Thief Gold — an All Difficulty Level complete-loot walkthrough

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

The walkthrough of this mission is co-authored by Michele L. Worley and Alex Fung. Michele wrote the content and I (Alex) marked it up to conform with other missions. Therefore you will notice a large change in style. In particular, Michele is doing it in the Lytha style. She got all the loots without doing harm to any human beings (in her own words: minimal violence, minimal evidence). This way to play the game is usually much more difficult than my brute force knock-them-all. There are 70 people in the mission: I knocked out 64 of them, she hurts none. Actually I thought I knocked all (including the captain whom I woke up to Blackjack, and never figured out why there is a discrepency of 6 people (other than 2 sleepers and two Fire Mages whom I gassed).

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

In this mission, players at Normal Difficulty will get one more Gas Arrow than others. Otherwise, all Difficulty Levels see the same thing.

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 renders much faster.

Notice that the missions start to be strongly linked together. Though you may not be aware of it, what started in Mission 5 (Assassins) is becoming a long story.

To unseal the Haunted Catheral, you need four Talismans. The Hand Brotherhood kept the Earth Talisman and you start your quest with them.

Since you will be facing human adversaries, most of the items for sale are useless. As usual, buy all Water Arrows. Many Moss Arrows are available in the mission; since you will really need them, use the rest of your cash to buy Moss Arrows after buying Water Arrows.

From unknown origins they came
They live isolated beyond the city
The extent of their arcane power is unknown
We must be very cautious in dealing with them
Close observation must continue
— Keeper Xavier, Treatise on Mages

Objectives

• Search the MageKeep Library for clues to the location of the Earth Talisman.
• Find where the Mages of the Hand Brotherhood have hidden the Earth Talisman.
• Steal the Earth Talisman from the Hand Brotherhood.
• Pick up 400/800/1800 loot.
• Underneath the Mage Towers there is a hidden entrance to the sewers. Find it and escape alive.
• Don't kill any servants/anyone (Hard/Expert Difficulties only).
• Steal the jewelled reading glasses from the Central Library (Hard and Expert Difficulties only).
• Steal the Medallion of St. Burringden from the Captain of the Guard (Expert Difficulty only).

Air Mages will attack with an air blast that sounds like a blast of wind. Water Mages will use a water blast (it looks a bit like a water arrow). If you have a bookcase or something between you and a water blast, you can hear the splash when it hits the object. Fire Mages, of course, use fire blasts. Earth Mages are different — they use a clinging vine attack, rather like the strangling spider webs that Spider Beasts use.

Fire Mages can walk through lava and cannot be harmed by Fire Arrows (can’t kill them by Water Arrows though). Air Mages are immune to Gas Arrows.

Before we go to the Mage Keep for clues, we will first explore the gardens surrounding the premises. Each of the four elemental Towers has an attached garden containing a simple box-hedge maze. In each garden, two Mages patrol the perimeter of the garden, one following the other by a few yards (spacing between them is not constant). They are always of different orders, where one belongs to the order of the elemental Tower being guarded, and the other is of a different order. If you position yourself along the periphery of the garden, sooner or later the Mages will pass by. Of the 8 Mages on garden patrol, 7 have keys for you to pickpocket.

A word of warning here — occasionally one of the Mages will get stuck while following the curve of a wall. If this happens, don’t be fooled into thinking that you’ve encountered a garden with only one Mage. Generally the Mage will work his way free after a while and continue his patrol as before.

In addition to the Mages, the gardens are protected by mundane guards, both archers and swordsmen, some of whom also have keys to be pickpocketed. Some of the guards are posted at specific entry/exit points, but most are on long patrol routes among several or all of the gardens. Unlike the Mages, the mundane guards’ patrol areas include the interior of each maze and the passages connecting one garden to another, so it is best to treat the entire exterior of the complex as a patrol area.

Keep count of the Mages and guards you met/knocked/picked to make sure you haven’t missed any of them. This is especially true for the guards who wander from garden to garden. You may need to hunt them down for the keys on their belt.

As Garrett mentioned in the briefing, the mission begins in the Main Gate area of the Mage Towers, on the North side. Directly in front of you are the double doors leading into the Great Hall of the Mage Keep. In the wall to your left is a wooden door leading to the NE Grounds, which is the Garden of the Tower of Air, while to your right is a wooden door leading to NW Grounds, which is the Garden of the Tower of Fire. The Main Gate area is a patrol area for guards passing between the two gardens; since their patrol routes are very long and complex, you probably won’t see them in the Main Gate area very often.

Before entering the Mage Keep, we will explore the gardens and acquire a few keys. Approach the wooden door to your left (East) leading to the Garden of the Tower of Air; if the patrols on the other side are not nearby, enter the garden.

Once you’ve entered the garden, close the door behind you and hide in the shadows to the right of the door to wait for the Mages to walk past. The Air Mage on patrol has a Silver Key, while the Water Mage has a Gold Key. Once you have both keys, have a brief look at the outside of the ice-blue Tower of Air. Notice that high above the ground, each tower has a Tower Walkway connecting it back to the Central Tower. When you have seen enough, head for the stairway along the South wall of the garden. Stay alert for any guards that might be approaching the door from the other side. When it’s reasonably safe, go up the stairs and enter the East Wall.

Inside you can see the East Stairwell of the Mage Keep. Hide in the shadow of the staircase so that you can pickpocket any guards entering the garden of the Tower of Air. The table at the far end of the room has a useless glass goblet on it, but also a Purse (100;0;0), so pick up the latter when the area is free of guards.

This stairwell does not have a permanent guard stationed in it, so don’t waste Water Arrows here (the door at the top of the stairs leads to a fairly well-guarded area, and the guards from the gardens check the staircase occasionally, hence the lack of an extra guard). There are windows at the top of the first flight, one looking out over the NE Grounds, the other over the SE Grounds (garden of Tower of Water). The locked door at the top of the second flight of stairs can be opened with a Silver Key, and leads into the Meeting Hall if you want an preview of the hall at this point (while it’s possible to run safely from the open doorway to the deep shadows at the center if you time it properly, it’s not necessary; there are better ways into the Meeting Hall). If you’ve gone up to look over the Meeting Hall, return to the base of the stairs to continue.

Several guards pass by this point on their long patrols through and between gardens. You should be able to pick from an archer of his Silver Key as he crosses into the NE Grounds. From your hiding place, you can hear guards coming in from the SE Grounds; one of the swordsmen has a Silver Key for you.

Enter the SE Grounds via the South door.

Two guards (Rob and Abe) at the entrance of the bluish Tower of Water will begin a conversation as soon as you approach them. Both will then go on patrol, but one will return after a single circuit and take up station at the tower entrance again. Be careful while passing through the maze — unlike the other mazes, this one contains a metal trapdoor leading to the Dungeons. You will make a lot of noise if you walk across it (the Dungeons are covered towards the end of this walkthrough).

For now, ignore the tower itself, and concentrate on picking the Silver Key from the Earth Mage, and Gold Key from the Water Mage. Take a real save while you’re still in the SE Grounds, then head for the South Wall on your West. There is a door leading toward SW Grounds (the garden of Tower of Earth).

