1. If you had the choice of any occupation, what would you actually like to be?
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   I’m good at carving things up, so maybe a butcher.  Not one that owns livestock since I can barely keep a pet turtle alive.  So I’d need to make deals with local farmers and hunters.  Best to throw in some produce too.  You can never have enough product to sell, especially when it’s food.
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2. Do you have any hobbies that you would like to be able to spend more time on?
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   A lot of my hobbies are things I do to entertain my son.  Shadow puppets, painting, nature hikes, and some sports.  The one thing I do for myself is catalog the local flora and fauna.  Just to see if I can spot signs of changes in their behavior or the overall environment.  This can help my family and me plan for harsher times.
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3. What’s your favorite meal?
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   My wife cooks a delicious emerald trout.  She won’t tell me the spices and the recipe is locked in her enchanted cupboard.  Give me that, some fresh rolls, and a mug of Dwarven ale.  Perfect meal.
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4. Do you play any musical instruments–if so, what? If you don’t, what would you like to play?
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   Not very well.  I can do some children songs on a small flute that I whittled.  My son keeps stealing the thing, so I’m always making a new one.
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5. Is there any one in particular that you wish you didn’t have to be around?
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   Bards.  I really wish they’d stop singing about me.
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6. Have you ever been strongly attracted to someone and it never developed?
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   Back in my younger days, but those are faded memories.  Happily married and wouldn’t have it any other way.
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7. Are you surprised about what you have become? Is this what you expected when you were a child?
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   I’m surprised people keep hiring me for jobs and trying to swindle me.  It doesn’t happen as often as it used to since my reputation keeps growing.  Not sure why that is either.  I do what I do and go home to the family.  I don’t see your average guy getting exaggerated bard songs sung about him.  As far as childhood expectations, I never had a clue what I was doing.  Something was interesting and I learned about it.  Probably why I can’t give myself an exact job title.
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8. What is your biggest fear?
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   Losing my family and not coming home to them.  I take the jobs to put food on the table, but I’d switch to an equally lucrative job and safer job in a heartbeat if one existed.
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9. If you could change places with another person in Windemere, who would it be and why?
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   Whoever is standing within throttling range of the bard who started singing about me. My wife says I have to let this grudge go, but it gives me such a headache.  Contrary to popular belief, I can’t juggle dread boars while drinking an entire keg of ale.  The first part is impossible and I’m not young enough to even attempt the second.
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10. What makes you happy?
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    Waking up to the most beautiful woman in the world and a kid who never stops smiling.
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11. What does teamwork mean to you?
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    Hard to answer that question since I tend to work alone.  Not really alone, but I’m a solo recruit.  If I end up teaming up with somebody on a job then we were probably hired separately or I had to call in a friend.  So teamwork is certainly a tool that one uses when faced with something they can’t handle alone.  If you can combine it with a solid friendship then more power to you.
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12. How would you define honor?
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    Simple.  If you sign the contract then you abide by the contract.  Keep your word and that’s what will show you have honor.
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13. What’s the best way to hunt monsters?
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    This is where a group can come in handy and getting half the payment up front is a necessity.  Wild animals are unpredictable, so you never know what will happen.  The best you can do is find out what you’re hunting, learn as much as you can about it, and plan accordingly.  If you’re going in blind then try to cover as many possibilities as you can.  Remember when I mentioned cataloging flora and fauna?  See if you can find a local who has done it and they may give you a hint about your target.  After all, you don’t find desert creatures wandering around the northern tundras.
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14. What’s your first response when someone makes you really, really mad?
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    If they get me that angry then I’d punch them.  The question does seem to imply that I’ve lost my temper in this scenario.  In truth, it would take a bit of time to get me to that point.  Nobody wants to hire a guy that’s a loose cannon and random brawls can end in more of a headache than getting insulted.  Pick your battles and only follow the ones that are truly worth it.
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15. What’s it like working for Charles?
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    He’s a good man, but I haven’t received a job from him in a while.  That was finding his daughter who got lost in the jungle, which was certainly one of my easier jobs.

Check out more of Ichabod Brooks in
ICHABOD BROOKS & THE CITY OF BEASTS