Greed God chapter 186 (Patreon)

April 4th 2016 Brightedge City,  Hall of Nevers, 10:00 PM EDT

"Come  on!" I growled at the crowd of glaring women surrounding me. "I knew it  was safe, My ability is always safe. No one was hurt and everyone is  much more secure in the new house. None of our enemies will be able to  find this place or breach it even if they did, not to mention it  literally only exists for people I want to be here. We aren't going to  get struck by a plane or something by accident, this is nothing but  net."

Barbie covered her face with her hands. "Yes Nicky,  we know. I admit the new place is impressive, and it was sweet of you to  do such an extensive remodel, but some warning would have been nice.""  With a sigh, she just glanced over at Amy. "I don't suppose you're upset  with him about this?"

My wife just shrugged. "No harm was  done, and I think getting me a castle to live in was sweet of him." She  glanced at me sharply. "You DID check over Whisper and Dinah to ensure  they're still in good health, right?" It was cute to see her so  assertive, so I just smiled and nodded, and she beamed back at me before  informing Barbie. "See, no point in crying over milk that was never  spilled. That is the saying, yes? It's been some years since I heard  it."

Zee snickered at that. "Close enough sweetie. But  that's fair. This place is...wow. Seriously Nicky. This castle is almost  at the same level of power as Shadowcrest. The stones are just humming  with power. Give it a few centuries and I have no doubt it'll have  passed my house. A mystical residence that has housed and protected some  of the greatest magic users the world has seen for hundreds of years."

That  was interesting. Knowing she could just tell like that. I knew it  wasn't at the same level as Shadowcrest obviously. Zee's house was C  rank, and absolutely terrifying, but just being able to natively sense  that was impressive.

As if reminded of something Barbie's  gaze snapped to me. "What about Donna and Cassie? They're supposed to  come here tomorrow. The League might get suspicious if the house they  sent their representatives to is no longer in existence. And even more  suspicious if there's a giant fucking spooky castle there."

"I  told you." I said in annoyance. "The castle is only there for people I  wish to have access. It's bound to me. They'll be able to find it  because I want them to. As for the house being gone from where it  was...Brightedge is a weird place. Weird things happen here. The whole  city fused together from random locations, things moving around isn't  going to be anything too suspicious so soon after the merge. I'd be  surprised if there weren't others."

"That..." Barbie  paused. "Huh. That might actually work. Given all the insanity around  here there's no real way to prove your house wasn't moved in some kind  of aftershock of the cities combining. I mean, it's convenient as hell,  especially since Donna and Cassie will still be able to find it, but  convenient isn't the same thing as provably malicious." She shrugged.  "Ok, I'm officially onboard. Seems like you at least thought THIS part  through." She gestured to the castle. "So, you going to show us around  our new place?"

I glared at my wife, gesturing to Barbie.  "You see what you do? She was just starting to calm down and you go and  make her your...chamberlain or whatever. Now she's a pain in my ass  again." I shot Barbie a wicked grin. "Though to be fair, I was a pain in  hers well before that."

My redhead just rolled her eyes.  "The whole carnal shame thing ceases to be shameful after you fuck more  than half the women who live here. I doubt I'm the only girl here whose  asshole you've been in. Hell, you've probably been in all of them except  Ingrid and Leslie." She gestured to the silent blonde doctor and blue  skinned girl, both of whom blushed prettily.

I grumbled  something about no one respecting me and then turned to stalk through  the smaller wooden door in the huge double doors of the castle. A person  sized entrance vs. the oversized one that looked like it was made for  siege engines or some shit. I was glad I made a point to pay attention  to the garage, there would be a way to drive out somewhere around here.  Once we entered the castle, I was surprised to step onto plush carpet  that gave under my feet with a springy bounce.

Castles  made me think of hard stone floors rather than carpet, so that was a  nice surprise. I preferred carpet anyway, and it meant I'd be warm  walking around in winter. The front entryway was a massive black marble  room with a huge chandelier hanging overhead. Veins of red ran through  the stone, a trace of the old palace of debauchery shining through in  its upgraded form.

The girls had been through here when  they ran outside, so they didn't really gape, but they did stop to  admire the decor. "Wow." Said Zee admiringly. "This is really tasteful.  Honestly the old place was a bit over the top for my taste. It was so  overt and in your face about the luxury. I much prefer this kind of  decoration. It's much more understated." She closed her eyes, taking in a  deep breath. "I also enjoy the smell of this place. The Palace always  kind of smelled like something seedy I couldn't put my finger on."

Barbie  nodded. "Thank you! I thought I was crazy. I could never figure out  what, but it was kind of sweet and cloying. This place smells  like...fresh mountain air or something. It's so refreshing. It's even  slightly chilly in here. Though the carpet helps offset the effect."

