A plucky, easygoing botanist and expert healer with a dark secret, aspiring to catalog the plants of the world outside the wall.
Courtesy of madspartan013Emma always had one core belief that dictated her work:
Do no harm. She always believed she would never hurt anyone. She just wanted to help people.
She just wanted to help.Emma remembers when she was a child, exploring the Botanical Garden of Enn. The sticky hot humid air, the fragrant smell that permeated all, the hustle and bustle of the botanists going about their work, cultivating plants for use in poultices and potions. She remembers when she approached one of them, she was no more than ten, a kindly old man with wrinkled skin and wild gray hair, wearing a ridiculous beard that grew all the way to his feet. She still smiles fondly when she remembers what she said to him before her mother could stop her:
"Can you teach me to help people like you?" The old man gave a large toothy smile, and nodded.
I just wanted to help.From then on Forivel was her mentor. He taught her all that she knew, the art of healing and alchemy and how to grow and cultivate plants and everything that they could do. She grew underneath him and came to love him like a grandfather. All this time he never seemed to age, or at least Emma never noticed if he did, until his senses dulled and his hands became less reliable. He relied on her more and more, until one day she took over his work completely, running the apothecary he had run for all his life. When Forivel died, it was passed on to her.
I never wanted anyone to die.She ran it very successfully. She was soon touted as one of the most adept healers in Enn, as Forivel once was, and her services were sought by many. When the nobles of Enn began seeking out her shop her business flourished. All seemed well, but the city of Enn had a dark side. When the Marquis Dufor found his way through the door of Emma's shop, things took a turn for the worst. The Marquis was an influential nobleman inside Enn, but no amount of influence would overcome his Colic- a disease which caused him great pain. For that, he needed Emma. She readily agreed to prepare a remedy, which she would deliver to him on the morrow.
I never wanted the Marquis to die.As it happened, the Marquis Dufor was disliked by the common people. Touted as an exploitative force that endangered the peaceful ecosystem of Enn, people noticed when he went to Emma for help. Not soon after the Marquis left her shop a man clad in a heavy cloak that hid his face came to her door, speaking of a proposition. He came inside, stating simply that if she killed the Marquis she would be doing Enn a service. When Emma refused, he told her, once again very plainly, that if she didn't kill the Marquis his people would make trouble for her and her family. She told the man sternly to leave. But, despite her words, she feared for her family, her mother and father, and her siblings.
No one would know that I killed him.The next day, when she delivered the Marquis' medicine, she laced it with
Atropa Belladonna. Deadly nightshade, an effective poison. He thanked her for her help, and payed her. When the Marquis perished it seemed that other noblemen were almost relieved, and the city cared little for his death. No one connected her to his death, not taking notice of the simple apothecary. The man came back, telling her that she had done the right thing, delivering a parcel of gold for her. Everything seemed to work out fine, but Emma was racked with guilt. She had been reduced to an assassin, betrayed her mentor's ideals, and taken a life. She couldn't stand being in Enn anymore, so when the Traveler called, she accepted. She needed a fresh start.
I would have a chance to help people all over.