1/4/283- The Imperial Palace Museum recently opened the doors of a new exhibition this weekend, focusing on the recent discoveries made by explorer Veronica Trenum’s expedition into the Deadlands. The opening saw the museum’s attendance record explode, to the point that a queue had to be formed.
“It was nearly to the street corner,” said the museum Curator. “We’ve not had such a turn out in ages, not since Rinkenbach’s expeditions to the Blackwood grove. And many of the attendees were of an affluent nature, as well! It was a wonderful fundraising opportunity.”
The exhibit features the usual detritus often shipped from such expeditions: stone tools, clay pots, and various other heirlooms of some people lost to time. However, the center piece of the attraction, the remains of a strange carnivorous bird encountered by Trenum in the jungles of the Deadlands, has caused quite the stir.
“It is a fearsome creature indeed!” said Magnus Ogsby, noted explorer and game hunter. “Why, once Ms. Trenum returns and the pathways of the Deadlands are open to us, I’d very much like to stage an expedition of my own, and hunt the beasts myself!”
Others weren’t quite so thrilled with the terrifying beast being front and center of the exhibition floor, despite a clearly posted notice including a picture of the animal displayed in the lobby before the entrance to the exhibit.
“Little Alice is going to have nightmares for a week,” said Karen Vorneau, a nanny who brought her ward’s children. “They really oughtn’t put such a thing on display in the front areas. It’s all teeth and claws and spines. I’m having a hard time believing it’s a real creature at all and not some smoke show perpetrated by the curator. That man was glad-handing the whole time. Ought to be a politician, that one.”
Blackwood Empire 