The small room at South Wall has an archer posted outside each door, one on the East side and one on the West side. In addition, it is a patrol area since it connects the two gardens. I recommended taking a save slot earlier because I’ve seen guards get stuck trying to enter the room from the outside, and it’s difficult to get them unstuck.

Each of the two archers fidgets while on watch, so wait until the archer’s back is turned and enter the room, closing the door behind you.

You’ll notice that the mission has a map error at this point — it will show that you’re still in the SE Grounds. The shadowy end of the room is a good hiding place, while the shelves at the brightly lit end have Eight Stacks of Silver Coins (12;0;0). Incidentally, I have occasionally been standing in the brightly lit area between shelves when guards have passed through the room. They didn’t see me because they weren’t on alert and I was holding still. I don’t recommend it, though…

Exit via the West door into SW Grounds when it seems safe; if you move into the shadows opposite the door fairly quickly, you won’t alert the archer very much.

The mission has another map error at this point — the SW Grounds don’t register on the map at all.

Pickpocket the Earth Mage of his Silver Key and the Fire Mage of his Gold Key. Have a brief look at the rocky Tower of Earth and head North to the stairway leading to the West Wall.

This is the West Stairwell of the Mage Keep and it leads up to the West Meeting Hall and Meeting Hall on the second floor. Unlike the East Stairwell, however, this one has an archer posted at the top. We’ll meet him later. The table on the first floor has a worthless glass bottle and another Purse (100;0;0). Who would leave a glass in East Wall with the bottle in the West Wall? Ah, well. Cross into the garden of the rust-colored Tower of Fire.

Unlike the Mages in the other gardens, only one of the pair in the NW Grounds has anything to pickpocket. The Fire Mage has a Silver Key but the Air Mage has nothing.

Exit through the east door to re-enter the Main Gate area. As you close the door behind you, look up — the bay windows on the third floor are part of the Attic and servants quarters. The patrols up there can’t see much of the Main Gate area because of the overhang above the double doors, and they’re paying attention to their own floor anyway.

Enter the Mage Keep through the double doors on the South.

Now we proceed to the Mage Keep. We will enter via the Main Gate and visit the Central Library on the North side of the building. After cleaning the Central Library from basement up to 2/F, we will take the opportunity to visit Meeting Hall and West Meeting Hall.

Hide in the shadow of the pillar to your left, and close the rusty doors behind you. Although the doors are very noisy, none of the servants or guards will pay attention. To your left and right are two ramps leading up to guard posts on either end of the Meeting Hall on the second floor. The West guard post (to your right) is empty, but the East one (to your left) is occupied by the archer Rafael. He picks up a conversation with another archer Bertram outside his post as soon as you get near them. Poor old Bradwort… the Mages don’t seem very sympathetic to thieves, do they?

Stay close to the left-hand wall to avoid being seen from above, and head into the shadows at the base of the left ramp while the guards are still speaking. When they finish, Bertram will come down the ramp, then go back upstairs and stand around with his friend again.

Cross over to the foot of the right-hand ramp when the area is quiet. If you want to knock people out, this is a good place to ambush people and hide bodies, but it’s not necessary.

This is a patrol area for:

1. A female servant in grey. She patrols the 1/F Storage Room to the right of the archway on the first floor, then up the right-hand ramp, into the Meeting Hall, up the small ramp, and back down again.
2. An archer who patrols the storage rooms to the left and right of the archway, and up the ramp to the second floor.
3. A swordsman with a Gold Key, who patrols the storerooms on this floor and also covers part of the second floor.

The 1/F Storage Room on the right hand side connect to the Mage Keep Central Stairwell; they’ll be covered later in this walkthrough (after we have visited the Attic). This is a patrol area for the archer and swordsman mentioned earlier, as well as a male servant in red who shuttles between the storerooms at either end of this corridor. If you don’t watch the patrols carefully, you may need to use the save you took at the end of the ramp…

Turn left to go East and then South. Move down the corridor until you see a door in the right-hand wall; hide in the shadows opposite the door. Open it from your hiding place, and wait until the servant and guards are all headed away from you. Run across the room and grab Three Bottles of Fine Wine (0;0;50). Run back out to the shadows of the corridor once you have them.

Continue heading South down the corridor until you reach a locked metal door; this is the entrance to the Central Library. It’s pickable, but since you have several Gold Keys at this point, just unlock it.

Don’t waste any water arrows in here. There are a total of four Mages in the Central Library, one from each order. The Earth and Fire Mages patrol the first and second floors, while the Air and Water Mages patrol the Library Basement.

When the Earth and Fire Mages are upstairs, you can visit the room across from the entrance. The shadows at the far end of the room are deep enough to protect you even if the Mages enter the room to meditate. If the Mages are far enough away, you won’t even need a moss arrow on the tile floor if you take reasonable care.

Each of the four statues speaks with the voice of one of the elements. Clockwise from the left of the entrance, they are Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, and will prophesy for you as you touch (use) them. They address you by name, but don’t worry — they won’t alert the Mages to your presence.

Once you’ve finished with the statues and the Mages are out of earshot, leave the statue room and work your way to the tables set against the left-hand (South) wall. The shadows next to the end tables are deep enough to hide you without wasting a water arrow on the torch. Pickpocket the Mages as they pass by — the Earth Mage has a Healing Potion, while the Fire Mage has a Gold Key.

From left to right, the 3 books on the tables are as follows. The leftmost crimson book is Azarin’s Report. In Thief 2, the mission “Life of the Party” takes place in Dayport, and you have an opportunity to visit the Necromancer’s Spire and see all this for yourself…

Continue with the grey book on the center table, which will give you some insight into what the Tower of Water is like. Finally the red book on the far right is a cryptic clue. Another copy of this verse exists elsewhere in the Central Tower, incidentally.

Once you’ve pickpocketed the Mages and read the books, cross the room to the shadows beneath the staircase. Take a real save once you’re safely hidden, then head down to the basement.

Immediately hide in the shadows to the right of your entry point. Once you’re sure the Mages haven’t been alerted, save.

The basement is spread over two levels. The entry level (Upper Basement) is centered around a staircase leading to the Lower Basement, which has doors leading to a smaller room. This entire basement is a patrol area for a Water Mage and an Air Mage. They follow the same route, but they may be close together or far apart. Pay attention to where the Mages are so that you won’t run into them.

The lighted small area to your immediate right is part of the Mages’ patrol area. Don’t enter it, since it has only one entrance and the Mages can trap you easily in there. There is nothing inside but bookshelves.

First, explore the left hand (East) side of Upper Basement. There are two tables, one at either end. The table on the near end has two Water Arrows. The other table is empty.

It is possible to jump from Upper Basement down to the top of a bookcase on Lower Basement, but it’s noisy. For now, just walk/run to the West side of Upper Basement when it’s safe.

The West side layout is similar to that of the East side. The table on the near end has a Gold Vase (100;0;0). The table at the far end has two Water Arrows.

