Cabinets of Curiosities (short story)

Mahalia Nkansah Hernandez is close to achieving her life's dream of displaying some of the Braxiatel Collection's most mysterious artefacts in exhibits of their own, but when one of the the exhibits turns deadly she soon learns that some of the mysteries would prefer to stay buried.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

As part of the Braxiatel Collection's opening, one Mahalia Nkansah Hernandez hosts an event preceeding its curiosities being displayed to the public.

Several months earlier, Mahalia attends a meeting within the Collection's Chamber of War also attended by Bev Tarrant and Jason Kane. Mahalia sets in motion a plan to open up the Collection to the public. Before the opening, Mahalia (accompanied by Jason along with her two assistants) begin looking through the Collection to see if every artefact is still within the Collection. While most are there one eludes them - the Amber Room, a mysterious room created by the Prussian Emperors and gifted to Peter the Great before vanishing during World War II. One day, the searchers discover a room that none of them can enter. While trying to enter, the lights fluctuate while the infopane shows flashing gibberish before the power shuts down completely. To find out what is inside the room, Mahalia has Jason hotwire the door's circuitry. Once inside, Mahalia notices a wooden case which one of her assistants opens with a crowbar. Inside of the case is an amber object which makes Mahalia realise that they have found the Amber Room.

Months later, as the public begins visiting the Collection, Mahalia (after briefly showing one of the Quire - Rubric - around the Collection) visits the Amber Room to hear a speech given by Professor Cruixley alongside Bev and Jason. During the speech, mysterious spectres taking the form of Cossack and Nazi soldiers with blank amber eyes appear in the room while the doors to the Room lock - trapping people in the room with the spectres, who begin bayonetting various guests (including one of Mahalia's assistants). During the panic, Jason comes up with a plan to get out of the room. Using bottles of vodka brought into the room by Bev to give to guests, Jason constructs molotov cocktails and sets the room on fire - opening up the doors - right before the spectres can bayonett the guests to death. All of the guests are able to escape the burning Amber Room. Mahalia wants to save the room but Bev says to simply "let it burn".