Homoventures Chapter 4, Part 3

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Summary

Justen and Xan visit the museum at the University of Nys and meet Professor Abelet Sotiris. They invite the professor to dinner that evening, and spend the rest of their afternoon at a bath house.

Session

Session date: June 17 2014

Diablotin date: Spring 2275

<DiablotinNarrator> Abelet Sotiris
<Xandhil> (do we have any idea where to find him? :V)
<DiablotinNarrator> He works at the university in Nys.
<DiablotinNarrator> Sleyght had apparently talked to him somewhat, but thought that he wasn't being completely forthcoming
<DiablotinNarrator> He also stated that because Sotiris was in poor health he had been unable/unwilling to accompany the expedition
<DiablotinNarrator> Basically he was hoping you would talk to him, see if you could get anything else out of him ;)
* Xandhil is pretty good at that sort of thing :V
<Xandhil> '/me also have experience dealing with cagey university professors :V
<DiablotinNarrator> heh
* Xandhil doesn;t know if we have more details than that though?
<Xandhil> "he works at the university" ids still kind of broad >.>
<DiablotinNarrator> He is somehow affiliated with the museum there - an antiquarian and historian
<Xandhil> :D
<DiablotinNarrator> You can certainly find directions to the museum
<Xandhil> (does he have a title - like ...professor or...something?)\
<DiablotinNarrator> (how about 'Director'? or Master is always safe :)
<Xandhil> (hee)
<DiablotinNarrator> You can make your way to the museum - unless there was anything you wanted to do first?
<Xandhil> (I don't think so?)
* Xandhil defiitely wants to look around the museim though!
<DiablotinNarrator> Okay
<DiablotinNarrator> The museum is a sort of dusty, cluttered place - glass cases filled with trinkets, old stone statues standing about, without any obvious sort of order or plan
* Justen gives a bit of a sniff
<Xandhil> well.... its ecclectic
* Xandhil subtly detects magic :V
<DiablotinNarrator> Nothing too major - mainly abjuration, like perhaps alarms on the cases if someone were to open them.
* Xandhil was just curious :3
* Xandhil tries to see if there is anythinghere he may have read about
<DiablotinNarrator> well, you were doing a lot of reading about Psyra :)
<Xandhil> (And I wonder if Xan has ever heard about San's statue adventures :V)
<DiablotinNarrator> (hahah >.>)
* BalthCat (~balthcat@142.167.191.203) has joined #gnomeland
* Xandhil chatters at Justen
* ChanServ sets mode: +o BalthCat
<DiablotinNarrator> There are some large statues of hybrid animal-human figures that you are sure you read about before
* Xandhil looks to see if there are any plaques or cards or anythig that say what they are
<DiablotinNarrator> Some little handwritten cards that give what is presumably the name of the place they were found
<DiablotinNarrator> but not a lot of details
<Xandhil> augh, I should know that these are...
<Justen> Are they like... gods or something?
<Xandhil> oh maybe...
* NPC1 is now known as Old_Man
* Old_Man is now known as OldMan
* OldMan who walks with a cane enters the room and notices you looking at the statues
<OldMan> Ah, may I help you?
* Xandhil smiles
<Xandhil> I was just trying to remember what these are...
<OldMan> The zoomorphic or human-hybrid figures are very ancient - perhaps as much as two thousand years old.
* Xandhil nods
<Xandhil> (FURRIES FOREVER)
<OldMan> While it is impossible to say what they truly represent, I believe they are meant to depict spirits - ancestor-animal spirits.
* Xandhil nods
<OldMan> If you see here...
* OldMan indicates one of the figures, a worn but still recognizable stag-human
* Xandhil looks where indicated
* OldMan is gesturing to the base of the carving
<OldMan> The wavy lines here may indicate that it is not something that stands in our world, so to speak - that it is part of the heavens, or another plane.
<OldMan> Of course, others theorize that these are instances of therianthropy - depicting shapeshifters, or people wearing the garb of animals for some purpose.
* OldMan seems dismissive of that theory
<Xandhil> that's not necesarily contradictory though
<OldMan> Perhaps.
<OldMan> But these statues, even larger than a human, seem too ... grand for that. Perhaps it is merely my preconceptions talking, though.
* Xandhil grins at that
<OldMan> I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. Abelet Sotiris - I am the director here.
<Xandhil> Have you ever seen thre hall of the Emperors?
<Xandhil> oh yes!
<OldMan> Many years ago, yes. With the statues of rulers stretching back to the dawn of the Empire.
* OldMan is now known as Sotiris
<Xandhil> Very nice to meet you, sir.
<Xandhil> I'm Xandhìl Orecalo
<Xandhil> and this is Justen Olivier
* Sotiris offers his hand to shake
* Xandhil will shake!
<Sotiris> What brings you to the museum?
* Justen also shakes hands
<Xandhil> (is it Theodore Sleyght?)
<Xandhil> 9I can't fond my logs -_-)
<Sotiris> (yup)
* BalthNote (~balthcat@142.177.130.109) has joined #gnomeland