Either walk to the staircase leading to the lower level, or jump over the railing onto one of the bookcases if you’re feeling adventurous (the Mages will hear you hit the bookcase if you land safely, but they’ll quit looking for you if you’re in shadow). When both Mages are far enough away (or if you can follow closely behind one of them), enter the room on the far (South) end of Lower Basement (either of the two doors will do). The two doors lead to two connected rooms. The unlocked Chest on the righthand side contains a Rope Arrow, which is worth having later on. Read the red book on the desk on the left hand side. It is a copy of “Notes of Archmage Garod’s prophecies”. An identical copy (but in a scroll rather than a book) is located on the tables of the Meeting Hall upstairs.

At this point, you’ve searched the lower levels of the Central Library, so it’s time to go upstairs and enter the top level. Avoiding the Air and Water Mages, return to the staircase leading up to the first floor, and hide in the shadows at the top.

From the top of the stairs (leading downward back to Upper Basement), move until you are hidden in the shadows of the pillars at the center of the room. When the Fire and Earth Mages are occupied elsewhere (in the statue room or are headed upstairs), cross the room and hide in the shadows at the bottom of the stairs leading upward. WARNING: Sometimes one of the Mages will get stuck upstairs, so be careful about overwriting your save slots.

When both Mages are occupied on the first floor, go upstairs to the second floor. Hmm. Notice that this floor isn’t as big as it should be, considering the size of the room below it. There should be a lot more space just across from the staircase where you entered than what you see.

The blank wall at the top of the staircase has a hidden door that is triggered by a book on the bookcase next to it. Open the door, and quickly use the lever on the inside to close it behind you (if you do nothing, the door will eventually close itself, but the Mages may have spotted you first). This’ll make any fence crack a smile: on the desk inside the secret room, you will find a Water Arrow, a Gold Goblet (25;0;0), and incidentally, the Jeweled Reading Glasses (0;0;200) Hard and Expert Difficulty Level players are after.

Listen at the door for the Mages. When the second floor is clear, reopen the door and exit, closing it behind you. Move counter clockwise around the big round hole, and read scroll on the table. It reveals the locations of not only the Earth Talisman, but of the Elemental Tower Keys you’ll need to retrieve it. The Talisman is in the Central Tower’s topmost chamber, and to reach it you need to steal the Treasure Key from the Tower of Fire. The Tower of Water’s key was destroyed in the accident, so it is unlocked (that’s why you saw earlier that a mundane guard was posted at its entrance). The Earth Key is in the Tower of Water. By process of elimination and from the Doctrine of Trust you can see that the Air Key is in the Tower of Earth, and the Fire Key is in the Tower of Air. Well, you always wanted to visit the Elemental Towers, so here’s your chance…

It’s time to leave the Library. Head West to the shelves next to the stairs going up and collect 3 Water Arrows. Then go up the stairs and leave via the door. You arrived at the Meeting Hall, where a guard has his back to you. Close the door behind you.

Hide in the shadow of the library door, and pickpocket the Gold Key from the swordsman standing in front of you. The Meeting Hall is a patrol area for an Air Mage and another swordsman, both of whom are pickpocket targets. When you are unobserved, enter the shadowy area in the center of the room, which is not a patrol area. The papyrus on the table is the same prophecies as in the Library Basement. Grab the Healing Potion and the loaf of bread from the other table.

Crouch on the West side of the pillar nearest to the library door, so that you can pickpocket both the Air Mage’s Gold Key and the wandering swordsman’s Healing Potion. The Air Mage patrols this room and the West Meeting Hall immediately to the West. The swordsman’s patrol area is larger, and includes the two guardposts overlooking the Great Hall. Once you have pickpocketed the Mage and the swordsmen, move through the shadows to the East guardpost directly opposite the Library. The two guards, Rafael and Bertram, who were talking about poor old Bradwort earlier are there — one occupies the guardpost itself, while the other is just outside the room. This is also a patrol area for the swordsman you pickpocketed earlier, so don’t block the doorway (the door here has a tendency to vanish when it’s been opened too many times). First, Water Arrow the torch. The archer is standing between you and a table with a Purse on it, but you don’t need to blackjack him. Crouched and moving slowly, edge between the archer and the wall (don’t move when the archer is facing you). If there isn’t enough room at first, be patient and keep trying — he fidgets a lot, and eventually you can move far enough forward to grab the Purse (100;0;0) from the table. Edge back out the way you got in, making sure not to move when the archer is facing you.

If you wanted to, you could sneak out the door and run off down the ramp without raising any real alarm, provided you stayed in shadow long enough. Instead, though, go back through the Meeting Hall to reach the other guardpost. Past through the archway on the West side of the Meeting Hall to the West Meeting Hall.

This hall has 4 exits.

1. The east archway connects with the Meeting Hall you just left. The wandering swordsman and the Air Mage pass through it on their patrols.
2. The North door leads to the West guardpost. The wandering swordsman and a female servant in grey pass through it on their patrols. Most of her patrol area is in the Great Hall below.
3. The locked door to the West opens onto the West Stairwell (the one in the West Wall). An archer is posted on the other side to prevent intruders from coming up, so his back is toward you. The door can be unlocked by a Silver Key.
4. The wooden door in the east wall leads through 2/F Storage Room to the Mage Keep Central Stairwell. This area isn’t a patrol area, so hide there while watching for an opportunity to reach the West guardpost safely.

It’s perfectly possible to loot the West guardpost and escape via the West Stairwell without using Water Arrow on the torch above the staircase door, if you time it properly. It’s up to you if you want to use a Water Arrow or not.

When the area is quiet, enter the West guardpost (crouched, so that the guards across the hall won’t notice you) and grab the Purse (100;0;0) from the table. Once you have the loot, use a Silver Key to unlock the Western door, and enter the West Stairwell. The archer posted here is intended to keep intruders out, not to keep people in, so his back is to you. Pickpocket his Silver Key. Moving through the shadows, go downstairs — be aware that the stairs are marble, and that the lower floor is a patrol area. You should be able to do this without using any water arrows.

Exit through the South door to the SW Grounds. Go East, and enter SE Grounds (where Tower of Water is found) as before. One more swordsman on garden patrol has a Silver Key on his belt. His patrol area covers the West Wall and SW Grounds, so you may encounter him at about this point. If not, you would have to hunt for him now or later (you have plenty of opportunities to walk around the gardens).

Unlike the Tower of Water, Tower of Earth is populated with Mages. Earth Mages of course. You will also notice that each tower has a style of its own. This one has plenty of plants, and most ceilings are soil (and supports your Rope Arrows). Go all the way to the top to find the Air Key it guards.

All four towers have a Tower Walkway connecting back to the Central Tower. After you got the Air Key, descend halfway down and leave via the Tower Walkway. You will make your first visit to the Central Tower before going back to ground level to head for the Tower of Air.

Once you’ve reached the SW Grounds, save game and head over to the Tower of Earth. Enter and approach the door. The lock is to the right of the door.

