The Book of Lies
Seyu'a Yhinsali's story
Prologue
It was a warm, golden evening as the sun began its graceful descent, casting long shadows and painting the sky with hues of orange and pink, bidding farewell to Thanaland for the day. In the bustling city of Ul'dah, a crucial meeting had just concluded, drawing together a tapestry of influential political figures and shrewd merchants. Outside the imposing building, dozens of vigilant guards kept a watchful eye on any passerby, ready to protect their high-profile guests.After a few more words said to one another with political interests behind them, all the participants began to exit the building and were escorted to their destination. Chocobo-drawn carriages were all lined up outside the city walls, all with their own drivers, waiting for each of the merchants to climb on. One by one they began to leave in different directions until all but two carriages remained.The first carriage belonged to one Rumwald Chaffer, a wealthy merchant whose riches grew in proportion to the number of adversaries he had amassed. It was expertly driven by D'relh, a pale Miqo'te known for his mastery of carriage handling, forged during his time as a battle-hardened mercenary. Once Rumwald was aboard, the carriage began to move forward down the path for Central Thanaland while another one followed right behind with a couple of hired blades on board. The time was now 7:30 PM.As the two carriages drove down the road, they passed a seemingly ordinary man seated on a bench, engrossed in a newspaper. This unassuming figure carefully folded the paper twice as he watched the carriages go by. A few malms away, another individual looked at the man through his spyglass. At 7:35, this individual pulled a small mirror from his pocket and with the last rays of sunlight, created one more signal, aimed at someone who was already positioned and waiting at the Soot Creek bridge.By 7:40 PM, the sun had fully set, just like Seyu'a Yhinsali had expected. He finished all the preparations as he waited by the bridge. According to his intel, Rumwald was a man who prized time. Based on this, he must be making D'relh drive at around 60 malms per hour so they would be reaching the bridge at around 7:46 PM. Concealed barrels laden with explosives, hidden beneath nondescript sheets, lined the sides of the bridge. The amount of gunpowder within these barrels was not intended to obliterate both carriages, but to halt the second while the first attempted to flee the impending danger. At 7:45 PM, Seyu'a ignited the delayed fuse and swiftly moved to his next position.Not more than a minute later, the caravan drove over the bridge when a loud explosion took out the large wheels of the rear carriage and sending the front Chocobo into a panic, making it a challenge for D'relh to maintain control. He struggled to steer the carriage onward, determined to reach the Black Brush Station, where he could seek help from the locals. But hope dwindled as pieces of the carriage fell apart, and the Chocobo's grip loosened until the feathered creature bolted in fear. D'relh jumped from his seat to assess the damage, vulnerable and exposed.From within the shadows, the white haired Miqo'te emerged, swiftly knocking out the unaware D'relh. From the inside, Rumwald could only assume what was happening outside the carriage. A few seconds of silence passed before the door opened up. D'relh popped his head in and gave a smile to the merchant."The threat has been dealt with, sire. We're only a few yalms away from Black Brush. We might be able to secure another carriage from someone there."Rumwald sighed in relief and promptly followed D'relh, his gaze falling upon a concealed figure sprawled on the floor, their identity shrouded and Rumwald could only guess it was the now breathless corpse of their attacker. As they arrived at the station, they quickly made their way to the carriage D'relh had mentioned.As they rode into the night, D'relh's "mask" would finally begin to fall.At 8:00 PM that evening, Rumwald Chaffer vanished from sight, never to be seen or heard from again while for Seyu'a, another mission unfolded with flawless precision.
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