Thief — an All Difficulty Level complete-loot walkthrough (Original Thief and Thief Gold)

This mission uses a version number (starting with 1.0) independent of the main document.

At several places, additional information is available as tool tips. Move the mouse on the words looking like these to see them.

The mission in Thief Gold is identical with the one in original Thief, but with a different game engine, AIs in Thief Gold behaves a little differently.

A few places are worth visiting, but is not needed to achieve your objectives. They do not even get you any powerups, so it is up to you whether to follow them. I shall describe the main route like a regular walkthrough. Then at certain points I shall mark excursion routes. At these points, if you want to have a look (and you should), save your game and follow the route. Click the excursion heading in this color and style to expand the route. After the voyage, just reload the game you saved at the Excursion starting point to continue the main route (note that excursions may not bring you back to the starting point). For those who don’t bother to go (I do not understand why anybody would want to skip the excursions), just ignore the milestone and continue straight on.

There is nothing to pick (that counts toward the pick count in the mission statistic) in this mission.

In this mission, different difficulty levels have access to very different amount of powerups. This walkthrough has included the powerups and loots for all three difficulty levels. Also, a purse is placed at different locations.

The walkthrough is written to make use of the advanced features of IE4 and IE5 browsers. IE4 and IE5 show the same effects, but IE5 rendering much faster.

After you horrible encounter in RTC, you must be expecting something better. Yet the nightmare is even more frightening this time. Don’t read on until you have watched the cut scene (the video after you finished the previous mission) and the mission briefing (the video when you start this mission), I do not wish to spoil your fun. Or horror.

Non-native English speakers may, like me, have difficulty following their conversation. Reading this transcript may help.

So Mr. Con has conned you.

You probably do not remember that the Keepers have been watching over what you did. They started this as soon as you left them (in the mission briefing of mission 2 “Lord Bafford’s Manor”). They cut your bindings and then left.

Reality is a thing of the past (a tagline from Matrix). Now you are on your own to escape.

But how can you tolerate somebody who robbed you of your Eye, your eye, and your loot? And he still owes you a hundred thousand for the job. You cannot just go away. You must find out what he is up to, and sabotage his plans.

You cannot buy anything since you started this mission unprepared.

In this mission, you will encounter a new stuff called Healing Fruit. It is a purple colored berry and gives you two points of health. Like the Healing Potion, it is also bound to the F1 key.

I thought half my screen would be black, and I am grateful that it isn’t so. You have half your life, and a nearly empty inventory. You find yourself in a familiar room — the Shrine in Constantine’s garden (Garden West), the room with the altar. The doubledoors that you picked last time are now locked, but the door that you could not pick last time is now opened.

All you have is your faithful compass. And surprisingly Constantine’s Sword is still with you. Why? You had better ask the Constantine himself, for I have no idea. Perhaps it is because he kept his words, since he gave it to you as a gift in the first place; or perhaps because it is invisible in shadow and was missed. So find your Blackjack, two Rope Arrows and three Noisemaker Arrows behind the altar.

At Normal Difficulty, more ammunition is lying around the room. Get the Flash Bomb on the left side of the sarcophagus. Then walk behind the sarcophagus to get back your Purse (2126;0;0). Yes! it has a value of 2126! The biggest treasure you ever get. You have just recoverd the money taken away from you at the start of this mission (if you got less in the previous mission, you found less here). Then go to the far right (South West) corner of this hall to get the Gas Arrow — a crystal floating in mid air surrounded by gases.

Leave via the only doorway and start descending the stairs. At Normal Difficulty, remember to take a Fire Arrow on the banister on the right. Down at the bottom of the stairs, the path splits to left and right. Either way is the same, but I prefer the left. But before you choose and go, Normal and Hard players will find a Moss Arrow on the floor. Crawl quietly down either left or right to a Balcony.

The whole sub-basement is a big Lair. The Balcony has a varying light source, and the beasts below can sometimes see you so be careful. From the Balcony are two ramps going down, but do not follow them. Just stay up there, and peek down to see your new friends. The two standing rats are Ape Beasts. The big green mantis is an Insect Beast. She walks very slowly but is the more dangerous of the two because of her ranged attack.

The followings two Water Arrows are only available in Normal Difficulty. Near the center of the edge of Balcony, take the Water Arrow. Turn around and go to the wall. In the niche at the center is a Healing Fruit. Turn around and go to the ramp on the right (South). At the top of the ramp is another Water Arrow.

