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[img]https://i.imgur.com/C7nwoGY.png[/img]
[b]Words:[/b] 1,995 (+3)
[b][color=ea590c]Edward Portsmith: Level 9 (22 cells) (2 level ups stored)[/color] [/b][color=ea590c]//////////////////////////////////[/color]/////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (34/90)
[b]Location[/b] Frozen highlands - The Midnight Walk 
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[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/KT2Beyp.jpeg[/img][/center]

Edward sent his copper golem squad into the drawing room first, the monocular spear wielders marching in lockstep and rattling in an attention grabbing manner. Edward himself meanwhile slinked in behind them and took cover behind a small cabinet, pistol at the ready, hoping that whatever the unseen source of the banging was would be drawn to his bait instead of him.

As it turned out however, it went for neither, and instead kept slamming against the wall.

[color=ea590c]”How odd”[/color] Edward commented to his somnadrix (or really, to himself) as the impossible creature awkwardly navigated its antlers through the too narrow doorframe (leaving frost where it scarped against them). 

As for what was odd, well, Edward didn’t say at once, but instead tested his hypothesis with a rap of a knuckle against the wall he was crouched beside, which produced a more solid sound than the one produced by the specter.

[color=ea590c]”That wall must be hollow. Perhaps it's behind it, trying to escape? Or does it want to get in?”[/color] he speculated as he sent the copper golems forwards to investigate. 

Once more, there was no reaction from the wall slammer that continued to do its thing. That was until he made the golems deliver a probing stab at the wall to test its resilience, at which point two things happened. First, the wall collapsed. Second, the banging stopped.

What was revealed behind it was no source of the noise, but instead a hidden room in a state of neglectful disrepair, with peeling wallpaper and moldy boards. As the golems entered to inspect they discovered piles of discarded paintings, all picturing a woman with black hair, her features marred by painted burn marks that are never quite the same between any two portraits. At the center of the room was an easel with one more, heavily disfigured portrait, and at its base was a lump of flesh on a painter's palette. 

Upon being picked up, the flesh wiggled slightly in the golem’s hand, which also dimly registered it as being warm to the touch.

[color=ea590c]”Necromancy. Of course”[/color] Edward commented, most of the trepidation he had felt now discarded. Those who wielded death itself were rather common on the worlds of the astral sea after all, and he had put down plenty. 

[color=ea590c]”If it was an escape attempt, I can see why the lost soul wanted out”[/color] he said as he examined the room, before looking at the lump and asking it [color=ea590c]”or did it want into you?”[/color]

The flesh, naturally, did not answer.

Edward had it placed back onto the palette and then had said palette moved onto the top of a dresser in the drawing room, just in case it was in some way important to solving the conundrum of the maze. 

He then regarded the painting in person and speculated [color=ea590c]”And as for these? Some… attempt at cursing, perhaps? A venting of anger? An inching closer and closer to the truth?”[/color] but finding no answer particularly satisfying. Nor did a closer inspection of the painting reveal any hidden notes, or even a signature, on the back. 

It did however confirm that a rather grizzly pigment had been used to create the painting. Despite this making Edward lean more towards his theory of it being a work of the occult, he could sense no magic in its makeup.

In between making these inspections, and indeed throughout his entire exploration of the room, Edward took the time to make notes, which included a small sketch of the woman in all the paintings, sans the various scars. He was no artist, but he’d done enough technical drawings that he could copy and combine what he saw well enough.

It was only then that the back of his mind brought something up that he had been considering since the copper golems matched away: hadn’t there been a set of footsteps out of sync with the rest?

He turned with a start in response to this, or, rather, he and the golems both turned, and together they found an assortment of books stacked into the shape of a person had appeared right behind the constructs. Edward started back once more, going for his gun, while the golems lowered their spears. Before either could react any further, however, the book sculpture exploded, pelting the Dreadnaught and his constructs with a barrage of literature.

Fortunately, this barrage was mostly harmless, and, indeed, the only things that really suffered were some of the books, which got impaled on the lowered speartips.

[color=ea590c]”What a waste”[/color] Edward said with a shake of the head, pistol going back to its holster. He seemed, indeed, not that taken aback now that the surprise was over. This pattern continued when, upon reentering the main drawing room, he reacted to catching a glimpse of a baby doll [url=https://images.steamusercontent.com/ugc/305486901636729762/CABF5F4567F9D2F7D2FDDB3B6CA0C67C25C5C8CC/]running into a cupboard[/url] with a simple sigh.

The man, having clearly already had quite enough of this, turned and addressed the lump of flesh (and whatever specter was haunting it) with a slightly disappointed tone, saying [color=ea590c]”I’d appreciate it if you cease your meddling, spirit. It's quite rude to do, given that I’ve already aided you in reuniting with your… flesh”[/color] 

He let the request hang for a moment, and then when nothing else occurred, nodded his head and continued his investigation

With the spirit seemingly quelled, and the hidden room containing nothing but mysteries, Edward focused that investigation on the rest of the drawing room. The most notable things in it were the three large drawings of a cavalier, a dragon and a pegasus knight all of which were mounted on a singular wall, as their presence dominated the rest of the smaller, more scattered, sketches found throughout the rest of the room. 

