“ I mean are we sure about this?”
Boss looked down at Bastion with worry. Technically, Bastion was under his command, but as Bastion was a lot stronger than him he did not want to use the same tone as he would with the kobolds.
“ Tell me, Boss, is this what we wanted?”
Boss looked around the hoard of treasures and wealth and sighs.
| (Blue)“ Where did we go wrong Bastion? I treated the kobold descendants like my own. Trained them all the exact same way. Why did they start caring for more than I could provide?” |
Bastion closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“ Remember what we were told long ago, the greed of mortals is the only thing more powerful than the gods.”
Boss closed his eyes as well, it was over a minute before those they had requested started to arrive. Many of the higher-ranking citizens of the dungeon city. The first to appear is Lord Joseph, leader of the military. Behind him was the high priest Marvel, leader of the church. Then came William, head of the merchant and commerce council. There were others as well, each being led by these three. William, being a merchant, quickly took the lead to gain the initiative.
“ Great dungeon guardian, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Boss opened his eyes and looked at the smaller figure. After all the centuries he has lived, he finally got to prime adult age and never aged again after that.
“ You mean to say, forced you to meet me. I shall not hide the fact you are only here now because I made my notice very public.”
William’s eye twitched but he kept his merchant facade up.
“ We are still humbled to stand in your presence.”
Boss looked toward the other two.
“ I shall not take up much of your time. A few days at most.”
This caused all three of them to frown slightly. This caused the high priest to step forward.
“ Perchance, you may enlighten us why we were summoned?”
Boss focused on him. Seeing who he truly is, he thought about how his original religious descendants would say some not so nice things if they were still alive.
“ In part, it is about the recent war with the kingdom I once had a great friendship with.”
This caused them to become slightly defensive. Joseph took the lead this time.
“ They were planning to invade us. We…”
Boss raised from his resting position and leaned his head down.
“ You should have let them invade, I am a dungeon by the gods. Being invaded by greedy mortals is standard. Do you know how p*ss*d the gods of war and the god of adventure were? If it was not for that forbidden magic being cast early on by a traitor on their side, we would be in a never-ending war with the rest of the world. Even then I had to make several hefty concessions.”
They grimaced at that. Boss knew that they noticed several piles of so-called treasures were missing, and those were the least valuable things missing.
“ Now, I know each of you has plans to request I take over the conquered land and convert it to dungeon land. I am saying it right now, NO! One of the concessions I had to make is that expansion. Naturally, people can settle there, but they will not be graced by my gifts nor be called a member of Deep Hollow.”
If they seemed annoyed before, anger was a more appropriate word now.
“ Next, because someone decided to start a war without consulting me. With an entity, I had an OATH with…”
Boss paused to let that sink in a little.
“ I will be caring for the remainder of the royal family and aid them in reestablishing their kingdom. Unlike before, I will aid the chosen head of the kingdom to the rank of S for ten generations.”
Joseph could not hold it anymore and stepped forward.
“ You gotta be joking, we lost thousands in that war, and you are going to let them rebuild like nothing has happened, with more power than some of us who spent over a century training to achieve?”
Boss leaned forward, close enough that his snout almost touched Joseph.
“ I had always respected my descendants’ wishes and left them to their own devices. It was never my place to be a guiding parent. That I left to the actual parents, but we, as the dungeon, have always been watching and supporting you all. Those that wanted to protect their home, I gave them the means to fight. Those that wanted a purpose, I gave all the resources they ever need to pick up a trade. Those that wanted the guidance of the gods, I gave you all the freedom to seek out whoever you wished. But NEVER have I given any of you the right to question me. If you do not like my decision then there is a vast and sparsely populated region to the north you can go to and live.”
Boss backed away and settled down to a resting position again. He noticed Joseph with a hand on his sword.
“ How dare you, I am Lord Joseph, of the line of the great William. I will not be talked down to like a child.”
Suddenly a blue menu appeared between Boss and the others. It showed William a few months after the caravan invasion while he was on guard at the gate and the woman who later became his wife by his side.
“ I do not see why you are infatuated with me Brenda, most of the strength I showed I borrowed from the dungeon.”
Brenda smiled at him and looked down the same empty road he did.
“ There are many kinds of strength my lovely dragonkin. The strength of one’s level is one thing, but the strength of one’s heart is a much greater force. It is not every day you meet someone willing to fight a demon noble.”
Will could not resist scratching his cheek.
“ I guess you got me there. Still, it taught me an important lesson. Having the strength to protect my home, does not mean I can protect everyone. But I will remain here, on the boundary between those I would give my life for and those that would take them away from me. Perhaps this way, the evils of the outside world will not seep into our peaceful home.”
Brenda then looked at Will with a smile and took her hand and put it on his cheek. A moment later she initiated a passionate kiss. Whom the recipient was at first surprised before engrossed in the kiss as well.
“ Uncle! Uncle! It’s time for dinner!”
Will turned to behind him to find a pair of young twins running toward him. As they drew closer the image faded away. And started revealing another image. It was a pair of those twins’ descendants generations later. Beginning in a hug before they got comfortable beside a cozy fire.
“ So the great dungeon of Florez? It must have been quite an adventure.”
The other woman sighed and leaned back on the pillow annoyed.
“ By the goddess Loyee, that was a murder hole. I lost several friends there. We were a sanctioned survey team for the dungeon’s sake. If it was not for Hollow sending in Bastion, I think we would all be dead.”
The other woman laughed.
“ So that was why you were moaning his name last night when I made my rounds.”
The first took a pillow from beside her and planted her face into it embarrassed.
“ Eww, no, he is like our uncle or something like that. I am not really sure how it works with dungeon biology.”
The other woman stared at her, sure she was hiding the truth.
“ By the gods fine, yes, we did it. I mean, he is so hot and powerful, and powerful where it counts.”
There was a laugh.
“ Don’t stop, details.”
She goes on to explain a few events before Bastion destroyed the dungeon core for breaking the accords. When they got out they spent the night in an inn where Bastion was a gentleman in the kindest term. That night she snuck into his room and offered herself to him. She goes on to explain how he must have expected this from her as she was found in his bed alone in the morning. A note on the table stating he enjoyed the night but had to return. The image began to fade as it zoomed on the said note.
———-
“ Wait, so you’re the father of her girls?”
Bastion blushed a little to Boss’s comment.
“ I asked Voice to keep it secret. Later on we made a deal with Loyee for her to become dungeon attached as my wife. She is actually still exploring the world and doing tasks for the goddess as her agent.”
Boss thought for a moment then shook his head.
“ Who would have thought I would be the last one to get a girlfriend. Whenever she decides to appear.”
