Drachenfest 2006 - Urukfest
Aug. 10th, 2006 05:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janestarzThis year's Drachenfest was ruled by the orcs, who were the victors of the last Drachenfest in 2004. This had, lucky for us, little other effect than that the copper coins were embossed with the head of the orc avatar.
Three weeks in advance of the event itself there was a big change in their plans: the ORGA had arranged for a different location: a mountainside near Diemelstadt.
Ofcourse there was a lot of stress in advance for Drachenfest. There is no such thing as easy planning for a group of 25 people who decide to go to a 4500-person larp about 400 km away from home. Our week looked pretty hectic, and finally the Monday before Drachenfest dawned.
Monday
This day was mostly filled with getting stuff together and picking up the bus, which was immediately dubbed "Beschuitbus", seeing that it was large and grey and that a lot of stuff would fit in it, just like our beschuitbus*) at home. We traveled to Voorschoterlaan, picked up a huge grey T5 Volkswagen bus, and drove it home. We then proceeded to grab our lovely kittens in their necks and drag them off to the pound. They would stay there for just a week in the good caring hands of the people of the pound. They hissed and miaowed at us, not liking the mere idea of being left there, and we left with a sadness that we wouldn't see them for a week.
Later that day, Gijs' father dropped off the luggage for Gijs and![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ningyomatsuri and the people themselves. We loaded up the Beschuitbus excluding their sleeping gear and toiletrystuff, and spent an enjoyable evening with these two, and ate pancakes too!
*)Beschuitbus: a canister to store biscuits in that are traditionally eaten for breakfast, called 'beschuitjes'.
Tuesday
Tuesdaymorning also dawned, and lo' and behold! It was a Malor at our door with his luggage. Thanks to some weird planning on his side he'd have a job interview on the first day of Drachenfest, and he would let us carry the luggage there, and take his own car to the event, negating his spot in the bus. Which was sort of a good thing seeing that it was stuffed++.
We loaded up the Beschuitbus and drove to Nijmegen to Mike-sensei and Yvonne's place, where we had a good lunch with fresh fruit. After lunchningyomatsuri, the sensei and me went of to shop - groceries. First to Sligro for the bulk of noodles and rice, and then to the Lidl for the smaller things and the B-brands. We finished with a nice 400 euro for all groceries, for about half the festival, but all of the dinnerstuff already bought, so not too shabby. Try to imagine buying 10kg of peppers, 5 kg of leeks, and also 10kgs of rice...it was fun!
It also took most of the afternoon. When we arrived back at M&Y's, more people had arrived and we had dinner with some fries, junk food before the health trip to Drachenfest indeed.
Before going to sleep we watched Spirited away, My First Manga ever, and I talked with Pluis about coming to Charm to play. I'll have to consider that though.
Wednesday
Wednesday morning dawned as well, for a change, and the waking up was way too early. When I got downstairs after finishing packing up the sleepinggear,drahkan and J. were already there, and more and more people started to arrive. The people who slept at M&L's also dropped back in, and the remainder of stuff was loaded into various cars. After assembling all passengers, having them go to the toilet, flight Beschuitbus was ready for departure and we left the nice realms of the Heeskesacker. To immediately take a wrong turn (to shake of any pursuit, really!) only to run into M&L who followed us around until Diemelstadt.
Driving around in Germany was fun. Of course people drive differently in different parts of the country. I knew that traffic near Nijmegen was much more relaxed than with us in Rotterdam, but really, Germany is heaven. People drive more relaxed, much more acutely aware of their surroundings and other cars, and they anticipate what actions people will take. When seeing a truck on the right lane 400 meters ahead of them, they will already check out the cars behind them to see which ones are going 160-200 kph, and if there aren't any in the vicinity that will be bothered by their actions, they will change into the left lane, pass the truck, and immediately go back to the right lane. I almost always try to adopt this driving style, even in the busy Randstad here, but in Germany I was one of many, which made the driving experience just so much more enjoyable.
Even though the Beschuitbus was 1700 kgs unloaded, and there were 5 people and luggages in it, it was still driving smoothly at 130 kph, and we made good time, stopping now and again at Sanifair (they automatically clean the toiletseat, and the 50 cts you pay to use the toilet comes back out as a coupon for food, so if you buy something at the stop, your toiletbreak was free...really Sanifair should expand to our country as well) or Burger King.
The troubles began when we found Drachenfest. The route description we had was good, but when we turned into a mountain lane to Drachenfest, we ended up in a long line of cars, slowly winding up the mountainside. The path was muddy, but my Beschuitbus had no trouble with slipping tires. Only with pulling up from the steep climb. I lost count on how many times the engine stalled. In any case, we made it up the mountain, down the other end, and onto the field, where the bus really didn't like the climb near camp Chaos. So we unloaded the bus then and there and we went for parking the car and incheck while the rest built the camp. I felt a bit guilty for letting them do all the building, but I dare say I did make up for it later that week. NoKey and I did the dishes the following morning because we were the first awake (also because we went to sleep while the rest went to the incheck) and I was doing the dishes most of the remainder of the week, one of the great downsides to this Drachenfest.
Thursday
Suffice to say that while the o-kami called Fabian woke me up in the middle of the night because of the opening ritual, I did get a good night's sleep, and I went to the toilet (a dixie) early in the morning in OC clothes, and did the dishes and made coffee. Bringing a thermos and coffeestuff along was a gold opportunity, and my lads loved me for it, I think. After breakfast we dressed up and I got to test my theory of padding underneath the obi. First I put on my underkimono, then added an obi with a towel folded double, and then my outer kimono (blue linen) with a large dark blue obi, and the over-obi with blue leaves. Over that all came an obijime (I think it's called) for extra decoration. This was my daily wear for normal occasions around the house, seeing that I am married woman, ex-geisha and in no way very special.
It was not long after breakfast that the first visitors announced themselves. Whilst Mineko was off to introduce herself to the Kami, i.e. checking in, with a large contingency (all the geisha, and Usagi and Yomi), I was the only female next to Inazuma-hime to be present in the house. Seeing that Inazuma would be taking a spot in the Green Camp Council, I was the one who would serve tea. First to the o-Kami, then to the Mayor of the Green camp, and then to the other visitors. And ofcourse I had to do the dishes of all these people and clear away all the breakfast crap people left lying around. Suffice to say the trend was set and that I was not very amused with my fellow-Yoshida for not clearing away their own crap behind their lazy asses. By the time the third visitor left I was nearer crying than laughing, and I had to sit down with some tea to relax. Sadly, this trend continued for most of Drachenfest and Suus and I were always the ones doing dishes because most of the time we would need the bows to serve tea to our guests.
We did present the o-kami with a nice gift: a sleeveless kimono, inspired by the garb of the gaijin, with leaves stitched on. She was quite impressed, and though we expected a tall fat man with a fur cap, the slim blonde girl who was now the form of the kami still looked wonderful in our it.
