The next room was the same as the previous room. Searching revealed two more symbols on the archways. The exciting thing was that the symbols were not the same as in the last room, but they were very similar. These symbols were that of a target with three concentric rings and four arrows behind it so that the arrowhead pointed one way and the nock pointed the other way. It was the same symbol, just stylized differently.

They continued in this vein for a dozen rooms. Each set of symbols was the same but in a different style. Doris explained that it was nice to see some creativity in the design, and several of them did look rather lovely. James had a hard time appreciating the esthetics of the symbols considering the Dungeon was trying to kill them. The last room they entered had a door. It looked similar to the first room in that there was a closed door, but there were no marks on the ceiling.

"Now we need to figure out how to open the door," Barbara pointed out the obvious.

"Have you checked to see if it is locked?" Connie asked.

Doris shrugged and grabbed the handle on the door. When Doris grabbed the handle, three slabs of stone fell from the ceiling into each of the archways. All the exits from the room were sealed.

"It's a trap!" James shouted, looking around for the enemy.

"I am glad you have finally learned the 'Obvious' Skill," Roland snarked.

"Look up!" Barbara called out.

James saw several large droplets fall from the ceiling. Everyone moved to ensure they didn't get hit by the droplets or splashed. The droplets didn't splash or splatter but held their cohesion as they turned into large blobs with fluid tentacles that lashed out at the nearest person.

Name: Race: ? Level: 12 Damage Range: 2 - 16 +28 Damage Type: Bludgeoning/Acid Armour Rating: 0 Special: Melee - Tentacle, Acid, Resistant to Slashing/Bludgeoning/Piercing, Fire, Cold, Poison, Disease, Acid Damage

James called out to the group, "They are resistant to Fire and Poison, as well as weapon damage."

His warning was late for Connie as she caught three of the blobs in a Lesser Fireball. The three creatures lost some of their mass as it was blown away by the Lesser Fireball's concussive force but were otherwise unharmed. James activated Grasping Shadowy Tendrils, but the tendrils did not affect the creatures in the slightest.

Doris held two at bay with her shield and stabbed out with her Enchanted Arming Sword. The weapon didn't appear to be doing much damage, if any. James' Shield Bash worked well when he used it against the closest blob to him, but his Glick Sword met no resistance and seemed to cause no damage as it passed right through the creature. James Dodged two appendages swiped at him from a second blob and then rolled away. Once up, he launched a PSI Bolt at the closest blob. The spell hit but didn't seem to do any damage at all.

Barbara released a couple of arrows before changing tactics. One of her arrows passed through one of the creatures and exploded on the other side of the room. Roland and Onyx were keeping four blobs occupied as they danced around, Dodging and evading their attacks.

"Onyx, move back, girl!" James shouted at the dog.

"She's fine," Roland shouted, "I think she is having fun."

"Make sure she doesn't eat any of them. They are made of acid." James retorted.

"I don't think that her Intelligence is that low," Roland responded with a chuckle.

Suddenly, one of the blobs was blasted with a Magic Dart, which caused its mass to reduce significantly. "Force Damage seems to work," Connie reported.

A second arrow struck one of the creatures, and the ricocheted off the stone floor and bounced away, "Fuck!" Barbara shouted from her corner as the arrow exploded harmlessly in the distance.

"Try throwing them," Doris shouted.

The Magic Darts that Connie used didn't do much damage, but more than any of them were able to do with their weapons. Doris, James and Roland used their shields to stay on the defensive as Connie and Barbara worked to kill the blobs. Barbara finally got one of her arrows to land in one of the blobs and stay long enough for the arrow to detonate. This created a new problem as the blob exploded, spraying acid in every direction. The blast destroyed the creature, but Doris lost the rest of her shield. The shield wasn't very usable after the Were Rat sank its sword in it, but she still used it. Now it was useless. James and Roland's shields were far more resilient to the damage.

"Fall back, Doris," her brother called out. "Enchanted weapons and armour are not affected by the acid the same way as mundane items."

