Her sapphire blue cloak billowed in the wind as the rain poured hard down her back. The night sky was filled with clouds so not a single star could be seen. She remembered a legend her father told her about how each star was a portal to another world, and she smiled. She could just hear his voice as he spoke of awesome worlds with castles in the sky and lake of fire, but that was a long time ago. Now she was grown and on her way to her own life. As she walked down the lonely cobblestone street she spied a tavern. She could hear music and dancing and the smell of spiced mead and potato stew filled her nostrils. Her stomach growled. With the storm, she knew once she'd stopped somewhere, she'd be in for the night.

"This cozy little inn didn't seem all that bad," she decided as she approached the door.

"Welcome to the Pig's Head lass," the bartender said in a gruff voice.

She smiled and said "Thank you sir. What have you to drink?"

"We got plenty o' mighty strong drink we have: Dwarfish whiskey, our own brand of ale, the best spiced mead in the land, or perhaps the young lady would like a taste o' the finest wine from ar pointy ear brethren."

"You serve elvish wine here?"

" 'course we serve it. It's excellent! Finest wine I've ever tasted."

"I just never expected a human to-" A drunken gnome stumbled into her aand her hood fell off. She quckly pulled it back on but not before the bartender saw her face.

"Ay lass, so tha's why yer so interested in elves. Yer one o' them."

"Damn! I was hoping I could go unnoticed." She stood up to leave, but Willy stopped her.

"O' corse I noticed! And ya'll be goin' nowhere. I got nothin' against yer kind. Ye be a mighty pretty elf as well. Oh don't go hidin' it now, race don't matter 'round these parts." He exclaimed as she tried to hide in her hood.

"I'm sorry. I just arrived in town and where I come from not everyone gets along with each other so I wasn't sure how my reception-"

"Nah to fret aboot lassie. Here in Trollton no one will be judgin' ya, especially not ol' Willy!"

"Well thank you mister Willy, and I'd like to try some of you Dwarfish whiskey if you don't mind."

"Aye, comin' right up. By the way, I don't think I caught yer name little miss."

"My name is Scarlet Glimfire."

"Well good ta meet ya Scarlet, and here's your whiskey." Willy hands her a shot of an amber liquid. She drank it. It was as smooth as butter and it warm her soaked body. "If ya have somethin' ta change into I can put your wet clothes by the fire. There's a room in the back fer privacy, Margret can show you. Margret!" Willy gestured to a busty barmaid across the room near the band. She pranced over to him and smiled at their newest guest.

"Hello miss, my name is Margret, but everyone but ol' Willy here calls me Maggy," she exclaimed in a squeaky voice. She extended her hand, which Scarlet took. Maggy shook it with such intense vigor that Scarlet almost fell off her stool.

"Hi, Maggy I'm Scarlet."

"Miss Scarlet 'ere would like to make use of our back room to change into somethin' a little more warm."

"O' corse! Right this way miss Scarlet." She gestured toward a door at the far end of the bar. Scarlet followed her to a staircase that lead down into what appeared to be their wine cellar, as it was filled to the roof with barrels and the scent of fermented grapes filled the air. "It's just back 'ere miss. Do you have your clothes?"

"Yes, they're in my backpack." She shrugged up on the strap.

"Yer whole life is in there isn't it?"

"How'd you know?"

"We get lots of yer kind in Trollton. Living out of a bag, travellin' from one place to another, never having a true home. Who would ever choose that life for themselves?"

"Some of us didn't choose it."

"Oh my! I'm so sorry. I thought you were an adventurer! I –"

"It's OK. Most people assume that about me, and I suppose in some respect that's true. All the battles I've been in were purely self-defense." "PlusI don't take anything off the bodies unless I need it," she added in her head. They stopped at a door at the far side of the cellar.

"Well 'ere you are. I'll be right out 'ere to take yer clothes when yer done."

"Thank you."

Scarlett pushed the door open and stepped into a small, dark room. After a few magical gestures and some words from an old, forgotten language and she conjured a flame in her hand. She saw a single candle on a stool and lit it. The room was filled with only three things: the stool, the candle, now shedding a shadowy glow on the small room, and a mirror. Thanks to her keen elvish eyes, the shadowy illumination was perfect for seeing her reflection, and she didn't like what she saw. For an elf, she had extra wide hips and breast that were uncommonly large. She was an elf, she was supposed to be slender and lithe, not busty and curvy. Her grandfather used to joke that she must have some human blood in her and that's why she had that figure. She continued looking at her reflection. One thing she did like was her face. Her almond shaped eyes had a slight slant and her iris was an emerald green. Her soft brown hair cascaded down her face and just past her shoulders. She always wanted it longer, past her waist, but travelling through the wilderness makes that impractical. While she was still looking in the mirror, there was a knock at the door and Maggy's voice came from the other side. "Scarlet are ya ok in thar?"

"I'm fine Maggy, just a minute." She pulled on her leaf green tunic and matching skirt that reached her ankles, this was the traditional dress for a druidic priestess in her homeland. When she stepped out of the room she found Maggy waiting to take her soaked clothes.

"What was takin' ya so long darlin'?"

"Nothing." Scarlet looked behind her at the mirror.

"Ah, admirin' that beautiful elvish physique?"

Scarlet scoffed. "Are you kidding? Look at me. My breasts are huge and my hips are-"

"Stop tha' right now! You're breasts are great, mine are way bigger than yours. Look, I don't know how elves like their women but here you're gorgeous!"

"You really think so?"

"You don't use your eyes do you? When you walked in I thought half the guys upstairs were going to pass out from all the blood that rushed from one head to another." Maggy winked and Scarlet smiled.

"Thanks Maggs."

"Maggs. I like that. Can I call you Scar?"

"Sure. Why not?" They both laughed. "So do you have a room available? I could really use I night in a bed."

"Oh yes! I'll even get Willy ta give a great deal on it." Scarlet smiled. This wasn't a normal evening, but it was a pleasant one, and if the town was half as welcoming as the two people she met tonight, she might just find a home here, at least for a few weeks.