Tatha Beruel

Tatha Beruel was a "leaf farmer" and proprietor of Tatha's Broomworks on the outskirts of Elturel in the Fields of the Dead circa the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR. She had what she called a "gift from Mystra" that granted her visions of historical uses of magic items when she touched them.

Description
Tatha was half sun elf with large green eyes, long black hair, and golden skin. Her delicate face was attached to a slender but muscular body that bore scars from years of felling, hauling, chopping, shaving, and carving trees. Most of the time, her lustrous locks were bound with leather strips into a "mare's tail".

Personality
She was kind, good-hearted, and enjoyed dancing and reading. She could be judgmental toward those who came to her for consultation about a magical item. Her price to attempt a reading of an item's past varied widely based on her assessment of the wealth, motivation, attitude, and manners of the customer. She was even known to modify or withhold information from those she felt would misuse the power of an item for destruction or coercion.

Tatha was fearless in the face of most threats to her freedom or livelihood and could not be bullied. Her calm courage came from her trust in Mystra and was borne out by the numerous times she survived unharmed encounters with orc raiders, brigands, slavers, and evil wizards intent on monopolizing her ability.

Abilities
She was an expert woodcutter, able to climb a tree, trim off the branches, chop it down, cut it to manageable size, and haul the cuts to the barn. She collected all the bark, chips, and shavings for use as kindling and split her own firewood. She was also a skilled herbalist and prepared dried herbs for sale and occasionally made herbal remedies for herself and her neighbors.

Her gift from Mystra was usually, but not always, reliable. She typically laid down on her favorite patch of moss in front of her house and had the customer hand her the item. Her visions were usually sharp and detailed, but silent and without any other sensations beyond sight. Sometimes she saw a brief vignette where the item was being used. Other times she got a short scene based around the object's last time of use. Rarely, she received multiple visions, each being a different event in the historical past of the item.



Possessions
Tatha owned Aloum Lyndren and two draft horses that she used to pull up stumps and to haul the largest tree cuts to her barn. The horses were boarded with one of her neighbors. She kept many axes, mauls, mallets, spikes, wedges, and a stump-chain for cutting, splitting, and hauling trees in a few stone-walled pits hidden under various old tree stumps. The coins she earned were kept in a clay pot down in the pit under the old, ruined privy. To reach it, she had to climb partway down and move one of the stones that lined the shaft.

Relationships
Tatha lived alone, but had friendly relationships with her neighbors: Elmair Broruk, a human rancher to her east and south; Ohlongh Vrurr, a half-orc livestock breeder to her west; and the human Trindle family farm to her north.

History
Around the Year of the Dragon, 1352 DR, Tatha took up residence on a plot of land chosen mainly because it had a natural spring to provide water, and trees. She named it Aloum Lyndren after a sun elf friend that helped her get started before departing for Evermeet. Aloum encouraged her to utilize her land in a sustainable way, planting trees for specific purposes and caring for them until they were ready to be harvested, and establish Tatha's Broomworks.

Over the years, Tatha refused to use her gift from Mystra exclusively for any one person or organization, regardless how much they offered or threatened, saying that it is a sacred trust and not to be monopolized. Those that tried to coerce or capture her soon found themselves feebleminded for multiple tendays and their prize teleported back to her farm, safe and sound. She attested that Mystra herself approved of the way she used her gift, and Elminster, based on her description of the goddess, believed that Tatha had indeed met the Lady of Mysteries in person.

Rumors & Legends
There were rumors that Tatha had a secret cache of magic weapons and items that customers left with her because they were afraid to keep the objects once she related her visions. She did keep larger implements in a hollow tree near the swamp on the edge of her property, but it was unknown if any of the hidden objects were magical.