Katerina Nastasya Campbell posted her character information in the character generation thread, and I'm sending her here to give a bit more of her background story.
Katarina had previously started play a year ago at a previous convention, but had lost her character papers. Rather than start her again the same way, given that at the time she was the only new player, I put her in Haunted House, and versed in a duplicate of Michael (he could thus play himself) to be her companion. But I'm hoping she'll tell you what happened to her and to him, and I'll invite him to add to her telling anything he remembers that he'd like included, although it wasn't really his character, just someone exactly like him.
So, Kat, tell us what happened from the moment you arrived to the last thing you remember of the game.
--M. J. Young
Ok, so when I first went to the haunted house, it was dark so I felt around for my lighter, and then used that to light my way as I gathered my stuff. Then I met Michael who explained what being a verser is. So we went to leave the room, but the doorknob was freezing so Mike flinched, so I tried and it worked. We then went down the hall, and discovered the place was haunted, which caused me to yell "ADVENTURE!" as I ran down the hall. Mike followed slowly, and tried to use his phone as light. I tried to carefully walk down the stairs, and then Mike was pushed on top of me, so we fell. I continued on to the living room, and then when passing through the archway into the dining room, the horseshoe above the arch fell on my head. We continued through the dining room and into the kitchen, where I opened the fridge and knives started to fly at me. Mike tried to sneak out of the house and a light fixture fell on him, causing him to die and verse out. Then I was stabbed to death (I think).
When I versed out, I awoke in a forest of bamboo. I walked into the nearby village (Wearing all black) and approached one of the houses. A man answered the door and said "I won't tell anyone. Ninja don't exist." So I went back to the forest to sleep. After waking up, I changed into my spare clothing, and headed back to the village. I went to this woman's house, asking for a quick bite to eat. She invites me in, and I supply my own chopsticks. She gives me a bowl of rice and some tea, and afterwords I help clean. As I help her clean, I ask some questions about her village, and find out she is a surf that grows rice for the samurai, the warriors working for the local daimyo, who in turn work for the shogun, who is chosen by the son of the goddess. I mention that were I come from, people choose their leaders, and there is no daimyo. She thinks I'm lying. I ask her if I there is a place to stay, and she mentions I might be able to work in the rice paddies, or find a husband. I mention I don't really know how to cook rice, but I can cook meat. She says that there may be jobs for me in the city, so I spend two days walking there. When I reach there, it is dark, so I set up camp outside of the city and sleep. I am discovered my a man, who interrogates me. When I tell him I am looking for a job as a cook for a samurai, he says anyone can cook rice, but then when I say I can cook meat, he becomes curious, and asks me more questions. He becomes concerned that I am the lost daughter of a samurai or daimyo, so he takes me into the city, where I am asked more questions. The head chancellor or council or whatever says the best option is to take me to the priests.
That's where we left off.
Just going to add a few of the creepy things that were glossed over. The primary source of light in the beginning was lightning. Once in the hallway the door back to the bedroom slammed shut despite the lack of wind to do so, or open window for that matter. There was a corpse hanging during one flash of lightning and then gone in a second. I was freaking out more than a little while Kat was excited. All attempts to have light to see where actively thwarted by the ghost. We made a torch at one point from nagaworld creeper vine cloth. While walking down the stairs her foot had been grabbed by the ghost, as well as attempting to push her which she resisted. I didn't manage to keep my balance when something similar happened which is how I fell on her down the stairs. I didn't so much "sneak out of the house" once we hit the kitchen as full out sprint in hopes of reaching the door. Kat saw me verse out, so she knows what that looks like for sure. Some of Kat's damage in the kitchen I believe was from a frying pan, but the final blow was a knife stabbing her.
And that's all I have to contribute. Have fun. :)
Alright, thanks.
I think the frying pan missed. Kat was injured in the tumble down the stairs, but her companion more so; she took the blow from the horseshoe, and was stabbed by a butcher knife and several steak knives. Michael was killed by kitchen chairs, primarily, within reach of the back door.
