In the remains of
what used to be the train station, I scavenge a few bullets and a
schematic for explosive rounds. If Piero is still around, he might
want to take a look at this when I return to the Hound Pits. To my
left, I see an makeshift bridge that leads out of the building,
through a massive hole in the wall. Following it, I arrive just
outside of another complex with a statue of a former Empress, from
before Jessamine's time, outside of it: The Chamber of Commerce. I've
arrived at what is most likely Daud's headquarters. Were there any
other choice, I would go around and avoid confrontation. As it
stands, if I want to stop the Loyalists from using Emily, I'll need
to go right through the very same men who killed Jessamine those six
months ago. No use dwelling on it, I suppose. It's best to get to the
task at hand.
Using my mask's
spyglass to get a good look, I see an entrance into the Chamber on
the upper levels. The problem here is two-fold. One, I am sitting
down on the lower levels, meaning that I'll need to find a way up
there. Two, the place is crawling with Daud's men. I don't think I'll
be able to just sneak my way through them, so I'm going to need to
find a way around in order to keep making progress. Looking around a
bit, I spot an alley to my left. It leads away from the Chamber of
Commerce, but it's my only real chance of avoiding open conflict.
Quietly, I teleport into the alley hoping that it will lead me
passed, or even above the assassins. That's when I realize that the
alley is also flooded, and fall into the water. Jumping onto the roof
of a small shack, I see a route from my current position to another
rooftop significantly higher up than I am, so I climb. From this
vantage point, I have a clearer look of the area. There may not be as
many assassins as I had initially though, I count at least 5, but
still enough that I'm weary of being seen. Behind me, I see an
entrance to an apartment building. Since jumping from the roof would
give Daud's men a direct line of sight, I opt to use this apartment
to keep going around them.
From the other side
of the apartment, I blink into another building, passed the gaze of a
patrolling guard. I'm quite out of the woods yet, as I can see him
walking around just outside the building. I can't make my move until
his eyes are pointed away from the Chamber of Commerce, so there's
not much I can do but sit here and wait. While I'm waiting, I
overhear a few of the guards compliment my weaponry, noting that
despite their quality, Daud will not use them himself. I wonder about
this man. He's as much a mystery to me as I am to him, but I suppose
that isn't terribly important at the moment. When I'm sure that they
are no longer looking my way, I quickly teleport into the ruins of
another building closer to the Chamber of Commerce and duck behind a
wall. Getting from there to the Chamber Interior was just a matter of
waiting for the right moment again, as the guards couldn't see me
from up above.
Once inside, I
tried to open the door to the path that will lead me directly on the
path to the Hound Pits. To my disappointment, but not surprise, the
door was locked. While I'm thinking about my next move, I hear people
coming, so I head for cover and lean slightly outward to get a better
look. Two of Daud's men are in the hallway. One of them mentions
going on assignment, but says that the door to the tunnel is blocked,
which I already knew. The other one says that the key is in Daud's
possession. Of course it is. If anyone around here has a key to it,
it had to be Daud. This means that my worst fears have come to
pass. To accomplish my goal, I am going to need to face the man who
murdered an Empress. He has powers like mine too, and a small army at
his beck and call. If I slip up, I'm a dead man. Once they finish
talking, one of them heads my way. I move passed him using the
bookshelves in this room as cover.
The other guy is
another issue. He appears to be unmoving, so I can't just sneak by
him. That's when I glimpse the two chandeliers in the hallway.
Teleporting to the top of one of them, I manage to stay out of sight
while continuing my advance into the Chamber. Once again Blinking to
the end of the hallway, I come across a new assassin acolyte in
training. The instructor appears to be teaching him how to keep
hidden in shadows. Considering the profession of these men, that's
not exactly a bad idea. After watching them for a bit to see if I
could learn anything, which I didn't, I tiptoe around them and into
what looks to have been a garden area. I see two windows to my left
and right that I can use to get closer to Daud. If the maps I once
studied of this building are correct, the central office, where Daud
is sure to be located, is just ahead. Taking the left side, I observe
as one of Daud's men goes in to give him a report, eavesdropping on
their conversation.
