Arriving at Dunwall
Tower is a very bittersweet moment for me. Were it not for all the
security, guards, and the Lord Mole I've been sent to kill, this
would feel a lot like a homecoming. As it stands, it's sad to see how
far this place has fallen. What was once a bright and cheerful place
where Jessamine did her best to help as many as she could is now
under the control of a bleak and petty dictator. I may not have a
great vantage point from the bottom of the water lock, but even from
here the change is obvious. The darkness merely accentuates what is
already there.
Due to my current
standing with the government of Dunwall, I'm unable to get clearance
to use the water lock's mechanisms to raise our boat to the garden of
the tower. This means that I need to climb my way up myself and go
from there. After all of the many, many buildings I've climbed in a
few short days, this isn't a big deal to me, especially since I have
magic teleportation powers. After climbing a few pipes, I find myself
using these powers to land inside a nearby vent. There are spinning
wheels that divide this vent, but in those wheels are gaps which I
can easily sneak through. At the end of the vent, I see an opening
that I use to exit onto a steel beam. From there, I see what appears
to be a Bone Charm on the other side of the water lock, in another
vent. Confirming that it is indeed a Bone Charm with the Heart, I
Blink over there and pick it off of a corpse. It's a good thing that
I was the one who picked it up, because as soon as I put it in my
bag, a swarm of rats appears out of nowhere. Reflexively, I throw
myself back to the other side using Blink before I am devoured by
rats. Looking at the Bone Charm, I see that it helps me restore my
mental energy faster, so I equip it onto my belt.
Taking a quick
breath to calm myself down, I overhear a few guards talking on the
level above me. One of them moves towards the bannister. If he looks
down, I will be spotted, ruining any shot of assassinating the Lord
Mole. Luckily, his Dunwallian inability to look around gives me the
break I needed to get to the balcony by the door to the maintenance
room. Opening the door, I am immediately greeted by an Arc Pylon. The
door is just outside of it's effective range, so I'm safe for now.
However, if I want to get to the upper levels, I will need to disable
it somehow. The panel must be around here somewhere. I see that there
is a metal barrier I can use to hide from the Arc Pylon, so I throw
myself behind it, not giving the pylon any time to charge up. From
there, I see not only the control panel, but the oil tank fueling the
device. Quietly dislodging the tank from the conduit, I move upstairs
and continue my ascent.
Rather than take
the slow, painful route of sneaking through the top level of the
water lock, I find that it is smarter instead to teleport onto a
nearby spire and again to the roof of the building, bypassing the
patrolling guards entirely. Sneaking across the rooftop gives me a
perfect view of the tower gardens, so I take this as an opportunity
to sit down and plan my strategy for braking in. While the basic
structure of the garden is very much like how I remember it, security
has clearly been improved. There are stations and watch towers that
were clearly erected recently, on top of the large number of guards
out on patrol. I also see construction laid about for further
potential “renovations”. According to the Heart, two Runes are
also in the area. One is close by, and I can likely get to it on the
way to the tower proper. The other is clearly on the top of the
tower. Unless the Regent is there as well, the odds are I won't be
grabbing it. It's too risky.
Finishing my survey
of the area, I decide to use the construction nearby to sneak through
the right side of the gardens, behind a guard tower. Since the Rune
is in the tower, I use a small hole in the construction to enter. As
I climb up, I hear footsteps above me, and wait for them to pass
before I pull myself up and Blink passed the patrol before he turns
around. The watchman is in plain view of the door leading to the
Rune, so I wait before making my move. Entering the room containing
the Rune, I see that it must be the bedroom for the guardsmen in the
area, judging by the cots, lockers, and food littered about it. One
of the notices on a circular table says that after the death of my
beloved Empress, Lord Mole severely restricted access to Dunwall
Tower. That doesn't surprise me, but I'm still angered at the way he
spits on her legacy. Rather than listen to the words of the people,
this fool would sit and watch the city crumble. My resolve is
strengthened after this. I know now that regardless of my
expendability to the conspiracy, this man needs to die.
