Crypt Quest #1: Rising Darkness

Modern Abyss

A blast of wind was blown in from the outside as Reese opened the creaky doors to the air-pressured Trinity Museum of Antiquities. The stuffy interior, where a glossy, marble-front desk and work-shifted administrator met with the erosion of the outside world, became diffused and awoken by fresh oxygen and an offer of the present.

      "Looking to learn some history?" greeted the young and thin administrator, a 20-something girl with blonde hair and large glasses.

      Reese approached the desk. "Just checking up on it."

- - -

Entering through a large hall toward six-meter high arches, Reese noticed several people, couples, parents and kids either sprawled across leather couches, or setting themselves up in open areas, getting ready for a day of museum trekking.

      Passing into a large exhibit, Reese intended on ignoring the other sections of the building, much of it containing Anthropological recreations, dinosaur bone exhibits, and World War informational displays.

      Almost instantaneously, he was surrounded by a quiet sea of boxed glass cases, containing artifacts from ancient eras from all over the world.

      "Quite a fascinating object," a tall woman with red hair, dressed in business attire said, without looking up. It was apparent she'd be standing there for a while, staring at a glass case, against the near wall, containing an old, flat slab.

      She didn't know who happened to drift near her, nor was she in present-enough-of-mind to care. "Uh, a tablet, right?" Reese offered, taking a quick glimpse at the artifact in an effort to catch himself up to the social queue and blend in with the setting.

      "Yes, a curse tablet from the ancient world. The scratches depict a long, angry curse to someone deemed deserving of it."

      Reese took another look and recognized the writing. "Hmm. Ancient Roman. Lead. Looks like it's describing some kind of love curse?"

      "You know your stuff," the woman took a quick, passive glance at him, but then returned her gaze. "It's probably the curse for a man who cheated on the woman who wrote it."

      Suddenly taking notice of her nameplate, Reese realized the woman he was talking to was named Leanna Boswell, and that she was one of the curators. "Oh, hello. I see you work here." He knew he had to get down to business so he could engage his Turkish mystery and return the object he had. But the best way was to do it discreetly.

      "Huh? Ah, yes," Leanna snapped out of her daze from the sudden reminder of her reality. She spun on her heels in an attempt to return to where she came from, outside the exhibit hall.

      Reese stopped her, momentarily, by vocal queue. "Actually, I have a question. Are there any new exhibits coming up?"

     "To be honest, we're at a bit of a long stretch with our current exhibits."

    He was shocked to hear that, as he had confirmed Martin's claim, through his contacts at Ravenwood University, that they moved their most recent research and artifacts from it to Trinity Museum to expedite the scientific analysis. He pushed. "No Sumerian discoveries, or recent tablets?"

      "—How do you know about those?" Leanna was caught off-guard. Her team hadn't told anyone about their most recent project. At least, they hadn't had a chance to yet anyway.

      Reese shrugged. "Just something I read in a magazine. It said a recent discovery was being worked on in this general area."

      "Well," Leanna took in his explanation as a clear lie. Something was up. "I'm not sure how you really got that information, but they're being processed right now."