A burglary claimed $9 million in etched lumenstones from the private estate of Phineas T. Barbunkle on Saturday night, the largest theft among the lake villas in a hundred years. The robbers entered the estate at approximately 1 a.m. through a service entrance and picked the lock on the vault doors in the basement of the estate, holding the Barbunkle family’s treasures dating back to the Exile period. The robbers removed the etched lumenstones from the glass display case that housed them using portable torches.
The Barbunkle family estate has housed Auxientian artifacts since its founding. Barbunkle’s ancestor, Jerome Martinado, was a caravan defender before the conquest and settlement of Mutu, in which he played an ample role. At the end of his service, he took up pottery, and many of the wares he created may be seen on display in Auxientian museums today.
Inspectors from the Auxientia Police have started questioning potential witnesses about the burglary, but no leads have thus far been made public.
Lumenstones of this variety were used to power generators or lighting grids for the city of Auxientia, but are being phased out since the Men of Iron bombings earlier this year. The etched lumenstones in the Barbunkle collection were very old, and unlikely to have operated at full power. Police suspect whoever stole these artifacts took them for sentimental purposes or cultural ones, though the inspectors have not ruled out anything as of yet.
If you have any information that might help lead to the recovery of lumenstones or to the arrest of those responsible, please contact the Auxientia PD. Police would also like to remind citizens to be cautious when handling lumenstones as they may become volatile if not managed carefully.
This story will be updated as the investigation continues.
