In the middle of the night, a small shop stands in the middle of a busy road. So inconspicuous and so simple that most would not take a second glance at it. But that shop held more than what met the eye. For some reason, that shop seemed to have the ability to be everywhere at once.
Within the shop in the attic, a young man with shoulder-length curly blonde hair and vanilla-toned skin lay sleeping on a single bed.
Slowly, as the moonlight peeks through the glass behind the clock built into he wall, the young man stirs. As he begins to awaken, his teal-blue eyes shine in the moonlight. Looking at his surroundings, an evident look of confusion is plastered on his face as he examines his surroundings.
"W-where am I?" the young man asked as he rubbed the last winks of sleep from his eyes.
"This isn't my house...nor is it anywhere I know," the man pondered as he stood up and began looking around to find a bit of his surroundings.
Spending the next ten minutes exploring the room, he was able to find three items that seemed important. A book with an image of a clock and symbols written under it was a language that he could not read. The second was an intricate, golden ring beautifully carved with a dragon atop it. The last item was a stone with more of the strange writings that matched the book, but glowed with a faint blue light.
"Hmm, all these items are quite strange, but so are my circumstances. I should probably find out where I am before I begin messing with these things I don't understand," the young man sighed, placing the stone and ring in his pockets and holding the book.
Standing from his bed once more, the young man walked over to a hatch on the floor. Opening it, he climbed down the ladder into the central area of the building. To his surprise, he found himself in a small shop that seemed like the kind of shop an old couple would own.
Finding a lack of light, the young man traced the wall but would not see any switch in the small building.
"No power, interesting, there must be another way to get light,"
Walking up to the clerk's desk, Klaus placed the book on it, and once he did, the lights began to flicker on, illuminating the shop.
"....Okay, now that's strange...is this book the key?" the young man wondered to himself.
Now with lights to illuminate his way, he began looking around the shop. He found that it was filled with a varying assortment of items. Weapons, clothing, food, bottles of strange liquids, stones with strange carvings, tools, and much more. Behind the counter were items that seemed important. An assortment of alcoholic bottles that all had weird names and different trinkets in a glass display under the counter.
As he was about to turn away, he saw a letter leaning against a nameplate that read "Owner." Grabbing the letter with a seal that matched the dragon carving on the ring, Klaus attempted to open it, but he found that task more difficult than he expected, and the letter would not open.
"Maybe like the lights, this needs a key...," Grabbing the ring from his pocket, the young man placed it into the seal, and as he hoped, the seal melted away into nothingness, opening the letter.
Taking out the letter, the young man found two items: a key and a note. Placing the key to the side for now, he began to read the letter.
'Greetings, Klaus Hargraves,
My name is Alduien Darlic, the previous owner of this humble establishment. I know you must have many questions, and I will do my best to explain what you need to know. This shop is a unique one, as you can tell. We hold a diverse assortment of items that will be useful to someone somewhere. We carry everything someone could ever need, and if we don't have it as the shop owner, it is our job to obtain it. The second thing you should know is that this shop can move around. No matter the place on earth, the universe of the reality we exist beyond that provides a shop for patrons across all of existence to indulge in. I know you probaly don't believe what youa re reading I was the same way. But as you work, you shall see the truth. The next thing is that you are bound to the shop; well, your soul is, as you shall live forever as long as you are linked to the shop. You see, I had run the shop for 4700 years before I decided to move on. The truth is, I got tired of living and decided to choose you as the next owner before moving on. Yes, I am sorry to drag you into this. I had been selfish; I guess it's too late to take that back now. The following item of business is the key. That key leads to the storage area where the inventory is kept. There you shall also find cheddar. Chedder is a spirit animal that will take the shape of the owner's heart, becoming their companion and guardian for the duration of ownership. Cheddar is a good boy; treat him right, and he shall love you forever. All you must do is feed him some of your blood to bond with him. Now, the three items you most likely found, if I was right about you, are the book, the stone, and the ring. As you can see, the ring is used to open and seal letters. It is also used to seal packages you might have sent to customers. The book will contain the shop's inventory and will be used to track daily income and customers. It is a handy tool to keep track of events and provides you with more insight into your customers, enabling you to assist them better. Lastly, there is the stone. The philosopher's stone is something you must link with your soul as well. Just like chedder, give it a drop of your blood, and it will transform into a tool to aid you in improving the shop and control it through mere thought. I'm sorry, but I am running out of time. That is all for now. Once again, I apologize for the suddenness of it all. I have high hopes, Mr.Hargraves.
Sincerely, your predecessor, Alduien Darlic
After reading the letter twice, Klaus took a seat at the register to process the information he read.
"...My sane mind is telling me that this is all some kind of prank, but from all I saw and awakening in this place from my bed, I can't help but believe," Klas sighed as he looked down at the note.
Pulling out the stone, he looked at it for a while before lifting his hand.
"If that letter holds any truth, then this stone will prove it," Klaus said, and he bit his finger and placed a drop of blood atop the stone.