Kaysen and Willie
Gabe Newell Forrest Kaysen is a fat (lololol) sapling salesman who is currently on vacation in Greenvale. He is followed around by his faithful dalmatian, Willie.
Biography
Return to Greenvale
Kaysen arrives in town shortly after the town meeting. York first encounters him at the hotel, where the salesman is also staying. He tells York that he has been coming to this town for several years and really fell in love with the atmosphere. He also gives York one of his red saplings as a sample, telling him that it requires a “certain technique” to make them grow into trees.
After meeting with Diane Ames at her art gallery, York discovers that she is involved in a relationship with Kaysen. He later confesses this to the agent. Kaysen explains that he met Diane at a bar in Seattle, where he was currently working, and offered to drive her back to Greenvale. He also admits to being present during a heated argument between Diane and Carol MacLaine about a key piece of evidence in the case, making him a suspect. After the death of Diane, York finds him locked up in a secret room in Diane’s room. He appears disoriented and wearing her lipstick on his cheek. York reluctantly lets him go, but his suspicion of Kaysen does not fade.
York is suddenly kidnapped after discovering the identity of the new Raincoat Killer. Kaysen, along with Willie, follow his trail around Greenvale and eventually help Emily rescue him from the clock tower. During the chase, Kaysen opens up to Emily, telling her about his past and problems he’d had with his mother. He also talks openly about his relationship with the Ingrams, especially with Isaach and Isaiah Ingram. Willie interrupts his conversations and presses forward to the community center. The group frees York and heads to the police station to finally confront the Raincoat Killer.
Emily is attacked at the station and York entrusts her to Kaysen’s care, demanding that she be taken to the hospital. He argues with York to come with them. Eventually he relents, telling York that he can’t be held responsible if anything happens to her. York deals with the Raincoat Killer and ends up at the hospital to find that Emily is not there. The doctor gives him a note from Kaysen, containing a map and a key. He follows the map and realizes that Kaysen is not the innocent salesman he appeared to be.
Red World Emissary
York meets up with Kaysen at the community center. There he finds Emily, who has been implanted with one of Kaysen’s saplings. Kaysen laughs at the two of them and explains what has really been going on. He is an emissary from the Red World, bent on tormenting Greenvale and spreading his red seeds. He admits to being a part of the original massacre by creating the gas that made the townsfolk crazy. Kaysen tells York that he was responsible for sending George on his path to insanity. York, unable to handle what is happening, is propelled back into the memory of his parents’ deaths. It is then that he realizes Kaysen was responsible for that as well, implanting his seeds into his mother and encouraging his father to kill her. Kaysen then attacked Zach, the real personality, which prompted the creation of the York personality. This realization releases Zach from the red room. Kaysen becomes angry that Zach has escaped and proceeds to attack him. After a long battle, Zach is finally able to destroy Kaysen and stop the spreading of the red seeds.
Mutations
Kaysen has three separate mutations, aside from his human form. The first one that Zach encounters is similar to George’s transformation. His body becomes grossly overlarge and his hair shoots straight up. He is the most vulnerable to bullets in this form. The main attacks he uses are shooting projectiles at Zach and rolling into him like a boulder. In this form, however, he has great difficulty getting up because his midsection is vastly larger than his limbs.
Kaysen’s second form is the most animal-like. He crawls around on all fours and his tongue shoots out several feet. Zach cannot attack him when he is in the form and can only run down the base of the tower while dodging his attacks. He has difficulty turning around and frequently falls off of the stairs.
His final form is almost identical to his human form. He becomes a giant capable of crushing Zach with his fist or killing him with shots of green fire. He cannot be injured by bullets or melee weapons. The only way to hurt him is to shoot at the doll in his hand until his life runs out.
Trivia
- Forrest Kaysen is the name of a character in another SWERY game, Spy Fiction.
- Ironically, Kaysen is the one who provides York with the one of the most powerful weapons to defeat him - the Infinite Magnum. It can be found in the back of his truck after completing one of the side quests.
- If you look at the map on the table in the very first room of the game (with the angel twins), you can see various locations marked by dolls. Each of these is in Kaysen's image.
- He describes himself as a jolly old bee spreading pollen everywhere he goes. This is probably the most accurate description of any character in the game.
- Despite his cheerful nature, Kaysen can become very annoyed if York tries to talk to him when he's eating around town.
- Early in the game, Kaysen can frequently be found at the Milk Barn or with the Ingram twins. After he becomes a suspect, he rarely shows up anywhere near the Ingram family.
- During the scenes where Emily is looking for York, Kaysen will always be able to outrun her. Yet when they finally reach the clock tower, he's the only one out of breath.