As Kimberly stepped through the rough-hewn wooden door to the shop (Odd entrance for a mall store, she thought.), she heard the distant tinkling of a bell to announce her presence to the store's occupants, though she could not see nor hear a soul.
A slender girl of around 22, Kimberly had been out buying supplies and prepping for the long vacation she and her three friends were going to take in her family's lodge out in the country side. The place was quite expansive, with a fair amount of bedrooms and luxuries such as a large pool (both indoor and outdoor) and a personal theater. While the home was quite grand, its remote location in the countryside meant that connections to the modern world were slightly lacking. Internet and phone service were especially unreliable. Knowing that their extensive collection of movies would only keep their interest for so long, the girls decided they would all try to bring other activities to keep things fun. One had decided to bring their record player and collection of vinyls, another a whole box of different drinking games and the last a whole assortment of board games to play. Kimberly, not wanting to be outdone by her friends and running out of options, found herself exploring their local mall in what seemed a vain attempt to find some way to spice up the trip for herself and her friends. Just as she had turned to leave in defeat, she noticed odd door to a shop she could not recall ever seeing before. The sign was written in symbols she couldn't recognize, much less understand, and the whole storefront seemed to shimmer strangely, as though it wasn't quite there. An odd sense of curiosity had come over Kimberly as she looked at the shop and before she knew what was happening she had found herself walking in, hoping against hope that she would find something to enhance up her vacation.
If she had thought the outside of the shop was strange, the inside was even more so. She walked among the softly lit shelves; shelves which were covered by all sorts of...artifacts. There was no better word to describe the store's wares, they were littered with books, knick-knacks, gizmos, clothing, vials of roiling liquids and other strange things. She even spyed a jewel encrusted sword hanging above a nearby table.
What is this place? She thought to herself, and how have I not heard of it before?
As she pushed towards the back of the store, she stopped to examine a dark blue crystal ball on one of the shelves. At first glance it seemed quite opaque but as she stared at it tiny bright blue lights seemed to blossom in its murky depths. Her gaze lingered on the orb as the pattern of lights grew brighter and more complex. They almost looked like synapses firing in the brain, pulsing in a pattern she realized was matched to that of her own heart's beating. Kimberly moved closer to the ball and the images inside seemed to grow larger than the sphere could contain, filling her entire vision with its wondrous light-show. She felt a desire that was not wholly her own to fling herself into these images and join...something. Unconsciously, she lifted her arm and reached out towards the orb, her fingers almost touching the smooth surface....
"Ahem!"
"Wha...?" Pulled sharply from her trance, Kimberly spun around in surprise to face the store's counter and the source of the noise. A man was standing there, wearing fine robes of what looked to be purple silk inlaid with gold patterns. He looked to be somewhere around his fifties, with tanned skin handsome features and a long but neatly kept brown beard that was streaked liberally with gray. His similarly gray streaked hair was came to around his shoulders, however his most striking features were his eyes. They where a shade of amber that seemed almost to glow in the dim light and far keener than those found in others of similar age. They looked as though they could pierce right through her. She turned briefly to glance at the crystal ball again, but found it as dark and opaque as when she first came across it.
"Be careful not to get lost amongst the relics, some of them can be quite cunning" he said, a small smirk playing around his lips. "Come" the man said, waving her over towards him with a smooth motion of his hand. "My name is Paldinoss and this is my humble establishment." Slowly, she began walking towards the counter and as she did so Paldinoss gestured around towards the seemingly endless rows of shelves. "Now, let's see how the cosmos can help you today."