At first glance, it did not look like much, just a regular room with no windows and a ceiling so high it broke a few laws of physics and architecture. Arrays of wooden masks, ritual weapons, pots, and figurines stared at them from above, as if they had entered the lair of some devout dragon and its prized collection. The back room, however, was indeed a treasure trove, but not the kind one would expect. It did not hold jewels or gold, and to an untrained eye would appear more like an overcrowded warehouse than a place where one stores things worth more than whole countries.


    The three guests found themselves mesmerized with things that should not exist in the world. They’d seen enough in their careers to know what was what and still, their minds were not capable of comprehending its vastness. It smelled a little different than the shop, a little older, and bound by no common constraints.


    Ullie sat them down on a yellow couch in the middle of the room and brought the most elaborate-looking glass he had dug out of one of the boxes. It looked like it belonged to an ancient king, and yet its secret was not in the decorum, but in the glass it was made of, for it could see things, most eyes could not.


    “Now, can I see what you have in there?” he said with an outstretched hand and a sparkle in his eyes.


    Brano, though still uncertain of his actions, ripped the bag open and placed a metal sphere on the shopkeepers palm. The look on his face mimicked that of his companions, as they watched their prized possession slip from their grasp.


    A thousand shivers ran down Ullie''s spine, the moment the metal touched his skin. Something he never had a name for came rushing back to him, a signature of an energy that he was afraid he would never get to experience in his life. He was cold and warm at the same time as the feeling came and went in waves, pulsating down to his feet.


    He did not know how to look at it. He’d seen complex things before, things that hold supreme power captured in a small item that could fit inside a pocket. They lived as a remnant from a different age and ley scattered across the world, waiting to be found. They had different names and strange purposes, but none of them had the same effect on him as the one was now holding.


    Ring after ring all layered together, forming a sphere of rough metal and bone. Small, intricate words followed every curve and told a story no one could read. It was heavy, like a rock, and no bigger than a ball of yarn. Its very presence made his stomach shift like the artifact was trying to pull pieces of him into itself. He could not help but wonder if he finally found what he was looking for.


    “So, is it worth anything?” Lei said leaning in. “It must be, right?”


    Lei’s words threw Ullie out of the trance which to him felt like an eternity. It took another moment to remember his own name and feel the light vibrations wash over him again, paralyzing him in an instant. He faltered to the ground like a ragged doll, as tiny green sparks emerged from his motionless body and bounced off the ceiling like a beacon.


    “It’s cursed. Damn it!” Rooren cried, seeing the state of confusion Ullie was trapped in. “We picked up a cursed bauble again? Come on… no, wait… could that be why they want it so badly? Is this dark magic?”


    “Shhh…” Brano pulled them both back like a dam. “Why do you always go there?” he whispered. “It’s not our concern what kind of magic it holds, remember?”


    “Only what it’s worth, yeah, I know,” Lei whispered back, with one eye on the fallen host. “Wait a minute. Is he dead? ”


    “Is he? I am not prepared for this scenario,” Roor added getting ready to poke Ullie’s body with a sliver candlestick, but he wiggled and groaned before she had the time to reach him.


    “Cursed! Yes,” Ullie said struggling to get up as the cramps remained in his legs. Once he was up, he shrugged his shoulders and slapped his cheeks a few times until his face relaxed from the paralysis. He took a long breath and laid the looking glass back on the table. “Luckily, I’ve built immunity.”


    “Are you alright?” Brano asked, visibly concerned with the shopkeeper’s health.


    “Immune to curses?” Roor whispered behind Brano’s back. “Who is this guy?”


    “I…” Lei began, scratching his ear and following Ullie around the room with wide-open eyes. “I have no idea anymore.”


    “Worry not. I am fine,” Ullie returned cheerfully, limping as he went. “It’s a protective curse, meant to prevent theft. The looking glass tends to trigger them. You’re lucky you didn’t mess with it, it would have certainly killed all of you, or worse.”


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    “Worse?” Lei cried poking Brano with his elbow. “What is he saying?”


    “Caramelization,” Ullie returned, plucking a thick tome from one of the shelves. “You’d be dead and yet alive, frozen in a state of decay, coated in a sticky substance, which ironically happens to be sweet. It’s just one example.”


    “Uh… it…” Lei began but failed to close his gaping mouth.


    “I knew it. I told you we should leave it there, but nooo...” Roor folded into her knees, holding her forehead with her hand, daring not to look at anything other than the floor.


    “So the… the curse is to protect whatever that thing is for?” Brano cut in as if hoping to get the conversation over with before things got more graphic.


