Part 28: Huntin' Du'Cate

Had yet another lovely encounter with Niccolo. This time, he wanted me to take him to the Mindas Ruins to search for some Flowerling that could use psychokinesis.



...Close enough. Anyway, we find the guy, and he manages to get away. Niccolo then pretended the Flowerling was a fraud, and then after a miserable maze of gates we finally got out. Then the jerk stiffed me. Next time I see him, I'll give him a good punch. I need a better adventure to occupy myself with...





-----



I guess it's Bud's turn to go adventuring. I don't know anymore, but he's got his own little thing going on, so I figure, kill two birds with one stone, you know?



I don't feel like going into Lumina for awhile after running into the rabbit. Let's see where this Medallion takes us.









This place looks intimidating, like it could be easy to get lost in.







Huh, a small group. Wonder if they're treasure hunters.



You go catch a Du'Cate and bwing its tail back.... And what'll happen?



Duh... I dunno.



Duh... So what happens?
He'll cancel all our debt for us.





I am not Mr. Fuddy-duddy! Pwease addwess me as Sotherbee! And your debt will not be compwetewy cancelled, either! The 10,000,000 Wucre-debt will be weduced to 9,980,000 Wucre!
Duh, how come we owe you so much money? We're just housecleaners at your boss's mansion!
You just don't get it, do you? Mr. Fuddy-duddy cheated us.



I did not cheat you! You must pay for all the things you bwoke!
Ah, well... Toil, says the proverb, is the sire of fame.
Uh, what's that mean?








......



...20,000 Lucre for a Du'Cate, huh?




They're a weal wawety!

So I hunt them down and give this guy the tails, and I should have enough money to make some decent weapons and armor, all the better to fuel my Golems.

Right, time to get to it...



Huh?



Whoa, never seen that before!



Catch it for me, and I'll weward you handsomewy!

Aah, there it goes!



Catch that wound thing that's wunning awound!



He got away! But how odd... The Wiwipeas are an almost mythical cweature!

Eh... Probably for the best. That thing seemed to have some intelligence.

Hard to imagine that guy's part of a race that brought down a wyrm, but I still doubt I want to try to capture him. I'll settle for the Du'Cate.



Oh, hello. Think I'll walk by and see if he does anything. Maybe I'll try talking to the faeries to see what he does.



Alright, maybe not.




Does he want me to follow him?



Don't see the harm, I suppose!



Now that I see one in person, it does bring to mind the few things I've read about them in books.






Looks like the two are wandering around in circles. Good thing I have a guide!



What an odd pair of creatures. Bird and snake attached to each other? These foes get weirder by the land.





Fortunately, the rock I used to forge these gloves have some fire elemental power within them, so I'm dealing even more damage to this crew.

Another job do-



What now?





Thanks, I guess?



Sigh... This guy moves so slow.



I...think I'll take my chances on my own.




...Blast.



These guys are fearsome, and they resist my gloves rather well. Definitely one of the trickier foes I've faced so far.





Seems the undead inhabit this jungle as well. Fortunately, these guys are rather fragile.





Audrey II's spores also help knock them out, making them easier to manage and destroy.



Uh... Who cares!? Gotta go check it out!



Poor fool. Better go warn-



Looks like he has a keener eye than I thought. Maybe I should give him more credit.



Whoa!!
Duh... Hey, cheater!!



It's no Du'Cate, but there's a big animal back there. Hey, maybe we can get some more dough for that one.
Duh... It's gonna be money?





Don't go in, or you'll be sent back to the entrance! Instead, check out the room I was in. There's a funky animal in there!



It's not like there's a lack of funky animals around here. But whatever, let's check it out.



Rosiotti? One of the Wisdoms?



Bud chats with him for a bit, but I'm more curious about this Du'Cate thing we're chasing. Maybe I can steer the conversation that way...



Try working with others to catch him.

Considering I haven't found him yet, this may not be a bad idea. One of them's rather smart, and the other's rather strong. Between the three of us, we could track it down rather easily.



My sister, Selkie, went to check why the Faeries have been acting weird. She went to the Courtyard of Rain, but she might be hiding elsewhere now. Um, could you go look for her after you catch Du'Cate?

Eh, don't see the harm in doing so.



Faeries over here, huh? They willingly talk to me, so surely they won't hate me enough to kick me out of their home.





...Maybe I'm getting a wee bit arrogant.



...but there's no way I can catch him by myself. Listen here, why don't you work with me, huh?



Yeah, let's work together on this! I'll chase him out of where he's hiding...
Then I'll move to corner him in!

Perfect! But three heads are better than two, so...



Uh... How 'bout you and me workin' together?



Sounds like a plan! I can box him in once I see him.
Duh... Thanks! I'll ramble through and get him t' come out here!



So the large guy will use his mass to scare Du'Cate out of hiding, while the skinny guy will use his speed to corner Du'Cate to a place he can't flee. After that, I can come out and beat him up.

Maybe I should try this teamwork thing more often!






I love it when a plan comes together.



Eh, nothing I haven't seen be-



...



Whew... coming up to a dead end. Hopefully they lured Du'Cate here!

Video: Boss - Du'Cate






Huh, no sign of him. I hope the other two didn't screw up.



Aha! Found you!





So this is the guy that everybody's been hunting for. I'll show them how to hunt in style!





Should've just had me do the job to begin with.





Bah, almost snagged his tail! There goes my money!



Hey, it's those two again. Gotta hand it to them, they lured Du'Cate out, even if I couldn't snag the reward.



Uh... But we're both wimps!
Can't do a thing when we need to!

If anyone screwed up here, it's me.

-----






My sentiments exactly.

Yeah, yeah, let's go.



Here is 500 Wucre.

Nice consolation, but still, I was the one who messed things up. Plus they need the money more, so...



I think the other two are more deserving of the money than myself, so they can have my share.



How genewous! Hamson and Skippie, fowwow this person's example!



Hey, that's not nice...



Somewhere new to go to, at least.




Uh... Ta la la?
We're movin' up in the world!



They may be screw-ups, but at least they're among the more competent screw-ups I've met. And I should know, I've met a lot of screw-ups so far.

Too many, really.