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^^ the Wine Cellar's Entrance, pre-update ^^

— Gina —

There was, in fact, a basement; a three-hundred-foot across basement, fifty feet deep, full of mostly-empty wine racks and surrounded by yet another hundred feet of a parking garage that was accessed by way of the Front Door to the property, -a non-demarcated and private off ramp inside one of the many highway tunnels in the city, not the back door we'd come through,- meaning to enter this massive room, you didn't even have to see the Tower, much less enter it, or even know of its existence.

"So if I made this entire 'wine cellar' into a club, with the bottom floors as a high-class casino and lounge and the top as private rooms available only by appointment, the invitees wouldn't ever even know where in the city they are, even if by some weird miracle they find their way upstairs, because we're in the middle of the woods?" I asked carefully, clarifying as I looked down into the empty canvass of a room.

"I thought you'd like that, yes. And up top there's seven floors of tower and a rooftop terrace for you to do whatever you want with!"

"And if I asked, you could probably find some people who like gambling amongst the Waking World, and would appreciate such a location enough to visit it frequently and gamble large amounts of money?"

"I... no, I couldn't do that, I don't have enough close friends for that, but Thomas could. He may even be one of them, as he enjoys cards very much, more than he should sometimes."

"You trust your husband to go to a casino full of naked women?" I nodded appreciatively at their apparently healthy relationship, only to have a snort surprised out of me by her casual response.

"Oh, I don't worry, he's too shy to do anything he'd regret! Couldn't look at a naked woman for more than a second before turning into a fire hydrant!"

"Well, regardless... yes, that's my plan. Lower floors as a casino, restaurant, lounge, with a big empty ballroom floor there in the middle, a little smaller than it is now... top floors just elegant doors with big brass knockers, old fashioned, then they open into little hallways with individual suites attached. Private Card Rooms with much higher buy-ins hidden off in some of the private suites, not a lot but not too few... ladies walking the floor with platters of drinks and taking men off into the side chambers for their various carnal delights... I can see it now... a lovely den of greed and debauchery, hidden underneath a lovely park that is left untouched by the sin being committed below, and a tower full of ladies and gentlemen relaxing after a night's hard work in a variety of spa treatments... Desiree will flip at the opportunity to send one of her daughters off to start her own salon..." I sighed dreamily, leaning against the railing only to squeak in terror as it gave way and I was saved from plummeting by Zawahili's swift hold of my collar. "Oh, thank you dear..."

"Don't mention it... and don't lean against any more rusty railings?"

"I will do my best... let's go back upstairs, yeah? Tell me about this 'Level 1 Dungeon' that's on the property? Is it dangerous for Johnathon to be running around? I thought Dungeons were a myth?"

Lady Erica laughed and patted my head gently before climbing the stairs that exited into the bottom floor of the tower ahead of me and Zawahili. "Not myths at all, dear, and no, it isn't dangerous unless he jumps directly into the dungeon gate, and Agnus will make sure he doesn't do that."

"Dungeon Gate... is that the place that I felt as we approached? It was like a warmth in my chest, beneath my heart... it was weird, but pleasant." I hummed curiously, looking in the direction of the feeling as we sat in the lounge on the first floor.

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