    “Quite right,” returned the shopkeeper, as he took a seat opposite them.


    “I know nothing about magic, and to a good degree, I want nothing to do with it, besides knowing to avoid it. What we came here to learn is what it’s worth. It’s given us too much trouble already.”


    “You said this came from a very old ship?” inquired Ullie, blinking slowly, as he flipped the pages of the old book. It was riddled with sketches and strange writings which looked more like elaborate installations that letters. The pages let out a creepy sound every time he touched or moved them, like the paper they were made of was a lot heavier than it should be, almost like leather.


    “Yes,”


    “Near Angalin?”


    “Right.”


    “What’s going on?” Roor intruded.


    “It’s in those little scribbling lines, isn’t it? What does it say?” Lei followed.


    “I have no idea,” Ullie returned. He became unnaturally serious, like he was equally delighted and terrified by the thing he was holding. “I’ve seen this kind of language but once, a long…”


    Something shifted behind him, making a thunderous noise as it moved through the jingling bells and the crystal lamps in the hidden corner of the room. There was a narrow opening between the shelves there, like a hallway, dark and almost untouchable, leading somewhere else.


    “Is that where you were?” said Ullie looking back. “I was almost worried you were still in the netherworld.”


    The three guests followed the noises while their faces turned paler with every passing moment until the light revealed a fluffy orange cat. A gold medallion around its neck gleamed like a mirror, with the clear inscription of its name - Juniper.


    “Don’t tell me that’s the same Juniper that was eaten by the teapot?” Lei said quietly as the cat marched straight towards him and jumped into his lap. He did not dare touch it, much less look at it in its strange glowing eyes.


    “Not a cat,” Ullie repeated like it made all the sense in the world.


    “Then what is it?” Lei squealed as the yellow ball of fur took him as its personal pillow. He carefully tapped the cat’s head several times and it began to purr, loudly and persistently. He did not move a muscle afterward.


    “I would like to purchase this artifact from you,” Ullie cut in, grasping the mysterious object even tighter. He was no longer able to hide his overwhelming curiosity, and moreover, unwilling to let anyone else have the pleasure of studying it. “You did a good thing bringing it here, but I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting. This is a riddle I may not be able to solve in some time.”


    “Just like that?” Brano launched up from the couch like someone lit up a fire under him. “I never even said it was for sale.”


    “And yet, you came all the way here, to the edge of the world, looking for help. You wouldn''t do that if you didn’t think this was more than just a strange-looking piece of metal. And especially if you didn’t think it was powerful magic, which would certainly make it… priceless. You do not look that foolish to me.”


    “Is it then? Is it dark magic?” Roor insisted. "I still want to know."


    “There is no such thing as dark magic,” the shopkeeper returned wisely. “Only dark intentions. Besides, not everything that looks like magic is magic, and these old scribbles could be nothing more than a bad poem protected by a curse for the fun of it. For all I can tell right now, this could be a child''s toy,” he lied.


    “This was a bad idea,” Lei mumbled under her breath, as Juniper cemented itself in his lap, becoming a loaf.


    “What guarantee do we have you are not going to trick us into believing this thing is worth a lot less than it really is?” Brano barked. “We did not risk our neck for a few thousand red ones.”


    “And what makes you think I am a cheapskate?” returned Ullie as he once again began shifting through the boxes on the shelves, most of which were made of materials that had no place being shaped like boxes. After fumbling through at least a dozen of them, he rejoiced, plucking out an egg-shaped stone. As he held it in his hand, the stone gave out a golden glow, and If it were just a little bigger, it would have been enough to illuminate the night.


    Seeing the glow, Rooren did not hesitate to push everyone aside and get to it.


    “Salikar egg,” she screeched. "Impossible. How in the world? This can’t be real, can it?"


    “I thought those were a myth,” Brano added adjusting his eyes to the light. “How could you possibly have one? It’s… it’s magic. It''s real  magic.”


    “I don’t care,” Rooren said gently lifting the stone from Ullie’s hand. She held it tightly and did not let anyone come near it. “Curses be damned, we have a deal.”


    "A deal?" Lei insisted, hoping to rid himself of the thing that wasn''t a cat. “Just like that? What’s that even worth?”


    “Now’s not the time to be daft,” she scolded him. "Is there a way out of here?” she added looking back at Ullie. “Are they… gone?”


    With a lot of caution, Lei picked up the cat and placed it at his side where it stretched and flipped onto his back, continuing to purr. He was finally free and in a hurry to leave before the teapot tried to befriend him as well.


    “Oh,” Ullie gestured vaguely toward the front room. “Don’t worry about it.”