Naomi

Naomi is a plant mage living in the Antaran Empire in Betrayal in Antara. She first appears in Chapter 4.

Biography and Personality
Naomi is skilled in both plant magic and mundane agriculture, and is the caretaker of the Conservatory in Varnesse. A serene, middle-aged woman with jumbled dark hair, a creased face, and an earthy demeanor, she calls herself the garden's "planter, harvester, sower, reaper, breeder, pruner, weeder, keeper." She discusses her garden in poetic and musical terms, considering it a part of her after all these years, and explains other subjects in agricultural terms. She scoffs at ingratiation and pretentiousness, believing that plants plants have "more to offer than most humans" and calling them "complex yet honest, preditable yet fascinating."

She has a cousin, Noal, who lives in Elona.

Naomi visited Ticoro during the Spring Festival and attended the Karrruf, returning to the Conservatory afterwards. She doesn't remember the performance's name, but says it "combined music and dance in such a way as to represent natural forces," and recommends that Aren Cordelaine see it, believing he would find it educational.

Nutrients
When Aren attempts to cajole her into teaching him some magic, Naomi chides him for his clumsy attempt at flattery and says he'll have to learn to do better if he wants to manipulate people. She offers to teach him if the party will do her a favor: she's received word that Noal's garden is dying and needs someone to sprinkle it with calcicum powder, a nutrient mixture. She claims that the treatment should be done as soon as possible, even if Noal isn't home when they arrive in Elona. If the party agrees, she gives them a packet of white crystals to take with them, telling them that Noal's garden can still be saved if they hurry.

If the party returns after scattering the powder on Noal's garden, Naomi can add to Aren's Poison and Resist skills.

Naomi is still in the conservatory in Chapter 6, but has nothing more to say about the powder's effects.

Trivia

 * Naomi describes the fidala tree, source of Fidali Leaves, as a "scrawny, chalky thing," and the ale-soaked poultice made from it (Fidali Paste) as the tree's gift to humanity "in return for a little respect and manure."


 * As Noal explains to the party later, the "calcicum powder" is more than it seems.