The fifth member revealed as well as some of Carliin's and Zen'Jithil's past as well.
Orggrimar was better then Undercity but still overall a place Carliin really didn't want to go. It was hot,filled with sweaty people in armor, had large scowling sweaty orc guards...and more trolls crawling about then Zul'Frrak the only difference was she couldn't blast these trolls into the next life!
The warlock hunkered down in her seat, or rather her pelt of animal fur, next to Calhoun watching people come and go from the inn, a few of them approaching their little pow wow for the interview. For some reason beyond her, they had some sort of reputation of being rich. Perhaps Calhoun was loaded and had more connections then any man alive or dead. Sometimes she wondered if he was some sort of crime boss!
What would that make her though? The Trashgirl? She sighed and swirled her drink moodily watching idly as Cromwell gurgled down alcohol one after the other wondering if he still had a stomach to put it all or if when he stood up he would be standing in a puddle of booze.
"So anyone catch your fancy?" she drawled, "The one armed warrior, the old gray bearded hunter with a pet nearly as ancient as him, the troll mage female that Zen'Jithil gawked at for hours keeping a firm lock on her breast size,"
Calhoun let out a sigh," Carliin stop being sarcastic. I know the choices haven't been very good except the mage and that blood elf paladin."
She stiffened glaring at him," You hire that healadin and I'll will set you on fire with my wand and beat your head in against a rock until you are as retarded as Cromwell!" She hissed angrily.
Cromwell snickered," Retarded heh,"
The priest shook his head and might've rolled his eyes if the gesture was even visible under his eye covering, "I wasn't even thinking about it Carliin. Too preachy about the light anyways..."
"That be one thing we are agreeing on mon," Zen'Jithil said, "besides he was glaring something awful at me that would be putting Carliin to shame,"
"Keep that up and I'm going to castrate little Zen'Jithil with a rusty dagger and shove it up your ass," She growled angrily.
Calhoun sighed and gave then both the sternest look he could with is covered eyes, "Just shut up both of you,"
The warlock sulked sitting back crossing her arms wondering why fate decided to saddle her with such an unruly brash, and shifty troll. She was about to retort again but a small clearing of the throat to grab their attention sounded nearby.
The party turned, well all save for Cromwell who continued to guzzle his tankard like an ogre, to behold a sight that usually didn't greet their party of misfits. It was a well dressed and groomed orc, not overly dressed like many they saw nor was he under dressed. He wore simple armor built for a practical use, a mace on his side glowing with a faint enchantment.
"Are you Calhoun?" he asked looking at the undead priest who was looking the new comer up and down.
"Aye. I am. How can I help you good orc?" he said in his usual friendly way.
The orc bowed, "I'm Kodash Stormrunner, a shaman by trade but in need of a good steady job with good pay and I was told you where the man to see,"
Carliin and Zen'Jithil shared a look as Calhoun smiled with a nod, "I an accommodate another to our party of course but what is it that you bring to our party? Many people approach me with a want for a job,"
Kodash nodded in understandment, "Of course. I'm a shaman, trained so all my life and have adventured far and wide. However I've settled down recently and started a family..." he paused slumping a bit with a sigh, "But times are hard and the gold I had gathered in my travels is growing small and will be no good to support my family,"
"So you need to hook up with our enterprise to get paid," Calhoun said the wheels in his head turning, "We get a lot of good pay for the odd jobs we run and with our split I can start you off with five gold, and increase it quickly after I see what you can do,"
The shaman paused to consider the offer but quickly nodded, "It is a fair deal priest and I will gladly take it if you will have me,"
Carliin felt like getting to her feet smiling and shake his hand and saying, "Welcome to slave labor camp with the most twisted overseer ever!"
Instead she took a sip at her drink sighing a bit and glanced at Zen'Jithil who seemed indifferent to the whole thing except for the twitch of a frown at the corner of his mouth. Probably because Calhoun didn't pick the troll female mage.
