“What a Terrible Accident” Let's Play Dishonored: Part 11: The Party

The mansion's interior is simply beautiful. I knew that the Boyles were one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest, families in Dunwall, but this is just insane. Despite having multiple objectives to carry out, I cannot help but to gawk at the sheer lavishness of the lobby. When I get done, I snack on an apple on the table. This may be a business trip, but I might as well enjoy my time here before the shit hits the fan. Security looks pretty tight, but as long as I have my mask and keep a low profile, I should be okay.

Now to get busy. I need to figure out which one of the three hosts is the Lady Boyle funding Lord Mole's military and take her out without arousing suspicion. Looking around, I see that the Ladies Boyle are all wearing recolors of the same costumes: one red, one black, and one white. What will make this tough is that I don't know any of them personally. While I've been to many noble parties during my many years as Lord Protector, and the Boyles were usually invited, the Empress was always my top priority in more ways than one. However, since this is one of their parties, and figuring out which one is which has become a game for the guests, I can try to talk to some of the guests here. Under the pretense of playing the game, they might be more willing to divulge information. Most nobles show up to these parties under a sense of obligation, but there have to be a few close friends to the Boyles in this place.

As I survey the grounds, I'm approached by a man wearing one of the ugliest makeshift masks I have ever seen in my entire life. My heart stops when he says that he knows why I am here. Shit! How would he know? Was I that obvious? Rather than rat me out, he simply requests that I speak with him in private. I thank the lucky stars, because this means I might have a way to salvage this situation. Before I can plan my next move, it would be wise to do as he says, so I follow him to a little corner where no one else will hear us. After making sure we are not being watched, the man in the ragged mask explains that he's done a few favors for us. Good, that means he's unlikely to expose me. Unfortunately, he gives me a rather troubling offer. Instead of killing her, I can kidnap Lady Boyle and take her to his boat in the cellar, after which he promises I will “never hear from her again.” Apparently, this guy has had a real crush on her for quite a while.

I'd love to avoid getting blood on my hands, but the way this guy makes his offer sound feels like a fate even worse than death. Killing her feels like a mercy if it means she doesn't end up in his hands, though this raises more trouble. If he truly feels this way towards the target, than when I do kill her he might retaliate. I can't risk this happening, so he has to die in order to keep my presence here secret. Still, he gives me the name of my target: Waverly Boyle. Having a name gives me more to work with, but I still need to figure out which of the three costumes she is wearing. I can't off this guy now, or else the guards might react much too strongly. This is going to be tough to execute. As I figure, it would be better to look around and plan a bit more before making a move.

When I ask about the Ladies Boyle, one of the noblewomen tells me to talk to a “Miss White,” also known as “Miss Moth.” She knows the Boyles and would likely have the information I need. As I approach the woman wearing a Moth-shaped mask, she asks for me to give her a drink after complimenting my “scandalous” mask and “poor sense of judgment.” Simple enough, I suppose. A quick trip to the fountain is all I need to satisfy her. Once the drink is in her hands, she becomes very loose lipped, divulging that Waverly is wearing the red costume while Lydia is in white. With this new piece of information, I have my target's name and costume. I tried to figure out a way to make Waverly's death look like an accident, which is when I had a devilish idea. My mask helped me convince Miss White to help me out, perhaps I can use it to charm the Lady Boyle. Waverly passes me by just as the idea pops into my head, so I go up and talk to her.

I use the pretense of the Boyles' game as a way to initiate conversation. After saying that I know which of the three sisters she is, I ask if she would like to have a private conversation. She calls my bluff, saying that she does not even know who I am. Thinking quickly to salvage the situation, I say that there is someone planning to kill her, and that I can save her life. I don't know how that worked, but it did, so I convinced her to some with me to the cellar. If that creeper from before is there like he said he'd be, I might be able to kill two birds with one stone. Since I don't know my way around, I follow her into the cellar, where she is summarily devoured by a swarm of rats that I summon.

That leaves the creeper. He's there in the boat, but taking care of him cleanly won't be easy. I try summoning a swarm of rats, but the boat resists my power somehow. I had to work around it by stabbing him with my blade and using the rats to, hopefully, cover it up after dumping his body onto the floor. Inspecting the cellars for a bit, I see an entrance to the sewer systems. That will give me the quickest and least patrolled route back, so that's what I use. Once in the sewers, I get over any fear I have of getting dirty and dive right in, using a nearby valve to open the grate to the river. Swimming back, I see that the patrols are getting more fierce, and Samuel had to retreat behind a closing floodgate in order to avoid being seen. Before the floodgate closes completely, I use a combination of Blink and my superior swimming skills in order to make it to the other side. Once I climb aboard, we both agree that it would best to leave as quickly as we can.

When we return to the Hound Pits, Samuel notes that Pendleton was supposed to meet us at the pier. Considering my suspicions, that worries me. The old boatman must have sensed my apprehension, and told me that he's probably just in the wine cellar, still lamenting the loss of his kin only a day ago. I decide to snoop around before meeting him for my debriefing. In the nobleman's room, I find a audiograph, this time it's not one of his boring memories. Clearly it was supposed to be, as he yells at his servant Wallace that he was trying to write them. However, he appears to have worked himself into a drunken rage. It was highly amusing.

