Worthless Treasure

[The League]

Deutschmany-Luvodique Border

Heather followed faithfully behind her husband David as he trekked along the forest floor, using his handy machete to cut through the thick vines stooping down from the trees overhead. It was remarkably dense for a temperate forest, and added to their problems was the fact that they were hiking along an untrodden path. This was definitely a cause for concern - after all, they were not seasoned hikers. Their experience in the forests of their home country of Guitarica had not prepared them for this trip.

Just as he was about to regret coming on this far-from-touristy holiday, David picked up a harmonious tune coming from his right. Though weary and bogged down from a day of strenuous activity, his weary eyes shifted and caught the sight of a bright yellow bird with blue stripes perched on a tree branch. It was a species he clearly had not seen before. Its melodious chirping hung on the peaceful afternoon sunlight that filtered through the foliage, reaching David's inner peace and providing him some respite. He allowed himself a weak smile as he continued to admire the bird while walking along.

For once, he was beginning not to regret coming. But what happened next changed his mind immediately. Distracted by the bird, David found himself walking over the edge of a cliff. The last thing he heard was the shriek of his wife calling out his name before his world became a whirl.

This whirl, however, lasted for only a few seconds as after a series of violent jerks, David opened his eyes, surprised to find himself still alive. He had barely recovered from his shock when he realised he was dangling upside down, swinging along the face of the cliff he had just tipped over. Along the way down, he had caught on a cliffhanging vine, which was now wrapped around his ankle. No, death was not ready to welcome him with its open arms. He could feel a wave of relief sweeping through him.

Before being able to figure out what to do next, with his wife still looking hysterical on the edge, David was startled by a cracking sound beside and above him. To both their horror, the entire cliff was starting to crumble. He quickly jumped to his senses and, arms flailing, attempted to grab onto the vine and pull himself upwards, desperately racing against the rapidly shifting earth beneath him.

Alas, you could only cheat death once, but not twice. The cliff soon gave way to an avalanche of rocks tumbling down to the depths of forest below. Heather could only watch on helplessly as the vine snapped and plummeted along with her husband into a cloud of dust and sand. She was left crying afterwards, her knees rooted and her eyes scanning the ground below, hoping against hope to see her lover still alive.

But it was not to be. As the dust settled, David's body lay there, sprawled and lifeless. But what Heather noticed next left her equally shocked and emotional.

He was lying on a pile of gold.

 

[The League]

Manns Village, Luvodique

An old man rested in his front yard, ensconced in his comfortable reclined chair and enjoying a smoke from his cigar. Just in front of him was the dirt track that separated his two-storey modest bungalow from his neighbour’s place, where he could see their daughters playing on the front yard. Around him, the countryside scene was idyllic - just 2 rows of houses populated by friendly families who knew one another, going about their business with smiles like they were permanent facial fixtures. Overhead, there was a light breeze and one had to be blind and deaf not to notice the bright yellow birds flying around in a chorus of harmonious chirps.

The old man was about to light another cigar when his tranquility was abruptly torn apart by the distant siren of an ambulance - it was so quiet, you could hear it from a mile away. The wailing vehicle tore through the dirt track, kicking up dust in its wake and scared the kids away from their front yard. This was a scene that definitely turned heads as it was the first time the people there had seen a modern vehicle, let alone an ambulance.

However, the people of Manns were quick to recover from this anomaly, thinking nothing of it and continued with their lives. For the old man, the day would end uneventfully, with the usual family dinner and a peaceful night’s rest.

The next day, the old man did not wake up to the sound of the birds, nor did he wake up at his usual time of 6am at all. In fact, he woke up 4 hours prematurely, to the disturbance of his granddaughter tugging at his pyjamas. Despite the slow reaction time that came with age, he could immediately tell that his daughter was distressed about something. Hurriedly, he put on his glasses and was guided by her to the front yard.

There, agape, the old man joined the rest of the village in their front yards as they watched 2 helicopters buzz by overhead, followed by a pair of military trucks bearing the Grand Legion emblem whizzing by along the dirt track, their rifle-cradling occupants looking deadpan and emotionless. Bewildered heads turned for a second time that day as the machines disappeared into the night, all headed in the same direction as the ambulance was… towards Deutschmany. Something was clearly up.

