Doris shrugged and sat down on the grass, "I don't care. You are still an ass. But now you don't have to hold back."

"What do you mean?" James asked her.

"You are holding back," Connie whispered to him with a laugh. "You would have been dead long ago if you were as incompetent as you pretend to be."

The three women laughed, and James tried to smile, but the barb stung. It was true. He was holding back, but not that much.

"How much are scrolls worth?" James asked Rocko.

"Now you are going to give them your enchantments?" Rocko asked.

"Who are you talking to?" Barbara asked.

"I told you he was crazy," Doris whispered to Connie.

"How much?" James asked again.

Connie answered, "Depending on the spell, anywhere from two to five gold for the first tier, twenty to fifty gold for the second tier and hundreds for tier 3 and up."

Rocko nodded, "That's about right. Of course, there can be fluctuations in the local market, and rarity plays a part."

James nodded, "Okay, my cards are on the table." The women looked at him expectantly. Doris was a bit more skeptical than the others, but he had their attention.

"There is a dungeon near here. I figure it is in the last goblin cave. I plan on going into the dungeon and completing it."

"I want to go with you," Barbara said before he finished. The other two nodded and agreed.

"They are crazy," Rocko sighed, "The dungeon is a too high level for them, and they will die."

"Why?" James asked them.

"Since you have joined us, our growth rate has increased remarkably," Barbara stated.

"That can't be right," Rocko interjected.

"Since you joined us today, we have almost gained a level," Doris added, abet begrudgingly.

"What level are you three?" James asked.

The three women looked at each other for several moments before nodding.

"We are level 6, almost level 7. Doris is a Priestess, Barbara is a Scout, and I am a Wizard," Connie stated. "We all got level 6 about two days ago and were expecting to wait another week before getting level 7. And then you came along." The last part was said with a smile.

"Do you ladies have a hive mind or something?" James asked.

"Yes," Connie said.

"No," Doris said at the same time.

"Maybe," Barbara stated after the other two contradicted each other.

"I am level 6, myself," James volunteered.

Rocko groaned, "I can't believe you are such an idiot."

James held a finger, "Can you give me a moment, please, ladies." James turned to Rocko, "Will you shut the fuck up! I don't have time for your shit right now. Either help or fuck off."

"This was not part of the plan, James. You may have seriously jeopardized your chances of success." Rocko yelled, holding his ground.

"A decision I decided to make," James yelled back.

"It is not yours to make! That is what you don't realize, James. There is now more than you and Ignatius relying on you getting an Amulet and surviving to the end. Many people have put their faith in you. Now you gambled that these women will not attack you, kill you, turn you in or worse. You did the same thing when you had to search the altar and when you stepped in front of the dagger. You took an unnecessary risk and put everything in jeopardy."

James was silent for a long time. They stared at each other before James cracked, "I am sorry. It was not my intent. I went with my gut."

Rock nodded, "You have to stop taking unnecessary risks, James. Too many lives are hanging in the balance. Not just yours."

"Crazy is still on the table, right?" Doris whispered to her sisters, who nodded in agreement.

James grumbled and cursed, but he had to admit that Rocko was right. He was not usually this carefree. His career had taught him to be cautious, but lately, his behaviour has been very spontaneous. Reaching into his Bag of Holding, he pulled out the two scrolls and handed them to Connie. The bow he gave to Barbara.

"I have more items in hiding, which I can bring tomorrow. I can get Doris into chain mail and get her a real axe if she wants." James offered.

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"Rather have a mace. Even a sword would be better than this piece of shit. I am only using this because I lost my sword in the ninth cave when we had to flee last time." Doris grumbled.

"James, what do you want me to do with these scrolls?" Connie held the scrolls reverently, but she was uncertain what to do with them.

"They are yours. I hope you can use them," James stated. James had stood up and was removing his weapon belt, the quiver didn't have a quick release.

"I can learn both now, but they will take time. I will worry about them tonight," Connie said with a smile.

Rocko said nothing, but it was hard for James not to notice him fuming at the edge of the group.

James handed over the quiver and smiled, "I have a wand with my other items. I can bring it next time, but I have no idea how it works."

"Wow, you have no idea how much of a boost this will be for us," Connie said, returning his smile.

Barbara had James' Oak Bow of Piercing and was running her hands over the wood, "Now I understand why we can do so much damage to those goblins."

Connie had Barbara's bow and James' quiver, "How do you want to do this?" she asked.

"The few time you attacked the cave, where were the goblins?" James asked

Barbara drew a circle in the dirt and made some marks. "The two in the front and the two at the backstay the same. The two in the middle seem to move around."

"Alright, I will check to see if I can spot where they are standing. But we do the same thing as before. Doris is on the two in the front; Barbara will take care of the two in the middle; I will take the two at the back. When the reinforcements arrive, I should be able to hold them until Doris can join me." James explained.

