As the night blanketing the sky every streetlight in the city of Zootopia flickered on, combining with the bright lights of the countless buildings, digital billboards across the city, and not to mention the artificially generated aurora borealis above Tundratown brought the mammal megalopolis to full spectrum. But with the sun gone and a full moon on the rise thousands of animals were getting into bed but thousands more were getting out. Zootopia glowed like a shining jewel from afar but up close it was chaotic, life in this massive city never stopped or even slowed down despite the never-ending traffic, flashing lights, wailing police sirens, and the occasional but discreet crime waves caused by arctic mobsters. Savanna Central, the beating heart of Zootopia, was filled with various stores and restaurants that were still open and going strong. Even movie theaters, shopping malls, and the Natural History Museum were about to reopen their doors for the night, after a quick cleaning, with special hours made specifically for the city's nocturnal residents. However, tonight was special as countless mammals, both nocturnal and diurnal, were lining up to get a chance to glimpse at the museum's latest acquisitions on loan from the Louvre Museum in Paris. The Natural History Museum was scheduled to reopen in only a few hours and lines to see its newest unveiling were already down the block. Normally most mammals wouldn't be that excited to see an exhibit in the museum's Early Century Civilizations and Mythology wing, but this exhibit was special.
The artifacts belonging to this new exhibit were composed of several priceless relics including four wooden staves, and a large obsidian crystal gargoyle-like figure and four stone pillars each one with ancient Slavic runes carved on each side along with depictions of ancient terrifying creatures. According to the updated audio guides wands the Artifacts of Chernabog originated from eastern Germany and date back to the early 6th Century, they were used by Polabian Slavic shaman in a pagan ritual for Chernabog the god of bad fate. The ritual was meant to contact Chernabog and give offerings meant to appease him and prevent him from destroying their civilization. With it being the first of November, and excitement and love of Halloween still fresh in the minds of mammals, the idea of seeing scary looking artifacts intrigued many especially with the dark history surrounding these particular occult items.
While the Artifacts of Chernabog originated from eastern Germany they were discovered in 1890 when they belonged to one of the most dangerous mafias in Europe known as the Architects. The crime ring circled around a cult which worshipped Chernabog and used the staves, pillars, and obsidian in sacrificial rituals which involved the kidnapping and murder of an innocent victims. Eventually the cultists were discovered in the French countryside performing occult rituals and sacrificing local farmers which they captured, the cult was captured by the authorities. While the authorities captured many of the followers and three of their leaders, a few of them and the cult's main leader evaded capture, after being captured the cultists were trialed and imprisoned while the leaders were immediately executed. In the end the Architects' artifacts were now in the possession of France's government and were sent to Paris as evidence against the cult and later put into deep storage for decades, only recently have they been studied by scientists and revealed as priceless artifacts from the 6th Century and put on display at the Louvre for the past two years. But while the Artifacts of Chernabog were on display their employees and security guards claim to have seen unsettling things, multiple guards have claimed to have seen mannequins in exhibits moving on their own, artifacts rearranging themselves, even as far as seeing apparitions of strange, hooded figures circling artifacts, but all have claimed that they've had the feeling of being watched by some unknown force. Even museum patrons claim to have seen strange things and heard sounds of faint chanting echoing in dark corridors. Most animals will tell you that these supposed hauntings are unfounded and merely the result of weary security guards with too much caffeine and as for the tourists they're just fanning the fires with overactive imaginations however, others will tell you these "cursed" objects are pure evil. But whatever the reason they've brought in a record crowd to the museum and the Natural History Museum was prepared for the possibility of thieves.
While the Polabian Slavic staves, pillars, and obsidian crystal are said to have ancient supernatural value, they were mostly seen for their financial value; any of these "cursed" artifacts could easily sell for a fortune on the black market. While on display at the Louvre in Paris these evil treasures were nearly lost in an attempted robbery by a world-famous master thief. Thankfully the attempted robbery was stopped by one brave Interpol officer and all the antiquities were recovered safe and sound. Unfortunately, the master thief and his two-accomplice evaded capture in their getaway van escaping into the night to this day their whereabouts are unknown though the same Interpol officer which stopped them is still after the trio of master thieves. In order to protect the museum's newest editions, improved security measures needed to be implemented, for example the main exhibit hall featuring the Polabian Slavic relics has been outfitted with the latest in high tech security cameras and motion sensors. Not to mention the security offices were relocated right next to the Early Century Civilizations and Mythology wing to keep a better eye on the Artifacts of Chernabog and to top it off the museum's curator hired more security guards and he requested that one of Zootopia's finest police officers to help security by remaining on duty in the museum all night. But despite the increase in security the atmosphere still felt weird, and it doesn't look good.