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In each story of The Life & Times of Ichabod Brooks, he has a friend, ally, or partner of some kind.  Well, almost each story because I can think of one or two that don’t really have a friend.  Traveling companion might work for one and another is a surprise for those that haven’t read the collection yet.  Actually, there’s a really short one that he’s solo on, so I’ve officially ruined my opening line.  Anyway, I wanted to highlight a few of them and maybe explain the relationship/partnership.

Dex Guzbern

This Dwarven mountaineer is one of my favorites because he just flowed out of my fingers as I wrote Ichabod Brooks & the Starwind Egg.  I wasn’t sure how he would come out, but he had this interesting combination of friendliness and gruffness.  He developed the same sarcasm as Ichabod, which quickly established them as best friends with a long history.  Oddly enough, he never really locked himself in as a fighter and seems more likely to hold his own.  Dwarves are naturally tough, so he depends on that and is more at home in a bar fight than a battlefield.  Hoping to give him a little more story time down the road.

Morgan

She probably should have come first since she was the sidekick in Ichabod Brooks & the City of Beasts.  She is a young monster hunter and a calico, which is a type of cat-person in Windemere.  Morgan looks human, but has ear tufts, a cat-like tail, retractable claws, and the natural agility of cats.  Also, a few of the cleaning habits.  I like using her because she’s both tough and takes on the role of Ichabod Brooks fangirl.  She can hold her own and he trusts her, but she still has a case of idol worship, which makes for some interesting interactions.  There’s a sense that she’s always trying to prove herself to him and occasionally emulating since she’s now sporting magical equipment.  Morgan is a character who might branch out from Ichabod and get something of her own.  The problem is that the only monster hunter story I have involves the main character being cursed by an unknown creature to share a body with a partner of the opposite gender.  I did consider having her and Ichabod’s grown up son being the two, who switch control when certain things happen.  Too much rambling?

Corso Felgrass and Pepper

Corso is the elf who trained Ichabod in archery and Pepper is a retired calico thief who went from enemy to friend.  I put these two together because they have a similar role in the stories that they appear in.  Like Dex, they have a history with Ichabod and help to flush that out.  The difference is that they aren’t active any more, so they take on a more casual relationship with him.  Almost like the two kind of show the life that Ichabod can achieve or wants to achieve.

Jet Orphanmaker

 I don’t want to reveal too much about Jet because he grew a lot in the story.  He’s more rival than friend, which made for fun exchanges.  In fact, the only reason I’m bringing him up is because I wanted to reveal his last name.  For the life of me, I couldn’t find a way to get that into the story.  Nobody was in a position to say it.

Tevy

This is a halfling priestess of Neberith the Healing Goddess and a woman who has a connection to Ichabod’s non-work life.  She’s a tough one to explain because she isn’t an adventurer.  More the person that Ichabod, and his wife, go to when they need to get patched up or have an undead problem.  There’s an almost sisterly relationship that they have, but it’s hard to tell who is in the role of older sibling.  I like writing her because she’s very blunt to her friends and kind to her patients.  It’s something that she can transition from in the middle of a conversation too, which was fun to write.

Meg Velringer

I have to be honest, I don’t know much about Meg’s past with Ichabod.  They know each other and have worked together.  She is a gnome inventor who specializes in the ocean, so she can’t come up too often.  I don’t think she has the same relationship with him that Dex does, so it’s more of a working connection than friendship.  This might change if I have her turn up again.  Right now, I don’t know if I have any more ocean adventures, but I’d like to do something.  Be interesting if her real connection is with his wife.