Acting on a hunch, he had the golems tap along this wall as well, and found that it too was hollow. It did not, however, prove breakable. A spear stab did nothing, nor did Edward shooting the wall with his pistol, which should have at least left a dent.

[color=ea590c]”Magic, then. I wonder what the key to unlocking seal is?”[/color] He wondered, before examining the wall mounted drawings again and speculating [color=ea590c]”Gaurdiens that must be slain, perhaps? Or iconography that must be recovered?”[/color]

Certainly, they seemed to be the key, as Edward’s second hunch of completing or emulating the drawing of the seated gentlemen amounted to nothing.

[color=ea590c]”I believe that is all”[/color] he said to the Somandrix where it had curled up in a corner, before telling the spirit of the flesh to [color=ea590c]”behave”[/color] and then returning to the archmage’s quarters. His impossible creature followed him in, while the iron golems continued to hold the door open, locking down the connection between the two chambers.

As he entered, he asked the resident painter who, hopefully, had zero relation to the hidden collection of grizzly imagery, [color=ea590c]”How are you faring?”[/color]

When Fred turned to him, the painter seemed to have brightened up somewhat, with an optimistic shine to his eyes and a newfound sense of energy, however slight. “Oh! I can tell that you…or maybe a friend of yours? Got rid of one of them already. Thank you.” He still appeared to be very unsettled, very nerve-wracked, but even a little relief seemed to go a long way. Fred blinked a few times. “I should give you something to help you take care of these... things, right? Let me see…” He reached into a pocket in the back of his apron and after a few seconds produced three small bottles of amber liquid that resembled honey, albeit without the viscosity.

“Here you go. Some flasks of very strong turpentine. That should make short work of them. It might be strong enough to hurt other things, too.” A smile spread across his weary face. “Good luck out there. I’ll await the good news.”

[color=ea590c]”The paint thin- ah I see”[/color] Edward said, before agreeing that [color=ea590c]”I’ll be sure to make use of them”[/color] as he accepted the somewhat specific weaponry.

He then informed the painter that [color=ea590c]”The drawing room should be safe now, as the agitated spirit therein has calmed. I will keep it under watch, however, just in case it intends more trouble”[/color] before looking over the room they were in now that the urgency the spirit’s banging had produced had ended.

The news seemed to surprise Fred. “Oh…good. Well, that room isn’t usually there, anyway. It should go away once the door is closed.”

[color=ea590c]”I was intending to keep it open, actually”[/color] He replied, before explaining his reasoning [color=ea590c]”If we make a chain of rooms joined by open doors, it should locking down the labyrinth and making it far less confounding to navigate. It should also allow my fellows to gradually filter into this location, and thus regroup so we can put our heads together and figure out an escape from this place”[/color]

Fred nodded tentatively. “Alright, uh. Good luck with that.”

Edward nodded in turn, and then took a moment to look over the room that was now functionally his basecamp. It was while doing so that his eyes came to rest on a [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/eb3d8166099f.png]staff[/url] resting on one of the shelves, which caused him to raise an eyebrow.

Upon retrieving and inspecting it, he came to the conclusion that Roxas had not had the eye for the magic found within. This prompted a swift search of the place, with which he uncovered a set of enchanted boots, a fine if mundane dagger sat in a display case and numerous gems. Most of these where roughly cut but seemed [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/4bbdfbb14e45.webp]magical in nature[/url] baring one [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b12b29694cc9.png]unusal gem[/url] that seemed to be of exceptional craftsmanship. 

[hider=Edward has found]
[url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/eb3d8166099f.png]Staff of the Frost Atronach[/url]: can be used to summon a [url=https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Frost_Atronach_(Skyrim)]Frost Atronach[/url] for 60 seconds. This magic is powered by an internal charge that can be restored using soul gems.
Enchanted Boots with 40% shock resistance
[url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/3228d70242fa.webp]Dwarven Dagger[/url]: An ancient blade made with high quality materials that neither dulls nor rusts. Its design meanwhile is rather straightforward, sporting neither unnecessary flair nor cunning craftsmanship.  
[url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b12b29694cc9.png]A stone of Barenziah[/url]: one of twenty four stones intended to adorn the crown of Barenziah. Valuable in its own right, it would be especially so to someone who wished to complete the set.
[url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/4bbdfbb14e45.webp]Soul Gems[/url]: containing the captured souls of beasts, these gems can be used to both make and recharge magical artifacts. 
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While the boots would do well as either essence fodder or crucible fuel, the Dreadnought kept the rest of the items on his person. The gems might well have a use elsewhere in the maze after all, while the staff and blade would make decent additions to his arsenal. 

Staff in hand, and troops at his back, he then proceeded to the door through which he had entered the archmage’s quarters, the golems stationed there ready to hold it open for him and secure a third room for his growing collection.