[center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/C7nwoGY.png[/img] [b]Words:[/b] 1,318 (+3) [b][color=ea590c]Edward Portsmith: Level 9 (22 cells) (2 level ups stored)[/color] [/b][color=ea590c]///////////////////////////////[/color]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (31/90) [b]Location[/b] Frozen highlands - The Midnight Walk [/center] Edward put his shoulder to the door at the far end of the perilous hallway and pushed it open, pistol up and peeking through the door. He might not have found anything directly dangerous as of yet, but the knowledge of the green hunter in its alcove meant he was being careful with his movements. For a moment his caution seemed warranted, as he caught sight of a large monster over the sights of his pistol, only for it to turn out to be one of his frightful monsters, namely the Somnadrix. [color=ea590c]”Ah. Good to see you intact”[/color] he commented, before lowering his weapon and pushed the door the rest of the way open. He ordered the impossible creature to Now [color=ea590c]”fall in behind me”[/color] and then stepped into the archmage's quarters that (unbeknownst to him) Roxas had left only a short while ago. While he’d just missed one of his allies, Frederic the painter was still here, and so naturally Edward approached this potential source of information. [color=ea590c]”Greetings, I don’t suppose you could tell me where we are, or if you’ve had any other unexpected guests pass through in the last few minutes?”[/color] This time, the nervous painter was genuinely taken by surprise. He flinched from the well-armed dreadnought a lot more than he did the young man who visited him prior. “Um. Winterhold College. Are you new here too?” The man both looked and sounded rather frazzled. “A boy did show up here a few minutes ago. You just missed him, actually. Went through there.” He indicated the other door. “Said he’d help with my…painting problem.” Frederic swallowed. [color=ea590c]”Blond hair, black cloak, large key?”[/color] Edward asked, already moving for the other door, and intending to throw it open. He had actual questions for the man, obviously, not to mention concern for his safety given that he seemed rather hapless in a place that held dangers, but seizing the opportunity to regroup took priority. [center][b]The Drawing Studio[/b] [img]https://i.imgur.com/KT2Beyp.jpeg[/img][/center] When the Dreadnought pushed open the double doors, they swung apart to reveal an austere studio of beige, white, and gold, filled with a variety of intricate black-and-white pencil drawings. Most depicted people, although three of the biggest were arranged together on one wall: a mounted cavalier, a dragon, and a pegasus knight. The room also featured an easel, and a mostly-finished drawing of a seated gentleman perched upon it. Most startling, however, was the slamming noise that greeted Edward a moment after he stepped inside, as if someone had just thrown his or her weight against one of the walls. Yet the studio’s visitor saw nobody, least of all Roxas, even as the intermittent banging continued. Despite this the man called out [color=ea590c]”Roxas? Roxas!”[/color] before turning back to the painter when he got no response, and urgently asking [color=ea590c]”How long ago did you see him?”[/color] his nerves set on end due to the mysterious sourceless slamming. Said slamming was also very much why he did not go rushing into the room. The yelling did not seem to set poor Frederic at ease. “He just went through,” the painter replied. “But…this college is enchanted or something. The doors never lead to the same place.” [color=ea590c]”That… complicates things”[/color] Edward grunted in displeasure. He stood there for a moment, thinking to himself despite the banging coming from the room within, before ordering the Somnadrix to [color=ea590c]”Hold this open”[/color] The beast moved to obey, more or less parking itself in front of the open door to act as an oversized doorstop, which let the Dreadnaught step away and test to see if it was the closing of the door that changed the location it led to. As he did so he made an attempt to make amends for the poor social graces his hastiness had caused. To do this he stepped to a spot where he could both see the painter and the door, before saying [color=ea590c]”I apologize for my rudeness, this place is just quite confounding”[/color] and then introduced himself with [color=ea590c]”Edward Portsmith, at your service.”[/color] Frederic restlessly wiped his hands on his smock as he cleared his throat. If this man wanted to be helpful, far be it from Fred to turn down extra assistance. “Oh, er, no need to apologize. If you don’t mind helping, though, I could use all the help I can get with my…uh, problem.” He looked around in a furtive manner, checking the room’s corners for anyone who might be listening in. “I’ve been in a serious pickle ever since my painting came to life. They were meant as self-portraits, but none of them came out right…I’ve been hearing their thoughts in my head ever since. It’s driving me mad. If you can wipe any out as you explore this place, I’d be in your debt.” [color=ea590c]”Came to life?”[/color] Edward echoed with a raised eyebrow, before glancing directly towards the thumping sound coming from within the Drawing Studio. [color=ea590c]”Are those also yours, or is that a coincidence?”[/color] he asked, regarding the art depicted within, the already concerning room was now even more of a worry. He wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of fighting the dragon depicted therein, let alone the entire collections worth of figures, should they also come to life. A jittery shake of Frederic’s head dispelled Edward’s worries. “Oh no, no, those aren’t mind. I work in paint, not pencil.” He peered into the drawing studio, trying and failing to pay no mind to the impossible creature that held the door open at Edward’s command. “That banging noise…it might be one of [i]them[/i].” [color=ea590c]”Could well be. Or some other horror. Either way, best to be prepared”[/color] Edward replied before, taking the obvious discomfort of Fredric into some account as he explained that [color=ea590c]”I’ll be conjuring reinforcements just in case. I assure you, they are entirely at my command, and will act only to protect us from the monsters that lurk within this labyrinth”[/color] as he retrieved his tomes of magic from his side. Frederic took a step back just to be safe. “Alright.” Edward nodded in turn, and then began his summoning, sticking to the less hellish of his repertoire for this as he did so. Golems were forged, of particular note a squad of Iron golems who took the place of the Somnadrix. With a shield slid in parallel in front of the door, they could hold the gateway open without obstructing access, while also being at hand to barricade the way in should some hostile attempt to come through. In the same line of thinking, a magelock cannon was parked facing through the door, while a second set of iron golems were set to watch the closed door, be it for interlopers or arriving compatriots. If the former came, they could/would try and block the way in order to buy time for Fredric to flee and for Edward to return and respond. If the latter instead came through, they could step in and hold open the door before it closed, fixing in place the room through which the ally had entered from. Thus, having locked down his new basecamp, Edward prepared to explore its first expansion node, marching a squad of copper golems in first before following along after with the Somnadrix slinking along behind him to cover his back.