After touring under the sun for a few hours, the Envoys' curiosity was mostly slaked for the day, and they were ready to return to the city and see what it was like on the inside. The outside had been incredible, and the fresh air and waving grass of the dig site were comfortable enough that the Dryad and the Shin were unwilling to leave, but they also weren't willing to be left outside overnight since there were no other trees in the area, and sleeping in the grass would inevitably lead to being invaded by hostile alien insects.
How hostile was the question, since the insects here were mostly only the ones necessary to facilitate composting, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't be a real nuisance to plant-based species far more than they were to the Hunters, who would be sleeping in their shuttle.
The sun was beginning to move far enough from its peak that the day was becoming comfortable, and a bit of cloud cover was beginning to form when they reached the city spires again, moving much faster with the Valkia inside the car.
They parked in the hangar and took the elevators up to the spire reserved for staff and dignitaries, where there should still be some free villas, but the sights that they passed were far different than the parties which were thrown aboard Terminus. The elevator faced out over the open common areas of the floors as it ran up the outer wall, so they could view many floors at once, as well as the view through the outer windows, though each floor was blocked from seeing what was going on with the surrounding residents through clever architecture that prevented reflections.
It seemed that the Alliance citizens held themselves back somewhat while aboard the human ship, and the parties had all been tame by human standards, but what they passed on the thirty-seventh floor could only be described as a wine-soaked orgy.
The Dryad looked at the Valkia in shock, as it was mostly his people present, and he just shrugged. "Today is Saint Bacchus Day. The Patron Saint of Wine and Merriment. We celebrate it that way every year. Just usually not in public, and not with so many other species involved."
"I, for once, approve of your people's traditions. That looks like a lot of fun." The Huntress consoled the Envoy, who looked a bit unnerved to find out that his people had chosen to celebrate in such a public manner.
Of course, for those who were listening in on the thoughts, it was very clear that the Humans had enthusiastically helped with preparations once they found out what the celebration was all about. There was an ancient human culture that celebrated something similar, and Max could see that some of those traditions had made their way into the party, with staff covered in gold body paint and wearing togas, or even less, while posing as statues or serving food and drinks.
"This day is never going to be forgotten. I hope you understand that." Max laughed.
"They're not breaking any laws, are they? I never thought to check." The Valkia Envoy asked.
"Probably not. Humans are very good at making exceptions to rules if they think it will be fun, and I can see that they have locked all underage guests out of the floor. That's really our only hard and fast rule on the matter. At least the rest of the floors seem to be normal." Max sighed.
They were passing the fortieth floor now, ascending through the spire hosting the five hundred floors of hot springs. Only one floor appeared to be vastly out of the ordinary, with most floors having guests lounging on the sand or on heated rocks, and one even being covered in snow, with a frigid outside temperature all around the hot water.
That one fascinated the Dryad, who thought that a hot spring in the winter would be an incredible feeling, so Max made sure to show her how to mark it as a location in her Terminus-provided smartwatch, so she could find her way back again.
Looking out the other side, a kilometre-wide walkway led to another spire on the two-hundredth floor, filled with shops and hosting an old-fashioned gondola ride near the roof for a slow and scenic trip across the city.
"It's like Every Era is represented here, but it has all been reconstructed in the same graceful theme as the city. It's incredible and disorienting at the same time." The Innu Envoy praised the sights around them.
That was how the original city was as well. It was timeless, nothing in the city seemed to belong to the era you were in, but it all did, somehow. There was no good way to describe the original City of Spirits other than as itself, and Nico had captured that feeling perfectly with her replica.
One thing he did notice that he didn't recall being present in the original was the holograms inside the building. He recalled them only forming in the air outside, but some of them would flutter in the windows here and then vanish once they passed through a shadow, only to sometimes reappear somewhere else, still on their course.
"We have to tell the Fae. They will never forgive the Dryads if we don't tell them." The Envoy informed the group with a smile as the figure of a small owl circled her head for a moment, then flew away.
The phenomenon only lasted a few minutes while the sun was at the perfect angle to send the reflection of the top of the spires through the walkway, but it was enough for the crowd.
"Elevator, pause. Open doors for winged species." The Valkia's assistant announced suddenly just past the two hundredth floor.
"Elevator Paused." The robotic voice of the elevator was Nico's Sultry Voice setting, and it sent a bit of a shiver up Max's spine every time he heard it.
One day he would have to remember to have her stop programming her own voice into everything. She was becoming the voice of the Humans' Computer Systems in the minds of basically everyone, which was a bit odd when he knew the actual living person. Not that she actually used that voice setting with anyone but him, so the rest of the crew wouldn't notice much more than that it was similar to her augmented voice.
The Assistant called out to someone playing an aerial game down below them and hopped out of the door that had opened on the viewing side of the elevator, waving goodbye to the group and promising to come to check in later.
"They're young. Let them play." The Envoy shrugged, turning their attention back to the view as the Elevator continued its ascent.
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