From Balcony, look East at the opposite wall, and locate the alcove there. Between the Balcony and the alcove, shoot a Rope Arrow at ceiling (yes, you can use Rope Arrow on many ceilings here). When the beasts are away, do a running jump to the rope, and jump into the alcove. Crouch and hide in a corner, because you probably have aroused the beasts below. Pick up everything around you: a Gold Nugget (100;0;0), 6 Broadhead Arrows (12 and 20 for Hard and Normal Difficulties respectively), 2 Noisemaker Arrows (two for both Expert and Normal Difficulties, but only one for Hard Difficulty), 2 Gas Mines (3 when playing Normal Difficulty), a Land Mine and 2 Flash Bombs. At Normal Difficulty, there is also a Healing Potion for you. Since there are lots of beasts in this mission so you should conserve ammo at all times.

Floating in the air just outside the alcove (to your left) is the Gas Arrow you saw from the Balcony. Face South, stand up and lean right to grab it. Now check the beasts down below. Your goal is to use the Gas Arrow on the Insect Beast, and at the same time bring down one or two Ape Beasts. So wait till they are close together (or at least the Insect Beast is passing near an Ape Beast), shoot the Gas Arrow at the Insect Beast. Hide and wait and check.

On your right (North) you can see a wall opening at about your height. Beneath the opening is a cave where you can hide. If one of the Ape Beasts survived, wait till he is going away on your left. Jump to the rope, climb and jump down and rush into the cave on the North. It is a small cave, with a hole in the ceiling. If you enter the wall opening above you, then you will drop down via this hole into this cave. Anyway turn around and watch the Ape Beast.

When he is again away, leave the cave and move to the first opening on your left into the North Cave. The light keeps flashing here (many places are like this, but this one is the biggest). On your way, there is a Healing Fruit right in front of you (near the center of the cave): eat it. It gives you two more points of health BTW, avoid getting hurt in the Lair — you need your Healing Fruits later. When playing Normal and Hard Difficulties, take also the Gas Arrow floating on your right (near the two doorways there). Pass through the first opening on your right (crouch to pass through) and get back to the area under the Balcony. From the shadows here, ambush the Ape Beast using your Blackjack. It is not easy; alternatively, plant a Land Mine on his way. Now time to take a breath (and save your game).

First climb and retrieve the Rope Arrow in front of the Balcony. There are two ramps leading from the ground level (where you are) up to the Balcony. At the base of the North Ramp, pick up a Moss Arrow. Then on the fire on your left, find a Fire Arrow.

We must now go to kill a Spider before too late. Enter either opening at the North East into the North Cave. Ignore the Ape Beast down the tunnel on your right, and enter the round tunnel on the North. It soon splits. Enter the grey tunnel on the right.

Move forward quietly and stop at the skeletons. A Spider will soon walk towards you. Stay crouched in the dark and it cannot see you. When it turns around, run behind it and slay it with your Sword. Save your game if you have not aroused other Spiders. Reader Roman reported that sometimes the Spider didn’t come. It just sit at the intersection ahead. In that case, you simply lean forward and finish it with Broadhead Arrows.

From among the skulls, pick up the Gold Nugget (100;0;0). Go back to the base of North Ramp under the Balcony. Enter the dark cave on the North. Look up through the hole of the ceiling. There is a beam that looks as if made of stone. Shoot a Rope Arrow at it and climb up. Jump from the rope to the North side of the Upper Tunnel (the South side just take you back out to the open area) and retrieve back your Rope Arrow.

Follow the Upper Tunnel. At the first window sill, there is a Moss Arrow when playing Normal and Hard Difficulties. Continue to the next window and everybody gets a Water Arrow. From here, you can see the grey tunnel (with the dead Spider) via a wall opening. And if it were alive, it could see you as well, and would change its patrol pattern. That is why we have to kill it before climbing up here.

Continue to the end of the Upper Tunnel and find a Gemstone (0;100;0). From the opening, drop carefully down on the slopes to avoid taking damage. This is the red tunnel you saw a little earlier. At the end of the tunnel (on your left) is a vertical pool of water. Get two Water Arrows (four for Hard Difficulty, five for Normal Difficulty) from inside the water.

There are two tunnels with lots of spiders. I called them Spider Tunnels, and this one is on the North.

Go back to the grey tunnel (where you met the first Spider). Continue forward and pick up a Water Arrow after the right bend. At the T-junction ahead, there is a small niche you can hide, and save.

On your West is a cave with a Spider. From time to time, it leaves the cave and enter a small tunnel going South. Creep into the cave, if you crouch and move slowly along the wall, it cannot see you (even if it is spinning in the cave instead of walking in the tunnel). Pick up the Water Arrow on the North (two Water Arrows when playing Normal Difficulty) and get back to the niche.

