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| By: Synbios Posted on: December 31, 2010
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| Tapping her chisel fervently against her most recent collection of uncut gems,
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| DeBurr began make the necessary cuts to chip away rough edges. She grunted in
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| annoyance as the gems began to crack under an unnecessarily heavy-handed blow.
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| She screamed in frustration as she went back to her stock room.
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| It was a request for a new set of earrings that Rudolpho intended to give to his
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| beloved Camilla during Logosmas. He was not specific on what he wanted with
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| regards to the materials, but the letter merely stated that he wanted DeBurr to
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| "surprise us".
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| Taking this as a challenge from her favourite customers, she had begun toiling
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| day and night, making requisitions everywhere for the finest ores from Moghedu.
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| As days went on, and the deadline began to loom, DeBurr felt that the task was
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| becoming more and more impossible. The ores were not the right colour! The
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| hammer was too heavy! The deliveries were one hour late! Her tea was too cold!
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| The sun was too bright! Worst of all, she also had to deal with her other
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| jewelcrafting duties. Eventually, she slammed the door and declared that she had
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| closed shop, so that she could better work in peace.
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| Even in the silence of her workshop, she had her own troubles. She hit a mental
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| brick wall when she was considering the design for the earrings. Should she use
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| Camilla's favourite colour? Or should she go with pearl? No, Camilla was not one
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| to favour them. She often said that pearls did not catch the sun well enough.
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| Ruby? No, that would distract attention from her face. Already, her bin was
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| piling up with discarded sketches as she rejected them one after another.
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| Finally, just three days before the deadline, she collapsed, dead-tired and
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| nearly weeping from the impossibility of her task.
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| That night, she woke up, smelling the faint scent of ale in her workshop. Quite
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| sure that she did not have any ale on hand before finishing(and rejecting) her -
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| seventieth? One hundred and twenty first? - design, she looked up and saw an
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| extremely rotund dwarf, bent over her sketches and muttering drunkenly.
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| Immediately standing up, she said, "Who are you, and what are you doing in my
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| shop?"
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| Nearly stumbling over, the dwarf merely swayed and gave her a friendly wave,
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| before speaking in a drunken slur, "Why hello, Misssh Deburrr. I see that you've
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| been busssy."
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| "I said, who are you?" DeBurr had already raised her hammer in warning.
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| "Calm dooown, caaalm down, I'm just a friend who's worried about you." Setting
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| down an iron-linked bag, he sat down on a nearby stool. "I hear youuu had a job
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| for the Rudolpho boy."
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| "Yes, I- how did you know that?"
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| "You doooo know that the Rudolphoo boy and the Camilla girl are your friends as
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| well. Do you think they would think any lessss of you if you just worked with
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| your heart for them...and not merely with your mind?" The dwarf suddenly began
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| to vanish slowly, as he began to burp and guffaw.
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| "Wait! Who are you?!" Trying to reach him, DeBurr stumbled against her chair and
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| began to black out as she hit the floor, as she heard the words "Logosmas is a
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| time for giving. But remember that the gift must come from the heart! Ho ho
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| ho....!"
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| Waking up the next day, DeBurr felt a bit lighter in her heart. Whether what
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| happened last night was a dream or not, she decided to begin her work one more
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| time, this time with the thought of Camilla and Rudolpho as her long-time
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| friends, rather than long-time patrons.
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| On the day of the deadline, she invited the two lovers over. Unwrapping the
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| sapphire and silver earrings from a soft cloth, Deburr was surprised to see the
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| two hug her tightly, saying a multitude of thanks for the most beautiful present
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| they could ever have.
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| As the three headed over to the Silverdrop to celebrate Logosmas, they barely
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| heard the sound of a hearty laugh and the faint belch that followed in the sky.
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