Zosimus is a rather typical stature Gnome, body and weight on the lower end of the gnome spectrum suggesting he may not be the most physical individual.  Purple hair is ill kept and seems to have a mind of it’s own.  His skin is a lighter blue complexion.  His features are as expected, exaggerated like most gnome due to their fey lineage.  For those who know of such things, his features reveal his family most likely came from Tien; but neither his accent nor mannerism reveal any affiliation with the culture. His language/dialect would suggest he was raised in Kalsgard.

His personality is a bit of a pendulum.  If the topic focuses on him, alchemy, his alchemy skills (which are many), interesting experiences of a magical nature, him (and his powers to create magical items), strange potions or poisons encountered, his research, where the caravan is going, his cat Mercury and its exotic past huntings in cities, Ameiko, his future as Ameiko’s Court Alchemist, magical beasts encountered, or him, he is engaged.  Anything of a more mundane nature about manual labor, combat skills, strength, height jokes, etc, will be met with a tone of irritation and condescension.  One on one, he is a bit more focused and civil, especially if there is a small dram of something from a flask being passed around, usually his own distilled spirits based on Gnome Whiskey (ThroatBurn) found in Kalsgard.  He gets a bit jumpy around groups of more than 4 people of human size if there is not enough distance.  Questions about him in groups will get vague, misdirected answers which will often  shift between common and Gnomish words.

Day to day he appears most comfortable in work clothes for his lab. Leathers and lab coats. Under the basics a mithril shirt can be seen.  After the first day it will become obvious he wears a ring of sustenance – “there is too much to be done to waste time with eating and crapping out what your body doesn’t process efficiently!”  When readying for something more serious, he wears a cloak that he explains helps with addressing mistakes in the lab or in the strategies of others in combat. You will notice he does keep up with your rather long legged pace of walking without much effort as well.  His assortment of potions are all held in a haversack.  He has a crossbow as well (now seen in combat) that crackles with an electrical pulse when armed. He has also brandished a rapier that he seems less inclined to turn to. Whenever possible, he is also often wearing black gloves, they are non-magical but seem to be essential to his general wardrobe.

Those who seek a more private audience to learn more about him will discover:

• He is in his early 40’s which is adult avg age for a gnome; as close to heterosexual  as an asexual alchemist can be but not something he pursues often.. (there was this one glorious time with a human prostitute and an assortment of enlarge person potions…)
• He was born and raised in Kalsgard. His parents are merchants and brewers of spirits (his appreciation for Gnome Whiskey comes from them since they have been feeding it to him since he was a baby with no adverse effects to his development… 
• His grandparents taught him about Tien, the languages, and a few things about the spirits one never pisses off; they escaped from Goka where they were sold into slavery in the Deepmarket.
• His Mentor was a great alchemist in Kalsgard who took him on as a personal favor to his parents and because he knew Zosimus had a natural talent with chemicals
• His mentor is no longer around, the topic seems to be a sore one and involves comments about a ‘catastrophic accident involving an immortality experiment’
• He grew tired of never gaining equal reward with other adventurers so he learned how to craft his own items; his most recent efforts were in a shared space with 3 very sloppy human magicial researchers who would pass each other business (hence the contract to go into the woods)
• Mercury is an ordinary cat, he just finds talking to it entertaining and is his only loyal friend (as long as their contract is honored). The cat likes picking mice out of a well placed tanglefoot trap and eating them at his leisure.
• he is an avid collector of potions – especially of types that extend past his formulae. If the party has any, he will gladly negotiate a trade
• he has a dark sense of humor, and has been known to mix potions intentionally for those who “need a lesson” – he recounts a time when he blended an Elixir of Love into some invisibility potions to teach a rather brutish rogue a lesson
• he is extremely interested in flying, has a potion to do so, but wants to learn more about it; people with strong sense motive can hear that he is envious of those who can fly without limit

Questions he would ask in return:

• What is your profession and why did you choose to do that?
• Have you ever drank anything interesting? If so, what did it do to you?
• Do you have a spellbook? Can he see it?
• What is your most cherished magical item and where did you get it?
• Have you ever died? What is it like?
• How many Gnomes have you known?
• How can you be sure Ameiko is really an Empress and not just fooling you all?
• Where is your family now? Do they know you are doing this?