La Estatua del Rey Matias

Background
The statue was originally created in the 1400s as a representation of the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca. When the Spanish arrived in the Americas, a soldier had stolen the statue with the intent of destroying it because it was a false idol. The soldier was stopped by some Aztec tribals, but soon, the statue would be lost, and would not be found again for another 500 years.

Rediscovery
In 2044, Blake Graham (the owner of the Mexican History Preservation Society based in Santuario, in the Angels Republic state of Baja) sent a four man team to travel to Mexico City to dig for ancient artifacts of the pre-war. This included Mortimer North (the leader of the operation), Daniel Everett, Samuel Velasquez, and Tsiishch'ili.

On the way to Mexico City, the team was captured by soldiers affiliated with the Kingdom of Chapala, whose capital was in Guadalajara. They were taken to King Matias, who was concerned about the increasing hostility of Californians towards Mexicans, and wanted to know if the team were scouts sent by the Angels Republic government. Though everyone on the team could speak Spanish, Velasquez, as a native Mexican, was the only one they could trust. He told Matias they were on their way to Mexico City for an archaeological dig organized by the Mexican History Preservation Society. In response, Matias sent some Chapalan soldiers with them, so he could take something interesting from the dig. North and his team was in no position to oppose this.

The next day, they continued with the soldiers to Mexico City, and found a spot to begin the dig. They found many interesting things, but what stood out was the small statue of an ancient Aztec god. Upon returning to Guadalajara, King Matias chose this statue to be his own. Daniel Everett was particularly irked by this decision, but there was nothing he could do.

King Matias allowed North's team to stay in the palace for a couple of nights, and on the last night, invited them to a royal dinner. Matias brought the statue to the dinner, and made it the centerpiece of the dinner table, thanking North and his team for the interesting piece of Aztec history which they gave him. Suddenly, in the middle of the dinner, Matias to a close advisor of his that he was not feeling well. As Matias got up from his seat, about to leave the room, he violently vomited on the table several times before falling to the floor and dying. The other dinner guests immediately accused the foreigners of North's team of being responsible. Everett grabbed the statue from the table, and the team made their narrow escape from the palace. They traveled to the independent city of Puerto Vallarta and took a ferry boat back to Baja. Mortimer North had suspected the entire time that Everett had poisoned the king's wine.

Rumors of the event spread through the Kingdom of Chapala, and beyond, into surrounding tribes and communities. By the 2050s, the muddy details of the death of King Matias, involving a group of Californians, had cemented itself into the folklore of Mexicans everywhere, as well as the tribes of Mexico. The statue became known as "La Estatua del Rey Matias", or "The Statue of King Matias" in English. Some mistakenly believed the statue was of Matias himself, as they had never seen it. Many also believed it was cursed.

North's team brought the statue back to Santuario and presented it to Blake Graham. It was put on display in his museum.

The Closing of the Museum and Search for Everett
With the inauguration of President Adrian Calvert in 2045, the government was openly hostile to the Mexican people, and eventually the Mexican History Preservation Society was attacked and shut down by the National Protection Force. In the confusion, North, Velasquez, and Tsiishch'ili noticed that Everett had stolen the statue from its display case in the museum.

After they had all made their escape, they searched Santuario for Everett (at this point, the city was being patrolled by NPF paramilitary forces). From what they heard, Everett was on his way to Vegas, and had decided to stay in a hotel in Santuario before making the journey there. They confronted Everett in the hotel, and had to chase him. They caught up with Everett and confiscated the statue, but Tsiishch'ili was killed in the process. North and Velasquez agreed to destroy the statue, but they left each other, and North ended up keeping it to hopefully pass it on to his kids and tell a good story. The statue had now disappeared, and the closing of the museum was another chapter in the legend of The Statue of King Matias.

The Search for the Statue
In 2068, at the end of the Californian Civil War, Mortimer North moved with his family to a secluded location outside New Phoenix, but succumbed to leukemia in June of 2069 only a few months after getting their house built. His wife Abigail and his daughter Monica stayed at the new homestead, but his son Mortimer Jr. left to become an adventurer like his father. Abigail kept the statue that her husband found, but soon, in 2070, mercenaries hired by Daniel Everett found out where she lived. They raided her homestead, taking the statue, as well as her daughter. About 2 months later, a mercenary named Michael Baker had his entire squad wiped out during a raid on a warehouse controlled by the Locatelli mafia in New Phoenix, and after wandering a while, came across Abigail North. She asked him to find the statue and to find her daughter. She first suggests looking for Samuel Velasquez in Santuario, so that's where Baker starts.

When Baker finds Velasquez, he tells Baker about what really happened with the statue, and expresses his sadness at North's passing, as well as shock that he didn't destroy the statue as he said he would. Velasquez suggests going to Daniel Everett's manor in Port Calvert, Riverland, which Baker does. There, he finds out that the Locatelli mafia has taken the statue from him. Everett offered Baker a glass of pulque before knocking him out and locking him in the basement along with Monica North. Baker broke out of his cell and took Monica with him. On their way out of the manor, they met a mobster from the Locatelli mafia named Jack Bianchi, who wants Baker to go with him to Vegas to discuss matters with the mob boss, Don Silvio Locatelli. Monica insists on tagging along.

In Vegas, Don Locatelli explained to Baker that they have lost the statue, that he wants him to find it, and to meet Angels Republic Senator Collin Blaire for details. Blaire explains that he recently spoke with President Isaac North, who told Blaire that he wanted funding for a secret intelligence team that would search for the Statue of King Matias, and that, despite not actually receiving congressional funding, North organized the team anyway. This team supposedly attacked a caravan which had been transferring it from the New Phoenix warehouse to Vegas, and took the statue to a military base located near Victorville, Riverland.