An Earth Mage patrols the perimeter of the first floor, moving in a clockwise direction; he’s easy to avoid. Read the grey book on top of the table on your left hand side (East). From this notebook of Adept Aroun, get an idea of what you’ll be facing on the second floor of the tower.

Move to the table on the opposite side of the floor to find two Moss Arrows and a Healing Potion. Climb the stairs and pause in the shadows on the second flight. Take a real save slot before opening the door. Note the leafy ceiling — this type of ceiling will support a rope arrow, if you pull back hard enough on the bow before shooting. Listen to the Mage on the far side of the door, and make sure he’s not nearby when you pass through.

Fortunately, the Earth Mages prefer a mysterious atmosphere to bright lights, so they use glowing mushrooms. The second floor is a large cave filled with floating boulders — the Mages (and Garrett) can use the boulders to travel from place to place. Each boulder follows a patrol pattern. Be aware that if you’re standing underneath a descending boulder, or riding a boulder that brushes the ceiling, you can be crushed.

About three meters above the ground level is a ring ledge — a circular ledge that goes round the whole cave like a ring. Above the ring platform is a smaller platform near the top, on the side opposite to the entrance. Your objective at this point is to reach the top platform, and thus the stairs leading to the third floor. You do not need boulders to accomplish this, provided that you have kept at least one of the rope arrows you collected in the Central Library earlier. Before you go to the top without using the floating boulders, click here to see how you could have got there using them.

The ceiling is too high to allow you to directly Rope Arrow up from the ground, but this is not a problem. One Mage patrols the perimeter of the lower level, and walks past the entrance, so you have to move. Turn left from the entrance, and hide as far back in the corner as you can. Take a real save slot if you have been unobserved, since your next move can be noisy.

Wait for the Mage on the lower level (and the one on the ring ledge above, if possible) to be as far out of earshot as possible. Then take a running jump and mantle onto the rock containing the door by which you entered. Crouch in the most shadowy area on top of the rock; if you didn’t make too much noise, you’ll be safe here.

When the Mage on the ring ledge is far enough away, mantle onto the ring ledge. Turn right and move to the West side of the ring ledge to find two Moss Arrows lying on the ground. Proceed to the area below the platform. Shoot a rope arrow into the ceiling such that you can retrieve the arrow, and climb up to the top platform.

Climb the stairs from the platform until you’re in deep shadow, then wait. One Mage patrols the third floor, and passes through this room; you need to be aware of where he is before you start exploring.

Follow the Mage out of the room, who turned right (West) at the T-junction. When you reach a shadowy niche, hide there until he doubles back. When he is gone, collect two Moss Arrows on the floor of the lighted area at the end of the passage. Look up and note a hole in the ceiling, where you may drop down from the floor above. Return to your niche.

When the Mage comes back, follow him to the T-junction and proceed forward to the East. Hide in the first niche available there until he’s out of the way. This second corridor terminates in a ramp leading to the fourth floor.

As with the third floor, the fourth floor is patrolled by a single Mage. However, the Mage on the fourth floor always walk clockwise around the level and never doubles back. So he’s easy to follow around.

When you arrive on fourth floor, there is an immediate right turn. After the turn there is a large patch of shadow ahead. Move there and collect two Moss Arrows. Wait for the Earth Mage and follow him on his patrol route. Starting from your shadow, you first meet the stairs on your left leading up to the fifth level. Ignore that for now, and continue following the Mage to a room filled with small crates. A Rope Arrow is embedded in the left hand wall, and two Moss Arrows lies on the floor at the far left corner.

The exit from the crate room is a ramp that first goes up and then back down. Near the top of the ramp you will notice a hole in the left wall. The hole leads to the Tower Walkway going back to Central Tower — don’t enter it yet! Once crawled inside, you cannot get back through the hole on the wall. You will either have to drop down to third floor (remember the hole in the ceiling downstairs?), or you’ll have to leave the tower. This hole is your escape route. You do not need it yet.

Pass by the hole and head down the ramp. On the floor to the left of the ramp, you’ll find two more Moss Arrows. Continue following the Mage on his patrol until you come back to the stairs leading to the fifth floor. Climb up.

Hide in the shadows on the stairs until one of the two Mages patrolling this floor passes through, then follow him out. The corridor is a big circle with a single connection to the inner rooms. When you finally reach a branch in the corridor, turn aside and hide in the shadows. Wait for both Mages to come back out of the dark passage before entering.

Collect two Moss Arrows from the table, and pass into a room containing a ramp leading up to the sixth floor. Collect two more Moss Arrows from the table here, then hide in the shadows on the ramp.

When the fifth floor Mages are out of the area, climb the ramp and hide beside the pillar at the top.

Two Mages patrol this floor, following the same route. Their patrol route winds through the pillars; the distance between them varies. You need the Healing Potion carried by one of them.

Straight across from the stairs you’ll see a pillar against the wall, with deep shadows on either side. When both Mages have passed by, run to the shadow of the pillar and hide (preferably on the left side of the pillar; if you hide to the right, you’ll have to circle it and get to its left).

When you’re unobserved, follow the wall to the shadow of the next pillar, then move onto the stairs leading to the seventh level. You’re not in deep shadow on the stairs, but you’ll be safe as long as the Mages aren’t on alert. Climb the stairs when you’re not observed.

At last, you have reached the top floor. Nobody is here, so just avoid attracting the two Mages downstairs.

Collect the Rope Arrow from the stone table at the top of the stairs, and follow the corridor until you reach a dead end. Look up — the ceiling is of the leafy variety that will take a rope arrow, so use one and climb up.

The rest of the floor is like this. There are many platforms and you need to climb them using Rope Arrows, and drop from them to the places beyond them. It is very easy to get disoriented, but fortunately it is only a small maze. I try to name the platforms as we move along. When I say climb, use a Rope Arrow, climb, and retrieve it back.

The starting point (where you started climbing) is between the West Platform (on your left) and the Mid Platform (on your right). There is nothing on the West Platform, so jump to the Mid Platform and retrieve you Rope Arrow (when you shoot the Rope Arrows, remember to target at places where you can retrieve). Take the two Moss Arrows on the Mid Platform. From there, You can see the East Platform in front of you (on your East), with a hole between it and you. Do a running jump to the East Platform to collect two Moss Arrows. Drop down to the hole between East Platform and Mid Platform.

Take the Rope Arrow on the ground (most “holes” have Rope Arrows so you can get out in case you fall inside without one) on the ground. Proceed North to the stone window. You can see the next room from there, though you cannot climb through the window. You can actually lean into the window and grab the stuff inside. Take the Rope Arrow on the floor, and Air Key in the chest.

Since you have got the Air Key, you can choose to leave now (skip to next section) or continue to visit the other half of the maze. Climb back to Mid Platform. Move to the ledge joining Mid Platform and West Platform, and drop to the hole beyond (on the North). Down there, find a Moss Arrow and a Rope Arrow. Face West and climb up to the L Platform — it is L-shaped.

