Amanita Merrymoss
Nita is a forest gnome druid who is just reaching adulthood and is trying her best to follow her family's ancestral task of protecting the natural world. Will she follow in the steps of her parents, or forge her own path?
Character Location
Children
What is Your Truth?
18 February, 1884. Marketh, Eisen.
Nita took off her hat and removed the pins that secured her hair on top of her head, letting the chestnut waves fall past her shoulders. She looked at herself in the mirror as she tried to process the events of the day.
As they walked the streets of Marketh, looking for anything out of sorts, “out of sorts” found them. Their companions had experienced odd timeshifts – Hayden was moving in slow motion, Arinelle believed she was decades older than she was - And then they began to become different versions of themselves. Lukas had never heard of the Skybound Inn. Hayden became an artillerist in the war.
And then it had apparently happened to her. Amanita Merrymoss, druid, master naturalist, who resided at the Meadows with her family – including Muse – and who is planning to marry her love, her soulmate - was no longer there. In her place was someone very different. Nita had never sought power, let alone political power, and had no interest in climbing the social ladder, as it were. She was content with her calling to protect and preserve nature, to do her research, and to enjoy the company of her family and friends. She needed nothing else.
This Other Amanita was not only a noble and a member of Parliament, she had done the unthinkable to get there. In her quest for power and influence, she had seen an opportunity to use the foolish Ferdinand and had become Amanita Weiss. She had married into the family that had stolen Muse from their family – had stolen years of their life – and who had forced them into servitude and treated them as an object. As their property. As one who was beneath them. With Ferdinand's unexpected death a year into their marriage, she had inherited the family fortune, political power, and ownership of Muse.
The fact that she was apparently strict but not overtly cruel barely mattered when Muse was still treated like an object... like property. The very idea that any echo of herself could treat her best friend – her chosen family – in such a way was abhorrent.
“Speak your truth” they were told in the ritual. She named those things that helped to define her.
Druid. Master Naturalist. Daughter. Teacher. Friend.
Had she spoken all of her truth? Was there something more that Nita shared with this Other?
She looked at herself in the mirror before whispering to herself, "If there is, I don't ever want to know."
Together
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
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They had just barely managed to survive the battle.
The scent of singed hair and scorched armor was everywhere. Lindoro lay charred and bleeding. Cardinal’s hair and Flame’s fur were smoldering. Things did not look good.
There were still five enemies. One had a flamethrower - the same flamethrower that had dropped Lindoro and seemed about to finish off the rest of them. Nita herself was on her last bit of breath and had to heal herself so she could survive to help the others. Fortunately for all of them, Lukas arrived and managed to revive Lindoro.
Then Flame collapsed on the ground.
Nita mustered what remained of her breath and healed the worst of Flame’s wounds, then threw the rest of her energy into the staff, caving in the armor over the ribs of the enemy with the flamethrower and knocking him to the ground.
Seeing the armored foe drop seemed to give them renewed hope. Cardinal laid into her foe with her ire and felled him with her rapier. Lindoro’s fists and Flame’s rapier dropped a second, while Lukas calmly shot the third in the back. The fourth succumbed to the deadly aura surrounding Nita.
The battle should have been over, but the armored foe with the flamethrower had one last surprise for them. He ruptured his fuel line, causing a fireball to engulf the room.
Nita dived for the floor to get under the worst of it, but was burned. Lukas, Lin, and Flame managed to dodge the worst of it, but Cardinal fell as the flames engulfed her.
Immediately afterward, Lindoro healed the worst of Cardinal’s wounds, and Nita passed out healing berries to the others. They thought they were done.
They thought they were safe.
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Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
The sound coming from the large chest had been masked by the sounds of the battle.
Breathing hard, Nita began to make a run for it. Then Cardinal’s voice rang out… "If we don't stop it, it'll get all the others! We have to stop it!"
Lukas, Lin, and Flame began to investigate the box, with Cardinal’s flute inspiring them to perform at their best. Flame manages to unlock and open the box to reveal a horrible contraption; an explosive device that would certainly take out most of the building.
Nita places herself between the bomb and Cardinal, knowing that her small form would do little to protect her friend but at least she could try. Cardinal instead moved to stand beside her, taking her hand. “Together”, said Cardinal. “You’re my friend.”
Squeezing Cardinal’s hand, Nita whispers, “Together.”
Time seemed to slow down as Lukas worked on the ticking box.
“Tick…”
Lindoro pointed out a hidden wire…
“Tick…”
Cardinal’s flute soothed and inspired them, helping them focus…
“Tick…”
Flame stabilized another part that would have made the bomb explode immediately had it moved…
“Tick…”
Nita prayed to the Green One and the Lady of the Hearth, asking their guidance to all….
