Writer for GeeklyInc. Currently sitting on the bottom of the word in New Zealand. Tweet me outside of my normal time-zone @mrk_bennett. Comic recommendations, cat pictures and recipes for pie are welcomed.New Coventry. A town located somewhere between over there and around about here. A town full of people, places and stories. Depending on who you talk to New Coventry was built on everything from fertile farming land to an ancient burial ground and was founded by pious pilgrims or lizard-headed demons. Whatever the case, New Coventry has had its share of good times and bad and it sure has a lot of stories to go around.
The Living Campaign series aims to bring those stories, good and bad, to the fore. Each article will explore a new place, or a new person, or some new event that’s taken place in New Coventry. It may be something good, something not so good or just something that the good folks of New Coventry just don’t like talking about.
The setting is rules agnostic, so feel free to pick and choose whatever you like, but the general feel is 1920’s small town; don’t expect too many dragons (maybe). If you’re running short on inspiration, every so often the Living Campaign will talk about how to use its various bits and pieces.
So with that, welcome to New Coventry stranger.
Mr. Mackerton’s Magical Menagerie
Tucked away just off Main Street between Mrs. Cauldrey’s flower shop and one of the many general stores is Mr. Mackerton’s Magical Menagerie.
Something of an oddity in New Coventry that, in turn, specializes in oddities. Inside the cramped, over-crowded walls one may find a variety of colored crystals, feathered ornaments and old books. Most of the citizens of New Coventry regard all of this as nothing but trickery, fluff, and something to be avoided on a Sunday just after church. Mr. Mackerton disagrees.
The “Menagerie” was established some 8 years ago after one Mr. Mackerton made the journey to New Coventry from South London. After making the over 3,000 mile journey, Mr. Mackerton arrived in New Coventry, cases and cases of magical curiosities in tow. The citizens of New Coventry all whisper that Mr. Mackerton, on his first night in New Coventry, did not stay in the space above his newly acquired shop. No, Mr. Mackerton it is said, stayed the first night out to the south of New Coventry in the Coventry forest. What exactly the owner of New Coventry’s finest magic shop did out in the woods is a mystery and subject to incredible levels of town gossip; not that Mr. Mackerton pays it any mind.
Mr. Mackerton runs his menagerie with all the seriousness and aplomb that his wares deserve. The store is well and truly a place to purchase magical items. The front of the shop is full of baubles, charms, and trinkets designed to fulfill the low-magic needs of any citizen. Simple spells and tokens designed to ward off spirits of the lowest order and information in only the vaguest sense.
All of this is here however, to distract from Mr. Mackerton’s upstairs storage. Should a customer be searching for a way to protect their house against evil spirits, Mackerton is your man. Equally, if one should be in the search for a vial of Dagonian lizard-man blood, Mackerton is also your man. The upstairs of Mr. Mackerton’s Magical Menagerie is the subject of many of a spooky drunken tale around New Coventry, and quite rightly so. For whatever reason, however he’s done it, Mr. Mackerton is in possession of some of the rarest tomes and artifacts this side of the Atlantic. A literal treasure trove that no man would ever dare try and steal. While he may not explicitly advertise it, any customer willing to prove his salt could, maybe, gain access to the real magic in Mr. Mackerton’s Magical Menagerie.
Enjoyed your trip to New Coventry’s most magical store? Why not wander the rest of New Coventry and check out these other previously discovered places and people!
Introduction and Johnson’s Eatery