Legends & Lattes

“Viv didn’t answer for a moment, but then she stared hard at him. ‘Things don’t have to stay as what they started out as.’ She folded the deed and tucked it into her satchel.”

When Ansom, the owner of a local livery, asks why Viv would purchase it to serve coffee, she quips back with this quote, showing that the idea of transformation is personal to her. This quote relates to the theme of Choosing to Change One’s Path and establishes the titular coffee shop as symbolic of Viv herself.

“You didn’t see hobs often in cities. Humans disparagingly called them ‘pucks’ and shunned them, so they liked to keep to themselves. Viv could relate, but she was more difficult to intimidate.”

Viv observes how hobs like Cal are treated differently by society because of their race. As an orc, she knows how it feels to be treated differently, but because of her stature, she is rarely confronted. This quote relates to the theme of Appearances and Misconceptions by illustrating specific prejudices in the novel’s fantasy world.

“Cal looked surprised. He sucked his teeth thoughtfully for a moment before saying, ‘I reckon you’ll not get the best prices if I’m the one dickering.’

‘Think it’ll go better if it’s me?’ Her smile was sardonic.”

Cal is surprised that Viv trusts him with her purse and reiterates that people do not trust hobs. Viv cares not, as she is also of a race that elicits mistrust. This quote develops the theme of Appearances and Misconceptions, as the pair finds common ground through being misunderstood.

“‘At least, do this. Put that sword of yours up there,’ he said. ‘If you’re gonna Show ‘em you got teeth, at least fix it so you can bite when you need to. Hm?’”

Cal uses figurative language to advise Viv to hang her sword, Blackblood, on a wall to intimidate the Madrigal’s people and give her quick access should she need it. This moment highlights the temptation of returning to old habits to solve problems. It also introduces Blackblood as a symbol of this temptation.

“She hooked a thumb at the greatsword on the wall. ‘This is what I know, what I’ve always known. I just want to know something else, now. To be something else. Everything I said was stupid. I, of all people, ought to know better than to assume anything based on what you were born as.’”

After Viv mistakenly asks Tandri about her needs as a succubus, she acknowledges it was wrong of her to make assumptions based on her race. She relates this mistake to her trying to change the violent person she’s always been. This quote relates to the themes of Choosing to Change One’s Path and Appearances and Misconceptions.

“In Viv’s experience, most of the nonmartial folk she met stepped carefully in her presence, as though cringing from a blow that would never come. She enjoyed the succubus’s frank disposition. Cal had an entirely different species of that bluntness. She wondered again about the Scalvert’s Stone, and what it promised to draw to her.”

Viv begins to link her fortune in attracting kindred spirits to the Scalvert’s Stone, as she quickly befriended Tandri and Cal. This quote foreshadows the true nature of the Stone as it does bring similar people together, making it a motif for The Value of Keeping the Right Company.

“‘Before, you could have picked it up and swung it at any moment,’ said Tandri. ‘It was a weapon.’ She gave Viv a thoughtful look. ‘Now, it’s a relic. A decoration. Something from before.’”

Tandri’s assessment of Blackblood highlights a key difference between her and Viv. To her, the sword is nothing more than a decoration, but to Viv, it’s a ticket to her old life—a temptation. This quote marks the beginning of the pair’s close relationship, with Tandri providing positive reinforcement of Viv’s new life.

“She thought about the thumps on the roof tiles and Laney’s pilfered cake. She thought about the lines of verse and the Scalvert’s Stone.”

After the arrival of Amity the dire-cat, who regards Viv and Tandri with warmth (and whom the women name), Viv thinks about the Scalvert’s Stone. She begins to associate those attracted to the shop with the Stone, foreshadowing its true nature and reinforcing the theme of The Value of Keeping the Right Company.

“Kellin stared at her hard for a moment, a sneer developing. ‘I don’t guess you’ve met the Madrigal, yet. At some point, everybody around here serves them. Which means that sooner or later, you’re going to be paying your dues to me.’”

Like Lack, Kellin reveals his ties to the Madrigal, exacerbating Viv and Tandri’s situation, as they want nothing to do with the two. Viv is already determined to defy the Madrigal, but Kellin is of personal annoyance to Tandri, as she was harassed by him at Ackers.

“‘Just feels like everything lined up. I had the same feeling a few times before—like when I found Blackblood.’ Viv tipped her head toward the blade on the wall. ‘She just felt at home in my hands, and when I went to use her, well…’ Realizing where that story went, she stopped short. ‘Anyway, this feels…right.’”

In this quote, Viv associates her happiness at the coffee shop’s success with her discovery of Blackblood. By creating a parallel between her old life and new life, she highlights the changes she’s made since leaving her party. Her story about Blackblood is out of place in her new life, so she chooses not to finish it.

“What they want to take from you…the reason it’s so…untenable. It’s because they’d be taking everything you have. I’m just saying that…maybe, if you treated the rest of your life the same way you do the shop—invested in it the same way—then the cost would seem less.”

This quote occurs shortly after Tandri observes Viv’s loft, where she sleeps with no bed. As the threat of the Madrigal heightens, she worries that Viv has made the shop her everything and advises working on her personal life so she’s not left with nothing should something happen to the shop. This foreshadows the shop burning down and Viv prioritizing her relationship with Tandri.

“‘Here’s the thing. I was hoping that…the threat of me would be enough. I even hung Blackblood on the wall as, I don’t know, a sort of warning. I don’t want to deal with this the way that the old Viv would have, because…because…’ She struggled to articulate it.

