Name: Eric Dulcimer

Birthplace: The City of Harlequin, Nu

First Appearance: Mani 2

Where did Eric, Mani's infamous sidekick from the NuRPG, come from? That's a pretty good question, I must say, because I really have no clue where his inspiration came from. One day shortly after joining the NuRPG, I figured that Mani needed a sidekick to keep things from getting too boring, and hence Eric Dulcimer was born. He started off as a pretty goofy bastard- I guess maybe it was that jester's cap he had on at the time- and while he still is a bit on the goofy side of things, he's evolved into a pretty likeable guy. From the time of his introduction, Eric has fallen in love with one mean little red-head, starred in a Special, been chased, threatened, seen in bed with a strange desert woman, and has even allegedly wrestled a giant scorpion at one point, and things seemed to be on the up and up for the young man. Unfortunately, all of his secrets might never come to light, since it seems that things have all but died in the NuRPG. This sucks twofold since the upcoming co written (and alas, probably never to be released) chapter by J and myself not only shed a little more light onto his past, but also even revealed Mani's first name at one point! But since I love you, my adoring public (yes, both of you), I've included a bit of that chapter at the end of this profile- here's to hoping that the whole chapter is released someday.

I dig the sketch up top because it has him looking slightly more hard-edged than previous attempts. I guess this is what Eric might have developed into in the long run. I think that the wanted poster and the guitar add a certain bad-boy quality to him that he never really exhibited in the past- maybe it's his way of saying "I'm not a total dink…"

The Future: With the current state of things in Nu, is this the end of the line for Eric Dulcimer? Hell no, if I have anything to say about it. If I have to import him into the Realmwalkers timeframe, then so be it, but we haven't seen the last of Mr. Eric D. If nothing else, he'll be seen in the module I'm planning for Neverwinter Nights once it releases (and I get my hands on a system that can run that mother). Eric still has a tale to tell, and his time will come.

For what it was worth, guard duty was one of the most boring activities one could encounter. While a quiet day was the optimal situation, that didn't make them any less tedious. If nothing else, long shifts often times resulted in a number of unique topics of conversation, as was the case with one Eric Dulcimer and Xavier Mani. Perched on the rooftop of Midway Inn the two stood and watched, occasionally indulging in various topics of conversation.

"C'mon Mani..." Eric urged. "Just take a guess."

The ninja pondered the question for a moment. He looked Eric up and down, seemingly trying to come up with answer of some sort. "Alright..." He closed an eye in a moment of thought. "I'm gonna say... two."

"Nope." Eric grinned proudly. "Four."

"No way."

"It's true!"

"Name 'em."

"Alright..." Eric raised a brow and scratched his chin, gathering his thoughts. "Let's see... lute, mandolin, um, ocarina, and flute."

Mani grinned, chuckling lightly to himself. "And you can play all four perfectly, I take it?" A quick snicker came forth from Eric, who shook his head.

"Hey Mani, how many different weapons can you handle?" he wondered.

"Hell, I don't know... most of the time, I just have to improvise."

Eric nodded. "Well, it's sort of the same principle with music. Once you learn some of the basics, the rest is pretty easy to figure out."

There was a short laugh from the ninja. "I had no idea that you were so musically inclined," he remarked. "Sure, I knew you played a bit, I just didn't realize how much."

The young man shifted on his spear and shrugged, fixing his gaze out on the horizon. He took a deep breath and smiled casually. "Well, my parents were pretty popular bards back home, so of course me and my sis picked up on a few things here and there... I guess I've just stuck with it more than ol' Jules. I write down a few things here and there, put it to music whenever I get a chance, embellish as needed..." He chuckled quietly to himself.

"Are you close?"

"Hm?"

"You and your family."

Eric nodded. "Well, me and Julie have always been there for each other. She's in College Town now... I've been meaning to visit her, but really haven't gotten around to it yet."

"How about your parents?"

Eric paused at the question, his gaze still fixed on the horizon. He suddenly fell silent, though his smile never left his boyish face. "Hey Mani, do you realize that you've never told me anything about your family before?" he remarked.

The ninja shrugged slightly. "It helps when you have one."

-- Excerpt from Mani 14