Beyond the niche is a 4-way junction. Pick up the Moss Arrow at the junction, save your game and take the tunnel in front of you (East). It climbs up and at the top is a Spider waiting for you. Once it sees you, keep retreating so you can fight it at level ground (instead of on the slope surface).

When it turns over, save again and take the North tunnel. You may try to locate the Spider below and shoot it with a Broadhead Arrow. But you had better practice your swordsmanship with it. Follow the tunnel down and soon you meet the Spider. Kill it again with the Sword. Save game and descend the tunnel.

It is rather unfortunate we start with the third tree house. There are three tree houses in the Lair. I used to visit this one in the end, but now I swapped the order and I think I had better preserve the names.

Follow the tunnel to the end. At the final right turn, crouch in the shadow along the left wall. Peek into the cave. Two Insect Beasts are walking, yet more dangerous are the Frog Beasts. You should be able to see one on the right.

There are two torches in the cave. Use Water Arrows on them, and the cave becomes very dark. Therefore, study the landscape and the patrol paths before you douse. Move forward and to the right, crouching near the patrol path of the Insect Beasts. When they move past you, knock down the second one, and wait for the first one to come around to you Blackjack. Then locate the Frog Beast near you and give it a Broadhead Arrow. If you want to, you can Blackjack the Frog Beasts as well. Not easy — you need to crouch when swinging, and once missed, it has probably been aroused. There is another Frog Beast on your left (when facing the tree). Locate it and finish it, finally securing the cave. If playing Normal or Hard Difficulties, locate and take the Healing Fruit next to the first Frog Beast.

Shoot a Rope Arrow at the edge of the ledge above. Climb up, retrieve your Rope Arrow. Enter the hut to collect a Land Mine (two for Normal or Hard Difficulties), a Rope Arrow, three Silver Nuggets (50;0;0), a Flash Bomb (two for Hard, but only one for Normal) and a floating Gas Arrow (two for Hard, three for Normal). When playing Normal or Hard, you also have a Gas Mine and 5 Broadhead Arrows. Most important, read the Trickster Book about the ritual Constantine is going to perform. Not very readable, so forget about its contents, but it fulfils your mission objective of finding out what he planned to do.

Now save your game and get down. It is very easy to get hurt. I hope you remember that on your right (now with the hut behind you) there are some boulders on the ground. Drop on them, and then to the ground. Or drop on a slope on the far left. Either way, get back to the ground and leave.

Go back to the 4-way junction and take the last branch which goes South. After a left turn, there is a side tunnel on your right. Ignore it till we come back. After a final left turn is a small cave with a Spider. Again kill it with your Sword and take the Gold Nugget (100;0;0) it is guarding. Also pick up a Water Arrow.

Backtrack and enter the side tunnel. It is a short tunnel, and after a few steps you reach a T-junction. An Ape Beast is patroling a cave on your right, so move quitely. At the T-junction, pick up a Moss Arrow (aka Satan). Turn left and at the corner, collect 4 Water Arrows from a vertical pool. Save your game for an excursion to the Altar.

Turn around and walk towards the cave the Ape Beast is patroling. It is an oval-shaped cave with a noisy gravel surface. A big stone at the center make the remaining space of the cave look like a crescent moon. You may douse a few torches, but it is not necessary. When the Ape Beast is away, move into the cave and keep to the right to squeeze into the “horn” of the crescent moon. Crouch and you are safe here (though not dark).

Turn around. There is a Healing Fruit right in front of you: eat it also. Wait till the Ape Beast come back and turn his back to you. Race forward and knock him down with the Blackjack.

Near the middle of the Crescent Moon Cave, find a Fire Arrow at the base of the rock. When playing Normal Difficulty Level, you have two Fire Arrows instead of one, and you should go to the left side of the big stone (opposite the side where you hid) to get a Water Arrow. There are two exits here. The short tunnel on the South leads to the First Tree House. For historical reasons, we started with Third Tree House and now arrives at First Tree House, while the one we have not yet seen is called Second Tree House. We will get to First Tree House via a longer route. Leave now via the tunnel on the West instead.

Midway in the tunnel, you will hear a noisy Spider from your right. Remember there is a Spider we did not kill? It is patrolling between its cave and a short tunnel on your right (above your head). It will not notice you, so forget about it. Continue forward and arrive back at the flashing North Cave.

Leave the North Cave and back to the area under the Balcony. Go South past the two ramps and find the South Cave (North and South Caves are nearly symmetric about the Balcony, and are similar in size). At the entrance, there is a Moss Arrow for Normal Difficulty Level.

