Chapter 9: 9. Kaffe and Skhei Rolls

An excerpt from Mkxhikhe’s ‘Silupker Anatomy: An Overview Of Irregularity.’

“It would be misleading to say that all silupker are entirely unique. While it is true that all beings are unique in some way or another, and that we are all better for this fact, most living creatures possess at least passing resemblance to their kin—the silupker are no different.

“Between us, our earthenware bodies are our most distinctive feature. We do not possess the same kinds of internal workings as our fleshy compatriots and the magic that keeps us alive is a mystery beyond our current understanding. As there are only so many viable body-plans, there are only so many ways a silupker can exist—yet we still have such a formidable array of forms. It is said that the ancient Stone Giant of Hkxuhkxu was a silupker of uncommon size, though no certain proof exists at this stage. What is most curious, however, is the recent surge in newly formed silupker—just who is making more of us, and why now?”

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According to a charming wooden sign by the wayside, the town they had entered was called Neidaruma. It was a fairly simple little place, likely a farming village that grew over time into its own community. It was also an example of how slow the spread of technology could be in such a spread-out land, with barely a whiff of magic in sight. 

In her youth, the mage herself had travelled further in towards Aulpre’s centre, right to the capital of Sumadre, where she herself learned to do magic. One thing that she had mentally associated with the state of a town’s modernity was magically-lit street lamps. Sumadre was shining and bright at any time of day or night, and even Ulumaya’s main streets were carefully lit. Neidaruma didn’t have a singular lamp and it was starting to get dark.

“Chime, bring us up to that plaza. I think there’s an inn there.” The captain’s bellowing voice was audible even from right up front, and the odd echoing reply from the silupker travelled through their body. 

Even as Chime slowed their pace, there were still surprised people poking their heads out of windows, marvelling at the speed with which the enormous millipede snaked its way down the road. Yenna saw an even mix of kesh and yolm, with a smattering of a few of the less common races¹. This wasn’t exactly unusual, being rather representative of Aulpre’s diversity—if anything, her hometown’s concentration of kesh was the outlier.

Suspecting that she wouldn’t find what she was looking for here, Yenna was more than content to remain with Chime. However, Jiin and Mayi had other plans.

“C’mon, let’s go see if we can get somethin’ to eat!” The bubbly yolm practically tugged on Yenna’s arm, and her strength demanded that the mage comply. “I’ve never been this far south, and I’m starvin’!”

“She always gets excited around meal times. I guess you’re eating for two today?” Mayi gave a teasing prod into Jiin’s side, and as Jiin turned to tickle her friend right back, Yenna saw her chance to escape. Unfortunately, the pair were rather more vigilant than she gave them credit for and Yenna was caught in the attempt.

“How’s about this one?” Despite the town’s small size, Jiin had still managed to find a couple different places to eat. The one in question was a fairly standard pub, and the sound of boisterous locals could be heard from even on the street. Mayi seemed to sense Yenna’s discomfort.

“Haven’t you always wanted to try traditional kesh fare?” Mayi gestured to a place further down the road, and both Jiin and Yenna cringed a little.

“Kesh traditional’s all greens an’ thin soups! There ain’t no meat, an’ there ain’t nothin’ to chew on!”² Jiin’s complaints were quite vigorous, but she stopped herself and looked back at Yenna, aghast. “U-Uhm! N-Not that there’s anythin’ wrong with it, I just don’t, erm, care fer it meself—”

“It’s alright, it’s alright!” Yenna couldn’t help but laugh. “Frankly, I can’t stand the stuff either. Takes too long to eat, and barely any flavour. I’ve always liked trying new food, just…not in places that are quite so loud.”

Giving a side-eye to the noisy pub, the mage looked around for an alternative. What she managed to spy was a small, almost hidden shop, tucked in the shadow between two buildings. An ornate lamp out the front flickered with a blue flame in the waning afternoon light, and the window in the front was painted with almost illegibly fancy writing, reading ‘Lumale’s’. Yenna could smell a wonderful scent wafting from the tiny little restaurant that carried with it a wave of nostalgia—it smelled just like a rather trendy Sumadrean drink. But what was someone doing serving such a thing in a small town like Neidaruma?

“Something catch your eye? Perhaps your nose?” Mayi’s tone was borderline teasing, and Yenna realised she had been quite flagrantly sniffing the air. Hiding a blush by turning away, the mage nodded.

“If I’m right, there might be quite the treat in that little store.”