The difference between taking credit for your work OC, and not wanting to be the only one who worked on the gift for the kami IC was much less of a problem then the one with the breakfast bowls. The kami thanked our family profusely, and I got to sit down.
When Koyuki returned I had a chance to practice a tea ceremony with her and Mineko-hime. This was practically the only chance we had to sit down.
After dinner, a lovely Sweet-n-sour chicken with fruits I cooked, the daimyo asked if I could prepare a private tea-ceremony between him and Koyuki. He would call me in to hand him a box, which would contain a present for Koyuki. As soon as I saw the box, I knew that it held a kimono. I sat outside their private ceremony and turned everyone away. Yasuo-chan came with a letter from the Oni, which I secretly pressed into the Daimyo's hand from underneath the curtain, (and he said I did well to do so), but besides that they were not disturbed. I could and would not overhear what they talked about, but at one point the daiymo called my name, and I gave him the box with the kimono. He set it on the table in front of Koyuki and she opened it. When she saw the kimono she blushed, and the Daimyo ordered me to dress Koyuki in it immediately. Quite a breach of etiquette, but I could not disobey. I dare say Koyuki felt my displeasure as I undressed her, undoing her obi quite roughly.
The kimono was a soft pink satin-silk, with purple flowers and green stems and leaves. The under-kimono and obi were in the same green. I carefully dressed Koyuki - she kept her underkimono of white and red on - and I pinned the pink kimono so it would modestly show the green underkimono at the hem. The daimyo was pleased, and prepared for other matters, while Koyuki and I went to a bit of a quiet place to have some portraits made.
That night, the daimyo presented everyone with a gift. Last was Usagi, and he got not so nice a gift: two broken hashi. Because of the gossip in the clan everyone knew that Usagi had made a slip-up on the picnic, by failing to accompany Mineko, and this Drachenfest he made his final mistake by leaving Mineko when she introduced herself to the kami. The daimyo presented him with two broken hashi, and all Usagi said in reply was "shall I prepare?"
The daimyo nodded, and then Shiro-sensei and Usagi prepared Usagi for seppuku. It was a very serene ceremony, and Usagi wrote a very touching death-poem, only to be read after his honorable death. We all said our goodbyes to Usagi, and then his body was burned and life went on.
That night, we also went to the Oni, to drink a cup of tea with the Kami. Little news there, but the Oni did a marvellous performance. They were waiting in front of their gate with torches, and seeing that we were late, they must have been there for a while. They led us inside the Grey camp, and immediately dealt with the guards who were holding Sakamoto Kiyoshi and a few other samurai, and refused to let them pass. The Oni protected us very well indeed while we were visiting, and it was quite an experience even though the Daimyo was the only one that had tea.
When we returned home, the Daimyo sat Koyuki down next to him and poured her a drink. I decided it was time to take his mind off of her, and offered to play a little drinking game: Lie or Truth. It is an old geisha-game, and the geisha are usually very good at it since their memories are trained to remember many names, birthdays and anniversaries of their clients and clients' families. The zashiki was quite a succes, with Garou and Kaminari playing to lose, and Furakawa surprising me by guessing right stories he could have no knowledge of time and again. The sake and lychee wine flowed richly, and we all had a very good time indeed.
Friday
Fridaymorning dawned yet again, and the morning was soft and quiet. Shiro, Koyuki, Sakamoto and I delivered some invitations to the King of Kargath and the Oni, and then all was quiet in the camp until there was an alarm. The samurai stormed off to help the Green camp - we were under attack by orcs - and after a while Mineko asked if I wanted to have a look if there were any wounded. I grabbed my basket and joined her near the gate. The orc attack was turned away, and I climbed up on the wall to see. The samurai were fighting a group of orcs near the orc camp wall, and Yomi at one point fell and was healed by a healer of the Green Camp. It was very hard to keep track of the samurai and when Masuo-san came trudging back, wounded, and said that the rest of the wounded would follow, we clambered down from the wall hurriedly and ran back to the house, not bothering to keep our kimono closed. I called to Koyuki to make hot water, get towels and bandages and prepare for the wounded and soon indeed the wounded were pouring into the compound. Shiro-sensei and Daimyo-sama were hurt badly, and Mineko immediately got to work on them, cleaning their wounds and binding them, while Koyuki (who has no skill in healing) gave the wounded some water to ease their thirst.
I busied myself with binding Masuo's wounds, and told him to take off his kosode and juban. He sort of protested, saying it was not modest to do so, and I replied that if he'd rather bleed to death he'd better not do it on the daimyo's nicest tatami, and that bandaging his wounds would not really work if he kept those items of clothing on.
After helping Masuo out, I set him against a bench and worried over Sakamoto Kiyoshi. He had two arrows sticking out of his body, one near the liver and the other on his right arm, near the biceps. The wounds looked a bloody mess, and I hurried back into the kitchen to get more water, a knife, and a hashi. The one in his gut would have to be cut out, and I pressed the hashi between his teeth to bite down upon. I called Koyuki to hold Kiyoshi's shoulders and for him to have something to lean against, and started to make a small cut where the arrow had gone into his body. It was not in too deep, and I could see no damage except for the cut, and pulled the arrow out, which took a tremendous amount of strength anyway. Sakamoto-san sagged against Koyuki and his breath came in great gulps...I can not begin to imagine the pain he must have gone through. I cleaned the wound, which bled heavily, and then quickly bound it so it would heal cleanly.
Next up was the arrow in his arm. It was quivering in time with the muscle, and I was afraid the arrowhead had hit the bone, but when I examined the arm carefully -so as not to hurt Kiyoshi too much- I was pretty sure it didn't. Kiyoshi insisted I push the arrow through the arm, but it was embedded in the muscle, and I could not predict what pushing the arrow through would do to the rest of the muscle. I called Mineko for a second opinion, and she agreed that cutting it out was a better idea.
This time, Sakamoto-san bit through the hashi in pain.
Lucky for him the arrow indeed did not hit the bone, and I cleaned and bandaged the wound easily. In recent experiences we realized that wounds on the Dragonworld heal cleanly and swiftly. Even the dead sometimes return to their lives - unchanged.
I cleared away the things we used, had Sakamoto sit down, and put the dirty bandages that were used to stop the bleeding in the first case so the wounded could be moved in pan so we could boil and wash them. I checked on Shiro-sama, he has stolen a little corner of my heart, who was drinking some water on a bench.
"Shiro-sensei, so many wounded, and not all have returned. Is there any word from Jishin?"
"Iie. I did not see her return."
"Jishin, and Tōshi, and Yasuo..."
"Tsubasa-san, I can not lie to you. I saw Yasuo fall in the battle. I am afraid he died."
At that point, tears just started streaming down my face, and I tried hard to keep them in.
