Go inside

She steels her nerves, takes a deep breath and goes inside.

When she comes into the tavern, it’s obvious at first glance that it isn’t a tavern at all, but rather the shop she was looking for all along, disguised as a rundown old tavern. The room is dark with no electricity, the only sources of light coming from candelabras, oil lamps and torches placed around the shop. As she looks around she can see wood shelves with various jars containing various things. Things you normally read about being used as ingredients in witch brews. There are also a few rows filled with old dusty antique looking books. One book in particular catches her eye, a book that is larger than the others, black with red writing on the spine of the book. Feeling drawn towards the book almost to the point of being compelled, Clare starts toward the book, as she gets to it and starts to reach out to take it, she’s snapped out of her trance by the shopkeeper. “Hello young miss, may I… help… you with something today?”

Clare looks at the woman as she speaks, and could’ve sworn she saw something akin to a mischievous smile at the word “help”. “OH! Hi, Yes, I’m doing some research on the occult, and found a forum online suggesting this shop, if you don’t mind, could I stay around for a while checking out the store trying to find something I can use?” ,the shopkeeper looks toward Clare, and seems to consider closely what Clare just asked. After a few moments of consideration, the shopkeeper answers: “certainly, feel free to stay as long as you wish, but tread carefully, there are mighty forces at work in this shop. As for the book you are standing in front of, feel free to take it out and read it upstairs, there are some chairs and tables with reading lights up there.” Clare smiles and thanks the shopkeeper.

Looking back towards the book she had been about to take, she startled a bit, closing and rubbing her eyes, not believing or trusting what she had just seen. There is no way an ordinary book, even though it’s an antique, or maybe ESPECIALLY, because it’s an antique would glow with a weak pulsating red light. But no, as she opened her eyes and looked once more at the book, the red light was still there, now pulsating stronger and brighter. All of a sudden she could hear whispering in her head saying “take me, read me, take me, read me”.