The music loops several times, as Odessa is taking a year and a half to die. “If you…ever see Flik again, tell him that his kindness always saw me through hard times…” In other words, they were hot for each other, but I guess Odessa wouldn’t want to come right out and say that to PUGGY!!!. Then again, why not? She’ll be dead, it’s not like she’ll have to be embarrassed or anything. “Well…it appears the end is near…,” Odessa says, as if she’s announcing that it’s about to rain or that the tea is ready. Everyone’s starting to get kind of impatient. “PUGGY!!!, I hope that you will be able to see the Free World that I was….never able to…” and then she abruptly dies, the music stops, and the screen goes black. “Goodbye…Odessa,” Viktor says. Thankfully, there are no dragging and splashing sounds.
The scene comes back up and PUGGY!!!, Gremio, Cleo, and Viktor are standing in the inn, as if nothing ever happened. Gremio suggests that they go to Seika. “But to get to Seika, we have to pass through the Fortress of Kwaba.” I detect our next obstacle. Viktor says they’ll give it a try. That’s the spirit!
PUGGY!!! heads straight south to the Fortress of Kwaba, and by some miracle, doesn’t get lost. The “We have to sneak in now” music plays in the background as the four party members huddle outside the gates. Cleo puts on her exposition hat. “The Fortress of Kwaba. It’s [sic] Commander is Lord Ain Gide, an old friend of Master Teo’s,” she says. “He doesn’t know us, but he certainly knows your face.” She’s looking straight at Gremio, but I think she’s talking about PUGGY!!!. I mean, that would make the most sense in the context of the game, but then again, maybe Gremio is well-known to the male soldiers. Gremio thinks they should try to sneak in, and Viktor’s brilliant idea is to think of some fake names. That’ll fool them for sure. Right away, Gremio comes up with the name “Roi” for himself. It sounds like he’s used to having a pseudonym for whatever reason. Cleo wants to be Maria, even though Viktor tells her she doesn’t look like a Maria. Apparently Viktor has never watched “The Sound of Music”, because right there you’ve got a rather tomboyish Maria. Viktor needs to expand his horizons.
Viktor comes up with the name “Schtolteheim Reinbach III” for himself. I toyed with the idea of referring to him as Schtolteheim for the rest of the recap, but I don’t want to type that out. I’ll compromise by calling him “Schtolty” for the remainder of this scene. Both Cleo and Gremio are less-than-thrilled with Schtolty’s new moniker, but that doesn’t stop PUGGY!!! from picking “Schtolteheim Reinbach IV” for his own fake name. Gremio doesn’t like the thought of calling out the name “Schtolteheim Reinbach IV” during moments of passion, but he decides that he won’t let that get in his way. “Ok, let’s go Roi, Maria, Schtolteheim Reinbach IV,” Schtolty III says. And with that, the four of them head into the Fortress of Kwaba.
They are immediately stopped by guards. Schtolty III tries to pass himself off as a jujube vendor, but the guards aren’t interested in him. Nope, they go straight for Schtolty IV, who they think looks like PUGGY!!! McDohl (well, he is, but don’t tell them). At that moment, Ain Gide emerges from the fortress and wants to know what’s going on. Schtolty IV (PUGGY!!! (shhh)) is turned away at this point, like that’s really going to fool old Ain. He tells Schtolty IV to show his face. Things look bad for our young hero, when suddenly Gremio takes matters into his own hands. He shoves Schtolty IV up against the wall roughly and starts yelling at him. “You! I’ve just about had it with you! Always causing trouble! And completely useless too! Now they think you’re a fugitive. You’re a pain in the neck even when you’re doing nothing!” You see, Gremio is trying to trick the guards, but on another level, he’s acting out all his sexual frustration. It’s totally obvious in the way he keeps rubbing against Schtolty IV as he has him pressed against the wall. Sure it might look like they’re just standing across from each other, but you have to learn how to read sprite body language. It’s an art.
Gremio offers to kill Schtolty IV if the guards think he’s suspicious. He plays this part so convincingly that the guards freak out and tell him to stop. Ain Gide steps in at this time. “Think about it, Rosh. McDohl’s son wouldn’t be dressed as a beggar. You all, you may pass.” A beggar?! He’s wearing the same damn clothes as before. Good job, game designers.
Oh Gremio, you’re not obvious AT ALL.
As Schtolty IV and the others walk past Ain Gide, he says, “Hey, sonny. Take good care of your father.” So he knew all along! Gremio’s act was all for nothing, not that he didn’t enjoy it. Immensely. Outside the fortress, Gremio apologizes to PUGGY!!!. He says that he went too far. “I’m ready for any kind of punishment,” he says, essentially offering himself to PUGGY!!!. Viktor puts a stop to this right away, and PUGGY!!! tells Gremio that he understands. Poor Gremio, he was so close.
There’s a random guy standing by the fortress gate. His name is Chandler, he’s a peddler who wants his own store someday, and he’s even got a character portrait so that means he’s important, but he’s SO not joining the party right now.
