Thief - The Dark Project - part 3

Continued from Issue 75

UNDERCOVER

First Steps

You start out in the streets near the Hammer temple.  Walk
forward, bearing left around the corner and then right.  When you
spot the large archway to your left, go through it and walk boldly
up to the Hammerite at the gate.  Hand him the scroll in your
possession (and take a moment to read it as well) and he will
allow you access into the temple.

What you will discover from the scroll is that any area marked
with an inverted red hammer is off-limits to you.  Once inside the
Hammer temple, walk around the gigantic hammer statue in the
center of the room and open the door opposite your entrance point.
This takes you into the main part of the temple.  You'll notice a
long staircase leading down, but you aren't going to take it yet.
From where you entered this room, take the closest door on the
right.  Directly ahead of you, in the next room, are a scroll and
a book on the table. Grab the scroll, which will appear in your
inventory as a piece of papyrus. This is the Wall Builder's
Prayer, which you will need to get the Talismans from where they
are lying.  Continue along through this room and out the door on
the left.  This will take you to a balcony. Walk down the balcony
and into the Reliquary, where artifacts important to the Hammer
faith are kept.  You can ignore the conversation, but you should
take a look at the three items on the stands. The one in the
middle is the First Hammer. Don't grab it yet, though.  Instead,
return to the large staircase and head down to the next lower
level.

Finding the Five Switches

A number of Hammer guards are in the area, and you need to make
sure you aren't spotted. From the bottom of the staircase, make a
right followed by another right and walk down the hallway here.
When the coast is clear, duck into the first door on the right.
It's one of those rooms with an inverted red hammer, so you must
be careful.

There is a very angry priest inside the room, and he is tough to
kill.  Instead, knock him out with a gas arrow and close the door
behind you.  With a little luck, he will not have raised much of a
fuss and the Hammer guards are still unaware that you aren't
really a novice.  Explore his room, and grab the key off his back
table and the hammer on the small shrine. Then carefully go back
out into the hallway and to the left. Run back up the staircase to
the top floor.

Return to the Reliquary, and this time, go out the door near the
artifacts. Continue going through the doors ahead of you until you
reach a locked door. The key you stole from the priest's room is a
master key and will open everything in the entire temple.  When
there are no guards nearby, open the door and go in, closing it
behind you. Use the key on the chest here, which will contain a
scroll. Reading the scroll will tell you what you must do to get
the Talismans.  In short, you must find and flip five hidden
switches that are dispersed around the temple.  One is in the old
kitchen, another in the Inquisitor's torture chamber, the third in
the garden, the fourth in the graveyard, and the fifth in the
Reliquary.

It's time to go flip some switches.

The Old Kitchen and the Inquisitor's Room

Get back to the large staircase and take it down.  Return to the
hallway outside the priest's room, but pass it by, continuing all
the way to the end of the hall.  Take the first corridor to the
left and take the staircase here all the way down to the storage
room.

Now sit and wait. A guard is patrolling the hallway outside this
room, walking counterclockwise. Wait for him to pass, then walk
out into the hall. Follow him from a safe distance, and keep going
around the corners behind him. Eventually, you'll see a door on
your left leading into the central area of this hall. When the
guard turns the next corner, open the door with the key and go in,
closing it behind you.

This is the old kitchen, which is currently being converted into a
treasure room. Open the three chests and get all the coins from
the floor. Look around the broken wall and hit the switch on the
back wall. With the switch flipped, go back to the door and return
to the hallway, but be careful that the guard doesn't spot you
leaving.

Go around the hallway again, staying behind the guard.  On the
opposite side of the hall is a doorway to your right.  Head in,
being as quiet as possible. The Inquisitor is currently asleep on
his bed, and if you stay on the carpet, he won't wake up.  Go
across the room and into the torture chamber.

Look right and walk over to the rack.  On the wall behind it is
the second switch. Flip it, then walk past the iron maiden and
take the corridor to the right.  This leads down into the crypt
area.  Down in the crypt are two guards. You should be able to
snag a couple of urns here without getting caught, and a little
exploration will reveal a staircase up. This leads back to the
storage rooms around the old kitchen. Head up, and take a look
around for another staircase leading back up.