"I can put another Flash Spell down the tunnel. You should be fine as long as you are not looking that way." Connie offered.

"We will all be facing that direction. Too risky," Barbara countered, and Doris agreed.

"We should be good like this. Let me go scout ahead." James said, getting up.

"In scale mail?" Doris looked at him.

"I don't need to get too close. Just enough to see inside," James explained.

----------------------------------------

CAVE 9

James moved up to the cave and stood to the side, well out of view of the goblin spearmen. Close enough to see in the cave but far enough away to not be heard. Using Shadow Sense, he focused on a shadow in the cave and moved his senses to that shadow. This was the first time he tried this power, and it took him a couple of seconds to adjust to the different perspective. James could move his head and look around the cave, but it was from a fixed point in the shadow. He could see and hear what was going on around that point. There were a total of six guards in the cave. The two guards in the middle were off to the left-hand side, talking. The two at the entrance were alert and had their shields in the ready position. The two at the back were sitting on large rocks playing a dice game. James also noticed the two traps at the front of the cave. A tripwire and then a pit trap. There was also a large bear trap in the middle of the room covered with dried grass and leaves. The trap was poorly concealed, but they could easily step on it if someone had limited dark vision.

Cancelling the Shadow Sense, James returned to his senses. The effect was jarring and took him a moment to regain his equilibrium. It was very much like Shadow Step in the sense of being disorientated. Moving away from the cave, James revealed the layout of the cave.

"That is handy," Barbara said, "I should be able to take out the javelin goblins pretty easily."

'Should I focus on the goblins with the slings or the javelins?" Connie asked.

"Use your judgement. I plan to get to the slingers as fast as possible, so make sure everyone is blind." James said.

"You know, if we made a bit of noise before the Flash Spell, I am sure that they would all turn towards the sound. That would almost ensure that they are blinded." Barbara suggested.

"I can make some noise when Connie is ready," Doris offered.

"Sounds like we have a plan," James smiled.

Moving up to the side of the cave, everyone got ready. Connie had to put the bow down as she needed both hands to cast. When she was ready, she nodded to Doris, who banged her axe against a stone. Connie released the Flash Spell a second later, and Barbara cut the tripwire. Doris didn't wait for the tripwire to be cut before leaping into action. Jumping over the wire, she raced past the pit trap and into the cave.

Once she was in front of the first goblin spearmen, she brought her axe down on the goblin's skull. Barbara fired two arrows before Connie joined her, firing at the goblin fighters with the javelins. James leaped forward as well. Using the Advantage Shadow Step, James appeared behind the two goblin slingers. The front of the cave was in light shadows, and the back of the cave was in deeper shadows.

James ended the life of the first one with a thrust in the back and through the heart. The second goblin slinger turned towards the noise and got the rim of a shield in its face. Although the hit with the shield didn't kill it, it did cause the goblin to stagger long enough for James to slice its neck with the blade of his sword. With both of them down, James glanced at the rest of his team.

Doris had just finished with the second goblin spearman and turned his way. Barbara ran his way, nocking another arrow. And Connie had put her bow away and was using her wand. James noted that the two goblin fighters were dead. Turning to face the tunnel, James prepared a PSI Bolt.

The PSI Bolt screamed like a bottle rocket as it shot toward the first goblin warrior running down the tunnel. The first goblin staggered from the impact of the PSI Bolts. With his Darkvision, James was able to see the goblins clearly and had a few seconds before they arrived. Two more PSI Bolts followed the first and struck different targets. James figured to weaken them and make them easier to finish off. The goblins tried to use their shields to block whatever was screaming at them, but it had had no effect.

The first goblin leaped at James as soon as it cleared the tunnel. With its stone axe drawn back, James sidestepped and brought his rapier down across the back of its legs. He was aiming for its neck, but it moved faster than James accounted for. One goblin ran towards Doris when an arrow appeared in its chest, causing it to stop rather suddenly and fall. The last two were looking less enthused about the fight.

The one James hit landed hard with the back of its one leg. Still, it was able to stand and swung its axe at James' legs. James tried to get his shield in the way but wasn't fast enough as the axe slammed into his greaves and his foot went out from under him. The goblin was giddy with excitement and brought up his axe to chop into James' head, but two arrowheads appeared, sticking out of its chest.

James wasted no time and got back to his feet. Doris held the last two goblins back, and one of them was missing its shield. James fired off three PSI bolts into the goblin that still had its shield. PSI Bolts were not affected by armour, so it was the better target to choose. The third PSI Bolt caused it to fall backwards and stop moving. Doris used the distraction to chop at the last goblin's leg. When an arrow appeared in its chest, it fell slowly to the ground.

When the last goblin fell, Doris cheered. A huge grin lit up her pretty face, and she danced a little jig.

"Excited much?" James asked.

"We just got a new level," Barbara said with a grin.