Havelock's room greets me with the admiral himself working with Martin, though neither one of them are speaking. I discreetly peer into Havelock's journal. To my surprise, Martin has ascended to the rank of High Overseer, taking Baldy's place as top dog. For the conspiracy, this is good news. Considering I have the Mark of the Outsider, I'm not so sure it is for me. That's when I read the last potion of the last entry. As I have already surmised, the only person left for me to take out is the Lord Regent himself. That doesn't bother me. In fact, part of me is looking forward to it. What draws my attention is the sentence following that, “But what happens after that?” It seems to echo in the back of my head. What happens after this? I fear that the answer to that question is not one I am going to like.

Heading back into the bar, Callista calls me and asks if I can find Emily for her. Apparently they were playing hide-and-seek shortly before I arrived, and Callista was unable to find her (probably due to her Dunwallian dullness of senses). It's time for Emily's lessons, so she'd like her to be back soon. Since she is my daughter and I have been neglecting my duties as a father, the very least I can do is take her to school while I can. I already have an idea of where she went, so I go to my room to confirm my suspicions. Surprisingly enough, she wasn't there like I thought she'd be, so the next most reasonable place to look would be her room in the lighthouse. I don't find her, but I do find an audiograph Callista recorded, talking about her. Earlier before recording that thing, the two of them must have been talking about what will change when Emily becomes Empress. I can feel a mix of exhaustion, joy, and sympathy coming from Callista's voice as she talks about the many questions Emily asks of her. She ends noting that she can often hear my poor girl crying in her sleep. That alone just breaks my heart, but it's worse knowing there's nothing I can really do to about it. Instead of walking back down to continue my search, I decide to take the fun way by falling and then Blinking to the ground. Looking in the back alleys, I eventually stumble onto Emily. She hands me a Rune after we reminisce and I tell her to go do her lessons. She thought it would be a good luck charm, but it just gave her bad dreams. It's better that I take it, since I'm one of the few that can control those powers.

Since I've dodged him long enough, I go talk to Pendleton in the wine cellar. He seems peeved that I didn't give Lord Shaw his note, but I gather that's more his problem than mine. The man already plans to kill me, so I see no problem with giving him one more reason. Pendleton says the other two are looking for me, but I'll see to that later. Right now I want to see what Piero's up to. The mechanist seems pleased when I hand him the plans I stole for the Boyle manse. Apparently they can be used to build sticky grenades, but I don't have a use for them. Instead, I use my money to get him to build other supplies I might need, like plague elixirs. Now that I'm restocked, I go talk to Martin and Havelock over in the admiral's room. As we all knew, this is it. They tell me that this is the final mission. I'm to go as soon as I am able to Dunwall Tower and assassinate the Lord Mole. I expected this, but it feels weird to have it all coming to an end. I'm still concerned. Once this mission is over, they no longer have a reason to keep me alive. Despite my apprehension, I have to see this through to the end. Too much is at stake. I've done all I can here, so the only thing that remains is to talk with Samuel and embark on this last boat-ride....

#61: The Xbox One: A Series of Fixes

I do not think I need to tell you guys all the things that have gone on regarding Microsoft and the Xbox One (X1). If you are reading this, then you are likely already aware of the controversies surrounding the X1 since the initial February launch, along with the ensuing backpedal only a few days ago as of the time of writing. There is no real point in reiterating all of that here. Having said all that, with all that has gone on recently, there has spawned what could be referred to as a reverse-backlash, where people were angry that Microsoft responded to both its critics and low pre-order numbers. This movement was born in response to Microsoft cutting some of the consoles more interesting features, citing that the online check was necessary to maintain them. While I find these claims dubious, for reasons cited by both Eurogamer and Gamasutra, that's again not the point of this article.

What I want to talk about is what the Xbox One could have done in the first design to make the new console more palatable to initial audiences. To be clear, I will not be focusing on the TV features nor any of the PR surrounding that. The scope of this article will be solely on the technology and policies with regards to the gaming side, because that's ultimately what matters. I feel that there are five major changes they could have made in the design they first revealed so that it would have been more successful. Two of them are changes that have already been made, two are commonly cited complaints that remain on the console, and the last one will probably be very controversial, as I am sure I will get a lot of flak for it. Though I am not an expert in the fields of business nor engineering, I have some knowledge of programming and operating systems. I do not have any reason to believe that what I propose would be particularly difficult. Final disclosure: I am an unashamed fan of the Playstation brand, so my stake in Microsoft's success is only in that I wish that the competition they provide forces Sony to continue improving. Having said all of that, my proposals to “fix” the original design of the X1 is as follows.

The first one I would throw out there would have been to remove the 24-hour phone-home scheme. A common criticism Microsoft received was that a constant check like this, while not terribly problematic for the vast majority of demographics, could still be an issue in quite a few circumstances. One of the most notable we have seen talked about are people serving abroad in the military. Those who serve are typically given incredibly scarce access to the internet, and solid access is prohibitively expensive as noted by Robert Rath in his Critical Intel column on the Escapist. I do not know if this is the case in many other countries, but in America the military is very well respected. When any major companies upset service members, that company really suffers in PR, which results in lowered sales. Whether or not that is a good thing is up for debate, but it does happen and often.

Also noted by Rath, such an internet check would stifle organizations like Child's Play, which provide games to hospitalized children. I know this does directly affect Microsoft's bottom dollar. However, Child's Play is one of the few things the industry as a whole can point to when major tragedies happen and games are blamed for them. While helping sick children is the goal, it has the added side effect of helping the industry stave off legislation that politicians are more than willing to impose on it. Aside from these two groups, the internet check does impact those who travel a lot and people who have weak connections and limited data caps, which European countries are very well known for. The infrastructure simply is not there yet. Perhaps it will be more feasible a few years down the line, when solid internet becomes completely ubiquitous, this kind of feature can be considered. As of now, it simply inconveniences too many people.