The Garden and the Graveyard

From the stairs, return to the main hallway and get back to the
large staircase. Go through one of the two openings across from
the staircase and head to the right. Don't worry about being
accosted by the Hammers here because this is a place where you're
allowed to be. However, you want to make sure that you are alone
here when you flip the switch. When no one is in the garden with
you, walk to the wall across from the entrance and turn right.
Move behind the trees and look up. The switch you want is above
you, under the eaves. Flip it, then return inside.

Walk straight through the training rooms here all the way to the
other side.  This is the Hammers' graveyard. Walk in, and follow
the path.  Go all the way to the back. Again, you're allowed to be
here, although you can't get too close to the two tombs in the
back.  When the coast is clear, enter the second tomb from the
back and look up.  The fourth switch is here. Flip it, and on your
way out, get the five urns from the tombs as long as it's safe.
Return to the large staircase and go back to the top floor.

The Reliquary Go back to the Reliquary. A guard is standing here,
but he won't take notice of what you're doing. Make sure that you
and this stationary guard are the only ones in the room, and walk
over to the pedestal on the right. The fifth and final switch is
on the back of this pedestal with a skull on it.  Flipping this
final switch should reward you with an odd noise that indicates
that all of the switches have been flipped.  The way to the
Talismans is now clear. Return to the large staircase and go down.

Nabbing the Talismans

Go back to the stairs that lead down to the basement, but this
time take the corridor to the side and follow it all the way
around. At the back, there is an opening to the outside.  Step
through, and you'll be in a large chamber holding the Talismans on
the far side.  If you're carrying the hammer from the priest's
room, when you step onto the platform, a bridge will appear from
the opposite side of the room. Walk across and enter the cell on
the left.  Flip the switch here to open the bars leading to the
Talismans.  Enter this cell now.  You'll notice that the Talismans
have a strange glow around them.  This force field will strip away
your health if it is active when you attempt to pick up either
Talisman. To get rid of the force field, stand in the cell with
the Talismans and read the Wall Builder's Prayer that you nabbed
at the start of the mission.  This counters the spell but will
also set off the alarm.  All of that sneaking has brought you this
far, but you'll now have to run for the exit.

Escaping

Go back across the bridge and out into the hallway.  Take a left
and follow the hall around. The guards are on full alert at this
point, so there may be a few of them in the halls ahead of you.
Run through and get to the large staircase.  Run up and go to the
left.

Get out to the balcony and jump over the wall onto the low roof
below. From here, drop down to the streets, and the mission will
end.

RETURN TO THE CATHEDRAL

Getting The Eye

Use the four Talismans on the appropriate statues around the
doorway and go in. Turn right and go through the door, then
through the other door in this small room.  Move forward into the
long, narrow room and pick the lock on the door to the right. Get
the loot from inside and return to the entrance to the cathedral.
Avoid the double doors to your right and open the door across from
you.  Again, go through the other door in this room and into the
long, narrow room beyond. Pick the lock on the door to the left
and get the loot. Return to the long room and walk to the door on
your left. Prepare your flash bombs and get ready to move.
Open the door and sneak in. There are three or four zombies and
three haunts in this room. Creep forward to the haunt in the
center of the room and get his attention.  Hopefully, you'll also
attract the attention of the other two haunts and most of the
zombies. When they get close, use three flash bombs to wipe them
out. When your vision returns, run up to the altar (The Eye is
floating about 15 feet above you) and go through the door on the
right.

Get the water arrow off the fountain and the holy water from the
corner.  Get a vial of holy water ready and arm your water arrows.
Open the door back to the main altar area and look around.
Quickly dispatch any un-dead with holy water arrows.  From the
room with the fountain, walk past the altar and open the door on
the other side. Run in, past the apparition and open the door. Go
up the stairs, all the way and open the door at the top.

Open the door on the right and walk out across the beam.  Follow
the beams and rooms here, getting any loot and opening all the
chests that you find. Keep going across the beams until you come
to a locked door. Pick the lock and move in carefully, grabbing
the loot and the fire arrows from the table.  Then walk back out
on the beam and drop down to the platform below.

Pick the lock to the door and enter the room. Walk out onto the
balcony to your left and you'll see The Eye at your level.  You
must now jump over to the top of the hammer pedestal and take The
Eye. When you have it, drop down to the bottom floor.

