Baron Nicodemus Midwood
From Praemal
Nicodemus, the ninth baron of Midwood, was never meant to be baron. The third child of the seventh baron of Midwood, his eldest brother had learned at their father's knee, and was being groomed to take over the role. The next child, a sister, was almost 10 years Nicodemus' senior. With little chance of ever becoming baron, Nicodemus was free to be who he wanted to be. And what he wanted to be was a wizard.
He studied at the Redhurst Academy of Magic, becoming a diviner. He was at school when his brother died, and his sister was called home from Tarsis. Nicodemus returned as well, to be near in case his father's last days were here.
But with the arrival of his sister, golden-haired and seemingly carrying the light of Lothian with her wherever she went, their father improved. Nicodemus, the forgotten child, happily ensconced himself in the library of Midwood Hall, studying ancient books and peering into a great magical mirror he had commissioned. He explored the world as a well-heeled adventurer, exploring Tulgey Barrow and spying on the Green Mountain Kobolds. And he went further afield, the peasants say, exploring the ruins of Kem and even traveling the streets of Freeport incognito.
In due course, his father died, and Nicodemus' sister became the Baroness of Midwood. Her first day as baroness, she came to Nicodemus and informed him that his adventuring days were at an end. Until she had an heir, he had a responsibility to the residents of Midwood to be the heir should she die childless.
So the scope of Nicodemus' adventures shrank dramatically. He took his rifle and went hunting in the Hartwood with Sheriff Thoric Glangirn. He imported books and artifacts. He transformed a building on Midwood Farm into an alchemy lab. And truthfully, he found these adventures were far more exciting than his travels had ever been.
And then came the winter of 697 and the death of his sister. Nicodemus, supremely unprepared for the role, became the Baron of Midwood. While he is mostly happy to have Eule Wood, who served his sister and father before him as steward, run the day-to-day affairs of the barony, Nicodemus looks up from his books often enough to gently steer the barony as he thinks best. When the barbarians from the east crashed into the Tarsisian Empire, Nicodemus was able to divert the invaders from the trail, preserving the barony.
Today, Nicodemus is a thin man in his late 40s. He has light brown hair, which has begun to go steel gray, and he wears short and swept back. His face is long and his nose beak-like. His watery brown eyes are routinely hidden behind his reading glasses. He wears expensive but practical clothes that he uses roughly. He is most commonly seen wearing a long black coat with his coat of arms on the breast, somewhat worn black trousers and a faded white shirt and black shoes that seem to resist a shine. His hands -- and often his shirt -- are stained with ink, and he wears a large gold ring emblazoned with the Redhurst crest on one finger. Those who have visited Midwood Hall say Nicodemus greatly resembles the portrait of Gideon Midwood, the first baron.
Also see list of the barons of Midwood.
