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SIR WILLIAM’S KEEP Next up was a new mansion
mission by Wille. Although rather small, the mission design is innovative and
level of detail exquisite, along the lines of recent releases such as ‘All
for a Night’s Sleep’ and ‘We Miss You, Bob!’ Definite Ghosting material! For
the first time I was running 1440x900 using Timeslip’s ddfix, as well as
512x512 textures, high-res objects and enhanced sound effects. Gaming just
cannot get better! Simple snatch and grab
objectives; steal the Golden Book of Stone from Sir William and gather 2,300
in loot. Needed to exit through the sewers also. As always I had done a
blackjack run first, so I knew my way around. Looted the workshop to the east
and brought the sewer key from the rack downstairs. The owners on the top
floor whistled their merry tunes as I stole their coins (left image below).
Lots of doors in this mission responded to both lockpicks and keys. They still all needed to be
relocked for Supreme. Entered the sewers through the courtyard door. Found
the workshop owner’s ring in the water below the well (right image below).
Approaching the tower from here triggered a conversation between two guards,
one of which ended up patrolling the staircases. I avoided it altogether and
headed west toward the keep basement instead. Unlocked the old sewer
entrance right away. It would serve as my final exit later. Returned the
sewer key to the workshop immediately. Left the two corresponding doors
locked but ajar, just in case, although I didn’t plan on returning to the
courtyard at all. Entered the keep through the basement barracks. Getting the
spice from the kitchen was the only issue worth noting. A servant circled the
room clockwise, but I had no trouble cleaning the room unseen. A patch of
shadow near the fireplace served as a nice hiding spot. Continued up the stairs to
the main floor. Tiled flooring with sporadic carpeting. Could hide in the
doorway incline in the south hallway and watch the patrolling guard pass me
by. Snatched his key from this location. As he left I unlocked the door here,
which opened up towards the main gate lookout. The archer there was angled so
that I could steal the stack of coins from the table. Re-entered the keep and
locked the door. Three doors led to the chapel. The priest inside wore the
only key needed to later obtain the main objective. Unfortunately, it
couldn’t be taken without busting Supreme. I had to accept a comment opening
either of the side doors. AIs alerting from doors opening or closing for some
reason take longer to settle, so I waited in the doorway a couple of minutes
for the mage to calm down. “It was only rats, in truth.” Got another comment
as crept into the corner by his side. Took the golden hammer from the altar
and his key, then left the same way, spawning yet another grumble. Didn’t
close the door entirely, as I needed to return to drop the key back later. One floor up I found an
exit to a walkway connecting the keep with the eastern tower. Realized this
was the only way to enter the tower Supreme-style. A stationary guard
protected the entrance from the courtyard and the basement, and I could have
passed him dousing the torch nearby, but that is not allowed for Supreme. The
walkway was covered by a patrolling archer. I could easily snatch his tower
key from the dark doorway (left image below). Watching for the patroller
walking this floor of the keep, I followed the archer across the roof and
evaded his looks as he turned. Then quickly unlocked the tower and went
inside.
The next two floors (3rd
and 4th) had one patrolling guard. His route was rather lengthy,
which gave me plenty of time to loot the various rooms. I stood in the
hallway with the floor cabinet and grabbed his purse as he passed, then
headed upstairs. Sir William was asleep in his bedroom up here, or at least I
think it was him. The chest in the corner could be picked, but this created
too much noise and woke the Sir. It was only a first alert so plain Ghost was
still intact. However, the red key on the dresser also unlocked the chest,
with no sound. I chose this method in the end, but had to skip the chest
entirely for Supreme. Dropping the key back was even louder than picking the
lock. Tried muffling the sound with a potion, to no avail. Supreme was
already failed so no tragedy. The top floor was free of
enemies. The last piece of loot was a hard-to-see ring on the nightstand
(left image below). The Golden Book of Stone was in a safe in the bathroom,
of all places. It could be frobbed through the banner, so no property damage
was necessary. Locked it up and headed back downstairs. Placed Kendrick’s key
back by his feet in the chapel. There was a convenient piece of carpet
sticking out from underneath the altar which quieted the drop (right image
below). Spawned a couple of more comments coming and leaving, but that was
inevitable. Finally dropped the keep
key along the guard’s patrol route and descended to the basement. Remembered
to close both the courtyard door and the sewer gate before exiting the mission
by the old hatch. Thanks Wille for a very enjoyable mission! Statistics: Time: 47:55 Loot: 2600 out of 2600 (Supreme: 2500) Pickpockets: 4 out of 11 Secrets: 2 out of 2 Locks Picked: 4 Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0 Consumables: None Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: Success! Supreme Thief: Failed! Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed! Notes: -
Spawned a total of six comments stealing and returning
Kendrick’s key in the keep chapel. Supreme violations. -
Skipped the ring in William’s bedroom for Supreme. Both
picking the lock and dropping the key back onto the dresser woke him up. |