Collect the Moss Arrow at your feet and follow the L shape to the North end. Drop down the hole on your right (East) to find yet another Moss Arrow and Rope Arrow. This hole is rectangular in shape (most other holes are square) and connects two platforms, so do not get confused. Climb out the North side of the hole, and arrive at the T Platform. It has a T shape, and is the last of the platforms.

From the hole in the center of the T Platform, descend down to the cave below. You have already taken the Rope Arrow and the Air Key, so only a Moss Arrow is left there. Climb back up to the T Platform, and drop down to the rectangular hole. This time, climb out at the South side to get back to the L Platform. At the South East end, drop down the hole and climb South to leave the Maze. Time to leave the tower.

Descend the stairs from the seventh to the sixth floor. Watch the Mages; if you didn’t pickpocket the Healing Potion earlier, do so now. Work your way back over to the ramp, just as you came in, and go down to the fifth floor.

Hide in the shadows at the bottom of the ramp until you know where the two Mages on this floor are. Cross the room to the corridor, taking the moss arrows off the tables if you haven’t done so yet. When you reach the shadows at the end of the corridor, wait until you have a quiet moment, then turn left into the main corridor. Follow the corridor until you reach the stairs leading down to the fourth floor, then hide in the shadows on the stairs.

Wait for the Mage who patrols the fourth floor to put in an appearance, then follow him through the crate room and up the ramp to the opening. Once in a long while, he will not appear because he has stopped somewhere and is just standing still (this is a bug, but can be dealt with fairly easily).

In any case, go through the crate room and up the ramp. This time, go through the wall opening. The metal door leads onto the balcony, and can only be opened from the Tower of Earth side (ie from your side). Note a hole in the floor: if you fall through it to third floor, you have to make your way back here. Open the metal door and leave.

A swordsman and an archer patrol the Tower Walkway connecting the Earth Tower and Central Tower. Leave the balcony to arrive at a wide corridor with sloping walls, supported by large pillars at regular intervals. A metal door separates the two halves of this corridor. Each half has 3 segments, separated by pillars; you can hide in the shadows next to the middle pillar on the right side without having to use a water arrow or knock out any guards. Just remember to climb the slope of the wall so as to get into deep shadow.

Once both guards have headed off toward the balcony, go through the metal door to the Central Tower. The metal door in the central section of the tower opens onto the Central Tower Stairwell. We take this opportunity to visit the lower part of the Central Tower Stairwell.

Now that we are in the Central Tower, we visit the lower half of it on our way down. Not much to see, except that the bottom is connected to the Mage Keep Attic, which we have not yet explored. After visiting the Attic, we will decend further down to the Meeting Hall and back to the gardens for the next tower.

A Fire Mage patrols the upper portion of the central staircase, which is torchlit and floored with marble. If you can hear him, he will hear you if you move. Fortunately, the shadow of the doorway, once you’ve closed the door behind you, is deep enough for you to hide in without using a Water Arrow. Don’t use any Moss Arrows in the Central Tower yet; you need to save them for what lies ahead.

The Talisman Chamber at the top of the tower is protected by an unpickable door; it is useless to go up there until you have the Treasure Key. You need to head downstairs when the Fire Mage has passed by on his way up.

At the bottom of this section of the Central Tower Stairwell, you will find a tile-floored room with a pickable door leading down to the Mage Keep. Beside the door, on a stone table, is a Papyrus containing a copy of the "Eight old men" verse you saw earlier in the Central Library… sounds like a hint about the Talisman, doesn’t it?

Exit through the door, closing it behind you. This is the Mage Keep Central Stairwell. Go down one flight to the Attic (through the first door you meet).

You do not need to use any water arrows in the central corridor of the Attic; the shadows of the doorframes along the walls are deep enough to hide in.

Three guards patrol the length of this corridor, as well as the three rooms at the far end. You do not need to knock any of them out, even to pick open Captain Regalio’s door (the metal door to your right). As long as the guards are far enough away, they won’t see you. When you are at the Attic, choose a moment to pickpocket the patrolling swordsmen, because one of them has a Purse (150;0;0) on his belt.

Save game and pick the door on your right (South). It is the room of Captain Regalio. However, since the door requires multiple picks, you may have to dodge back out to the Central Stairwell occasionally to avoid being seen until you get it open.

Captain Regalio is asleep; but he will wake up if you get too close to him. WARNING: If the Captain starts searching for you, some of the guards from the corridor outside may join the search if they’re nearby. The corridor guard, once he calms down, may not go back on patrol but just stand in the room facing the desk. You may also run into an interesting bug. When the corridor guard leaves, he may lock the door behind him. Unfortunately a door cannot be picked twice — that means you would be trapped in here.

Having said all that, the above problems are quite rare, and you can loot the Captain’s quarters without waking him up in the first place. The black chest marked with a sunburst is the first chest encountered in the game that isn’t the standard blue-with-gold-medusa style. It is a Lost City Chest and you will see plenty of them in the next mission. Probably Captain Regalio collected the Chest from the Lost City of Karath-din.

The Chest contains a Gemstone (0;200;0). Approach the desk from the right; don’t stand in front of it or you would get too close to the bed. The Medallion of Saint Burringden (0;0;150) sought by the Experts lies to the right of Captain’s Ledger. To the left of the Ledger is a Gold Nugget (100;0;0).

Note that there are two Water Arrows on the bookshelves next to Captain Regalio’s bed. I used to think that you cannot get them without waking him up. So the simple is to hide in the shadows between Regalio’s bed and the door, wake him up, then knock him out.

Reader Kaereste confirmed that the two Water Arrows can be collected by stealth. The captain usually wakes up not because we are noisy, but when we get too close. Start in front of the chair in the Northnorthwest corner of the room an do a running jump onto the desk. Lean forward, grab the arrows, hop off the table (on the West side, not the front!), and be on your merry way.

Once you’ve looted Regalio’s quarters, wait in the doorway and watch the guards until it’s safe to move into the shadow of the doorframe to the right.

Move North along the East wall to visit the two rooms there.

The SE room can be unlocked with a Silver Key. It is torchlit, floored with checkerboard tile. One of the guards is asleep in his bunk. You do not need to use either a Moss Arrow or a Water Arrow, provided that you move quietly and close the door behind you once you’re in the room.

The Foot Locker across from the door contains 6 Broadhead Arrows. The Foot Locker at guard’s bunk, naturally, is the one containing loot — a Stack of Gold Coins (50;0;0). Listen at the door until it’s safe to exit the room, and hide in the shadows next to the door.

The center room on the east wall has an unpickable door, requiring the use of one of the Silver Keys that most of the guards and Mages seem to carry. A female servant, possibly a prostitute since she resembles those in Cragscleft, is asleep inside.

The room is torchlit, and floored with checkerboard tile. You do not need to use either a Moss Arrow or a Water Arrow, provided that you move quietly and close the door behind you once you’re in the room. The left Foot Locker against the wall is empty, but the right Foot Locker nearest the woman contains a Purse (100;0;0).

The North side is more dangerous because the guards patrol here, and the lights are better lit. The door on your right enters the NE room, which is part of the guards’ patrol area. The shadows are deep enough to allow you to hide easily, but the room contains nothing.