<Xandhil> We're actually members of Theodore Sleyght's expedition
<Sotiris> Ah? I understood that they had departed last week.
<Xandhil> yes, we're suppose to go out and meet them, but we only arrived in Nys last night
* Sotiris nods
<Sotiris> How are you finding the city so far?
<Xandhil> It's very interesting - I always find it striking when I travel - all the different ways that people can live together in such big groups
<Sotiris> If you are staying for dinner, I may strongly recommend Antalya's, if you wish to sample the best of our local delicacies.
<Xandhil> We'll have to try that, thank you.
* Xandhil considers for a moment
<Xandhil> Would you care to join us perhaps? My father is a professor at the castalia, and I'm sure he'd be disappointed if I didn't take the opportunuty for find out more about the university while I was here
<Sotiris> Oh? What is his area of expertise, if I may ask?
<Xandhil> Magical Theory for the most part, but he's done a lot of work on early Imperial History as well
* Sotiris nods
<Sotiris> Well, I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to speak with you, I'm sure. I would be pleased to join you for dinner.
<Xandhil> (San would be put out that he didn't recognize the name ;)
<Sotiris> (heh)
<Xandhil> excellent!
<Xandhil> What time would be good? We haven't been here long enough to learn the local dining customs...
<Xandhil> (Dogs begging me for walkies)
<Sotiris> Perhaps we may meet back here at about 6?
<Sotiris> I prefer to dine a little early these days.
* Xandhil nods
<Xandhil> that sounds lovely.
<Xandhil> and it will give us plenty of time to look around more :)
<Sotiris> Very well. Until then, M. Orecalo and M. Olivier.
<Xandhil> until then, Director!
* Sotiris nods politely to you both and walks slowly off.
<Sotiris> (if you need to go for walkies we could take a break here?)
* Xandhil grins at Justen after he's gone
<Justen> hot date for dinner? ;)
<Xandhil> Pretty much all professors have a weakness for free food ;)
* Justen laughs at that
<Xandhil> add some winr to the mix - this should be easy :V
<Xandhil> (wine)
<Xandhil> now come on, I want to poke around some more...
* Justen will obligingly follow you around
* Xandhil drags him to some more dusty museum displays until he gets fed up and drags me out into the sunshine, no doubt ;p
<DiablotinNarrator> Did you want to go to dinner, or have your bath first? ^-^
<Xandhil> is justen going to let me *not* take my bath? >.>
* Justen votes bath
* Xandhil will grudgingly go since he was so good about the museum >.>
<Xandhil> that was your plan all along, wasn't it ;p
<Justen> well, after all the dust in there, it'll feel good to wash off.
<Justen> ^-^
* Justen takes your hand
* Xandhil sighs, but squeezes your hand
<Justen> I asked people at the party last night and they gave me some good recommendations about the best baths ;)
* Justen will lead the way
<Justen> And - just for you - I'm willing to pay the extra few imps for privacy
<Xandhil> define... "best" >.>
<Xandhil> oh well
<Xandhil> I'm glad I'm worth it ;p
<Justen> hey, that way I get you all to myself
<Xandhil> mmhmm
<Xandhil> while we bathe ;p
<Justen> yes ^-^
* Justen brings you to a rather elegant tiled building
<Justen> right here - best baths in Nys, guaranteed.
<Xandhil> It does look very nice....
* Justen leads the way in and exchanges a few words with the attendant who greets you
* Xandhil tries not to look too out of place >.>
* Justen requests a private bath and gets a knowing look back
* Xandhil also tries not to blush >.>
<DiablotinNarrator> Knowing looks aside, an attendant will show you into a small chamber where you can disrobe.
* Justen does so :)
* Xandhil does so more nervously
<DiablotinNarrator> There are some thin white sheets that are there, and wooden sandals
<Justen> Okay, so I got the gist of this last night - we take a sheet that we can wrap ourselves in when we're walking around, and the sandals are because the floor gets hot
* Justen wraps one of the sheets around his waist
<Justen> like this I guess
<Xandhil> okay
* Xandhil will try to artfully arrange it and find a pair of sandals that someone else's feet have been in, ew
* Xandhil eyes them dubiously
<Xandhil> do you they they wash those?
<Justen> well they probably get wet a lot.
<Justen> that's like washing...
<Xandhil> if I get like.... warts or soe weird foot growth, I'm blaming you ;p
<Justen> heh
<Justen> that's fair
* Xandhil will put them on
* Justen then opens the door into the next room once you're both ready
<DiablotinNarrator> The next chamber is fairly small as well, and lined with benches around the walls. This room is really hot, so that you start to sweat immediately on stepping in.
<Justen> So this is the ... relaxation room, or something like that. We sit here for a bit and ... relax, I guess.
<Justen> after this, then we get to the hot bath, and then a cold bath to finish off.
<Justen> And you can get a massage and stuff, but ... I can do that for you ;)
<Xandhil> relax, melt into a muddle, whatever
<Xandhil> (puddle)
