Part 8: Fate Worse Than Depth

Lazlo finds himself in a strange place. All he can do is walk towards the light in the distance...



A Boy name Rakgi: Okay.

Woman: I'll see you later. Be careful.

???: I have a feeling I'll catch a big one today! Just wait and see!

The light disappears, and another appears in the distance.



And again.





The Mysterious Shadow does not resist and falls in a single blow...



...uttering a few words before it crumbles into dust.

---



Back in the real world, the recent events are cause for some discussion.

Is this true, Snowe? What exactly did you see?

Snowe, I know that you're a smart lad. Now pull yourself together and tell us what happened to the Commander.



Uh. At least it's not a direct accusation this time...?

Well, did you hear that, Vice-Commander Katarina? It appears that a quarrel of some sort occurred between him and the Commander.

B-But the Commander was not one to fight with his Knights... He always treated them fairly and equally...

Hmm... Then perhaps he was not satisfied with just being treated equally.

Lazlo...? But how could this be?!

It's clear that Lazlo expected special treatment from the Commander. Perhaps that explains why Snowe was sent on that dangerous mission...

Lord Vingerhut, unlike his son, is just plain an asshole without any redeeming qualities whatsoever.

---


He should've been satisfied with just being made a Knight...

Lazlo, meanwhile, wakes up in his quarters.


It seems we had more to fear from our comrades than from the pirates.
Hey, come to think of it, Commander Glen was inexplicably injured during the incident with the escort ship as well.

He hears people muttering outside...



...but more importantly, he now has a weird mark slash doomsday weapon on his left hand. He didn't think those old wives' tales would be true!



And so she does. Well, she can't exactly wait for Lazlo to say "come in".

We have settled on your punishment.

Apparently, this is what qualifies as a fair trial in Gaien.

You will be exiled from the kingdom. You will be cast out to sea, and you are never to return to Gaien.

I've mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, Katarina knows about the rune - she saw it glowing on Glen's hand the day before, even if he didn't say anything about it. And, the Suikoden universe must be full of stories about True Runes Fucking Shit Up because that is kind of what they do.

You will depart tomorrow. Until then, you are confined to your quarters.

On the other hand, the only witness _{god fucking damn it Snowe} has pointed Lazlo out as a killer, and he's caught with the murder weapon, as it were, at hand. Finally, Lord Vingerhut, Douchebag Extraordinarie, is firmly set on making Lazlo take the blame, and if you'll remember what (the late) Glen said before, Vingerhut owns the Knights.



Lazlo is fucked no matter where he turns.

I know you would not try to escape, but I must lock this room until tomorrow morning. It's nothing personal.



Gee. Thanks. That makes me feel so much better.

---



The next day, some old friends are here to pick him up.

Have faith...

When he's ready, please escort him to the harbor.



Let's go.

I hope you like Lazlo's new outfit. He'll be wearing it for the rest of the game.



So remember how Snowe was probably the most interesting and well written character in the game?


Commander Glen trusted you. I don't understand why it had to come to this. Was that trust misplaced? What was it?
Fare thee well.

Damn shame we're leaving him behind to go on a trip with Mr. Personality here, isn't it.



So those dumb fucks just dumped the only competent person on the island in the middle of the fucking ocean like the dumb fucks they are.



Lazlo wonders if it's too late to ask for that beheading she was talking about.



Katarina still seems to have some idea what a terrible mistake this is.

Knight of Gaien: Vice-Commander, you seem tired.

Yes...

Knight of Gaien: Having Snowe as our new Commander seems somehow...

Oh, remember how some of you were talking about Snowe replacing Glen as the head of the knights? Yeah. That just happened.

...
"There will be times when I cannot gainsay him." It is something Commander Glen once said. I just remembered now.

Knight of Gaien: My sympathies...

No way this is blowing up in anyone's face or anything!

...We should return to port.

Knight of Gaien: Yes, ma'am.





---



"Captain's Log, day one: FUCK the ocean."



...wait, what?



"I brought you a mango."

"I brought you Lord Vingerhut's credit card."



"You guys."

Come on! Let's row towards land!


Oh!

What's wrong?

S-Something made a sound in there...



Could it be... Mr. Chiepoo?

...Meow...

...