Kat, peasants are called "serfs", not "surfs". Not sure whether that was a typo, but thought I'd call it to your attention in case it (likely) arises again.
You have been sent to the Soryo, apparently some kind of priest, of which there are many in the city. These are some of the Kuge, a class of nobility that differs somehow from the Bushi, of which the Samurai, Daimyo, and Shogun are all members.
His home is lavishly appointed, and there are bushi guarding it. You are shown into a room with comfortable cushions on the floor. The house has electric lights, and there do not seem to be outhouses here that you have seen, in contrast to the village.
There are also more of those three-wheeled motorized cycles such as passed you on the road. The men who ride these seem to be part of the police force, bushi of some sort.
You remove your shoes again upon entering, and wait only a few minutes before a man more than twice your age enters, and rather pleasantly addresses you. "I am told that you do not know where your family is, but that you have been taught to cook meat and not rice. This indeed does suggest that your family was perhaps bushi or kuge, that you would have meat commonly enough but that you would not have been taught to cook rice. Tell me everything you remember, child. We must try to find your family."
--M. J. Young
I realize that there is no way I could tell them that my father's an accountant, if they even have that in this universe, I feign amnesia "I don't remember much. I remember a nice house, a forest; I vaguely remember my father's face....He looks like me, and my mother's blond hair.... It's all a blur, really. I have a cookbook from my mother," I present the Bento Boxes Cook Book "but that's all I remember, before waking up in the middle of some forest. I was given some rice by a kind serf in the village, and then traveled to the city in search of a job."
"You must have had a traumatic life--kidnapped at a very young age probably by the ninja, kept for whatever nefarious purposes they had, but in such stressful conditions that you have forgotten all since you were a child. I would wager your parents are both dead; that would explain why the ninja would take you, although that they would have pity on a child is unusual.
"The book is very fine quality. Your parents obviously were quite wealthy. Probably you would not remember their names, though. You have not told me your name. Do you remember what you were called then? What name do you remember as yours?"
--M. J. Young
"I remember that...My given name...Is Kat....I don't remember my family name" I state, trying to look like I'm trying hard to remember, "And before waking up in the woods....I remember knives...."
"Your name is--Cat?" The Soryo looks concerned. "Like the animal?"
--M. J. Young
"Well, it's spelt with a K, but it sounds the same." I answer, "Is that an unusual name?"
"Well, yes--it certainly is not a common name in the city or among the kuge or bushi, and I've not heard it among the commoners," he assures you. "Yet--well--I'm sure there's nothing wrong with it," he says in a way that assures you that there is, but he's not really willing to say. "Did anyone ever call you anything else?"
--M. J. Young
"Well, I think it's short for something." I state, "I remember a friend called me kit-kat...I thought that was cute..." I remember something I read about Kit-Kat being a lucky candy in Japan "It's lucky, isn't it? Kit-kat?"
"So you are not named for the cat, but for the lucky candy?" he says. It does not seem as if that mollifies him. "You do not have a real name?"
He leans over you, a serious look on his face. "Where have you been these years? Who has kept you and taught you, and what did you learn? When were you taken from your parents, and who were they?"
He apparently does not like the holes in your story.
--M. J. Young
"Look, I don't remember. All I know is that I woke up in some bamboo field, my name, and my parent's faces." I say, hoping they believe me.
The soryo peers at you for another moment, then turns and starts to walk away.
"Tea for our guest," he says, and a woman bows and leaves the room.
"Fetch Samurai James," he says to the bushi who is still here. "I must discuss this with him."
You are now alone in the room with the soryo, who has his attention on the door waiting for someone to return.
--M. J. Young
"Um, I'm sorry but," I start, "Who is Samurai James, if I may ask?"
The soryo hesitates, as if trying to decide what to say or perhaps how to say it.