"My armour is not Enchanted," James said as he moved over to cover Doris' retreat.

"Then I guess you will be getting new armour," Roland grinned.

James frowned. So far, his shield had protected him from most random attacks. The few times that the blobs were able to bypass the shield, James had employed Dodge. That aside, he had still been hit a couple of times by the acid blobs, and his armour had stopped the damage. The big question was how much durability did he lose. Fortunately, Glezda would be able to replace it with relative ease.

Roland and James did their job of keeping the blobs at bay while Connie and Barbara blasted them apart. James' armour was pitted and scarred when it was all done, but his shield was fine. The same for Roland, his armour and shield had a few scars, and they hardly looked like they had been fighting with an acid beast.

When the last of the Amorphous creatures were destroyed, the door popped open and blocks leading out of the room withdrew into the ceiling.

"Told you it was a trap," Barbara quipped, elbowing Doris, who only

scowled in response.

Connie came over to James and handed him the Mana Crystal, "Sorry, but it is empty."

"Empty? That was two hundred and fifty Mana!" James exclaimed.

Connie nodded, "Yup, and that was a dozen higher-level creatures who could only be hurt with Mana Dart and Lesser Fireball. I also used it during the fight with the rats, remember."

Barbara sighed, "I am out, too. Connie killed those last two creatures."

"Alright, you rest up, and I will put what I can in the Mana Crystal. Do you think we can rest for an hour?" James asked.

"We only have about twenty minutes left on the Potion of Bonus Experience," Doris advised.

James looked around to the others, "Your call."

Barbara held up a hand, "I can still use regular arrows, but they won't have any bonus effects."

Doris added, "I am still good. I used Nerissa's Blessing for the bonus Health, so I am good."

Connie shrugged, "I used up the Mana Crystal first and then used my own Mana because I knew James' Mana recovered faster than mine. I have a little more than 100 Mana."

James looked at Roland, who shrugged, "I am good."

"Most of the Mana I used at the beginning of the battle has already been recovered. So, I am good," James white-lied.

"Then I say we good on," Barbara offered. Connie and Doris agreed.

"Then let me go first. I can at least take a hit," James suggested.

"That is true. I remember that ballista to the gut you took at point blank

range. Better you than me." Doris agreed. "As long as you don't die, of course," she added with a grin.

"Gee, thanks,"

James stepped through the doorway and into the hallway beyond, hosting his shield in the ready position. The hallway wasn't long and ended in a circular room about 10 meters across with an unopened chest in the middle.

"What does your 'What is your 'Obvious' Skill tell you about this room?" Roland asked James with a smile.

"A trap," James agreed.

Rocko entered the room and looked around, "I would say that the door closes when the chest is opened, and something pops out and tries to eat you."

James agreed with Rocko, 'I could use Telekinesis to open the lid.'

"Only has a range of two meters," Rocko reminded him.

"I think we will be attacked when the lid is opened, so get ready," James advised. James waited until everyone was in position.

Doris looked out of place without her shield as she held her Arming Sword with two hands. Her armour held up well to the acid, but it was because it was Enchanted. Shifting from foot to foot, she gave a head nod to James.

Connie still had a Wand of Flame Bolts and the Wand of Acid Bolts with charges. With the wands ready, she nodded to James and stood with her back to the circular wall.

Barbara had her bow and an arrow nocked. She didn't hesitate to give James the nod.

Onyx sat next to Roland. James noticed she was sticking with Roland but figured he was keeping her safe. He was a little taken aback when

Roland and Onyx gave him the nod to indicate they were ready.

Shaking his head, James turned and lifted the lid.

James wasn't surprised when he heard the door back down the hallway close. What did surprise him was when an opening in the wall appeared that was not there a second ago. Inside was a hideous beast.

Name: ? Race: Chaos Beast (Boss) Level: 14 Damage Range: ? Damage Type: Piercing, ? Armour Rating: 42 Special: Melee - Bite, Claw, ?

