Part 39: Cuthbert

Chapter 25- Cuthbert

Tuesday

Evening continued

We'd reached the roof of the Yesterwind building. There was nowhere else for them to run to. It was time to make them pay for every life they'd ruined. It turned out, though, that there was so much more going on than I'd ever guessed.

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Hey there, pilgrims.
You the vermin that's been scurryin' round my little abode?
All the exits are blocked. Ain't no way out but one.
Cuthbert! What a surprise. And... Lobo, is that you?
Heh. Never though I'd see someone like you in a place like this.
It's been a while. How ya been?
Fine, thanks to you.
That so? Good to hear.
Is this who you were looking for?
Indeed. He is Lobo, leader of Yesterwind.
He is also... my only true friend.
True friend, huh? Yeah, I remember those days.
But our stroll down memory lane's gonna hafta wait. Got some pesky vermin to get rid of first. You know how it is.



While Lobo talked big, he didn't even dare engage us himself. He sent Cuthbert to do his dirty work.

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Christophe wanted to talk to Lobo, so we had to avoid killing the bastard. Which again, wasn't a real problem because the coward wasn't even willing to put his life on the line here.

Feinne on Soul Nomad:

This battle's not too bad if you make sure to kill the Pyremage rooms as soon as possible. Their Terror Blaze is the most dangerous thing here. They can easily cripple a room with it.

We defeated their forces without much real difficulty. They may be big bad criminals, but I've got the biggest and baddest criminal of all time inside of me. Heh, you got that right kid. We had Lobo on the ropes, and that's when... I'm still not sure what to think of what happened next.

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Lobo! You can stop now! You don't have to live like this anymore!
We can end it all, everything, right now!
Gh. That's right. I almost forgot about what I said back then.
Told ya I wanted to get clean. That I didn't wanna live like this no more.
That's right. And since then, I've moved up in the world. You can come with me and start all over.
Christophe... thanks. I...I...
...
...Don't need your pity.

The son of a bitch grabbed Christophe and held him at knifepoint!



Hah. Day late and a dollar short, I'd say.
Took your sweet time, didn't you? Well, friend, let enough time slip by, and anything can happen.
No... I refuse-!
Hey, vermin! You want to keep him breathing? Get moving.
Th-that's... that's... no fair!
Hahaha! No fair is my favorite kind. Now move.
Wait!
I have just one question...



Oh! The rich snob, right? He was one of our best customers.
Nothin' but the best for him! I was real sad when we lost him. Hah.
Then... you must know what happened to his... daughters.
Not like I knew 'em by name.
But I tell ya. I don't know that any of 'em made it past 17 in that house.
You're one of 'em, ain't ya? Whoever killed that sonuvabitch, you should send 'em a thank-you card.
I-I see...
Shauna...
Yo, Cuthbert. Don't just stand there, get the lead out! Hustle!

But just when all seemed lost, when everything was at its darkest, it all turned around. Please, he's the sort to only show up when it's dramatic. He probably waited for just this moment, he could have stepped in at any time. Flashy bastard.



Hey, good to see ya again.
How'd you get here?
I've been looking for these guys forever.
I knew where they were, but I could never find a way in.
Thanks for clearing a path, by the way.
It's all thanks to Odie.
Odie, huh? So he...? I'm glad to hear that!
Gr-! Dammit, get your hands offa me!
Christophe! You're my friend, right? Tell this mongrel to let me go!
You're a dead man.



Hey! Hey! You won't get nothin' by killin' me!
But you let me live, and I'll show ya where we keep the treasure!
Everything you could wish for, and more! Just lemme go, and it's all yours!
...
You aren't Lobo. The Lobo I knew is already dead.
...
I'm sorry...!



Way to go, amigo!
We can take escape route C and-!



Cuthbert, what-?
Don't come any closer!



Brother... you should live more for yourself. Do what you want!
Cuthbert? What... what are you saying?
Did you forget yourself? You're the kind of person to care about everyone else. Why are you so chained to your damn job?
I know there's more to you than that!
I've always watched you... And looked up to you.
Cuthbert, I-!
You, with the black sword.
This is all you, kid.
Y-yes...?



Orviska...?
Ever since he met you, my brother's slowly been finding his old self again.
So if he ever starts to stray, kick him in the ass for me, okay?
Why not do it yourself?
No... not me. My hands are too filthy.
The smell... no matter how much I scrub, that putrid stench won't come clean. I didn't want it to be like this...
So now it's up to you. Goodbye.
Cuthbert, nooo!!!