The other primary concern with this feature alone was Microsoft's ability to maintain servers in all regions constantly. Just the other day as of the time of writing, Xbox Live went down for some users for a few hours. While this is no longer a concern in light of recent events, in the theoretical where the X1 maintained its initial course, depending on when a given user last signed on with their console, this could have resulted in being unable to play games on the console for several hours. Having a need for the console to ping home to Microsoft's servers results in an unspoken contract forming between the company and its users. When mandating that users have to phone home once a day, Microsoft tacitly accepts the responsibility to maintain those servers at all times, keeping maintenance times as low as they can possibly be. This results in an increased cost of keeping those servers running, as many publishers of tacked-on multiplayer in games found out the hard way. Just this one feature, which was thankfully removed, would have caused a lot of problems in terms of consumer inconvenience and added costs to all parties.

The next thing I would have recommended, as they have again already done in the new design, is to remove the region lock on the system. Region locks have always been a sketchy part of the industry. The reason often cited for such practices is the difference in prices between different regions, meaning that it can sometimes be cheaper for a person to import a game from outside the country than it is to buy the version made available in that person's country, even when including tariffs and shipping charges on imported goods. As a result, with the exception of the PS3, people who wanted to buy imported games would need to either modify their existing console to support games from outside regions, which is easier said than done, or just buy a console from that region as well.

The problem comes that in combination with the aforementioned internet mandate, even imported consoles would not work for countries outside of Microsoft's list of supported countries, because the servers simply would not be there. This was evidenced when it was revealed that Poland, where The Witcher developer CD Projekt is based, would not receive the Xbox One on launch day. In other words, the developers of a game touted quite early on in the Microsoft press conference would be unable to use the new console to play the game that they developed. Game commentator John Bain, more commonly known as TotalBiscuit, also noted that out of the top 25 countries that view his videos, 8 of them would not have had access to the X1 at launch. While this issue was resolved, and thus is no longer a concern, it would have again shut Microsoft out of a number of potential audiences.

While both of the above issues have been rectified by Microsoft, the next two are still legitimate concerns that some cite when talking about the new Xbox. One of the biggest of these issues is the Kinect included with each and every X1. Let me be clear on this, I am absolutely not against having a Kinect packaged in. If we are all being totally honest, devices like the Kinect could never be successful as add-ons to a console sold separately simply because developers cannot be sure if a given customer would have it. We saw this with the 360's Kinect and the Playstation Move and Eye peripherals from this generation. Guaranteeing that a customer has Kinect gives developers more freedom to experiment with it. The problems stem from two different points.

The first and easiest to tackle is the fact that adding this accessory raised the price of the console by $100 compared to Sony's new console. While consumers will likely accept a Kinect bundled in with their Xbox One even if they did not desire it, raising the price of the console causes concerns because it forces those consumers who are not interested to spend more money despite that disinterest. For consumers looking into which next generation console is the best for them, this is a tough pill to swallow. I understand that the Kinect was expensive to develop and produce, but since new consoles are always sold at a loss anyway, it makes so sense to pass the entirety of the Kinect's cost onto the consumer. Obviously some of it does need to be passed on, but I would imagine a $449 system is easier to market than a $499 one.

The other issue here is a lot tougher to deal with. Because of the way the Xbox One's hardware was designed, the system literally cannot function unless the Kinect is turned on. According to Microsoft Support, which is honestly suspect given the schizophrenic nature of their post-E3 PR, the X1 will only activate when users say “Xbox On” to their Kinect. Given the recent PRISM scandal, which revealed the Microsoft along with many, many other companies were giving information regarding their customers activities to the NSA, trusting Microsoft with a sensor in their own home is no longer an easy sell. Others may even be concerned that the information will be used in a private capacity to sell to other companies, which Google and Facebook openly admit to doing themselves.

While I personally do not believe Microsoft has any ill intent with the Kinect and have been assured that it will have tons of privacy options on it by sources working on the device, mandating its use does leave them at a distinct disadvantage when the conversation has switched to government spying on a domestic level. Even without the recent scandals and even with privacy settings, getting consumer trust will be incredibly difficult. There are benefits to the inclusion with a Kinect and it does seem core to the design of the new console, but the way it was included can leave a lot to be desired.

While perhaps less critical, another commonly issued criticism of the new Xbox is that indie developers still cannot self-publish. To be fair, this is the status quo for Microsoft, as the 360 also imposed this rule. However, independent developers are becoming much more influential than they were only a few years ago. Considering that Sony and even Nintendo have made reaching out to these smaller studios a priority, lowing the price of admission and allowing for self-publishing, this seems like an odd policy to maintain on Microsoft's part. I can respect having a division of Microsoft Studios at the ready to publish indie games and help them onto Xbox Live if needed, but to force every developer to use that window seems like a mistake. It is a perfectly viable method for some and maybe even most, but not appropriate for all. Independent developers are very useful in their own right. With lower budgets, it becomes possible to experiment with new and interesting game design ideas, which the AAA developers can then adapt for their own use, pushing the medium forward. In the future, it will be necessary to make it as easy as possible to release games on a console. There will be a lot of bad games that we will see as a result, but we will also see tons of great gems that would otherwise get passed over. Not allowing them to self-publish will result in turning away quite a few great games that the competition will easily snatch up and take for their own.

