Year in the Reign of Hantei XXXVIII, First Day, Month of the Dog. Who knew the world was big enough to hold so many wonders? Shosuro Kimi took me to the House of Foreign Stories for my first time today, and I was overwhelmed. I had never been to a geisha house before, let alone one run by a gaijin!
The woman who runs the House is named "Magda" and I find it hard to imagine that even the Shadowlands could hold anyone with a more outrageous appearance. Her hair is the color of gold, and seems to naturally curl and coil like the body of a snake or the tail of a pig. Her nose is almost absurdly high from her face, and her chin is long and pointed. The bones beneath her eyes are so prominent that her entire face looks like a triangle. Her eyes are her most amazing feature, however; the color of a clear sky, they are huge and round as coins. She was dressed in an outlandish outfit of crimson silk - billowing trousers like hakama, only strangely tight around her feet, which were bare except for rings of gold on her toes. She wore no robe, but only a sort of vest or shirt that left her stomach exposed to the gaze of any who passed by. Kimi and I drank a strange beverage made from foreign fruit - it was sweet and tart, not harsh at all, but soon it made me giggly and dizzy like sake. Then Magda started to speak, and everyone was silent. She spun out an incredible tale of her homeland, far beyond the Burning Sands, where it is winter for half the year and the mountain tops have ice on them that hasn't melted since time began. She says that in her homeland there are giant wolves the size of houses, with tusks like a boar, only as long as a man is tall, and that her family hunted these creatures. Then she told about her travels across the Burning Sands; she said her caravan was attacked by men who rode giant birds, bigger than a horse. She was afraid they would be overcome, but their Unicorn guide had made a deal with a group of mujina, who distracted and confused the bird riders until the caravan was safe. In return, their guide had to tell the mujina stories every night for a week.
SHIGEKO'S DOSSIER: This house is owned and run by a woman
named Magda, who is a vassal of the Unicorn clan. Her house is
in some ways a standard geisha house - a place where songs are
heard, tales are told and women are... entertaining. The
difference is that in Magda's house, the stories, songs, women and
drinks are all from distant lands. She also has a profitable sideline
selling works of art from foreign countries.
When the Unicorn first arrived on Ryoko Owari, they tried to
establish a geisha house, but had little success at luring patrons
away from the Scorpion houses (which were apparently more
polished and refi ned- or at least more experienced at their trade).
It was not until they realized that their foreign nature could be a
titillating advantage (at least to some jaded nobles), instead of a
shame to be hidden, that they were successful.
Magda, the owner ofthe House of Foreign Stories, is the center
of a bit of political maneuvering that I heartily encourage any
Emerald Magistrate to avoid. The Scorpion clan would like to get
rid of her, since her house competes with the Morning Star,
whose patroness is their vassal. The Unicorn is equally eager for
her to stay. She can remain only as long as her papers are
renewed by the Emerald Magistrate. I have renewed her
documents twice, due to pressure both from the Unicorn clan and
from certain powerful clients she serves. I felt that getting rid of
her would cause more problems than it would solve. Though she
runs a house of vice, it is a safe and stable one.
From the House of Foreign Stories it is four minutes to
"Swords Polished': two or three to the Island Garden and four to
the Morning Star.