"TWO HUNDRED!" James shouted.

"Shhh," Connie admonished him without looking up at him.

"You talking with your imaginary friend again?" Roland grinned.

James waved to Connie, "Sorry." Turning to Roland, he sighed, "Ya, he told me that he thought there were about two hundred Swarms. That's nuts!"

Roland nodded, "Sounds about right."

James blinked, "How can you be so calm? They should have killed us all!"

"Shh," Connie admonished him again.

James held up a hand, "Sorry."

"You have an area of effect Spells," Roland reminded him.

James shook his head, "Ya, but not everyone does."

Roland shrugged a shoulder, "I do. I know Doris has something, although it is not a large area. Barbara is the only one who doesn't."

James agreed, "True, but we would need sustained damage, as opposed to just a burst of damage."

Roland shrugged his shoulder again, "I don't know about that. I could have killed them all in one shot if they were close enough. I suspect you could kill them in about three hits. Doris would have run out of Mana before she killed them all, but I think she would have still survived."

James looked over at Doris and Barbara. Doris had just noticed that Barbara was moving coins around to different piles. Barbara was laughing, even as Doris reached for her sword. Connie had to shush them too.

"I think that Dungeons can see your abilities. When you enter the Dungeon, they plan on testing you. They can't make a bottomless trap to kill you, but they can challenge you. Pit their Skill against yours." Roland laughed at his pun. James had to agree. It was better than some of the puns he had come up with. He had to agree with Roland. When he helped Glezda improve her Dungeon, he had to change some of his trap ideas because they were considered too deadly for her level or were not permitted. What Roland said makes sense.

"Do you get the sense that they are not taking this Dungeon very seriously?" James asked Roland as he watched Doris move all the coins away from Barbara. James could see that there was a coin pouch behind Barbara's back.

"They are young. Doris is the oldest, and she only turned forty-five." Roland explained.

"I'm forty-two," James clarified.

Roland looked at him, "As I said, young."

Rocko laughed, and James joined in. "You're only fifty, so not much older than we are."

Roland tapped the side of his nose and winked, "I am older than that, my young friend."

James shrugged, "No matter. They seem ... youthful."

Roland nodded, "Elves age much slower than Humans. In your terms, they are teenagers."

"That still seems too young."

"How old can people go to fight and kill in your world?" Roland asked.

James didn't want to answer. He knew it was too young, but then again, any age is too young to have to fight and kill. But neither of them lived in a world where peace was an option.

Deciding to change the subject, James pointed at Onyx, "Looks like you made a friend." Onyx responded by thumping her tail.

"I fear my legs have fallen asleep," Roland said with a rueful smile.

************************

When Connie finished her scroll, she took twenty minutes to memorize the Spell. Most of the others ate and took a nap. At one point during the rest period, James saw Doris praying. It reminded him that he had a Patron and should spend time communicating with him.

'Hey, Rocko, any information on the advantages of Prayer?' James asked.

"Other than the fact that your god may answer your prayers?" Rocko asked in return.

'When I talked with Ignatius, he mentioned that praying helped him. I wasn't sure what he meant by that.' James replied.

"I know that the gods get something from their followers. Not sure what it is called, but it is a pool of energy they can only get from their faithful. The more they get, the more they can do." Rocko explained.

'Like Mana?'

"Probably, but used for creating miracles."

'So, how do we get Ignatius more followers?' James inquired.

Rocko shrugged, "No idea, but it looks like I will be looking into it."

Connie cheered, "Woohoo! Done. Memorized one Fireball!"

"Lesser Fireball," Barbara corrected, but Connie just stuck her tongue out at her.

"Good, because I'm bored," Doris grunted as she stood up.

Roland grunted as he pushed Onyx off his legs and got up. James could tell he hurt from the blood circulation returning to his legs.

"Okay. So, you said the next door led to Pestilence?" James asked Doris.

"Yes. Disease, Plague, Pestilence. All of those things." Doris confirmed.

James frowned, "Alright, unless there is anything else, let's go."

By consensus, the group had decided to put the gem into the slot before trying to open the door. Although they didn't see any differences or changes, it felt right. James opened the door and stepped into a hallway that arched over his head. It reminded him of a sewer. Although it didn't have the stench of raw sewage, the look was correct. The walls were made of brick that arched overhead. The tunnel was about 3 meters wide and two meters high in the center. Approximately every ten meters, a pipe would empty into the sewer, a slow run off of brown sludge into the mix on the ground. Taking the lead, he moved further into the tunnel, confident that the others would follow him.

"Can any of you see anything? I can't see anything more than a straight tunnel," James asked.

Barbara stepped beside him, "I can tell that the tunnel curves to the left up ahead."

After several minutes of nothing happening, James suggested they move forward. As soon as Roland was several meters from the door, it closed.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. The group continued to move forward, although James could not see any changes in the tunnel.

Doris paused, "I hear something."

James looked around carefully for the threat that Barbara heard.

"I hear something down the tunnel," Doris repeated

It was several minutes before James started to hear the scratching of many feet scrabbling over stone and the squeak of rats fighting each other. It wasn't long after that the first wave came into view.

"Shit! Rats!" Doris shouted as she turned to run back down the tunnel. It was still a couple of seconds before James saw them.

Name: ? Race: Plague Rat (Swarm) Level: 7 Damage Range: 1-4 +18 Damage Type: Piercing Armour Rating: 6 Special: Melee - Bite, Disease (Plague)

James stumbled backwards as the wave of rats rushed toward him. Suddenly a wall of ice appeared between him and the rats, blocking them from view.

