The shop felt like it had been forgotten by time. Dust drifted lazily through slanted afternoon light, settling over crooked stacks of books that leaned against one another like tired old men. Shelves bowed under the weight of leather-bound volumes, their cracked spines whispering of decades—perhaps centuries—of use. The air smelled of paper, ash, and something faintly sweet, like ageing varnish.

Near the back, a small fireplace crackled unevenly, its warmth unable to fully chase away the chill that clung to the narrow aisles. A threadbare armchair sat beside it, buried under a precarious tower of books, as if someone had meant to sit and never returned.

A wooden staircase creaked sharply with even the slightest touch, its banister worn smooth by countless hands. It twisted upward into shadow, leading to a dim loft where the oldest books were kept—rare, fragile things wrapped in quiet and dust. From below, that upper level seemed less like a room and more like a secret, watching over the shop in silence.

You see a figure looking vacantly into the flames reading a dusty old hardback of sea stories from a bygone age...

"come in come in, feel free to take a look around"

The figure turns his head to look at you

"let me know if anything catches your eye"

On a brisk night walking through the streets, Enricho turns his eye to a strange bookstore he's never seemed to notice before. Despite being in a seemingly obvious place, it's never caught his eye before. Puzzled by this factor he decides to walk inside to inspect. After all the Great Sosekie would likely want to know of a business popping up where it shouldn't. When he entered to peer around, Enricho believed himself as silent as a mouse, but as an old man welcomed him, Enricho barely heard his words as they muffled between the stacks of books. Startled but never willing to show fear, Enricho called out:

"It is I, Enricho! Surely you've heard of me throughout these fine states!"

Without a further step, Enricho heard the old man's words like a gong inside his own head: "Let me know if anything catches your eye."

Enricho briskly walked out feeling what he thought was fright for the first time. He will speak to no one about this experience.