My final recommendation is going to be a little controversial, but I do legitimately feel that it would have improved consumer reaction to the console. In order to better sell the vision of an all digital console, I feel that it might have been a smarter move to not even sell discs on the Xbox One. The way Microsoft was trying to sell this new console as, in a sense, a digital-only service with features that could have potetnially even given Steam a run for its money, a smart idea would be to just double down and only make games available as digital downloads. The way the system was originally sold, and I am simplifying to a degree, the disc would include a code that provided a user access to both the data on the disc and a digital version of the same game. Once the code is input, the disc essentially becomes a more efficient installer for games that are bound to the Xbox Live account. It has no real purpose beyond being an extra trip to the store to buy a game that could just as easily be bought online for less effort and the same rewards. Since the disc becomes a redundancy, removing it hurts very little and allows for benefits to both consumers and publishers.

Since all purchases would be tied to a given Xbox Live account, there is no longer a need to check for an internet connection every 24 hours, so games that would otherwise not need online connections can be played normally. This alone solves a number of problems, because being unable to have a connection for a week or even months would no longer be an issue. While a user would no longer be able to purchase games or install new ones without a connection, playing a game without internet in the event that said person is deployed, travels, is a sick child in a hospital, or something else entirely is still possible. It would be possible to load game onto the system when strong internet access is possible to make up for the times when it is not. For the consumers, this would lead to unlimited and unhindered access to games and the enabling of the used game marketplace/family sharing Microsoft had in mind. For the publishers, it guarantees that nearly 100% of all sales will be legitimate sales, with no threat of piracy until someone finds a way to hack Microsoft.

The other benefit this would have is that it eliminates the expectation that used copies of games can be resold or lent to others. When a physical product is being sold, the default expectation is that it can be resold. This is not true of purely digital goods. Digitally distributed software is almost never expected to have the ability to be sold to Gamestop or some other third party. When Microsoft allows discs on their system, they are bringing with them the expectation of unhindered used games sales. When said expectation is violated so thoroughly, because the X1 is primarily a digital service, the backlash was inevitable. It was a case of trying to, and I hate this phrase, “have your cake and eat it too”. There was no real way to avoid it. It was bound to happen, which is why I consider allowing the option to buy discs to be a mistake.

In the end, this is all incredibly easy for me to say. After all, I am not subject to any kind of bureaucracy nor I am beholden to shareholders. All I am is a guy who watches and comments on the industry. It is extremely easy from my position to make comments like this when I am not concerning myself with engineering problems or maintaining deals and agreements with outside parties. Microsoft rightly deserves much credit for changing in direct response to consumer feedback, which I whole-heartedly approve of. However, after the number of blunders and gaffes made only recently, getting back in the good graves of consumers may be more difficult than simply retracting policies and improving consumer friendliness. There is still a long way to go, but also plenty of time to keep improving the Xbox One until launch day, which I am sure the engineers at Microsoft at hard at work doing. Either way, this console war is now much less one-sided and much more-interesting.

“What a Terrible Accident” Let's Play Dishonored: Part 10: The Interrogation

I hear a voice, stirring me from my sleep. She tells me it's time to wake up. That voice can only be the voice of my daughter, Emily. Sure enough, when I open my eyes and wake up, she's right there. As I rise from the bed, I'm told that I make funny faces when I sleep. Emily says that Callista is in the bath, so she decided to come up here to be with me. With a worried expression, my little angel says that she was ordered to come to my room if there was any trouble. Smiling, I reassure her that she's always welcome to stay up here with me. I can feel the tension escape her when she tells me to get going, since Callista will pick her up when her bath is finished.

Speaking of Callista, I check out her room to find an audiograph that she plans to send to her uncle, Geoff. In it, she reassured him that while she may not be present for the next few days, she'll be safe and fed better than most of the people in Dunwall, which is as specific as she can get under these circumstances. Heading downstairs, my continued surveillance of Havelock and Pendleton yields nothing new, so I'm a little disappointed. That's when I open the door to the staff dormitories, where I find Piero looking through the lock into the bathroom. Considering that Emily just said Callista is bathing in there, that freaks me out more than a little bit. Since I still have some vestige of my old honor left, I confront the dirty pervert. He immediately thinks of a lie regarding making a new lock and quickly realizes I'm not buying it, which leads to him coming clean. It's then that I warn him that I don't take too kindly to this type of behavior. He begs for me to not tell Callista, but that's just not the kind of guy I am.

There's no way I could live with myself if I didn't tell her that we have a peeping Piero in our mitts, so I step into the room to do so. When she gasps and goes to cover herself, I realize just how stupid it was not to wait until after she finished her bath to do this. Before she reprimands me, I apologize. While she seemed understanding, she asked politely for me to leave. To the average person, this would be the best idea. However, since I've navigated this situation so far with the grace of a bull, I decide that the best way to save face is to do what I came in here to do. Telling her about Piero has a very noticeable impact on her. I believe the words she spoke were, “I feel dirtier than when I started”. Rather than make the situation any worse through my blundering, I leave as quickly as I possible can, closing the door behind me. I've faced hundreds of opponents, killed several well known people, and faced torture by one of the most cruel men in Dunwall, but nothing has ever been more frightening then the glare Callista gave me as I walked out of that bathroom.

