[Ason]

Trusting the women (and vrock) to be more than capable of handling any situation, Tallesin strolls off to explore the race and associated festivities. Bowing his farewell, the mage offers a final "By all means, I remain at your disposal should you need me, a mere necklace away," before leaving the group. As Tallesin walks away, his outfit shifts from formal courtier garb (suitable for meeting a queen like Cassandra) to a dapper countryman's attire, reminiscent of an amateur sportsman or nobleman vacationing in his rural estates.

As he walks, the wizard reaches into a pouch, releases his raven familiar and begins discussing the day's plans. Passerby simply hear a man cooing and cawing affectionately to his bird ("Perhaps a new falconer or merchant," they might assume), but those nearby who are currently employing magical means of understanding foreign languages may overhear bits of the following:

Spoiler

Tallesin's voice and style seem less affected, more like a normal man, as he talks to his raven. "You okay Del?"

"You put me in your pocket again, Tal. You know I hate that."

"Sorry friend. It just makes teleporting easier and safer. You know. Anyways, we're at Belmont Park now, but while the others are investigating other leads, I felt we could explore a bit on our own. Our new friends really are a delight, but it'd be nice to stretch our wings, as it were."

"You know, we don't have to be caged like that, taking orders and all. We could wander the land, have our own adventures..."

"Delyth, stop it. You know I'm committed to this path- Sabrina's will is my own now. I'd prefer walking it with you, but if you must fly away, I'll let you. No? Ha! You are a true friend... Thanks. Getting down to business, with the ladies hunting the main route, I thought we could scout things out over at the races a bit. I was planning to wander the streets, see if any old friends are still in the horseflesh business. If there's time, maybe browse the racing odds or even examine the horses up close, see if I've still got my old knack for judging "the merchandise." With the right information, I could truly benefit our party via this competition. Gambling profits help, of course, but you never know what news, gossip and blackmail circulate among the jockeys, lords and lackeys. Hells, simply given the power of this race’s usual leading patrons, there's a strong chance something useful will turn up. We'll never know until we look."

"You do that. Me? Caw! When I say 'stretch my wings,' I mean just that. While you've been surrounded by beautiful women, it's been weeks since I've met a worthwhile ladybird. Tell you what, though. I'll chat up the other birds, see what they know. Sure, they're not very bright, but maybe something useful got lodged in their brains, an image, phrase or event. No promises, but if I do, you better buy me something nice while you're with all those vendors."

"It's a deal, Delyth. We'll both wander among our peoples, see who turns up what. Mine may have more useful words, but maybe your feathered comrades have found something mine wouldn't have been able to. Here, let me give you some spells to take with you, just in case you spot an opportunity or some dolt tries to eat you. Play it safe and take care, Del. There are too many powerful people here for us to be cavalier about this."

Tallesin casts Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability, giving his raven one casting of each of the following: Prestidigitation, Quickened-Extended Shield, Detect Thoughts, Orb of Force and Dominate Person.

Tallesin is going to be exploring the racetrack area, keeping a lookout for any recognizable merchants, leads on the main quest or means of getting an inside scoop on the race. Tallesin’s subsequent actions depend upon what he can turn up at the races via his Gather Information ((1d20+7)[24], though in a pinch he may be able to rely upon a Knowledge: Local ((1d20+9)[26]) or Nobility ((1d20+13)[25]) to recognize key individuals near the race and then approach them successfully. As a child of minor nobility, Tallesin might be welcome among the leading merchants and lesser nobles, if nothing else.

His raven familiar, Delyth, will be flying among the birds at the event, blending in with them and seeing if they have anything useful to say. Given that Delyth has a raven's Charisma of 6 (the best among tiny birds) and Tallesin's ranks in most skills, he should be able to hold his own once in a conversation, though his initial Gather Information check won't be great ((1d20-2)[10]). If the raven finds nothing useful among the various birds near the race, he will eventually begin casually/discreetly surveying and spying on events below (Listen: (1d20+12)[28], Spot: (1d20+11)[30]) while hidden within a larger flock of birds. I can provide rolls for the raven to remain unnoticed, but who would really accuse a raven of looking at her funny when the bird is just milling about with its peers? The pair share an empathic link, so while they can't talk per se, both Tallesin and his familiar will be paying attention to each others' general states and emotions, should anything happen.

[OOC: Should I continue this via PMs or in the IC thread, since I seem to be the only one on this trek?]