The creature that stepped into the room was about the size of a horse. But there was no symmetry with the beast. The head came out the right shoulder at an angle, and it possessed five legs, none of which appeared to be the same. It had patches of fur, bare skin, armour plating and a shell. There were also spiky protrusions in some areas. It looked like a mix-mash of creatures thrown in a blender and randomly stuck together. Regardless of its origins, he jumped out of the alcove it had been hiding in and attacked.

Before it could sink its teeth in Barbara, Roland flashed across the room and slammed into it with his shield. The beast was knocked sideways and staggered for several steps before recovering. The rest of the group had not been idle as James activated a Grasping Shadowy Tendrils. This time the Power worked on the beast as several of its legs were caught. Doris stayed back to defend Connie as her sister launched Acid Bolts from the wand.

Roland back offed when the tendrils secured the creature and waited. This creature was relatively easy, considering the previous Boss. Barbara could now fire her arrows and aim at the creature's legs to hobble it. James launched a PSI Bolt, which seemed to have an effect, which he was also pleased to see.

Having spoken too soon, James watched as the creature charged Doris. It moved as fast as Roland had only moments earlier and slammed into Doris. She tried to step aside, but the beast was moving too fast, and she was a bit for her efforts. James was a little surprised at the volume and intensity of the scream, considering that it didn't appear to be a severe bite. Doris fell to the floor and started to convulse.

James Shadow Stepped between the Chaos Beast and Connie and used Shield Slam to stun it for a few seconds. Stabbing it with his sword did damage, but the creature didn't appear to be that hurt.

Roland moved to flank the creature and got his Warhammer ready. Obviously, he wanted to kill it, but he only hesitated because he didn't want to take any of the Experience. "Don't let it bite you!" he offered.

James chuckled, "You learned the Skill, too, I see."

James Dodged the Chaos Beast's next attack and blocked a claw with his shield. Barbara had moved forward, grabbed Doris by the collar, and pulled her from being under James' feet. Connie used the wand twice more before switching to the next one.

James had to stay defensive as he feared the creature's bite. He was surprised when the beast spit an Acid Bolt at him. The Bolt was easy to dodge, but he wasn't the target. Connie to the Acid Bolt and screamed in pain.

"That's it," Roland said and swung his Warhammer. The impact spun the creature around as the Warhammer tore a massive chuck out of its hindquarters.

James took advantage of the distraction and Thrust his blade into its back, now that it was facing the other way. His blade sank deeply into its flesh. Between James and Roland, the creature didn't stand a chance. James had to use Dodge several times and used Shield Slam again. Roland used his shield to block the attacks, and his Warhammer repeatedly smashed down on the creature.

When it was done, James was given a couple of Notifications.

Dexterity +1

Armour - Medium +1

Back Attack +1

Crit Strick - Sword +1

Evasion +1

Shield +1

Spending several minutes dodging and blocking those acid blobs seemed to bump up his Skills.

Congratulations! You have defeated the Chaos Beast!

A Boss of the Sandstone Temple.

Reward - 100 (40% based on contribution). (110) Experience and 4 (5) Free Advantage points

James was surprised that he only got 40% of the damage on the Chaos Beast. He knew that Roland was 5 levels higher than him, but he didn't think the damage range would have been that great.

Looking over at Doris, he saw her surrounded by her family. She had not regained consciousness, but at least she wasn't having a seizure.

"Is she going to be okay?" James asked, keeping a respectful distance.

"I don't know," Connie said through tears. "All her bones have been liquified."

'Rocko?' James asked his friend.

"I have never heard of a Chaos Beast, but I will go check. Get the loot from the room, and I will meet you in the Safe room."

James nodded as he watched Rocko fade from view. "Let's get her back to the Safe Room."

"It will take all of us to carry her," Roland said, I don't want her bending more than necessary."

Barbara ran to the chest and looked inside, "It's empty!"