Work Text:
I knock on the door lightly. Before the third tap, Korekiyo's voice beckons me in.
The lab's - is it really a lab? - dark wooden walls absorb most of the light. There isn't any windows either, making the room very dim. There's maps all over the walls from ancient civilizations. A broken clay pot rests on a lectern of sorts under a small light. Korekiyo is there, carefully examining the object.
Not looking up, he asks, "You knocked?"
"I did. What are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at the designs on this pot. They all look as though they might be part of a primitive form of written language."
"That's cool," I mutter softly.
I start walking around slowly, looking at all the different objects. A necklace with a deep green jewel in the center of the charm catches my eye. I'm about to brush my finger over it when -
"Don't. Touch. Anything," Korekiyo orders. "It could very well ruin my studies."
I nod softly. "Where is this one from?"
"It was found in Eastern Europe, but I believe it's jade."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"As I understand it, jade is found primarily in East Asia."
"Oh."
I continue to walk around, more carefully than before. I find what looks to be nothing more than shattered glass.
"KK?" I ask. It's a nickname I've given him. He doesn't take kindly to nicknames, but he doesn't mind that one.
"Yes?"
"Why are you studying broken glass?"
"That broken glass," he begins, "is remnants of a stained-glass window from a cathedral in Western Europe. I'm currently in the process of figuring out which cathedral they came from."
I nod again. I look around some more, finding a green piece of fabric. It seems like silk. I reach out to touch it.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Korekiyo warns.
"What'll it do? Kill me?"
"It very well might. That silk was colored with arsenic."
"Don't you think there should be some sign over here?" I look down, and there's a small sign on the lectern that warns about the arsenic. "Nevermind."
I search some more, finding an odd pair of shoes that I've never seen the style of before. "What are these?"
"Horse-riding shoes. Would you please leave? I have work to do."
"Of course. Have a good one, KK."
"You as well."