You knew that outright claiming that you were that man, easy as it may be, true as it may be would not be a wise thing to do at this moment. You'd have given away your big advantage in confirming this mans curiosity so readily. No, you needed to let it weigh on his mind, you needed to let it trouble him as he was no doubt naturally curious if he was one working for a group who played with the elements so readily.
It wasn't wise to go around telling everybody that you were immortal either. You knew that some people would feel threatened or resentful, that others would expect you to share some kind of power with them that you did not possess, that others would become barely loyal hangers on waiting for some form of reward for their so called devotion.
You knew people.
Not everybody would believe that you were what you claimed to be either, not everybody believed that immortals, as rare as they were actually existed. Some people didn't like to believe in that what threatened what they saw to be their humanity, some were just plain ignorant.
You did wonder if you could turn this situation further to your advantage, make a few insightful comments about the work that they did here if you could get them to take you on a tour. It wouldn't hurt to try suggesting such a thing to them, make it clear that you knew a thing or two about their methods here. The more you mulled over that idea, the more you liked it. It was simple, it was without risk of them believing that they had been played by someone who knew about the painting and came here pretending to be that man.
You didn't recall having such a painting of yourself done, yet, it couldn't possibly be anybody but you, could it?
"I did come here with the intent of learning a little more about your methods, to join you potentially. Would a tour be too much to ask?" You shifted slightly as you spoke, your body language now used to suggest a very friendly warmth. You wanted to make the very thought of saying no to this something that the man would feel bad over.
"Well... We do not normally carry out such tours, but, in these circumstances I see no reason why not." The man responded, though you could feel just how weak the excuse he was using was. You could practically feel his curiosity to see you side by side with that painting.
The tour was one that started off fairly unimpressive. Most of the interesting area's in the labs you were taken to see were off limits to it due to the inherent danger of some of the substances that they worked with. This didn't however, stop you from impressing the man as you talked about how you understood that beyond explosions, that there was always hazardous gasses and the like to worry about too. You could see him tempted to sneak you in however, just to see if something interesting was going on there that he could show you.
From the off limits labs, you travelled to the workshops. The only part of the workshops he couldn't show you directly were the forges, though he was able to show you them from one of the walkways that stretched out above them. From the forges you were taken to see the workshops where the actual components were assembled, while being told about how the Technomancers made some of the more exotic parts for the Clockworkers mechanical men, including their weapons.
This caught your interest, though your inquiries into them yeilded little more than the types of weapons they were outfitted with and nothing on their design. Some had fuel tanks and the means to ignite a controlled stream of fire with them, some could discharge energy from their internal power source through their hands, some carried modern weapons that had been scaled up for their use.
One of the worshops you saw was filled with partially assembled weapons of this nature, weapons that had you mention in passing that you had ideas for weapons of your own that you would like to attempt the construction of some day.
From the workshops you were taken to the the research area, a place filled with vast libraries of books, a place filled with people researching and conceptualising new and improbable inventions. This was also the only part of the building that seemed to really bear any decorations. While this place in itself wasn't as interesting given that the only visible activity here was people reading and writing, studying and drawing, you knew that it was a good place for anybody that wished to learn. The vast number of books and their varied subject matter was something that had you realise that this was what you'd needed all along. You could learn to create weapons here, you could research alchemy, you could unravel the secrets of the world about you little by little.
It wasn't long however before you were taken in the direction of the gallery.
You were shown various portraits of important figures from the guild over the years as well as portraits that had been aquired from famed artists. Every portrait had a small plaque beneath it declaring who it was, along with other details where relevant. That was, every one but your own.
"And, this is..." the man started as he lead you to it, pausing as he looked between you and the portrait. You could feel the shock as he saw all the more clearly now that you were truely identical to the figure portrayed in that painting. You stepped towards it, paying no attention to the man as you glanced briefly at the plaque beneath the painting.
Your one simply read unknown man, unknown artist.
A face framed by dark hair looked back at you from that painting, pale with piercing blue eyes. A face that was youthful yet troubled, their expression showing experience beyond their years despite how flawlessly smooth their complexion was. Compared to the average man, when you were unblemished by injury you almost bore an unearthly beauty.
"Since when did we open this gallery to the public, Mister Smith?" Came a booming voice from behind you as you examined the picture before you, causing the man beside you to jump as he turned to stammer an excuse towards what you assumed was a high ranking member.
You turned to face the man, your gaze intensely locked on his face as you looked into his eyes. The man faltered as he saw your face then trembled as he saw those eyes, seeing the depthless nature of eternity echoed behind them. The man went from haughty to humbled as he realised what was stood before him better than the clearly less perceptive man who had given you the tour through this facility.
"I appologise sir, I did not realise that we had somebody of your great nature here!" He stated as he bowed before you deeply, straightening his attire as he did his best to collect himself as he did his best to hide how your presence had him flustered.
"What may we, humble as we are do for a great one such as yourself?" The man asked, prompting a small smile from you. You liked this feeling of respect that you got from the man of science before you, that made you wonder just what you could get away with asking for him to do for you.