“….Tick.”
With a final snip of the tool in Lukas’ hand, the ticking ceased. They were safe. They had done it.
Together.
Dear Linden... (continued)
The next evening, Nita finished her long soak in the tub and got into her favorite nightgown – the one Babcia made for her just a few years before she passed. Seeing the still unfinished letter on her desk, she decided to sit down and continue writing.
“I’ve almost finished making the preparations for the trip, Linden."
"I have been feeling like leaving the Meadows was abandoning the duty we’d sworn to continue - how can we say we are furthering the appreciation of nature if we aren’t here to teach it? – but I have made arrangements that will enable that to continue in our absence. No small part of that is that the Meadows is unexpectedly full of people again, and I can’t wait for you to meet them. Almost all are walking the Path themselves, or are starting upon it."
"Scarlet is the newest arrival; she is a delightful squirrel kin who I’m looking forward to knowing better. Erasmus also joined us recently; he was in service to a noble family who seriously undervalued his talents. I have promised to teach and provide for Josiah, a boy recently from the warrens who was rescued on a freezing night by a dear friend. He shows great promise and greater heart. There is also a warforged here who is newly rescued from being used as a weapon and has not yet chosen a name. An artificer friend is working on new arms so they will have the ability to make the fine movements needed to do some of the things they wish. So far, they have shown interest in the growing things of the world, and in cooking."
"And there is also Muse."
"Muse is also a warforged, and was employed as a gardener by a noble family. They served the family for years, and they found the Path all on their own. Muse would call it “hearing the song”, which fits Muse very well. I’ll let Muse tell you their full story when they can tell you in person, but… It is because Muse is here that I know that the Meadows will continue to serve its purpose while we are away. Muse is a devoted follower of Fodla, and is also teaching Josaiah, as well as many of our other friends, about nature. More importantly, Muse is the rodzeństwo serca – the heartsibling - we never knew we had."
"I feared to leave without providing for the Meadows and those who are living here in case we are away for some time, but those arrangements are now made. The snows are almost over, and I have only one more thing to do before I leave."
"I’m coming to find you".
~ Nita
Dear Linden...
“Dear Linden”,
Nita stares at the page for several minutes. It was always Linden who liked to write stories and poetry; Nita’s writing was almost always focused on her studies.
So much has happened, Linden. I don’t know where to start.
Tears well up in her eyes and spill over, catching the edge of the page on which she wrote. Bracken got up from his rug at the foot of her bed and gave a quiet whine as he moved to her side. She reached down to rub the base of the wolfhound’s ear as she gave him a gentle smile.
“Everything is running smoothly at home…” Except you’re not here. “Please tell Mama and Tata that I’ve been keeping up with the deliveries to our clients and the offerings to the temples.”
“I’ve been continuing my studies – both academic and on the Green Path. Mama and Tata wanted me to find a Master to take me as an apprentice. Well, I found one, but it’s not either of the ones they’d expected.” Nita paused, trying to think of how best to word the next part. “While I could take a second apprenticeship with a Master from the Empirical Department of Alchemists as Mama wanted, I am now an apprentice in the Union of Naturalist Professionals as Tata wanted. Master Thom Whillacre, the Guild Administrator, has done wonderful work on the study of decay, which aligns very much with my desired path of study and my research on mushrooms. He agreed to take me on as an apprentice after reading my notes and seeing the research I’d set up in the greenhouse.” Nita’s eyes begin to tear up. “I hope they will both be happy to know that I’ve tried my best to follow through with my studies while you’ve been away.”
“I’ve also been learning more about using the magic of the Green. I’ve taken some jobs to help practice, and I’ve even obtained membership in the Grand Society of Adventures and Explorers. As my connection to the Green has grown, it’s become evident that I’m not attuned to it in the same way that all of you are. My connection is like Babcia’s – to the part of the cycle that helps prepare the way for life to begin anew. Given my affection for mushrooms, I suppose that’s no surprise.” She manages a small chuckle. “Babcia didn’t explain exactly how her connection felt, but she did say that once she attuned, she was never really alone again.”
As soon as she wrote those last words, the emotions flood through her. The emptiness of the rooms in the house where her family should be quietly sleeping, the comforting sound of Josaiah murmuring in his sleep from his new room, of Erasmus shuffling things around to get comfortable in his new room, and the warmth in her heart that came from knowing Muse was there.
The rest of the letter would have to wait. For now, she embraced Bracken, and then climbed into her bed, where she was soon joined by Daphne, who curled up on her pillow.