"Why did you close it?" Barbara asked him.

Roland just scowled at her, "You need to face them. I suggest Area affect Spells only."

Doris reached into her pouch, "Time to drink our Potions."

Roland turned to James, "You should drop out of the Party."

James blinked, "What?"

Connie came to his defence, "No, why?"

"They are too low for you to gain Experience if James is in the Party. If he is out, you girls can get all the Experience." Roland explained.

"I hate when you call us girls," Doris griped.

Roland smiled, "I will take that under advisement. Get ready."

James dropped from the Party and moved aside for the sisters to get past. Doris took the lead, her shield out, and Connie was close behind her. Barbara followed with two Firebombs held in her hands. They moved down the hallway towards the pile of Death Scarabs until Connie stopped them.

"This is close enough," Connie stated as she started to cast. Suddenly a Stinking Cloud appeared over the pile of Death Scarabs. The mass shifted and toppled toward the group. Connie began to cast a second time.

"Oh, shit," Doris squealed as a flood of Death Scarabs flowed her way. A second Stinking Cloud appeared before the flood, and Connie started casting a third time. The first cloud had been twenty meters away. The second cloud was only ten meters away. James was sure the next one would appear right before them.

Before the swarm arrived, Barbara tossed one of her Firebombs. The blast coated the walls and Doris with bug guts. The third cloud formed just as the scarabs came in front of Doris.

"We need to fall back," Doris shouted, pressing back into Connie. Connie ran back with Barbara as Doris did her best to stomp on the bugs getting through the third cloud.

James could see it was a losing battle for Doris as she had dozens of Scarabs crawling on her and trying to get under her armour. James cast a PSI Ball, using Doris as the target. Although the Spell did damage her, it killed all the scarabs. Doris turned and ran down the hallway with a stream of scarabs following her. Barbara tossed a second Firebomb, which cleared out another large section of bugs. As Doris arrived in front of Connie, a Stinging Cloud formed behind her.

Turning to face the horde, Doris readied her shield. After a few moments, some of the tension eased out of her shoulders, "The fourth poison cloud seems to be doing the trick,"

"We should back up more if we have created more poison clouds," Barbara suggested.

"Not much room back here," James said from the bottom of the stairs. The group fell back, and Connie added another Stinking Cloud beside the fourth one.

The next fifteen seconds were tense as they waited for the rush of scarabs to appear out of the cloud. Fortunately, that didn't happen. When the cloud in front of them dissipated, they saw a sea of Death Scarabs in front of them. There were still a few moving, which Doris was able to stomp.

"Everyone okay?" Roland asked.

"I'm fine. I used Shield of Faith to block some of the damage. At least until someone hit me with a screaming attack," Doris remarked.

James smiled disarmingly, "Figured it was better to hit you with some minor damage instead of letting those bugs eat you."

Doris nodded, "Fair."

If James was expecting a thank you, he was sorely disappointed.

Connie pointed at the mound of Death Scarabs, "Do you think any are alive in there?"

"I can hit it with another spell," James offered.

Turning to Barabara, Roland asked her, "How close are you to your level."

Barbara checked, "Wow, we got more than half a level."

"How close?" Roland asked again.

"Two hundred points," Connie answered for Barbara, who nodded.

James stepped up behind Doris and cast PSI Ball on the pile of Death Scarabs. Picking us his shield, he moved forward and pushed over the pile of dead Death Scarabs. The scarabs were about ten to fifteen centimetres in diameter and were crunchy. Stepping on them sounded like stepping on gravel or broken glass as their shells cracked and popped under his feet. The others had the same experience as they waded through the pile.

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Once they arrived back at the alcove with the faces, they paused again to check them out.

"Do you think they are done?" Barbara asked, her voice a little shakey.

"I hope so," Doris answered.

Connie shuddered, "How do we know?"

James looked to Rocko, "Dungeon rules, James. They can do anything, but I doubt the trap is still active. If there were more Scarabs to throw at you, it would have already thrown them at you."

James sighed, "Let's move on."

James took the lead. After about ten meters, the hallway opened into a barracks-like room with almost a dozen Skeletons standing at the foot of their beds. When James spotted them, they spotted James, and their heads all turned toward the entrance as one.

"Fall back!" James shouted at Connie, who was behind him this time. The Skeletons moved quickly to attack James, their swords already in hand. The first two to arrive started with a Shield Bash, but James was lucky that the Dodge Skill worked on both. He still leaped backwards into the passageway to prevent them from flanking him. As the Skeletons in the front tried to enter the passageway, the remaining skeletons grouped at the back. Holding the Skeletons back, James quickly Inspected them.

