http://spacepiratevala.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] spacepiratevala.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2007-05-21 12:46 am
Entry tags:

Freelance Treasure Hunting, Monday, Period 5, Class #2

"Good afternoon," Vala greeted the students cheerfully as they entered, still wearing her customary clothing, "and I hope you all had a profitable weekend. As you know, last week we discussed what treasures are valuable to each culture. This week, we'll begin to learn how to find them."

"The first thing you have to figure out is whether your information is reliable. You can determine this easily if you know your source, but if you don't, you'll have to do a little research. This generally involves the library and looking up information yourself, talking to a village elder about the local legends for the area, or finding a scholar who knows about the myth behind the treasure you're looking for."

"Once you have your reliable information, or information you are willing to believe is reliable--not nearly the same thing, in case you were wondering--if you're lucky, you will have a map that tells you where the treasure is. If you don't, you'll have to come up with a map of your own, based on the information you've gathered from other sources. This map can either be of the terrain, generally including landmarks such as temples, statues, or landing fields, or physical features such as rocks, streams, and mountains. You want a map that uses items that won't erode or move over the course of time, because it makes it easier not to get lost. These, of course, are more expensive than the regular maps and you should take that into account when you are budgeting for your expedition."

"As a last resort when it comes to figuring out where you are, there is also the option of celestial navigation--using the stars to pinpoint your location. That's all well and good on this planet, but on other planets, the stars won't be familiar and the constellations will be missing. Don't forget that, or you could end up lost in a desert when you're meant to be in the woods, having lunch with a charming man and his mother. Er, not that that ever happened, of course," she added quickly.

"For this class, I'll ask you to explain your favorite way of verifying information, and then I'm going to let you loose with the maps--you have one of Fandom, and one of the night sky in the northern hemisphere of this planet. If you have a town map, I would like you to explore with it--mark what is at each location, or pick one location, and write down something valuable that you find there, so you can find it again. If you're using the star maps, I would like you to go out at night and attempt to find as many constellations as you can. As a tip for those of you who are interested in dating, this is an excellent activity for that sort of thing. Please mark them off as you find them."

[ooc: OCD is up! in a second. Handwaving is, as always, possible, if not as much fun.]

Re: Sign In

[identity profile] stocksgrrl.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
Turtle Wexler

Re: During the Lecture

[identity profile] stocksgrrl.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
Turtle's taking very detailed notes. If 'very detailed' is code for 'writing a few things down, and then sketching poorly drawn pirates in the margins.'

Re: Verifying your Information

[identity profile] stocksgrrl.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
Grinning with a bounce as she went to answer the question, Turtle pulled out today's copy of the Wall Street Journal (which she conveniently had in her bag) and smacked it down. She gave a significant nod towards it. "There we go. Gotta do some searching, but you'll find the best leads in here, guaranteed."

Re: Sign In

[identity profile] walks-two-paths.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 09:40 am (UTC)(link)
Savannah Levine

Re: Sign In

[identity profile] orewahikari.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 10:16 am (UTC)(link)
Roxas

Re: OOC

[identity profile] thiskindalove.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 10:18 am (UTC)(link)
Alrighty, I checked in! ([livejournal.com profile] orewahikari-mun here) - but I'mma gonna leave the other thingies until I get home - I'm at work just now, so it's not smart to try and tag at any length ;)

Re: Sign In

[identity profile] vkandis-son.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 10:30 am (UTC)(link)
Karal Austreben

Re: During the Lecture

[identity profile] vkandis-son.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 10:34 am (UTC)(link)
Karal diligently took notes, excited about learning this world's stars and quietly pleased that he seemed to have made an impression on their teacher last week.

What other explanation could there be for there not being a single mention of wrongdoing, or of stealing being acceptable, in this week's lesson?

Re: Verifying your Information

[identity profile] vkandis-son.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 10:38 am (UTC)(link)
Karal stood, smoothing his robes, and smiled at Vala before speaking. "The method I prefer to use is verification by research. Often there can be hints of knowledge and fact in old scrolls, maps, agricultural records, even old tales, which can lend credence to information recently acquired. Archives and libraries are of course the best place to seek it." He paused, considering, then added. "Servants can also be very helpful, as they often see and hear much that is overlooked by others, or is thought to be secret."

Re: Sign In

[identity profile] missed-the-gate.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 10:40 am (UTC)(link)
John Sheppard

Re: Sign In

[identity profile] sixstandingby.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 11:46 am (UTC)(link)
Gavin Darklighter

Re: During the Lecture

[identity profile] sixstandingby.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 11:47 am (UTC)(link)
Gavin took haphazard, scribbled notes. He'd have to take a class on taking notes soon.

Re: Verifying your Information

[identity profile] sixstandingby.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 11:50 am (UTC)(link)
Gavin frowned, thinking, before answering. "We mostly use intelligence officers where I'm from. They gather intel and relay it back. That data gets passed down to us before we go on a mission."

He wasn't sure if that's what she meant but it was all he could think of.

Re: During the Lecture

[identity profile] missed-the-gate.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 11:51 am (UTC)(link)
John drew pictures of paper airplanes on the back of his town map. He figured he could do homework while he ate pie later.

Re: Verifying your Information

[identity profile] missed-the-gate.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 11:52 am (UTC)(link)
"I would find someone smarter than me to verify information. Then, I'd make them come along on the treasure hunt," he thought it sounded like a great plan.

Re: Sign In

[identity profile] surferboy-09er.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 12:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Dick Casablancas

Re: Sign In

[identity profile] cantjossme.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 01:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Mel Fray

Re: Verifying your Information

[identity profile] cantjossme.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"Best thing you can do is to do a little recon outside of your typical information source," Mel replied. "Especially if your source has his or her own agenda when it comes to finding a particular item."

Re: Playing with the Maps

[identity profile] cantjossme.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 01:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Mel was smirking just a little bit since her earlier patrols had already resulted in a similar map that Vala was requesting. She was able to identify most of the items on the map before she even left the classroom to verify the rest.

Re: Sign In

[identity profile] saltandammo.livejournal.com 2007-05-21 02:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Dean Winchester

Page 1 of 6