The Hourglass

Cain's shop of mystic wares-- and where he provides his psychic services-- is called The Hourglass. It is a small hole-in-the-wall located deep within The Business District.

With a large catalog of inventory coming from a wide array of ethical sources, he has quite a lot to offer. Whether or not everything in his stock actually works as intended (or at all), however, is a bit of a mystery; most of the time, the only way to find out the efficacy of an item from The Hourglass is to purchase and try it.

As for the offered psychic services, most are walk-in welcome-- with the hard exception of Mediumship.

✦ Items For Purchase:

The Hourglass inventory that your OCs can procure:

• Health & Healing Items
  • Potions of healing, antidotes for toxins/poisons, elixirs of magic/power regen, powders of revival, medicines & herbs for most major ailments/status conditions, etc
    • Most popular items
    • 100% genuine and effective

• Luck Charms
  • Both good luck [bless] & bad luck [curse]
    • Efficacy uncertain, highly subjective

• Crystals & Gems
  • For focus, spellcasting, positive/negative vibes, aura control, decoration, etc
    • Authenticity and effectiveness are based on type and goal

• Buffing & Debuffing Items
  • Come in various forms, including but not limited to: rings, bracers, sigils/charms, jewelry, food/candy, clothing, powders, crystals/gems, etc
    • 75% reliability

• Books, Scrolls, & Tomes
  • Vast and varied selection, including but not limited to: countless types of spells, ancient & modern information on a wide variety of creatures/lore/myths/legends, various magic & magic-adjacent research, etc
    • Arguably all genuine, but vary wildly in accuracy or efficiency

• Trinkets & Curios
  • Wide selection of [presumably] non-magic items simply for enjoyment, such as novelties, knickknacks, souvenirs, ornaments, collectables, & curiosities
    • These sure are roadside attraction paraphernalia-esque

• Divination Tools
  • For fortune-telling purposes: tarot decks, non-tarot cards, dowsing rods, dice, runes, pendulums, spirit boards, crystal balls, scrying mirrors, etc
    • Effectiveness is said to depend entirely on divination skills and methods

• Ritual Tools
  • Altar dishes/bowls, chalices, pentacles, patens, swords & daggers, other blades, inks & quills, wax, wands, etc
    • Results may vary [wildly]

• Candles & Incense
  • Burning options for a wide array of intentions, including but not limited to: healing, love, fertility, protection, enlightenment, money, luck, etc
    • 100% real; ???% success rate

• Art & Statuary
  • Originating from countless different cultures and worlds, a vast selection of magical arts, statues, stained glass, décor, etc
    • Authenticity not guaranteed

• Summon & Familiar Accessories
  • Items for summoning specific entities from a large catalog of available choices
    • Results WILL vary; The Hourglass is not liable for any damage (collateral, property, physical, or psychic) caused by summons
  • Accessories for familiars, including but not limited to: clothes, armor, name tags, cute jewelry, etc
    • Any accessories destroyed by unsatisfied familiars will not be refunded

• SECRET ITEM: Information
  • Need specific information from around Crossroads? Want to know the current rumors surrounding something or someone? Desperate for intel on your next opponent? If you are aware this secret offer exists, you may be able to order it from Cain
  • If what you are wanting to discover is already available knowledge to Cain, it can be discreetly purchased off of him under the table
  • Cain can also be covertly hired to acquire the desired information, using his observational skills and social adroitness, then report back to you
    • Not all requests will be accepted; will depend heavily on many factors, including but not limited to: reason, importance, difficulty, and potential dangers involved for Cain himself

✦ Psychic Services:

Psychic services your OCs may hire Cain for:

• Cartomancy (Tarot Reading)
  • The art of fortune-telling and divination through the use of cards
  • Probably the most popular psychic service he offers, cartomancy-- or more specifically: tarot reading-- is a means by which Cain may foretell a client's future by using a deck of cards. His preferred method is via tarot cards, but he is also able to utilize typical playing cards to the same degree. His tool of choice is a well-used tarot deck that seems very sentimental to him. Cain offers several different types of spreads based on what area of your life you might be aiming to focus on: love, success, spiritual, career, or any other manner of specific request
    • Available via appointment and walk-in

• Clairsentience
  • The power to perceive emotional or psychic energy that is imperceptible to the five standard senses
  • Similar to clairvoyance, Cain offers the ability to discern various types of information through use of his extrasensory perception-- the key difference being that he receives the information via psychic feelings rather than psychic visions. He can't always guarantee what exactly he will sense as this power can yield a vast array of results and depends heavily on many different variables, but he can attempt to hone in on specific subjects of interest. The psychic feelings can also manifest themselves in three completely different ways: precognition (pertaining to the future), retrocognition (pertaining to the past), and pericognition (pertaining to the current moment)
    • Available via appointment and walk-in

• Palmistry (Palm Reading)
  • The reading of character and divination by interpretation of lines and undulations on the palm of the hand
  • Another popular psychic service, through palmistry Cain can read a client's palm (or equivalent thereof) to glean attributes of their character, personality, and experiences. He can also read their future, which is the more common request, particularly with the focus on personal relationships
    • Available via appointment and walk-in

• Psychometry
  • The ability to discern facts or impressions about an object (or its owner) through physical contact
  • With psychometry, a client can bring an object to Cain (or bring Cain to an object) that he can then touch and tap into images or visions that will appear in his mind corresponding to the life of the subject that the object is associated with. Cain will require time with the object to better solidify the visions as they typically appear slowly and with incomprehensible definition; over time (which varies), he is able to bring the visions into focus and make more sense of the information presented in them. Very rarely can he instantly glean clear visuals and information from the initial touch
    • Available via appointment and walk-in

• Mediumship (Séance)
  • The practice of mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and the living
  • Via what is commonly known as a séance, Cain offers clients the opportunity to communicate with the deceased through the use of himself as a medium. This psychic service costs the most and is often the most demanding of him-- but it is also the only service that tends to yield paranormal occurrences perceivable to the naked eye. Séances have very specific time, place, and ritualistic demands of Cain, and thus can ONLY be via appointment. Unlike any of his other psychic services, hiring Cain's mediumship requires scheduling ahead of time and the addition of at least one preliminary meeting with the client prior, in order to allow Cain to properly prepare for a connection with the correct spirit
    • Available via appointment ONLY

See details on Cain's reference sheet ->