Legends & Lattes

Thimble presents Viv with a new list the following morning. She trusts him, so she goes to fetch the items while he stays behind and bakes. She returns to one of the residences that supplies cardamom, and the elderly owner says Thimble is a genius. Back at the shop, Thimble is happy to have new supplies. He packs them in the pantry until the demand for rolls slows. Viv and Tandri speculate about what he’s making.

Thimble presents Viv and Tandri with a biscotti-like treat. Viv is skeptical but recalls what the elderly owner said about Thimble’s talent. Before the women take a tentative first bite, Thimble instructs them to eat the treat with coffee. When they dip the pieces in latte, both women agree the treat is delicious. Tandri realizes the treats will keep overnight and be easier to stock when the cinnamon rolls run out. She adds them to the menu, naming them “Thimblets” after their creator. The Thimblets don’t sell as fast as the rolls, but customers steadily try them throughout the day.

Cal returns with a schematic for a gnomish ventilation device. The auto-circulator can be installed in the stovepipe to keep air moving through the shop. It will be expensive and require Viv’s help installing it for a day; thus, the shop will have to be closed. Viv agrees it’s worthwhile, joking about using the money she won’t be paying the Madrigal. Cal glares in response. He returns later in the week with parts for the auto-circulator. He and Viv spend most of the day laboring over the renovation. When they’re done, Cal turns on the stove to demonstrate how the hot air moves the fan.

The fan works wonders, and Viv is relieved her customers aren’t too put off by the one-day closure of the shop. She’s beginning to feel like the shop is both hers and Tandri’s. Soon, Pendry the bard returns. He’s nervous, but Viv can tell he wants another chance to play. She encourages him to try again. Pendry promises to play something more traditional, but Viv explains his last attempt wasn’t bad, just unexpected. He returns to the dining area and plays a gentle ballad on a traditional lute. The music is a welcome addition to the shop, and he sings an original song with an angelic voice, surprising Viv and Tandri. Viv is glad she trusted the Scalvert’s Stone.

Hemington returns that afternoon and asks Viv for a favor, offering to buy one of everything. She insists he buy a Thimblet. He asks if he can set up a ward around the shop to test its reaction to the thaumic ley lines. Viv is suspicious of the ward, but Hemington assures her that she won’t notice anything. Tandri asks specific questions because she knows about wards. Hemington’s ward would be a simple tracking spell to detect movement. Viv trusts Tandri’s judgment, but worries as she doesn’t know about the Scalvert’s Stone. In the end, she gives Hemington permission to set up the tracking spell. By the time they’re done talking, he has finished his Thimblet.

Eventually, Lack and Kellin show up with a hoard of the Madrigal’s people. Lack stresses how important it is that he get the Madrigal’s fee at the end of the month. He attempts to keep his threats cryptic, but Kellin jokes about the shop burning down, to Lack’s distaste. Before leaving, Lack reminds Viv that she has one more week. That evening, Tandri catches Viv in her loft, examining the Blink Stone from Roon. She is surprised that Viv doesn’t have books or a proper bed. She encourages Viv to think about herself and her life outside of the shop, so if something were to happen to the shop, Viv wouldn’t feel as though she’s lost everything. After Tandri leaves, Viv puts the Blink Stone in the flames of the stove.

A few days later, Viv’s former party, bar Fennus, arrives. She closes up early, but Tandri insists on staying around for the reunion. Viv introduces Tandri to her friends: Roon, a dwarf; Gallina, a gnome; and Taivus, a stone-fey. She serves everyone coffee and pastries. She apologizes to Gallina and Taivus for leaving the party the way she did. However, Viv’s friends are proud of what she’s established in Thune. Roon then asks why Viv summoned them using the Blink Stone. She explains her situation with the Madrigal and while Gallina is eager to kill, Viv doesn’t want to use her sword to solve problems anymore. Tandri adds that resorting to violence would ruin Viv’s reputation as a coffee shop owner. Gallina doesn’t see anything wrong with this, but Tandri stresses that Viv has a new life in Thune. Tandri thinks Viv should pay the Madrigal. Viv admits she invited her party as a show of force, but Tandri insists this is the same tactic as using the sword on the wall.

Taivus speaks up, as he knows the Madrigal and wants to arrange a meeting between Viv and them. He’s bound to not reveal much, but promises to see if something can be arranged; he believes they have some things in common. Gallina still advocates for violence, and Tandri reiterates simply paying the fee. Viv admits hanging onto her principle is important to her because it’s the last shred of who she was. The party spends the rest of the evening catching up.

After the party leaves, Tandri apologizes to Viv for stepping out of line to defend her new principles. Viv admits she wants to work on being who Tandri believes she is. They say goodnight.

The next morning, Viv worries there will be tension between her and Tandri, but things are easy and warm. She tries not to think about the Madrigal and the violence she could pursue. The chess-playing gnome returns. While serving him his latte, Viv casually asks if he’s waiting for someone, but he replies that he isn’t. Amity curls up under the gnome’s table.

Viv asks Pendry if he’s considered putting out a hat or box for coins, but he is uncertain. She asks about his earlier music, and he explains he was experimenting. She asks if he has always been a bard, noticing his weathered fingers. Pendry admits his family business is different. Viv encourages him to continue to pursue music and suggests he bring the other lute sometime.

Cal and Gallina stop by, the latter hoping to spend time with Viv before the party leaves town. Tandri takes over, so Viv can have the afternoon off. During lunch, Gallina reiterates that Viv should use violence against the Madrigal, but Viv turns down her knives. She sends Gallina on her way with what’s left of the day’s cinnamon rolls. Before leaving, Gallina warns her to be wary of Fennus, saying he’s been acting strange lately.

While Viv and Tandri close the shop, Tandri expresses concern over Viv’s meeting. Viv says she declined Gallina’s offer of knives. Tandri explains that, as a succubus, she can sense intentions, emotions, and the presence of secrets. She knows Viv has a secret and is worried it will make her situation more dangerous. Viv thinks about the Scalvert’s Stone, but assumes the Madrigal doesn’t know she has it, as its lore is obscure. She voices such to Tandri without naming the Stone. She then offers to walk Tandri home to keep her safe from Kellin; Tandri accepts. Afterward, Viv walks around town.

Laney comes by regularly for cinnamon rolls, and wants to swap recipes with Thimble. She says she’s happy to see Viv settled in with a partner. Taivus arrives and passes her a note with a time and place for her meeting with the Madrigal. She is to go alone and unarmed. Tandri doesn’t like that Viv will be alone, but Viv remains calm. She sends Tandri home with the shop’s spare keys.

Lack fetches Viv from the meeting location and makes her wear a hood while he guides her to the Madrigal. The Madrigal’s chambers are ornate and she herself is a tall, elderly woman. She suggests Viv take a seat and admits she already knows a bit about her. She asks if Taivus told Viv how he knew her; he didn’t, and the Madrigal doesn’t elaborate. The Madrigal says she and Viv have another mutual acquaintance: Fennus. Fennus informed her of the Scalvert’s Stone, but she doesn’t want to bend to his whim, so she invited Viv to discuss things. She knows of the Scalvert’s Stone, but is uncertain of its utility, so she doesn’t intend to take it from Viv. Still, The Madrigal acknowledges it has brought fortune to Viv in the form of the shop’s success. She, too, is a former adventurer who changed her path, so she offers Viv a deal.