 

[The League]

Deustchmany-Luvodique Border

The Grand Legion helicopter landed on the cleared forest floor and its rotors gradually slowed down to a halt - not that much work had to be done to clear the trees; the collapsed cliff had already done much of the work. The work of the Grand Legion soldiers, or legionnaires as the public liked to call them, was more in excavation - removing the rocks to clear the site for entry of more vehicles, and of course, removing the rocks to reveal more of the treasure cave.

Soldiers all around snapped to attention and threw down their spades the moment the Minister for State Security of Luvodique stepped out of the helicopter. First to greet him was a Senior Lieutenant, who was commanding the company of soldiers there. The Minister strained his eyes against the fog lights of the military trucks around him and surveyed the environment before turning his attention to the solider.

"Tell me, Lieutenant," the Minister began. "How did your company find out about this... incident?"

"Sir," replied the soldier. "We responded to a call from the ambulance. They told us there were a lot of rocks that needed to be cleared."

"What about the treasure?"

"We discovered it only when we arrived."

"And the ambulance... it was for a woman, wasn't it?"

The Senior Lieutenant nodded and gestured towards a makeshift tent positioned just outside their working area. He led the Minister to the tent where they found Heather sitting on a bench, visibly still shaken, with paramedics tending to her. The Minister looked at her and nodded to himself pensively. He looked around for a second time, and his gaze seemed to linger on the treasure for a while, glistening in the floodlights they had set up. This operation could probably be spotted from a mile away.

Satisfied with his observations, he asked the Senior Lieutenant more questions, "The soldiers here today... they're all Luvodiqueans?"

"Yes, sir."

"And this woman..." He continued, motioning towards her. "She isn't from our country, is she?"

"Aye sir, from Guitarica, sir."

"Is she alone?"

"Yes, sir. Her husband died."

"Why is she still here anyway?"

"Well sir, since she's uninjured, we thought we might wait for her to settle down a bit before asking a couple of questions."

"Hmm..." The Minister seemed to ponder something for a while, before adding, "No need for that." And in one fluid motion, he snatched the Senior Lieutenant's pistol from his holster, cocked it and fired one shot to Heather's head.

The gunshot echoed around the whole area and immediately all the soldiers reacted. Some drew their weapons and pointed it at the Minister's direction but saw that nothing was untoward. As for the Senior Lieutenant, he merely stood there, agape, lips trembling, while the Minister coolly handed him back his weapon. The paramedics' faces were white with horror and they didn't even dare to pick up Heather's body from the ground.

As if nothing had happened, the Minister calmly said, "Lieutenant, this operation will not continue at night anymore; you will only do so in the day. For now, no one else should know about this, not even your superior. If you feel a strong need to inform anyone else about this, perhaps for resources or whatnot, report to me first... That is all."

With that, the Minister strode back to his helicopter and was lifted back to the sky in a jiffy.

 

[The League]

Bel Maris, capital of Luvodique

"... Thank you, Stella. Remind me about my meeting at four o'clock and do send the reports in when you're done with them," Renau Gorgoin said as he strode into his office, having parted with his assistant, his eyebrows knitted as his mind was still on that jobs report released earlier. But they were soon unknitted as his face registered surprise at the sudden appearance of his Minister for State Security and Minister for Land in his office.

"Oh?" He questioned, "What brings you here today, Albert?"

"Monsieur President," began the Minister for State Security. "We're here about the Magnifique incident."

"Well, couldn't you have scheduled-"

"It couldn't wait," Albert cut his boss off abruptly.

Renau remained patient as he settled behind his desk and removed his glasses. "Yes, I already know about the treasure, what else-"

"It's more than that," Albert cut him off again. This time, Renau's patience looked like it was wearing thin but at the same time his face registered worry more than impatience.

"The thing is, we called in some in-house archaeologists... you know, Jean-Claude's Ministry" - Albert gestured to the Minister for Land - "has some of these graduate interns who have a real hard-on for digging and studying pots and pans hidden under the dirt. They've uncovered some gold tablets with inscriptions on them and when they were dusted and cleaned, we found that these inscriptions are actually writings and..." Albert sighed, before continuing, "Sir, you might have to bring in the Minister for Foreign Affairs."

