ROMANI ITE DOMUM.

[romaneseuntdomus]

Esca doesn't realize he's walked through any door, at first, because the door to the peristyle at the Aquila Vila don't have doors, precisely. It takes Esca a moment to realize what's happened, and in that moment he walks into and onto a bed, of the softest quality he's ever encountered. The shift in perception shocks him further, and he turns, scaring and confused. An open door behind him leads back to the garden. But here... There are things to explore. Gently, he closes the door, and walks out.

The floor is soft under his feet, softer than fresh grass, and the air is pleasantly chilled like the best days at home. There are shining metal boxes open, but nothing happens when he walks inside, and eventually he finds stares that take him to identical rooms. None of the doors are locked, though it does take Esca some time to understand that one must twist the handle to open them.

He repeats this descent until he finds himself in a large room full of color and sound; multiple booths call out to him like sirens, and he is at once curious and skeptical. He wishes he had brought a sword. As is, in a shirt and braccae, he feels slightly exposed.

He climbs atop one of the nearest flashing booths, this one bright yellow and shouting about 'slots'. Crouching, he cups his hands around his mouth and calls out to allies. "Am I alone? Show yourself, friend! I mean no harm, and have naught which you could steal."

Comments

[romaneseuntdomus]

Esca sniffs, somewhere between a sneer and a laugh. "We do not call it Britannia, it is a thousand different kingdoms, each which its own name. They call it Britannia for their own ease of reckoning."

[marthy]

"They? Who's 'they'?" Because England hasn't been a thousand different kingdoms since...oh.

Hey, wait.

Martha frowns.

"You're, uh. You're talking about the Romans again, aren't you."

[romaneseuntdomus]

There's a scoff. "Who else? The Gauls aren't much likely to invade."

[marthy]

Well, that only lends credence to the possibility that he's serious. "You'd know better than me. What, uh, what year do you think it is?"

[romaneseuntdomus]

This takes Esca a moment to calculate; he has little training with sums. Further, he's not quite sure why this woman is asking, but she is a strange creature through and through, and Esca isn't much inclined to show any ignorance after being laughed at. Perhaps things will balance out. "Eight hundred... ninety-five since the founding. The Brigantes do not count years so peevishly, though it is my twenty-third."

[marthy]

Well, that's about as clear as mud. Martha can do C.E. and B.C.E., but not...founding dates, whatever those are. "Since the founding of what?"

[romaneseuntdomus]

Esca frowns. Does she really come from a place untouched by Rome? "Of Rome, of course. Ab Urbe Condita."

[marthy]

"Oh," she says faintly, eyes widening. Well, she's willing to believe him--if she can wander into a casino in 2020, why can't someone else do the same a few thousand years ago? It's not like he got those clothes from Benetton.

It stops making sense if she thinks about it too long, but so dos the fact that her toilet was replaced with a hotel in the first place. "That's...that's a long time ago, where I'm from. That's all."

[romaneseuntdomus]

This gives Esca more cause to frown. "A long time ago? Antonius' rule?" He takes a moment, quiet and to himself, to stare at his feet and puzzle this out. "I've no reason to disbelieve you, and you've none to lie. But... that is nothing I have ever heard..." A thought strikes him, then, and eyes wide he asks: "And you have never heard of Eboracon?"

[marthy]

"Thousands of years." Martha can be helpful! Here, she'll let you know just how far away your experience is from hers, Esca. And sometimes she can actually even come close to the mark on that; she wants to reassure him after his face grows worried and surprised at the revelation that she hasn't the faintest idea where Eboracon is. "It might still exist--we might just call it something else. I mean, London still exists, and the Romans called that Londinium. Didn't they?"

[romaneseuntdomus]

Esca knows he's being reassured like some skittish child, but in this moment of lonely weakness, he'll take it. There are no men here to judge him lacking. "They do- they did. Do they not, any longer?"

[marthy]

"Now it's London. It's a really great city--my brother and I both go to uni there." She's racking her brain for places that sound like 'Eboracon' and can't come up with any. Except maybe Edinburgh, but he doesn't sound Scottish. Of course, the accent's probably different two thousand years on, so she probably can't rely on that for anything. "I'm Martha, by the way."