Seeing Daud like
this gives me a new perspective on him. I hear him talk of the Lord
Regent with a mix of pity and spite. He muses of all the various ways
he would have killed Hiram Burrows had he received the chance,
calling the Mole quite a few nasty names. That's when he begins to
talk of the many people the Mole hired him to kill. In his words,
“none of them like the last. I'd give back all the coin if I could.
No one should have to kill an Empress.” I thought many times of
what I might do if I had the opportunity to get close to the man who
murdered my love, but all of those plans really don't seem to matter
anymore. Now, this shell of a man fills me with nothing but sorrow
and pity. Even if revenge still mattered at this point, I don't think
I could bring myself to extract it from him. Nonetheless, there is
still the problem that I need his key in order to protect my
daughter.
That's when I think
of a bold, daring plan. Instead of fighting him, I can try to steal
the key and leave before he or any of his men notice me. Perhaps
that's the best way to leave him my message, one of mercy. I notice a
bookshelf close to the pitiful man, and teleport to the top of it to
wait for my chance. Once he begins to read from his book, I teleport
in, grab his key off the desk and a Bone Charm from his pocket, throw
myself back onto the bookshelf and again out of the room. The whole
ordeal took a matter of seconds, but in the end he's free to live his
days as he sees fit, seeking death or redemption, and I can move on
from here. I hope I'm making the right decision by sparring him. If
not, I may have inadvertently killed quite a few people.
But there's no
point in dwelling on the potential consequences of my actions. There
is still much work that needs to be done. Returning to the locked
door using very much the same route I arrived at Daud's office with,
I close the door behind me and jump onto a chain leading downward. On
the way down, I find a Rune and absorb it's energy. At the bottom of
the Chamber of Commerce, I used the key stolen from Daud to open a
tunnel, leading me one step closer to rescuing my daughter from her
would-be puppeteers. On the other side of the tunnel, I emerge to
find more flooded ruins. I start to lose hope that I'll ever make it
back, when suddenly I notice a train dumping the bodies of plague
victims to my left. Those things don't travel far from Dunwall as a
way to save money on whale oil, so I must be close. That train also
looks like a good way to hasten my travels. With that in mind, I make
getting up to it a priority.
Spotting a bridge
below the train within range, I ready my powers and throw my being up
there. Analyzing my surroundings, I see a window into another old
apartment building. Climbing into it, I find that it makes for a
great way to advance upwards. As I ascend, I see a woman who is
clearly distraught. She initially suspects that I'm a new kind of
guard and raises her arms to defend herself. When I don't respond in
kind, she gets the hint and withdraws. Though she continues to rant
afterward, I lose my patience and continue onward and upward. When I
make it to the roof, I see and grab another Rune. It's been a long
time, and I've gained a lot of Rune energy. While I wait for the
train to return, I take this time to increase my power. Just like
before, a vision appears in my head. In it, I am accosted on all
sides by city watchmen. When they go to strike, I raise my hand in a
similar manner to my previous vision of slowing down time. Except
now, rather than simply slow the flow of time, the world itself seems
to be frozen in place. Since no one is moving, I take this as my
moment to escape. Pouring my energy into this vision, I feel my
powers over Space-Time growing stronger.
As the haze of my
mental landscape fades, the train finally appears. After it finishes
dumping the bodies, I do not hesitate to jump aboard. I see
buildings, guards, and even Tallboys pass by before I notice the Wall
of Light closing in. At the last possible second, I Blink onto the
platform just outside the Wall, pulling the oil tanker fueling it out
of it's socket. Then, I climb down a nearby training and move passed
the Wall of Light. I'm now just outside the Old Port District, where
the Hound Pits Pub is located. Soon Emily. I'll be there for you
soon....
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