Freelance Treasure Hunting, Monday, Period 5, Class #1

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

As the students arrived, they would probably notice a woman clad in form-fitting black leather perched on a picnic table, swinging her feet as she waited for them to arrive. Some students, if they had met her, might be shocked at the woman's resemblance to Aeryn Sun.

Not that Vala knew the girl's last name, but that wasn't the point.

"Good afternoon, class. My name is Vala Mal Doran and I'll be your instructor for this class. As you know, this class will be about how to make your living as an interdimensional space pirate."

"Now, the first question you may have is why you would want to be an interdimensional space pirate, er, treasure hunter, in the first place. Clearly, you have much to learn if this is your question--because first, it's about fun. There's excitement, and danger, and your adrenaline rushes, and it's a wonderful feeling to know that you have done your best at every step of the process, and that the money you hold in your hand at the end of the day has been if not precisely honestly earned...well, you still have it in your hand, so it hasn't been used as bribes or bail money, and that's always a bonus."

"But enough about me," she said, getting up and wandering around, "I want to know about you--your names, where you're from, how long it takes to get there, the most convenient travel route, and any valuable or mythical objects that, if you were from your universe, you would attempt to appropriate and sell. Also, if you know of any pitfalls to obtaining these objects, either mystical or legal, please feel free to elaborate."

"Don't be shy," she coaxed, after a minute, "Who would like to go first?"

[ooc: Please wait for OCD is up!]

[daughter of ooc: Going to run errands for a few hours, will pick up pings when I get back.]

Comments

Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

Who are you? Where are you from? What kind of things would you think are valuable in your universe? How easily are the police bribed?

Not that she was taking notes or anything.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[the_merriest]

Rikku bounced up excitedly. "Hiya! I'm Rikku, and I'm from Spira. You have to go sideways on an airship to get there 'cause of dimensional stuff. Uh, I don't know, most of the really good stuff the Yevonites destroyed. We Al Bhed kept diving in the ruins to find old treasures and machina. And information spheres are always really valuable, since Yevon kinda trashed most of our history? So I tried to tell Yunie that we should be sphere hunters but x-2 sucked she didn't go for it. I think it would've been great."

She considered. "The rest of the good stuff you have to steal from fiends before they evaporate. I got really good at stealing and hitting at the same time so you don't have to waste a move. But those you don't wanna sell, you can make way awesome weapons from those or use them to blow things up. You can bribe fiends, too, but that's expensive. I mean, I have money, but it's more fun to steal them anyway."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

"I like your instincts," Vala nodded approvingly, "and yes, it's important to be able to tell which is a more valuable weapon or bribe than as a resale item, and we'll be discussing that later in the class. What is your favorite item that you stole?"

Re: Introduce Yourself

[bookyeve.livejournal.com]

"Ah, well..." Evie had been thinking more of archaeological methods to finding treasures when she signed up for the class, rather than, well. Logistics of crime. Still, can't let the side down. Plus, this woman looks like Aeryn, but she's older and she clearly doesn't know Evie, because she doesn't look like she has a headache. All this is rather unsettling.

"I'm Evie Carnahan, I'm from Cairo and London-- those are cities on this world. Only I'm from ninety years in the past. So some of the treasures that haven't been found in my time have been found since then." She paused, took a breath, "I would think the Book of Amon-Ra or the Book of the Dead would be valuable, because they're thousands and thousands of years old. Supposedly magic." She cocked her head, then confided, "And really, some of the authorities in Cairo just expect you to make 'arrangements' with them prior to going out on a dig. Deplorable practice, but fairly well-established, I'm afraid."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

Vala looked up from where she was writing "Cairo" on a notepad, "And why does the fact that something is supposedly magic increase the value, in your opinion?"

Re: Introduce Yourself

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal stood slowly, automatically smoothing his robes. "My name is Karal Austreben, Sun-priest of Vkandis Sunlord, from the country of Karse." He was aware he was being perhaps needlessly formal, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. "I was brought here in a way you could not duplicate, no matter how you tried. The Sunlord's temples hold many objects sacred to Him, which the unscrupulous or foolish might consider to be treasure. Attempting to steal them would be decidedly unwise, and I would never attempt to do so."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

"That's all very well and good," Vala said, recognizing a problem when she saw one, "but let's turn this around--if you were in charge of protecting those treasures, which ones would you choose to protect? Why would you choose those? How would you protect them?"

