Tales from the Tavern

The Magic Shop

A description I wrote a few years ago, when I still played Runescape, it's an examination of a scene in Varrock. Even if you don't know what the heck RuneScape is, this should still make sense. Just ignore the names!

I'd love to hear your thoughts in a comment, and I'd love it even more if you share my works!

- -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- -

Even from a distance, you can tell Aubury’s Rune Shop is, well, different. I mean, to start with, it’s well off the beaten path. It sits a bit behind the bank, on a street so narrow it’s almost an alley. And right across the way? A chaos temple, and next to that -- for anyone who knows anything about Varrock -- is the entrance to the Phoenix Gang’s headquarters. You get the picture. The Rune Shop is right at the edge of a rough part of town, even if it’s not actually part of it itself. That’s to be expected, of course. Magic itself is, well, a bit shady. Not quite right, some would say. Most folks don’t like it staring them too full in the face, a reminder that there’s just some stuff beyond our understanding.

That said, even if its location was more unremarkable, you’d still notice the shop straight away. Its sign drips. Constantly, and the drops aren’t water. In fact, I couldn’t tell you what they are, and I’ve stood right next to them more times than I care to count. And that sign that’s doing the dripping? It’s a rune. Not a painting -- an actual honest to goodness rune. So maybe the drops are magic, or its essence. Or maybe not. Like I said, I don’t know. But they disappear well before they hit the ground, like melting snow. Only they’re gone completely, not just changed in form. I told you the place stands out.

And then, once you get inside, you realize the outside isn’t just normal, it’s bland. Hardly even counts as a glimpse of the character of the place. The first thing you notice -- well, it’s the first thing I notice, anyway, every time I go in the place -- is that the air hums. Vibrates like a taut cord. You don’t really hear it, though. It’s not that obvious. But you feel it with your ears all the same. And then it starts to push against your skin, and your hair tries to stand on end, but it can’t. It’s sort of like the feeling that someone you can’t see is looking at you. Not exactly that, but it makes your spine prickle the same.

Then there’s the man himself, the owner. Aubury. He seems pretty normal at first. That is, he’s not insane, not anything like Traiborn or Grayzag down at the Wizards’ Tower. In fact, he just wants to sell his stock. Just like any good businessman would. But he bounces. Just like the hum, it doesn’t exactly stand out. He’s not a jackrabbit or anything. I wouldn’t even call him jittery. It’s more controlled -- more contained. But there’s an intensity about it. Best way I can describe it is that he’s got a bit of that taut string vibrating inside him. And he thrives on it. Just look him in the eyes when you’re there, and you’ll see. Those are intense, focused. They’re eyes that have spent years searching out the secrets of runes, and have gone a bit mad with the effort. Only slightly, mind you, and you’ve got to watch them to see it.

The rest of the place reflects that. Pretty normal with just a hint of madness. There’s nothing special about the furniture, for example. It’s pretty standard: oak, probably, of good quality, like most carpenters use, but not ornate or carved at all. Some of it’s broken though, and I wouldn’t guess that it’s ‘cause someone a bit too heavy tried to sit on the table.

No, I think it has more to do with Aubury’s research, which is scattered everywhere. Or evidence of it is, anyway. Papers litter the floor, and they’re scattered on the shelves, too. They’re his notes, mostly, scrawled in an illegible hand. Or it could be a cipher. It’s his secret research after all. There are books, too, on all sorts of arcane stuff. I can’t even read the titles of half of them. Those are perhaps the most obviously abnormal items in the whole shop. Certainly, they’re the most clearly magical, aside from the runes themselves. And that’s impressive, given the odd assortment of potions and ointments sitting on the very back shelf. There’s even a plate with a bit of ectoplasm on it, yet none of it stands out compared to the books.