"Forgive me for letting myself go like this. Please excuse me." I said, and wiped away my tears and started working on boiling and cleaning the bandages again. It is absolutely not done to show such deep emotions in public, or even among close friends, and I really had to fight to keep the tears inside. Koyuki offered me a drink, and I said I wanted to be alone for a while. She did not leave me though, and I continued to do my work, very much zombie-like because I can't even remember what it was I was doing.
After a while I sat down, and I do remember I haven't looked up from my hands the entire time, afraid to let people see the tears in my eyes.
I did not want to hear people suggest that Yasuo would go to Limbus, that he might return, for the fear that I would get my hopes up and that he would not return after all.
It was no more than half an hour, I swear, when I heard someone gasp my name, and point outside.
I flung myself through the curtains and into his arms. It was Yasuo! He had returned!
I cried anew. "They said you were dead. I didn't think you'd come back. It was an honourable death..."
Yasuo said "I wouldn't have, but the kami of Death sent me back with a message for the clan.
And so ended our most romantic moment of Drachenfest, with the message from Death: "Do not die."
The reason why Death had sent this message was because the Drow group had taken over the Limbus. We only found out how bad this was when the people from Limbus were sent to our house to serve us for an hour before they could continue their lives. But first there was a shopping spree in the sun. I bought some nice books and a new hair ornament that was vaguely reminiscent of a trident.
When we were preparing dinner an orc bustled into our compound, and indeed it shocked the entire household. He told the story that he was sent from Limbus to serve us for an hour, and he was the first of a few. He helped out with the preparations for dinner, and because we are such nice people he could eat along with us. Outside, in the courtyard, of course. More people came from Limbus, and they were told to sing a song, play some music, or dance for the Daimyo.
Tarek and his wolfbrother also joined us for dinner, and the daimyo requested a talk with me, so we ate in the livingroom. The Daimyo was very curious what the term danna entails, and how one should act and what is expected of a danna. I tried to help him with his questions as much as possible, but I feared it was all about Koyuki - again - and knew it was so when he said I should instruct Koyuki also in pillowing.
I can't quite put my finger on it if this was before or after dinner, but just as the King of Kargath walked into our complex, all SL called the players together for a stormwarning. Fabian had had it tracked and it was definitely coming our way. We were supposed to take off all metal and secure all tents. Now that is a scary thing to hear when you're camping on a mountaintop. Luckily, camp Green and neighbours Red and Steel had their tents against the treeline. Camp Orc was on top of the hill, no trees in sight. And there was a huge field with only a few trees to cross in between. You wouldn't want to be caught out in the storm there, wearing your chainmail. No siree.
We secured all tents and Gijs assured us that the Green tent was as solid as a rock. I was very worried for the 6x3 partytents of the kitchen and bathhouse, we saw one fly head over heels on the Summoning, and the wind that was picking up was already a few factors worse than that wind. Still, we made extra security lines of sisalrope. The worst that could happen was that the lightning would strike in one, and the thing would ignite and blow away anyway. Soit. We did what we could, put blankets, food, water and an empty bucket in the green livingroom tent and when the first rain broke we were all cosy and snug.
Storms like these could last for hours in Germany, but we had luck and it blowed mostly past us. Linda, Suus and I snuggled under a blanket and tried to warm up again, and Pluis kept us entertained. So after an hour, hour and a half, we were ready to put the OC stuff away and continue playing.
Which is exactly the point someone arrived from the gate, telling us there were Oni at the gate. An instant-welcoming party was assembled and I greeted Oni Ni (I think) who told us that the Oni would honour our invitation and could be expected in half an hour.
We hurried back home, told the household and Daimyo the good news, and we hurriedly prepared tea and a welcoming committee with torches. Soon we welcomed nine Oni, and we guided them to our house. We had already warned the gatekeepers that the Oni were not to be touched and that they could keep their weapons. When they entered our house, Oni Ichi took off the flag they all wear on their backs, gave his katana to Sakamoto for safe-keeping, and stepped into the livingroom.
The visit wasn't very special to me. The Oni outside got a round of tea, after which I joined the Daimyo inside to help out there and also to see Lurtz, who plays Oni Ichi. After all, I first came in contact with him on the Drachenfest forum. The daimyo asked me to peel a peanut for Oni Ichi, since he had munched one without taking the shell off first, and I carefully unpacked the small peanuts for him. I guess Oni have different ways of eating than we do.
Saturday
The day of the Endslacht dawned bright, and though the samurai had told stories until late in the night, many were up early, preparing for the battle. In the morning we could also welcome the King of Kargath, soon dubbed King-sama by the household. The King had brought two bodyguards, who were also served tea. The Daimyo had a pleasant conversation with the King indeed, and they talked mostly of what the role of the King and his knights would be during the Endslacht. Apparantly, the Silver camp had come only to rid the Dragon's world of the orcs, and they would not really participate in the endbattle for rulership, since they are not interested in rulership. This is of course a very noble cause to fight for, and I dare say the mutual friendship and respect we have for one another has only grown during this conversation.
Soon after the King had left, Inazuma-sama had prepared a ritual, and all samurai would participate and be present with this. I was not awarded an acting role in the ritual, but would have ample opportunity to make portraits of the ritual and sketches of what was done, just like Mineko-hime.
The ritual started with the maiko and geisha cleansing the place of ritual with brooms and salt. Then there was a kata from Garou and Yasuo in unarmed combat. They threw eachother around and Garou even 'attacked' Yasuo with a katana, but the kata was not meant to do harm, only to practice the forms and show what the life of a samurai would be all about. In this they succeeded nicely.
After Yasuo and Garou, ther was a fan dance by Akemi, to show the peace after practice, and the harmony of life and nature. We were all caught in her marvellous dance, and too soon it was over already. Toushi then stepped forward to show the forms of the katana, and do a solo kata. We could clearly see the young Toushi was very nervous, but his kata was very good and solid, although I have no fair eye in judging this.
Then it was time for the geisha and maiko to hand Shiro and Jishin their masks and helmets, for they would show the full battle gear of a samurai in combat. Shiro and Jishin had already put on most of their armour before the ritual, and soon they had their masks and helmets on as well. Their kata was breathtaking, for they did battle in full, though with boken in stead of real katana. A boken can do enough damage though, because even if it does not have a sharp metal edge, a hard blow with a boken can shatter bone and bend even the master's armour.
After their kata, the geisha and maiko cleansed the circle again so that all was done, and the samurai departed in silence again. The ritual left many bystanders breathless, I am sure, and we hurried cleaned away the pillows that had been needed for the ritual. Soon it would be time for the Endslacht.
Yasuo helped me change, for I think it is an abomination to be under arms when wearing a kimono. I put on my black hakama with black and pink obi, and blue kosode and checked my bow and arrows if they were ready for the endslacht. When all was ready, Kaminari gave me my headband of leather with metal plate, against being hit on the head and being blinded by your own blood, a very good way to disable an archer in any battle. And then we were ready. It took a lot longer for the rest of the Green camp to prepare, and when finally we were ready to go, all needed to be assembled outside the camp.
