Edwin glared at the thick stone plate, giving it a kick for good measure. His journey was not off to a good start. In fact, if he didn’t get past this door somehow, it wasn’t going to be off to any kind of start. He was at the very top of the laboratory, by the main entrance that would lead him outside. The tunnel was hidden not just by powerful concealment spells, but also by a cleverly constructed solid stone door. Said door was not opening, and Edwin couldn’t figure out why. Walter could have easily opened it any of a dozen different ways, with little more than a wave of his hand. But Walter wasn’t here.

One of the greatest challenges Walter had faced when he had built the Immortalizer was what to do with his magical core. No matter how well one hid it with spells or rituals, a proper investigation by a fellow mage could always detect it. The solution was the crystal hidden deep within Edwin’s chest. It contained the entirety of Walter’s magical prowess, safely locked away from all access and investigation. Nothing short of cutting open his chest and cracking the crystal could betray him. But that also meant, that Edwin couldn’t utilize even the faintest whisper of power. He was just as powerless as any farmer, forester or fisherman he might meet on the road. Which meant he couldn’t just will the door open with his awesome powers of telekinesis.

Edwin walked back down the tunnel, turning left at the next fork. A few more steps brought him to a narrow spiral staircase, which he climbed upwards. It deposited him into another tunnel that led to a small stone hatch. He carefully popped it open, only to wince at the bright sunlight.

Below him, a narrow valley stretched out, falling away from the cliff his head was sticking out of. Green conifers were fighting for every last bit of soil, and colorful mountain flowers peeked out between the rocks. The sounds of birds singing and the wind brushing through the trees were deafening after so long underground, and for a while he just sat there in awe.

After a few minutes of gazing out into the valley, Edwin remembered his purpose and squeezed his body through the hatch. Looking down to where he remembered the door to be, he quickly found the problem: Wind and weather had loosened rocks further up the mountain, which had then rolled down the cliff and blocked the outside of the door. It wasn’t completely buried, but with the added weight, it was no surprise the door hadn’t wanted to budge. Climbing back inside, he looked around. The tunnel was mostly bare, but like most of the places inside the complex, there were shelves and other useful things built into the wall. Near the hatch was a stone hook, meant for hanging coats, leaning staves, affixing lanterns, or whatever else one might want to use a hook for. Edwin had to admit that it hadn’t been intended to affix a rope, but if it worked this well for the purpose, that just showed even greater foresight on Walter’s part.

Edwin knew that there was some kind of trick to descending a cliff using a rope. Sadly, he didn’t know what that trick was. The hatch wasn’t all that far above the door, but Edwin still managed to amass a staggering number of bruises on the way down. When he finally put his feet onto the loose rocks by the cliffside, he was panting, and his mood had turned quite foul. Gathering up the rope and surveying the blockage, he realized that he would need tools to dislodge or break the rocks, tools he didn’t have. Then again, he wasn’t going to have to come back any time soon, so maybe the problem would solve itself in the meantime. These rocks had tumbled down from their perch once, they just needed to do it again in the years to come. Also, they served as additional camouflage for his secret door, so leaving them might even be beneficial.

Satisfied with his reasoning, Edwin turned and started downhill, when the hatch above him closed with a dull thump. The spells protecting the base automatically closed any outside doors after a few minutes in case they got left open or were dislodged by an earthquake or something similar. The perks of having been designed by a genius, Edwin thought with satisfaction. He climbed slowly and carefully until he had cleared the loose rocks, then he stepped more freely, taking deep breaths of the clear mountain air, reveling in the beauty of nature surrounding him and the promise of the journey ahead.

--- ----- ---

When Edwin had first looked out of the secret hatch, it had been late morning. Now, with noon fast approaching, he had finally made it to the mouth of the valley. He set down his pack and sat against a tree, studying the forest before him. Chewing on a piece of hardtack old enough to join the army, he considered his next steps.

His destination was the city of Pel Darni, the largest city in the northeast of the duchy of Harvand, which the laboratory was situated in. To get there, he would need to travel more or less directly south-west. Walter had made that trek several times, back when he had been alive, so he knew the way. There was just a problem: Edwin didn’t have magic. Climbing down the valley had made him realize just how much Walter had relied on his considerable abilities, and just how little Edwin knew about traversing the deep wilderness. The thought of spending the night in the forest, with just the limited supplies he had in his pack and no protective magic, scared him more than he was willing to admit. He wore a simple cloth shirt and pants, with a heavy woolen cloak to keep the cold and rain away and had nothing but a belt knife to protect himself. The storage had held some weapons as well as a chain shirt, two helmets and an assortment of plates that could be strapped to different parts of the body, but he had decided against taking them. Lugging them down the mountains would only have slowed him down, and he planned to buy the things he needed once he reached the city.

Pulling a map from his pack, his considered his options. There weren’t many people in the far northeast of Harvand, which was the exact reason why Walter had built his laboratory here. There were two villages within a day’s travel, however. The closer one, Cliffside, was south and a little further east, overlooking the Scar. He was certain he could reach it before dark, but it was quite far away from the city. Depending on the condition of the road, going there might add a day to his journey, and he was eager to start his new life. The other option was Three Faces, a village that lay at the foot of the mountains to the west. It was a little further, so he would have to hurry if he wanted to reach it before nightfall. Once he did, however, the journey to the city would be an easy one. Also, Three Faces was further inland, and they would be slightly less wary of a wanderer coming to their door than those of Cliffside, who probably hadn’t seen a stranger in years. He would have to make up a story that explained how he got there, but as long as he didn’t do anything stupid and left the next day, people shouldn’t be too suspicious.

With his mind made up, Edwin gathered his things and turned west.