I decide that the best way to get my mind off the death stare is to see what's happened with Sokolov while I slept. From what I recall, Havelock said that he was transforming the pits used for the dog fights around here into a makeshift cell, so I head over to see how the interrogation is progressing. Hopefully Sokolov reveals the name of Lord Mole's financial backer. Without the support of Parliament, this mysterious mistress is the only thing that gives him a steady stream of money to fund his operation. Judging from what I hear when I walk in, the interrogation is not going very well. They trade turns throwing insults at each other, acting like petty school children. Havelock insults Sokolov's need of the Mole, while Sokolov insults his need for me. After awhile, the admiral comes out with the demand for the name of our Lord Regent's mistress, which is summarily refused by the royal physician. That's when I take the reins of the interrogation, and suggest that we might be able to bribe the disgusting pig.

As much as I dislike Sokolov, he's a smart man and when this whole thing inevitably turns south, he and Piero could make for valuable allies. When I announce my tactics, Havelock seems surprised, as if the thought never crossed his mind. No wonder he couldn't get any information. He used the stick without even bothering to think of the carrot. There's only one man here who would know what could interest Sokolov, his dearest rival Piero. I go to our resident craftsman/philosopher. When I arrive, the very first thing he tells me is that he understands my decision to rat him out to Callista. After asking him to give me something with which to bribe Sokolov, he tells me of a rare brandy that is sure to work for our purposes. The mechanist just so happens to have the brandy in stock, but he wants me to buy it off him. Fair enough, Piero. I understand. Whatever helps you to get your petty revenge for me telling Callista about your peeping ass. I hand him the money and take the foul-smelling brew back to the other natural philosopher in this glorious hole we call a bar.

When I return with the booze, Sokolov is ranting about how badly he needs a drink. He's lucky that I am a generous man, as I hand him the drink he's so desperate for. Once the bottle trades hands, my new found ally seems to suddenly become extremely generous with details. He tells us that while he painted the mistress, “Lady Boyle”, he never learned her face or first name as she was painted from the rear. Apparently, he was invited to a masquerade party at the Boyle estate tonight. This will be the perfect opportunity to strike, especially since no one knows what my mask looks like outside of the group here. I can blend in with the crowd to try to get close to my target.

The only real problem I can foresee is in finding the target. While the party is at the Boyle estate the key issue is that there are three women in Dunwall who can refer to themselves as “Lady Boyle”. The Ladies Boyle will all likely attend their own party, so I will need to find the correct one and take them out in a way the makes it look like an accident. This is much easier said than done. As I make my way out, Lord Pendleton tells me that while I am at the party, he would like me to deliver a note to a man named Lord Shaw, who will be wearing a wolf mask. Knowing Pendleton, there's more to this than meets the eye, so I think I will take a moment to meet Lord Shaw before considering his favor. I smile as I head to Samuel, because I pass by Emily asking Havelock to share stories of the open sea. What a girl. She's so very much like her parents. Anyway, since the Boyle estate is quite long ways off by boat, I ask Samuel to shove off as soon as possible.

By the time we arrive, it's already nighttime. As befitting the Lord Mole's mistress, the Estate District is on high patrol to avoid interlopers at the party. It's here that I get my first glimpse at the fabled tallboy, and that is clearly and enemy I do not want to fight. Those stilts look like they'd take me out in one blow, and the armor looks extremely tough to penetrate. All of this on top of the explosive crossbow bolts they wield mean that directly confronting them is a no-go. When I touch down, the Heart begins to beat with a force, revealing the presence of 2 Runes and 2 Bone Charms. 1 of these Runes is on the other side of the river, so swimming to it and jumping back to shore isn't exactly difficult. Climbing up a set of stairs close by, I use Blink to make a series of maneuvers ending with a landing on a nearby rooftop and out of sight of the patrols.

According to the Heart, I inadvertently got closer to the other Rune. When I jump onto a roof of higher elevation, I see the Rune perched atop... an Outsider shrine. There's a weeper nearby as well, but the question is if the Rune is worth listening to Poncy's rants. *sigh* I do need more power, so I sneak behind the weeper to stab it and look around for any other of its ilk. During my search, I find 1 of the Bone Charms that the Heart sensed earlier, so I snag it even though the effects are useless to me. Afterward, I eat shit and pick up the Rune, summoning Poncy to rant at me again. Nothing he says is even remotely useful. The only mildly noteworthy things he mentions is that either I kill Lady Boyle tonight, or she lives out her days without ever throwing another wild party. This could not possibly interest me any less, so I am more than happy to Blink out the room once he's finished and begin scouting the party grounds, looking for a way in. I notice that the patrols outside only consist of one guard and a tallboy. For once, I take the near direct approach. Instead of taking the streets, I use Blink to navigate the top of the bridge support beams and once again to teleport passed the gate separating the Boyle estate from the streets.

Now that I'm on the estate grounds, I put away my gear in order to avoid arousing suspicion. As I approach that doorman, one of guests loosens their grip on their invitation, letting the wind take over from there. Since it lands in a nice, out of the way place, I snag the invitation in order to gain entry to the Boyle manse. Before I show my invitation to the guards, I swipe the wallets off a few nobles outside the gate, adding to the pool of funds I can use to buy things from Piero. Once I do give him “my” invitation, the guard opens the door for me and invites me to enjoy the party. That's when I get the idea to steal the key to the guard house and use it to take blueprints for Spiked Grenades. I don't think it'll get much mileage out of it, but Piero will appreciate the gesture nonetheless.

