Mogshomon

Me and my chocobo were taking refuge under an old ruined arch at Zenith near Olh Tahn. It was raining heavily but I had confidence it would not last long.

That morning, I had read the cards and they had been their usual combination of loud and clear and vague.

The sky would bring me a short misery, a beauty and a mystery.

So it would be a short rain. If I took flight right now, I would be drenched in the span of a breath or two so I opted for waiting.

A beauty? Well, after a short rain it’s not uncommon to see rainbows, particularly in the Churning Mists.

A mystery? Well, who was this young miqo’te lass running under the rain, in my direction?

She made it under the arch then took a moment to catch her breath.

She was wearing fancy clothes but they were so threadbare they were somewhat see-through at some spots. She had known better days and yet, a heavy purse hung from her belt.

She was beautiful, the kind of beautiful you want to hold in your arms and say everything will be alright.

“This rain will not last long,” I said.

“Well then, I’ll wait it out. Maybe I could share with you a strange story I witnessed earlier in Moghome?”

“If this involves moogles, then I’m all ears.” I replied, smiling.

“It does. If you don’t mind, I’ll refrain from repeating ‘kupo’ every other word, though.”

—

The moogles were holding a trial of sorts. Two of theirs had been tasked with guarding a fine bottle of wine in a dining room after a guest was announced to be late.

When the Chief arrived with his guest, they found the bottle empty, Mogool was lying on the ground and Mogwat was nowhere to be found.

The Chief was angry and ordered a search party to be formed to find Mogwat. Now that they had found him, they were holding a trial to find out who emptied the bottle of wine.

The chief was presiding over the whole thing and asked Mogwat what had happened. So this is Mogwat’s account of the events:

—

I was doing my normal round when Moggie came to me and said the Chief had given me a task.

He brought me to the dining room and said me and Mogool had both been tasked with guarding the bottle of wine on the table.

There were two gold cups next to it as well.

Mogool was already there and as soon as Moogie was out of earshot, he told me with plenty of scorn: “Why did they bring you goofball for this task. With you here, we are sure to fail.”

I wasn’t happy with that. But I had been given a task and I intended to carry it on.

Then he said, “You are worse than useless because someone useless would not make the task harder. Why did the Chief pick you? I sure don’t need your help.”

I ignored him the best I could but he continued:

“I should kick you out of this room, you are by far the biggest threat to this bottle.”

“The Chief will be mad at us both after you screw up, that’s for sure. Why should I have to take the blame for your idiocy.”

“You would not even think of putting the key of a safe into the safe because that’s too smart an idea for you.”

And with that, I got angry. I grabbed one of the two gold cups that were on the table and threw it at Mogool and barely missed him.

“Your aim is so bad you could not hit me in my sleep.”

He was lying since he had moved to dodge it and that made me more angry. I grabbed the last gold cup and threw it at him again, barely missing him once more.

“Ha ha ha, you could not hit the broad side of a behemoth with that aim of yours.”

I was so furious, I grabbed the bottle of wine, uncorked it, downed its content in one gulp. Mogool was stunned and finally shut up.

I threw the bottle at Mogool, hitting him straight in the forehead.

He fell down and didn’t talk or move anymore. Seeing what I had done, I quickly put the bottle and the cups back on the table and fled the place.

So it was me who emptied the bottle, but it’s really Mogool’s fault as he wouldn’t stop insulting me. This would never have happened if he had shut up and done his job correctly.

It’s all his fault.

—

The Chief said “well, I think we know who is the culprit, but seeing how everyone is here and considering the nature of the facts revealed, I would hear Mogool’s version.”

So, this is Mogool’s account of the events:

—

I was doing my round as usual when Moogie came to me and said the Chief had given me a task to perform.

He brought me to the dining room and said I had to watch over the bottle of wine on the table.

He also said that he could not trust one moogle alone and he would quickly fetch someone else to “help” me.

Seconds later, he came back with Mogwat. Mogwat seemed pretty angry at my presence.

“Why do we have a coward like you stand watch over anything? The first thief who shows up here will only have to demand the bottle for you to give them,” he said.

