A man stood behind a counter Kimberly was sure wasn’t there a moment ago. The man was wearing fine robes of what looked to be blue silk inlaid with gold patterns. He looked to be somewhere in his fifties, with tanned skin, handsome features that were marred slightly by a few scars, and a short, neatly kept brown beard that was streaked liberally with gray. His similarly gray streaked hair fell loosely about his shoulders; however, his most striking features were his eyes. They were a shade of ice blue that seemed almost to glow in the dim light and appeared far keener than those found in others of his age. They looked as though they could pierce right through her.
Kimberly 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…convincing" the man said, a small smirk playing around his lips. "Come", he continued, 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."