The South Cave has two exits. One is clearly visible on your left, the other is behind the big rock. In front of the rock is another Healing Fruit (at the base of the rock, on its North side), take it but do not eat it since you are already at 9/10 health. Turn around and find a Water Arrow not far from the “clearly visible” exit. Enter the tunnel behind the rock to go South.

After an immediate turn is a horizontal portion beyond which is a slope going down. At Normal Difficulty Level, you will walk into a floating Gas Arrow before arriving at the slope. The slope has flashing light and will expose your location. Stay near the top of the slope, inching down as much as the shadow allows. Two Ape Beasts are patroling the path at the bottom of the slope (and a cave to the left). Do not arouse them, and kill one of them with a Broadhead Arrow (if aroused, you need three or more Broadhead Arrows to kill an Ape Beast, and you will soon run out of arrows).

If it is possible, pick up the corpse before the other Ape Beast sees it, and hide it above the slope. Then you can try to shoot the other one. Sometimes he stays in the cave beyond the junction. If he does not come for some time, sneak forward (turning left at the T-junction) and peep into the cave at the end of the dark passage. He may have taken up a short patrol inside the cave, but can be easily taken by a Broadhead Arrow.

On the other hand, if the second Ape Beast find the corpse before you can hide it, he gets angry. Ignore him and get back to the South Cave.

Leave via the other (East) exit to a tunnel going gently down. Pick up a Moss Arrow and arrive at the T-junction. Peek left: it is the Crescent Moon Cave you visited a moment ago. On your right is the First Tree House.

Plenty AIs are on the far side of the Tree House so be careful. From your tunnel, shoot a Rope Arrow at the side of the ledge of the Tree House. When the AIs are away, climb up, retrieve your arrow. After confirming you have hidden yourself without arousing the AIs, save game. Look at the glowing mushroom on your right. At Hard and Normal Difficulties, there are one and two Healing Fruits near the mushroom.

Lots of AIs are wandering among three big connected caves here (First Tree House, Altar, and an empty cave connecting them). Among them are four Ape Beasts, one Insect Beast and two Fire Elementals. Remember how Fire Elementals helped us to kill Burricks and Craymen before? All you need is to wake them up and Fire Elementals will kill everything in sight. From the ledge, locate the other exit of your cave. It is on your South East. Sometimes there stands an Ape Beast, whom you can easily shoot down with a Broadhead Arrow. If you don’t find any standing Ape Beasts, then you have to aim at those wandering Ape Beasts. Better be an Ape Beast, because you cannot kill an Insect Beast with a single Broadhead Arrow.

Everybody is aroused, so you must be careful not to get seen. Enter the hut on the ledge to collect two Gas Mines, a Noisemaker Arrow, a Rope Arrow (two for Normal and Hard), 10 Broadhead Arrows and a Flash Bomb. When playing Normal or Hard Difficulties, you also have a Land Mine here. The killing should still be going on below, so leave the hut but stay on the ledge. Go to the South side of the hut, and on the (West) stone wall find a tunnel. Enter it and go to the end.

The tunnel ends in mid air, overlooking a T-junction where you shot an Ape Beast earlier (from the top of the flashing slope on your right). Look at the tunnel on the East side of the junction below. A short, up going grey tunnel narrows itself and connects to a red tunnel with Spiders inside. The red tunnel is the South Spider Tunnels, and here is the North Entrance of the South Spider Tunnels. We will be back here later.

If the second Ape Beast is still alive, it should be patroling the cave on your left and the path below you. If he has recovered from the lost of his friend, shoot him down with a single Broadhead Arrow. Otherwise, see if you can wait for him to calm down. If not, consider giving him three Broadhead Arrows or a Land Mine or two. After killing him, go back to the ledge of the First Tree House.

On the other hand, the Ape Beast may have settled down in the cave on your left. If he doesn’t come out, crouch and drop down. Move left and peek into the cave. From there, you can easily shoot him down. Go back up the slope and retrace your path to the First Tree House. In this case, there is no need to climb back to the ledge. Just stay nearby to wait.

It takes a long time for the Fire Elementals to finish their work, Listen careful to judge whether the Fire Elementals have killed everybody. If yes, save game and send them to retirement with Water Arrows. Check the caves (as shown below). If beasts are outstanding, consider reload the game and wait longer. Usually, the Fire Elements will quickly kill everybody in the three connecting caves, but for beasts who wandered to the Second Tree House, the Fire Elements need quite some time to kill them. Given enough time, they will even some of the other nearby beasts also, saving you some more work.

