A single window provided light from the late afternoon sun, and the expected desk and chair essential to any office were present at the far end of the room, though the side of the desk looked cracked. Other than that, all Nadrina saw were crates and boxes, most likely the professor’s belongings.

Wandering into the room, Nadrina realized that she still hadn’t found the professor. Maybe he’d gone home after all? Had all this been for nothing? Unwilling to just leave it at that, she began searching around the room for clues.

Not that there was much to search. The room was oddly small, even with only two pieces of furniture in it. Nadrina was tempted to check the boxes, but realized how rude that would be. Her original nerves had given way to annoyance. Where was he? She had questions, damn it!

Nadrina mentally berated her absent professor until her eyes fell on the entrance again. With a startled gasp, she ran over to inspect the long dent that was now in the center of the door. She groaned as she realized she must have damaged it when it hit the wall earlier.

There was a long wooden box positioned just behind the door, likely the culprit for the dent. She checked it for damage as well, but it looked pristine. That was odd. What kind of wooden box was sturdy enough to dent a solid oak door without leaving marks?

Feeling her curiosity rise once again, she moved closer and inspected it for any potential damage. The more she looked, however, the stranger it became. It almost looked seamless, like someone hadn’t designed it to open. Wasn’t it rather pointless to have a box like that?

She knocked on it slightly, and she thought it sounded like it held something inside. She ran her hands along the edges, looking for a latch or finger hold, then yelped and leapt back when a blue line lit up lengthwise along the side. Nadrina froze up like a startled deer, but the box did nothing else. The blue line of light eventually faded, leaving a nondescript, yet apparently lidless box once again.

Once Nadrina had control of her heartbeat back, she quickly learned she could make the line appear again just by running a finger along the rim. After enough studying, she had an idea of what its purpose was.