Delacroix's Tomes and Treasures
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| Delacroix's Tomes and Treasures | |
|---|---|
| Type | Occult bookshop |
| Location | Main Street, Verdant, Connecticut |
| Founded | 1890s |
| Owner | Margot Delacroix |
| Notable residents | |
| First appearance | Comply |
About
Delacroix's Tomes and Treasures is an occult bookshop on Main Street in Verdant, Connecticut. It is the oldest establishment on Main Street and has been in the Delacroix family for generations. The shop serves simultaneously as a legitimate occult retail business and as a front for the storage, acquisition, and occasional sale of genuinely dangerous artifacts connected to the supernatural history of Verdant.
The shop
Delacroix's Tomes and Treasures stocks occult texts, grimoires, curiosities, and esoteric goods. It draws a steady clientele from both the town and Eastern Tsuga College — students curious about the occult, faculty with research interests, and a smaller circle of initiated customers who know what the shop really holds.
The shop's public-facing inventory is curated carefully. What sits on the shelves is interesting. What sits in the back is dangerous.
The Delacroix line
The shop has passed through generations of the Delacroix family, each generation inheriting not just the business but the responsibility of guardianship over the artifacts connected to The Hemlock Veil and the broader occult history of Verdant. The current owner, Margot Delacroix (b. 1976), is a legacy member of House Subconium and one of the most knowledgeable living figures in Verdant's occult community.
Previous generations include:
- Eloise Delacroix — Margot's mother; retained documents she did not share with the Historical Society
- An unnamed grandmother (~1897–1969) — Order of the Hemlock operative; used The Anklet of Inevitable Accord to kill Elias Roarke in 1929
Known artifacts
Delacroix's Tomes and Treasures has served as a repository for some of the most significant supernatural objects in the Subconium Shared Universe. The full inventory of artifacts held or previously held by the shop has not been established in canon.
A written-compulsion artifact. Slips drawn from the jar bind the drawer to obey the directive written inside. Effects can stack, conflict, and become permanent over time. The jar shares a magical origin with The Anklet of Inevitable Accord but operates differently. It was sold unknowingly by a shop employee named Maggie in 2023 — Maggie was unaware of the jar's nature or significance and was, according to canon, compelled by the jar itself to complete the sale. Its current whereabouts are unknown.
A targeted curse artifact that compels truth-telling and compliance with requests in its wearer. Unlike The Hemlock Veil, whose effects are ambient and unconscious, the Anklet's effects are personal and the wearer is aware of being compelled. The Anklet has been in the Delacroix family for generations — an unnamed Delacroix grandmother used it to kill Elias Roarke in 1929. In Comply, Margot Delacroix places it on protagonist Haley Wegner.
Referenced in canon but their function and lore have not been established. Their connection to the shop has not been confirmed but they are believed to be among the artifacts the Delacroix line has historically guarded.
Relationship to House Subconium
Delacroix's Tomes and Treasures and House Subconium are deeply intertwined. The shop has historically served as a staging point for artifacts that House Subconium monitors or safeguards. Margot Delacroix's dual role as shop owner and House Subconium legacy member means the two institutions operate in close coordination, though the exact nature of that coordination has not been fully established in canon.
Relationship to Comply
In Comply, Margot Delacroix uses the shop and its resources as part of her campaign against protagonist Haley Wegner. The shop is the base of operations from which Margot exercises her influence over Haley through The Anklet of Inevitable Accord.
Canon notes
- The shop's founding date has not been precisely established — 1890s is the approximate period
- Maggie's full name and background have not been established in canon
- The current whereabouts of the Darewright Jar after its sale are unknown
- The full inventory of artifacts held or previously held by the shop has not been established