B equals X.

Suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently wrapping, wrapping, wrapping at my chamber door.

You are here in search of that $20 strawberry, are you?

Great to see you, friend.

Come this way.

This is not the grandest piece in the collection.

No.

Not gilded, adorned with jewels,

nor is it a relic of some forgotten dynasty.

However, I assure you, this black balaclava is no ordinary scrap of wool

and thread. This one carries a story. As you know, the items in here do not simply rest on the shelves.

They wait.

Something still lingers in these fibers.

Maybe it's the absence of something altogether.

The nothing that draws you in.

That's it. Closer still. For this one I call Mary's Room. Before we begin,

I want to point out some of the customers whose names have been etched in brass on this beautiful

plaque I had made above the front desk.

These are some of the members of the inner circle of the antiquarium.

We go by the Obsidian Covenant.

Recent initiates include Tammy D.C., Samantha Jeffcoat,

Maya White,

...