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[THIEF ANNIVERSARY CONTEST] - THE AFFAIRS OF WIZARDS After a couple of heavy
missions I decided to go for some lighter action. 13 new missions had just
been released for the 10th anniversary contest, and I was in the
mood for some quick thieving. The most random and unbiased way to play was in
alphabetical order, and thus ‘The Affairs of Wizards’ was first up. An
interesting aspect with contest missions is that the authors aren’t disclosed
to the public, meaning you have no idea what you’re in for, except from
looking at the file size and the mission description. This can lead both to
pleasant surprises or heavy disappointments, or somewhere in between.
Luckily, the former was the case with ‘The Affairs of Wizards’. J Snatch and grab My objectives were simple.
Retrieve a map from Lord Velleme’s, copy it, get 2,500 in loot and leave.
Nothing to it. The dumbwaiter in the
kitchen was locked, but I could still reach the golden goblet on the bottom
from outside. Nothing much to report from the ground floor except when
entering the barracks. The guard watching the front entry heard me rattling
the door, so I had to wait for the patroller to come down and then block the
door as he entered. I waited in the shadows underneath the stairs for the
right moment (left image below). This patroller also had a tendency to get
stuck around the various floors. Anyhow, I robbed the guards’ quarters,
bringing along the hard-to-see pair of lucky coins by the gambling table
(right image below). Two guards protected the second
floor. I therefore used the dumbwaiter to reach the Sir’s chambers. Received
new objectives in the process. I still needed to reach the library past the
aforementioned guards, and that couldn’t be done without spawning some
comments. Supreme went down with a thud. Both picking the locks and
traversing the lit hallway past the corner made them grumble. 6 comments
total going back and forth. Velleme’s personal key was found underneath a
statue in the library. Streaks in the floor boards gave it away; nice touch
from the author there! To the portals The middle portal on the
top floor took me to a pirate ship. One thief patrolled the upper deck, while
another was stationed in the bedroom carrying a key to the cargo hold downstairs.
A few tricky moves had to be made in order to avoid any alerts here. The
patroller stopped for a few seconds outside the bedroom, then entered and
stopped for a little more just inside the door, then turned and left. I kept
the door from closing as he came out. The other guy had two angles, one of
them facing away from the door. I snuck in, stole his key and the coins off
the floor, and mantled the bed to the left. This was the only dark place in
here, and the only hiding spot from the thief who was on his way back (left
image below). The key luckily stuck to my inventory, as it would have been
impossible to replace without raising havoc. I could close the door from
outside without any comments if I closed it as the patroller went in. If done
correctly, he would reopen the door as it swung shut, then close it again on
his way out. This is a nifty move that can be utilized if AIs patrol doors
close to sentries. Nothing more to tell except for a hidden
purse on a crate in the cargo hold (right image below). The fire realm was no
problem. There were only two patrolling burricks in total. The secret tomb
had a tiny ring in the coffin quite hard to catch (left image below). The trickiest place was at
the mages’. The earth mage held the key, but he was positioned in the
brightest spot, facing south. Dousing any of the two torches set them all off
to hunt mode, so that was out of the question. Nice touch to let the fire
mage relight the torches; don’t think I’ve seen that before. The fire mage
was also the only one who shifted position. All the other mages stood their
ground firmly. I had to circle the room clockwise to avoid a plain Ghost
bust. Supreme received more comments, but that mode was already done for. I
could also reach the last piece of loot this way, a purse off the
northwestern mage. I had to time the turning fire mage to lift the key, but
in the end it was without hassle (right image below). I took the lift down to
the kitchen, and the dumbwaiter key couldn’t be dropped back. I heard some of
the guards alerting to the boggles upstairs, but I was safe to end the
mission clean. Statistics: Time: 42:58 Loot: 3847 out of 3847 Pickpockets: 4 out of 4 Secrets: 1 out of 0 Locks Picked: 8 Damage Dealt: 0 Damage
Taken: 0 Bodies Discovered by
Enemies: 1 Consumables: None Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: Success! Supreme Thief: Failed! Perfect Supreme Thief:
Failed! Notes: -
Received 6 alerts total from the
guards outside the 2nd floor double doors. Most of them spawned
from the doors being picked or opened/closed, but some from entering the
library through the bright spots. Busted Supreme. -
I could not obtain the earth key
from the mages without traversing the room and getting comments. Busted
Supreme again. -
The body discovered is probably
from the mage fight at the end. But I was long gone before they even showed
up. |
