<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/VjfvTWw.png)</div><strong>Taris Vannel</strong>(https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=293833.msg14533999#msg14533999)<br/><strong>HP:</strong>46 / 46<strong>AC:</strong>18<strong>CMD:</strong>21<strong>Arcane Pool:</strong>3 / 6<strong>Arrows:</strong>43<strong>Posts:</strong>46<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Citystate of Senval --> Magic Shop --> Streets --> Velvet Dawn<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Pickeled, and mostly herself[<br/><em>Nondetection</em>:  5 Hours<hr/>Taris looked at the potion in her hand for a moment, swirling the mixture within it's vial.  Pearlescent grey syrup caught the low light of lamps lit within the magic shop, and she squinted as though she could discern something from the viscosity that clung to the glass interior.  She squinted slightly, but really all she could tell was that she wasn't going to like how it tasted.<br/><br/>"If this doesn't last the<em>full</em>five hours, I'll be back." she said, slapping both of her wands on the counter in trade and emptying more than half of her severance to cover the difference, "And I won't be happy."<br/><br/>Not for the first time, she lamented not having an operational budget through the Academy's line of credit to tap.  Still, she couldn't do what she needed to with Lust scrying her position and relaying that information to her agents.  So, she sucked it up and paid the price of business.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Shopping</div><div class="spoiler_body">Selling Wand of Deadeye's Arrow (375gp) and Wand of Infernal Healing (367.5)<br/>Buying Potion of Nondetection (-825 w/ mark up)<br/>Net Cost: 83gp<br/><br/>4gp for a Small Suite for the night (base of operations / place to store gear or recover)<br/>5sp for Stabling for her Riding Horse</div></div><hr/>Taris had a rather ...<em>different</em>seeming when she stumbled across two more of the Sins seemingly on their way to more pressing matters.  Without her cloak or her spider-silk armor, her pale creamy skin was more generously on display, the long green dress leaving her shoulders bare as the neckline circled around her neck in a halter top embossed with gold thread.  The color of the bodice was a dark and somber green, as befitted Hawken fashions, but the material caught the light magnificently making it seem cheerfully bright as it highlighted the curves of her body.  The detached sleeves were a bit long, angled to cover the backs of her hands while letting her slender fingers extend beyond.  She'd also unbound her hair, letting it fall in waves along her shoulders and down her bare back, the low-cut dress reaching down to where her waist synched before her hips gracefully rolled out again.<br/><br/>It was her favorite dress, the sort she used when her duties meant she'd need to mingle with the upper crust for an evening.  It did mean, however, that she was far from her bow or weapons.<br/><br/>So, this was easily the<em>worst</em>circumstances she could ask for as Lady Maria Estrada (<em>that</em>name was going in her notes) and the new Envy strode down the street together.  Her pointed ear perked a bit, overhearing their conversation about Lord Arken ("Big G"?  Greed, perhaps, worth investigating later).  Still, it seemed they hadn't noticed her, and for the moment Taris was happy to leave them be.  As Lust had said, there was no personal animosity between the Sins and her, it was just a job.  If she wanted to clear the road ahead, it was the Cult of the Redeemer Queen she needed to focus on for the moment.<br/><br/>Besides, after her tussle with Wrath, Taris didn't favor her odds going 2-on-1 with the sins.<br/><br/>The elf-blood turned primly on the ball of her foot and took a sideroad away from the two women without making eye contact, hoping she looked like just another self-important brat rather than someone purposefully avoiding their wake.  She had a date with the Velvet Dawn, after all.<br/><hr/>She'd been right about the potion's taste.  It was thick and cloying, and the way it coated her tongue left a bitter aftertaste that hadn't left even after she followed it with a swallow of water.  Her mouth felt slightly numb, but a quick glance with Detect Magic told her that the potion was working.  Back in her adventuring gear now, hood up and tugged low as she lurked beyond the parameter of the Velvet Dawn, trying to plan her approach.<br/><br/>She wanted answers, and all the evidence suggested that she might find them here.  Whatever rituals the Marquis had in mind, he'd likely require the cult to ennact them.  That meant that the notes and diagrams would more likely be stored here than at his personal estate, she could learn for herself exactly what the Cult of the Redeemer Queen intended without having to hear it from the mealy mouths of underlings or liars.<br/><br/>And if she didn't like what she found, well, maybe she'd just heed Jeska's advice and solve her problems with a bunch of pointy sticks.  The cult counted among its members a number of potent spell casters, she wouldn't want to be careless, but if there was no reward there'd be no more Sins dogging her steps.  Probably.  Wrath might decide she could wring some more fun out of her, but she'd deal with that when she had to.<br/><br/>Of course, as always, the first step was finding her way in . . .<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Casing the Joint</div><div class="spoiler_body">Stealth to Remain Undetected:  At 2019-02-01 12:22:54, Taris (uid: 52581) rolls: 1d20a18 Result: 27 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=130188)<br/>Perception to Spot a Vulnerability in the Defenses:  At 2019-02-01 12:23:12, Taris (uid: 52581) rolls: 1d20a10 Result: 22 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=130189)<br/>Casting Detect Magic to make sure there isn't an Alarm Spell or something.  Don't want a repeat of the near-miss at the mine.</div></div><hr/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/WLVeGed.png)</div><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Memorized Spells</div><div class="spoiler_body">Cantrips:  Detect Magic, Light, Mend, Mage Hand<br/>1st Level:  Expeditious Retreat, Grease, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist, Shield<br/>2nd Level:  Force Sword, Mirror Image, Scorching Ray, Web<br/>3rd Level:  Clay Skin, Haste</div></div>