Riley Tembo's Story

Riley Tembo never intended to become a prisoner of the Thuravian regime. A seasoned geologist with a background in mineral exploration, they had arrived in the country under the pretense of conducting a geological survey for a multinational research initiative. Thuravi’s government, always eager to exploit its untapped natural resources, had welcomed foreign scientists like Riley, particularly those with expertise in identifying valuable mineral deposits, oil reserves, or even rare fossils that could bring prestige—or profit—to the nation.

Officially, Riley’s mission was simple: assess the region’s subterranean composition, map potential drilling sites, and compile reports that might attract investment. Unofficially, their scientific curiosity led them deeper into the restricted zones of the country’s rugged interior, where layers of rock held secrets far older than Thuravi’s modern borders. It was there, while studying a peculiar fault line near the base of a newly constructed hydroelectric dam, that Riley stumbled upon something they were never meant to see.

At first, the discovery seemed geological—anomalies in the earth, an unnatural distribution of sediment, as if the landscape had been hastily altered. But when Riley began uncovering human artifacts—fragments of tools, scorched foundations of buildings buried beneath the reservoir’s edge—they realized this place had once been a town. A town that no longer appeared on any maps.

Curiosity turned to horror when Riley dug deeper, both literally and figuratively. Locals whispered of a village that had harbored rebels during a past insurrection, a place that had defied the regime. The official story claimed it had been abandoned before the dam’s construction, but the evidence in the soil told another tale. Bullet-ridden walls beneath the silt. Mass graves hastily covered before the floodwaters rose. A massacre disguised as progress.

Riley had every intention of leaving quietly, perhaps publishing their findings once safely beyond Thuravi’s borders. But the regime was always watching. A misplaced sample, an intercepted email, or perhaps an informant in their research team—somehow, someone in power learned what Riley had uncovered.

They were arrested at the airport, their passport confiscated, their research seized. The charges were vague—espionage, sabotage, attempting to incite unrest—but the truth was simpler. They had seen what they were never supposed to see. And now, buried in the cells of Thuravi’s most infamous prison, Riley Tembo had become just another secret the regime intended to keep forever.