Name: ? Race: Skeleton Soldier Level: 12 Damage Range: 1-8 +24 Damage Type: Slash Armour Rating: 25 Special: Melee - Sword, Shield Bash

Their weapons and armour were different than the first Dungeon where he had first encountered Skeleton Soldiers. The quality of these Skeletons was much better, and instead of Iron, the weapons were made of Bronze.

Connie cast a Stinking Cloud in their midst, but the Undead didn't seem to be affected. Suddenly, a bright golden glow filled the passageway as Doris cast Divine Light.

"Fall back, James. Let them fill the hallway," Connie instructed.

"Copy." James started falling back, step by step.

The Skeletons in front of him were blind and constantly bumped into each other. However, when the closest one met James, it attacked with a Shield Bash, which James was able to Dodge. It then followed up with two thrusts with its blade. The narrow hallway didn't allow them to swing their swords effectively, so they were limited to thrusting and stabbing. Sadly, James had a rapier-like weapon which didn't seem to bother the Skeletons as much as he would have liked. James noted that the other Skeletons followed the noise of battle but didn't attack each other as they bumped into the passageway wall.

James fell back to the alcoves. The Skeletons were in a chaotic line in front of him, queued up to fight.

"Can you get them closer together?" Connie asked.

"I'll try," James replied and used Shield Bash on the Skeleton in front of him. When it was stunned for a few seconds, he slammed his blade on his shield several times and shouted to get their attention. He didn't see much difference, but now they were all facing his direction.

"I'm casting Lightning Bolt. Duck in three seconds," Connie instructed.

"Roger that," James answered.

James waited two seconds before squatting down under his shield as Connie unleashed her Lightning Bolt. The shield helped protect James from the flash of light and the sound of crackling energy that zipped down the hall as loud. Connie cast the Lightning Bolt directly in front of James, only travelling down the hallway for about five meters, but it was still long enough to hit most of the Skeletons. The Bolt didn't destroy the Skeletons as James had hoped, but it did a substantial amount of damage, causing many of their bones to char, crack or break off their bodies.

"I need ten seconds for my Shield Bash to reset, then cast that spell again, okay?" James asked. James slashed as he stood up, cutting deeply into the Skeleton in front of him and destroying it.

Connie nodded, which James couldn't see. "Okay?" he asked again.

"Yes, yes. Roger that," Connie mumbled.

James nodded; the next Skeleton in line moved up to James and started its routine. The Shield Bash was Dodged, and because they were blind, their sword thrusts were easy to block.

When James was ready, he told Connie, "Alright, I am ready. Let me know when you start casting again."

"Casting!" Connie shouted, louder than necessary. James activated his Shield Bash, which the Skeletons couldn't dodge. He dropped just in time as Connie released the second Lightning Bolt. This time the damage was more impressive than the last casting as Skeletons began to shatter. It was a fantastic sight as they exploded rapidly, but James had his head down under his shield and missed the show.

"Let me in," Doris asked. Doris was in the alcove to Connies left. Barabara was on Connies right. James nodded and stepped back, letting Doris step out in front of him. When Doris stepped forward, he moved into her old spot. Only two Skeletons were left, and the first looked a little singed. Doris began to move up, but James called her back.

"Hold the line, let them come to you. That way, you have the support of three of us behind you," James directed. Doris grumbled but stepped back to the alcoves. If Doris fell back far enough, they could flank the blinded Skeletons and help more if necessary, but it would also trap them in the nooks.

Doris held her arming sword and shield at the ready. The first Skeleton attacked her with a Shield Bash, which she stepped back to avoid. Then moved forward and attacked with her sword. The Skeleton attacked with its two thrusts, but Doris just deflected them with her shield. The Lightning Bolt had already damaged the first Skeleton, and it fell after two successful hits from her sword. The last Skeleton stepped forward and followed the same pattern. The Shield Bash was more successful and Stunned Doris for three seconds.

Connie reacted quickly and grabbed Doris by the cloak and pulled her backwards. The follow-up thrusts by the Skeleton hit Doris' armour but didn't penetrate. The Skeleton then moved forward and ended up between James and Barbara. James slammed it in the side with a Shield Bash and thrust his blade through its body. At the same time, Connie used her Rapier to chop down on the Skeleton's sword arm and cut through the Radius bone.

Doris got back to her feet and returned to the fight. The Skeleton made the mistake of turning toward Barbara, and James was able to stab it in the back.

Roland's voice could be heard back down the hall in the silence that followed the fight. "What do you think, Onyx?"

Onyx barked once. "I agree. Not a great showing, but acceptable."

"Oh, big brother, what would you have done differently?" Barbara snarked.

Roland smiled, "Use clubs."