Re: Introduce Yourself

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

Savannah stood up with a grin. "I'm Savannah Levine and I'm originally from East Falls, Mass,... sorta. I got here by my guardians driving me down." She shrugged. "As for treasures or knowledge or objects stealable from my world? The different Cabals have access to all kinds of treasures and tomes of knowledge that are said to give you great power. They are also suposed to help you gain knowledge of the powers around you that you either already tap into or would like to tap into."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

"Hello, Savannah," Vala greeted her, "and do you know how the, er, Cabals access these treasures and books? If you had to guess, I mean."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

"I'm Gavin," he said slowly, "from Tatooine. It's...really far away. Through space." He added that because, he was learning, some people hadn't been through space. "And...uh, Tatooine has sand. It might be valuable."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

"Nothing other than sand?" She asked with a frown, "Because sometimes things are hidden in legends."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

John smiled broadly at the hottest teacher he'd ever seen. Fandom should implement a leather dress code. "Hi, I'm John. I'm from...well...this Earth. I came here via airplane. We have lots of cool stuff where I'm from - like video games, cars, and Ferris wheels. I hear the police in Russia are easily bribed, but that won't get you much in the way of valuables. Unless you like vodka."

John scrunched up his face trying to think of something interesting to mention. "Oh, and I think the good treasure on Earth is supposed to be somewhere in the Carribean Sea, as that is where all the pirates on Earth are from, per Disney." John sat down, smirking.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

"And this Caribbean, is it difficult to get to?" She asked, "and how many pirates are there?"

Re: Introduce Yourself

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"I'm from Haddyn, borough of Versi," Mel stated. "There's always some good stuff to be grabbed from the uppers but currently there's no way to get there from here. Also the police can be bribed but not by me usually."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

"We'll cover bribes later in the course," Vala informed her, "but I would like to know why you haven't had success with it. Ah, so I know how to structure the lecture, of course."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I'm Isabel Evans, from both Roswell and Antar before that," Isabel said, deciding to just go with it. "If you find kitschy alien souveniers valuable? Go to Roswell. You'll be able to find more then you could ever use. As for Antar? Forget, it's not worth the effort."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

"Ah, that's a common misconception," Vala said, "Treasure hunting is not about what you find valuable, it's about what others find valuable. Using that basis, what would you consider worth selling?" Or reselling.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[surferboy-09er.livejournal.com]

"I'm Dick Casablancas. I'm from here. Earth, I mean, not Virginia." he said. "I guess like diamonds and stuff are valuable. Really, you can sell anything to anybody here because there is a lot of dumb people around. And the police are way easy to bribe. Trust me."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

"Tell me more about the diamonds," she said, making another note on the pad.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"I'm Dean Winchester and I'm from Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence has....pretty much nothing of value. At least that's interesting. Although I've heard rumours that there's a gate to hell in a church cemetary nearby but I don't think that's the kind of thing you could sell..."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

She shook her head, "Actually, you can always sell something. What's important is how you sell it. For instance, assuming this gate to hell is true--how would use that as a money making opportunity?"

Re: Introduce Yourself

[orewahikari.livejournal.com]

He stands up, runs a hand through his hair, and coughs before starting.

"I'm Roxas. I'm from Twilight Town. Don't know how you get here from there, though, because I slept through most of the journey.

"Uh, I don't really know about stuff that's valuable, like, for money? But there's this trophy that's given out every summer for the Struggle Tournament's winner and it has these four spheres on them, and they're made from gems or something, I suppose. Would that kind of thing count? Because you need to win it. Not steal it."

Although what he would say if he was meta-tastic is that he's a boy from an RPG and in RPG-ville, you generally sneak into peoples' houses, raid their stuff, and take anything that's sitting loose.

He's also doing his best to not look at her, except above the neck. It's possibly rather creepy.

"I think that's it."

He blushes, and sits back down. If he has to do that in every class, he's going to die.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[spacepiratevala.livejournal.com]

"Gems always count," she instructed him gently, feeling very proud about the information she was imparting, "So, how would you consider obtaining this trophy without competing in the competition?"

Re: Introduce Yourself

[blackmagic-eve.livejournal.com]

"Eve Levine," Eve said, sitting back in her seat. "And yes, before you ask, the girl next to me is related. My cousin."

She shrugged. "I second what she said. Though I add that to me, spells and scrolls held by any sorcerer would be vauable, because they don't want witches getting their hands on them. And in general, the more someone doesn't want you getting your hands on something, the more valuable it is."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[grenfelzer.livejournal.com]

"I'm Carmela Rodriguez," Carmela says. "I'm from Manhattan, and I got here from a Worldgate. Uh, there's lots of real valuable stuff to be found in my universe, especially through the Mizarthu Shopping Network. I got some great artifacts that way." And some weaponry, including the dissociator that belongs in the empty holster she's got on her hip, but she doesn't mention that. "Uh, I'm not sure about the police but most alien species from my universe have a Thing about chocolate. It's either a delicacy or a collector's item. So... just make sure you've got some with you to use as a bargaining chip and you're good?"