Log:No Place Like (Ridders)holm, Part 2

The Fall of Riddersholm 2018/06/12 Jak 2

There's no place like home.

Venture finds himself in the place he's been looking for most of this life, precisely when he wasn't trying to find it. Whether he realizes that yet or not remains to be seen. It's been so very long that he's forgotten most of Ridderspeak, so he can't quite follow the conversations of the citizenry around him. But they all have unusual clothes and hair color that he remembers.

There's a pageantry and elaborateness to their looks and the various storefronts and buildings. The sweeping building in front of him is iconic, glass and white curved walls of some glossy material, with a faintly visible intricate pattern beneath the surface that secretly harnesses solar energy to power the building cleanly.

This building is the blip on this GPS as his delivery point. But he can't understanding the writing that runs across the top of the arched entryway.

Jak Fortune stands there in shock for a long moment. Something about this all feels familiar, but he would remember a city in the middle of no where that didn't correlate to any known GPS landmasses. He watches AIs with physical forms strolling with their human companions, casually conversing in a language he only remembers in dreams.

He listens for identifiers- he's heard most every language by now, not that he speaks them with any grace or skill. But he certainly has an eye for them. He can't place it at all.

He looks back down at the hexagonal panelling the ground is made of. "Talk about deja vu. This is super weird." He remarks to himself as he notes all the hair colors. "I swear I've had this dream before."

He tries to read the archway sign, and instead struggles with it for another 10-15 seconds before giving up and heading inside to deliver the package to the front desk as instructed.

He tries to remember the name of the person the package is for since language is clearly going to be a problem.

There are a few words Jak is able to pick up on in his surroundings. Food, happy, how are you? Very basic conversational snippets. It'll come back to him eventually.

The package has writing on it that matches the style of the writing he sees around him. So hopefully it's a name or address that will help.

The entryway has no door that Jak can identify. It looks like he could just walk into the lobby through the archway. But as he passes through the archway, he feels a vague distortion, like he just walked through a very thin ethereal film that separates the outside from inside. Outside it's warm and sunny summer weather. Inside, beyond this invisible field he just walked through, the building is perfectly temperature and humidity controlled, the air conditioning contained by the invisible field.

The interior of the building is open flooring and expansive, with rings of floors climbing up and cyan solid-light platforms and vertical tubes serving as elevators. There are lots of people here, dressed like a fusion of sci-fi meets fantasy and hypermodern fashion, working, chatting, reading.

It's a very relaxed business environment, looking more like an intellectual playground than a company. Not a one looks stressed or in a hurry. There are couches and lounging areas, Augmented Reality stations that don't require any wearable hardware to use--all gestures and voice control plus predictive learning--where people look like they're designing and engineering things, people eating or playing a game that looks like quidditch played on a ping pong sized table with the players excitedly calling out commands to their team.

Another circular table looks like a stage on a fighting game. Two players are facing off on opposites sides of the table, placing their hands on a gel-like pad on the raised table edges. Their eyes glaze over, and two small 3D avatars appear on the table. After a countdown, the two avatars, unique to the player's imagination, begin to fight while other people spectate.

The lobby desk lies ahead of Jak, unmanned from what he can tell. Some people give him strange looks, their eyes focused on his clothes rather than anything else. One woman with hair that cascades in rainbow colors looks him over as she passes, smiles, and says something that sounds like a compliment. Her town is friendly, but the only thing Jak catches in translation is "Like".

Jak can't help but stand between the two environments for a moment, feeling the warm sea air on his left and the cool, humidity controlled artificiality of the building's atmosphere on his right. He holds his hands in front of himself moving his fingers through the air.

He grabs the lapel of his jacket- a very modern and chic cut and pops his collar, a very pro move in his mind until he notices the way everyone is dressed.

His adventuring look is cool and all- but the Ridderfolk's gear makes a part of him seethe with jealousy. He makes a note of getting some gear, once his delivery is made. He checks the address and then looks for a guide or legend that will point him in that direction. As he spots the desk, his watch beeps telling him he's been on site for 60 seconds already. He's wasted half of his time quoted. So instead of stopping at the imaginary gladiators and the system they're on and gawking at it all, he rushes for what looks like an unmanned lobby desk- by foot. He doesn't want to cause more of a fuss since he already seems to be the center of attention. Standing in the doorway like a yokel probably didn't help things in that regard.

He smirks at what he perceives to be a compliment. "Hey thanks. I appreciate that. I like your hair- it really makes your eyes pop." He reaches out, trying to get her attention and lets his smile spread into a warm and inviting one since he's looking for help and not a date. Though- that certainly might help him get over the language barrier- or so he imagines for a moment before getting back to business.

"Hey- I'm here to deliver a package to... umm... this guy." He holds out the package and points to what he thinks is the address.

The rainbow-haired woman stops as Jak reaches out for him, just accepting of the contact. She lacks the suspicion some women would have when a stranger tries to touch them. She tilts her head as he speaks, smiling politely in that vague 'I don't understand you' sort of way before speaking excitedly. It's not every day a fresh foreigner shows up. She's speaking too fast, too fluently, for Jak to even understand.

She looks down at the box, and recognition of the language sparks. She smiles and looks up to the sky with a slight head roll as if it just occurred to her. "Ba fincta, oo nan hefiesa," she says with a smile and a self-directed laugh as she steps to Jak's side and rests a hand on his shoulder, starting to walk towards the lobby desk as she guides him along and motions to it with her other hand.

