Chapter 169: The Strange Shop
Chapter 169: The Strange Shop
Upon arriving at the largest bookstore in Mahogany Town, Liam and his companions discovered that today was the School's student shopping day. The bookstore had taken advantage of this by inviting several famous authors to attract customers, resulting in the entire store being packed with Wizards. It seemed they might not even be able to squeeze in.
Given the situation, they reluctantly crossed the bookstore off their travel destination list. After all, with such a bustling atmosphere, it was hardly an ideal place to read.
Since the large bookstore wasn't an option, Liam immediately thought of visiting a second-hand bookshop to find some treasures. In a place where books were as expensive as they were in Britain, second-hand bookshops were certainly not rare. However, due to the low profit margins, these shops were unlikely to be located on bustling commercial streets, as the rent would likely exceed their earnings.
What about using a second-hand bookshop as a front to sell other things? Well, items that needed to be sold under such pretenses were not suitable for a busy street with a lot of foot traffic.
Liam was a bit wary of venturing into back alleys, especially given the less-than-ideal descriptions of South American security from his past life. So, he found an excuse to slip something into his spatial pocket out of Hermione's sight before they continued their journey.
After asking several people and circling the streets a few times, Liam and Hermione finally found a second-hand bookshop on a less crowded path.
The shop looked a bit like Ollivanders' wand shop in Diagon Alley, with a very small storefront but an air of mystery. The dusty windows displayed stacks of books, and an oxidized metal sign in Spanish read: "Skozne's Curios."
Pushing the door open, Liam found that despite the small front, the interior of the shop was quite spacious. Various goods filled row after row of shelves. After a quick scan, Liam realized this wasn't just a second-hand bookshop but a large second-hand goods store.
Strands of colorful feathers, old wands with various scratches, peculiar stone carvings, and a variety of herbs (as a Plants expert, Liam swore most were fake) were stacked on the shelves, emitting a rainbow of colors. The items were haphazardly arranged, with only the most basic categorization, making the shop look like a large recycling station.
After navigating around a pile of unidentifiable specimens and a broomstick that had lost its bristles, Liam spotted the shopkeeper, an elderly man with white hair who appeared to be in his seventies. He was wearing a black wizard's robe and dozing off behind the counter.
Upon seeing Liam and Hermione standing in front of him, he weakly waved his hand and said, "Each shelf has prices. When you've chosen your items, come to me to pay. Remember, once you take something off the shelf, you must buy it. The shop has magical surveillance, so don't try to cheat."
Returning to the shelves, Liam noticed that the prices ranged from one Sickle to ten Galleons.
After browsing several shelves, Liam concluded that the shopkeeper was a ruthless merchant. He couldn't see why the pile of junk was priced so high. Most importantly, each shelf had runes to block magical perception, allowing you to touch the items but only revealing their true condition once you removed them. No wonder the shop required you to buy anything you took off the shelf.
Hermione was flipping through some Ilvermorny and Castrobrusso textbooks on a shelf, while Liam quietly moved to explore the other goods.
Although each shelf was enchanted with concealment and isolation spells, this didn't mean they were foolproof. When Liam began to sense the items on the shelves using the perception methods of Taoist Techniques, he could vaguely feel the magical energy contained within some of them.
This was not surprising, as Taoist Techniques were a completely different system of Supernatural Power, and the shop owner likely hadn't considered such methods when setting up the enchantments. It was only natural that Liam would catch some loopholes.
Through his Taoist Techniques perception, Liam discovered that the shop owner was even more unscrupulous than he had imagined. For example, a Wood Spirit, which was introduced in Castrobrusso's Potions and had a non-magical variant called Ginseng, was known for its ability to replenish Life Force and its low yield, making it quite expensive.
On one of the shelves, Liam saw a complete Wood Spirit priced at ten Galleons, far below market value. However, using his Taoist Techniques perception, he realized that the Wood Spirit on the shelf was only a thin outer layer, with the inside filled with the roots of some unknown plant.
Honestly, such a sophisticated counterfeit would likely fool many people even without the magical barriers.
Despite the prevalence of fakes, the shop still had its share of good items. After all, it had been operating in this area for a long time, and the Wizarding World had a limited number of people. If the shop only sold fakes, it would have been shut down long ago.
For instance, Liam found a Millennium Thunderstruck Wood as large as his arm among a pile of one Sickle items. The only downside was that it was from a Mahogany Tree rather than a Peach Tree, but it was still sufficient for him to craft a Talismanic Sword. Given the size of the wood, he could even make a set of Talisman Tiles in addition to the sword.
Besides this, Liam also picked out some minerals that reacted to magic, intending to see what they could be used for.
When he brought his items to the counter to pay, he unexpectedly noticed a black leather notebook under the counter. The cover of the notebook reflected the sunlight from the window, and Liam could see an imprinted symbol—a triangle, a circle, and a vertical line, resembling a triangular eye.
Liam froze, recognizing the symbol as representing Grindelwald's Disciples. Considering the shopkeeper's age and the German name "Skorzeny" of the shop, Liam suspected that the shopkeeper was likely one of the Saints from back in the day.
The thought made Liam break out in a cold sweat. Unlike Voldemort's Death Eaters, who were a chaotic rabble, Grindelwald's Disciples were a highly organized group. If the shopkeeper discovered that Liam had uncovered his secret, who knew what might happen. All Liam wanted to do now was call Hermione and leave the shop as quickly as possible.
But sometimes, what you fear the most is what comes to pass. After the shopkeeper glanced at the items Liam had brought, he suddenly smiled and said, "Young man, you seem to have a good eye. Would you like to come with me and see some of the better items in the back warehouse?"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