Proceeding into the manse, I hear two nobles talking about how all the Ladies Boyle are dressed in similar, yet differently colored costumes. It's part of a game where the guests are supposed to figure out the identity of each of them. Great. This will make my job that much more of a pain in the ass. Just as I approach the door to the mansion's interior, I notice a man wearing a wolf mask. This Lord Shaw seems to be talking about Lord Pendleton in a disparaging tone, so I decide not to give him the note in order to keep attention off of me. I am now ready to enter the mansion. It's a tough task ahead of me. Not only do I need to figure out which of them is the mistress of the Lord Mole, but I also need to figure out which costume the correct one is wearing. This might be a decent challenge for other people, but I've overcome tougher ones before, so I think I can pull this off if I'm extremely careful not to look suspicious.

“What a Terrible Accident” Let's Play Dishonored: Part 9: The Abduction

As I enter the apartment, I immediately hear the whispers of a Rune on a nearby table, wasting no time snatching it up. I can already begin to see the visions of new powers forming, but I feel that if I hold off a little while longer, even stronger abilities will be have the potential to be awakened. Blinking onto the roof of the guard station, I see that aside from the patrols, my only obstacle is a Wall of Light. The tank supplying the fuel is guarded by a spinning wheel, so a normal man would be unable to get to it. I am not a normal man, and as a result I can just Blink over it. When the guards look away, I take my chance to quickly remove the tank and climb up a nearby vent to stay out of sight. Once I'm sure the guards are still looking away, I rush to the door beyond the Wall of Light and finally make it to the other side of Kaldwin's bridge, where Sokolov's apartment lies.

Once I begin to get my bearings here, the Heart once more begins to beat, indicating a Bone Charm and a Rune. The Rune is located in the direction of Sokolov's apartment if my memories of Kaldwin's Bridge are accurate. Knowing him, it is highly likely that the Rune is with him at this moment. Since the Bone Charm is close by, I decide to take a quick detour in order to claim it for myself. Climbing into the window of the apartment complex I see that my path to the charm is blocked by a makeshift barricade. All this means is that I need to find a back way in, so I climb onto the roof and look to the side to find a very well-placed balcony. I am once again disappointed to find that the charm's effect is useless to me, so I place it in my pack to keep others safe from it. That means that only one Rune remains, and I'm convinced Sokolov has it. This suspicion is confirmed when I scale the rooftops and acquire a direct line of sight to the apartment, which seems more like a small fortress when I finally gaze upon it.

The front door is too well-guarded to use, so I inspect the building's roof to find a single guard on patrol. I can do this, but I will have to dispatch him in order to ensure my safety. The only way onto to the roof is the chain hanging from it. I wait for a bit, because my best chance will be the moment when the guard turns his back to the chain. Once I'm onto the roof and behind cover, I take a look inside and notice that the room on Sokolov's roof appears to be some sort of greenhouse. He provides the plague elixirs for the guards, so this comes as no surprise to me.

Before I can take a closer look, I need to dispatch that watchman. Scaling the greenhouse, I wait for the guard to get closer, and then use my rats to silence him forever. I see a poor woman who appears to be a subject in one of his experiments. While I feel sorry for her, I can't free her or she'd see me, possibly compromising my mission. Plus, with her locked up, I can pass this off as Sokolov going out for awhile, especially if I nab his notebook and recipe for his elixir on the way. Piero will be most pleased to have the access to Sokolov's notes. The Rune was also located here, as I suspected. Now that everything I need is in my hands, I pick up Sokolov's sleeping form and make my way out. Since the guard patrolling the roof is now dead, my escape is completely unhindered. Predicting the most likely place for Samuel to make camp over here, I head to a waterway under the bridge. Sure enough, he was right there and ready to make the trip back. With the floodlights still out of commission, we made it back to the Hound Pits Pub safely.

When we arrive, it's nighttime with Martin and Havelock receiving us at the pier. The admiral praises my efforts and invites me to go to bed. I am almost certainly tired, but I have a few things to do before hitting the hey. Fortunately, Piero is right outside, and he's just the man I'm looking for. I hand him the blueprints for both my new boots and Sokolov's elixirs, and gave him the money to start working on my boots. After finishing the upgrades, he says that working on them gave him new ideas for how to further muffle my footsteps, so I consent to give him the scratch to continue development. As I left him to his work, I found an audiograph where Piero rants that he's smarter than Sokolov and that the only reason Sokolov is in a better position is that he's better funded by the nobles. Given how quickly Piero finishes his work, I'm tempted to believe it. Pondering this a bit, Piero informs me that he's finished. I thank him and leave, making note of the fact that I can barely hear my own footsteps.

It is then that the Heart sparks to life and once more begins to beat. It tells me of a Bone Charm located in a nearby building. Sadly, the only access point is a locked door. Cecelia is one of the few people here who knows this area well, so talking to her could give me some help. When I approach her, she tells me the apartment is a secret hideout that she plans to use in the event that the guards beat on our door and we need to scatter. She mentions that she has a spare key under her bed that she's willing to give me. I'm touched by her offer, and thank her graciously. Taking the key, I decide to continue my surveillance of Havelock and Pendleton by inspecting their rooms. Havelock was in his room at the time, and didn't seem to mind me snooping through his things. Looks like my assassinations earlier today have already begun to bear fruit, as the Lord Mole lost the vote on increasing the city's defense budget.

