You get your lighter out and spin the wheel. In the pale light, you can see that it's a pile of newspapers and propaganda posters - nothing looks too important. You take one - the headline reads "WAR MINISTER'S FAMILY KILLED BY DIVISIONIST TRAITORS" in flowery Northern script. The language is very similar to Isandan, even though the writing has many idiosyncrasies.
You throw the paper into the oven, stack a few logs over it, and light it. Soon, the fire is crackling merrily. In the dim light, you can see that the room has a single window - the shattered one that you felt before. The walls are bare logs, insulated with some sort of whitish moss. The oven in the center is a massive thing, with a chimney extending through the ceiling and a black iron plate that can be used for cooking, you suppose. You hang your shirt and pants over it, drag a chair over to the fire and skim over the rest of the papers.
Mostly those are old and not-so-old newspapers - the newest you can find is about a month and a half old, while the oldest is maybe two years old. They appear to be printed by the Verein Royal Press. You gulp and wish you were in Lumumba with fervor. Verein is one of the largest Islander states, and the one closest to the mainland. They are currently in a state of civil war between the supporters of the Divisionist movement and the royal family. That is not the worst, however: the worst is that the Assembly Wreckbombed the island state, promising to reverse the effects only when hostilities cease and an Assembly-compliant government is installed.
As far as you remember, Irevia pushed the decision to apply the Wreckbomb, and the bomb itself was built by Irevian patterncrafters. Isanda and Irevia have many things in common, and the southern island colonies and protectorates are divided between them almost evenly, leaving the other Continental states to squabble for the east and west. Isanda usually backs Irevia up in the Assembly, and vice versa.
Your clothing has dried.
Work clothing (worn)
Lighter (almost full)
Isandan passport
Isandan military registry ticket (lieutenant of reserve)