A mysterious magic shop

It is certainly not one you were expecting! Instead of a grocer or a blacksmith or even another tailor, you are met with a... rundown antique shop? The display window is filled with assorted junk, including but not limited to a crystal ball, full bedroom set made of pitch-black wood, a staff, children's toys, and an oddly unsettling ventriloquist doll. The sign above the door simply showed a playing card, the Jack of Hearts.

"Are you sure, Dukash?" You ask, trying to phrase this gracefully. "I don't think we are going to find anything... essential in there."

"Are you kidding me!" The half-orc exclaims, throwing his hands up. "Think about how amazing and ESSENTIAL a magical weapon could be!"

"I'm not sure what you know what essential means..."

"That doesn't matter! If our party had a magical item between us we would be UNSTOPPABLE! And with the extra money you just saved us, we can totally afford it!"

"I don't know..." You are sure Thror would be furious if he found out you wasted money in this shady store, especially if it does not end up working.

"How about this!" Reaching into his pocket he tosses you the pouch of gold. "You hold on to our finances and, if you deem something 'non-essential,' we don't get it. How's that?!"

Well, you suppose, _you guess that would work. _You consider yourself to be frugal and restrained, at least more so than Dukash! Giving the excited bard an affirmative nod is all it takes for him to run into the store. He is like a kid in the candy store. Smiling at his cute eagerness, you follow him into the strange shop.

The first thing that hits you is just how... old the place smelt. It is a mixture of dust and stale air that wafts from between the shelves. Your eyes are drawn all around the store from old tomes with intricate covers to damaged furniture scrawled with runes. Dukash has already disappeared though you can hear him rummaging in the distance.

You pick a random aisle and begin perusing. The one you pick is full of vials of strange liquid. It is a rainbow of colors, some bright and neon while others seemingly a void of darkness. Labels range from luck and love potions to more sinister concoctions. One label suggests that the contents could bring an entire city down with a vicious plague. You decide to quickly move to the next row.

This row is, on the surface, much nicer. Both sides of the aisle are filled with beautiful jewelry. Some of it is in cases while others are thrown haphazardly onto the shelves. You always wanted a pendant to complete your healer aesthetic. While preferably a magic one, you would honestly settle for something that looked magical, as long as it is also pretty.

One, in particular, catches your eye, a silver chain with a red rose pendant. Plucking it off the shelf, you examine the intricate design. You are sure it is out of your price range, the petals almost looking real yet still so metallic. The flower seems to draw your gaze almost hypnotically, your eyes soon unable to look away. As you watch the petals begin to move, unfolding in a psychedelic swirling motion. Fear rises in your throat as the flower parts to reveal a metal heart within. The ruby organ looks very anatomical accurate, even beating in a slow, steady rhythm. You realize that it is matching your own heartbeat, speeding up as your stress level increases. A red liquid begins to seep from the pendant, dripping onto your hands and making you feel faint...

Shaking your head, you tossed the necklace back on the shelf. As soon as it leaves your hand the feeling is over, the pendant once again simply a rose. As you catch your breath, trying to convince yourself you just imagined the horrifying ordeal, something catches your attention. Out of the corner of your eye, you swear you see something slither around the shelf. For some reason, your curiosity is piqued, and you find yourself wandering after it. Turning the corner, you just manage to catch it slither into an aisle much deeper in the store. Even though your logical side screams at you to leave well enough alone, you have to see what is over there.

As you wander away from the storefront, the light gets dimmer and dimmer and the products more and more confusing. Jars preserving the organs of what you hope are animals. Deformed miniature statues praising some foreign pantheon. Books with titles in runic languages. However you push deeper, rounding the same corner you saw your mysterious friend go. However, the sight makes you step back in shock.

At the end of the aisle is a table littered with wax candles. Sitting at this table is a strange-looking woman. She looks like no race you have ever seen, her skin a dark shade of blue! She has the tusks of an orc but long, almost elf-like ears. She has a huge nose and glowing, yellow eyes, the rest of her face painted with purple markings. Her hair is thick and black, running over her shoulders and down her back. She is draped in all kinds of odd jewelry, various pendants, rows of beads and teeth, golden bracelets, and some animal skull on her shoulder. The creature that led you to her, evidently a green snake with matching yellow eyes, is draped around her neck, staring at you almost mockingly.

"Oh, uh, sorry, I didn't mean to-" You can't seem to find your words, but she certainly can.

"Ah, Rosa!" Her voice is deep with an accent you simply could not place. "I was wondering when ya would stumble upon my table!"

"You... know me?" You ask, becoming increasingly worried about the situation. Still, you find yourself approaching the woman.

"Of course, I foresaw dis encounter!" She smiles a devilish smile, her teeth sharp like daggers. "I even saved ya a seat!" At her insistence, you sit down opposite her as she reaches under the table.

"So, uhhhh.... w-why am I here?"

"Not a question for me, dear! What do de cards say?" On the table between you, she places an odd deck of cards. They have a purple back with golden runes woven on. Each card seems almost alive, pulsing with the candlelight.

"This be a deck containin' many things!" She begins to shuffle them, the cards dancing between her fingers yet never flipping towards you. "Each one be more powerful than even da strongest warrior or most cunning mage." Satisfied with her shuffling, she spreads the cards before you. "You see, each one contains enough magic to raise mountains, end suffering, or perhaps double it! It contains ya destiny, dear. And I think ya want to know it!"

You stare at the cards in front of you, both afraid and intrigued. "So... they can give me power?"

"That I cannot say..." She draws her deep voice out as she pushes them towards you. "Only one way to find out. All I ask is a single gold coin for the chance to change your fate." Her yellow eyes stare into your own, seeming to see into your very soul. "So... cared to hear ya fortune?"

For those who do not know, she is referring to the deck of many things. For a full list of card effects, you can click this link (or not if you are afraid of spoilers): https://5e.tools/items/deck-of-many-things-dmg.html

I plan on using a random number generator to fetch her card, eliminating some of the more boring ones. However, if you want a particular card be sure to leave it in the comments. If I see enough support, or if I just find an idea interesting, I am down to do multiple cards :)