Yeah…heh….as long as she’s…alive….SHIT.
The village of Seika is nearby, so that means that PUGGY!!! won’t pull his usual stunt of getting lost. There’s a chef named Antonio in the inn, who really wants his own restaurant someday. I’m starting to notice a pattern here. Marie, from the inn back in Gregminster, is in one of the rooms. She got in trouble for hiding PUGGY!!! and had to flee, but she’s not bitter. If only she had her own inn….
Okay, who spilled the beans?
Viktor asks a random guy standing around outside if he knows where Mathiu lives. Little does he know that the man he’s talking to is Mathiu. But we know, because his name is written in the little speech window. “Just up those steps,” Mathiu replies. So PUGGY!!! and the others go up the steps and into the house. It turns out that Mathiu is a pedophile — he keeps some children in his house and the girl thinks she’s going to marry him. Another complains about the amount of “homework”. Now that’s just wrong. Or else Mathiu is a teacher. I guess it could be interpreted either way. Well, that was pointless.
PUGGY!!! and the others leave the house and go back down the stairs where Viktor confronts Mathiu. “You! Trying to fool us? You’re Mathiu!” I’m not sure exactly what triggered that revelation — maybe Mathiu had a picture lying around his house or something, or maybe Viktor finally realized why “Mathiu” was written in the speech window. “Yes, I’m Mathiu. What can I do for you?” Mathiu (duh) asks. Gremio gives Mathiu the earring that he somehow stole from PUGGY!!! and says they’re there to honor Odessa’s last request. From this, Mathiu brilliantly figures out that Odessa is dead and makes a comment about how it was too bad she “got mixed up in that…” Viktor takes offense. “That what? I don’t like your tone of voice. What’s wrong with what Odessa was doing?” Mathiu has a clear opinion on what Odessa was about. “She was a fool. I knew it would come to this. I can’t accept this earring. Please leave.” And with that, he runs back to his house like a little pansy. Oh, so it’s going to be one of those things where PUGGY!!! has to prove himself by saving the village or something before Mathiu has a change of heart and agrees to help him. Fine.
PUGGY!!! and the others follow Mathiu into his house, where they get the same “Please leave” treatment. Outside the house, the team huddles again. “Who is this guy? He makes me sick,” Viktor says bluntly. “Me too. But why did Odessa ask us to see him?” Cleo wonders. Just then the “Oh shit, here come the Imperial soldiers” music starts up and, what do you know, a group of Imperial soldiers barges into Mathiu’s house. I’m thinking that PUGGY!!! is going to have to save his ass. “Those Imperial Soldiers went toward Mathiu’s house,” Gremio, the master of the obvious, informs everyone. PUGGY!!! goes to check it out.
Probably nothing worse than what you were already doing, sicko.
The Imperial soldiers are holding one of Mathiu’s students or boy toys or whatever. Mathiu demands to know what they’re going to do with the child. “Mathiu Silverberg. You are hereby ordered to return to duty in the Imperial Army. There’s no reason why a fine doctor like you should be wasting your talent in this pathetic village. Why, you’re a hero of the Battle of Kalekka,” says the random soldier who happened to draw the “exposition” straw that morning. “I refuse! I’ve had it with war. Nowadays I’m nothing but a poor recluse,” Mathiu replies defiantly. I think PUGGY!!!’s going to have to step in and save his ass soon. The soldier takes his exposition duties seriously, informing Mathiu that he’s under orders from Kasim Hazil and has permission to use force if necessary. There’s more back and forth shit, with the soldiers threatening to send the kid to the mines if Mathiu doesn’t cooperate. This is where PUGGY!!! finally decides to open a can of whoopass.
Whoops.
The soldier isn’t too happy with this intrusion. He orders their capture, and this triggers a battle, of course. An easy battle. Mathiu is horrified that the children (or in his words, “a children”) had to witness the killing. How’s that for gratitude? The screen goes black, then comes up again with PUGGY!!! all alone in front of Mathiu’s house. He goes inside to talk to Mathiu, who has a big revelation for him. “I know who you are, PUGGY!!!, son of General Teo McDohl. How do I know? I still keep in touch with a few friends in the Imperial Army. Plus, you always wear the same damn outfit, and the yellow pants, red tunic, lime green bandanna, and pointy-toed shoes make you stand out like Squall in a straight bar.” Gremio points out that Mathiu’s last name is Silverberg, and Mathiu admits that Odessa Silverberg was his sister. There was some conflict going on there because he didn’t want anything to do with war (as we learned earlier) and she wanted to fight for her beliefs. Mathiu thinks that Odessa never forgave him. “Odessa told me that a powerful man who doesn’t use his power is a coward,” he says. “Yes, I am a coward. I would rather be called a coward than have to bear seeing that awful sight again.” Gremio asks what he means. “Watching people die from my own actions. Friend and enemy alike…But today…..I have realized something.” (See, I told you.) “Even if I close my eyes, the world will not disappear.” And with that revelation, he agrees to join them. It’s about time.