Kalinko was sitting below deck with her head in her hands, filled with grief over losing her homeland, and the fact that she would be shunned by every Night Elf that knew of her supposed 'terrible' crime, but she had gotten off lightly. She could have been killed, and she wasn't banished from Dwarven, Human, or Draenei lands, so she started looking at the bright side. She had the chance to go to places she hadn't been before, meet new and interesting people, encounter races she had only heard of, and most of all, get a fresh start. She was not going to be the kind of person who freezes in battle, she was going to get tough, even if it killed her. Just then, interrupting her thoughts, she heard a shout.
"Land ho!"
She stood and walked up onto the main deck. She noticed that they were pulling up to the dock of Auberdine. Once they arrived, she would need to get off the boat, go down the dock till she could turn right, and get the boat to the human main capital, Stormwind. And she would need to do it quickly, too-she didn't like the idea of being mobbed again. So when the boat stopped and moored, she got off, and to her surprise there was no mob. However, she walked as quickly as she could towards the boat to Stormwind. When it arrived, she went straight below deck and sat down, and thought of things to keep her mind busy while she was at sea. Thankfully, the journey was not a long one-2 hours later she was walking off the boat and into the biggest harbour she had ever seen. It was massive! There were passenger boats of all shapes and sizes, but the biggest ships in the harbour were the warships of the Alliance. She found the ramp which led into the main part of the city and was faced with a huge archway, flaked with stone lions on each side.
It was when she got to the trade district of this massive city that she realised she had no money what so ever. All she had were her shapeshifting skills, magic, and the clothes on her back-no weapon or armour. Finding money would be her next task. She walked around thinking for a bit, when she heard two human men talking about the pub they were in last night, The Lions Pride inn. "That's as good a place as any to start," she thought.
So, she asked them where it was. "Just outside Stormwind," they both said at once. She thanked them, and walked off, heading to the main gate and along a huge bridge, with statues of some of the old heroes of the Alliance on each side. She looked at them with awe and continued walking past. Once outside Stormwind she took a leisurely stroll down the dirt path, admiring the trees and the scenery in general. Ten minutes of slow walking later, she found a little village which, she discovered, was called Goldshire, according to the sign post. The inn was the biggest building in the place; she walked in and up to the bar and lent on it.
"What will it be?" the barmaid asked over the counter. She was a short human woman, young and kind looking, with shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes, and she was wearing a barmaid's apron.
"Nothing today...are you looking for staff?" Kal said, in her new no nonsense approach.
"We are, as it happens. Can you make a drink?"
"I can try," Kal replied honestly.
So Kal stepped around to the other side of the bar, got a glass and attempted to pull a pint. She jumped when the beer tap made a loud gurgling sound and dropped the glass, which smashed all over the floor.
"Glad that was mostly foam," said the barmaid laughing.
"I'm so sorry," Kal said, bending down to pick up the shattered bits of glass, grabbing a cloth to wipe up the spilt beer.
"Tell you what, I'll give you a job waiting tables and cleaning up after the guests...if you promise to stay away from the bar," the barmaid said, still laughing.
"But why? I dropped the glass and spilt beer all over the place."
"Because you tried, and cleaned up after yourself when you made the mess. Hard to find people like that anymore; most human men and women would have left it, but not you. That's why," she said with a deadly serious look on her face, all trace of humour gone. "Me name's Betty, by the way." She offered her hand to Kal.
"Mine's Kalinko," Kal replied, shaking Betty's hand.
The job, as it turned out, came with its own bedroom-the cost of which was deducted from Kal's wages at the end of the week, but it was only ten silver out of forty, so that still left her with thirty, which was ok for her. She looked around her new room. It was basic, but still, it was home.
There was a cosy looking bed in the corner, a nightstand alongside it with a lamp on top. In the other corner was a wardrobe, and a chest of drawers opposite. That was it-basic but home. she started her new job the next day, and it was already getting dark, so she undressed and got into bed, and soon fell into a dreamless sleep.
She woke the next morning, fresh and wide awake. It was the best night's sleep she had in a while, She got dressed into the only clothes she had-a dirty white linen shirt and bottoms. "First thing I need are new clothes," she thought, as she went downstairs and into the bar to find Betty.
She found her in the kitchen talking to the chef, a big burly human by the name of James. They were chatting when she walked in. Betty turned to Kal, and said, "Right you can start cleaning in here first, and then move on to the guest rooms. We only have one in residence at the moment and he's going out later so he will be out of the way." And with that, Kal got to work cleaning the kitchen. Betty walked out of the room to deal with some rowdy customers at the bar.
James suddenly met her gaze. He looked right at her and said "I know who you are, Kalinko Razzti. And I know what you did."
