By Kayla Matt

1. If you had the choice of any occupation, what would you actually like to be?
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   Something relaxing and low stress.  Maybe one of the griffin riders in Gaia, but that’s still going along a warrior’s path.  Something that isn’t anything like I’m doing now?  I think I could be a decent chef.  Most of my experience is on the road and at the academy, so I’d have to learn more about the trade.  I do have a few simple recipes that my friends enjoy.  Though they say the best part is that my cooking hasn’t put anyone in the hospital.
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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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   I like studying and copying maps.  It started when I was a kid and didn’t know where I was.  So I’d go into libraries with a piece of paper and some charcoal.  Then I’d make myself a map from the books.  The people who found me said I didn’t have to, but I wanted to have an idea of where I’d been and where I was going.  Some of my old sketches are packed away in the academy, so maybe I should swing by and get them.
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3. What’s your favorite meal?
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   A thick steak with celery sticks and corn on the side.  I’m torn between a wine sauce or this sweet root sauce that a dwarf taught me to make.  Then a nice Bor’darukian brew for afterwards along with jelly-filled cookies.
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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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   You’d be surprised how many mercenaries can play an instrument.  Some use it to make extra money and even write songs about their own adventures.  It’s an interesting way to increase your reputation.  I never tried it, but I do know how to play the lute.  I had a nice one too.  Then I had to break it over an orc’s head in order to escape from a bandit camp.
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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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   Stephen.  I’m sure most of us are saying that.
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6. Have you ever been strongly attracted to someone and it never developed?
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   Yes and I’m still hoping for something to happen.  These things take time and patience and apparently a high pain threshold.
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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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   As a really small child, I thought I would still be in the Yagervan Plains and working in some trade.  Probably a blacksmith or a tanner.  Though I was rather scrawny, so I might have been a silver-horn herder.  After that, I only wanted to survive and then I met Selenia.  A warriors’ life for me after that, including working as a mercenary.  Hard to say if I’m surprised though.  Once I was on my own and stopped crying, I kind of decided to go with the flow.
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8. What is your biggest fear?
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   Making a mistake that gets someone killed.  As a mercenary leader, I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.  One bad decision can be lethal.  People wonder how I ignore the stress.  The trick is that I simply don’t show it.
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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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   Has anybody had an easy time with this question?  Maybe for a day, I’d switch with Kevin back at the academy.  It would give me an idea of what it’s like to be a retired warrior.  It might make me act more cautiously when I return to my own body.  If I’m lucky, I could get some valuable insight into my older years.
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10. What makes you happy?
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    Coffee, but I’d say accomplishing a job with nothing going wrong comes first.  Not that it has happened since I became a champion.  Guess coffee is at the top of the list for now.
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11. What does teamwork mean to you?
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    Life or death on the battlefield.  You need to depend on others out there and remember that your allies are depending on you.  It can’t even be a conscious thought.  A team is strongest when it operates as one in a natural and unforced way.
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12. How would you define honor?
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    Accepting responsibility for your actions whether they are good or bad.  Never lie about your mistakes or put them on somebody else.  Do it once and you may find yourself doing it again.  So honor is definitely a fragile thing.
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13. What’s the best way to hunt monsters?
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    Very carefully.  I’d prefer to leave them alone unless they’re causing trouble for people.  No sense in picking a fight that doesn’t need to be picked.  Especially with an animal that you can’t negotiate with.
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14. What’s your first response when someone makes you really, really mad?
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    Punch to the jaw, but that’s if I’m pushed beyond my limits.  If I’m simply annoyed then I’ll throw a few insults and try to deflate the situation.
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15. What’s it like working for Charles?
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    Never heard of him before.

Check out more of Delvin Cunningham in
LEGENDS OF WINDEMERE