Although that these three caves should now be safe, count the bodies on the way to avoid surprises. Lift up the body of the Ape Beasts, in case something useful is covered by their corpse (I hope the Insect Beast is not covering one of the Healing Fruits, since you cannot pick her up). But first, locate a tiny and empty cave opposite the ledge of the First Tree House. Just outside the tiny cave is a Silver Nugget (50;0;0). Between the nugget and the exit on the South is another Healing Fruit. When playing Normal or Hard, face the tree and go to the narrow space on the left (between its trunk and the cave wall) to find another Healing Fruit.

Leave via the South exit to explore the other caves (and check for body count).

The connecting cave on the South is empty. Except when playing Normal/Hard Difficulties where you have three/one Rope Arrows on the ground (near the cave entrance). Turn left (some 135 degrees) and go North East to the Altar. On the ground is a star with fire buring at its tips. At the South tip, get a Fire Arrow. At Normal or Hard Difficulties, get a second Fire Arrow from the neighbouring tip. And for Hard Difficulty, your lost Purse (2126;0;0) is between the two Fire Arrows.

Go to the small ledge on North West. Shoot a Rope Arrow at the ceiling so you can climb up and drop on the ledge. Collect two Water Arrows, retrieve the arrow and drop back on the ground (yes you can survive the fall). Players of Normal and Hard Difficulties should, after you dropping down, look for a Healing Fruit at the cave wall nearby.

Again climb a Rope Arrow to collect the Gas Arrow floating on the South East wall. Go South West back to the empty cave and leave via the tunnel on the left (South). The Second Tree House is at the end of the tunnel, but midway there is a side branch on your right. Enter the side branch.

At the entrance of the side branch is a Water Arrow, pick it up. Continue forward and before arriving at a 3-way junction (4 if you include the small cave in front of you), collect a Gemstone (0;100;0) at your feet. At the junction, turn right (go North West) to a cave. Look outside the other exit of the cave (on the West) to find out where you are. You should see the North Entrance of the South Spider Tunnels.

Back to the cave, on your left (North), get two Water Arrows (three/four for Hard/Normal) from a vertical pool. On your right (South), pick up the Purse (100;0;0). Near a pile of bones, players at Normal Difficulty Level will have 9 Broadhead Arrows. Enter a small dark cave on the South to find a Moss Arrow and a Silver Nugget (50;0;0). From inside the small dark cave, look up: there is a tunnel above. We cannot climb up there, but when we are up there, we can drop down here (but there is no point to do so).

Now save your game and move quietly back to the 3-way junction. The small cave on your right is empty, though dark enough for hiding. Go (South) past the cave and turn right to go West up the ramp. Move carefully because an Ape Beast is ahead. Listen, because your situation varies. The Fire Elementals may have killed the Ape Beast, but it may also have attracted a nearby Spider here.

After locating them, pick up the Moss Arrow at the T-junction in front of you. If the Spider is here, it is often directly in front of you. Give it a Broadhead Arrow before it sees you. Then look left to track the Ape Beast. If he is moving around, wait till he disappears into a side branch (on the South). Move (South) forward past the side branch and hide in the shadows for an opportunity to Blackjack the Ape Beast.

Go back to the junction where got the Moss Arrow (not the one your ambushed the Ape Beast. You came here from the ramp going down on the East. Another slope goes down to the West. Go down that slope. At the bottom is a Spider (if it has not come out to greet you). Sneak up on it and kill it with your Sword. Take the Fire Arrow and note a tunnel going up. This is the South Entrance to the South Spider Tunnels.

Ignore the South Spider Tunnels for now and get back to the junction. On your South is a big grey rocky cave with Ape Beasts patrolling on the far side of the cave. That is the entrance to B4 (Basement Level 4) of the Mansion. Walk inside for a look, but be careful of the patrolling Ape Beasts. When playing Normal Difficulty, move across the cave and just before entering the short hard tunnel on the other side of the cave, pick up a Moss Arrow from your right. Leave the Rocky Cave for now. On your way out, turn right down a short tunnel to the Second Tree House.

Warning! One or two Ape Beasts might have survived the Fire Elementals and are still wandering near the tree house. Don’t just run into them. Just when you leave the short tunnel into the cave with the tree is a Healing Fruit on the ground. On your left is a small cave, and in front of it is another Healing Fruit. Then at the base of the tree is a Moss Arrow near a glowing mushroom. If playing Normal Difficulty, face the tree and go to the far right side. Near another glowing mushroom there is a Healing Fruit for you. After collecting everything, climb up to the ledge of the Tree House.