"He is the local daimyo's local chief. The bushi here are under his direction. Does that explain it?"
--M. J. Young
"Oh, so he's a very influential man." She says "Family must be proud."
He gives you a very puzzled look when you say that the samurai's family must be proud.
"He is an important bushi," he says, "but he is not kuge, and his family is all important bushi. His father is his daimyo's first."
The woman returns first, bearing tea on a tray with "biscuits", which are actually something more akin to shortbread cookies (were you ever a girl scout?) and sugar wafers. There is both sugar and honey, along with lemon and cream, alongside the ceramic teapot and the probably six ounce tea bowl (that is, a cup without a handle). She defers to him, but also to you, as if you might be someone of importance.
--M. J. Young
"Those look good." I say, as I reach for one of the shortbread cookies, and take a bite. After swallowing, "These are really good."
Pending.
"Thank you," the woman says, very meekly. "I am pleased you like them. Have more, if you like."
In a few minutes another man enters the room, briskly but full of dignity.
"Your grace," he says.
"Your lordship," the priest replies. "Have you been briefed?"
"Briefly. I am told that the girl, barely more than a child, does not remember who she is or where she is from, but that she knows how to cook food for nobles and not food for peasants. There were concerns about her name, but your messenger was confused about these."
"Yes, at first she said she was called 'Cat', which you can understand immediately raised my fears; but then she said it might be short for 'Kit-kat', which raises entirely different issues."
"Indeed, I can see that it would be just like a geisha to name a daughter for a candy, and that would make her kuge; but ninja often take names of animals to hide their identities, and so she might have been training with them. My concern is not so much that she does not remember, but that we might not know whether she does or not. Even if she has genuinely forgotten who she is, if she remembers being ninja she will not tell us, and if we accept her as kuge it may position her where she can cause great harm."
"What do you recommend?" the priest asks. The samurai thinks.
"Get a message to the Kanpaku. If she is the lost daughter of kuge, dead or alive, someone must know, and will be able to identify her, even if it has been many years."
"And if no one does?"
"Let us hope someone does."
"In the meantime?"
"It would be inappropriate for me to offer accommodations to a kuge, even the daughter of a geisha. She will have to stay with you, or with one of your associates, among the kuge, at least until we know."
"Very good. Thank you. I will write the letter this evening."
The samurai leaves, and the soryo turns his attention back to you.
"You heard. I do not want you to think we are hiding our concerns from you. You are welcome to stay here with my family for the present, or I can find you a bed with the geisha or kabuki yakusha if you prefer. We will find your parents, or a least learn what has become of them, if it is at all possible."
--M. J. Young
"Any accommodations you could offer will be infinitely better than where I have been sleeping." I state, remembering the days I spent sleeping outside. "So why do you keep going on about ninja? They're warriors, right? Are they not under your control?"
He looks very stern.
"Ninja are not warriors. They are bandits; that is what their name means. They have no honor, are not noble like the warriors--bushi, that is what bushi means, warrior and noble, which are the same and not the same, because kuge also means noble, members of the holy caste, Soryo priests, Geisha dancers, Kabuki Yakusha actors, and of course the Kanpaku chancellor and the emperor, Mikado Son of the Goddess, himself. Bushi are not kuge, but they are nobles also, not heimin commoners.
"Ninja attack and kill the bushi, and steal the koku, that is, the rice collected in taxes. They hide among the heimin. To be ninja is to be enemy of the Son of the Goddess, and to deserve death.
"But even apart from that, I have no control over bushi. The ways of the warriors are essential in the collection of the koku, but are worldly, and holy nobles do not soil ourselves with the earthly. The Son of the Goddess himself has authority over all bushi, but he does not soil himself with such matters, leaving this to his Shogun, the premier, who has authority over his equals, the daimyo or generals, who in turn direct their samurai or commanders, who command the remaining soldiers, bushi, to maintain order and collect koku. I do not involve myself in such worldly matters, as is fit for a kuge."
