Closed; Scriptoriums and Libraries

[horsepowered]

WHO? Dorian and Chiron
WHAT? Library things at Abbey of Saint-Victor, Paris
WHEN? A day after This
What? Way too many books

It had been a pleasure to learn of the Abbey of Saint-Victor, and more specifically that it held a library that was open to the public. While picking up jobs and keeping income rolling in was one of the key things to focus on beyond intrigues and spying, the pleasure of looking at books and the contents therein.

Chiron's own interest, beyond being able to see if he could interpret the material that Dorian could not, was in reviewing what medical texts were available. It was always a pleasure to see a period's development on the matter, and to see what could and could not be traced back to the bright minds that Chiron himself had instructed all of those millenia ago.

What Chiron had not been aware of was that it was possible to take some of the books with oneself, if the arrangements had been made with the library before hand. It was something that he learned about while waiting at the entrance, and asking the librarian about the books that he himself was interested in.

It was excellent information to have. But it was also hardly a priority. Translation was the important thing now.

Comments

[horsepowered]

Chiron's own dress was about as middle of the road and generic as possible. It was what he might have to do if he was required to venture out into the world beyond Trifas in daylight back in the Holy Grail War, just with a different era. He had stuck with a pallet of brown trousers and an unassuming shirt (as clean as possible), and the coat he had was a rather worn looking blue thing that went down to about his knees. If things looked a little worn, a little worse for wear, then he had no care for it.

The staff's skull was what caught Chiron's eye though. It wasn't something he saw and immediately thought prop. It was a thought cataloged under different type of mage. And since that was who he was looking for, this was all a reasonable extrapolation for him to go over and introduce himself.

Chiron's footsteps were soft though, the pace double what a normal man should have. (Habits were hard to break, even without a second set of feet.) There was a polite cough as Chiron walked up on Dorian's right side, and greeted him with a polite nod.

"Do you have the books you were discussing the other day on hand?"

It was a yes, a no, or a who are you, stranger?

school and the holidays, guh I'm sorry I'm so late

[excelsus]

"I knew you would have a pleasant voice," not an answer to the question at all, but he didn't appear to be surprised or taken off of his guard. He was expecting someone to approach him in the abbey's library at some point, someone who wasn't tentatively trying to avoid him as he clearly looked unapproachable. Dorian couldn't understand why. He was friendly enough, charming, good-looking...perhaps that was it, he was unapproachably good-looking. If anyone was going to approach him, however, it was going to be the one person he arranged to meet in this library.

"To answer your question," Dorian gestured to a table, a simple thing carved from wood, on which a small stack of books sat...well small by his standards, perhaps. There were several books he couldn't read in this library, but these caught his attention for one reason or another, mostly due to interesting symbols or pictures on the inside. He glanced his companion over once, considering him and the fact that he hadn't heard Chiron's approach, much like a light-footed rogue sneaking about, such things didn't surprise him as much as they should given how used to the subtle nature of the individuals he worked with back home...or some of them.

"I didn't hear your approach by the way, you're awfully quiet and quick," important to point it out, apparently, though maybe there was an alternative explanation, one that didn't involve the man being a rogue.

"Dorian of House Pavus, formerly of Minrathous," is was a belated introduction, but he felt like he should start introducing himself to people as a matter of courtesy and proper manners.

No problem at all!

[horsepowered]

The compliment regarding his voice prompted a very small smile on Chiron's face. It was a strange thing to extrapolate from text based communication, but he was also not going to turn down something that sounded genuine.

Chiron's eyes moved to the table and the bounty of books atop it. Those that had titles on the spine were given note as to language (Latin, Latin, Latin, Greek, Latin), those without noted as mystery books. Even the mystery books would be a non-issue, such was one of the great abilities of being a Heroic Spirit, but the question of when and if to bring up that particular topic was something for another time entirely. As of yet, no one knew besides the other Spirits Chiron had spoken to.

He reached for the first of the many books in Latin, opening it carefully. The spine was in fine shape, and the endpapers were a wonderful dark blue-green marbling that suggested the paper came from much further East. There was no smell of must either. A newer work.

"It's hardly on purpose, I promise," Chiron said, when the topic of a quiet approach came up. Outside of recent events, it was impossible. Four hooves did not make for quiet movement.

"Chiron. Archer of Black otherwise." There was little point in hiding behind Grail War classes, and that was something Chiron had figured out within the first month of being pulled out of the Grail War. It was rather pointless, as the whole matter was on hold.

[excelsus]

When it comes to compliments Dorian could extrapolate from a stone to get the reaction that he wanted and he was usually very genuine in it. He didn't toss around compliments like candy considering how fine an opinion he had of himself.