Without further ado the group entered, a tinkling bell announcing their arrival. It was a quaint little place, and evidently not the most popular—it was empty, save for a silupker behind the counter. They seemed to be built like a kesh, with a quadrupedal lower half culminating in a humanoid upper half. Where their face would be the silupker wore a veil, though they also wore the rather sophisticated clothes of a high-end restaurant waitress. Yenna was surprised on many accounts, not least being that a silupker was working in a cafe. If it weren’t for the siren song of nostalgia-inducing treats, Yenna might have been rather suspicious of this out-of-place shop.

No sooner had the trio crossed the threshold of the store did the silupker come trotting towards them. With a friendly series of sounds very reminiscent of the shop bell that had announced their arrival, they ushered the group to one of the empty tables. Yenna parked herself on a tall cushion, while Jiin and Mayi took padded stools.

“Thank you for coming. What may I get you?” Everyone jumped slightly as the silupker spoke, her voice high-pitched and melodic, if a bit echoey. “My apologies for the fright. Didn’t expect to hear me speak, did you?”

Yenna took a menu from the silupker’s hands and passed it over to Jiin, suddenly rather more interested in the person before her.

“I can’t say I was. My name is Yenna Bookbinder—I’m a mage from Ulumaya.”

“Oh, I think Neidaruma’s lost a few farmhands to the siren song of becoming a mage in Ulumaya.” She chuckled rather darkly, and Yenna could have sworn the silupker’s body language had subtly shifted. “I’m Lumale. I suppose your next question will be, ‘How do you speak?’”

If Jiin and Mayi hadn’t been so engrossed in the menu, Yenna might have died from embarassment from being called out like that. “I…well, if that’s alright, I was quite curious to know.”

“No harm in it, mage. I’m quite proud of it, actually. How about we talk as you eat? Your other question is, I’d like to guess, ‘Why is a silupker selling food?’ The answer to that is rather more simple—I think it’s quite fun, and I enjoy seeing people enjoy my cooking.”

Yenna honestly found herself at a loss for words—Lumale’s pace was too much for her to keep up. With a nervous chuckle and a nod, she buried herself in the menu, suddenly aware that Jiin and Mayi had already finished looking and were waiting to hear what the apparently cosmopolitan mage was going to order. The listings themselves were more typical of a light snack rather than a meal—a possible reason for the lack of people in the store, given it was nearing dinner time—but they also stuck out to Yenna as being almost exactly like a place she frequented while studying in Sumadre.

“I’ll have…a mug of sweetened kaffe, and a stuffed skhei roll.” The words rolled off Yenna’s lips as she gave her order—felt like being back at university. It wasn’t exactly dinner fare, but Yenna had always been an advocate of a big lunch to keep going through the day. Mayi and Jiin didn’t have a clue what kaffe was, and decided to get some for themselves. Lumale gave a nod and promised to be back shortly, leaving the group to themselves.

“I’ve got the most uncanny feeling being in here,” Yenna thought aloud, “Like, this place feels a bit too conveniently nice. That Lumale, too…”

“Hm? What d’ya mean?” Jiin looked up from the menu, having been trying to pronounce a few of the stranger items.

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“A-Ah, never mind. I’m just talking to myself, that's all.”

A nagging suspicion prodded at the back of Yenna’s mind—There was something off about this place. The mage called up her magical sight spell, seeing no obvious signs of magical manipulation in the air. Yenna frowned—that just doesn’t line up! Lumale must have used a spell to speak aloud, but there’s no sign of it.

An idea formed in the back of Yenna’s mind, and with nothing to do but wait for their host to return with food the mage felt that she may as well try it. Yenna made a few gestures to once again produce the magical sight spell, this time with a small difference. Instead of peering directly into the realm of magic, the lens allowed her to look back out of that place and back into reality.

It wasn’t a terribly useful spell, most of the time. In fact, it wasn’t formally a spell at all—just an inkling of an idea Yenna had considered, and never had much opportunity to test. Altering the gestures to realign the magical lens wasn’t a difficult prospect for an accomplished mage, but the lack of places to test its effectiveness made troubleshooting difficult. Yenna was attempting to look past illusions—ones sophisticated enough to mask even the flow of magic.

Holding her thumb and forefinger in their usual ring shape for this kind of spell, she carefully inspected Jiin.

“Is something wrong, Yenna?” Mayi butted her way in, almost pushing Jiin out of the way with a bit of a smirk. “Someone might get annoyed if you’re staring too closely.”

“I’m just calibrating this spell. Jiin’s currently unusual nature is something I’ve spent a lot of time looking at, so it makes for a good reference.” Yenna fiddled with a ring on her forefinger, the flickering light of magic in her hand subtly changing colour. Just as Mayi was about to continue teasing Yenna for her apparent appreciation of Jiin, Yenna gave a sudden, “Aha! There.”

