I do not ride enough. It is patently obvious because Eohir is absolutely wild and loving his run. Were he not such a fine horse, he'd be acting up. As it is, I'm sure there's a smile on his long, horsey face as we canter around. I let him out-and-out run for a while but we'll be out longer this way. I'll have to see if the not quite ripe apples in the trees suit him.
There's another rider, and I'm surprised to see that his clothing is almost as old-fashioned as mine.
"Good day for a ride." He does have a bit of a look on his face and I don't know him. Or the horse.
While Faramir does not actually own the horse that come to the village with him, it is a quarter-Meara gelding. If D'Artagnan knows horses, he'll see quality. Faramir's clothing and tack is from home. Styling is about 200 years or so before Musketeer times.
Quite. But d'Artagnan's smirk died as he took in the lobby of this "hotel." It was not quite as nice as the Palace, but not like anything in Paris he'd been to, that was certain. People milled about, it was all so bizarre.
"Modern people are used to this. Some of the shops here in the village have walls that are almost all glass--the largest, finest panes I've ever seen." I remember seeing that for the first time.
"That is the desk there." Then there's the restaurant and bar, and over to places like the ballroom.
He wasn't a scholar by any means, but d'Artagnan could read, so with another nod, he strode to the desk, was given a key and small thing he had no clue about, as well as the news that none of his friends were in the village.
It was not entirely surprising, but disappointing nonetheless. He returned to Faramir, holding out the small device. "And this is ... ?"
"I'd forgotten about that. It is a messenger." I pull mine out.
"It is related to the telephone, a larger device that you'll find in your room. You can contact people on them." I push a button and the information for Glaurnaneth appears. "I use this to write a message and press this to send it."
I did not actually send anything.
"Be careful because if you make a mistake you can send your message to the whole village. That has happened to a number of people." I point at the 'send' button. "Make sure you know who you are sending to before you press that. Unless you want to ask everyone a question."
This seemed almost like a kind of magic. The thing he held vibrated in his hand and the words were there, right there, small and compact. And so quickly!
After all of this, he simply shook his head. "I ... all right. Thank you." And he meant it too; there was just so much. "Wait."
Laboriously, he typed out T H A N K Y O U and sent the message. There.
"You're welcome. I had help when I arrived. Many of the modern people are familiar with these things. I can show you how to use the phone--telephone--too." At least that stays in the room.
"When I say modern people, I refer to those mostly from Earth around the year 2000 of their common era. Many here come from around then. They are used to message devices and electricity and things like that."
I point to the lights.
"Those are powered by electricity. No fires or flames. You can have light with the push of a button and turn it off again, then back on with no effort at all." I'm smiling like an idiot. "It heats and cools rooms. Notice that it is not overly warm inside?"
Well, d'Artagnan noticed it now. What Electricity was, he didn't know, but if it made light light and things cool and warm, he was sure he would welcome it. And the fact there were people here from the year 2000 and beyond ....
Really, it was enough to make any Musketeer's head spin.
"I can show you to your room if you like. That way, I can explain the use of the telephone." And anything else he would learn about.
"Another aspect of the village is that we are not expected to pay for things upon our arrival. That will change, but they did not ask for money yet." He may not have thought of it with everything else happening all at once. "You can get food already made if you do not know how to cook. It is convenient."
How much did I care about any of it back then? I was alive and surprised to be so. I suppose that tempered everything else.
"Yes, at first. In time you will be expected to pay." I did not have to pay anything back but some people do. "You will be expected to find work. Yet they seem to understand that we will not have money to pay when we first arrive, so there is leeway."
I take a deep breath.
"I'm guessing that there is no one here that you know." He would have said, I'm sure of it.
No one, no. Shaking his head, d'Artagnan could hope. "At least I shall be eating well tonight." And sleeping in a room with some sort of climate control.
There's another rider, and I'm surprised to see that his clothing is almost as old-fashioned as mine.
"Good day for a ride." He does have a bit of a look on his face and I don't know him. Or the horse.
While Faramir does not actually own the horse that come to the village with him, it is a quarter-Meara gelding. If D'Artagnan knows horses, he'll see quality. Faramir's clothing and tack is from home. Styling is about 200 years or so before Musketeer times.
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"That is the desk there." Then there's the restaurant and bar, and over to places like the ballroom.
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I nod.
"Just say your name and they'll have a key for you. You can also ask to see the registry." Can he read? He didn't say he could not.
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It was not entirely surprising, but disappointing nonetheless. He returned to Faramir, holding out the small device. "And this is ... ?"
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"It is related to the telephone, a larger device that you'll find in your room. You can contact people on them." I push a button and the information for Glaurnaneth appears. "I use this to write a message and press this to send it."
I did not actually send anything.
"Be careful because if you make a mistake you can send your message to the whole village. That has happened to a number of people." I point at the 'send' button. "Make sure you know who you are sending to before you press that. Unless you want to ask everyone a question."
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I type out 'This is a test letter' and send it to him, his information now being in the messenger. I hit the button.
"I can show you how to get rid of it if you like. Or you can save messages to look at them later." I can show him that too.
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After all of this, he simply shook his head. "I ... all right. Thank you." And he meant it too; there was just so much. "Wait."
Laboriously, he typed out T H A N K Y O U and sent the message. There.
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"You're welcome. I had help when I arrived. Many of the modern people are familiar with these things. I can show you how to use the phone--telephone--too." At least that stays in the room.
"When I say modern people, I refer to those mostly from Earth around the year 2000 of their common era. Many here come from around then. They are used to message devices and electricity and things like that."
I point to the lights.
"Those are powered by electricity. No fires or flames. You can have light with the push of a button and turn it off again, then back on with no effort at all." I'm smiling like an idiot. "It heats and cools rooms. Notice that it is not overly warm inside?"
Despite it being summer, the hotel is cool.
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Really, it was enough to make any Musketeer's head spin.
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"Another aspect of the village is that we are not expected to pay for things upon our arrival. That will change, but they did not ask for money yet." He may not have thought of it with everything else happening all at once. "You can get food already made if you do not know how to cook. It is convenient."
How much did I care about any of it back then? I was alive and surprised to be so. I suppose that tempered everything else.
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Oh, this was really remarkable. So remarkable. "I could eat, now, as much as I want, and it would be free?!"
Perhaps he'd drink many bottles of wine, fall drunk into bed and wake up back in Paris after such a strange, strange dream.
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I take a deep breath.
"I'm guessing that there is no one here that you know." He would have said, I'm sure of it.
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He showed Faramir is key. 6A. Where was that?
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