We were in for a surprise though, for lo' and behold, there stood nine Oni, waiting for our Daimyo. Oni Ichi declared that the Oni would join us in the battle, and the daimyo replied that we would be honoured. And so we marched with 34 samurai (including Oni, that is) to the Endslacht. It was a long march, and we had to stop many times because the other armies in front of us did not move fast enough. At last we arrived there though.
We entered the fields from above, and below us we could see the rolling fields with grain and wheat. The grass was swaying in the winds and the crickets jumped away before our feet. I could understand how a samurai could love life even when taking it from another when walking there.
It was a long wait before all parties were ready, and our daimyo walked forward to meet with the generals from the other side. But in the end, all was ready.
As if stung by bees, all Oni jumped forward simultaneously. They ran all the way to the other side, while the knights of Silver and green just slowly marched across the field. One by one, we saw the red flags of the Oni fall down, until none remained.
How we survived the Endslacht, I do not know. I stuck close to Kaminari and Yasuo, the other two archers. Oh, Inazuma was there with bow and quiver, but she wore her kimono, and her arrows kept falling out of her quiver. I think she should have stayed with Mineko, Gina, Koyuki and Mogura near the banner. Volley after volley we loosed, and when the Gold flag was stolen from our left flank, we charged in, outnumbered maybe five to one, all samurai running in a blue wave to come to the aid of the Gold Avatar.
In the end, I was struck down by a barbarian in black, who hit my arm heavily and stabbed me in the kidneys, and I fell. I did not lose consciousness though, and while the pain flowed through my body I looked up at a grey sky, while big drops of rain fell heavily on my face.
I remember being bandaged by one of our maiko, who stopped most of the bleeding and put me back on my feet. I remember the walk back after our victory. And I could remember hearing that Inazuma and Garou and Furakawa and more samurai had fallen.
When we reached our house, the dead were there, already back alive by blessing of the Kami. The geisha went to work to help Kaminari heal. He had taken a large wound, and they had bound his armour tight over it so he would not bleed to death and could be helped to get home before they would have to heal him. Before they were even done, the Kami entered our compound and came to thank us for our battle. The daimyo asked Mineko if she could dance for the Kami, and Mineko happily obliged.
We still did not finish one item of business though, and that was the presentation of a gift. I had suggested clan Yoshida present a gift to the King of Kargath, and the Daimyo said I should take care of it. So I had taken one of my most beautiful fans, and had Koyuki wrap it. Sadly, we did not find the King-sama at home when we arrived with the gift earlier that day, so when Shiro was talking to one of his hatamoto late that night, I asked him if he was going over there.
"Hai, I have a meeting with the King."
"Could I accompany you? I still wish to present the gift to King-sama."
Shiro thought for a moment and then agreed, if I did not reveal to the daimyo what would transpire there.
"I will not speak of it with him."
"Good. Wouldn't Koyuki like to join us there?"
I thought for a moment. Koyuki was indeed hoping to meet King-sama again, but with my suspicions that the daimyo wished to become her danna, I did not know if I could trust her with so great a secret.
"Perhaps it is best if she remains here. The daimyo has recently taken an interest in her, and I think it best that she does not know what happens there."
Shiro agreed, and when he turned back to the hatamoto of the King, we saw the Daimyo with Mineko-hime returning from a walk. My heart sank, and indeed the daimyo asked Shiro what he was up to. When Shiro said that he would visit the King of Kargath, the Daimyo said he would accompany him. All our efforts for naught, indeed.
"Tsubasa," Shiro then said. "Wouldn't Koyuki like to join us?"
I believe Shiro was just trying to get rid of an awkward silence, and I exclaimed that I had forgotten all about that and that I would fetch her immediatly. Our careful planning and sneaking around was foiled after all, so there would be no harm in bringing Koyuki along.
In an effort to get rid of Kasumi-sama after all, Shiro said he had forgotten something when we got to the gate of the Green camp, and I accompanied him back to our house. "Shiro-sensei, may I ask what this is all about? What tender matter may not disturb your brother's ears?"
Shiro paused and then answered me. "In the Endslacht I was beaten down by five warriors. Now I have challenged the only honourable man I know besides the Yoshida to a duel, to see if I am really still a samurai, to restore my honour."
Tsubasa did not quite understand, and I thought it was a very testosterony thing to do, but I went along with it, and we walked back to the gate, Shiro with a dai-katana in his hands, for the duel.
There we found out that the rest had waited for us. There is just no sneaking around our Daimyo.
In the Silver Camp the King welcomed us, and said all was in readiness. His knights stood in a circle, with torches to light the fight, and Shiro and the King went to battle in their midst. The daimyo said nothing, but stood by. Shiro and the King exchanged blows, and they were very evenly matched indeed. At last, when they both had had four hits, Shiro fainted to one side, and struck a fifth and final blow on the King's leg, and he won. Koyuki had asked me what this was all about, and indeed I had to lie to her in the beginning. It all turned out well though, and the King took his loss in stride and offered us refreshments inside.
In the end Koyuki got to sit next to the King, and she also was the one to present our gift. We drank apple cider and laughed with the knights and the King, before returning home to our beds. It had been a good, victorious day.
Sunday
This day was the last of Drachenfest, and we did not even get to check out, but just had to clear away our mess and go home. I think clearing away the mess could have gone a lot faster, but in the end it was good we took a little longer, because suddenly there were nine half-clean Germans, still with bits of schmink in their hair, coming to thank us for our play. It was the Oni, and we gave them noodles and had a laugh. They were very impressed with us, and we were very impressed with them, resulting in a "oh! And how you..." "Oh, but you were so cool when..." conversation. We promised to keep in touch, and soon there was little else to do than pack up and go. The last (finally! The last!) visit to the smelly gruesome dixies, and then up in the cars we went off home. I followed Malor and we took a little detour past Oberhausen and Arnhem to finally get to Nijmegen again, where we would meet up again and have fries. Mike hooked up my camera to his tv and we watched pictures, but not beforesneeuw_chan and Brian sang us some Yoshida songs they made up during the trip home.
And then it was just the long leg home. I had to get some coffee near Gorinchem where the 24h tankstops are, but besides that it was a good ride home. Nick, Gijs and Suus stayed for one last night, and they abused our shower extensively before crashing to sleep in the livingroom.
Monday
Was just getting up slowly, dropping off Nick at the trainstation, then picking up the kitties and chilling with Gijs en Suus. We had some practice with boken and archery, and then we drove to Leiden for some Ran (a Kurosawa movie), chinese food (like we didn't have all rice the previous week, but oh, it was so yummy), and nice company.
We dropped off the Beschuitbus, finally managed to get home, and sleeeeeeep.
Three weeks in advance of the event itself there was a big change in their plans: the ORGA had arranged for a different location: a mountainside near Diemelstadt.