The Spirit of Murus

You have The Eye now, and a look at your map will show you that
you must get out the back of the cathedral to find the cloister
gate. Go through the door that led to the stairs to the top floor
of the temple. This time, though, you aren't going to take these
stairs. Inside the door, turn right and run directly past the
apparition. Open the door and enter the garden.  In front of you
is a spirit that looks somewhat different from the normal
apparition. This is the spirit of Murus.  He will welcome you to
the area and will offer to help you if you help him. Walk past him
and take the first right.  Drop down the broken staircase to the
ground below.

Murus will appear down here. He'll tell you that if you want his
help in leaving, you must help him as well. To start, you must
locate his rosary, which is somewhere in St. Yora's.  Take the
left path from Murus and walk up the staircase.

Inside St. Yora's

Open the door into St. Yora's and walk in.  Turn right and head up
the staircase. Walk forward and get to the large sarcophagus. Snag
the water arrows, then go through the hole in the wall. Be very
careful now because there are a couple of active zombies up here.
Walk through this small chamber to the door. Open it, and head
right through the next door and out into the hallway.  Turn left
and walk around the hallway to the first doorway on the right.
Duck inside and walk to the back room. Open the chest to get
Murus' rosary.

Turn around and run back through the hallway. Drop down the large
crevice to the ground floor. Steal the healing potion off the
table and run out of the room through the exit to the left of
where you came down. The door ahead of you is where you entered
St. Yora's.  Go out the same way and return to the last place you
spoke with Murus.

He's there waiting for you again, and he will congratulate you on
recovering his rosary. He tells you next that you'll need a holy
symbol.  With the number of undead creatures running around here
and the extent of the desecration, the chance of finding a good
holy symbol is next to nothing. Murus suggests you use the
machinery in St. Tennor's to create a new holy symbol.

Around St. Tennor's

Go through the opening at the bottom of the broken staircase and
into the cloister area. Make sure there are no undead walking
around, and go left. The first door on your left is the entrance
to St. Tennor's.  Go in, and walk through the open doorway to the
corridor beyond.

Turn left in the corridor and follow it around to the room at the
end. Inside is the machinery that Murus spoke of.  Grab the mold
on the bottom right from the floor; it should look like a hammer.
Place it under the machine and pull the left lever.  This will
close the mold and prepare it for use.  Then flip the lever on the
right to pour the molten metal into the mold. When the holy symbol
is ready, use the left lever again to open the mold and take the
holy symbol.

Go back to the hallway and walk through St. Tennor's.  Take the
staircase at the end up to the second floor and jump across to the
ledge on the other side of the room.  From here, jump over to the
metal chute and slide down to the small courtyard outside.

Take a look at the small shed here. Put a rope arrow into the shed
and climb up, then mantle to the roof. Get the candle, then crouch
and retrieve your rope arrow. Now, jump back to the chute and
climb up. Leave St. Tennor's by the entrance you came in,
returning to the cloister area.

Before going back to Murus, you'll take a short trip through St.
Vale's. Go forward from St. Tennor's to the corner and open the
gate. Walk through and turn to the right.  The large doors ahead
of you are the cloister gates, where you'll be going when you've
finished helping Murus. Walk around the corner and through the
door on the left into St. Vale's.

Shoot a rope arrow into the balcony on the left and climb up,
mantling up to the top floor. Walk around the balcony and get the
prayer book, then go retrieve your rope arrow.  Drop back down to
the ground floor and leave.  Return to the broken staircase
outside St. Yora's and speak with Murus again.

Through St. Jenel's

Murus will tell you that you have everything you need to do the
favor for him, and that he will meet you in the graveyard next to
his grave. However, to finish the mission, you have a couple of
things to do in St. Jenel's first.  Go back through the archway to
the cloister and into the building directly across from you.

Walk forward inside the building and drop down to the basement
level.  Press the button to get the elevator back to the top floor
and walk out toward the staircase. Don't take the stairs.
Instead, hug the left wall to the overhanging balcony.  Drop down
and open the blue chest here to nab the cemetery key.  Snag the
loot off the table and run past the zombie up the stairs.