The priest got to his feet with a welcoming smile,"We will have you noble shaman. You are the best candidate I've seen all day. Let us walk a bit and talk over the details while my companions stock up on our supplies,"
Calhoun glanced back at them and pointed at Cromwell, "Cromwell, go shopping. Say Calhoun sent you and hand out the price they ask," he said tossing the undead warrior a bag of gold. Cromwell nodded giggling, "Cromwell get the goodies!" and with that Cromwell was skipping out the door unleashed onto Orgrimmar.
Carliin was a bit surprised. It wasn't often Cromwell was sent shopping instead of herself which meant...
"And Carliin and Zen'Jithil go to the shore and get some fresh fish and crawler meat. I want it fresh for a welcoming meal to our new companion Kodash,"
The shaman blinked and had a sheepish look, "Really you don't have to..."
"Nonsense!" Calhoun said with a grin, "They get along fine for a troll and a elf. I'm positive they won't kill each other now let us talk about this deal in depth shall we?"
The shaman gave a nod and followed the undead out the door leaving Zen'Jithil and Carliin to glare at each other. Eventually she smirked getting to her feet paying for her drink, "Ready to go Zandalari?"
He bristled with a growl rearing up a bit,"Darkspear" he growled angrily.
Carliin knew it was a sore spot for some reason. Zandalar trolls where huge and when they first met she had asked if he was really a Darkspear and not a famed Zandalar troll. He had practically bit her head off the first time now he just growled at her more.
"Sure you are," she drawled rolling her eyes exiting the inn, "and let me guess, you have tea with gnomes on the weekends? It is nearly as believable as you being a Darkspear jungle troll when you average eight foot tall,"
He growled again hand on his dagger probably fantasizing about putting it into her back, "I'm not a zandalar paladin dropout!"
Now it was time for Carliin to glare daggers at him as he struck just as hard at her sore spot. The two stood in the street now having a standoff and she was doing her best to look imposing but it was like a goblin trying to be imposing to a giant except she was a goblin was dynamite in her hand.
"Let's get Calhoun's fish and then we'll murder each other," she growled breaking the glare and stalking off. He grumbled under his breath something in trollish and followed after her. The weather was balmy today and there wasn't a cloud in the sky as the two made there way down to beach.
Carliin stood on the beach surveying the coastline seeing tons of the little crabs scurrying about and a few good places to sit bored for a few hours and pull up some fish. Who knows? Maybe she would catch a few she needed to restock some of her potions for alchemy?
"You on that side of the beach and don't come near me," She growled moving in the opposite direction of him. Carliin had scarcely taken five steps when she saw him out of the corner of her eye following him.
"I said you are on the other side of the beach!" she said angrily.
"real smart Carl," he said rolling his eyes, "It nothin but cliffs tat way and besides better fishing up here,"
She let out an angry sigh clambering up on a rock that jutted out into the calm ocean and plopped herself down taking out her fishing pole snapping it together, "Fine if you are going to be a moron then make yourself useful for once!"
He rolled his eyes sitting down next to her although keeping a good distance between them pulling out his own pole, "And how could I ever be achieving tat wit you mon?"
She grinned deviously and pulled out a bottle of some fizzy drink the goblins where making now, a sweet drink but something Carliin as fond of to drink in the downtime between missions, and placed the bottom of the bottle cap on the tip of his tusk and pulled.
Zen'Jithil blinked at her as she pulled the now topless bottle to her lips taking a sip, "We found a purpose for those tusks of yours other then making you look absolutely retarded," she said with a grin.
"Don't try dat one again," he grumbled gingerly rubbing the tip of the tusk as if her mere proximity to it had scarred it.
"Why? Might ruin your flawless ivory tusks and make the ladies not as attractive to you?" she drawled baiting her line, "Doesn't being half Zandalar troll make them try to drag you off the cave faster?"
He growled putting the defenseless worm a little to hard onto the hook, "Will you shut up about dat?! I'm not a Zandalar!"
"Oh my mistake," Carliin said sweetly with all the charm of a viper, "You are a Zandalar troll that thinks its a Darkspear not realizing you make them all look smaller,"
He sighed glaring at her out of the corner of his eye, "And you have a burning hatred against paladins even though Calhoun keeps callin you one,"
"You want the real story of why?" she asked suddenly casting her line. In the brief moment of silence she took a sip of her drink glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
He seemed thoughtful about it as he cast his line as well landing away from Carliin's, "What's the catch girly?"