Ofcourse there was a lot of stress in advance for Drachenfest. There is no such thing as easy planning for a group of 25 people who decide to go to a 4500-person larp about 400 km away from home. Our week looked pretty hectic, and finally the Monday before Drachenfest dawned.
Monday
This day was mostly filled with getting stuff together and picking up the bus, which was immediately dubbed "Beschuitbus", seeing that it was large and grey and that a lot of stuff would fit in it, just like our beschuitbus*) at home. We traveled to Voorschoterlaan, picked up a huge grey T5 Volkswagen bus, and drove it home. We then proceeded to grab our lovely kittens in their necks and drag them off to the pound. They would stay there for just a week in the good caring hands of the people of the pound. They hissed and miaowed at us, not liking the mere idea of being left there, and we left with a sadness that we wouldn't see them for a week.
Later that day, Gijs' father dropped off the luggage for Gijs and
ningyomatsuri and the people themselves. We loaded up the Beschuitbus excluding their sleeping gear and toiletrystuff, and spent an enjoyable evening with these two, and ate pancakes too!*)Beschuitbus: a canister to store biscuits in that are traditionally eaten for breakfast, called 'beschuitjes'.
Tuesday
Tuesdaymorning also dawned, and lo' and behold! It was a Malor at our door with his luggage. Thanks to some weird planning on his side he'd have a job interview on the first day of Drachenfest, and he would let us carry the luggage there, and take his own car to the event, negating his spot in the bus. Which was sort of a good thing seeing that it was stuffed++.
We loaded up the Beschuitbus and drove to Nijmegen to Mike-sensei and Yvonne's place, where we had a good lunch with fresh fruit. After lunch
ningyomatsuri, the sensei and me went of to shop - groceries. First to Sligro for the bulk of noodles and rice, and then to the Lidl for the smaller things and the B-brands. We finished with a nice 400 euro for all groceries, for about half the festival, but all of the dinnerstuff already bought, so not too shabby. Try to imagine buying 10kg of peppers, 5 kg of leeks, and also 10kgs of rice...it was fun!It also took most of the afternoon. When we arrived back at M&Y's, more people had arrived and we had dinner with some fries, junk food before the health trip to Drachenfest indeed.
Before going to sleep we watched Spirited away, My First Manga ever, and I talked with Pluis about coming to Charm to play. I'll have to consider that though.
Wednesday
Wednesday morning dawned as well, for a change, and the waking up was way too early. When I got downstairs after finishing packing up the sleepinggear,
drahkan and J. were already there, and more and more people started to arrive. The people who slept at M&L's also dropped back in, and the remainder of stuff was loaded into various cars. After assembling all passengers, having them go to the toilet, flight Beschuitbus was ready for departure and we left the nice realms of the Heeskesacker. To immediately take a wrong turn (to shake of any pursuit, really!) only to run into M&L who followed us around until Diemelstadt.Driving around in Germany was fun. Of course people drive differently in different parts of the country. I knew that traffic near Nijmegen was much more relaxed than with us in Rotterdam, but really, Germany is heaven. People drive more relaxed, much more acutely aware of their surroundings and other cars, and they anticipate what actions people will take. When seeing a truck on the right lane 400 meters ahead of them, they will already check out the cars behind them to see which ones are going 160-200 kph, and if there aren't any in the vicinity that will be bothered by their actions, they will change into the left lane, pass the truck, and immediately go back to the right lane. I almost always try to adopt this driving style, even in the busy Randstad here, but in Germany I was one of many, which made the driving experience just so much more enjoyable.
Even though the Beschuitbus was 1700 kgs unloaded, and there were 5 people and luggages in it, it was still driving smoothly at 130 kph, and we made good time, stopping now and again at Sanifair (they automatically clean the toiletseat, and the 50 cts you pay to use the toilet comes back out as a coupon for food, so if you buy something at the stop, your toiletbreak was free...really Sanifair should expand to our country as well) or Burger King.
The troubles began when we found Drachenfest. The route description we had was good, but when we turned into a mountain lane to Drachenfest, we ended up in a long line of cars, slowly winding up the mountainside. The path was muddy, but my Beschuitbus had no trouble with slipping tires. Only with pulling up from the steep climb. I lost count on how many times the engine stalled. In any case, we made it up the mountain, down the other end, and onto the field, where the bus really didn't like the climb near camp Chaos. So we unloaded the bus then and there and we went for parking the car and incheck while the rest built the camp. I felt a bit guilty for letting them do all the building, but I dare say I did make up for it later that week. NoKey and I did the dishes the following morning because we were the first awake (also because we went to sleep while the rest went to the incheck) and I was doing the dishes most of the remainder of the week, one of the great downsides to this Drachenfest.
Thursday
Suffice to say that while the o-kami called Fabian woke me up in the middle of the night because of the opening ritual, I did get a good night's sleep, and I went to the toilet (a dixie) early in the morning in OC clothes, and did the dishes and made coffee. Bringing a thermos and coffeestuff along was a gold opportunity, and my lads loved me for it, I think. After breakfast we dressed up and I got to test my theory of padding underneath the obi. First I put on my underkimono, then added an obi with a towel folded double, and then my outer kimono (blue linen) with a large dark blue obi, and the over-obi with blue leaves. Over that all came an obijime (I think it's called) for extra decoration. This was my daily wear for normal occasions around the house, seeing that I am married woman, ex-geisha and in no way very special.
It was not long after breakfast that the first visitors announced themselves. Whilst Mineko was off to introduce herself to the Kami, i.e. checking in, with a large contingency (all the geisha, and Usagi and Yomi), I was the only female next to Inazuma-hime to be present in the house. Seeing that Inazuma would be taking a spot in the Green Camp Council, I was the one who would serve tea. First to the o-Kami, then to the Mayor of the Green camp, and then to the other visitors. And ofcourse I had to do the dishes of all these people and clear away all the breakfast crap people left lying around. Suffice to say the trend was set and that I was not very amused with my fellow-Yoshida for not clearing away their own crap behind their lazy asses. By the time the third visitor left I was nearer crying than laughing, and I had to sit down with some tea to relax. Sadly, this trend continued for most of Drachenfest and Suus and I were always the ones doing dishes because most of the time we would need the bows to serve tea to our guests.
We did present the o-kami with a nice gift: a sleeveless kimono, inspired by the garb of the gaijin, with leaves stitched on. She was quite impressed, and though we expected a tall fat man with a fur cap, the slim blonde girl who was now the form of the kami still looked wonderful in our it.
The difference between taking credit for your work OC, and not wanting to be the only one who worked on the gift for the kami IC was much less of a problem then the one with the breakfast bowls. The kami thanked our family profusely, and I got to sit down.
When Koyuki returned I had a chance to practice a tea ceremony with her and Mineko-hime. This was practically the only chance we had to sit down.