Get back on the elevator and press the button to go to the lower
floor.  Step off the elevator and into the room beyond.  Go
forward toward the table and take a hard left. Pick the lock on
the door here and go in, taking the long staircase all the way to
the observatory at the top. If you read the book on the table,
you'll discover that the Hammers have determined that the moon has
mystical properties. Throw the holy symbol you created into the
small pool here, then retrieve it. The water in the pool has
blessed the holy symbol, making it ready for use.  Go back down
the stairs now and to the elevator.  Take it to the top floor and
leave St. Jenel's the way you came in.

The Graveyard

When you leave St. Jenel's, take a right and walk to the gate.
Open the gate and walk through. Ahead of you and slightly to the
right, you'll see the locked gates of the cemetery.  Use the key
on the gates and go through. Arm yourself with fire arrows and use
a couple on the zombie you find skulking around in here.  Wander
through the graveyard until you find Murus standing by an old
grave.  He'll tell you exactly what to do. You must touch his
tombstone with the rosary, then place the candle on the stone and
read the prayer.  Touch the gravestone with the blessed holy
symbol, and Murus' grave will have been blessed. With his soul
finally at peace, he can rest easily now.  Unfortunately, Murus
doesn't have a key to the cloister gate.  Instead, he gives you a
key to the old armory on the top floor of the cathedral. You'll
have to go back to the cathedral if you want to leave in one
piece.

Getting Out

Leave the cemetery and go back to the broken staircase by St.
Yora's.  Re-enter St. Yora's and get ready to move. Walk straight
forward into the room where you grabbed the healing potion and go
left through the other doorway. Follow the hallway here all the
way around to the left until it ends in a large room.  The doorway
to your right leads back into the garden between St. Yora's and
the cathedral. Leave by this door, and get your holy water ready
to use.

The garden is home to both an apparition and a haunt.  Since you
really don't want these creatures following you, use a holy water
vial and destroy them.  When the way is clear, go back through the
door leading into the cathedral. Run around the apparition and go
to the right, taking the door to the staircase. Return again to
the third floor and open the door at the top.  In this room, use
the armory key you got from Murus on the left door. Inside, you'll
find a parchment, an explosive device, and a few fire arrows.
Read the parchment and get the explosive and the arrows.  Once you
have these, return to the garden and drop down the broken
staircase again.

Run out now to the cloister gates near St. Vale's.  Drop the
explosive device by the gates and back up to the shadow area
across from it. Launch one of your fire arrows into the device and
the gates will be blown open. Run out, and the mission will end.

ESCAPE!

Into the Maze

You start in the altar area outside Constantine's garden.  Chances
are good that you looted this area during the mission to steal
Constantine's sword. When you were here last, there was a door in
the room that you could not open. It's open now, though.  Before
going through it, check around the altar area and get the useful
items here. You won't get any broad-head arrows, but you'll find
your blackjack and some noisemakers and rope arrows.  Then head
out the door.  Check the fire is burning here and grab any fire
arrows you see.  Head down the stairs and go either right or left.
You should crouch down at this point because there are some nasty
creatures below you, including a bugbeast and a couple of ratmen.
There is a good chance they'll spot you if you're standing, and
you're in no condition for direct combat. While crouched down,
fire a rope arrow into the ceiling and jump off the balcony onto
the rope.  Climb up and jump across to the small alcove above the
floor. Get all the goodies here, and lean out and snag the gas
arrow next to the niche you're in.

Use the gas arrow on as many of the creatures below as possible.
Regardless of how many creatures you use the gas arrow on, you
should use it on the bugbeast without hesitation.  Slay the ratmen
with broad-head arrows if you don't catch them in the gas cloud.

Then drop down to the floor and get your rope arrow back.  Now go
through the left-most exit from the stairs down and take left
passages until you come to a dead end with a vertical pool.  Step
into the pool and grab the water arrow, then return to the stairs.
On your way back, make sure you get the gas arrow, and drop the
patrolling ratman.

Getting to the Basement

Now that you're back at the stairs, it's time to get serious about
getting through the basement and finding some help for dealing
with Constantine.  This time, you're going to go through the
right-most exit from the stairs. Go left in the room beyond and
through the tunnel, getting the arrows off the ground. When this
path ends in a T-intersection, turn right. Make sure the bugbeast
and ratmen in this area aren't around, then shoot a rope arrow
into the canopy above and climb up. Jump over to the platform and
explore.  You'll find some ammunition and supplies up here, which
should help you out. While up here, snipe at the ratmen and drop
the bugbeast with the gas arrow you grabbed earlier.

