October 21st, 2023

10:30 AM EST

Alastar

This was deep storage, the place where the museum placed all of its artifacts that had dubious value, and in some cases dubious origins. A whole other team was sometimes there cataloging older artifacts, particularly native american artifacts, for repatriation. He was just glad he didn’t, often, have to find the human remains he was assured had littered these rooms before. Each room was cataloged with a number and a letter, which was meant to vaguely connect with the catalog system used for in use artifacts, and those on public display.

Having over a hundred years of history did not a consistent cataloging system make, and the giant rooms that he’d always imagined right out of Raiders of the Lost Ark were only slightly exaggerated. Each storage room was separated and was at least 100 feet square. Most were deceptively large, 200, or even 300 feet long. Each one was filled with shelves of things, most of which were only just barely far enough apart for the most careful of people to sneak by without knocking stuff over. Needless to say, Alastar had quickly learned to catch falling artifacts, and how to move things around so they wouldn’t fall.

The first collection was easy. In room A1, right in the most convenient location. Which was, of course, right by where it was usually utilized, the labs. Dr Reis was an early botanist conservator and self professed paleo-botanist. He made important discoveries regarding the history of vascular and nonvascular plants in the fossil record. The items which were requested today, box 13, box 7, and box 21 were all related to that field. 7 were field notes, 13 were pressed samples, and 21 was a box of fossils.

Deciding that making two trips was better than searching without too much clue, Alastar took the cart up to the top floor and back into the research library. The research rooms were for outsiders, and the artifacts in this collection were pressing on the edge of the items that were studied in the library rather than the lab. Still, he brought it to room 6. “Hello, Ms. Alba?” He asked, wheeling the cart in.

“Yup, that’s me.” A wheelchair bound lady said, pushing her glasses up her nose and smiling softly. Her eyes were a pretty soft blue, almost the color of the sea on a calm day. He almost saw the crashing of waves in the white bits of her iris.

“Alright, sign here and remember your time limits.” He said, handing her his clipboard. “What exactly are you studying? I’ll admit, the older materials most often be used by anthropologists, but you don’t seem like one.”

“Of course.” She said, signing the clipboard with a flourish that made Alastar jealous. “I’d ask what I do seem like, but honestly I’m not sure I want to know the answer.” There was a self deprecating part of her laughter that had a little bit of bite undertoning it. “I'm a paleontologist. I’m studying history. Right now, my professor told us to write a paper on a living fossil and how it was studied.”

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“So… You weren't satisfied with that fish that inspired the Relicanth Pokémon and appeared in Atlantis?” He asked, stretching his memory for the idea of a living fossil. Given he studied anthropology, that wasn’t exactly something that appeared in their fossil record.

“Coelacanth, and no. It felt kind of played out… Besides, both that and alligators were grabbed by my classmates immediately. I chose Horsetails, and I’m hoping to sneak some fern stuff in too.”

“Oh, cool.” He said, shrugging. “I’ll leave you to your work” He walked out with the cart and back down the elevator once more.

The second forum was more complicated as he looked at it. “The Wyrmwood Cabinet, box 13?” He asked himself, frowning as he muttered and took the elevator back down.

It was something that made him giddy. It was a Cabinet of Curiosities, one of the weird fascinations he’d gotten growing up reading science fiction books that his grandmother loved. He couldn’t wait to dig it out and find whatever obscure item was being researched, it had to be interesting, and with the obscure numbering system that was used he had no clue what it was until he got there. A part of him knew that if he didn’t have his pill he’d already be fantasizing about finding some magic artifact or living creature. A part of him missed the opportunity, but more of him realized that it wasn’t a good idea.

Still, he put his audiobook back on and buckled down. This was going to be a lot harder, both finding the location of the object he was looking for and retrieving it. He wasn’t prepared as he walked into the doors of storage room H8.

This was obviously one of the less well cared for rooms. The lights were in a harsh dark yellow shade of fluorescence that had been replaced in most store rooms. There was the faint scent of dust, and even the ability to see it move due to the disturbance of air he made. “Looks about 100 by 200 feet.” He muttered to himself, frowning. “Not too big.”

As he looked around the room Alastar saw no less than thirty amazing things just sitting there. Among the artifacts, which looked like treasures right out of the goonies or some dragon’s hoar. A genuine cutlass sitting on a metal Ikea looking rack alongside a chest made of thick wood with what looked like ivory inlay. A 5 foot tall sphinx made of a dark black looking stone. Even what looked like a full canoe made out of birch bark hanging from hooks in the ceiling.

Well, he was now certainly glad he had taken his meds. A non-medicated Alastar staring at these things would have had a field day, and forgotten about the world for hours if not days. Instead, he had to find the exact thing he was looking for. Waking forward it always felt like something could easily fall on him and make a researcher pancake, or at least cause him to choke on dust or ancient poisons.

As he was looking at a box labeled Cuneiform Misc, right next to one labeled Gilgamesh Misc, he saw it. The Wyrmwood cabinet was on a corner, and it was still intact. It was exactly as the request detailed, a thick wooden cabinet with thick wooden doors. The wood was made of a very knotty wood, and it had images carved into it. A dragon with a crown and only two legs, and a sword. Both were cartoonish but intricate. The cold-dry, air of the storage room had his throat dry as a bone, and he realized that he had to go on as quickly as possible. He put the cabinet on its dolly and dragged it out into open space, so he could find the right box.