The Ruins Turn to Jewels in the End

Roleplay Library
1

Neuatt is a bustling place. It was well placed, between the Atlae Isles, Kadur, and Gondwanan suppliers. It also is the place of a former Asendavian missionary settlement, loaded with even more antiques to be bought and sold. A golden cross from one of the monasteries was sold to the Capital Museum for a hefty price.

Of course, some objected to the digging and removal and transportation of such artifacts, complaining that they needed to be kept in place. But most people had forgotten, now glued to their phones (thankfully cheap due to free trade!).

But while they were all looking at the bustling shipyards, archaeological digs, or their phones, ships were hiding just behind the horizon.

2

Kaprasius Hreggvidursson, the newly appointed Minister of Culture, was sitting in his office when an aide came in. “Sir,” the aide began. “I trust that you know of the old Asendavian missionary settlement in Gondwana?”

Kaprasius nodded. “Of course, what about it?”

“Supposedly, some antiques there are being dug up and sold.”

Kaprasius sat up straight immediately. “This is terrible, these artifacts belong in a museum, THEY SHOULDN’T BE BOUGHT AND SOLD!” Kaprasius practically shouted the last part.

The aide recoiled a bit in surprise. “Y-yes sir,” the aide quickly left the room.

After the aide left, Kaprasius started talking to himself. “THIS IS RIDICULOUS! THESE ARTIFACTS, MUST BE BROUGHT TO ASENDAVIA!” Kaprasius stood up so quickly that his chair fell over. He left his office and briskly walked towards Viktor Zharkov’s office. When he arrived at the office, he pounded on the door. “SIR, I NEED TO SEE YOU!”

Inside the office, Viktor was typing when Kaprasius’ pounding and shouting so rudely interrupted him. Viktor jumped a bit in surprise. He grumbled to himself, got up, and opened the door. “You need to stop shouting, Boy.”

“I’m sorry, Sir, but this is important!” Kaprasius walked into Viktor’s office and sat himself down.

Viktor glared at him for a second, closed the door, and sat back down behind his desk. “Now what is so important that you had to interrupt me so rudely?”

Kaprasius inhaled deeply and began to talk. “Well, Sir, artifacts are being dug up from the old missionary settlement in Gondwana, which is located in Neuatt. These artifacts are then being BOUGHT AND SOLD, ARTIFACTS SHOULD"T BE BOUGHT AND SOLD! THEY NEED TO BE STORED IN MUSEUMS!” Kaprasius’ voice quickly rose as he talked.

Viktor let the boy ramble on for another minute or two before he stopped him. “Alright, alright, I get your point. What do you want me to do about it?”

“I want you to message Neuatt and request, no, DEMAND, that these artifacts stop being bought and sold, and that they are to be given to Asendavia to be put into museums!”

Viktor sighed. “If it makes you happy, I’ll do it.”

Kaprasius grinned ear to ear. “Thank you so much, Sir, I’ll never forget this!” With that, he bolted from the room.

After Kaprasius left, Viktor shook his head. “I’ll never truly understand that boy,” he began a new email and started to type.
[hr]
To:
The Government of Neuatt

Greetings,

It has come to my attention that old Asendavian artifacts are being bought and sold in Asendavia. I request that this antique trade be stopped. I also wish to request that these antiques be given to Asendavia, as they have important historical value to us. Thank you kindly.

From:
Viktor Zharkov
Minister of Foreign Diplomacy
Asendavia

3

To:
Viktor Zharkov
Minister of Foreign Diplomacy
Asendavia

Greetings,

We would gladly ship any antiques related to the former Asendavian settlements back to Asendavia due to sentimental reasons. However, due to increased costs in archaeological excavations and some unspecified maritime issues, we have to request a reimbursement as a token of appreciation.

Sincerely,
Kevin Reed
Minister of Global Outreach
Neuatt

4

To:
Kevin Reed
Minister of Global Outreach
Neuatt

Greetings,

I would like to thank you for accepting our requests. I know that at least one Minister here will be overjoyed. As for these maritime issues, I’m curious, what are your troubles exactly?