"Why's that, Albert?"

"Because the writings... they're in Ivernish."

 

[The League]

Bel Maris, capital of Luvodique

The President of Luvodique sat with his brows knitted at the head of the table, apparently in deep thought. Around the table were his subordinates who had been called in for this crisis meeting to deal with the latest happenings along the nation's border with Deutschmany.

Afraid to break their boss's chain of thought, the Ministers and Legion leaders did not utter a word, until the silence was broken by the President finally speaking, "This is quickly becoming a bigger headache for me and for all of us." He took a pause before adding, "As Jean-Claude has just shared with me," - he gestured to the Minister for Land - "the experts are close to identifying the origins of the treasure, and from what they've dug up so far, it's likely to have been left behind by the Ivernian colonialists in the 18th century."

The Minister for Land nodded and he passed photos around the table, photos that showed golden cups, tablets and other items that look like they could have been used by wealthy and powerful people in the past.

"But shouldn't that mean that the treasure belongs to Deutschmany?" The Minister for Foreign Affairs rightly asked, referring to the constituent-nation that was historically Ivernia's colony.

"That's what we don't want the world to know," the President lifted his finger as he remarked. "And indeed, not even the fact that there is a treasure..."

His words hung in the air for a few seconds, which allowed his intentions to finally sink in among the Ministers who now understood the President's motives. The Foreign Minister, clearly disturbed by them, protested, "But Monsieur President, shouldn't we first ask the Ivernians if they want their treasure back, their history back? After all, it belongs to-"

"Charles," the President interjected, "History teaches us that success belongs to those who seize the right opportunities at the right times. To hell with ethics and morals, this world is bad enough as it already is. With this wealth, we can enrich the economy, which is in bad shape despite all the propaganda the League government has been feeding the public, and of course, enrich our own pockets..."

"It would be impossible to cover this up-"

"Difficult, Charles, difficult!" The President boomed. "But not impossible. And that is our headache." With a piercing stare at his Foreign Minister, he added, "And Charles, I should remind you that the fact that you are here, in the loop, shows that I still have a modicum of trust and decency towards you, so please respect that!"

Charles hesitated for a moment before sinking back in his chair, not wanting to contradict the President on the irony of what he just said.

"In conclusion, gentlemen, this will not be revealed to the press, or indeed anyone outside of the confines of this room today," the President ordered. "All of the Grand Legion's assets will stand ready in defence should anything happen across the border, yes?"

"Aye sir, strictly routine border patrols..." The Commander of the Grand Legion in Luvodique gave a wry smile.

"Good. That is all, my friends."

 

[The League]

Bel Maris Airport

A bad thing about being a government minister in a new state which had just introduced itself to the world was that people rarely knew who you were abroad. Or it could be a good thing. In Francois' case, it was the latter.

The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Luvodique exited the cab and emerged on the pavement outside the swanky new airport. It was still early days for the aviation industry, especially here in the League of United Nations. Very few people flew - indeed, it was usually only the rich and the up-and-coming who could afford such a luxurious mode of transportation. Despite this, Francois knew he could not take a chance. Some of his constituents might recognise him and create a commotion.

Why the secrecy? Necessary for what I'm about to do, Francois thought, as he submitted a fake passport to the lady at the Luny Air counter - the LUN's flag carrier. Whether exposing an unsanctioned government secret against the President's wishes and sparking a diplomatic row was tantamount to treason was something Francois was prepared to leave to chance. Instead, what he was steeled towards was just doing the right thing.

Many hours later, after experiencing a trudging, turbulence-filled flight indicative of the fact that LUNians were still getting to grips with flying, private citizen Huell Holla alighted in the Ivernian capital city of Alderburgh. His fake passport cleared customs, although he would have documents for diplomatic immunity in case anything went wrong and his plan fell to pieces. Seeking asylum was the back-up plan.

He flagged a cab and asked to be transported to the headquarters of Ivernia's foreign ministry. Once there, the man alighted and walked towards the building's main gate where he was certain to find security. But he would not liaise with them. Instead, he started running headlong towards the guards, his fist at the ready...
[MENTION=1187]Ivernia[/MENTION]