After dinner, a lovely Sweet-n-sour chicken with fruits I cooked, the daimyo asked if I could prepare a private tea-ceremony between him and Koyuki. He would call me in to hand him a box, which would contain a present for Koyuki. As soon as I saw the box, I knew that it held a kimono. I sat outside their private ceremony and turned everyone away. Yasuo-chan came with a letter from the Oni, which I secretly pressed into the Daimyo's hand from underneath the curtain, (and he said I did well to do so), but besides that they were not disturbed. I could and would not overhear what they talked about, but at one point the daiymo called my name, and I gave him the box with the kimono. He set it on the table in front of Koyuki and she opened it. When she saw the kimono she blushed, and the Daimyo ordered me to dress Koyuki in it immediately. Quite a breach of etiquette, but I could not disobey. I dare say Koyuki felt my displeasure as I undressed her, undoing her obi quite roughly. The kimono was a soft pink satin-silk, with purple flowers and green stems and leaves. The under-kimono and obi were in the same green. I carefully dressed Koyuki - she kept her underkimono of white and red on - and I pinned the pink kimono so it would modestly show the green underkimono at the hem. The daimyo was pleased, and prepared for other matters, while Koyuki and I went to a bit of a quiet place to have some portraits made.
That night, the daimyo presented everyone with a gift. Last was Usagi, and he got not so nice a gift: two broken hashi. Because of the gossip in the clan everyone knew that Usagi had made a slip-up on the picnic, by failing to accompany Mineko, and this Drachenfest he made his final mistake by leaving Mineko when she introduced herself to the kami. The daimyo presented him with two broken hashi, and all Usagi said in reply was "shall I prepare?"
The daimyo nodded, and then Shiro-sensei and Usagi prepared Usagi for seppuku. It was a very serene ceremony, and Usagi wrote a very touching death-poem, only to be read after his honorable death. We all said our goodbyes to Usagi, and then his body was burned and life went on.
That night, we also went to the Oni, to drink a cup of tea with the Kami. Little news there, but the Oni did a marvellous performance. They were waiting in front of their gate with torches, and seeing that we were late, they must have been there for a while. They led us inside the Grey camp, and immediately dealt with the guards who were holding Sakamoto Kiyoshi and a few other samurai, and refused to let them pass. The Oni protected us very well indeed while we were visiting, and it was quite an experience even though the Daimyo was the only one that had tea.
When we returned home, the Daimyo sat Koyuki down next to him and poured her a drink. I decided it was time to take his mind off of her, and offered to play a little drinking game: Lie or Truth. It is an old geisha-game, and the geisha are usually very good at it since their memories are trained to remember many names, birthdays and anniversaries of their clients and clients' families. The zashiki was quite a succes, with Garou and Kaminari playing to lose, and Furakawa surprising me by guessing right stories he could have no knowledge of time and again. The sake and lychee wine flowed richly, and we all had a very good time indeed.
Friday
Fridaymorning dawned yet again, and the morning was soft and quiet. Shiro, Koyuki, Sakamoto and I delivered some invitations to the King of Kargath and the Oni, and then all was quiet in the camp until there was an alarm. The samurai stormed off to help the Green camp - we were under attack by orcs - and after a while Mineko asked if I wanted to have a look if there were any wounded. I grabbed my basket and joined her near the gate. The orc attack was turned away, and I climbed up on the wall to see. The samurai were fighting a group of orcs near the orc camp wall, and Yomi at one point fell and was healed by a healer of the Green Camp. It was very hard to keep track of the samurai and when Masuo-san came trudging back, wounded, and said that the rest of the wounded would follow, we clambered down from the wall hurriedly and ran back to the house, not bothering to keep our kimono closed. I called to Koyuki to make hot water, get towels and bandages and prepare for the wounded and soon indeed the wounded were pouring into the compound. Shiro-sensei and Daimyo-sama were hurt badly, and Mineko immediately got to work on them, cleaning their wounds and binding them, while Koyuki (who has no skill in healing) gave the wounded some water to ease their thirst. I busied myself with binding Masuo's wounds, and told him to take off his kosode and juban. He sort of protested, saying it was not modest to do so, and I replied that if he'd rather bleed to death he'd better not do it on the daimyo's nicest tatami, and that bandaging his wounds would not really work if he kept those items of clothing on.
After helping Masuo out, I set him against a bench and worried over Sakamoto Kiyoshi. He had two arrows sticking out of his body, one near the liver and the other on his right arm, near the biceps. The wounds looked a bloody mess, and I hurried back into the kitchen to get more water, a knife, and a hashi. The one in his gut would have to be cut out, and I pressed the hashi between his teeth to bite down upon. I called Koyuki to hold Kiyoshi's shoulders and for him to have something to lean against, and started to make a small cut where the arrow had gone into his body. It was not in too deep, and I could see no damage except for the cut, and pulled the arrow out, which took a tremendous amount of strength anyway. Sakamoto-san sagged against Koyuki and his breath came in great gulps...I can not begin to imagine the pain he must have gone through. I cleaned the wound, which bled heavily, and then quickly bound it so it would heal cleanly.
Next up was the arrow in his arm. It was quivering in time with the muscle, and I was afraid the arrowhead had hit the bone, but when I examined the arm carefully -so as not to hurt Kiyoshi too much- I was pretty sure it didn't. Kiyoshi insisted I push the arrow through the arm, but it was embedded in the muscle, and I could not predict what pushing the arrow through would do to the rest of the muscle. I called Mineko for a second opinion, and she agreed that cutting it out was a better idea.
This time, Sakamoto-san bit through the hashi in pain.
Lucky for him the arrow indeed did not hit the bone, and I cleaned and bandaged the wound easily. In recent experiences we realized that wounds on the Dragonworld heal cleanly and swiftly. Even the dead sometimes return to their lives - unchanged.
I cleared away the things we used, had Sakamoto sit down, and put the dirty bandages that were used to stop the bleeding in the first case so the wounded could be moved in pan so we could boil and wash them. I checked on Shiro-sama, he has stolen a little corner of my heart, who was drinking some water on a bench.
"Shiro-sensei, so many wounded, and not all have returned. Is there any word from Jishin?"
"Iie. I did not see her return."
"Jishin, and Tōshi, and Yasuo..."
"Tsubasa-san, I can not lie to you. I saw Yasuo fall in the battle. I am afraid he died."
At that point, tears just started streaming down my face, and I tried hard to keep them in.
"Forgive me for letting myself go like this. Please excuse me." I said, and wiped away my tears and started working on boiling and cleaning the bandages again. It is absolutely not done to show such deep emotions in public, or even among close friends, and I really had to fight to keep the tears inside. Koyuki offered me a drink, and I said I wanted to be alone for a while. She did not leave me though, and I continued to do my work, very much zombie-like because I can't even remember what it was I was doing.
After a while I sat down, and I do remember I haven't looked up from my hands the entire time, afraid to let people see the tears in my eyes.
I did not want to hear people suggest that Yasuo would go to Limbus, that he might return, for the fear that I would get my hopes up and that he would not return after all.
