Cuthbert spotted the man at a distance. It would have been nigh-impossible not to spot the man at a distance, even for someone much less observant than Bert was. He was barefoot and dressed in only a nightshift. Perfect peculiar, and the sight of it first made him chuckle. Even for Madison Valley that had to count as a strange way to go about. He noted other folk giving the man a wide berth; mayhap they thought him a beggar, or else mad, and either would have been enough for most to keep distance.
Neither troubled Cuthbert overmuch, though. He'd give the man a few coins if he wanted, those representing the Affiliation ought to show charity, and as he had to keep reminding himself, what he did here reflected on his homeland particularly magnified. He wasn't just a representative, he was the only representative, and likely as not the only one there ever would be. He didn't wish Alain and Roland here alongside him in any case, even if it meant ka-shume, ka-tet's breaking. They had to deal with matters in Mejis. Someone had to. And if the man was mad? It wasn't as if he could do much harm, at any rate.
As he approached, Cuthbert noted his limp, noted the bruises on his skin, and wondered at that, but there was no way of telling the cause. Then he spoke up, and Bert raised a hand. 'Hile,' he greeted him evenly, looking into his eyes as he did so and seeing - well, he wasn't Alain to see with the Touch, but there wasn't the utter cloudiness of madness, at any rate. This fellow was mayhap sharper than he looked.
Then the explanation came, and Cuthbert couldn't help but grin. It was simpler and more understandable than he had been expecting, and there was relief there. 'Turned out by a whore, sai? There's a pity. It's a cruel woman who'd take not only a man's funds but his clothes, too, so it is, and leave him to wander home so...disrobed.' Though he had that nightshift, at least. Cuthbert was amused, as any other man might have been, but he wasn't unkind, and so he nodded. 'If you find a tailor here, sai, you'll tell me, for I haven't, but we can see about getting you something proper to wear. There are stores here with clothing. Come, I'll show you.' He took a half-step closer. He wouldn't offer his arm for support, nor remark upon the man's condition, but he'd stay close by, close enough to reach out and stop him from falling should he stumble.