"What the hell!" James shouted.

"We have to get out of here!" Connie shouted, grabbing James by the arm.

The only one who seemed calm was Roland. Even Onyx was caught up in the anxiety of the situation.

"Rocko, Do I have the points for that area root Power?" James asked aloud.

"Yes. But one we were planning on getting was Tier 2, which is 40 Advantage points. This one is Tier 4, which is 80 Advantage points," Rocko confirmed.

"Get it. We are going to need it." Turning to Connie, he got her attention, "Connie! When that Spell drops, I need you to launch a fireball. I can cast a root spell that will hold them for a few seconds, but it should be long enough for you to blast them. Can you do that?"

Connie's eyes were wide with panic, but she nodded.

"Good, we will repeat that several times. I will root them, and you will blast them," James confirmed with her.

He then turned to Doris, "Doris, I need you to hold firm. If any get past us, kill them. Use your Shield of Faith to make sure you don't take any damage. We have no way of curing disease."

Barbara gave him a cocky grin, "What do you want me to do?"

James looked back at the Wall of Ice, "There may be too many of them to take out with your bow, but focus on the ones who get close to us. Use the Firebombs if you have to."

"Rocko, does that rooting power cause damage?" James asked his friend.

"No."

James nodded as he dropped from the group, "Make sure you ladies drink your potions. I don't think that wall is going to last much longer."

"It should last ten minutes," Connie corrected him.

"Sure, if they were not actively chewing through it," James pointed out.

James watched as the sisters drank their second Potion of Bonus Experience (50). They moved back until James could just make out the Wall of Ice, and then Doris stood in front, her shield and arming sword at the ready. Barbara stood to one side, her bow nocked with an arrow and a Firebomb clenched between her teeth. James wanted to suggest a better way to hold the Firebomb but decided she would figure it out. Connie stood behind Doris and was mumbling the Lesser Fireball Spell to herself. This would be the first time she would be casting it, and she was worried she might fuck it up.

The last one James checked on was Roland. He stood in the back with this warhammer in one hand and his shield in the other. There was a faint glow coming from the warhammer. It was bright enough that James could see the smile on Roland's face. When Roland caught his eye, he gave James a wink. James sighed, at least someone was not worried about a massive Swarm of Plague Rats.

"They're breaking through!" Doris shouted.

James turned and cast Grasping Shadowy Tendrils in front of the Wall of Ice. A patch of inky blackness rose from the ground, with tendrils of darkness reaching upwards as the rats entered the black patch. James was impressed with the size of the zone that spanned the width of the tunnel and grabbed the rats as they ran through a couple of small holes in the wall of Ice.

James moved beside Connie, "Cast your Fireball, Connie. I will recast my root spell." As Connie cast her Lesser Fireball, James activated the Grasping Shadowy Tendrils Power. It was 40 PSI per cast, but it was well worth it if it stopped the rats.

The Lesser Fireball shot from Connie's outstretched hand and zipped forward as a small ball of fire. About the size of a softball. When it struck the wall of Ice, it exploded into a ball of fiery death. James could feel the heat radiate from the ball of fire from his position twenty meters away. The rats that were caught in the flames exploded in every direction. Several were propelled towards them. Fortunately, they were easy to see as they were on fire. Regardless, James' Power activated a second after the Fireball, and a new patch of darkness appeared on the ground. The Ice wall was mainly gone at this point, and the wave of Rats surged forward. Most of them were caught in by the tendrils, but James noticed that not all of them were. Reacting quickly, he dropped another Grasping Shadowy Tendrils a meter before the wave of Rats.

"Keep casting," James dropped his sword and reached under his armour for his Mana Crystal. It took a few seconds to get it out, but he continued to activate the root Power whenever a new surge overloaded the tendrils. Connie was casting her Lesser Fireball Spell into the surging mass, but it only seemed to scatter them as flaming rodents.

"Here, use this if you have to," James said, handing her the crystal.

An explosion from a Firebomb went off in a small group of rats getting close. James wanted to drop a root in that area but needed to focus on the main body.

Each activation of the power was several meters closer each time. Out of his eye, he noticed Onyx munching on a rat that got too close to her side of the tunnel. Doris used her boots more than her sword. Kicking rats back down the tunnel or stomping on them if they were on fire.

"Start falling back!" James called out.

It wasn't a perfect formation, but Doris took a step back, and when Connie finished casting her Spell, she stepped back several steps before releasing the next Spell. Barbara easily kept pace with them while continuing to launch her Summoned Arrows.

James was about to call to Connie to cast another Wall of Ice to give them a breather when he noticed that there were no more rats. Or at least there were no more Swarms. Scattered around the tunnel were a few individual rats that Barbara, Onyx or Doris picked off if they got too close to her. James put a hand on Connie's arm to stop her from continuing to cast.

"Can you see any more?" James asked generally. Doris shook her head.

"Barbara, how are you doing?" Connie cried softly, clutching the Mana Crystal to her chest. James kept his hand on her arm for support.

Barbara shrugged, "Good. Almost out of Mana, so I only have a few arrows left. I used most of my real arrows, so I hope to collect them when the fire burns down."

James surveyed the scene in front of him. There were many patches of burning bodies, the stench of burning flesh and fur was thick in the air. Now and again, he could see a twitching body or flaming rat run a few meters before falling over.

Roland stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Connie as she began to cry, and held her in a hug, "The good news is that you are now level 11. The bad news is that for us to proceed, we need to walk through that hellscape."