Personality

To put it simply, Emma worries way, way too much. She's always concerned about something going wrong somehow, and occasionally that anxiety gets to be so bad that she finds it hard to do much of anything. She doesn't really know how to interact with people because she lives by herself and doesn't get out much. Because she's so worried about people disliking her, she has a hard time doing anything else other than telling them what they want to hear and doing what they ask of her. For the few people who are able to interact with her long enough to reassure her that they don't expect her to be anyone that she isn't, a really different side of her emerges. Internally, Emma is a massive nerd when it comes to magic, potions, and anything that has to do with them, and is incredibly eager to talk about her work if she gets the chance.

Background

When Emma moved to a small cottage on the outskirts of a town, she couldn't have been happier. She'd been looking for a place to live by herself and work on her potions for quite a while (she'd tried studying at an established magic academy for a few years but found the environment too ridgid and didn't enjoy it). The cottage was nice and she was making good progress on her independent study, but in a few weeks people started a rumor about her being evil and plotting the demise of the town. Eventually, those rumors took off and gave her an image entirely unlike her actual personality--so much so that people avoid passing by her cottage out of habit. Most people didn't actually take the rumors seriously, but Emma certainly did, and they affected her deeply. She's determined to prove to people that she's a totally nice and normal human being, but that's difficult when she has a hard time even talking to any of the townspeople. Oh, well. At least she has one very loyal customer, who commissions loads of... strange potions from her. She's never seen them in person, but she's definitely grateful to have someone that believes in her abilities.

She can't shake the feeling that the potions don't sound like they would be used for very good things, though. So, using the help of one of her potions, she follows Margaret after she comes to pick up a shipment. She discovers that her customer is Faviola, who is using the potions to help compensate for her lack of magical ability and lead the mages as they commit all sorts of horrible acts. Horrified and scared out of her mind, she flees the castle. When she goes out to seek help, she comes across three adventurers who are also trying to find a way to take down the mages. She joins forces with them, as well as Margaret (who continues to work for Faviola, working as a double agent). Emma doesn't feel as though she can do much alone, but with those four at her side, then surely things will work out.

Fun facts

- Emma sells some of her potions with more practical applications at the town market. People actually do buy them, although they regard them with some suspicion first before realizing that they do work as they should. You would think that this would be enough to get them to give up on the rumors, but old habits die hard.

- She's an absolute disaster in the kitchen. She usually eats the things she makes anyway, but the majority of the time they end up either undercooked, mildly charred, or missing some sort of key ingredient. Her meticulous attitude towards potion making does not extend to food, apparently.