[romaneseuntdomus]

"U-uni. To study." Perhaps that putrid port city now boasts libraries and colleges. Esca thinks of how many things have changed in the world since he was six, and cannot begin to imagine all the changes that have likely happened with so many more years added on. He finds the questions that grasp his interest most-- did we defeat the Romans? Do the dark people still live on beyond the wall?-- he does not want to ask, for fear of receiving an answer he cannot stand. "I have never been to Londiniu- London. But I am Esca Mac Cunoval." She did not give her entire name, of course, but not all women do.

[marthy]

Martha wasn't sure if they had last names in those times--ancient history wasn't her favourite subject (or, at least, not British ancient history). But if they do, she supposes she won't confuse him if she gives him hers. "Martha Laurence-Tharkay. It's nice to meet you."

[romaneseuntdomus]

Esca frowns again, trying to puzzle this all out-- Laurence sounds Roman, and Martha certainly does, but he cannot quite place the meaning behind either, and to Tharkay he has no idea... but if he lets his mind get too caught up in this, he will surely go mad. The world has changed much. "Ah, yes, it is nice to meet you, too." It is actually quite distressing, but that's hardly her fault. "Thank you for tolerating my confusion. Are fixtures like this--" he gestures to the blinking mass of light and sound around them, "common, in your- in your experience?"

[marthy]

Martha glances around at the slot machines with their brightly coloured displays and occasional tinkling music. One in the corner keeps shouting WHEEL! OF! FORTUNE!, and it occurs to her how overwhelming the idea of electric lights must be, let alone screaming neon. "Not exactly. I don't go to a lot of casinos, though. If you want, we can go somewhere else."

[romaneseuntdomus]

Esca does not find it too distracting, though it is quite puzzling. But if she wants to leave, he'll follow. "Alright," he says, "what else is there? I assume such places are more common to you."

[marthy]

Martha assumes that this is too much for the poor fellow--she can't help condescending a little in her mind, knowing now that he's from the distant past--and thus thinks she's doing a very good deed right now. "Well, these're slot machines here--all of this is for gambling. I looked at the directory, and there are stores, if you need anything, and restaurants. I'm not sure what else."

[romaneseuntdomus]

"Oh!" He says, pleased to understand something in this din. "A gambling den. I would never have guessed, from all the strange- instruments." But he walks with Martha, away from the booths. He's never had much use for gambling, himself. "Perhaps we could explore, if you are as lost as I."

[marthy]

"Yeah--I've never played slots before, but that's what they are." Martha leads them through an impressive variety of them, and then past craps tables, roulette tables, blackjack tables, and all the rest. "And these are for card games, I think."

She considers the offer of exploration, glancing over at Esca, before nodding. "Why not? I've got time. What do you want to see first?"

[romaneseuntdomus]

Esca nods, listening, and allowing himself to learn. It cannot hurt to absorb new knowledge, even if it is all deeply alien to him. "You mentioned-- restaurants? What are those?"

[marthy]

"Oh, yeah, you haven't got those." What do they have in Roman Britain? Inns? Martha's not sure. "They're like shops just for food--you sit down and order a meal, and they serve it to you. If you're hungry, we can try one."

[romaneseuntdomus]

This all sounds very Roman to Esca-- can you not eat with your family, with your tribe? To eat with strangers seems uncomfortable and unnecessary. But Esca finds himself curious, all the same. Best always to learn. "I would be amendable to seeing such a place, at the very least." How would that even work?

[marthy]

In all honesty, Martha would rather eat at home--there are plenty of great restaurants in London, but no one makes quite the same combination of Tibetan, Indian, Turkish, and English foods as Tharkay. Not at the same meal, anyway. But 'home' is too far to drop by outside holidays, so if she's tired of making dinner, restaurants have to do. "All right. I think they're a few floors up. I wonder where the stairs are..." They can try an elevator after the poor man's had something to eat.

[romaneseuntdomus]

"This way..." Esca leads them to the stairs he used to get to the- the casino. He's never seen so many stairs in his life! And of such a strange quality. It's of course all probably very banal to Martha, so he does his best not to gawk. "Upwards or downwards?"