Some time later:

...Like I said, I've been hitching rides on ships to various kingdoms to see the world.



Oh, you don't have to preach about life being so tough for someone young like me. You have to endure some hardships to achieve your dreams... So, where is this ship headed?

Due to certain circumstances, this ship... was set adrift.

That's a... diplomatic way to put it.

At the very least, we can never return to the Gaien Kingdom.

Oh, I... I see... So, this ship... is for exiles then. But we have to go somewhere, r-right?

...That is true. Just as you said.

And so Chiepoo joins the group!




Opinions may differ on whether he is a disgusting furry thing or an adorable kitty, but in terms of pure facts, Catman is fast, ridiculously lucky, reasonably strong - if a bit of a later bloomer in that area - and though somewhat squishy, he is not particularly horrible at anything. All in all, he's a pretty solid addition to our party.



We're now in control of the boat and left to float around aimlessly and fight random battles. You may have noticed on his character model already, but along with his new outfit, Lazlo has pulled a second sword from somewhere and his attack now hits twice.



I have no idea where he picked up the skill to do this since the knights appear to have trained him in the use of a single weapon, but what the hell, it's an improvement.

His fellow knights have also undergone some changes, though none quite as drastic.



After a couple of fights, the plot finally resumes.

I certainly hope that they are not pirates...

Know what? Fuck it. If pirates will take us in, commence the looting and plundering. Lazlo don't owe Razril nothin' no more.



It doesn't look like one of Dario's ships.



...and those don't look like Dario's men, either.

???: Hmm... a small vessel? Could it be an enemy scout?

Merchant: Actually, it doesn't appear to be a scout. It seems to be adrift. Shall we go ahead and secure it?

Let's watch it for a while, but make sure everyone's prepared. We may need to defend ourselves.

Yes, you should fear the dread pirate Lazlo and his scurvy crew.

His pirate flag would be shorts.

???: This is surprisingly well-armed for just a "merchant ship".

I was merely being prudent.



Assertive or not, he sure is a snappy dresser. Why can't I get an outfit like that instead of those horrible shorts? I'm certainly liking the scarf a lot more than the random bits of metal T... the other mysterious man has strapped to himself.

They seem to be approaching us... Listen to me, Colton. Keep acting like a merchant for a little while longer. If we end up engaging in combat, I will take command.



A sharp-eyed viewer may notice that Colton's salute differs somewhat from the Gaien knights'.

---



Maybe I can convince them to take me aboard...

I seem to remember other characters berating Chiepoo for this remark...

You can sail with them or us. It's your decision, Chiepoo.

...but Jewel is just chill as fuck. I think I like her.

---


Ah-ahem... What, may I ask, are you doing out here in the middle of the ocean at this hour?

Where is this ship headed?

Is there a harbor nearby?

Could you share some of your food with us? Oh, but before we get to that, can we get a chart?

My stomach's grumbling! Some cheese would be nice...

Fun fact: Chiepoo's weapons are all named after cheese. His current one is "Gouda".



Lazlo and the cat cower. The rest of the party just stand there like .

Um, ahem... Perhaps now's a good time to get some rest.

Poor Colton just can't keep up with the youngsters. No one tell him about twitter.

Next we regain control of Lazlo for another of those "hey, play the game for five seconds maybe" segments. There are a grand total of two sailors to talk to:

Crew: This ship will be anchored here until tomorrow. We're here to rendezvous with a fellow merchant ship.

Ooh, big words. There's also a second nameless dude -

Crew: You've never seen our ship before? We've just begun trading along this route. Maybe we'll do business together.

I'm not showing screenshots of any of this because I'm sure you've all seen enough of generic ships' decks for a while, so let's go talk to Tr... the nameless captain and get this over with.


I'm sure that you're all tired. Go ahead and get some rest.

This gets us a very brief scene and what basically amounts to a "fuck off".

All that's left is to go talk to Colton in the cabin...



...and before anyone asks, I did indeed pick up this missable item on the table. You can see Colton off to the side here so he's not getting a screenshot of his own. If talked to...

Would you like to rest?

...his only dialogue is "continue the game? Y/N".

Yes.

Well, then, we will be getting off to go outside, so please make yourselves at home and get some rest soon.

Thanks, geezer. I think we'll do exactly that!