On the North are the double doors to the N room. This room has a bay window. If you looked up while you were in the Main Gate area, this is the window you saw from below. The shadows on the West side of the doorframe are deep enough to allow you to hide, even as guards pass through the doorway. This room contains nothing.

The patch of shadow at the foot of the steps leading to the NW room is deep enough to hide you until the patrols are occupied elsewhere, and you can enter the room unobserved. There is a Purse (100;0;0) on the shelf. Leave.

While you are at the North side, look South. Do you notice anything on the rafters? Visit the last room at the West wall, and then we will examine the rafter closely.

This room is floored with checkerboard tile and torchlit as are most of the rooms in the Attic. However, this one is occupied by a female servant who is awake, so Water Arrow the torch and Moss Arrow the floor before entering — it is possible to cross the floor without using a Moss Arrow, but it’s more trouble than it’s worth.

Pickpocket the female servant’s Purse (75;0;0). The Foot Locker contains a Stack of Gold Coins (25;0;0), and a Gold Goblet (25;0;0) is sitting on the bookcase.

Watch for the doorway for a chance to exit the room. Remember the sparkling object you see above the rafter? Note that the wooden beams stretching across the hall don’t support the ceiling; they’re useless. Use Rope Arrow to climb up the one above the SE room’s doorframe — on top of it is a Gold Nugget (100;0;0).

Work your way back to the Mage Keep Central Stairwell.

Leaving the Attic, and walk down. The first door that you pass leads to the 2/F Storage Room. Go out to have a look if you so wish. Descend one more level to find the door to the 1/F Storage Room.

Through the door you arrive at a small room. Leave through the only other door. This is a patrol area for the servants and guards of the Great Hall.

The door on your left opens to a long empty room. Go to the far corner (NW) and read the Scroll on the table. Then read the Papyrus on the other table ordering more lab animals.

If you ever feel inclined to complain about the difficulty of this mission, just remember that the mission designers could easily have added live burricks…

Avoid the patrols and exit 1/F Storage Room for the Great Hall. Go back to the double doors leading to the Main Gate area. Save while you’re still inside before opening the doors, since guards occasionally use the Main Gate area to get from one quadrant to another. Turn right outside and re-enter the NE Grounds.

Now the turn for Air. The tower is slate grey, but it has a tiny tint of blue, making it look as if built from ice. The Tower of Air is not very outstanding, and air is not an easy theme to use. Yet it is still well designed.

Like before, negotiate with the Air Mages and get up to the top of the tower to find the Fire Key. Next come back down midway to leave via the Tower Walkway. If you like to, you can leave via the tower entrance as well.

You may run into a nasty bug preventing you to visit the tower. As a precaution, save your game before you enter the Tower of Air. Do not overwrite it until you get the Fire Key.

Save a game before you ever approach the Tower of Air. There have been reports where bugs prevent you to rise to the top of the tower. In those cases, you need to reload a game saved before entering the tower. Do not overwrite this saved game until you reach the top of the tower.

When you reach the Tower of Air, unlock the door and enter the first floor, avoiding the Air Mage on patrol. To the left is a table containing the first Gas Arrow in the game. For players at Hard or Expert Difficulties, this is the only Gas Arrow available during this mission. Don’t waste it. And remember that Air Mages are immune to Gas Arrows.

Avoid the Mage on patrol, go upstairs, and take a save slot. The second floor is patrolled by two Air Mages. It is fairly well lit, and the floor is a type of slate that is almost as bad as checkerboard tile. However don’t waste your Moss Arrows here; you’ll need them later, and by the time you use them up on the floor, the Mages will see you anyway. Unlike the Tower of Earth, both Mages here follow the same patrol route, covering both the lower level, the stairs leading to the ledge, and the upper level ledge.

Your target is the floating boulder connecting the upper level ledge with the third floor. If the boulder is missing, that is a bug. You need to restore a saved game made before you enter the Tower of Air, and try again. Listen at the door until the Mages seem to be out of earshot. You need to climb the stairs next to the doorway (on your right) and move along the ledge to the boulder. If you are able to enter the room when the Mages are out of earshot, you can do this without alerting them. In the worst case, you can outrun them and jump onto the boulder anyway — they won’t follow you very far.

The third floor is a big/outer circular (actually octagonal) corridor surrounding a smaller/inner circular corridor, which in turn surrounds an innermost room. Turn right and take the speed potion from the table (on the East side). Only one Mage patrols this level; since his patrol pattern is counterclockwise, always go right. Continue forward, and at the North end of the circular corridor, you find the doorway entrance to the inner circular corridor. When the Air Mage arrive at this doorway, he go inside and follow the inner circular corridor in the counterclockwise direction. Depending on your speed, he should be inside when you arrive. Step back and wait for him to come back out — he will continue his counterclockwise journey in the outer circular corridor.

If you are playing at Normal Difficulty, follow him to move along the outer corridor to find the other table, which is on the West side. Take Gas Arrow there, and follow him back to the doorway on the North. When he enters the doorway, wait for him to come back out like before.

When you find the Air Mage leaving the doorway to come back to the outer corridor, move through the doorway. Go either way half a circle to the South side. Another doorway is there, leading to the innermost room with the central shaft.

From here on the path through the Tower of Air is pretty linear. And there are no more Mages.

Ride the boulder up to ledge #1. Ledge #1 connects with another quartz-walled room with another floating boulder. Jump onto the new floating boulder and ride it up to Ledge #2.

Ledge #2 connects to still another quartz-walled room with a floating boulder. Ride this boulder down to the floor, and walk to the next room. The next room’s boulder moves past two ledges.

Ledge #3, the lower ledge, is your escape route to the Central Tower; bypass it for now. Ledge #4, the upper ledge, connects to another quartz-walled room and floating boulder.

Ride this boulder to the floor and walk over to the slate-walled shaft. Stand under the overhang and wait for the last boulder to come down, then ride it up to the roof.

Bugs can make any of these boulders disappear. In that case, you need to restore the game saved before you enter the Tower of Air to retry.

After so much flying in the air, you arrived at the roof. This is the only tower where you can see the sky above you. The entrance (and exit) for the roof of the Tower of Air is at the back of a stone ramp, leading up to a ledge with two telescopes. The Fire Key is, of course, in the blue chest in mid air. It is too high to jump, and not accessible by Rope Arrows.

Look around until the inspiration tells you what holds the chest in mid air. When both telescopes are lowered to point downwards, the chest will be lowered for about a minute, then float back up. Since the chest is locked and requires multiple picks, don’t waste your speed potion here — you can’t pick the chest open on one trip. Besides, there’s no hurry — this is not a patrol area.

Use the telescopes to lower the chest; jump from the ledge and run to the pedestal while the chest is coming down, and start picking it open. Repeat the process until you have it open and take the Fire Key.

Once you have the Fire Key, leave the roof the way you came in (the elevator is at the back of the ramp). You’ll have to wait until the boulder is on its way down, or it will just dump you back up here.

