The Baron leaves the sorting room (Open RP)

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

The Baron was exceptionally relieved to leave the sorting room, which had been getting rather cramped.  Although it had been a somewhat enlightening experience, he now found himself filled with a great deal of questions, such as where to find decent rooms, where that library was, and, how to find the Muggle Studies Department. The hat had left him with a burning need to watch something called "The Maury Povich Show". Not understanding things was troubling, and this needed to be remedied.

He recalled that A did say he'd show him around, and, didn't say when, so, he decided now was as good a time for any, and looked around for one of those weird little house elves. Unsure of just what to do, he barked out, "House elf! Come here, now!", feeling rather silly about this. He made sure to not act surprised when one did actually show up. "Go and tell A that I need to know where things are." It ran off, presumably to do so. They sure are ugly little things, he thought, but, at least they do take orders. And looked easy to kick if they did happen to disobey.

Adjusting his suspensors slightly, he straightened out his robes, and took up a good portion of the hallway while attempting to wait patiently. This wasn't one of his strong points, unless it involved being patient with long and convoluted plans within plans.

Comments

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

A looked around, trying to decide which corridor would lead them most directly to Slytherin.

"If it is like Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, there will be plenty of rooms you can, can look at, and choose from." Picking the one he eventually decided was best, he lead the Baron down the stone-lined hall. "It's not very organized, no. The Sorting Hat seems to be mostly in charge, although I know there is a headmistress as well."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

The Baron looked around at the corridor, examining the stones with some interest. Genuine, not plasteel imitations. "The. . .hat's in charge?" Considering a moment, he asked, "So, who's in charge of the hat then? This headmistress?" It was always good to have a clear understanding of who was supposedly in charge. Whoever or whatever it was, that hat knew a couple of names he was quite familiar with.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I think her name is Kahnooloo (http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_hocus/51040.html)," A told him. "She doesn't seem to intervene in the way things are run very often. I think the house elves are the ones who have the best knowledge of what's going on."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

A strange name, that. At least it didn't sound like a Bene Gesserit name. "They are effective, apparently. The one I sent to get you seemed unusually fast." If he could get over the house elves' strangeness, perhaps he could ask them a few questions someday. They'd probably even answer without much in the way of threats, as they did seem unusually happy to comply. Although things appeared rather chaotic, this sign that order must exist somewhere within the unfamiliar structure was reassuring.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"They can teleport," he said. "So it is easy for them to get one place to another. I think they walk most of the time, but they don't have to."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

"Teleport? Like, bending space?" He'd never pictured Navigators as small and wrinkly, but, he'd never actually seen one. No one had, except the Guild. "And yet, they don't need Spice for it?" He recalled that A had waved a stick around when demonstrating small object summoning. "They use some other tools, perhaps?"

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

A explained, "They have inherent magic. They don't need wands for what they do. It's an inborn ability, like moving and breathing."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

The Baron considered a moment, pausing briefly to touch one of the stones that lined the corridor with a fat, glittering hand, before continuing, and turning his eyes to the carpeting, examining it. Details, it was always the little details that said so much about a place.

"So then, if I have understood properly, wizards. . . use wands. But, apparently, not all people are wizards." Wizards. . . not a word he'd ever expected to use seriously in a conversation. He still wasn't sure how it applied to him. "So then, is it because they don't have the wand technology, or, because they don't have the inherent ability?"

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"Wands, yes. It is rare to be able to cast a spell without them, and very taxing, but with a wand it is easy to start to learn basic spells. And not everyone has the ability to learn, but if you are here, you do." He paused briefly, considering his words. "But you will have to study on your own, or get help from someone, because there are very few classes."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