As for his journal, he appears to be getting more power-hungry, talking about the kind of force he could wield if both Piero and Sokolov were under his command. This is after noting my ability to perform extractions along with assassinations. What concerns me more is the audiograph. In the recording, Havelock is clearly growing more paranoid, worried that he hasn't covered his tracks enough in keeping this bar, and our operation, above water. There are also traces of an ambition about him, saying that he'd almost prefer taking the title of Lord Regent for himself than commanding the navy in Emily's name. I've seem this combination of paranoia and ambition before with the current Lord Regent, and that resulted in six months of my life gone. I have no plans on making the same mistake a second time. You've earned my attention Havelock, be warned. As for Pendleton, he is away on business, his room containing another memoir. The content is meaningless, but he seems to be growing more and more belligerent. I imagine the deaths of his brothers are still affecting him, so who knows what he is capable of at this point.

As I head to the Cecelia's hiding place to snatch the Bone Charm, I think of Martin and wonder about what he might be thinking. He's an overseer and enemy of the Outsider. Surely by now he's seen the Mark on my left hand. For now, he seems to be willingly ignoring it, but if pressed by Havelock and Pendleton, I wonder how long that will last. The bottom line is that all three of the top conspirators have a motive to end my life as soon as this whole thing is over, and that worries me. I'm necessary for now, which means I'm safe, but the future is uncertain. Almost reflecting my current state of mind, the charm I pick up is once again worthless to me. At this point I seem to only be picking these things up to keep their power in check.

The only errand I have left to run before turning in for the night is to check in with Callista and Emily. Entering the lighthouse, I thank the stars that I purchased silent boots, as Emily was just put to sleep. She seems restless, tossing and turning as if the weight of the world is on her shoulders. Hell, it just might be. Callista says that Emily appears to be visibly happier when I'm here for her, but she doesn't press the issue because we both know that I have work to do. In Callista's audiograph, she recounts her day with Emily. I almost feel bad for poor Callista, because she's both dealing with limited resources and dealing with my daughter. I know that Emily can be a handful, mostly because I know she gets it from both myself and her mother. There was one interesting point that I'm probably putting too much stock in, but she mentioned that when she asked for slightly more fancy ware to have “tea parties” with Emily, Havelock and the others seems distant. I should expect that because of the nature of this conspiracy, but given what I suspect of them, that concerns me even more. I give Emily a quick kiss good night, and then head to my own room.

Right as I am about to head to bed, a thought occurs to me. I have the energy of 5 Runes stored within me, so maybe now is a good time to strengthen my magic. The visions in my head once again make themselves clear. In this one, I see a watchman sitting next to a Wall of Light. I know that I need to get passed this wall to proceed to whatever objective I happen to be on. It is then that I use my powers of possession, but not on a lowly rat. Instead, I appear to be jumping into the body of the guard himself, using him as a vessel to pass through the Wall of Light. Intrigued, I pour my energy into this vision and acquire this enhanced possession for myself. Now that I am thoroughly exhausted, I lay down in my bed and rest.

“What a Terrible Accident” Let's Play Dishonored: Part 8: The Floodlights

When Samuel and I arrive at Kaldwin's Bridge, he warns me that he won't be able to get us very close to Sokolov's apartment thanks to all of the floodlights the City Watch set up. If we try to get too close, they'll spot us for sure. Luckily, the old boatman says that if I find a way to shut off the floodlights, he can pick me up on the other side of the bridge, so I won't have to walk all the way back. Kidnapping is new territory for me. Then again, so is assassination. The tricky part will be performing the abduction in a way the makes it seem like no outside party was involved. Well, there's no time like the present, which means I'd better get started.

When I exit the boat, the Heart begins to beat, sensing the presence of 1 Rune and 1 Bone Charm. As I climb the steps onto the bridge proper, I see three guards on patrol. Rather than move to their elevation, I decide to teleport to the rafters on the other side of the archway supporting the bridge, and then advance onto the ventilation shafts above. So far, the rooftops have proven to be a time-tested tactic that always gives results, so I see absolutely no reason to stop using them. Unfortunately for me, the main tunnel leading onto the next section of the bridge is sealed for maintenance, and the only other entrance I can see comes in the form of a door passed all the guards. When they've all turned their backs to the door, I seize the initiative and Blink to it, closing it behind me as to remain unseen. Inside the building, I swipe a bit of ore I can have Piero sell, a key labeled “Warehouse” and a schematic that can be used to make my boots quieter.

The only other object that catches my interest is a mine cart. Studying the short railway before me, it seems like I may be able to use the cart to sneak passed all of guards. All it needs is a tank of whale oil, which I take from the top floor and install in the panel next to the cart. With everything ready, I hop into the cart, flip the switch, and duck so that I'm not seen. Touching down, I hop out of the cart and hide behind the boxes in front on me. Rather than advance into the next area, I decide to take the time to get the Rune in this area, abandoning the Bone Charm. Keeping that in mind, I opt to teleport into the abandoned apartment on the other side of the street. I no longer need the Heart to know that the Rune is here, as I can hear it's whispers. I can feel it on the other side of the door in this building, but it's blocked from the other side. Cursing under my breath, I look for another way around. I look out the window and see an alley leading to the other side of the building, conveniently out of sight of the guards. Bingo! There's a chain here I can use to climb onto a balcony leading into the room with the Rune, snatching it up as I arrive.