What she said there does stir some recognition in Jak. It's two phrases he remembers from his youth. "Of course," and "You don't understand."

The homesick, world-weary traveller is surprised by the woman being so open and welcoming. He knows tapping people on the shoulder is often looked down upon but in his line of work, more often cannot be avoided.

He returns the look of not understanding as she speaks a mile a minute. His eyes get big twice in her speaking.

In response, Jak thinks to himself, .o0(Ok- I am definitely dreaming... because I could have sworn I understood that.)

At the lobby desk, Jak nods. "That's right. I don't speak the language... anymore? Its weird. Complicated." He says, more to himself than his savior. "But thank you for helping me all the same."

"English detected," announces a female voice of perfect, non-regional English. But the tone is warm and natural in flow. Behind the desk, a spiral of light rises up, forming the matrix of a solid light contract of a female, although she is flat-chested and gender neutral in some features. She's the same color as the solid light elevators, and semi-transparent.

"Welcome, visitor. I'm Aval. I scan that you have a package addressed to Ser Niehlz of SCEPTER. Can I take that for you?" the AI assistant asks politely.

"Woah..." Jak says in surprise as the hardlight concierge comes to life in front of him. He can't help but gawk at the androgynous artificial intelligence given a physical yet photonic physique. "Umm.. Hi, Aval." He says finally, his voice getting much more cheery after he catches up to it. "Yes, please. That would be great. Thank you. I also have a card here, just in case you guys need any delivery or courier services." He sets the box down on the counter and reaches into his jacket pocket to place a card on the top of the box before sliding it towards the construct.

Aval smiles as the box and card are slid to her/them. "Thanks," she announces as a box of similar photonic energy surrounds the package and card, floating it upwards. The box is maneuvered towards the center of the building, then suddenly rises up rapidly through the center well to the floors above. "Ser Niehlz will receive the package when he returns. He and my physical body are currently out to lunch," she explains happily.

The rainbow-haired woman says something in that familiar language, and Aval responds in kind before looking to Jak. "Sera Dranfelden wanted you to know she likes your outfit, and hopes you enjoy your stay in Riddersholm, but she has to meet with friends now."

Her message delivered, Sera Dranfelden smiles to Jak and claps him on the shoulder. "Ja!" she announces, and turns to leave. Another word that is familiar to Jak. "Bye."

Jak nods, unaccustomed to talking to AI like this, at least from what he remembers. It seems familiar enough and he's not only polite but actual humane when he speaks to Aval. "Great- Thank you so much. I hope... you... are enjoying your lunch." He thinks he got that worded right. he's never talked to soemone in two places at once before. He turns and smiles happily after Aval translates Sera Dranfelden's message to him. "Oh- tell her I like her hair. It brings out her eyes. Oh and I hope she and her friends have a lovely day." He says before adding, "Thank you for that too, Aval."

Recognizing the local word for bye he repeats it mirthfully, "Ja!"

He waits a few moments before leaving to make sure he gets paid and of course, to check out all the cool tech on display.

It isn't long before his wanderlust drives him to see more of this lost land. He certainly isn't going anywhere any time soon. He thinks of the shops he saw outside and decides to go check them out and see if they take DaeCoins or U.S. Cash.

"I am, thanks for asking," Aval smiles and says in a very human way. Aval lets Sera Dranfelden know what Jak said, causing the woman to smile and wave as she continues on her way. At least she enjoyed the compliment.

A moment later, Jak gets an alert. Funds transferred. This short trip made him some very quick cash.

Jak is pleased as he walks out of SCEPTER just after his payment alert chimes and into the street he came from. Now he can take in the sights and try to figure his way to something familiar.

Its quite disorienting only remembering things so hazily or through the rosy tinted lenses of dreaming.

He's netted $76,000 in under 5 minutes. A new personal record. He grins greedily as he heads down the road, looking at the boutiques, shops and other establishments- though his eyes often wander to take in everything, always looking for something he might recognize.

Jak soon finds himself turning onto a main street with plenty of foot traffic. Aside from the flying vehicles and platforms above, he doesn't notice any ground vehicles. The road is built with slabs that look like an artistic mosaic, a mix of modern materials and a cobblestone aesthetic.

To Jak's right, a person steps up to a large hexagonal slab on the side of the road, and double taps his foot. The hexagon projects a holoscreen and the citizen says something clearly. The seams of the hexagonal pad light up and project walls of light all around the citizen, who a moment later disperses into particles, to be reassembled at his destination. Public teleportation transport. Who needs cars?

Storefronts and cafes and little shops line the street, as well as markets. They all look like they're "manned" by machinery and machines.

Straight ahead, further in the distance, towers another building apart from all the other skyscrapers and gardens. It looks like a grand castle or palace of clean white stone with several towers, which looks medieval in some ways. Banners with the symbol of a stylized sun made of a circle surrounded by triangles fly from the battlements.

This castle...is iconic. A symbol. Even Jak can remember the palace of the royal family, though he may or may not remember the names of the royals: King Omar and Queen Gwenerva Ogden, and the princess, Amara. Every Riddersman knows about them. Though their castle is on high, the royal line has long mingled among the citizenry

From a food cart nearby, Jak recognized the scent of his favorite food from when he was a kid. It's a comfort food dish that immediately brings thoughts of hime. This feels to real to be a dream.