And with that, Cuthbert flung himself from the ramparts and into the angry sea below. I'm still not sure what to make of it. On one hand, suicide is never the right solution to your problems. On the other, he knew his crimes were unforgivable, and passed judgement on himself. What's more, what he told me confused me. What did a country like Orviska have to do with Yesterwind? What could Yesterwind have possibly had that would interest them. Come to think of it, those guards were talking about Orviska buying people.



We were all saddened by the events, and decided to head back to Astec. Our work there was done anyway. Yesterwind was scattered to, well, the winds.



We appreciate it.
Well, don't thank me. Thank Cuthbert. I'm never going to lose sight like that again.
I can't seem to gather my thoughts just yet... I'm going to head back to Astec.
You're going to Orviska, right? Do you have your referral?
Yup, got it.



It's all thanks to you, Master!
Oh know it off with that 'master' crap.
I have to go get in touch with the Nereids.
I'm gonna ask them to try and heal Euphoria.
Hey, you. Sepp. How long you gonna stand there glaring at me?
If anything happens to her, you'll have me to answer to!
Relax. No man wants to watch the woman he loves die.
!!



Endorph!
I will never, ever call you my brother-in-law or anything like that!
That'll never happen, okay?! But this time... just for now...! Please... take care of her.
No worries. She'll be fine.
See ya.

And with that he was gone. Before we could head back to Orviska we needed to escort Christophe back to Astec. But when we got there, Levin just decided he couldn't sit around and do nothing. As usual, man-cow goes to try and screw things up.

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...!
...!!!
Arrgg! I can't stand this! I can't leave everything up to him!
Sorry, I gotta go!
Wha... he makes me dizzy sometimes...
He's so fast... he's already just a speck on the horizon.
Hmph, all you Sepps are just so...
What should we do now?
Whaddya mean? We should thank god that hot-blooded dumbass is gone. We're safer when he's gone.



And that's where we are right now. I'm going to get some sleep, this has been a tiring day.

Wednesday

Morning

Another night, another strange dream. I'm sure I've seen the guy in this one before. I have my suspicions as to what he's talking about, but Gig is unusually tight-lipped about it.

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...
Could they really...?
What's wrong?
...

Anyway, Levin came barging in at the crack of dawn. As usual.



Looks like he's in a hurry.
*huff huff* Phew...
Guys... wait... hold on... listen...
Levin, what's going on?
I have a request... For Master Christophe.
We have to hurry!

So we rushed back to Christophe. At this point I had no idea what Levin was freaking out about, but he soon clarified. It was bad. Very bad.

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You can get it, can't you?!
I promise, I'll pay whatever it costs! If I don't have it, I-I'll work it off!
Yup, there it is. He's gone for a day, and he brings back a freaking world-ending plague...
What happened?
You have to tell us what's going on. Just talk it out, piece by piece.
Okay... I ended up at the Nereid Palace, ya see, and...



It's incredibly contagious and very deadly. I can't risk spreading the disease.
Scarlet Iago...?
Hey, is my sister okay?!
Hm? Oh, that Sepp girl Endorph brought in?
Yes, the girl survived.
Then-!
But if I don't keep people from moving in and out of the palace, we risk spreading the disease!
It was a mistake to ever allow these humans into our land...
I only allowed Endorph in as a favor. He told me it was urgent.
But... that's not fair!



But normally, Queen Alexemia requires a fee or trade for her services.
I'm sure you know Euphoria has a terminal disease. Now, you must decide how badly you want to save her.
We need medicine to cure the Scarlet Iago that's broken out here.
B-but...! I can't afford that! I don't even know where to find it!
Why can't you just cure it with that Nereid power of yours?
We cannot cure everything. The Scarlet Iago is one ailment beyond our reach.



I could understand where Juno was coming from. The Scarlet Iago was no laughing matter.



Enough for... t-twenty people, sir...
?! I'm sorry, we don't have enough assets on hand to afford that much right now...
Then... you can use my inheritance.
I don't really need it anymore, so...
Are you sure? I think that would be a great help.
Scarlet Iago... hmm.



I have my suspicions, personally, but until I'm sure I don't want to worry anyone. You don't think it's stop right there. I'm hoping to avoid a panic. Not cause one. Now we've just got to wait for this medicine.

Friday

Morning

Good news! The medicine arrived early today! We're leaving now to deliver it to the Nereids. After we've relieved them, I'll write a bit more.



I can't tell you how glad I am you're here to help transport this medicine. It's unbelievably expensive, after all.
I managed to squeeze out a few extra doses, for you and your friends.
Thank you very much.

I get the sinking feeling this isn't going to go well, and that we'll likely need those personal doses. Oh yeah. This sort of thing always goes south.