"On accident then?" Dorian offered, approaching his companion and peeking over his shoulder at the book he'd drawn from the pile on the table. One he could read, more or less, given that Latin was closer to his own language than any other...but latin related languages weren't too difficult to decipher.

"Chiron...interesting name, almost a name one might hear in the Imperium," not that he understood Greek or knew the root of the name and where it came from. That certainly did make it easier to reveal his name, especially to a man who was not even close to being from the same world, "but what is the Archer of Black bit?"

[horsepowered]

Chiron is not the kind to divine the reason for a compliment. Just the kind to determine if it was really meant or not.

He inclined his head at the question, "Very much on accident." There was no need to give a reason, unless that was followed up on.

Chiron's hands flipped to the title page of the particular Latin text he had plucked from at random, and he tapped the text carefully. "This is a treatise on the medical theories of Galen and how the hold up in the contemporary period."

Actually, it was something Chiron himself would want to sit and read for the pure pleasure of it. He had plenty of his own interest in medicine throughout the ages given his expertise (now quite dated).

How languages align and don't is another thing to investigate, especially at Dorian's mentioning that the name could nearly be native to his own home. Chiron's eyebrows rise at that, inquistive, but there's no time to ask further questions. "Ah, that."

There was probably an easy way to explain it. "I'll counter with a question of my own, but it's in service of explanation. Have you encountered either an individual named Achilles or another named Saber?"

[excelsus]

Dorian always meant his compliments, flattery wasn't simply candy to be passed around after all, he reserved it only for the people that he liked and he had no reason to dislike Chiron so he decidedly liked him.

"Unfortunately I'm not well versed in the history of this world...or versed at all rather. So I'm not sure who Galen is, but I can surmise he was a theorist in medicine," Dorian just pointing out the obvious for now, until he could actually sit down and pour through the pages of each book methodically. With help he could probably devour this library in time.

"Do you have a special interest in medicine?" Now he had to know such things for his own references, it was important to know what interested people, at least for Dorian, it made knowing what little favors he could do in the future for them so much easier.

"Achilles or Saber?" Dorian mused when he was thrown off of his train of thought and he considered it for a moment before shaking his head, "I don't know them by name, but that does not mean I haven't met them. I've met quite a few people whose names I've yet to catch."

[horsepowered]

"You're correct in both who Galen was, and my own interests," Chiron said, opening up another book. Just French this time, and nothing but maps. He flips through the pages carefully, opening to one of the whole of France. "Medicine of various eras is an interest, although one I've hardly had time to pursue given current events."

Or at all. It's selfish, but meeting Dorian was as much an excuse to take an afteroon to himself and indulge as Chiron could allow himself.

"Likewise related to special interests, were there topics you were looking for in these piles in particular?"

He had absolutely no problem going through every book, but if there was a topic of priority, that was to be respected.

At the last response, Chiron paused, then reframed the question. "Any mention of a ritual known as a Holy Grail War?"

[excelsus]

"Well, hopefully you can make time for indulgences, talk to me of what you know about medicinal practices as we drink wine. Or if you don't drink I'll gladly do so for the both of us," because it's good to know someone who has experience in the healing arts, as versatile and powerful as Dorian's magic was he certainly wasn't a healer, anything more than a surface wound and he would require a potion or a Spirit Healer...and he's certain that none were present in this world.

Fortunately Dorian had a gift for drawing the indulgences out in other people, stick around long enough and he might have you playing chess and cards with him in no time. Of course he's famous for cheating at both.

"You are asking me to pluck a star right from the heavens, aren't you? Math, science, history, the arcane...naturally as I am a mage, but nothing screams magic to me unfortunately."

This world was, surprisingly, not very magical, even though they preached of things such as witches.

"Mmm...I've heard mention of it, I was asked about a Holy Grail and responded that I knew nothing of it. We have an Urn of Saced Ashes in my world, probably not the same thing."

[horsepowered]

"Only since you insist." It would, naturally, come with preface about who Chiron was in life and who his most remarkable student was in that particular art, but there was little reason not to indulge curiosity. A curious mind was a thing to treasure, and clearly, Dorian had that.

"I believe that if it is magic that you're seeking, you'd need to approach it with a different vocabulary," he said, nearly to himself. Alchemy was as much a part of magecraft as science, and that must exist somewhere within the library. "What was once magic becomes the domain of science for most."

For most is the crux of the matter, especially as Dorian's response leads to the most natural of segues.

"Most likely not, given the premise is that the Holy Grail is an omnipotent wishing device, and the ritual centers around seven mages summoning seven different spirits of heroes of legend to do combat against each other to win this particular prize."