Like the other trees, there is a hut here up on the ledge. Get inside and collect a Land Mine under the table (two for Normal, none for Hard), two Noisemaker Arrows (Expert Difficulty only, others get none), a Gas Mine and two Flash Bombs. At Normal or Hard Difficulties, take also 18 Broadhead Arrows. And read the Trickster Book by the chair about the rise of Hammers and Constantine’s project to restore Chaos. Before I read this, it never occured to me to wonder why the game is subtitled “The Dark Project”. Remember, that actually the game was named “The Dark Project” alone, and was later retitled to add the Thief prefix. All of a sudden, I realised that the whole game is one single story about this project.

Now, time to leave the Lair.

There are three different ways to get into the Mansion:

• First, you can enter via B4, the entrance of which you have already seen. You will need to knock down six Ape Beasts and one Spider.
• Second, you can enter via B2, the entrance of which is inside the South Spider Tunnels we have not yet explored. You will slay five Spiders this way.
• Third, you can enter via B2 and explore all the way down to B4, killing everything in between.

There are treasures inside the South Spider Tunnels and the B4 method will miss them. Therefore I will present it as an excursion to enter Mansion via B4.

Go to the North Entrance of the South Spider Tunnels. It is at the bottom of the ramp with a flashing light. Get there either from behind First Tree House or from behind the rock in the South Cave. Creep up the grey ramp, and when a Spider is moving away from you, kill it with a single stroke of the Sword (or you can send it a Broadhead Arrow from far away, depending on your current ammunition level). When the other Spider arrives, it will see the corpse (you cannot carry it away anyway), so you have to fight it the hard way. Keep retreating to avoid fighting on the ramp. Kill it when you are down on the ground below.

When both are down, climb again the grey tunnel and enter the South Spider Tunnels. Once on the red tunnel, turn around and look. On the grey ceiling are some glittering objects: lean to grab two Silver Nugget (50;0;0). Turn around to continue.

Turn left and then at the next turn, find a Moss Arrow on your right. After you have got the Moss Arrow, turn around. The tunnel you are in is horizontal, and goes towards the East. Slightly ahead of you is a side branch on your right going down (South). Take the side branch first. Pick up a Water Arrow on the way, and discover that you have arrived at the South Entrance of the South Spider Tunnels. Go back up to the horizontal tunnel and turn right (East).

Now you have two paths ahead. On the left is a Spider that keep spinning around. It is not dangerous: just crawl slowly into its cave. Get a Gold Nugget (100;0;0) from the left side of its cave and come back out. Then visit the other cave to find a Water Arrow (two when playing Normal Difficulty). As an excursion, save game and drop through the hole in this cave. You will fall down to the cave below, a small dark cave near the Second Tree House). Instead of a restore, you can easily find your way back to the South Spider Tunnels to continue.

Now go back to the main tunnel (which starts from the North Entrance). Go West until you can turn right. Turn right then left to find a Spider. Sneak up to it and kill it with your Sword. There is nothing else here. I will soon show you why we bothered coming down to kill it.

Backtrack up to the main tunnel and turn right (to continue going West). After two turns you arrive at a cave with a big hole. The dead Spider is just under this hole. If we do not kill it first, it will jump up and attack you from behind when you proceed further.

Walk along the rim and take the only exit, sloping up to a red horizontal tunnel. A Spider is patroling the tunnel to your left. When it turns away, run towards it and kill it from behind.

After a right turn, the red tunnel ends in two connected hexagonal rooms. These two rooms have grey stone walls and metal floor. Here is the B2 Entrance of the Mansion.

We are now getting into the Mansion using the quick method. Three Ape Beasts are patroling the corridor joining this cave. Move quietly forward and make them see you. Then run back to the cave with a big hole. Initially the Ape Beasts will follow you, but after the first turn, they will stop and go another way. Now the whole B2 level is left unguarded!

If you have not tried to kill the six Ape Beasts from B4 Entrance, save your game for an excursion to kill everything in the Basement

Go back to the hexagonal rooms. Before you pass from the first hexagonal room (connected to the corridor) into the second (connected to the tunnels), look under the torch on your right. On the metal floor are 10 Broadhead Arrows and a Water Arrow. Turn around and leave the hexagonal rooms. Turn right up the ramp with metal floor.

At the top of the ramp, continue forward. There is an empty niche on your right, ignore it. At the corner, turn right and arrive at a T-junction. Note the metal door on your right, but don’t rush to it yet. Continue forward to the dead end where two barrels are standing. Look behind them to get a Healing Fruit. Now turn around and open the door to leave the Basement.

