Log:No Place Like (Ridders)holm

The Fall of Riddersholm 2018/06/18 Jak 1

It's a charmingly warm and sunny day as summer approaches. Jaksen has some downtime in between jobs, which has him...doing whatever he does in his downtime.

He doesn't expect any work to come his way just yet. So of course, it does. A contract request slides into his DMs about a simple delivery job for a small package. It sounds pretty average, beneath Venture's skills and notoriety. Why would they choose him for their delivery service?

The message from @VWalker sits and waits for a response:

<< I have a small package that needs to be delivered as soon as possible to a private location. Pay is negotiable.>>

Its Saturday, so of course Jak is just getting out. He slept in after spending the night in South Beach partying until the Sun rose over the ocean. It was spectacular.

He's in the middle of rustling up some grub from a street vendor in Prague when his DMs ring. He glances at his watch- at first dismissing the request. He's got a chimmney cake to eat and he's arrived in time for some festival (he isn't sure what they are celebrating since he doesn't speak the language) and he LOVES festivals.

Flashes of last night's debauchery strike the back of his mind like heavy-handed punctuation.

Then one that causes him to rethink ignoring the direct message he received. A $78 THOUSAND dollar bet that did not turn out the way he thought. His mouth is suddenly very dry.

He opens the icon to re-read the message.

He smirks after considering asking for the whole $78 thousand dollars outright but thinks better of it. He responds with the following:

<<"Well its the... Moritz Grbe festival. I've got stuff going on right now. It'd be pretty expensive to reserve my services any time this weekend." He says, deciding to start out with a 'bit' of a lie to hook the customer and hopefully reel in a nice payday. Satisfied with the message he takes another bite of his chimmney cake, grateful for the feeling it gives as it absorbs the tangled mess of chemicals in his stomach.

The message is returned within a minute. <>

"What?" Jak says in surprise. "Is this guy joking? VWalker? Hmm... well I guess it couldn't hurt." He adds, still speaking aloud to himself.

He responds to the message with a smile on his face sensing profit. <<"For what you're paying- I can do take the job immediately. $160,000.00 American."

"What?" Jak says in surprise. "Is this guy joking? VWalker? Hmm... well I guess it couldn't hurt." He adds, still speaking aloud to himself.

He responds to the message with a smile on his face sensing profit. <<"For what you're paying- I can do* the job immediately. $160,000.00 American."

<>

Jak grins as the customer negotiate price- still well outside his bottom line. But, he's a man with a real nack for making a profit and spinning a good deal. He taps his chin as he chews thoughtfully, munching his way through his chimmney cake.

<<"That might be true, but time is clearly a factor for both you and I. You may not realize this but Moritz Grbe was an avid marksman- and that I'm currently taking place in a shooting competition with quite a large pot at stake- leaving and returning isn't an option. But in the interest of good customer service I'll meet you half-way. $140k." He grins as he looks up to the sharpshooters competition- merely watching, not taking part. But sign-ups were lastnight and not digital- so he couldn't have signed up on a whim... nor can his lie be verified. He's quite pleased with himself- his former mentor would be proud.

Two minutes later, a response comes in from Venture's haggling. <>

A link appears in Venture's DMs immediately afterward with coordinates. The pick up location is an address in downtown Boston, at a business location on the 17th floor of an office building. The delivery location is just a set of coordinates. And...elevation?

Clicking on the GPS coordinates will open up Venture's Map app, showing a location in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, several hundred miles off the coast of Portugal. The elevation isn't nearly as high as air planes travel, so it can't be an airplane delivery.

Jak seems pretty pleased with his afternoon- so far he's spent $76 thousand dollars but made $64 thousand dollars of profit. He finishes his chimmney cake with a smirk before sending his DaeCoin address to this new client, VWalker.

He double checks the coordinates three times over before finally teleporting to the pick up location.