From:
Viktor Zharkov
Minister of Foreign Diplomacy
Asendavia

5

To:
Viktor Zharkov
Minister of Foreign Diplomacy
Asendavia

Greetings,

Reports of late arrivals and late departures have been increasingly prevalent recently, correlating with increasing accounts of piracy on the high seas. We have reported this to the authorities and to the Coast Guard, but the War has stripped away many of the naval units.

Thank you for your cooperation.

From:
Kevin Reed
Minister of Global Outreach
Neuatt

6

To:
Kevin Reed
Minister of Global Outreach
Neuatt

Greetings,

I’m sorry to hear about these troubles of yours, perhaps Asendavia can help in some way?

From:
Viktor Zharkov
Minister of Foreign Diplomacy
Asendavia

7

To:
Viktor Zharkov
Minister of Foreign Diplomacy
Asendavia

Greetings,

We in Neuatt would certainly appreciate Asendavia’s help. Perhaps a contingent of Asendavia’s navy could help mitigate the problem.

From:
Kevin Reed
Minister of Global Outreach
Neuatt

8

To:
Kevin Reed
Minister of Global Outreach
Neuatt

Greetings,

Asendavia would be glad to help Neuatt in its times of need. As for the contingent of our navy, I will have to ask the Kaiser and High Commander about that, but I think that they will accept.

From:
Viktor Zharkov
Minister of Foreign Diplomacy
Asendavia

9

To:
Viktor Zharkov
Minister of Foreign Diplomacy
Asendavia

Greetings,

Thank you for cooperating in this matter. This cooperation will be appreciated.

From:
Kevin Reed
Minister of Global Outreach
Neuatt

10

The Director of the Tamasolatanuanu Institute was always looking for ways to add to the immense collection that it had especially when increasing the International Section. It’s collection was so large that only 7% of it could be displayed at any one time. It had massive repositories located all over the Oan Isles in which stored its assets, but the crème-de-la-crème was in the Oan capital, La Rochelle. The massive institute covered an area the size of a football field and rose seven stories into the sky.

As a venue for knowledge it was incumbent upon it to collect as much of it as possible. The artifacts, archeology and auctioneer world was surprisingly small, considering how vast it was in both content and profitability. So it was not difficult to find or hear of artifact finds. With his contact in Neuatt describing the artistic and intellectual merit of the find, the greedy director wanted it in his possession.

He picked up the phone and dialed an official in the Neuattian cultural ministry.

“Good afternoon. This is Sala Uye. I am the Director of the Tamasolotanuanu Institute”.

11

“Hello, Sala Uye. How are you?” The receptionist responded.

It was a hectic day, with computer attacks on the Neuatt Global Trade Index (NGTI) happening constantly. This would only be from a foreign force, she reckoned.
[hr]“Those are ships,” the lookout warned on a navy vessel. “Unidentifiable, sailing black flags.”

The captain of the vessel was a soldier in the fight against the fight against the UIRF, so he cringed. “What?” he responded, hoping he heard wrong.

“Sorry, they’re grey.” The lookout responded. “They’ve been ravaging us for a fortnight now. Reckon you’ll do something?”

There was only one option available, and it was taken.

12

On the flagship, the captain stood, watching the Atlaesian navy. They had been standing off for quite some time now, the wind now whipping the grey flags.

Were they pirates? The captain didn’t appreciate being called pirates, the term being beneath his dignity. After all, they were privateers, really.

But in all function, yes, they were pirates. Anonymity was key. The Atlaesians, even though well armed, were up against a blockade of many frigates, which the Atlaesians most likely knew. They had to make a move eventually, and they could wait it out.

“Господине! Имамо нова наређења?” [Sir! Do we have any new orders?] A sailor asked, saluting.

“Не. Осим ако непријатељ није довољно глуп за напредовање, немамо наређења.” [No. Unless the Atlaesians are foolish enough to advance, we have no orders.] He snapped, dismissively.

