Drew and Mandy look around at all of the aisles; each is filled with items ranging from normal to incredibly bizarre.
"What kind of place is this?" Mandy wonders aloud. Drew shakes his head, nonplussed at the assortment of goods on display.
Together, they walk down one of the aisles. The items are marked on the shelves by descriptions as well as prices. There seemed to be spell-casting stones, enchanted jewelry and cursed gems. Along the opposite wall were statues and pose-able figures of all kinds of shapes, sizes and species.
A man comes around the corner holding a basket and begins placing a few more objects on an empty section of shelf. He appears to be in his upper thirties, with long shaggy hair and a worn grey suit topped by a black cape. Drew notices he wears a gold name tag on his lapel, it reads: "Anarhion - Assistant Manager".
"Excuse me," Drew says, approaching the man. "What kind of store is this?"
"A magic one of course," the man explains with a patronizing but welcoming grin on his face, "Offers the most expansive collection of magical items known to exist. We specialize in objects that transform subjects."
Drew swallows hard, his heart jumping at the thought, but still not believing what he was hearing. On the other side of the aisle, Mandy puts down a figurine of a lion she had been inspecting and turns to the man.
"Transform?" She says sharply, and Drew can see the same hopeful yearning flash across her eyes.
"Physically, mentally, anything you can think of really" the man says with a lazy wave of his arm. "And unlike your run-of-the-mil 'magic shops,' we let the buyer know up front exactly what they are purchasing. You won't be short-changed or ill-informed. We pride ourselves on our trusting customer base."
"You can't be serious," Drew says, reflexively. "Magic isn't real."
"Ah, a bit of a skeptic," the man says, winking at Mandy. "Are either of you looking for anything in particular? Or, should I say, looking to be anything in particular?"
Drew continues to stare at the man as if he had actually teleported right in front of him. Mandy picks up the slack and says "Not yet, thanks. We're going to just look around for a minute."
"Very well," the man says jovially as he finishes stocking the rack. "Please call my name if you have any questions." He points to his golden name tag. "And do be careful when touching anything, some of these items can't wait to change someone" He promptly turns and disappears into another aisle before either of them can say anything more.
Mandy and Drew look at each other. The idea still seems ludicrous, but something about the store and Anarhion's words felt undeniably genuine.
"This is serious," Drew says, looking for reassurance.
"I think so," Mandy says in response. "I mean, you and I have been shopping in this part of town forever, and we never even noticed a building here before today. They couldn't have possibly put all this up in so little time. Besides, who wears a cape to work?"
Drew chuckles, but inside his mind was racing. If this was true, everything he and Mandy had ever dreamed was possible. One look at Mandy told him she understood the same thing. "Then let's do something."
Mandy glances around at the strange objects again. "Like what?"
"Jenny's Halloween party is tonight and we're supposed to be dressing up in themed costumes," Drew offers. "So instead of costumes, let's actually change into something. It'll be a thrill!"
The excitement brewing inside Mandy was clear. She grabs Drew hands and leads him further into the store. "That sounds awesome! What are we waiting for?"