"You are going to finally tell me if you really are a Zandalar halfbreed or not," she said with a smirk, "I promise I won't tell anyone...and Calhoun probably knows anyways,"
Another long pause as Zen'Jithil mused over the proposition before shrugging, "Fine"
Carliin was a bit surprised he agreed to this. Usually he would growl and go all moody and reclusive but times had changed perhaps? Or had they finally accepted they where stuck with each other for a long time?
Either way Carliin shrugged lounging back a bit, "My full name is Carliin Summerhawk," she admitted seeing the troll turn to look at her quickly, "Yes...the Summerhawk family that has for all of history run forward swords uplifted to the light against all evil and wicked in the world and cleansing the world,"
"So...you are the odd child out or something?" he asked turning his attention to his line after the brief moment of surprise.
"Oh I was training to become a paladin but I was no good at it. The teacher told me I should go to nunnery and serve as a healer and nanny for small children," she scows bitterly, "I was angry and ran off into the less holy places you could say and ran into the woman who would be my teacher,"
She paused to jerk her a line a bit but felt no returning jerk, no fish had yet to bite, "So I began to learn the arts of demonology and my parents where horrified when they learned what I was dabbling in and kept trying to force me to go back to my paladin training. I refused and left to find my own path. Haven't talked to nor heard from them since,"
The troll glanced at her again, "So they disowned you?"
She shook her head, "No..." she paused to take a sip of the fruity fizzy drink, "I disowned myself. I didn't want to be looked down upon by those hypocrites....I never wanted to be anything like them and that's why I hate paladins....and Calhoun for teasing me about it,"
There was another round of silence between the two although it wasn't tense. Then Zen'Jithil sighed and looked back out over the water, "Well you be half right girly....Zandalar is my heritage...but I'm not half," he sighed slouching a bit forward, "I''m full blooded,"
Carliin nearly dropped her pole, "So how did a full blooded Zandalar end up in the horde!?" she said in a loud whisper, "I was just teasing! I just thought truly you where a are awfully tall darkspear!"
He chuckled a bit, "Well I wouldn't have guessed your name be Summerhawk either mon," He turned to look at her, "I was just found by a darkspear hunter in Stranglethorn and that be the tale der,"
"So do trolls often leave their babies alone in the jungle or was this usual?"Her bobber twitched but she didn't noticed actually interested in Zen'Jithil's past...who knew?
"Depends...in this case it was unusual...da shamans and elders where befuddled as to why I was there," he seemed lost in thought, "So I was raised Darkspear and despite my size, I became a rouge,"
"Does size matter? You are more stealthy then many of the rouges I've seen. Must be that natural shifty ness," she said with a smirk, "You are a moody shifty troll,"
"And you are a cold hearted bitch," he said right back with a grin, "one who just lost her fish,"
"uh?!" Quickly she fumbled with her pole reeling it in and gawk at her empty hook, "Dammit to the neathers!"
Zen'Jithil snorted smirking broadly, "You really are bad at dis,"
"Shut up you or I'm going to shove this pole up your ass!" She shouted back bating her line again. The two knew their weaknesses...but really underneath all the fighting, they enjoyed the company of another lost soul besides the fighting was there way of bonding.
They never got too nasty on purpose unless someone was truly steamed and that only happened once and Calhoun had berated them for days like they where naughty children. How did that priest someone get no one to hate him but use them all for his purposes at the same time?!
She looked up as the troll began to reel in standing up grinning," A big one too. Perhaps it is your lost one, eh?"
Carliin smiled sweetly getting to her feet and suddenly gave the troll a sudden hard push sending the surprised rouge into the drink. She laughed as he sat up glaring at her, "Real mature girly...." he grumbled.
The blood elf only grinned and quickly retreated back to shore before any retaliation could be given, "You keep finding those fish and I'll get th crawler so we can get back before sundown!" she called out quickly dissapearing around the rocks to the south of them with a giggle. How silly he looked wet!