The full amount is held in DaeEscrow, to be delivered when the job is completed. It's a guarantee feature for both parties, and an invaluable service for people in the type of business that Venture and others are in. Little do the users realize it's all probably datamined to hell and back by its mystery creator.

Boston is a beautiful city this time of year. Trees flower in the post-spring bloom as summer approaches. Home of the Guardians, the city is mostly safe and low on crime. This part of the town is on the waterfront, with brick boardwalks and quaint lamp posts, and a sea of skyscrapers. Venture finds himself on the garden rooftop of one of these skyscrapers, empty with most people not working on the weekend. It's landscaped with trees, grass, benches, pathways, trellises and shade.

Jak Fortune confirms the hold and then steps onto the rooftop garden. He takes a deep breath of the sea air as he steps towards the edge of the roof to take in the city below.

He turns and leans against the edge waiting for this mysterious and high-paying client. His eyes trace along the gardens, taking in the trees and trellises. "Sure better than rain..." He says, speaking of the current stormfront over Colonial Bay.

A minute of waking, and the rooftop access door opens up. A man in a suit, sunglasses, and a black hat steps out, a small box tucked under his arm. It's about eight inches cubed. "Mr. Venture, I presume?" asks the thin man as he walks towards Jak. His hair is platinum blonde, slicked back and to the sides, and he has a hawkish countenance. He appears to be in his mid-forties.

"Fortune. Jak Fortune of V-C-S. Venture Courier Services." Jak says as he steps up to meet the man. "Easy mistake to make though, Mr. Walker." He regards the hawkish man pleasantly but isn't impressed by any means. Jak's not the type to be impressed with 'exclusive views' or access.

Still he offers the man his hand to shake. "So what can I do for you today, Mr. Walker?" He asks, getting right to business.

Mr. V. Walker doesn't make any note of his mistake. He pulls the box from under his arm and holds it out with both gloved hands. "A simple drop off at a difficult to reach location. Discretion is of the utmost. No signature needed; just leave the package, and leave." Yeah, sure Jak will just leave instead of exploring a new place.

"The drop point is within one hundred feet of the coordinates. You just have to step into the northern building and deliver the package to the front desk. Say it's for Ser Volhuel."

Jak isn't disturbed by Mr. V. Walker's lack of tact or concern. As long as he pays, he can call him whatever he wants- especially if he calls back.

"You got it. I'll have this dropped off in less than 2 minutes. I'll send photographic proofs in 2minutes 15seconds. Prompt payment is appreciated." He says before adding, "As is your business. Please call anytime." Then he reaches out t take the box from V. Walker. "For Ser Volhuel. That sounds... I dunno- familiar." He shrugs it off and heads for edge of the rooftop to leap off and teleport away while he's out of sight.

Mr. V. Walker watches Jak until he vanishes from sight, then turns and walks away. His movements are precise. Overly precise for a human if one were to pay attention long enough...

Jak reappears at the precise coordinates, high above the air above the ocean on faith that something will be there. His faith is rewarded.

He pops about a foot above a smooth street that appears to be made of some sort of composite material. The solar paneling built into the road is visible, but nothing like what he's seen before, tesselated into a hexagonal pattern. He's in the middle of an urban city, but it's...different. The architecture is sleek and modern, in brilliant blues and whites and warm peaches. But there are other elements that are classical european, and plenty of greenery and open parks interspersed with buildings.

The city is impeccably clean and the citizenry...well, they're a colorful bunch. Colorful clothes and outfits that defy modern fashion conventions, and colorful hair colors to match. Some chatter and speak in Ridderspeak in animated fashion, others walk along side elegant looking humanoid robots, laughing in conversation with their AI companions. Green hair, blue hair, lavendar, orange, and lime green are as common as the usual colors. Some people have a mixture of these colors, both young and old.

The strange thing is no one thinks much of Jak's sudden appearance, as if teleportation were just a common occurrence. To his north is the entrance to a building with a language written on a sign on the window that's familiar but perhaps forgotten by Jak.