"I know you."

Agatha Miller was the sort of woman one would expect to be warm and friendly, even maternal. The proprietress of Goldshire's only bakery was short and plump, with wrinkles crowding her perfectly round face and traces of flour streaking her gray hair. She wore only pink gingham dresses trimmed with genuine (she claimed) Lordaeronian lace.

Now, as Agatha snapped those three words at Iyona, there was nothing warm or maternal about her. She made no effort to hide her disdain; every wrinkle on her face oozed condescension. Even the tiny pink checkers on her dress seemed to bristle.

Iyona smiled, neither surprised nor dismayed by Agatha's reaction. Recognition from the townsfolk, however rare, was always followed with varying degrees of disgust or indignation. Feigned ignorance, with a touch of flattery, was the best response to such people.

"And I know you!" said Iyona. "And who couldn't? Your bread is only the best in the kingdom."

Agatha smiled humorlessly.

"Which is why," continued Iyona, "I'd like to work for you. A chance for greatness, you could say."

Still smiling, Agatha cast a pointed glance around the bakery, her eyes trailing with deliberate slowness over the pristine interior. Every surface was immaculate, every roll and pastry toasted to perfection. Looking back at Iyona, she asked in a voice just as sweet as the icing on the pastries, "Why would I need your help, child?"

"You do keep a very nice place Miss Miller, that's for sure, but it must not leave you much time for anything else. Why, if you let me lend a hand, I'll bet you could start courting again."

Iyona knew it was the wrong thing to say before the last word left her lips. Agatha's husband had died several years before, and long after the appropriate time of mourning had passed, she continued to avoid men. The look on the woman's face told Iyona that she might as well have suggested Agatha burn down the bakery.

"Or," said Iyona, much too brightly, "You could just have a nice person like me to keep you company. I'm sure we'll be, uh, very good friends."

Agatha's face tightened even more, the wrinkles rallying together around her mouth and eyes. "The truth is, young lady, a guttersnipe like you could only turn away customers. This establishment does have something of a reputation to uphold."

Iyona's smile tipped to one side and froze.

"Don't be too troubled," said Agatha. "I'm quite certain you'll be able to find work somewhere. The brewery, perhaps. Light knows anything goes there."

As Iyona made her exit, she knew that she could not begrudge the woman too much. After all, even if Agatha offered her no work, her unattended shelves had unknowingly provided many a meal for Iyona over the years.

Iyona's feet felt worn to the bone by midday. She had visited the cobbler, the fletcher, the cooper, the tailor, and even the brewery Agatha had so smugly suggested. While some encounters had been more promising than others, each ended with the same resounding no.

Finding herself back in the main square, she sought shade under one of the many tall trees hanging over the blacksmith. Iyona had always felt a strange sort of comfort there, even drenched by the smells of metal and woodsmoke. The acrid air was filled with the rhythmic clanging of hammers and the steady whoosh of the bellows. Men came and went, grunting and swearing and shouting at one another. Nobody ever noticed Iyona, which was exactly what she liked.

Iyona searched her pack and found a stale roll, another one of Agatha's unintended contributions. She picked at the hard crust until it broke back, revealing the softer white bread beneath. Peeling the crust away like one would the skin of an orange, she ate the doughy insides with small bites intended to make the roll last. The first bite reawakened her hunger, and the roll did not last very long after all.

Having finished her meal for the day, Iyona tilted her head back against the tree trunk and made herself more comfortable in the grass. Just then, the tousled head of Tamm Tosscobble appeared around the corner of the smithy. The paladin kept his eyes trained straight ahead as he walked; though the road would take him just feet from where Iyona sat, it was unlikely that Tamm would notice her.

Iyona scrambled to her feet and ran to the fence to balance precariously on its lower rung. Steadying herself with one hand, she waved with the other. The motion caused Tamm to turn, then stop in his tracks. He bowed low and said something, but the din of the smithy drowned out his words.

"Have to speak up!" she shouted, pointing to her ear.

"I said hello, Miss Elras!"

Iyona gestured down the road. "Can I walk with you?"

Tamm nodded and Iyona hopped off the railing to join him as he continued down the path. He walked considerably slower than before-- a courtesy to her, she suspected. Even after the noise faded behind them, neither spoke.

Only when the road began to branch off to a number of outlying farms did Iyona begin to feel uneasy. She wondered if Tamm had family he was visiting, or perhaps a sweetheart to call on. In either event, her tagging along would make her look like a fool, but she knew that Tamm would be too polite to tell her so.

Looking over at him, she asked, "Where you headed?"

"Westfall."

Iyona's brows shot up in surprise. She had not considered Westfall in her speculations; though she knew the road eventually wound up in that Light-forsaken territory, it was mainly used by people trying to get out-- not in.

"Visiting your folks?"

Tamm's expression altered very slightly at her question. "No," he said, "I intend to assist the militia."

"Right," she breathed. "Of course. Things are pretty bad there, aren't they?"

"Worse by the day. Had you ever been to Westfall before all of this trouble, Miss Elras?"

Iyona shook her head, and Tamm continued. "It was much different in its days of peace. Everything flourished-- people used to call it Lightfall, because it seemed that the Light's blessing had fallen over all the land."

"People, or you?"

Tamm blushed, cracking a smile. "That would be me, yes. It seemed much more clever back then, believe me."

They continued on in silence a little while after that. The forest began to thin, and the greenness of the grass faded as the path progressed. Westfall could not be far.

"What is it you'll be doing with the militia?" she asked when the silence grew uncomfortable.

"Any number of things; whatever they happen to need when I arrive. Perhaps a patrol of the remaining farms or a post at Sentinel Hill-- that's our last main line of defense. Or, if the Light would have it, I may join in an assault on one of the abandoned towns where the Defias have set up camp. There is talk that VanCleef himself may be hiding there."

One could not live in Azeroth without at least a dim awareness of Edwin VanCleef, leader of the Defias Brotherhood. Just the sound of his name -- or perhaps the thought of Tamm going off to fight him -- made Iyona's stomach tighten into a knot.

"I'd like to help," she found herself saying. A large part of her protested, having absolutely no desire to help, but she bit her tongue to keep from taking back her words.

The bridge marking the official border of Westfall could be seen not far ahead. Tamm stopped and turned to look down at Iyona, his expression neither surprised nor mocking. "I believe you would, Miss Elras. But it is too dangerous for a lady."

Iyona smiled up at him, saying, "Better this than picking pockets, don't you think?"

Rather than appearing pleased by this, Tamm only grew more solemn, his brows drawing together in consternation. "If this is about what I said the other night, pay it no mind. I have coin, if you need it. There is no cause to throw yourself into harm's way to--"

"You don't have to worry about me, Mister Tosscobble. I know I don't look like much, but I'm pretty handy with a dagger."

Tamm looked as though he would have liked to continue arguing, but instead, he nodded his agreement and they continued walking.

In truth, Iyona was not particularly handy with a dagger. Perhaps she should have been more apprehensive of the dangers awaiting in Westfall, but with a man like Tamm Tosscobble walking beside her, it was hard to feel afraid.