Another important detail that kept coming up- an apparent lack of order. Now that was something he was very good at dealing with. Vacancies in the system were always good opportunities for self-advancement. "Is that part of the educational philosophy here, or, some sort of structural issue, do you think?" He paused momentarily, and stopped examining an ancient-looking bit of stonework to turn and look at A, confessing, "I haven't actually done any magic before. In fact, before today, I wouldn't have accepted its existence. However, I'm forced to now, as, the first law of mentat states that a process cannot be understood by stopping it. Whatever all this is, it is plainly happening, and a refusal to believe it won't change that. Still, it's a strange concept to get around."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I think it's just a lack of discipline." A shrugged. 'Structural issue' would probably describe it nicely. So many of the teachers seemed to be AWOL. He was proud that Kusuriyuri and Kurama, at least, taught regularly. "I, I don't think I would have believed there was magic, before. Before I came here. But I was very, there were firm limits on what I was exposed to, before."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

A lack of discipline was something he knew how to deal with- it did seem odd that despite this, things seemed to be in a peaceful state, at least visibly. Perhaps it was the whole no killing thing, since that's usually what people started doing when they got out of hand. It could make for a challenging situation, as strangling nuisances was the easiest way to deal with them. He sensed a great deal of political theatrics ahead. At least he was good at those.

He nodded to A. "I wouldn't have believed it before either- but, to refute it now would deny pretty much everything I'm seeing." He blinked a few times at a portrait as they passed it, swearing he could have seen it move, and figuring it probably did.

"It seems you were able to learn something even if you wouldn't have believed it before either, which does encourage my interest. Even if I'm a bit old to be learning something entirely new." Magic was obviously considered important here, and, he'd be damned sure to figure a few things out, if that was what stood between him and some sort of comfortable position. To all appearances, it didn't seem to matter if he actually did anything, but, it was important to stay busy. Else, it would be too easy to notice the rumored inability to strangle things. Luckily, he wasn't feeling the urge to strangle anything at all. But it was bound to happen eventually.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I was brought up to learn," A said softly. "It's natural to me to look for something to learn. There is a lot to study here. The library is enormous." That made A smile; between the size of the library and his preoccupation with River, gardening, and cooking (and gardening and cooking with River) it was unlikely that he would run out of new things to read. "It, it's not too hard to research and figure out some basics. You'll need a wand, of course. I think the Ancient Runes teacher has some spare ones, or you can buy one especially for you."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

A's company pleased the Baron in some odd way- he was unusual, an oddity really. Or at least, not the sort of person he was used to dealing with. He couldn't fathom him sticking a knife in anyone's back, or doing much in the way of machiavellian scheming at all. It wasn't a particularly attractive trait, but, it was certainly pleasant.

"I'll look forward to doing some reading- there's a lot of questions that could be probably be answered that way. I'm starting to think that I might be further away from home than I original expected- it may be a question of when, not just where. So how do those wands work, and, where does one have them made?" Some sort of amplifying technology, perhaps? He certainly wasn't going to borrow one, that would be so painfully common. His brief amusement with the situation faded as he realized that his bank accounts were also rather far away. "What's the currency here?"

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I don't know how wands are made," A admitted freely. "They're made from various sorts of woods, and they have cores that are pieces of magical creatures. Mine is elm, with a thestral mane core. There are shops that sell them, the proprietor will take some measurements and give you an assortment of wands to try."

He paused to think about currency. L, Kusuriyuri, and Kurama all gave him the small sums he needed, and many of the things he wanted most the house elves were able to provide.

"Wizarding society uses Galleons... it's a kind of gold coin. The smaller denominations are Sickles and Knuts. Muggle countries all have their own currencies. The one we're in now, Scotland, uses the pound."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

The Baron listened to A, half-baffled, what with "magical creatures" being spoken of seriously. In consideration of the house elves and invisible people, it wasn't that hard to believe. Even more confusing was the concept of a world full of countries having their own currencies. It might be easier to figure out magic than to understand just how that managed to work. He frowned, running his fingers over his jewel-embroidered sleeve, and realizing he didn't actually have any "galleons". Displacement from his wealth was not something that was going to be very acceptable. "Hrm. . . this is all very perplexing, you must understand. Thestrals, and galleons, and. . . Scotland. I thought that was some legendary place on ancient Earth. I don't think that my accounts even exist yet. Which seems like a problem."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