--M. J. Young
"So, in short, Ninja bad, Kuge and Bushi good." I answer, and then I become concerned "But what if no one recognizes me? What if no one claims me? I don't remember who I am or where I came from." I reach for some more cookies. "I mean, I don't want to be locked up for impersonating nobility. Even if no one claims me, perhaps there is some place for me. Some where." I start to eat, "You wouldn't let anything bad happen to me, would you?"
"Let us not concern ourselves with what might happen. Children vanish; when they do, their parents generally never stop seeking them and hoping for their return. If your parents are alive, we will find them. If your parents were killed, you probably have a relative--aunt, grandparent, older sibling--who will remember you. If you are a missing child, someone misses you.
"We will keep looking until we know."
--M. J. Young
Wasn't sure if you saw this or what was happening....
--M. J. Young
((We lost connection at our grandma's so we couldn't post anything. :( ))
I realize that I'll probably be stuck there for a long time. Might as well make the most of it. I then remember I had been wearing the same clothes for two days. "I'm sorry if I'm asking too much, but, is is possible that I might have a change of clothes?"
"Oh, indeed; and a shower, too, unless you would prefer a bath? I can have one of the geisha bring over some bath oils you might like, and it will be better to have one of them dress you.
"Show our guest to a guest room. I think the one on the second floor near the garden would best suit her."
The woman who brought the tea bows again, and extends a hand toward you. "If you are ready?"
--M. J. Young
"Yes, thank you" I say, standing up, "Thank you for everything"
The bathtub is in one room and the shower in another, but both are otherwise reasonably modern (the huge tub stands on eight feet on the tile floor, the shower is across the hall and is a spacious stall with multiple shower heads and faucet controls in which several people could shower at once). The woman, whom you now take to be the Soryo's wife, asks if you want her to find you some company for the shower (or bath, whichever you take), noting that there are some handsome bushi about as well as a couple of young kabuki yakusha.
The bedroom is on the second story (of two). The building has central heat, forced hot air, so it is comfortable when you arrive. You are given a fluffy robe and towel for the shower, and in the room you find what must be a kimono, two kimonos more precisely, but one is thinner and lighter and probably intended for sleep. There is also a garment that appears to be intended as an overdress for going out and a separate robe for wearing over the bedclothes.
The wife asks whether you wish to be called for dinner or to sleep and wait for breakfast.
--M. J. Young
"I wish to be called for dinner" I say, looking over my kimono, "If it's not a burden, can you help me to put this on."
I note that you did not react to your hostess' offer to get you some men to join you in the tub/shower.
She gives you an odd look, but is a gracious hostess and shows you how it's done. It is mostly a wrap-around robe which secures in front with modern fasteners--a zipper and a few buttons.
"Dinner will be served in an hour."
--M. J. Young
(I thought it was going to be a traditional kimono that you need help getting into XD)
"Thank you" I say, wondering about where my other things are.
Whatever you brought into the house with you has been brought to your room, but has not been unpacked. The clothes you were wearing are in the bathroom unless you brought them with you, but the wife will gladly fetch them for you if you wish.
--M. J. Young
I decide to look through the stuff I brought, and took out one of my many spell books "I wonder if they have magic here." I say quietly to myself. I start thumbing through the pages to kill time until dinner.
It is certainly an interesting question, but wondering about it does not bring you closer to knowing.
You are called for dinner soon enough. It is a spicy seafood stir fry with mixed vegetables and noodles over brown rice. They ask what you would like to drink, mentioning tea, sake, beer, water, and apple juice, but leaving it open-ended as if there might be other options.
--M. J. Young
The food smells and looks great "Do you happen to have beer?"
She smiles, and sends one of the serving women for what proves to be a mug of room temperature beer.
Your host seems to be eating in a hurry, but your hostess insists that you relax and ignore his haste. "It must be very hard for you," she says, "not knowing who you are or who your parents are."
--M. J. Young