She continued giggling as she hit the first crab with a weak shadowbolt, the creature falling on its side dead. She approached it and pried open its shell for the tender meats below. She was engrossed in the task of killing and collecting the meat of the crawlers, tossing it into her pack.
A splash made her glance up, then look back down before she looked up again eyes wide in a double take. Zen'Jithil was standing in the water probably not wearing anything at all, the water acting like god sent censorship bar for her.
"Zen'Jithil!" She yelled, "Put some clothes on before you scare all the fish away!"
He glance at her rolling his eyes, "I'm wearing pants still you moron!"
"Get dressed now you streaking troll! Any flesh is to much on a troll!" she retorted adverting her eyes acting as if the sight had burned her sockets out or something.
"Oh shut up!" he shouted back even though he waded out of the water, wearing his waterlogged pants and heading towards his equipment. He dropped his dagger and the pile of fish next to his pack shaking his head sending water flying everywhere, "Just because you've never seen a real male...."
"You aren't a male! You are a troll! An overgrown hermaphrodite! You breed by budding!" she shrieked causing him to look at her strangely.
"...it isn't that bad Carliin...you are overreacting!" He hissed pulling on his shirt, getting his tusks snared on the fabric for a second.
"I am not! You you....."the world began to swoon. Perhaps it was the heat and the fact she wasn't properly hydrated, or perhaps it was the sight of a half nude troll...whatever the reason Carliin felt herself falling backwards into the sand. She hadn't blackout more or less was having a dizzy spell, a concerned Zen'Jithil standing over her, "You okay mon?"
His response was a sudden kick to the leg and a hiss from her,"Do I...LOOK...okay to...you?!"
He rolled his eyes at her and bent down tossing her over his shoulder, "Drama queen..." he grumbled as he paused to pick up the fish and the two packs, "You are a piece of work mon...."
Carliin snorted and smacked his back halfheartedly, "Stupid...troll...son of a ....naga...." she groaned her head pounding from the sudden dizzy spell, "Ack Get me to Calhoun now!"
"Do I look like a mount ta you?"
"Shut up or I'm going to bite you," she hissed back before groaning a hand on her head, "Damn this heat! Oh ....my poor head!"
The troll sighed shaking his head,"elves..."he grumbled shouldering her more and heading back to Orgrimmar.
~*~
Carliin was hunkered down in her bed, Calhoun finishing his healing with a sigh, "Just a minor dizzy spell...I think a slight fever but it will be done in a day thanks to my masterful...fish and crab soup!"
She groaned hunkering down, "That stuff is nasty..." she grumbled.
Cromwell giggled slurping the soup mess down without a care in the world, the newcomer looked on in surprise at the undead man's veracious appetite. That and being surprised and in shock was a oddly normal reaction to Cromwell. It made Carliin feel a bit better to see a normal reaction.
Zen'Jithil ate his quietly in the corner already going back into sulky rouge mode. Calhoun only came back to Carliin's bedside with a steaming bowl of the mush, "I didn't make this Carliin. Our new esteemed partner Kodash,"
She took the bowl suspiciously looking at them all before taking one slow bite...and then another...and soon she was scarfing the meal down faster then Cromwell, "Real food!"
Kodash laughed, a deep rumbling sound that made Carliin feel all warm and happy inside, "An old family recipe my mother and her mother and her mother before her used. I'm glad you enjoy it,"
"It's really good," Carliin said smiling holding her bowl out for seconds and getting a large helping generously spooned out. Immediately Carliin took a liking to Kodash.
Perhaps he was simple, a man of the land who probably had a family that made up two thirds of Orgrimmar's population, but he was generously cheery and kind. Calhoun was a schemer who was a sweet talker that seemed kind if only to get what he wanted.
Zen'Jithil was a troll. Nothing else need said. Cromwell wouldn't be able to tell nice from the back end of a kodos. It was good to have someone...someone real and normal in their group. Kodash was probably a freshening wind to their group of misfits. Their link to reality...for as long as he kept his mind as he tagged along with him.
Even though she liked him, she gave him four weeks before he was wishing he never joined. But who knew? Maybe his shinning optimism and hope for his family was stronger then all their moody, insane selves put together? Perhaps...one could only trust in faith to see what would happen next.