Through the spell, Yenna could see a kind of double over Jiin—the yolm herself, and a vague shape that the mage assumed must be Demvya’s form. She turned the circle to inspect Mayi, which seemed to quietly bother Jiin, but Yenna didn’t see anything there. What did catch her gaze were the walls behind them both. To her eyes, they were nicely painted a classy off-white with a black pinstripe—through the spell, they were bare, old boards of wood. The carpeted floor was similarly wooden, and even the window was entirely replaced with a wall in the sight through the spell.

“This is quite an elaborate illusion.” Yenna reached a hand to a wall nearby and ran her hand down it. Partly expecting to get splinters, instead she felt the smoothness of the wall as it appeared to be. Her fingertips were untouched. “It’s entirely tangible, too.”

“I should’ve guessed a mage would clue into it so quickly,” Lumale’s lilting voice surprised Yenna. “Yes, this room is rather my masterpiece.”

Yenna turned her gaze and seeing spell towards the silupker, only to see that they were exactly as they seemed to be—except for the clothing, which seemed to be a kind of green silken robe that covered her entire lower half. Even the tray of food in her hand was real, no mere illusion. The smell alone certainly felt far too realistic to be faked.

“I suppose your next question would be, ‘Why did you make this fake cafe,’ no?” Yenna could almost hear a smirk in Lumale’s voice. She put down the tray of food on the table and began distributing everyone’s meals. The fragrant, slightly-sweet, slightly-bitter smell of kaffe³ filled the room, and the skhei rolls⁴ looked mouthwatering. Yenna still gave them a cautious once-over with her spell before releasing it, and was satisfied to find that there wasn’t a hint of illusion here. It was just the room itself, mostly.

“That does seem an obvious question, doesn’t it?” Yenna took a sip of her kaffe, feeling its warmth flow through her. It tasted nice—not the best she had ever had, but it was pretty good for a person who she assumed could never taste-test their own cooking. “Why go to all the trouble? An illusion this real is quite the thing to be used for something so mundane.”

“A narrow-minded thought befitting a mage.” Lumale’s voice was sweet and charming, but there was something slightly threatening about her intonation. “Magic doesn’t have to serve some grander purpose. Sometimes you can just have a bit of fun with it. Enjoying your meals, ladies?”

Suddenly returned to her sweet show of a friendly cafe owner, Lumale turned her head over towards Jiin and Mayi. Both rather eagerly stuffed their faces, feelings of contentment radiating from them.

“S’good.” Jiin spoke around a mouthful of cheese, and Mayi gave her a gentle smack on the shoulder. Jiin sheepishly covered her mouth and went to apologise aloud, before thinking better of it.

“What did you mean by–”

“‘Fun’, right?” Lumale cut Yenna off. “When you are as old as I, you do your best to keep your mind sharp, by finding enjoyment in what you do.”

Lumale stopped and thought for a moment before continuing, as though she had made up her mind about something important.

“Did you know that, if one is very careful, a silupker can live for a very long time? I came to be long before mages called themselves mages. I come from a time of witches.”

“Wait, witches?” Mayi wiped something off the corner of her mouth in a hurry. “I thought witches were just made up stories to scare kids.”

“You won’t find many in this time. The mages saw to that. Perhaps your mage could enlighten us?” The way Lumale pointed at Yenna, how everyone’s eyes turned to her, gave Yenna a shiver. What she had heard about the history of how mages took that name wasn’t exactly a pleasant one—in the midst of thinking how to explain it, the shop bell chimed its pleasant little chime, and the door swung open. In the doorway stood a small yolm, and the mage couldn’t help but express her surprise.

“Tirk? What are you doing here?”

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¹ - Unlike most worlds where evolution pressures things towards a singular form and causes the extinction of other sentient races (either directly, through the actions of said race, or through sheer weight of competition pressure), Yenna’s world is a vibrant hodgepodge of odd creatures, half-breeds and oddities. It is not exactly clear why, though there are many different theories. In brief, it means Yenna will meet a lot of kinds of people she has no distinct name for—without asking at least.

² - Jiin isn’t far off the mark. Even at the time, it was a cuisine that was falling out of favour. An entirely vegetarian fare, it consists largely of leaves that are supposed to be chewed for quite some time, and thin broths or soups made from crushed plant matter. Having tried it myself, dear reader, I can say that very little can compare to the underwhelming nature of the kesh traditional meal.

³ - It’s just coffee. The plant in that world is slightly different, growing long pods that are scraped for beans, but for all intents and purposes, it’s coffee. 

⁴ - These are small loaves of bread that have been cut open and stuffed with various ingredients, typically a mix of chilled meats, cheeses and salad vegetables. The loaves themselves are often warm, causing an interesting mix of temperatures when bitten into. Popular with students and busy people, as they are quite quick and easy to eat even one-handed.

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