Botan was going about his usual business of doing very little and thinking very much about himself when it hit him in the head like the tip of a spear penetrating him from ear to ear, pulling his consciousness out of him like one would blow an egg. There was a peculiar sensation of pain that wasn't actual, bodily pain, but more of suggestion in his mind. Then things went dark, and he awoke to a booming voice that allowed no distraction:
[It is written in the book of Amaterasu Omikami:
After the creation, the cruel god Moloch rebelled against the authority
of Marduk the Creator. Moloch stole from Marduk the most powerful of all
the artifacts of the gods, the Amulet of Yendor, and he hid it in the
dark cavities of Gehennom, the Under World, where he now lurks, and
bides his time.
Your god Amaterasu Omikami seeks to possess the Amulet, and with it to gain deserved
ascendance over other gods.
You, a newly trained Hatamoto, have been heralded from birth as the instrument
of Amaterasu Omikami. You are destined to recover the Amulet for your deity, or die in
the attempt. Your hour of destiny has come. For the sake of us all:
Go bravely with Amaterasu Omikami!]
The voice went silent for a moment and Botan regained a sense of presence.
[Konnichi wa Botan, welcome to NetHack! You are a lawful male human Samurai. You are lucky! Full moon tonight.]
His hands touched himself and found to his surprise that he was wearing some kind of wooden armour and a katana was hanging from his belt. And for some reason he had a shorn head with a top knot on it. Which was odd, but considering the circumstances came only as a minor surprise. Botan has never been a man to ponder his fortunes, this was just another challenge to be overcome. He would not fail. Failure was for others.
But truly, this was something else. Apparently he was in some sort of cellar, the damp and cold air gave it away. Next to him was a little dog, with a peculiar heart and name "Hachi" floating above it. Then he noticed that he himself had something like a status window. When he looked at it the voice from before read it to him:
[ [Botan the Hatamoto] St:17 Dx:15 Co:17 In:11 Wi:8 Ch:7 Lawful Dlvl:1 $:0 HP:15(15) Pw:2(2) AC:4 Xp:1 T:1]
Whatever that meant.
Botan decided that he would get nowhere if he didn't start doing something. And thus he drew his katana and inspected the other things he had in his new knapsack:
(Upon doing so the voice rang out again)
Weapons
d - 44 +0 ya (in quiver)
c - a +0 yumi
a - a +0 katana (weapon in hand)
b - a +0 wakizashi (alternate weapon)
Armour
e - an uncursed rustproof +0 splint mail
Tools
f - an uncursed blindfold
He was rather pleased with this. It could have been worse he thought. At least, whatever he got himself into here had granted him a weapon! And a good one too, no one could scoff at the blades of his forefathers. And a yumi, he knew, was a traditional Japanese composite long bow, top of the line archery equipment of the past. He wondered what a blindfold would be needed for but couldn't really think of anything other than it being a sleeping aid and thusly left it be for now.
He tried talking to Hachi, the dog, but didn't get back more than a bark, steadied himself, looked behind him at a stairway up, walked toward it and got greeted with another system message:
[Beware, there will be no return! Still climb?]
He thought for a moment, apparently someone wanted him to brave this, they had been rather clear about that ... something about an amulet or so? And; 'there will be no return' didn't necessarily mean he would be brought back to his ship... besides, things were rather boring on 'The Bitch' and bunny or Hagane or whatever the steel guard guy called himself nowadays wasn't one for conversation or entertainment. This could be a real heaven sent opportunity to alleviate his boredom.
A sense of adventure and vigour, he last had felt when the stupid pirates jettisoned him into space, swept through his bones and he even somewhat liked his new hairstyle. As he gripped his katana tightly and whistled Hachi along he started exploring his strange new world.