Anokatos/Papyrus Used Books

On the upper tier of Darkside in London, easily withing walking distance from The Crusades, there is a door. The door itself is rather nondescript, being the iron and wood common to doors in the area. However, to the right of the door, at roughly eye level, is a rather new looking bronze plate, which reads “Papyrus Used Books”

The door hinges are well maintained, and do not creak when the door opens, dinging the small silver bell situated above the frame, and always seems to ring with a odd pitch to make a shiver run up the spine.

An observant individual would notice the patterns scratched to the inside of the frame. Too strange to be simple writing, but too organized to be random scratchings.

The book stacks are neatly and precisely arranged, as if the proprietor of the shop is either compulsively neat, has a extreme attention to detail, or both.

The books nearer the door are the common sort, used versions of the classics and popular books, though there does not seem to be anything too recent.

As one ventures further into the store, the titles facing the patrons slowly become more obscure, and esoteric. The works of Shakespeare give way to tomes on hauntings and hexes, Hemingway to Crowley.

After emerging from the stacks, one woudl come across a trio of worn leather chairs, facing one another in a rough circle around an antique coffee table. All of which sit on top an large and ornate looking throw rug. Should one be adventurous and lift the rug, they would find a strange circle, the kind one uses for magical rituals.

After the sitting area, one the patron comes to the counter. The cash register has definitely seen better days, looking like a throwback to something from the eighties. Beside register, there is a small perch, upon which sits a large crow. The bird is mostly silent, but its eyes follow customers, always watching.