When I look back at
the way I came into this room, I see an awning on the side of the
tower I can use to keep the high ground and advance further into the
complex. I can't teleport to it normally, so with a running start, I
jump and then use my powers to get up there. Turning back, a wry
smile crosses my face as I see that the guard is still completely
oblivious. He didn't even hear me thanks to my boots, outfitted by
Piero to be as silent as possible. Fortune smiles at me again when I
gaze to my right, finding a ventilation shaft that leads directly
into the tower foyer. On top of the archway above the main entrance,
I see the Lord Mole himself talking through one of the screens to his
top general, standing atop the staircase leading onto the second
floor.
What luck!
Apparently all the stress is getting to the old fool. Rather than
stay in his safe-room on the top floor, he heads to his bedroom.
Considering that there is only one real “bedroom” in this tower,
the rest being more accurately called barracks, I know exactly where
he'll be. I can't help but be mad that this sick individual is
sleeping in the room that rightfully belongs to the woman he
contracted a hit on, but that's tempered by the relief that I won't
have to struggle to get there. After all, the bedroom's balcony
directly overlooks the foyer, and from my vantage point I can see
that the door is wide open. As many people on patrol as this idiot
has, there was absolutely no way he could have known that his pursuer
has the power to throw himself onto the chandelier, and then to the
balcony. The moment he decided to leave that room was the moment he
sealed his fate. Lord Mole, Hiram Burrows, you are mine.
On the balcony to
the bedroom, I take the time to pilfer a Rune from his chest in front
of the bed before climbing up to the awning above. It's made of
incredibly sturdy materials, so I have no doubt that it will support
my weight. All I have to do now is sit, wait, and figure out how
exactly I plan to get the job done without leaving evidence behind.
He takes his time getting here, but eventually I hear him outside the
door, chastising the watchmen. Part of me wonders exactly how much
they like Lord Mole. If he wasn't paying them money, how many of them
would stay out of loyalty? My guess is few. As the door opens, I
summon a swarm of rats to attack him. Watching the guards panic and
swing their swords wildly, trying to assist him, my heart jumps as I
see one of them accidentally swing their blade directly into the Lord
Regent, killing him on the spot in a similar scene to the the
Pendleton twins.
Oh dear, what a
terrible accident. Apparently the guards in this city have trouble
defending their lords from the rats.
Though I probably
should look around and scout for more Runes and Bone Charms, I opt to
not take my chances with Dunwall Tower Security. I leave exactly the
same way I came in, using the chandelier to keep out of sight of the
patrols and sneaking back into the vent. My journey back to Samuel's
boat goes a lot smoother than the one I made to get to my final
target. After a few Blinks, I am back on the roof of the water lock
and in a good position to dive into the water and swim to the boat.
Explaining that the deed has been done, a weight appears to lift from
the boatman's shoulders, and he takes us back to the Hound Pits.
As we travel,
Samuel confesses a mix of unease and excitement for the new change,
worrying that the small guys like him may end up getting steamrolled.
I didn't tell him for fear of worsening his mood, but deep down I
share the same apprehension. All the evidence I've gathered points to
this being the perfect moment for the heads of this conspiracy to
show their true colors, assuming my guess is correct. I hope I'm
wrong, but considering I'm the foremost expert on being backstabbed,
I trust my instincts. I can hear the party in the bar from here, so I
decide to join the festivities. As Pendleton praises my final
victory, he hands me a drink. Both him and Havelock seem excited for
the changes to come, and in their fervor give a toast to me and Lady
Emily.
In the excitement
of the moment, I imbibe the fluid from the glass and immediately
curse myself for it. I wait a few moments, and think that I might be
okay as I listen to Callista argue her case to Martin that she should
take the job of caring for Emily. It was then that my vision began to
blur, and I knew that I had made a terrible mistake. It's getting
worse and worse, and I don't think there's anything I can do about
it. The only thought crossing my mind is the vain hope that if I get
to my bed and rest, maybe they'll be too chicken shit to finish me
off and I'll have time to recover. Frantically, I rush up the stairs
and to my room, but as I reach my bed, I collapse onto the floor.
I've been lucky so far, but it appears this is where my journey comes
to a close....
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