All was calm along the sea. The wind had died down, and there was not a cloud in the sky. For many, this would be a perfect time to be outside, go to the beach. But not to the captain; to him, he was here because of duty, and the weather? Well, it was an optimal condition to deploy aircraft in.

To him, the sea had gained a jewel-like quality, the color of aquamarine, almost emerald-green in some spots. The coast of Atlaesian islands that they were helping blockade could be seen on the horizon, waves crashing into the rocks and golden, silky sand.

The captain realized he was looking out, appreciating the panoramic scene. He chastised himself. Never leave your post. Don’t let things distract you from your duty. It went against everything he was ever taught.

That moment of serenity and tranquility was also abruptly ended by the Atlaesians. Sound rang out from their guns, aircraft taking off from the few aircraft carriers they had. The pirates did the same, deploy aircraft, and start the battle.

It was obvious that the Atlaesians, although had a variety had ships, were outnumbered mostly by the mostly-frigate force of corsairs on the high sea. Obviously, they needed external help, which the Atlaesians had no shortage of. That was why it was imperative to bottle them up, strangle them like the weeds they are, and collect the spoils. Ruins, goods, crops and all. That was what buccaneers did, after all.

13

Director Sala Uye told the woman at the end of the line that he was from the largest museum in the Oan Isles. It requested to purchase the items that had been found for his collection. The Institute seemed to have a serious hoarding problem (what the hell are they doing with a specimen of a sperm whale in a tank of ethanol?!), but if it was done in the name of science and discovery, people asked fewer questions.

He told her he would be arriving to view the objects, assess their value and work out a deal for their purchase. He was so excited that he dropped the phone before the lady could answer. He packed his “archeologist” outfit and headed for his private jet.

He jumped excitedly into the cockpit and dramatically declared, “To New-wat we go!”

14

“Sir-sir!” The receptionist said, fluttered. “We’ve just-hung up on me, that idiot.”

A correspondence between Asendavia and Neuatt had already settled the matter, but now the Oan Isles was interested.

She took a shaky breath and wrote up an email.

To: Kevin Reed
Minister of Global Outreach

Greetings,

Although we have sealed a deal with the government of Asendavia, the director of a large institute in the Oan Isles has shown interest in the old antiques. What is the recommended course of action?

Sincerely,
[Name redacted due to sensitivity]

Right before she clicked “Send” she heard a booming sound, but thought nothing of it. Probably just the archaeological people blasting a hole in the rock.

The reply was swift.

“Tell them to pack the antiques.”

Another boom was heard. Probably just a shipment of fireworks had exploded prematurely. That happened on occasion.

Right after she clicked “Forward email” to her supervisor, another boom was heard. This was more deafening, and the receptionist noticed cracks in the windows.

A few seconds of confused silence followed before an alarm told them to evacuate.

15

Director Johannes Rolock of the Xagrurgian Cultural Institute was a middle-aged man of refined manner, coming from a prestigious and well-respected family from Xagrurg. He had always had a keen eye on artifacts to make his institute even more respected in part due rock his pride and ambition and when he had heard of artifacts being dug up in Neautt, he contacted the Government of Neuatt about his identity and interest in the artifacts.

16

The phone rang unanswered in the Culture office.

Much of the city had been evacuated and were now standing in a grassy field, many of them sweltering in the heat while they awaited instructions.

As for the ships, they exchanged fire.

17

Between Neuatt and Kadur, Two bells

The four Tretridian fleets that were deployed to Aurora when the Auroran-Pacific War started were coming home. (Now) Admiral Janice Brown looked out towards the ocean from the bridge of her ship. The Pacific waters were calm, and the weather was clear. The fleets, after leaving Aurora, were ordered to sail to Neuatt to resupply, and then they would sail north throuh Atlaesian waters and arrive at Gedert Naval Base.

They did not expect a sudden encounter with hostile ships. They sailed south for Neuatt.