Unblocking the door, I head onto an awning overlooking the streets, and teleport to a door leading to the drawbridge portion of Kaldwin's Bridge. As I sneak onto an awning, I overhear a noble named Pratchett and a guardsman talking. The noble talks about this plague as a way to make money off of it. That bothers me, so I decide that before I go on with my mission to abduct Sokolov, I'll stop by his home to get him to unknowingly share his riches with me. Teleporting to his second floor balcony, I sneak in. The Heart in my pocket beats like crazy, pointing to a Rune in the safe that I just so happen to want to rob. According to a nearby, and pointlessly cryptic note, the “way to the truth” (read: safe combination) “starts in the crowded streets”, continues to “an anchored whaling ship”, and ends at “the slaughterhouse”. It's when I finish reading the note that I see this guy's impressive art collection, including the painting of a whaling ship in a harbor. The ship has a “7” emblazoned on it's side. Putting everything together in my head, it's immediately obvious that the note refers to specific paintings in the collection. Since the ship was mentioned second, 7 must be the middle number of the combination.

To get the rest of the combination, I head downstairs to find more of his artwork. Luckily, he has his back turned. One of the pieces depicts a slaughterhouse, and in the corner is displayed the number 3, which means that the combination is X-7-3, where X could be a number from 0 to 9. Since I know enough of the combination to brute force it, I decide to retreat back to the safe upstairs. I place the second and third numbers in place, then begin to rotate the first. Once the dial hits 4, I hear a click and the safe opens. I liberate the Rune and 2 gold bars from the safe and close it back up, resetting the dial to 0-0-0. When this plague profiteer next opens this safe, he'll be in for a surprise. Sneaking back out, the Heart beats once more, signifying that another Rune is in the area. Leaning out to scout the area ahead, I see an apartment that is glowing with an eerie light. Combined with the quickening of the Heart's beat, I get the distinct impression that a Rune is in that room.

Rather the risk going into directly, I opt to teleport onto the ventilation shaft on the side of the building. It's then that I see a man walk out and back in, completely unaware of me. Hearing him rant and looking around at the writings on the wall make it obvious that the Rune has twisted his mind, so I summon a swarm of rats to put him out of his misery. It's only when I enter that I small it: the scent of decaying corpse. The notes scattered about indicate that many of his friends and family were murdered out of paranoia that they would steal his Rune. The irony of the situation is not lost on me as I take the Rune from the makeshift Outsider shrine, inadvertently summoning Poncy. Against my deepest wishes, he speaks. “Offering” a brief history lesson, his rantings indicate that prior civilization existed well before ours, and fell when his influence grew too high. Making a sudden, and rather abrupt transition to something more relevant, Poncy starts talking about Sokolov. Confirming rumors that have been spreading around the royal court for years, Poncy depicts the many ways that the royal physician has tried to conjure the Outsider. As obsessed with power as he is, this comes as no surprise. Since Sokolov lacks the Mark that I have, there's really nothing he can do. Ending our little “conservation”, Poncy says that the least Sokolov could do to summon him is to be more interesting. Ugh, why do I have to interesting? If the poor fools wants to talk to Prince Ponce, by all means let him. Hopefully it'll distract them both from me.

Okay, enough detours. It's time the I moved onto my real mission. Rather than use the streets to travel, I move through this building and onto a rooftop that's very high off the ground. From here, I have a great vantage point of the area in front of me. It's from here that I see it... the Arc Pylon. I've been briefed on these. According to the reports, they are similar to Walls of Lights in that when someone who's not a guard gets close enough to them, they will be administered a lethal shock. Luckily, I also spot a route on the right side that is far enough away from the pylon and out of sight of the watchmen, yet keeps me on the the right path. To use this path, I make my way down using the awnings and shafts to the side. It is then that I spot Slackjaw's men. Rather than rush in, it would be smarter to watch and wait to see what happens next.

As I sit on the awning, I overhear the two thugs talk about busting their friend out of jail. It's then that the guards spot them and begin shouting. Though the encounter is decidedly in favor of the watch, Slackjaw's men rush in and are immediately disintegrated by the Arc Pylon. They never stood a chance. I won't make that same mistake. Since charging the post is a very stupid thing to do for multiple reasons, I sneak around using the cover to stay out of sight. Planning this out as I go, I teleport onto the support beams of the bridge and then onto the roof of the guard station, ducking out of sight before the Arc Pylon on the drawbridge has a chance to power up. I'll never be able to proceed as long as that pylon is in working order, so I decide to sneak around to pull the oil tank fueling it out of its socket. Sneaking up a staircase leading to the upper levels, I keep out of sight of the guard patrolling around. If memory serves, the fuel for the lighting system is either up here or on the other side of the drawbridge. If I remove the tanks, than the floodlights will be shut off and Samuel will be able to make the crossing. Rather the risk further patrols, I use a chain to climb up and out of sight.

A quick inspection shows that the tanks aren't on this side, so they need to be on the other. Crossing to the other side of the bridge is only dangerous because I have to expose myself for a short time. I only have a single stack of boxes to use for cover, so timing is crucial. As the guard on patrol turns away, I make my move, silently climbing to the structure above, advancing towards the fuel tanks for the floodlights. Extracting them from the panel does the trick, so I breath a sigh of relief and use the support beams on this side on the bridge as a way to maintain the high ground. Luckily, there are some beams on the buildings in front of me that I can teleport to before the guards look my way. The area beyond is devoid of any life besides the rats, so I proceed onwards....