her right arm and examined it in the light. A large wound going from her shoulder down to her elbow could be seen. It wasn't bleeding but the wound was still fresh. I took off my cloth vest and ripped from it to make a bandage wrapping it around the wound.
After checking her for injuries again I sat her down by the fire. At the time I wasn't even sure if she was going to wake up. Her head had hit the cave wall pretty hard and it had been hours. While watching her from across the fire I noticed something close to where the monster had bucked her off. A shimmer of light, and my curiosity got the better of me once again. I stood up and slowly approached the mysterious light.
I looked down and next to my foot was a necklace. It belonged to Alora, the one she was wearing before. The light faded as I reached for it and picked it up off the cave floor. I walked back over to the campfire where I examined the necklace further. The symbol was unfamiliar. A large hole was in the middle as if something fit into it, large wings as big as my hand surrounded it.
"What...what is going on?" Alora was conscious again, but barley able to move.
"Alora, you are all right!" My voice echoed through the seemingly endless cave.
"What happened?" I walked over to her and sat down.
"That monster through you off and you hit the cave wall. I think you broke your arm and hit your head pretty hard."
"Did you kill it?"
"I shot it in the eye with a fire arrow. It ran off."
"Figures. Probably come back soon you know?"
"I thought it might but I couldn't move you in your condition." She sat herself upright, reaching for her neck with her left hand.
"Where is my necklace?" Alora had a panicked look on her face.
"I have it right here. It fell off when you hit the wall." I handed it to her and she stared at it with meaningful eyes. "It's an amazing necklace, where did you get it?"
"My grandmother gave it to me. I am named after it you know. It's called the Necklace of Alor."
"Why is there a hole in the center? Is it supposed to look like that?"
"No. A ring goes there. The Necklace of Alor was made by a master smith centuries ago. He was going off to war and made it for his wife who he was leaving behind. The necklace has two parts. This piece and a ring that goes in the center. When the two pieces are close to each other they glow, the closer they are the brighter it gets. When they are close enough they glow bright orange. It's quite the sight."
"So, where is the ring?"
"Someone very special to me has it. I gave it to them whenever I left to become a Treasure Hunter." She shot me a sudden glare. "Why am I telling you any of this anyway? I appreciate you saving me but we need to find the others or find the Ulamite and get out of here."
"Right. I think you need more rest first." Alora stood up and stumbled a bit, catching herself on the cave wall. "Whoa, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'll be fine. We need to go now. If we stay any longer that beast could come back or something worse."
"Please can't you just rest a little while longer?" Ignoring me, she picked up her torch from our makeshift fire and proceeded into the cave. She was going with or without me.
