Getting here was
easy enough. Now comes the real challenge. It looks like I'll be able
to accomplish one of my objectives right now. In front of me, my
contact Martin lies in chains, being interrogated by one of his
fellow overseers. Either Martin is playing a very convincing bluff,
or he saw me and knows I'm here to break him out. Letting the stupid
overseer have a bit of fun before he dies, I wait a little before
summoning a swarm of rats to devour his flesh. Once he falls to the
ground, I pull the lever and release Martin from his restraints. He
tells me a bunch of stuff I already know regarding my assignment and
the likelihood that Geoff Curnow will be poisoned, and then leaves,
promising to tell Samuel to pick me up on the other side of the
estate so that I have a good escape route.
Using my magically
enhanced jumping abilities, I scale a nearby wall to the top of an
air vent, climbing around and to an awning passed the main gate. As I
teleport across the pillars and onto the rim of the Abbey's walls, I
overhear two of the zealots talking about the Heretic's Brand.
Apparently it can be used to mark any overseer, even Baldy, as a
traitor. One such marked will no longer be welcome. Aiding him would
also become a capital offense for all residents in the city. If it
weren't so risky, I might have considered it as a form of poetic
justice. As it stands, I can't risk being seen dragging a body around
like that. Pulling out the Heart, I see that this complex harbors two
Runes that I can use to boost my power. Hopefully I can get to them.
For me to succeed in future missions, I'll need to grow as strong as
I can.
I sneak around the
Abbey's walls and take a moment to study the area. Going in through
the main gate is far too risky as there are many patrols outside.
Fortunately, I appear to have a workaround. Looking down, I notice
that the drainage system for the area's rain is completely unguarded
and spacious enough for me to fit through, so I Blink down and climb
in. There was a bit of an obstruction in the pipe, but nothing that a
blade can't fix. Once I'm in, I notice that while I'm closer, I
still need to get into the building proper, and the front door is a
terrible way of sneaking in. Knowing this, it appears that taking a
detour and moving through the dog kennels is my next best option, so
that's what I do. While the dog trainer is on duty, I am fortunate
enough to have the door open to a few crates I can hide behind. To
traverse this area, my best option is to stick to the vents as best I
can. There is some tricky maneuvering, as two or three dog trainers
are patrolling the area, but I eventually make to the main building's
basement.
Since I've been to
the Abbey before on business trips with the Empress, I know that
Baldy will likely meet with Geoff in the dining room on the second
floor. I could likely sneak around these guards even without the
power of short-range teleportation, but it sure does help. Once I'm
on the second floor, I scale a nearby bookcase and decide to walk on
top of the industrial lights to navigate. Fortunately, the dining
room is close to the staircase by the kennels, so it's not a long
trip. Sadly, as I enter the area I notice that the two of them are
right outside the door, waiting to enter. This means that whatever I
do, I have to do it fast. Before making any decisions, I grab the
Rune on the wall. These overseers are hardly trustworthy, and with
what I'm about to do, it's likely that they'll pass the blame onto
one of their own, taking advantage of the ensuing chaos.
Ever since Callista
told me of Baldy's plan to murder Geoff, I knew exactly what the best
way to kill him would be. The poor fool plans to use poison on my old
friend. Little does he know that his own poison will be the
instrument I use for his demise. All it takes is a little sleight of
hand to switch the glasses. With a single move, I've saved Callista's
uncle and murdered a High Overseer. Not to bad if I do say so myself.
Now, the only thing left to do is watch this play out and collect
Baldy's Black Book when it's done. Rather then remain conspicuously
on the ground, I retreat to the rafters to observe my handiwork. It's
truly amazing the way some people walk in feeling all powerful, and
then scramble as they realize what's going on, knowing they are about
to die. Such was the case for Campbell. To the outside world, the
moron made the mistake of a lifetime by ingesting his own poison,
paying the ultimate price for it.
Oh dear, what a
terrible accident.
After realizing
which drink he imbibed, he tried ordering Geoff to burn the Black
Book to no avail. Then, he passed from this mortal coil, and things
became interesting. When Curnow saw Baldy's lifeless form, he did
what he was trained to do, alert the guards. The overseers came in,
and he quickly realized there was no getting through to them. After
warning them to go after some initiate that must have been in the
room before me, he was accosted and the encounter quickly turned
violent. As the overseer in question drew his sword, my old friend
shot him dead with his pistol and warned his own entourage that they
would need to fight their way out. He's skilled, and so are his men,
so I have every confidence that he'll escape. That being said, I
still need to wait for the dust to settle so that I can pick up that
damned book. It took a moment, but eventually I found my chance,
slipping in and out faster than Geoff could shout “Men!
CHARGE!!!!”. I decided to skim the book a bit and was surprised to
note two things. First, Blady was blackmailing a crap ton of nobles:
enough to ensure the money and favors kept flowing in almost
indefinitely. Second, he makes note of a secret room in the basement,
where I emerged from the kennels. Since there's no kill like
overkill, I might as well peruse the place to see if there's anything
I could make use of.
It'll be tricky
making my way back, as the guards have placed this whole facility
under high alert. Given my skill, it should still be quite possible.