Up the stairs and realise you are at the East Staircase. You just passed through one of the doors you could not open last time. While still on the stairs (below 1/F), douse the torch on the left (the one casting light onto 1/F). Turn around. In front of you is an area (East Stairwell) with a tree. When you arrive at the 1/F, take the Healing Fruit in front of you (between the tree and the stairs).

Ape Beasts very often get stuck at this tree. All you need to do is sneak behind him (when you need to move in the North South direction, crouch and keep to the East wall) and knock him. Carry him down to Basement, and the trap is ready for the next Ape Beast. Sooner or later you will trap four Ape Beasts. Do not wait for four, just come back regularly to check. And there is little point to knock down the fourth Ape Beast, unless you are concerned with the statistics on damages dealt. There are more Ape Beasts on this floor, but only four come here.

Climb the stairs to 2/F. On your way, douse the torch on the right (again, the one shining on 1/F). What do you see at the top of the stairs? Most parts of the Mansion is now like this: blocked. Anyway pick up the Gold Nugget (100;0;0) on the floor and return to 1/F. See if another Ape Beast has fallen into the trap. If not, save your game for a short excursion to North East side of the Mansion.

Crouch at the doorway on the South West and collect the Moss Arrow in front of you. A Frog Beast is on the East Corridor (the one in front of you) on your left. When the corridor is quiet, move forward to let it see you. Retreat back and prepare your Broadhead Arrows. It will follow you and, at the doorway, stop for a few seconds. Just sufficient to shoot it.

Crouch again at the doorway, lean forward to open the door opposite. That door leads to Bar Room. Check again that the East Corridor is safe (Ape Beast can appear on your left, though far away). Sneak into Bar Room, and move to the North West corner (ie the far right corner). You can hear the noisy Frog Beast, but it is outside the North doorway of Bar Room: it will not enter unless you are too noisy yourself.

Facing West, take the Purple Goblet (0;0;15) right in front of you on the floor (note that while Looking Glass Studios called it purple, it looks more like gold and black; reader RampagingKestrel told me the black is actually a purple, with the color of red wine). Crouch South (to hide behind the bar) and collect another Purple Goblet (0;0;15) on your right (on the shelf), and a Healing Fruit on your left (on the bar table). Continue South to the end. Take two bottles of Fine Wine (0;0;50) from the shelf. Finally take a Gold Vase (100;0;0), which is either on the table (Original Thief) or on the floor (Thief Gold).

Now save and listen. Has another Ape Beast been trapped? If yes, go back to handle him if it is not yet the fourth one. On the other hand, if the fourth is still patroling around, he will get near you, and you may need to knock him here.

A good ambush point is on the bar table itself. Climb on top of the bar table from the North side, and walk along it to the other end (South West) and crouch there. When an Ape Beast walk past you, drop to the ground and knock him down. Throw him down the stairs with others, or behind the bar table.

When you cannot find other Ape Beasts nearby, creep towards the Courtyard (I hope you still remember the name and location of the places I used in mission 6: The Sword). You can see an Insect Beast standing there. On the floor in front of her is a purse (expert difficulty only). Use two Water Arrows to douse the torches in front of her. Move forward to grab the heavy Purse (2126;0;0). Finally even the Experts get their money back, and the cumulative loot count shown here resynchronises for all Difficulty Levels.

Sneak behind the Insect Beast to knock her down. Climb up the 1/F -> 2/F Central Stairs behind her. Explore around: the 2/F is void of AIs as long as you do not attract them up here. Most of the floor has been blocked. From the stairs, turn left to find a Healing Fruit just beyond the doorway. Back through the doorway and you can see a Gas Arrow waiting in front of you (to your right). At Hard/Normal Difficulties, go to the East side to find a blind alley with one/two Fire Arrows near the plants at the end. Descend back down to 1/F.

There is an Ape Beast in the Kitchen to your right, so move carefully into the Dining Room. Douse the torch on the East wall, and crawl past the South side of the dining table. Go to the West side of the dining table, crouch and get a Gemstone (0;100;0) beneath the table. For Normal and Hard Difficulties, there is also a Fire Arrow on the dining table for you. Quietly move to the dark doorway on the North to peek at the Ape Beast. Cover the ground between you and him with a Moss Arrow. When he turns around, run up and Blackjack him.

Take the Healing Fruit in the Kitchen a little beyond the Ape Beast. If playing Normal or Hard Difficulties, go to the right (East) and find a Water Arrow from each washing basin. From the West doorway of the Kitchen, you can see a side branch on the opposite side of the West Corridor. When the corridor is quiet (from Ape Beast noises), move quickly into the side branch. Keep to your right to get past a tree, then strafe to the left wall and move to the end. Look down and you get a Gemstone (0;100;0) on the floor. Rush back to the Kitchen and move to the Dining Room.