Go through the tunnel. There is a gas arrow at the end that is
definitely worth having. When you've got everything, drop back
down to the ground, and retrieve the rope arrow.  Go back to the
T-intersection and go forward into the next room.  Head to the
right here, and go through the long tunnel.

As you go through this tunnel, you can grab a few water arrows.
You'll also have to kill off a spider or two on your way to the
next large area. This path will end on a platform overlooking some
sort of shrine on the ground.  Fire a water arrow into the fire
elemental and take a look around.  Use a rope arrow to get over to
the higher platform on the left and snag the gas arrows here. You
can also put another rope arrow into the ceiling by the platform
on the other side and get the water arrows here. A few more ratmen
patrol this area, and hitting them from above will keep you out of
range.  If you didn't drop the bugbeast earlier, there's a good
chance it will appear now.

When the ratmen are dead or unconscious, drop down to the ground
and walk into the large, open area. Take the tunnel on the left
until you get to the next large room dominated by the tree at its
center. Use another rope arrow to get up to the platform and take
a look around. Don't miss going through the opening and into the
tree. Get the arrows here and read the book.  It's a journal of
Constantine's and it suggests that either he is a highly placed
agent of The Trickster, or he is The Trickster himself.

When the ratmen in this area are taken care of, drop back to the
ground. Head up the ramp here and go left at the T-intersection.
You'll see a room ahead that looks like it belongs in a normal
basement and there's carpeting on the floor. Slay the ratman with
an arrow and move in carefully. Three other ratmen patrol this
area.

Into the Basement

Although your map has shown you to be in Constantine's basement
this whole time, you're now in something that actually resembles a
real basement and not some evil forest. When there are no ratmen
around, move through the room and into the corridor beyond.  Douse
the torch with a water arrow and wait.  Eventually, the three
ratmen in this area will come this way.  If you can, hit them with
arrows when they're still unaware of your presence. When you have
killed them all, walk forward down the hallway and go right at the
end of the hall.  Walk forward now until you get to the wall, then
go right, followed by an immediate left. You'll have to walk
across a metal floor here, but with the ratmen out of the way,
this shouldn't be much of a problem.

Take the first left on this floor and go up the ramp.  You'll
still be on a metal floor, but there aren't any enemies close by.
When you get back to the carpeting, turn right, then take the next
left. You'll be spending a long time in this hallway because there
are a few more ratmen to deal with here.  Extinguish the torches
as you go down the hall, then duck into the alcove to the left.

Again, ratmen will walk past on patrols, but if you've been
careful, they shouldn't know that you're around. Drop all three of
them however you can, but make sure you still have a few gas
arrows in your inventory for the next floor. You can use your
broad-head arrows without much fear at this point because you
won't have much use for them on the top floor.

With these ratmen out of the way, go back to the hall and all the
way to the corner on your left. Continue around the corner, and
take the first left, running past the spider here.  Take the next
two rights until you get to the door.  Open it, and you're at a
set of stairs. Climb up them to the first level of Constantine's
house.

Getting Out

Unfortunately, the top floors of the house are completely closed
off.  You'll have to get through the front door to get out.  Go
right from the stairs and into the hallway.  Go left then, and
follow the hallway all the way around to the kitchen area. You
will likely run across a ratman, so drop him.  You'll also have a
run-in with an exploding frog creature, which will probably strip
away some of your hit points.

At the kitchen, shoot a gas arrow at the ratman standing guard,
then enter the room. From here, go left into the dining room and
get the fire arrows off the table. Again, there is probably a
ratman patrolling through this room. If you still have two gas
arrows, use one on him. If not, kill him with fire arrows,
broad-head arrows, or whatever else you have in your arsenal. In a
worst- case scenario, blind this ratman with a flash bomb and run
through the room into the hallway.

In the hallway, arm yourself with a gas arrow and go left.  Follow
the corridor around the corner, and start aiming at the bugbeast
standing in your way. Launch the arrow at it, then run past,
taking the first door on the right, which leads outside.  You
should have a jump on the other bugbeast and the ratmen on the
other side of the hallway, so you should get to the door before
they can react and hit you. Watch out for the exploding frog by
the door. Once you're outside, the mission will end.

To be concluded next issue



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