When I do succeed, I reread the journal to make sure I'm in the right
place. Following the instructions, I depress the colored eye on the
bust adjacent to the kennel doors, and I'm in business. The wall
comes to life and opens up wide. In Campbell's secret chamber, I
notice the Sokolov painting he made six months ago. Thinking I should
pin it on one of the many low-lifes in this farce they call an Abbey,
I snatch it up for Piero to sell on the black market. With that same
logic, I smash the glass case nearby to steal of gold plate and the
other Rune hidden in the area. Since I've covered my tracks well,
this will have the look of an inside job, assuming they find this
room at all. The last thing I do is listen to an audiograph where
Baldy laments my escape of Coldridge and what it may mean for his and
the Lord Mole's plans. Way to go, me!
The only thing left
to do is escape, and if my memory is correct, the back gardens, where
Samuel will be waiting, are not far. In fact, they are just to my
right when I exit back onto the main floor of the Abbey. When I make
it to the backyard, the Heart begins to beat something fierce,
revealing the presence of 2 Bone Charms and a Rune. Before the nearby
overseer spots me, I hide behind cover and begin to plan out my
escape. When he turns around, I Blink behind him and then again onto
a nearby building too high for him to see me. Indicating that I've
gotten closer to a Bone Charm, the heart beats at an increased rate.
Rather than approach from the front, I decide to make my way around
and slip in on the side facing the coast, since it's on the cliff and
therefore unguarded. When I enter, I'm greeted by the smell of
decaying corpse. According to a note I found on scene, this overseer
died trying to steal this Bone Charm from their vault. Its effect
won't do for my purposes. However, the intoxicating effects these
charms give off on people are clearly far too dangerous to be handled
by those without Poncy's mark, so I ultimately decide to stash it in
my bag.
Exiting the way I
came, I climb the awning and return to the rooftops. As I make my way
to the other Bone Charm, I hear the whispers of the Rune beneath me.
Sadly, I'm not at a good vantage point to get to it with the guard
standing there, so I decide to go continue after the charm. With
Blink and the increased height of my jumps, it is a trivial matter to
make it to the abandoned warehouse where it lies. Avoiding the trap,
I notice that while there are no overseers here, the area is
nonetheless guarded by a swarm of rats, meaning I can't stay on the
ground for very long. Again, this charm is of no use to me, so I
store it in my pack and head back out. Before I head to Samuel, the
last thing on my checkbox is to retrieve that final Rune. To the
chagrin of the guard watching the roof of the building, my rats
appear from the ether and devour his body. With him out of the way, I
break the sun-roof and jump down, snatching up the Rune and an
audiograph. The overseer recorded on it mentions that their little
cult now has access to music boxes that can cancel out magic powers
like my own. Should I come across more overseers in the future, and
doubtless I will, this will be something I need to keep in mind.
With all of my
tasks now complete, I head to Samuel at the dock behind the garden.
I'm glad I don't have a fear of heights, because the dock is a long
way down. So long that I have to use a chain to climb down. Now that
I'm here, the two of us take his boat and return to the Hound Pits
Pub. For my first assassination, this turned out quite well. I was
never seen and the overseers likely suspect that Baldy accidentally
killed himself and one of their own used the situation to his
advantage in a number of thefts across the estate. Even better, they
might suspect the city watch and begin infighting amongst the
factions in Dunwall. Overall, this was an overwhelming success.
Once we make it
back to our makeshift HQ, Callista turns to greet me with gratitude.
Apparently Geoff did make it out of there, and a sigh of relief
escapes my mouth. Touched by my actions, Callista insists upon giving
me a family heirloom of hers. I feel bad knowing that this will
almost definitely be pawned off to pay for my equipment, but how can
I refuse her? Before I report to Havelock and Pendleton, I decide to
step back and listen to them talk. It appears that they are pleased
with my results, and have already begun discussing who they'll send
me after next. They mention that Pendleton's older brothers control
his family's voting block in Parliament, so I suspect that's where I
will be asked to strike next.
When I talk to
them, they congratulate me for saving Martin and retrieve Baldy's
Black Book of Blackmail, which comes from the Always Awesome Academy
of Amazing Alliterations. Instead of immediately sending me out
again, they decide to wait for Martin to get here and read the
journal to choose the next hit. Yeah, these guys clearly have no idea
what they're doing. Pendleton's a coward and while Havelock has
charisma, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. They recommend that
I get some sleep, but I decide to walk around a little first. As I
make my way to Piero's workshop, I am pleasantly greeted by Lydia.
Nice woman, if a little rough around the edges. The audiograph next
to the entrance revealed that Poncy has been giving the inventor
ideas in his sleep, flooding his mind with tons of plans for killing
devices I will likely never use. After praising me (and his tools by
proxy) for my daring kill, he pulls out the list of things he can
make for me. Double-checking it, I decide that I'd rather save my
money as I've no use for his current stock.
Entering the bar, I
see Wallace again chastising Cecelia over not knowing proper
etiquette. Despite being close to nobility myself, I never did like
all the rules we're expected to follow. They're often so arbitrary
and frankly stupid, so hearing him talk about their importance is
winning him no favors from me. Traveling to Pendleton's room, I see
that he's begun to worry that his brothers are conspiring with the
Lord Mole. His “memoirs”, as he calls this little audiograph
series he's been working on, only talk about his disdain for the
Boyle family, so I almost immediately begin to lose interest. In
Havelock's room, his journal and audiograph sing my praises. However,
I also note that he fears me. In particular, he hears that I might
betray him at a moment's notice. Experience tells me that those who
harbor such thoughts tend to be the betrayers themselves, so I think
I'll need to watch my back from now on. No Runes have revealed
themselves, as the Heart lies dormant, so it's best that I head to
bed and await my next assignment....
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