Retrace your steps until you reach Ledge #3, then follow the corridor to the balcony door.

Again we leave via the Tower Walkway. Exit onto the balcony, avoiding the swordsman and archer who patrol this area. As before, hide in the middle section of the first corridor until both guards are occupied out on the balcony, then go through the door and run to the Central Tower Stairwell.

Don’t forget the Fire Mage who patrols the Central Tower Stairwell; he can hear you if you can hear him. Work your way downstairs as before. Bypass the Attic this time, since you have already looted it, and go straight to the 1/F Storage Room. Count the doors as you pass them, or you would end up arriving in the Dungeons instead.

Be careful of the patrols here, and go out to the Main Gate as before. This time, head for the NW Grounds on your left, where the Tower of Fire stands.

The Tower of Fire is rusty orange in color, made out of riveted metal plates. Lots of lava. Lots of metal surfaces. Use your Moss Arrows sensibly, possibly your Gas Arrows as well. Make your way to the top to find the Treasure Key. Then leave via the Tower Walkway and proceed to the top of the Central Tower.

As usual, once you unlock the Tower of Fire door, you’ll find a Mage patrolling the first floor. Avoid him, and read the Papyrus on top of the table on your left. Get ready for the trials of flame and lava.

Unlike the arrangement in the other towers, the second floor is patrolled by one Mage instead of two. Don’t become overconfident — the Mage on the first floor can hear you if you make too much noise on one end of the room, while the Mage on the third floor can hear you if you make too much noise on the opposite end. This floor is as well protected as those in the other towers.

Only Fire Mages can walk safely through lava, so you’ll need to jump across the gaps in the catwalk to traverse the room. Climb the stairs next to the entrance, and quench both torches with water arrows. The fire symbols cannot be quenched, broken, or otherwise put out, unfortunately.

A catwalk crosses from left to right, but is broken into three parts: two ledges on each side, and a platform in the middle. A Fire Arrow lies on the ledge on the West. If you want to, get it; but Fire Arrows are not useful for this mission. Notice the metal plates scattered along the catwalk that heat up and cool down. When they’re black, they can be crossed safely, but when they’re white hot, Garrett will take burn damage if he’s touching them. These hot plates can be quenched with Water Arrows, so if you have more than enough, you can save quite a bit of trouble at some places.

Standing on the platform above the entrance, use a Moss Arrow on the platform directly in front of you, then mantle up. Be careful not to fall! If you’ve done this without alerting the Fire Mage, save your game.

Now you have two choices. You either jump to ledge on your right (East) or forward (North). Both are pretty the same, and both floors as noisy. However, the right hand side is darker, but the right hand side is a patrol area, and has more hot plates to avoid. Moss Arrow the floor of your target and do a running jump there. If your landing area is carpeted with moss, you can do this without alerting any of the Mages.

Once you’ve reached the catwalk leading to the third floor staircase, work your way over to the staircase as quietly as possible, avoiding being burned by the heated plates on the floor. Hide in the shadows at the top of the stairs leading to the third floor.

Wait for the Mage who patrols this floor to enter and leave, then follow his patrol route out of the room to the stone-floored corridor beyond. The stone corridor is wide enough to let you hide until he comes back, when you can continue down the corridor.

The next room on this floor has a lighted, dead end area with a blue chest containing a Fire Arrow. Pick it up if you like, then head for the shadows at the far end of the room.

When the third floor and fourth floor Mages are out of earshot, take the stairs to the fourth floor.

The Mage patrolling the fourth floor can become stuck on the stairs leading to the fifth level, in which case you’ll have to reload or waste your gas arrow. This walkthrough assumes that he hasn’t gotten stuck.

Cross the room of pillars, staying in the shadows. When the Mage enters this room, exit to the stone-floored corridor beyond. The first niche in the corridor has two Fire Arrows, and is wide enough for you to hide in if necessary. Work your way down the corridor; the third niche has MoneyBox containing a Healing Potion. If you arrive at the stairs before finding the MoneyBox, you have missed the niche. Turn around and you are looking at it. Hide at the niche until the Mage is moving away from the stairs.

Moss Arrow the metal stairs leading to the fifth floor, then go up.

Quench the torch with a Water Arrow, and note the exit to the Tower Walkway.

I feel that this is the most dangerous part of the tower, because you are in a very open area with two patrolling Fire Mages. This is a tall floor with many catwalks. At the bottom, the floor is patrolled by two Fire Mages. Often they are both in the pool of lava, but sometimes one will patrol the catwalks. If one of the Mages is patrolling the catwalks, he may also get stuck somewhere. If this happens, find a safe, shadowy area, then use a broadhead arrow to make enough noise to get him moving again.

Moss Arrow the area in front of the door, between you and the lava pool. One day you will jump down from the catwalk above and you’d have a soft landing.

Mantle up onto the edge of the lava pool. Stand up, Moss Arrow the catwalk above you, then mantle up. Traverse the catwalks to the top level. A Chest is hidden in the shadows on the South end of the top catwalk, and contains a Healing Potion.

Go to the door on the West side of the top catwalk. Go through and up the stairs to the top floor.

This is not a patrol area. If you are free from pursuit, take a real save slot once you reach this floor. The Treasure Key is in the chest on the far end of the room, at the center of a set of four heated plates.

Cross the bridge. Be careful to jump the gaps. When you reach the end, make sure to step off the bridge onto safe flooring before you turn either left or right.

To pick the lock of the chest, you must stand on one of the four heated plates surrounding it. You must not stand on a plate longer than it takes to use one lockpick. When the plate next to the one you’re standing on begins to cool off, quickly step off your plate onto the normal floor before you are burned. If you have Water Arrows to spare, quench one of the plates and you can pick the Chest peacefully.

Open the Chest and take the Treasure Key. Go back downstairs to the fifth floor catwalks. Listen at the door before opening it — one of the Mages may be patrolling the catwalks, in which case he may be right outside the door and facing you.

When the area is quiet, open the door and cross to the staircase on the opposite side, and go down to the lower catwalk. From there, you should be able to drop down quietly to the mossy area in front of the exit that you prepared earlier when you started your trip up the catwalks.

Open the balcony door. Wait for the mundane guards to clear out of sight, then proceed to the Central Tower as before.

Now that you have the Treasure Key, go to the top of the Central Tower to find the Talisman of Earth. Then go down to the Dungeons to find a way out.

Now that you have the Treasure Key, you need to go upstairs to the Talisman Chamber and find the Talisman of Earth. Remember that if you can hear the Fire Mage who patrols this staircase, he can hear you, but if you can’t hear him, you should be safe.

You may want to use Water Arrows on the torches along this staircase. You should be able to reach the door at the top with a minimum number of Moss Arrows (possibly without using any). Like the entrance of the elemental towers, the lock of the Talisman Chamber door is to the right of the door. Save game, open the door and step onto the carpet, closing the door behind you.