I  rolled my eyes. Get a new house and everyone turns into a fucking  interior decorator. "Alright, come on, let's go check this place out." I  hadn't been around this place before, but I was able to find my way  easily. The blood connection to the compass persisted even while inside,  giving me a perfect sense of direction in here. I lead them along the  cavernous entryway. The middle of the floor was a huge open area, while  the stairs up to the next level were the dual wrap around kind you see  in a lot of older mansions.

We  headed past all that and down the hallway. Checking on the rooms we all  used, they still existed. In fact. the items contained in the rooms we  lived in hadn't been changed at all, just adjusted to fit in the new  room formation. Leslie seemed relieved her new stuff wasn't damaged or  gone, and I could sympathize. Not much of an upgrade if all my shit  broke every time.

The  kitchen and training rooms remained largely the same, and the indoor  pool was still in good condition. After a while though, we came to a  huge open chamber with a stone floor, and a large marble pedestal full  of water in the center. This was the control center. It allowed me to  use the nature of the Hall to see out in the surrounding areas, not just  prevent seeing in. This was how I could add people to the ward scheme. I  just had to search for them and add a drop of my blood to the basin  while their image appeared there.

It  only really worked within Brightedge, and even more specifically the  top layer of the city, but it would let me arrange Donna and Cassie's  entrance easily enough. Zee was ecstatic to see the chamber, hurrying to  the basin to study it and try to figure out more about how it worked.  Strega, who usually stayed out of my way since becoming a Carmine noble,  was just as excited, running up to go over it with her.

I  was actually pretty interested in this thing too. I'd put some effort  into coming up with this, it was one of my better ideas. The compass  allowed me to track, but the marble created a distortion effect to  anyone who wasn't a specific exception. My theory for this basin had  been that I could treat the marble like a lens, distorting what people  saw when they looked one way but clarifying what they saw when they  looked the other.

The  concentration of power in this giant ass building was high enough to  make that an extremely useful tool if it worked. Of course, I knew my  power would make SOMETHING, but I had yet to see how well it functioned.  There were limits, even for my ability. I could only conceive of so  many details for something as big as a castle and the capabilities were  limited by the materials and their nature.

Glancing  into the basin, I watched the water ripple as I stared at the mirrored  bottom. Once I put a hand on the thing, I could feel the blood  connection between me and the castle, which I'd forged with the compass  and reinforced in each successive merge, hum to life. I focused on a  mental image of someone, and without much suspense, the face of Silver  St. Cloud appeared in the water, clear as a video screen.

Zee  leaned over with a whistle. "Pretty. I'm guessing this is the Court of  Owls girl?" She gave a small smirk as she glanced down at Silver's tits.  "I can see why you're attracted to her. She clearly has an  expansive...personality." I snickered at her comment but didn't bother  to deny it. Silver's calmness when I killed her Talons had gotten my  interest. But those big fat tits had gotten my attention.

Barbie  shouldered her aside, staring at the basin with wide, shining eyes.  "Forget about St. Cloud's jugs, do you understand how valuable a tool  this is for intelligence gathering. She has no idea we're even watching  her. Who else could I use this on? Could I spy on clandestine meetings?  Drug deals? Find the hideouts of powerful criminals who are in hiding  from the law?" She looked back and forth between us excitedly.

"No."  I said shortly. "I could do those things. I WON'T, because I'm not  spending my life hunched over a bowl of water." Her eyes flashed with  panic and she opened her mouth to argue but I held up a hand. "Which is  not to say that it won't get used. But there's a limit. Aside from the  effort and time spent, we're also mobilizing the distortion on the  castle, which could potentially leave gaps in our anti scrying  defenses."

She  slumped. "That makes sense. But fine. Can you still help me once in a  while? Just think of everything we could accomplish." Her voice was  feverish with excitement, and I could see why. Barbie was all about  information, and the basin was essentially a magic mirror. I hadn't been  lying though. It was only D rank, and the abilities the castle already  had were substantial. It was impossible for the magic to be perfect  under those conditions. Using the basin once in a while was fine, but  consistent use could expose us to detection.

I  put an arm around her shoulder. "Once a week. We can go from there. For  now, let's get back to looking around. This place is great, but we have  plenty more to see. I want to make sure we're all familiar with the  house when Donna and Cassie show up. Wouldn't do to be lost as we show  them around." She rolled her eyes but let me drag her away, obviously  curious about the rest of the castle. As we left I shot a quick look  back at the basin. That should be an easy way to finally track down  Cherry's ex for her. I still owed her some payback.