The door over the Dining Table is still there. You can open it but the room above is blocked. Check again whether any Ape Beasts are trapped at the East Stairwell (again, only if you have not got all four). Go to the Southern doorway on the West side of Dining Room. A Frog Beast is sitting on the South side of the West Corridor. Try lean out of the doorway and see if you can shoot it. If not, rush through West Corridor into the West Stairwell. Once in the stairwell, turn around and ready to shoot the Frog Beast. In the unlikely event that the Frog Beast failed to catch a glimse of you, you will have go back to the corridor to lure him.

Collect the Moss Arrow (two if playing Normal or Hard) on the floor at the Northern part of the stairwell. Go upstairs. The 2/F doors are again blocked. Get past the tree in front of the doors. Behind it is a Gemstone (0;100;0) lying on the floor. Turn around: on the other side of the tree is a Healing Fruit on the floor (available in Expert Difficulty only). Try go down to the basement, but this door would never open.

Return to West Corridor and move South. Be careful because lots of AIs are patroling the South Corridor ahead of you. On your left is a door to the West Coffin Room which is empty. Yet the Ape Beasts enter the two Coffin Rooms so you had better not to. Enter the doorway on your right and hide in the darkness.

On the West wall are a series of upright lockers. From the third one (counting from the left), collect 6 Broadhead Arrows. Then move to the shadow area near the South West corner. From here, you can see the Insect Beast of the next room, and also the horde of AIs on the South Corridor. Douse the torch in the next room if you want to (not really necessary), crawl very quietly towards the Insect Beast (with a Moss Arrow if you prefer) and knock her down with your Blackjack.

Look up. Douse the torch near the top of the ladder and climb up. Turn right and behind a plant get a Gold Nugget (100;0;0). An Ape Beast is patroling the next room. Do not bother with the Torches (shooting them will more likely give away your position). Wait for an opportunity to Blackjack or shoot the Ape Beast. It is not easy, so consider using a Gas Mine instead, of which you have plenty. Anyway do something quiet (that is, do not play Sword with him), or you will arouse the AIs down on South Corridor. On the floor on the other side of the room, gather two Silver Nuggets (50;0;0).

If all we have needed is to get away alive, then we could have climbed (or jump: but you will get hurt or even killed) out of the balcony and leave. Yet some treasure is still waiting for us back on the heavily guarded South Corridor.

Descend the ladder, and move to the doorway facing the South Corridor (moving forward as much the shadow permits). There are two standing Insect Beasts and three wandering Ape Beasts. Plus three Frog Beasts waiting for an ambush.

You must have lots of Land Mines and Gas Mines by now. Save game and throw some of your mines into the corridor. Do it calmly, you are quite safe here. And spread them so that they do not all sit at the same place.

When the Ape Beasts become alerted (either by exploding the first Land Mine or by discovering a body gassed by a Gas Mine), use Gas Arrows to shoot down the two Insect Beasts. Since you still have one Gas Arrow left, you can use it against unforseen circumstances (such as an Ape Beast appearing out of nowhere when you explore the rooms). When everything quiets down, save game and explore. Mind the armed mines you planted!

Enter the West Coffin Room (safer than the corridor since it is without mines) and leave via the other door. Count the corpses to make sure. Then inch towards the Front Gate. Two Frog Beasts are there waiting for you. Locate them and shoot them with Broadhead Arrow before they can see you. Since they stand side by side, usually shooting one explodes the other as well.

Move quietly forward (East) toward the doorway on your right. At the South Doorway is the last Frog Beast. Again, shoot it with Broadhead Arrow before it can see you. Get inside and find a Fire Arrow (two if playing Normal Difficulty) in the dark niche directly ahead. Turn right and get the Gemstone (0;100;0) on the steps. At Normal Difficulty, you have a Gas Arrow floating in front of you. Bit late to get these weapons now. By the time you arrive here, nothing’s left in the mission to attack.

There is nothing else in the Front Gate Guard Room. Go back to the South Corridor. Go East to the East Corridor and turn left. There are two rooms we have not visited: the southmost doorway on your right and the southmost door on your left. The door on the left opens to an empty East Coffin Room. The doorway on the right leads to a big and empty room, with a Gas Arrow floating in the middle if you are playing Normal Difficulty.

Back to the South Corridor, go West and walk away via the Front Gate. Your mission is completed successfully.