A looked at all the jewels the Baron wore thoughtfully. "If you sold some of your gemstones, you would be able to buy a wand. Jewelry is a traditional form of portable wealth, after all. And after that, you wouldn't necessarily need money. The school gives you a place to live and food to eat, and medical care if you get sick or hurt."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

The Baron listened thoughtfully, and nodded his concession to A's suggestion. "I suppose there is that, but I do hate to part with objects of art when I know that somewhere, or sometime, my family's one of the wealthiest in the Imperium. I'll need more than one of these wands- my wardrobe is also somewhere or sometime else, and, I've not yet seen if the rooms are up to standard." He looked over his rings, assessing their actual value, and eventually realizing that between them and the rest, he at least was wearing a respectable fortune. Converting some of it was an acceptable loss, in order to make up for the necessity of general luxury.

He considered A a moment- he'd need someone to manage this for him, and A in fact seemed the most obvious and immediate choice, due to his almost unnatural lack of guile. A appeared to be the sort of person that wouldn't actually run off with finances, just because he'd think it wouldn't be right. This definitely wasn't the sort of mentality that the Baron was used to dealing with, but, it would do for the time being. "I may have to ask for your assistance with selling off a couple things, and obtaining the necessities. At least one of these wands, and, a good tailor, to start." He smiled at A, adding, "It's standard for a representative get a cut in a sales arrangement, which means that finding the best one's important." He made a mental note to seek out the self-proclaimed King of Bandits in the near future- he seemed like a good candidate for a potential business partner in the long term.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

A gave him a rather startled blink; he knew little to nothing about selling things, and the only clothing he'd ever bought had been in the mall, with L's help, and had been simple garments in primary colors.

"I, I'm not, I, I don't think I could do that," he said regretfully. "I wouldn't know how. Mello would know, or Ryuzaki, or Kurama, or Matt... I don't know how to sell things, or to find a tailor."

It wasn't hard for him to admit to ignorance, even if he didn't want to disappoint his new acquaintance.

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

The Baron was mildly annoyed, but, figured it was best A admitted what appeared to be genuine ignorance, and couldn't fault him too badly for it. "Well, at least you admit you don't know how. I'd expect you know where people have to go to do these things? Are we in a city?" He never liked actually having to do what seemed menial activities himself. Perhaps it would be possible to drag a house elf along. The inability to get killed meant that his lack of guards probably wasn't as dire as it felt. Although it was easier to bargain when threats would be taken seriously. The "no killing" issue was going to become a serious challenge.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"No, not in a city, but there is a village within walking distance, and it is easy to use the floo network to get to either the wizarding or muggle places to shop."

A felt sure that the Baron would fit in better in a wizarding environment than a muggle one, but it was his choice.

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

Not surrounded by hordes of the common masses at least, he thought. He wasn't much into walking distance, however. "A floo network? Is that some sort of transit technology? Or is it magic? And, which places are better to shop in- the wizarding ones I presume?" Given that "muggle" was a silly sounding term, he figured that wizarding had to be more prestigious.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"It's a magical form of transportation. You throw a special powder into a fireplace, state your destination, and just step through. It's a little disorienting, but not too bad."

Not that A liked it, but it got you where you needed to go.

"I think you would like wizarding shops better. All the muggle stores I was in sold premade things, and I don't think that is what you want. And wizarding fashions are closer to what you already wear."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

The Baron nodded his understanding, and smiled thankfully at A's explanation. "Wizarding shops it is then. Premade wouldn't work well, for obvious reasons." The smile turned into a rather dry smirk, which quickly fell into baffled confusion as he considered A's words more thoroughly. "Wait. . . you step through a fireplace? Is it on fire?"

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"Yes, fire." He couldn't help grinning just a little, though more in sympathy than anything else. He'd found it overwhelming at first and still wasn't very fond of it. "The powder makes it into a means of transportation so it doesn't burn. You can tell because they flames turn green."