Thomas instructed the bellboy to place his suitcases just inside the doorway before dismissing the hotel employee with a moderate tip. Walking deeper into the suite the Magus turned around slowly and took in the appearance of what was to become his workshop for the foreseeable future; the lavish penthouse apartment was a bit more extravagant than he was comfortable with, not to mention far too expensive, but in this situation it was far more important to choose a location for its security than comfort.

Walking over to the window which covered one wall of the room Thomas gazed out over the city; Redrock was a far cry from London, but it was larger than he had expected it to be during his research. His rented apartment dominated the entire top floor of a hotel in one of the more upscale areas of this small, forgotten slice of America. Why such a place needed a luxurious hotel like this he didn’t know, from what he had seen on his arrival business was hardly booming for them, but ultimately it was of little concern; he would just count it as a little bit of good fortune that it was here and also that the penthouse was currently uninhabited.

Turning away from the window he returned to his suitcases and selected the smaller of the two, carrying it over to a coffee table and placing it down on its side. He undid the clasps and flipped it open, swiftly beginning to remove various implements, parcels and packages from its interior; he had much work to do to prepare for the upcoming war. It would take some time to make this place into a suitable workshop, much to be done before he could consider it even remotely safe from attack or detection. Much to be done; at the very least he wanted to establish the basic defences before nightfall.

He began with the bounded fields, focusing on making them undetectable rather than powerful; he had other methods of protection to rely on, ones that would not act as a beacon to anyone with the means of detecting magecraft, so he opted for subtlety over brute force. Hiding his presence was the more important than layering defences. A field to avert the eyes and make the penthouse seem uninteresting, a field to mask the use of any magecraft happening inside, a field which would hopefully go undetected for the duration of this war.

With that done he moved on to other business. He would strengthen the field later, when he had more time; the field had taken some time to establish and outside the sky was already turning orange as the sun began its descent. Luckily the next few steps were simple and quickly performed so long as the necessary preparations were made beforehand, which he had of course done; simple, but no less effective for it. A Witch’s Bottle crafted and hidden somewhere in the apartment, a device to attract the effects of any curses or debilitating magecraft aimed at his person while inside his workshop, a Witch’s Ball to thwart any attempts at scrying or divination, ensuring that anyone who sought to peek inside would see only a mirrored reflection of themselves staring back at them.

These early stages of the Grail War were perhaps the most hazardous and the most crucial; entering into the battlefield with no workshop, no knowledge of your opponents and with some of the greatest heroes in history as your adversaries. How you spent your time here could make the difference between life and death in the long run. A Magus was nothing without the proper preparation after all.

It was in his favour then, that he had already performed the most important action before leaving the UK.

[color=aba000]“Archer; prepare yourself. Tonight we are going hunting.”[/color]

[@PKMNB0Y]

----

In response to his master’s question Rider materialised in the passenger seat, the leather covering creaking under the sudden weight. Anyone peering through the windows would have seen quite an odd sight as Rider had yet to don clothing suitable for this era and was still wearing his armour and leopard skin cloak; at least he had forgone his crested helmet for the moment. Rather than answer Kazamyr immediately Rider spent a moment peering through the windscreen, his hard gaze not focused on anything in particular, as though deep in thought.

[color=ed1c24]“I believe I am at a disadvantage in this war in a number of ways. Unlike many heroes I was never known for my own strength of arms, it was my strategy and my army that made me famous; in this war, deprived of my army as I am, if I were to try to engage one of the more combat oriented classes like Saber or Lancer directly, I would likely fail.”[/color] There was no fear or bitterness in the words, merely a calm and patient analysis of one’s own abilities. [color=ed1c24]“The forest is not a favourable battleground for us; the trees will impede the movement of my elephants and give the enemy too many chances to flee. If Assassin is truly out in the open we should target them as a priority; given the way they operate we may not see them again until their knives are at our throats. However we should be cautious. I do not think an assassin would let themselves to be caught so easily; they may be trying to lure us into a trap, using themselves as the bait. Stay hidden, and let me face them alone.”[/color]

[@Anza]