I ignored his taunt, I had been given a task and I intended to carry it on.

He continued, “if there’s a loud noise somewhere, you will certainly flee and leave your post. Not that I need your help but still.”

I told him to shut up but he wouldn’t.

“Yeah, come here in my face to tell me to shut up, coward.”

“If I wasn’t here, someone could just enter and take the bottle away, you wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it, coward.”

I was getting a little angry.

“You start crying when the Chief raises his voice, you’re just a coward.”

I yelled at him that I was no coward.

“If you’re not a coward, I dare you to open the bottle and drink a glass from it.”

That did it and I would show him. I opened the bottle and filled both gold cups full and downed both.

And to show him I was no coward, I filled them again, emptying the bottle and drank all that remained.

It’s at that time that he said, “ha ha ha, I laced the cups with sleeping powder. Goodnight sweetie.”

And with that I passed out.

So you see, it was me who drank the wine, but it’s really Mogwat’s fault as he taunted me and dared me to drink the wine and on top of that, he was playing a prank on you.

It’s all his fault.

—

The lass had told both versions of the story and the rain showed no sign of stopping.

“Isn’t it weird,” I said, “that both claimed to be the culprit?”

“Yes,” she replied, “particularly since they were both lying.”

“How do you know both of them were lying? Surely one was saying the truth or at least something close to the truth.”

“Well, nobody saw me, but I witnessed the whole thing.”

—

I was a little lost in Moghome when I heard some noises coming from a large and elaborate dining room. I quietly went closer.

I heard voices and I peeked through the large entrance. Two moogles were fighting, sort of.

“Goofball, you say? Come say it to my face!”

“Want to see my fist in your face?”

“Want to see my foot from up close?”

“I’ll tell the Chief about you.”

“You sure would, coward, you could not possibly stand up for yourself.”

And with that, one moogle flew at the other and rammed into him.

The impact sent both flying over the table and they bumped into the bottle which fell on the ground and the cork went off at some point in that.

One moogle was unconscious on the ground. The other was frightened and panicked. He quickly put the bottle back on the table, searched around looking for something and then fled.

—

So, that was her version of what happened?

I started laughing and the lass had a puzzled look on her face.

“So, I’ll never know what happened to that bottle of wine,” I explained.

“But, but… I just told you…” stammered the miqo’te.

“You’re lying as well.”

She looked disappointed and sad. “But how…”

“How do I know?” I interrupted. “Though they contradict each other, Mogwat and Mogool are both consistent on the presence of two gold cups on the table with the bottle of wine. And yet, they are missing from your version.”

And then it dawned on me.

“They are missing from your version because you don’t want to admit what happened to them.

After witnessing the scene, since there were no other witnesses, you stole them and between then and now, you sold them for a pretty penny.”

The lass was on the verge of tears, looking sad and defeated. “But, but, I have so little…”

“So you helped yourself.” I finished.

“What boggles my mind though is how you managed to steal from me, under my nose while telling me your story. Whatever is it you are holding behind your back.”

While her head faced me, her body was slightly turned to her left and she held her left hand not quite to her side but not quite in her back, but certainly just out of my sight.

“But, but…” she stuttered again.

“SHOW ME,” I yelled angrily.

She lowered her head as low as possible and slumped her shoulders forward and down as she put out her left hand.

She could not look more pathetic. I certainly would not be able to stay angry at her for long. What had she taken?

My Night Pegasus Whistle! 

The gall! 

The audacity! 

I earned this through great efforts, during an excruciating trek into the Palace of the Dead. It is my most cherished trophy!

I snatched it back from her hand. Had she managed to get away with this, I would have been livid when I found out.

The rain had stopped and the sky had cleared. She turned and started walking away.

The cards had been right as usual, and not in the way I expected, as usual.

The sky had brought it all to me; a short misery, a beauty and a mystery.

A short rain, a beautiful lady and a story with an unsolved mystery.

I hopped in the saddle and spurred my chocobo in flight.

And then, in the cleared sky, formed a rainbow…