Museum of Oddities
There's something unsettling about the appearance of Marian Irving waiting to greet the tram in front of the old Museum of Oddities. Her hair is pulled back in a tight chignon. She wears a long-sleeved black blouse with a floral, ankle length skirt. Only the tips of her boots stick out from underneath. Despite her clothing, she does not appear to be bothered by the temperature.
A small table is set up next to her, draped in a dark red cloth. Upon the table are several items. Among these, an old book opened and locked within a glass box stands out the most. There is also a gold doubloon, an old silver-plated flask with an ornately engraved 'B' upon its front, and a map sketched on yellowed paper, set between thin plates of glass.
As Poppy ushers the guests out of the tram, she introduces Marian to the group. "We are so lucky to have a very special guest today. Marian Irving is the former curator of the Museum of Oddities. She is still employed by the hotel and manages the Curio Shack, which sells many items — most notably, a few replicas of some of the very artifacts salvaged from the museum after the storm three years ago. She's brought some of these pieces to show you today, and I will go ahead and turn the stage over to her!"
Marian's gaze flits from one guest to another with the rapidness of a hummingbird lighting from one flower to the next. She doesn't seem to want to hold any one person's attention for too long.
"Thank you, Poppy. As some of you may know, we are standing on one of the most elaborate wedding gifts ever purchased. A surprise for his new bride, Philip Hamnet, famed explorer and privateer, bought this island in 1636 from the Dutch West India Company. Alas, their love was not meant to be, for Josephine Hamnet died a year later.
"Fast forward just over a hundred years, and James Hamnet returned to the island to right his family's losses and reclaim what he felt to be justly his. In the spot where Philip originally set his estate, James began construction on the home that would one day be known as Hamnet House — and almost two centuries later, that estate would be restored and renamed as the Museum of Oddities." Marian turns to look at the demolished building with a sense of profound sadness. "For two hundred and sixty-three years, Hamnet House stood strong." She seems to want to say more, but ultimately turns back to the group.
"However, in the true Hamnet spirit, we have been working diligently to recover as many historical artifacts as possible. You see, the Hamnets were never the only inhabitants of the island. Nor were they the first. Some may even say they were far from the most interesting, although I wouldn't do that too loudly around here.
"While Philip Hamnet brought several of his finds to this island, and his descendants after him did so in order to continue his legacy of discovery and to expand his collection of the unusual — and, at times, macabre — there were other explorers who followed in Philip's footsteps because they believed the island had the power to either enhance or contain the mysterious properties of these items.
"I have brought a small sample of these artifacts with me today, and you're welcome to come up and take a closer look. Some of the items are protected by glass, so please handle them with care. We have here a map of the island that Philip Hamnet himself sketched as he explored the terrain. You'll see it's dated 1641. Also from our founder, a journal written almost entirely in code. We have had many scholars and cryptanalysts convey their interest in decoding the text, but while we have consented to give access to certain qualified individuals, none have been able to discern the meaning behind the code as of yet. It is likely that there is a key hidden among Philip's belongings that would be able to decrypt the journal, but we haven't been able to locate it thus far. Most believe the journal to be mundane in content, but there are those who suggest it may reveal secrets about this island that only Philip knew."