SIR WILLIAM’S KEEP

 

LOOT LIST

 

 

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 study room one floor down contained quite a bit of loot, some of which was hidden behind a painting. Frobbing one of the books in the shelf revealed the secret alcove (right image above). The door in here took me to the mentioned sentry. I loved the variety of ways in which you could approach the different buildings. Despite being a small mission, it still contained the elements to provide a fun Ghosting experience. I turned my back on the stationed guard and looted my way upwards. Not much to report other than I mistook the reading guard on the top floor for sleeping. Discovered a minute later the snoring came from a hammer in the nearby bedroom. I had to ccc past the fireplace not to get caught. The safe on the wall was a little tricky to spot as it blended in with the texture and the lighting (see left image). The attic contained nothing of interest so I made my way back down and crossed the walkway to the keep like before. Locked both doors behind me and dropped the tower key onto the archer’s route. Nice!

 

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.

 

 

LOOT LIST