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[Roger de Clare]

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Roger de Clare, captain of the Free Lancers, cut down another hulking spell casting, hard hitting daemon, spurred his charger forward to assault the one behind it. Then the next one. Always more behind or beside the ones they just killed. If not a demon, then an undead lich lord or mummy. Sometimes even a Dark Father.

After hours of gruelling battle, he recalled to his home as the darkness of mere night fell. Ah, the comforts of his safe, clean home far from war was only an incantation away.

As he dropped his battered shield and helmet on a table, his beloved Xana came down to greet him, rubbing sleep from her dark, luminous eyes, and smiling. Though dressed in a shapeless tunic and her hair tousled, the sight of her gladdened him as always. He remembered the gift he bought her earlier.

He gave her earrings studded with sapphires by the hundreds. They had cost him a sizeable percentage of his war-drained gold. She gasped and danced a little jig of joy. She took off the simple earrings she had on and put on the new ones.

She invited him upstairs so see how they looked on her in the light of the fireplace. He followed her up and watched her stand on the rug in front of the flames and pose for him. The shapeless tunic now lay on the floor. The fire's rosy light made the sapphires gleam even as it accentuated the curves her body.

He looked at her with great pleasure and smiled. She lifted her arms and pulled her long dark hair away from her neck and shoulders to expose the earrings. She asked him what he thought of them in the firelight. "What earrings?" he asked.

Then she gave him a gift beyond price.

.....

Two days later Eldan D'arden's hawk found him still at home. The Warden of the Northern Militia asked for the help of the Free Lancers. Roger penned an affirmative reply, summoned his eagle Hurin from the ether, bound the message case to his leg, and sent him away.

Seems like one invasion could not wait for another to finish. Dark Cove occupied Vesper and D'arden felt Minoc was next.

[Xana]

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The sleeping gypsy heard the clang of metal against stone, and came awake knowing that Roger had gotten home safely. Murmuring a prayer of thanks to her gods, she slid from the bed and despite the cold of the night padded downstairs barefoot.

Xana found her beloved paladin standing at their table, bruised, sooty, and visibly fatigued. Despite the outward appearance she smiled into the darkness of the room, again grateful to see him home alive.

It was with curiosity that she took the small package he offered her. Certainly, she did not expect gifts from a man who spent his days trying to help save Magincia from destruction at the hands of dark forces. So there was a moment of speechless surprise as her brain processed the message her eyes were sending her.

The earrings were unbelievably beautiful, unlike any she'd ever seen. Embellished with perfect sapphires and set into gleaming gold, they were nothing like anything she would have ever imagined herself owning. It was a bit of embarrassment she felt, when she realized she was actually dancing in place at the mere sight of the jewelry--jewelry that was, apparently, now hers. The man that she loved stood there grinning at her response, and it was the adoring expression that brought her back to the moment. Xana offered to show him the earrings by firelight, and Roger readily accepted.

When she awoke, she woke alone. With a sigh, she hoped that the gods would again allow her beloved to return home safely when the sun began its descent toward the horizon.
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An artist is a creature driven by demons ~Faulkner