I asked you to save not because of an imminent danger, but the two Earth Mages will begin a very interesting conversation as soon as you enter the doorway. By the way, the speech gave me quite a shock, because I thought the “he“ they are talking about is myself. The conversation is of great significance to the whole game and I reloaded the game many times to listen to it. Perhaps it hardly means anything to players who started playing with Thief Gold, but for people like me who have already completed Thief The Dark Project, the converstaion is great to listen to. In short, the Mages tried to retrieve the Talisman to “redirect the current”, to avoid the “winds of progress” from “heading towards the grave”, althought “little we can do to prevent it”. Got something?

The two Mages (Alex and Tim) are standing off to the right, but will not see you if you are in shadow. When you have heard enough, reload game so that you can start moving when they are busily standing there talking. While they’re talking, take the opportunity to steal the Jars (0;0;20) on either side of the entrance. The one on the left is short, while the one on the right is taller.

Stay on the carpet, and circle around the central block. At the opposite end of the block from the entrance you’ll find more loot. Half you them you can access from the shadows. Get the nearby Jar (0;0;20) that look like green shoots of bamboos, and the Canopic Jar (0;0;75). Like the Lost City Chest, you will see many of these Jars in the next mission. Probably the Mages have taken these Jars from the Lost City of Karath-din.

Now you have already located 8 copies of the Earth Talisman around the perimeter. Which one is the Talisman we need? You can find it by brute force. Try pick up each of the Talismans. If you pick up a fake, it will punch you and cause a little damage; the real one won’t hurt you. Is there a better method? Hmmmm…

Remember the eight old men rhyme? Evidently it should tell you how to find the real Talisman. Not until today that I have any convincing explanation on how the rhyme solves the problem. The common interpretation (and what I used to believe) is that you should not try to use violence on the Mages.

Remember the small platform with Jars you just got (on the North side of the room)? You don’t see anything else on the platform. That is the problem. A Talisman used to be standing there, right in the middle of the platform, among the Jars. This is the nineth, standing right in front of you, but has somehow disappeared. And it is the key to the riddle.

Start from the position where you just enter via the door. Since Garrett uses the right hand to hold the sword, go left. Count every talisman you see, and also count the talisman on the platform that you cannot see. When you arrive at the seventh (it is the one on the West corner), it is the real one. Now that the riddle is solved, another problem arise. Why on earth “Eight old men”? Perhaps the developers killed the nineth talisman because they prefer Eight Old Men over Nine Old Men, but forgot to move the real one forward to the (now) seventh position.

If you do not use the counting method, then just hide and look. When Alex and Tim finish talking, they will begin patrolling the perimeter of the room. The Mages stop and meditate in front of the real Talisman from time to time. Naturally, the real Talisman is furthest away from the carpet. So watch them and identify which is real. Wait until one Mage is out of sight on the other side of the block, and the other is turning away from you to face the real Talisman. Move to the lighted area and grab the rest of the loot: the other green shoot looking Jar (0;0;20) and the other Canopic Jar (0;0;75).

Stay on the carpet, and follow the patrolling Mages until you are directly opposite the real Earth Talisman. Either walk very quietly and slowly across the floor to the Earth Talisman, or use a couple of Moss Arrows to make a safe path from the carpet to the Talisman (I recommend the latter).

The Mages, oddly enough, will not notice that the Talisman is gone and will not raise an alarm. They continue to walk around and stare at the empty pedestal. Once you have it, go back to the entrance and downstairs.

Use Water Arrows and Moss Arrows as needed to reach the door at the bottom of Central Tower Stairwell without attracting the attention of the Fire Mage. If he’s far away from you when you enter the staircase, he may not become active until you get closer to him, so holding still until he shows up may not work. Just move quietly and work your way down to the door at the bottom of the staircase.

At the bottom of the Central Tower Stairwell, continue with the Mage Keep Central Stairwell all the way to the bottom. Take a real save slot, and open the door to the Dungeons.

Two guards, a swordsman and an archer, patrol the Dungeons. Pick a Blue Key from each. They patrol this floor and the Torture Chambers on the Lower Dungeon. The Blue Keys unlock the Torture Chambers on the Lower Dungeon. They can become stuck in the door of the Torture Chambers, so be careful about overwriting your save slots until you know where the guards are.

Follow the wall to the right until you reach a “secret” (and very obvious) door in the South end of the wall; go in and close the door behind you.

This secret room does not appear in the map. The ladder leads up to a platform, and from there you can reach the trapdoor you encountered in the SE Grounds, where the Tower of Water is found. You shouldn’t need to go up there; as you learned in the briefing, your escape route from the Mage Towers is through the Sewers connected to the Dungeons.

To your right are some shelves built into the wall. The lower shelf has two Stacks of Silver Coins (12;0;0). Ignore the worthless glass bottle on that shelf.

The upper shelf has a Silver Nugget (50;0;0). The nugget may be hard for you to see, but you can reach it.

Two Foot Lockers stand at the end of the room. The left Foot Locker contains a Gemstone (0;100;0). The other one contains one Water Arrow.

Once you have the loot, listen at the door, then leave and turn right, taking care not to run into the guards. Check your map; the central corridor of this floor lies between Dungeon Storeroom (South) and Alchemy Lab (North). Proceed there now.

The Dungeon Storeroom to the south can be opened with a Silver Key. Both this door and that of Alchemy Lab have a tendency to disappear, but you can do nothing about it. On your left, you’ll find a Water Arrow on the table. On the lower shelf along the wall is a Purse (100;0;0) and a bundle of 10 Broadhead Arrows.

The upper shelf has a Stack of Silver Coins (12;0;0) and a Silver Nugget (50;0;0). Once you have the loot, hide in the doorway and wait for the guards to pass by; steal their keys if you have not already done so. Use a Silver Key to unlock the Alchemy Lab across the corridor.

Close the door behind you. The table on your left with the alchemy apparatus also has a Gold Nugget (100;0;0). On the shelves you’ll find a Lab Journal giving more information about the secret entrance from the Sewers.

The last loot in the mission is a Purse (100;0;0) on the shelves. You should now have 2812 loot and 22 pickpockets, if you have stolen the Blue Keys from the two dungeon guards.

At this point, you only need to carry a Blue Key to enter the Torture Chambers, so if you want to be nice to the Mages you can leave the rest of your keys here.

Hide in the shadows and open the door. When the guards are past you, head for the stairway at the North end of the Dungeons.

Go downstairs and use a Blue Key to unlock the door of the Torture Chambers. Read the Purple Book on the rack if you’re interested in why they need torture equipment…

The “secret” entrance from the Sewers is a fairly obvious secret door built into the wall of the second torture chamber. Go through it and hide on the ramp below; an archer patrols this floor.

The archer may patrol this floor for a while, or he may take up a stationary position on either side of the sewer channel below. When you are unobserved, head down one of the stairways to the lowest level. Run or swim towards the South grill.

Just before the end, Garrett says “Hmmm…This looks like the way out. That’ll come in useful later.” However you never come back here after this mission. If you had visited the Sewers before satisfying all your objectives, this speech would have served as a hint that this is the correct way out. You will have needed to “come back” to end the mission.

Since you have completed all the objectives, stay there for a short while and the mission will end.