It was no more than half an hour, I swear, when I heard someone gasp my name, and point outside.
I flung myself through the curtains and into his arms. It was Yasuo! He had returned!
I cried anew. "They said you were dead. I didn't think you'd come back. It was an honourable death..."
Yasuo said "I wouldn't have, but the kami of Death sent me back with a message for the clan.
And so ended our most romantic moment of Drachenfest, with the message from Death: "Do not die."
The reason why Death had sent this message was because the Drow group had taken over the Limbus. We only found out how bad this was when the people from Limbus were sent to our house to serve us for an hour before they could continue their lives. But first there was a shopping spree in the sun. I bought some nice books and a new hair ornament that was vaguely reminiscent of a trident.
When we were preparing dinner an orc bustled into our compound, and indeed it shocked the entire household. He told the story that he was sent from Limbus to serve us for an hour, and he was the first of a few. He helped out with the preparations for dinner, and because we are such nice people he could eat along with us. Outside, in the courtyard, of course. More people came from Limbus, and they were told to sing a song, play some music, or dance for the Daimyo. Tarek and his wolfbrother also joined us for dinner, and the daimyo requested a talk with me, so we ate in the livingroom. The Daimyo was very curious what the term danna entails, and how one should act and what is expected of a danna. I tried to help him with his questions as much as possible, but I feared it was all about Koyuki - again - and knew it was so when he said I should instruct Koyuki also in pillowing.
I can't quite put my finger on it if this was before or after dinner, but just as the King of Kargath walked into our complex, all SL called the players together for a stormwarning. Fabian had had it tracked and it was definitely coming our way. We were supposed to take off all metal and secure all tents. Now that is a scary thing to hear when you're camping on a mountaintop. Luckily, camp Green and neighbours Red and Steel had their tents against the treeline. Camp Orc was on top of the hill, no trees in sight. And there was a huge field with only a few trees to cross in between. You wouldn't want to be caught out in the storm there, wearing your chainmail. No siree.
We secured all tents and Gijs assured us that the Green tent was as solid as a rock. I was very worried for the 6x3 partytents of the kitchen and bathhouse, we saw one fly head over heels on the Summoning, and the wind that was picking up was already a few factors worse than that wind. Still, we made extra security lines of sisalrope. The worst that could happen was that the lightning would strike in one, and the thing would ignite and blow away anyway. Soit. We did what we could, put blankets, food, water and an empty bucket in the green livingroom tent and when the first rain broke we were all cosy and snug.
Storms like these could last for hours in Germany, but we had luck and it blowed mostly past us. Linda, Suus and I snuggled under a blanket and tried to warm up again, and Pluis kept us entertained. So after an hour, hour and a half, we were ready to put the OC stuff away and continue playing.
Which is exactly the point someone arrived from the gate, telling us there were Oni at the gate. An instant-welcoming party was assembled and I greeted Oni Ni (I think) who told us that the Oni would honour our invitation and could be expected in half an hour.
We hurried back home, told the household and Daimyo the good news, and we hurriedly prepared tea and a welcoming committee with torches. Soon we welcomed nine Oni, and we guided them to our house. We had already warned the gatekeepers that the Oni were not to be touched and that they could keep their weapons. When they entered our house, Oni Ichi took off the flag they all wear on their backs, gave his katana to Sakamoto for safe-keeping, and stepped into the livingroom.
The visit wasn't very special to me. The Oni outside got a round of tea, after which I joined the Daimyo inside to help out there and also to see Lurtz, who plays Oni Ichi. After all, I first came in contact with him on the Drachenfest forum. The daimyo asked me to peel a peanut for Oni Ichi, since he had munched one without taking the shell off first, and I carefully unpacked the small peanuts for him. I guess Oni have different ways of eating than we do.
Saturday
The day of the Endslacht dawned bright, and though the samurai had told stories until late in the night, many were up early, preparing for the battle. In the morning we could also welcome the King of Kargath, soon dubbed King-sama by the household. The King had brought two bodyguards, who were also served tea. The Daimyo had a pleasant conversation with the King indeed, and they talked mostly of what the role of the King and his knights would be during the Endslacht. Apparantly, the Silver camp had come only to rid the Dragon's world of the orcs, and they would not really participate in the endbattle for rulership, since they are not interested in rulership. This is of course a very noble cause to fight for, and I dare say the mutual friendship and respect we have for one another has only grown during this conversation.
Soon after the King had left, Inazuma-sama had prepared a ritual, and all samurai would participate and be present with this. I was not awarded an acting role in the ritual, but would have ample opportunity to make portraits of the ritual and sketches of what was done, just like Mineko-hime.
The ritual started with the maiko and geisha cleansing the place of ritual with brooms and salt. Then there was a kata from Garou and Yasuo in unarmed combat. They threw eachother around and Garou even 'attacked' Yasuo with a katana, but the kata was not meant to do harm, only to practice the forms and show what the life of a samurai would be all about. In this they succeeded nicely.
After Yasuo and Garou, ther was a fan dance by Akemi, to show the peace after practice, and the harmony of life and nature. We were all caught in her marvellous dance, and too soon it was over already. Toushi then stepped forward to show the forms of the katana, and do a solo kata. We could clearly see the young Toushi was very nervous, but his kata was very good and solid, although I have no fair eye in judging this.
Then it was time for the geisha and maiko to hand Shiro and Jishin their masks and helmets, for they would show the full battle gear of a samurai in combat. Shiro and Jishin had already put on most of their armour before the ritual, and soon they had their masks and helmets on as well. Their kata was breathtaking, for they did battle in full, though with boken in stead of real katana. A boken can do enough damage though, because even if it does not have a sharp metal edge, a hard blow with a boken can shatter bone and bend even the master's armour. After their kata, the geisha and maiko cleansed the circle again so that all was done, and the samurai departed in silence again. The ritual left many bystanders breathless, I am sure, and we hurried cleaned away the pillows that had been needed for the ritual. Soon it would be time for the Endslacht.
Yasuo helped me change, for I think it is an abomination to be under arms when wearing a kimono. I put on my black hakama with black and pink obi, and blue kosode and checked my bow and arrows if they were ready for the endslacht. When all was ready, Kaminari gave me my headband of leather with metal plate, against being hit on the head and being blinded by your own blood, a very good way to disable an archer in any battle. And then we were ready. It took a lot longer for the rest of the Green camp to prepare, and when finally we were ready to go, all needed to be assembled outside the camp.
We were in for a surprise though, for lo' and behold, there stood nine Oni, waiting for our Daimyo. Oni Ichi declared that the Oni would join us in the battle, and the daimyo replied that we would be honoured. And so we marched with 34 samurai (including Oni, that is) to the Endslacht. It was a long march, and we had to stop many times because the other armies in front of us did not move fast enough. At last we arrived there though.
We entered the fields from above, and below us we could see the rolling fields with grain and wheat. The grass was swaying in the winds and the crickets jumped away before our feet. I could understand how a samurai could love life even when taking it from another when walking there.
