Story Entry 4 - Spice Shelf

With an affinity toward concocting brews and potions, developing cutting-edge spells, and honing his culinary talents, Alti spent much of his free time in his modest kitchen. Tonight would be a first for him - he would host a mixed group that consisted of both humans and Suvians like himself. This event was especially tricky to navigate, because the humans coming were unaware their host was not human, let alone a species that originated from the depths of the earth, and more so because he would not be in disguise this evening. All of those sticky details had been avoided in the past with a clever spell that permitted Alti to visibly blend in with other humans, but he was going to try something different this time since he had recently acquired a favorable amount of the hallucinogenic mushroom Galerina Ateglichi. Although these fungi have very little hallucinogenic effects on Suvians, they are quite effective for humans.  

In a few hours, Alti would be dealing with the disastrous effects of his failed party attempt, but for now he was a dervish in the kitchen; creating a variety of delicious and quite literally, magical finger-foods. Because all of his human guests were lactose intolerant, Alti could specially design the dairy laden hors d’oeuvres for his Suvian guests. His spice shelves would need a restock when this event was over, but for now all he could think of was how he wanted to create a memorable evening that would have people talking about how spectacular the event was. 

The plan was that the human guests (which he had met at other events while in disguise), would receive their first morsel of food (that would contain the Galerina Ateglichi mushroom), at the front steps before they even entered the house. The hired help (who was human) would give the  mushroom crostini to everyone as they entered and by the time they reached the end of the hall, they would be under its psychedelic effects before they met any of the Suvian guests, which were due to arrive fifteen minutes later. 
Surprisingly, all of that coordination went well. All of the guests had been informed that the event would be a psychedelic experience and indeed it was. Some people saw the Suvian’s in their true form, some saw walls talking, and others saw drinks drinking back, but everyone rolled with it. Conversation turned to laughing, laughing turned to dancing, and dancing turned to exploring the outlandish visions.

In truth, some of the food had actual magical properties, which only pushed the hallucinations into even more extreme directions, but no-one cared. It was all a great trip. 
Pickled Parisian pear pockets (they would change colors and sparkle).
Lumenicent leek dumplings (they glow in the dark and give you clairvoyance for 30 seconds).
Airy hazelnut-rosemary brittle (you become translucent for fifteen seconds after eating them).

One thing Alti failed to consider, was that under the influence of the mushrooms, and other magical confections, his human guests ended up throwing their dietary restrictions to the wind and ate from the trays that were meant for the Suvians. All the human guests were lactose intolerant so Alti felt it would be safe to add arsenic, (an ingredient Suvians needed for survival but also found to be delicious), to the finger-food that was labeled with dairy.
A few hours in, the human guests began to collapse and perish in an ugly and swift death. Alti was horrified and not a single spell in his creative little head could bring them back to life. In a short amount of time he went from having the most successful mixed party a Suvian ever had, to the biggest disaster one could imagine. The triplets giggled and slipped out the front door while Augen continued to play with a ghost pepper popover that was floating around the room. The council mumbled to each other attempting to construct a plan of disposing the bodies. In a fog, Alti wandered past befuddled guests and back to his modest kitchen where Laloux had collected empty plates and glasses. With a tear in his eye, he sat on an empty stool and stared at the spice shelves. He would have to restock soon he thought, and maybe he would avoid a mixed party in the future.

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