‘Because if she does, it ruins everything,’ said Tandri, joining the conversation.”

In this quote, Viv attempts to explain why she’s reluctant to use Blackblood the way she might have in the past. Tandri, who has gotten close to Viv and learned about her past and present dreams, inserts herself in the conversation between Viv and her former party to clarify this explanation. This quote shows Tandri’s understanding of Viv’s decision to change her life. It also develops the theme of Choosing to Change One’s Path and Blackblood as a symbol of Viv’s temptation to return to her past.

“The morning was calm and easy, and she allowed herself not to think about the Madrigal or the end of the month or how it would feel to take Blackblood in hand and cut any brewing problems off at the knee.”

This quote illustrates Viv’s temptation to use Blackblood against the Madrigal, despite her desire not to. This develops her inner conflict between who she was and who she wants to be—the theme of Choosing to Change One’s Path. While violence would be easiest, this instinct plays into stereotypes surrounding Viv’s race, her warrior past, and she would rather be recognized for who she is now.

“But we’ve both journeyed between extremes of expectation. I’ve simply traveled in the opposite direction. I feel a certain kinship with that sort of ambition.”

The Madrigal, an elegant, elderly woman with an adventurer past, sees kinship in Viv. While she is an unassuming woman running a threatening empire, Viv looks intimidating but runs a coffee shop. These parallels help them find common ground and resolve their dispute—reinforcing the theme of Choosing to Change One’s Path.

“I thought, a university? That’s a place where ideas are challenged. Where what you do matters, not where you came from, or what you came from. A place where logic and math and science would prove that I’m more than what I was born to. But it seems I take that with me wherever I go.”

Here, Tandri explains why she attended Ackers. She feels self-conscious of the stereotypes associated with succubi, as they follow her no matter where she goes or what she does. This quote relates to the themes of Appearances and Misconceptions and Choosing to Change One’s Path by showing Tandri’s decision to challenge ideas about what a succubus can be.

“The shop, Tandri, Thimble, Cal…and now Amity. The way each week seemed to flower into the next, budding into fulfillment of a heretofore unknown need? Up ‘til this moment, speculation over whether her fortune was due to the Scalvert’s Stone had been almost academic.”

This quote continues to link Viv’s new friends to the Scalvert’s Stone—and takes place as the threat of Viv losing the Stone to former party member Fennus grows. It foreshadows the Stone’s true nature by highlighting the company drawn to Viv, mostly through her own kindness, and develops the theme of The Value of Keeping the Right Company.

“‘Hmm. Well, people tend not to notice what’s in front of them until it nearly knocks them down.’

Viv was about to reply with an offhanded quip, but something about Tandri’s expression made her reevaluate.”

While discussing Pendry’s obliviousness to his admirer, Tandri makes her own observation. This quote hints at her deeper feelings for Viv, and Viv picks up on the presence of subtext—as she, too, harbors affection for her assistant.

“She squeezed Tandri’s hand back. ‘At least we didn’t lose everything.’”

As the coffee shop burns down, Viv and Tandri hold hands for the first time and Viv relays this quote. This quote calls back to Tandri’s suggestion that Viv work on her personal life (Important Quote #12). Here, Viv takes this advice and finally voices her affection for her assistant.

“Viv held the sword in both hands, head bowed. She’d forsworn her old life, crossing a bridge to a new land, and now knelt in its ruin. This was the bridge burning away behind her, leaving her in a desolation.”

As Viv finds the cracked, warped remains of Blackblood among the shop’s ashes, she realizes the only bridge linking her to her old life is now gone. This quote uses metaphor to illustrate the loss of her past, putting Blackblood’s symbolism to rest.

“She reflected that if the Scalvert’s Stone had drawn something to this place, it might still be there.”

After losing the Scalvert’s Stone to Fennus, Viv doubts she’ll be able to rebuild Legends & Lattes. However, with the aid of allies and friends, the shop is rebuilt better than before. This quote develops the Stone as a motif and the theme of The Value of Keeping the Right Company by showing these volunteers’ loyalty.

“The old song was a bit misleading. The Stones never granted fortune but they were…gathering points, you might say. You’d find a few who know it, these days, but the ‘ring of fortune’ is an old sea-fey phrase. It means…a destined cadre, I suppose. Individuals brought together, like to like.”

In this quote, Durias, the chess-playing gnome, explains the true meaning behind Viv’s rhyme (Important Quote #1): The Scalvert’s Stone attracts “like to like,” rather than fortune. This revelation transforms the Stone from a symbol of Viv’s dreams, which she believes are ruined in the Stone’s absence, to a collective symbol, a motif for The Value of Keeping the Right Company. Being kind, Viv attracts kind company, who stick around even when the Stone is gone.

“‘I was just thinking that you don’t have to forget who you were…because that’s what brought you here.’ Viv ran a finger over Blackblood’s new incarnation, cut down to an icon of her former self.”

In this quote, Tandri explains her reasoning behind mounting the remains of Blackblood to the new sign for the coffee shop. Viv appreciates the new incarnation of Blackblood as a representation of her past, a non-weapon symbolizing her letting go of temptation—thus wrapping up the theme of Choosing to Change One’s Path.

“It was easy to see how one might mistake her nature for something purely sensual, how one might glean only what they most desired from that densely twined rush of feeling.”

Viv feels Tandri’s happy, warm aura and acknowledges that there are those who would misjudge her nature. This quote relates to the theme of Appearances and Misconceptions by showing Viv’s acknowledgement of Tandri as more than just a succubus—she is her assistant, her friend, the woman she loves.