It was a long wait before all parties were ready, and our daimyo walked forward to meet with the generals from the other side. But in the end, all was ready.
As if stung by bees, all Oni jumped forward simultaneously. They ran all the way to the other side, while the knights of Silver and green just slowly marched across the field. One by one, we saw the red flags of the Oni fall down, until none remained.
How we survived the Endslacht, I do not know. I stuck close to Kaminari and Yasuo, the other two archers. Oh, Inazuma was there with bow and quiver, but she wore her kimono, and her arrows kept falling out of her quiver. I think she should have stayed with Mineko, Gina, Koyuki and Mogura near the banner. Volley after volley we loosed, and when the Gold flag was stolen from our left flank, we charged in, outnumbered maybe five to one, all samurai running in a blue wave to come to the aid of the Gold Avatar.
In the end, I was struck down by a barbarian in black, who hit my arm heavily and stabbed me in the kidneys, and I fell. I did not lose consciousness though, and while the pain flowed through my body I looked up at a grey sky, while big drops of rain fell heavily on my face.
I remember being bandaged by one of our maiko, who stopped most of the bleeding and put me back on my feet. I remember the walk back after our victory. And I could remember hearing that Inazuma and Garou and Furakawa and more samurai had fallen.
When we reached our house, the dead were there, already back alive by blessing of the Kami. The geisha went to work to help Kaminari heal. He had taken a large wound, and they had bound his armour tight over it so he would not bleed to death and could be helped to get home before they would have to heal him. Before they were even done, the Kami entered our compound and came to thank us for our battle. The daimyo asked Mineko if she could dance for the Kami, and Mineko happily obliged.
We still did not finish one item of business though, and that was the presentation of a gift. I had suggested clan Yoshida present a gift to the King of Kargath, and the Daimyo said I should take care of it. So I had taken one of my most beautiful fans, and had Koyuki wrap it. Sadly, we did not find the King-sama at home when we arrived with the gift earlier that day, so when Shiro was talking to one of his hatamoto late that night, I asked him if he was going over there.
"Hai, I have a meeting with the King."
"Could I accompany you? I still wish to present the gift to King-sama."
Shiro thought for a moment and then agreed, if I did not reveal to the daimyo what would transpire there.
"I will not speak of it with him."
"Good. Wouldn't Koyuki like to join us there?"
I thought for a moment. Koyuki was indeed hoping to meet King-sama again, but with my suspicions that the daimyo wished to become her danna, I did not know if I could trust her with so great a secret.
"Perhaps it is best if she remains here. The daimyo has recently taken an interest in her, and I think it best that she does not know what happens there."
Shiro agreed, and when he turned back to the hatamoto of the King, we saw the Daimyo with Mineko-hime returning from a walk. My heart sank, and indeed the daimyo asked Shiro what he was up to. When Shiro said that he would visit the King of Kargath, the Daimyo said he would accompany him. All our efforts for naught, indeed.
"Tsubasa," Shiro then said. "Wouldn't Koyuki like to join us?"
I believe Shiro was just trying to get rid of an awkward silence, and I exclaimed that I had forgotten all about that and that I would fetch her immediatly. Our careful planning and sneaking around was foiled after all, so there would be no harm in bringing Koyuki along.
In an effort to get rid of Kasumi-sama after all, Shiro said he had forgotten something when we got to the gate of the Green camp, and I accompanied him back to our house. "Shiro-sensei, may I ask what this is all about? What tender matter may not disturb your brother's ears?"
Shiro paused and then answered me. "In the Endslacht I was beaten down by five warriors. Now I have challenged the only honourable man I know besides the Yoshida to a duel, to see if I am really still a samurai, to restore my honour."
Tsubasa did not quite understand, and I thought it was a very testosterony thing to do, but I went along with it, and we walked back to the gate, Shiro with a dai-katana in his hands, for the duel.
There we found out that the rest had waited for us. There is just no sneaking around our Daimyo.
In the Silver Camp the King welcomed us, and said all was in readiness. His knights stood in a circle, with torches to light the fight, and Shiro and the King went to battle in their midst. The daimyo said nothing, but stood by. Shiro and the King exchanged blows, and they were very evenly matched indeed. At last, when they both had had four hits, Shiro fainted to one side, and struck a fifth and final blow on the King's leg, and he won. Koyuki had asked me what this was all about, and indeed I had to lie to her in the beginning. It all turned out well though, and the King took his loss in stride and offered us refreshments inside.
In the end Koyuki got to sit next to the King, and she also was the one to present our gift. We drank apple cider and laughed with the knights and the King, before returning home to our beds. It had been a good, victorious day.
Sunday
This day was the last of Drachenfest, and we did not even get to check out, but just had to clear away our mess and go home. I think clearing away the mess could have gone a lot faster, but in the end it was good we took a little longer, because suddenly there were nine half-clean Germans, still with bits of schmink in their hair, coming to thank us for our play. It was the Oni, and we gave them noodles and had a laugh. They were very impressed with us, and we were very impressed with them, resulting in a "oh! And how you..." "Oh, but you were so cool when..." conversation. We promised to keep in touch, and soon there was little else to do than pack up and go. The last (finally! The last!) visit to the smelly gruesome dixies, and then up in the cars we went off home. I followed Malor and we took a little detour past Oberhausen and Arnhem to finally get to Nijmegen again, where we would meet up again and have fries. Mike hooked up my camera to his tv and we watched pictures, but not before
sneeuw_chan and Brian sang us some Yoshida songs they made up during the trip home. And then it was just the long leg home. I had to get some coffee near Gorinchem where the 24h tankstops are, but besides that it was a good ride home. Nick, Gijs and Suus stayed for one last night, and they abused our shower extensively before crashing to sleep in the livingroom.
Monday
Was just getting up slowly, dropping off Nick at the trainstation, then picking up the kitties and chilling with Gijs en Suus. We had some practice with boken and archery, and then we drove to Leiden for some Ran (a Kurosawa movie), chinese food (like we didn't have all rice the previous week, but oh, it was so yummy), and nice company.
We dropped off the Beschuitbus, finally managed to get home, and sleeeeeeep.
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Date: 2006-08-13 03:33 pm (UTC)Glad to read you had fun!
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Date: 2006-08-16 05:10 pm (UTC)Volgende keer, trek alsjeblieft aan de bel, we mogen dan lui zijn, maar we zijn zeker niet gewetenloos.
Drahkan.
Die zich zeer schuldig voelt ondanks dat hij expres zijn kommetjes afgespoeld heeft na gebruik uit schuldgevoel voor het vies maken van de voorgenoemde kommetjes. Ik zal een volgend event niet mee koken (omdat daar genoeg vrijwiligers voor zijn) maar wel geregeld afwassen. (bij deze beloofd, onder voorbehoudt van weer nieuwe oc blesures).