<Justen> yeah
<Xandhil> is this were're we supposed to make out? ;p
<Xandhil> because it is way too hot and muggy :p
<Justen> well it couldn't hurt.
* Justen chuckles
<Justen> it feels fine to me, but if you say so ;)
<Xandhil> you would
* Justen leans back and stretches
* Xandhil 's hair is all sticking to him all over
* Xandhil tries to wrangle it into a bun
<Justen> I think the idea here is to sweat out all the sweat you possibly can, so you wash it all off after ;)
* Justen smiles at your hair-wrangling efforts
<Justen> you're all rosy and glowing ^-^
* Xandhil sighs
* Xandhil gives in and will lean against you
<Justen> mm :)
* Justen is content to sit here with you for a bit, until you start to get sticky and miserable
<Justen> ready to move on?
<Xandhil> yes
* Xandhil says, miserably
* Justen helps you up in case you're dizzy, and will open the door into the next room
* Xandhil is a little
<DiablotinNarrator> The next room is still warm, but not as stifling, because it's larger. It's decorated with beautiful blue and green and white tiles in intricate patterns. There is a pool in the middle that steams slightly.
<Xandhil> the tiles are rerally pretty...
<Justen> yeah...
<Justen> I wonder if they heat it with magic
<Xandhil> maybe?
<Xandhil> I dont' have any components on me, so I can't check ;p
<Justen> heh
* Justen removes his little sheet and leaves it on a bench at the side of the room
* Xandhil 's mouth twitches ibto a smile at that
<Justen> ready to take the plunge? ;)
* Xandhil leaves his sheet with yours
<Xandhil> (and I lie, DM doesn't require components so I can totally check :V)
<DiablotinNarrator> (hee)
<DiablotinNarrator> indeed, there are indications of magical enchantments that would serve to warm the water
<Xandhil> (and I will, why not :3)
<Xandhil> it is magic
* Xandhil confirms
* Justen walks carefully down the tiled steps into the pool
<Justen> well, that's nicer than thinking that someone's shoveling coal into a furnace somewhere underneath us I guess
<Xandhil> not too chily for you, I trust ;p
<Justen> this is just about perfect
<Justen> it's the next one that worries me ;)
<Xandhil> >:D
* Xandhil will get into this one carefully
* Justen stands about chest-deep in the deepest part of the pool
* Justen ducks his head under water to rinse his hair
* Justen comes up dripping prettily ^-^
* Xandhil looks to see if there is anything to wash with or if just water is meant to do the trick
<Xandhil> mmm :)
<Xandhil> this is actally pretty nice
<Xandhil> hot
<Xandhil> but nice
<DiablotinNarrator> There is a cabinet beside the benches that looks like it has some supplies
<Xandhil> I didn't think I could get hotter after the lqast one
<Justen> yeah.
<Xandhil> sec
* Xandhil goes to investigate
<DiablotinNarrator> Some soaps, oils, sponges, a few metal tools like nail file and .. backscratcher you assume?
<DiablotinNarrator> oh probably tweezers, razor, etc.
<DiablotinNarrator> manly grooming tools ;)
* Xandhil brings over a selection
* Justen smiles up at you
* Xandhil sniff tests all the things >.>
<Justen> are you gonna wash my back?
<Xandhil> I'll wash yours, you wash mine? ^-^
<Justen> sounds good :)
* Xandhil brings stuff over and will get back in the water
<Xandhil> is this one okay?
<Justen> mmm.. you look like a pretty little water nymph or something... ;)
* Justen sniffs it as well
<Justen> I approve
<Xandhil> water nymphs can be dangerous you know
* Xandhil says, splasihing you lightly
<Justen> yeah, like genies? ;)
<Justen> ... are there boy water nymphs? or only girls?
<Xandhil> I think only girls?
<Justen> oh well
<Justen> genies can be either, though ^-^
<Justen> so maybe a boy water-genie
<Xandhil> sure
<Xandhil> do you have any wishes that need granting? ^-^
* Justen reaches out to draw you closer
<Justen> mm... well first, how about washing my hair for me?
* Justen smiles suggestively
<Xandhil> well that's an easy wish ;p
* Xandhil runs a hand over your head, not trying to go through thr hair, just push it out of your face
<Justen> mmm
<Justen> well don't they say about wishes, the more complicated they are, the more likely something is to screw up? ;)
<Justen> I figured I shouldn't press my luck
<Xandhil> oh well then
<Xandhil> come here
* Justen comes as told
<Xandhil> (is there anywhere to si in the pool?)
<Justen> (around the edges are steps that descend into the pool, you could sit on one and have J sit on the next one down)
* Xandhil gestures for him to do so
* Justen sits obediently
* Xandhil will massage his scalp for a bit, just enjoying the xcozyness and warmth and Justen-ness
* Justen closes his eyes contentedly
* Justen leans back against you as much as he can
<Justen> that's nice...
<Xandhil> mmhmm
<Justen> so in our house... when we're filthy rich... want a pool like this? ^-^
<Xandhil> as long as we can afford somoene else to clean it ;p
* Justen chuckles
<Justen> well of course
* Justen twists around a bit and stretches up to kiss you
* Xandhil thinks about playing coy, but doesn't really want to :3
* Xandhil kisses back instead