DungeonFall – [A Dungeon Creation / Cultivation Story]

“What did HE want?” Nina hissed as Nate walked into the living room. Both parents had already been briefed by George.

“Leon wanted to make an overture of sorts, a peace offering because of everything going on.” He pulled on the check and presented it to his parents. “I thought some additional funds might help get the company up and running easier.”

Niall gingerly took the check and turned to George. “What do you think? Was asking for this money a good idea? What about us accepting it?”

“You have no choice but to accept it. It’ll just be wasted otherwise. Leon won’t care whether or not that ever gets cashed, only that Nathan took it. But yes, I think it was a good idea. Money is something he understands; he knew there would be a price to pay for what his daughter did. Honestly, asking for money instead of justice or revenge was the best call. He probably would have killed you on the spot, regardless of me being here.”

Nate gulped. He had somewhat figured all of that was the case, but having it laid out so plainly was intimidating.

“What’s done is done. Let’s just avoid opening the door if any more people stop by.” He suggested wryly. “We’re obviously not equipped to deal with these people.”

“Well, while I agree with that.” George began with a short deprecating laugh. “I don’t think you’re going to have a choice in the matter.” He tilted his chin toward the road visible through the window along the wall facing the road.

The group had yet to move from the living room and had a prime viewing spot as two more cars rolled to a stop in front of the house.

Niall cursed and grabbed Nate’s arm, pulling him into the kitchen. “Leon was one thing. According to the accounts they told in the courtroom, his daughter was a reluctant participant. Those other two, however, are absolute psychos.”

George nodded gravely. “That is indeed the case. I believe they are the ones who instigated everything. She has been merely trying to protect them. It would be best if Nate did not appear in front of them right now.”

“You won’t hear an argument from me. Just be careful.” He hurried into the kitchen and behind the dividing wall, where he would be out of sight. He didn’t think any of them had advanced their cultivation enough to sense presences yet. As long as he was out of sight, then he should be safe.

At least, that was the hope.

“I’m sorry you got involved in all of this, George,” Nina apologized as they waited for the second group to approach the door.

“Oh, it’s fine. I know this is serious, but it’s also entertaining in its own way. I rarely get to be entertained anymore. Besides, they won’t dare to do anything too stupid with me around. My cultivation realm might be lower than theirs, but my influence is greater, especially right now.” The healer was rather satisfied with himself for the moment.

Nate rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he listened to the man boast. He hoped what he was saying was true, but it was like he had said earlier. The two were the ones who had raised insane children. It was doubtful they were playing with a full deck mentally themselves.

Anything could happen with people like this.

Why did they have to come here anyway? He would have thought they had other people to bother.

A firm fist pounded on the door, announcing their presence as they ignored the doorbell. A habit that he only now noticed George had as well.

Niall wiped his sweaty hands down the side of his pants and opened the door. “Hello, what can we do for the two of you this fine night?”

The two men began to snarl, only to stop as they saw George standing behind him, beside Nina.

“We wish to speak to the boy, regarding the… unfortunate incident that happened earlier this year.” The one on the left said, his eyes darting around the inside of the home.

“Is that all you want, Randall?” George demanded. “The rumors I’ve been hearing about your boy and the lack of punishment after the attack say otherwise. That goes for you as well, Dean. Neither of you disciplined your boys for what they did to Nate.”

“And how does this matter to you, George? How are you involved?” Dean sneered, his lip curling unpleasantly.

“I’m the one who is healing the damage your kids did to him, so you could say I am involved in a way. Besides, you all should be glad I wasn’t the one they had inspecting the boy in the courtroom. I have no idea how much you paid that charlatan, but I hope it was worth it. I’ve already ensured they’ll never work in this city again.”

The first man, Randall, spoke up again. “Well, due to certain circumstances beyond our control, we’ve had to start doing a certain amount of damage mitigation.”

“Yes, that’s what happens when you let your family members act in any manner they see fit. They tend to piss off people they shouldn’t.” George told them dryly.

“Regardless,” Nina shouted. “What does any of that have to do with the two of you showing up on our doorstep? We all saw the signs that were placed outside the building there. Even if you make up for what your sons did to our son, how does that help you?”

“Truthfully, it probably won’t.” Dean sighed and took off his fedora. “However, we have to try something, and your son’s case drew a lot of publicity. Bad publicity for us. So, we chose a few of the highest profiles ones our families have been involved in, and here we are.”

“A little disingenuous when you explain it like that,” Niall muttered.

“Like you would have believed we were here for any other reason anyway?” Randall snapped back. He clearly did like not being put in his current position. Neither of them did.

“It would have been a bit more genuine if you had brought the kids along to apologize. But I suppose that would have backfired far too easily.” Nina said quietly.

