As I enter the apartment, I immediately hear the whispers of a Rune on a nearby table, wasting no time snatching it up. I can already begin to see the visions of new powers forming, but I feel that if I hold off a little while longer, even stronger abilities will be have the potential to be awakened. Blinking onto the roof of the guard station, I see that aside from the patrols, my only obstacle is a Wall of Light. The tank supplying the fuel is guarded by a spinning wheel, so a normal man would be unable to get to it. I am not a normal man, and as a result I can just Blink over it. When the guards look away, I take my chance to quickly remove the tank and climb up a nearby vent to stay out of sight. Once I’m sure the guards are still looking away, I rush to the door beyond the Wall of Light and finally make it to the other side of Kaldwin’s bridge, where Sokolov’s apartment lies.
Once I begin to get my bearings here, the Heart once more begins to beat, indicating a Bone Charm and a Rune. The Rune is located in the direction of Sokolov’s apartment if my memories of Kaldwin’s Bridge are accurate. Knowing him, it is highly likely that the Rune is with him at this moment. Since the Bone Charm is close by, I decide to take a quick detour in order to claim it for myself. Climbing into the window of the apartment complex I see that my path to the charm is blocked by a makeshift barricade. All this means is that I need to find a back way in, so I climb onto the roof and look to the side to find a very well-placed balcony. I am once again disappointed to find that the charm’s effect is useless to me, so I place it in my pack to keep others safe from it. That means that only one Rune remains, and I’m convinced Sokolov has it. This suspicion is confirmed when I scale the rooftops and acquire a direct line of sight to the apartment, which seems more like a small fortress when I finally gaze upon it.
The front door is too well-guarded to use, so I inspect the building’s roof to find a single guard on patrol. I can do this, but I will have to dispatch him in order to ensure my safety. The only way onto to the roof is the chain hanging from it. I wait for a bit, because my best chance will be the moment when the guard turns his back to the chain. Once I’m onto the roof and behind cover, I take a look inside and notice that the room on Sokolov’s roof appears to be some sort of greenhouse. He provides the plague elixirs for the guards, so this comes as no surprise to me.
Before I can take a closer look, I need to dispatch that watchman. Scaling the greenhouse, I wait for the guard to get closer, and then use my rats to silence him forever. I see a poor woman who appears to be a subject in one of his experiments. While I feel sorry for her, I can’t free her or she’d see me, possibly compromising my mission. Plus, with her locked up, I can pass this off as Sokolov going out for awhile, especially if I nab his notebook and recipe for his elixir on the way. Piero will be most pleased to have the access to Sokolov’s notes. The Rune was also located here, as I suspected. Now that everything I need is in my hands, I pick up Sokolov’s sleeping form and make my way out. Since the guard patrolling the roof is now dead, my escape is completely unhindered. Predicting the most likely place for Samuel to make camp over here, I head to a waterway under the bridge. Sure enough, he was right there and ready to make the trip back. With the floodlights still out of commission, we made it back to the Hound Pits Pub safely.
When we arrive, it’s nighttime with Martin and Havelock receiving us at the pier. The admiral praises my efforts and invites me to go to bed. I am almost certainly tired, but I have a few things to do before hitting the hey. Fortunately, Piero is right outside, and he’s just the man I’m looking for. I hand him the blueprints for both my new boots and Sokolov’s elixirs, and gave him the money to start working on my boots. After finishing the upgrades, he says that working on them gave him new ideas for how to further muffle my footsteps, so I consent to give him the scratch to continue development. As I left him to his work, I found an audiograph where Piero rants that he’s smarter than Sokolov and that the only reason Sokolov is in a better position is that he’s better funded by the nobles. Given how quickly Piero finishes his work, I’m tempted to believe it. Pondering this a bit, Piero informs me that he’s finished. I thank him and leave, making note of the fact that I can barely hear my own footsteps.
It is then that the Heart sparks to life and once more begins to beat. It tells me of a Bone Charm located in a nearby building. Sadly, the only access point is a locked door. Cecelia is one of the few people here who knows this area well, so talking to her could give me some help. When I approach her, she tells me the apartment is a secret hideout that she plans to use in the event that the guards beat on our door and we need to scatter. She mentions that she has a spare key under her bed that she’s willing to give me. I’m touched by her offer, and thank her graciously. Taking the key, I decide to continue my surveillance of Havelock and Pendleton by inspecting their rooms. Havelock was in his room at the time, and didn’t seem to mind me snooping through his things. Looks like my assassinations earlier today have already begun to bear fruit, as the Lord Mole lost the vote on increasing the city’s defense budget.
As for his journal, he appears to be getting more power-hungry, talking about the kind of force he could wield if both Piero and Sokolov were under his command. This is after noting my ability to perform extractions along with assassinations. What concerns me more is the audiograph. In the recording, Havelock is clearly growing more paranoid, worried that he hasn’t covered his tracks enough in keeping this bar, and our operation, above water. There are also traces of an ambition about him, saying that he’d almost prefer taking the title of Lord Regent for himself than commanding the navy in Emily’s name. I’ve seem this combination of paranoia and ambition before with the current Lord Regent, and that resulted in six months of my life gone. I have no plans on making the same mistake a second time. You’ve earned my attention Havelock, be warned. As for Pendleton, he is away on business, his room containing another memoir. The content is meaningless, but he seems to be growing more and more belligerent. I imagine the deaths of his brothers are still affecting him, so who knows what he is capable of at this point.
As I head to the Cecelia’s hiding place to snatch the Bone Charm, I think of Martin and wonder about what he might be thinking. He’s an overseer and enemy of the Outsider. Surely by now he’s seen the Mark on my left hand. For now, he seems to be willingly ignoring it, but if pressed by Havelock and Pendleton, I wonder how long that will last. The bottom line is that all three of the top conspirators have a motive to end my life as soon as this whole thing is over, and that worries me. I’m necessary for now, which means I’m safe, but the future is uncertain. Almost reflecting my current state of mind, the charm I pick up is once again worthless to me. At this point I seem to only be picking these things up to keep their power in check.
The only errand I have left to run before turning in for the night is to check in with Callista and Emily. Entering the lighthouse, I thank the stars that I purchased silent boots, as Emily was just put to sleep. She seems restless, tossing and turning as if the weight of the world is on her shoulders. Hell, it just might be. Callista says that Emily appears to be visibly happier when I’m here for her, but she doesn’t press the issue because we both know that I have work to do. In Callista’s audiograph, she recounts her day with Emily. I almost feel bad for poor Callista, because she’s both dealing with limited resources and dealing with my daughter. I know that Emily can be a handful, mostly because I know she gets it from both myself and her mother. There was one interesting point that I’m probably putting too much stock in, but she mentioned that when she asked for slightly more fancy ware to have “tea parties” with Emily, Havelock and the others seems distant. I should expect that because of the nature of this conspiracy, but given what I suspect of them, that concerns me even more. I give Emily a quick kiss good night, and then head to my own room.
Right as I am about to head to bed, a thought occurs to me. I have the energy of 5 Runes stored within me, so maybe now is a good time to strengthen my magic. The visions in my head once again make themselves clear. In this one, I see a watchman sitting next to a Wall of Light. I know that I need to get passed this wall to proceed to whatever objective I happen to be on. It is then that I use my powers of possession, but not on a lowly rat. Instead, I appear to be jumping into the body of the guard himself, using him as a vessel to pass through the Wall of Light. Intrigued, I pour my energy into this vision and acquire this enhanced possession for myself. Now that I am thoroughly exhausted, I lay down in my bed and rest.
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