Panniz is a lean, dark-haired elf with silver-gray eyes, sharp cheekbones, and warm brown skin marked by a thin scar beneath her left eye. Her black hair is cut unevenly at the jaw, with one long braid threaded through with copper wire. She favors a fitted leather coat, soft boots, fingerless gloves, and muted colors that disappear in lamplight. A narrow rapier hangs at her hip, while several daggers are concealed throughout her clothing.

Panniz is quick-witted, observant, and outwardly amused by danger. She flirts with trouble as easily as she flirts with strangers, using humor to keep people from noticing how carefully she studies them. She is fiercely independent but quietly protective of outsiders, runaways, and anyone being exploited by a powerful organization.

Panniz grew up in the service tunnels beneath a prosperous river city, where elven longevity gave her plenty of time to learn that locks, ledgers, and people all had weaknesses. Her mother worked as a night clerk for a thieves’ guild, and her father disappeared after stealing from the wrong merchant prince. Panniz survived by carrying messages, copying keys, and slipping through places where guards never thought to look. She became especially skilled at turning confidence into a weapon, smiling warmly while quietly deciding which pocket was easiest to reach. Her criminal career ended badly when she discovered that the guild was trafficking information about an old elven sanctuary. Rather than allow the sanctuary to be sold to treasure hunters, Panniz stole the guild’s master ledger and vanished. The ledger is still hidden somewhere, and both the guild and the merchant family who financed the expedition want it back. Now she works as an adventurer, partly for money, partly for the freedom of choosing her own targets, and partly because she has begun to suspect that her missing father may have left clues inside the ledger itself.