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Mysteries of Tolham A
magnificent mission by a very talented author. Visit the surreal town of
Tolham, where treasures hide around every corner. Narrow passageways and
confined plazas soon open up to reveal a massive city, that sometimes seem to
go on forever. Beautiful aesthetics and powerful ambience make this an
experience beyond a regular Thief mission. Please do not miss this one! First,
I had to obtain three colored gemstones from various locations around town.
Second, I needed to steal the curator’s scepter. Then there were two optional
objectives to get Zorgan’s Bracelet and the Artefact of Seasons. For Supreme,
optional objectives are still required, so I would treat those the same as
mandatory ones. Lastly, 4,000 worth of valuables was my loot goal for the
night, before finding my way out of town in the southwest. East First
issue came above the southeast bridge. Two coins on a high windowsill
required a rope arrow fastened above. I could reach the rope from atop the
lamp, but getting down was worse. I realized that landing on the sloping
arches of the bridge never dealt any damage, so that’s what I did (left image
below). I had to turn around and grab the arrow in the jump, but that
actually wasn’t that difficult.
In
Salimar’s residence came a similar, yet trickier challenge. After taking the
secret dagger in the attic, coming back down without taking damage proved
tough. I found a predictable method, however, by using a second rope in the
beam directly below (right image above). It had to be placed so that I would
land onto it when grabbing the first. This took a lot of experimentation, but
was quite easy to replicate once I found the solution. There was also a statue
in this building I had to skip for Supreme, as it emitted light. In
the northeast plaza, another tricky piece of loot presented itself. A pair of
glasses in an open window west of a dividing wall. The easiest way to reach
it was doing a running jump and mantle up from the north side. However, there
was a guard in a tower to the south who always caught me. He had short
patrols and stopped at both ends, during which he didn’t make first alerts.
To test whether he actually saw me, I made the jump as he was patrolling. I
was never able to avoid an alert coming from that side. Instead, I had to hop
from atop a rope arrow in the northeast corner of the plaza on the south side
(left image below). This was definitely more challenging, as I had to time a
patrolling thief below. On top of the wall there was a small area in the
middle where I was safe from being spotted. I could also slowly slide down
from this spot on the north side without any comments. Had to fetch the rope
again afterwards.
The
factory in the northeast was the toughest place so far. I could’ve made it easier
on myself and not entered by the front doors; there were several other ways
in. Both patrollers had annoying lapses in their alertness. The hardest part
was getting in and out of a small chute in the ceiling (right image above).
It involved balancing on some noisy metal beams. Overall, it was more time
consuming than difficult to ghost. Emerged in the northern part of town,
close to the hammerites. There wasn’t that much loot in this part of town.
The waterway was a nice way to move past said hammerites. I used it to reach
the mine with the thief haunt, so that I could avoid picking the lock on the
red door closer to the factory. North The
museum wasn’t actually that hard. I thought this would be a near impossible
place to Supreme, but there were more shadows than what the lighting gave it
justice. The two stationary watch guards in the foyer couldn’t see me many
places if I creep-crouched. The only place impossible to go for Supreme was
the southern walkway (left image below). It was tiled, well-lit, in view of
the two aforementioned stationary guards, and occasionally had two
patrollers. This meant the staircase up to the exit was impossible to reach
without first alerts. However, there were plenty of chutes and alternate
access points in order to get to all of the other areas in the building. I
had to get Balkan’s skull first, then open the panel atop the foyer
structure, then finally use the azure key to enter Tharmaz’ crypt. I couldn’t
take the two blue gems above the gemstone for Supreme as they were light
sources (right image below).
Sir Darklon This
place was a lot tougher than the museum. Fewer shadows, tighter patrols, and
inconvenient marble. I roped up to the sir’s chambers right away and went for
the bracelet. It luckily could be taken without switching off the alarm. The
sir had a fairly predictable route, where he stopped to look at the bracelet,
then did a small loop in the adjacent room. Occasionally he would stop for a
bit there as well. The alarm trigger fortunately wasn’t tied to taking the
bracelet, but rather linked to Garrett’s specific location. If I managed to
land in the middle of the pedestal with the bracelet, it usually didn’t go
off. I used the two pillars to the west to get there (left image below). I
stood on top of the southwestern one until Darklon started to walk south.
Then I quickly dropped onto the pedestal, usually without making noise. If I
did, he would hear it and start shooting. The hardest part was taking the
bracelet and quickly hopping back and mantle up the pillar again. This had to
be angled properly and with enough velocity. It took me 15-20 tries each time
I did it. Definitely a repeatable move.
Went
down to the lost city area quite quickly. I knew I wasn’t going to leave by
this route, so I was planning on returning to Darklon’s by a different route.
Atop the central structure in the lava cave I had to skip another piece of
loot. It was a nugget in a pickable chest protected by spitfire traps (right
image above). I wasn’t able to get close enough to pick it without triggering
it. Regular ghost was fine, but Supreme couldn’t get there. You have to be
quite close to lockpick, much closer than a normal frob, so there was no
chance. Went back by climbing a rope up to the attic crawlspaces close to
Summerion’s Dagger. I didn’t end up taking the dagger since it was a light
source but not a necessary objective. Hidden objectives are not required, and
rule #14 points to excusing busts from required
objectives only. I could drop to Darklon’s via another rope by landing on
the edge of a shelving unit without taking damage. I don’t think there is a
way to go the other direction without losing health. A
frobbable mask took me to a concealed tomb with the Artefact of Seasons. From
there I could teleport back to a ledge above the museum. This was convenient,
as I could return Darklon’s key and be on my merry way. West & South Not
much to report from the market area. The plateau to the west was tricky to
get to without the museum guard commenting. I had to do a running leap from
the fallen building to the southwest (left image below). Even mantling up I
had to be real careful not to get any speed enhancement. I could drop back
onto the foot of said fallen building without taking damage.
The
southwest around the canal and the mage tower had nothing to report. Some
patrollers, but plenty of shadows and hardcover. The attic apartment above
Salimar’s with two patrolling haunt thieves was tough, but they weren’t too
alert. There was a pickable door there that led to the roof with the
monkeyman guard, but I didn’t want to pick it. Neither did I want to pick the
astrologer’s front door, so I utilized the slanted roofs in the southwest to
get to the balcony with the patrolling skeleton (right image above). I could
then use the lift to rob the astrologer’s and circumvent both of the
aforementioned pickable doors. Lots of coins and hidden loot in the southwest
before ending the mission by the gate. Statistics: Time:
3:20:58 Loot:
8944 out of 8944 (Supreme: 8639) Pickpockets:
6 out of 6 Locks
Picked: 6 Damage
Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0 Consumables:
None Ghost:
Success! Perfect
Thief: Success! Supreme
Thief: Success! J Perfect
Supreme Thief: Failed! Notes: -
Skipped a
statue worth 25 in Salimar’s residence for Supreme. It was a light source. -
Skipped two
gemstones worth 15 each in Tharmaz’ crypt for Supreme, for the same reason as
above. -
Skipped a
silver nugget worth 100 in a pickable chest in the lost city area for
Supreme. I couldn’t pick the lock without triggering spitfire traps. -
Skipped
Summerion’s Dagger worth 150 for Supreme. It was a light source and not a
required objective. |
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