It's a hot day in the capital as you wander through the dusty market street. You look at the various wares, passing by the more mundane goods to see the shops and stalls that sell exotic items. It’s not an item you’re looking for, but rather an experience. The sensation of seeing something new and different, taking an otherworldly artifact in your hands and examining it, this is what motivates you. After many disappointments you come across a shop that looks promising, its entrance tucked between the sides of two stalls. Lacking signage of any kind, it almost seems to be trying to hide. You duck between the stalls and into the shop.
The shopkeeper eyes you warily. "You are not one of my customers," he says in a thick accent.
"I'm just browsing," you say.
"Browsing. I don't like to turn away business, but I only sell to the discreet. Who told you I was here?"
"No one, I saw your entrance from the street. I’m looking-"
The man curses quietly and pushes past you to the door, where he chants briefly before lighting a stick of incense and waving it around. "That should hide the entrance," he says. "from all but those invited. Now, what were you saying?"
Your curiosity is piqued. "I was saying I am looking for something unusual, and I can assure you I am very discreet."
The shopkeeper sizes you up. "I only deal with those able to buy. Show me your coin."
You open your coin pouch and spread some of its contents on the counter before quickly scooping it back up and looking to the shopkeeper.
"Good, good,” he nods approvingly, “Unusual, I have many things that fit that description," he says, "but this is my specialty."
He reaches beneath the counter and lifts a small wooden cage. Inside you see what appears to be a brightly colored bird fluttering about. You bend in closer to look and your eyes grow wide. It's no bird, but a tiny woman! Growing from her back are the wings, not of feathers but of a delicate membrane. She looks at you, naked fear on her face and begins to cry.