THE CIRCLE OF STONE AND SHADOW

MISSION 1

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GATHERING AT THE INN

 

LOOT LIST

VIDEO REPORT

 

 

A very good start to the CoSaS campaign. Though fairly small in size, ‘Gathering at the Inn’ is filled with a stellar storyline, engrossing atmosphere and fun gameplay. Based on Trimfect’s ‘Gathering at the Bar’, it provides enough new areas and enhanced graphics not to be repetitive. Finally a good mission pack with a protagonist other than Garrett. I haven’t tried that since T2X. I look forward to ‘Mission X’ already.

 

 

As the intro briefing fittingly put it, I had a “laundry list” of objectives to complete. First of all, I needed to steal all six scepters from the society vacating the inn. In addition, I was to steal Lord LeBlanc’s diamond map, make Lord Pearsall sick, and ruin Lady Verrilli’s business. Optional tasks included finding 700 worth of loot and grabbing a present for Sheam. Of course, optional objectives given up front are required for Supreme. Lastly, I was to ring the doorbell outside the inn and meet Sheam in the streets.

 

Made sure to be careful of the civilian in the streets at start. He alerted like normal. The policemen didn’t alert but gave settling remarks. I avoided them altogether. I stole the ring from the sewers (left image below), and the loot from the storage barn and apartment first. The cops came hunting if they saw me break in. They never attacked though. Climbed the gutter in the north to access the chimney passages (right image below). They were excellent ways to gain access to certain rooms without having to utilize the hallways. One of the items needed early was Verrilli’s icepick from her bedroom.

 

            

 

More importantly, I could now steal the front/back door key from the guard in the restaurant (left image below). That was necessary because it accessed the small shed west of the starting location in the streets (right image below). It had loot and the only other way to get it was by breaking the window, an obvious Ghost violation. Luckily, none of the keys were returnable in this mission, due to the keychain. A great addition to the inventory. Even better than keys that disappear upon use. I reentered the inn through the toilet chute, but I realized I could have just as easily used my updated keychain on the kitchen door. Even still, I was inside and ready to wreak havoc.

 

Grabbed the hanky and smelled it up on the baby burrick. Found Leonard sleeping, though in my practice run I’d always seen him patrolling around his bedroom. Made for an easier time I guess.

 

            

 

The toughest piece of loot in the bar area was a goblet by the booth in the southeast. Two guards pivoted fairly regularly in every direction but south. Two swordsmen also strolled through here, plus Pomok (the guy with the head bandage) was stationed closer to the bar, always facing south. In other words, a lot of activity. The patrollers were just a matter of timing. The pivoters could be handled by sneaking along the south wall coming from the fireplace, given their facing angles were beneficial. A fair bit of luck was required. The only way to circumvent Pomok was by flipping one of the generator switches in the cellar. The right one turned off a bunch of lights upstairs, so that was not allowed due to Supreme rule #6: “Turning off electric lights, snuffing candles, or removing any light source including mushrooms is […] not allowed.” The left one, however, only turned on the cellar light. That does not go against any rule and could thus safely be employed. Pomok did give a “Holy crap!” as a response to either switch, but that is a scripted event and not a traditional alert. I double-checked the entire inn to make sure no other light source had been turned off unknowingly. Always good to be sure.

 

Having flipped that switch, I entered the furnace and quickly made my way back to the restaurant fireplace (where I stole the front door key earlier). As long as neither guard faced west, I was good to enter the bar. The booth outcropping to the east blocked the second guard’s view once I reached the south wall. Then I only had to worry about the fireplace guard. I quicksaved here and crept along the wall, up to the end of the outcropping. Leaning around the corner, the second guard fortunately faced the window. I snagged the goblet (left image below) and hurried back westward. Grabbed the other goblet on the mantelpiece and escaped up the fireplace ladder. Supreme still intact!

 

            

 

The firemage’s bedroom was a little tricky. Supreme got busted when he commented on the door opening. Those are probably the most annoying busts, but there’s little you can do about them. Part of his doorway was safe from all passing patrollers (right image above). I reached all of the coin stacks by crouch-leaning from the east end of that doorway. I could even reach the firewand from here, but had to enter for the scepter. The mage faced three ways. With the direction he’s facing in the capture, I could enter along the open door and grab my objective.

 

Getting upstairs took good timing. I didn’t want to take the back route into Stellmach’s fireplace, as leaving the bedroom involved grabbing his key, which in my mind constitutes an unnecessary pickup. And since it couldn’t be replaced I wanted to avoid it, if at all possible. Two patrollers covered the upstairs hallways, while a third alternated between here and the bar downstairs. I reached the southeast hall without too much trouble and could finally sweep the attic.

 

            

 

Getting the single spice bag in the northwestern closet posed difficult. It was quite an ordeal getting to that part of the floor without any first alerts. I had to hide up a rope in the south to monitor the patrols (left image above). Whenever I saw an opportunity I descended and snuck after the patrollers towards the north. After many tries I found the proper speed and timing to slip into the bathroom ahead undetected. Anything faster than crouch-walking would spawn a comment, and I had to be real careful as the patroller turned on a dime to return southwards. I eventually learned the spot for where to gently slide past along the wall. The other patroller then walked the hall to the east long enough for me to grab the loot and return to the toilet. From here, I then waited for the right moment to hop over the railing onto the stairs below (right image above). Altogether, this piece of loot was the trickiest one in the entire mission for Supreme.

 

Reentered the furnace in the cellar (remembering to close it on my way in) and replaced Verrilli’s icepick by the fake. Took Stellmach’s secret passage to Pearsall and knocked him out with the smelly hanky. He could alert through the door in his wall without actually seeing me. I was careful while listening for comments. The guard in the hall alerted to Pearsall’s door opening, but it was the only way to go. LeBlanc also alerted to the door, and I even had to switch off the lights to enter his room. A couple of Supreme busts there, but that was all inevitable. Switched his map with the one of the plantation. Triggered a bonus objective from that, and an additional one when taking the coins on the windowsill, acquiring the maximum possible loot count. Excellent!

 

Closed all the doors on my way back and left through the chimney. Met Sheam in the streets after ringing the doorbell and called it a night. A solid mission.

 

 

Statistics:

Time: 39:53

Loot: 1048 out of 1048

Pickpockets: 2 out of 3

Secrets: 3 out of 3

Locks Picked: None

Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0

Bodies Discovered by Enemies: 1

Consumables: None

Ghost: Success!

Perfect Thief: Success!

Supreme Ghost: Failed!

Perfect Supreme Ghost: Failed!

 

 

Notes:

-          Took a first alert comment from the firemage when opening his bedroom door. Necessary to steal his scepter. Supreme bust.

-          The stationary guard outside Pearsall’s bedroom commented on his door opening. Supreme bust.

-          Got another comment from LeBlanc when opening his door. Another Supreme bust taken when switching off the lights to enter his room.

-          No idea what the discovered body is about. The only body around was Pearsall after knocking him out with the hanky, but nobody came close to seeing him. Perhaps a guard saw a sleeping guest and counted it as a body, I’m not sure.

 

 

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