“Have you met their kids? They’re absolute nightmares. There is no doubt in my mind it would have backfired as soon as one of them decided to open their mouth. This was definitely the better option.” George supplied.

Dean and Randall both growled at the man as he spoke ill of their sons. “Watch what you say, George. We’ll be back on top soon enough, and then we’ll be coming for you.”

Nate wanted to groan at the cliché lines. Didn’t these two realize that they were giving his parents all the reason they needed to say no?

“Well, I suppose we’ll have to do our best to make sure that journey takes as long as possible then,” Niall told them firmly, standing up straight against the combined weight of their gazes. “We will not be participating in your little publicity stunt.”

With that decided, he slammed the door in their faces and held his breath.

George and Nina stared at him in astonishment, their brows raised. “Well, if they didn’t hate you before, they certainly do now.”

Nina nodded at the healer’s words, unable to say anything for several moments. “Dear, that is one of the bravest and stupidest things I have ever seen you do. Don’t ever do anything like that again!”

Nate slowly stepped back into the living room and slowly clapped. “Congratulations, you’ve just made some very powerful people mad at us. If we didn’t have a target on our back before because of what happened to me, we do now.”

George nodded. “He’s right. You all are probably fine where Leon is concerned, but with those two…” He shook his head. “If you thought you had problems before with everyone after what happened with Nate, then this will be an eye-opener for sure.”

“Even now?” Nina asked in a small voice. “What about their general authority in the city falling by the wayside?”

“It has diminished, yes, but it is still there.”

“Um, mom, dad, why don’t you go get as much paperwork for the company done as you can? It would probably be best if you could submit it tomorrow before Dean and Randall start to cause us problems.”

“He’s got a point. Why don’t both of you get started on that, along with depositing that check? Meanwhile, I’ll do another session of healing on Nate. After I’m finished, I’ll come down and see if I can help you with anything.” George offered, knowing how much they needed to rush now.

Upstairs, George took hold of his hands and began the now familiar process.

A while later, he separated from a sweating, aching Nathan and tapped his fingernails on the nearby desk. “Your energy keeps increasing.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” He ground out.

“Yes, it’s just a little lopsided, in your case. Your damaged meridians are doing the work for your entire body at the moment. Until the rest of your destroyed meridians are healed enough to be used and your core is functional, your system is off balance. It’s just amazing to me how quickly you can cultivate in your current condition. I suppose, you must have been a genius at your old school before this happened.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Regardless, be careful and don’t go overboard. Your newly healed meridians will need time to adjust. So don’t try to push them right away.”

“Yeah, but I mean, they’re not fully healed yet, either. Are they?”

George smacked him on the back of the head. “Don’t be daft, boy. Of course, they aren’t. You’re still a long way from being fully healed. I was talking about the meridians I had managed to fix.”

Nate rubbed the back of his head, enjoying the pleasant full-body ache that came with each of these healing sessions. “Do you think those three will send their families to investigate the building more?”

“I’d be surprised if they haven’t already,” George replied grimly. “Their families are sworn to maintain the defense of our city. It is part of what allowed them and other families like them to reach such heights. Now, however, it appears that they have forgotten those oaths.”

“And now they’re potentially sending off a large portion of their cultivation force into the dimensional zone to inspect the building.” Nate felt a shiver of uncertainty run through him at the news.

These cultivators that would likely be coming to the dungeon soon wouldn’t be like the rest. These would be trained warriors who were strong in their own right. He didn’t know if the dungeon was ready to meet people like that just yet.

They could arrive and just steamroll through everything. It was a possibility that he did not want to happen. If they destroyed the core, then that was it. The dungeon was done.

He could continue on as a cultivator, but he would always know that something was missing, that he had lost his chance. It’d be like losing a part of himself.

No, he needed to lock down the dungeon and make those traps as good as he could before they arrived. It was what he had been working towards the entire time, and now it had become imperative that he did even more.

The guild master nodded. “I should let the mayor know. I doubt he’ll be happy at the news of what they’re doing.”

“Is there anything he can even do?” Nate asked. “The city’s defense force was gutted, I thought.”

“Oh, it was, but that’s not the only ace the mayor has up his sleeve. If he chooses to go that route, then life for those three families will get very difficult.”

“How so?”

George stood up with a cryptic smile. “You don’t need to worry about that just yet. Just know that there are contingencies in place. Ah, before I forget, how was your visit with Angela and her parents today?”

“Did you know that her mother, Trissa, had set up an engagement of sorts between her and some family named the McFadden’s? Because Angela certainly didn’t, and it all came to light while I was there earlier. It was… interesting.”

George cursed, his gaze darkening. “That fool woman! What was she thinking? Tell me everything.”