Well, that was a pretty good sleep. Comparatively speaking, I mean. Again, when you spend six months in a maximum-security prison, even the most uncomfortable bed in the world is the most pleasant experience you’ll ever have. However, a mystical assassin’s work is seemingly never done, so I can’t stay in bed forever. The moment I push up the covers and stand on my feet, the Heart leaps to life in order to inform me that it detects the presence of 2 Runes. I head downstairs and take a detour on the 2nd floor to see if anyone’s doing anything worth note. In Pendleton’s room I see another one of his “memoirs”, but I’m quickly losing interest in them. They were an amusing diversion at one point, but the way this pathetic man goes on and on about his “hard life” of wealth is privilege is beyond disgusting. Havelock’s room is no less a bore.
As I head to the cellar of this pub, I witness Wallace and Lydia having an argument. Wallace is clearly annoyed by her, because he threatens to fire her if he ever got the chance, as if he has the authority to do so. Surprisingly enough, Lydia stands her ground, bluntly saying that the pub can’t function without her, pointing out 5 mistakes he made in the accounting books as proof. I leave the room with a wry smile cross my face. Watching Wallace get his ass handed to him is a great source of entertainment. Outside, on the coastal side of the pub, I hear Callista and Piero at the entrance to his workshop. They talk about a place called “The Golden Cat”. From the sound of it, it seems like it’s some sort of brothel. Piero brags that he’s made many “exotic” contraptions for the place, and offers Callista a look at the blueprints in what appears the most awkward, painful way to hit on a woman I’ve ever seen. As one might suspect, Callista didn’t care much for the advance. I think I saw her shudder as she said that she regrets bringing him tea. I like you, Piero, but what did you expect? You may be a genius when it comes to invention, but when it comes to love you’re hopeless. I’d offer him a project or two to take his mind off it, but alas he has nothing that I’m interested in.
So, I decide to see if Havelock and Pendleton need anything. I find them next to what appears to be the entrance to the basement. When I close in, Havelock tells me Martin will arrive today, and that there have been noises coming from the sewers beneath us, suspecting them to be weepers. Before I can ask “What the hell’s a weeper?”, he anticipates my question and tells me that they are plague victims in the final stage of the infection. Little more than walking shambles of their former selves, weepers are now nothing more than active plague vectors. Before getting my next formal assignment, the admiral tasks me with removing the menace in the sewers, just in case they happen to be nosy guards. Taking the key, I unlock the hatch and drop down. In the sewers, I hide behind a wall and use my spyglass to see who the interlopers are. What I see are two very pale individuals. There is blood coming from their eyes and their movements are stilted, as if rigor mortis is taking hold. Knowing that no one will question a weeper’s death, I lunge at them, impaling each of them with my sword. It’s sad, but there really is no coming back from that.
With the blood still dripping from the blade, I look around and notice the 2 Runes that revealed themselves earlier. Since their powers will be necessary in the coming trials, I scoop them up. With that, I have the absorbed power of 5 Runes I have not yet used to increase my power, so I decide that now is the time to do just that. Unlike before, this time I have two visions appear in the depths of my mind. In one of these visions, I see myself behind a barricade, readying Blink to teleport behind a guard. However, when I release, I teleport farther than I have even been able to before. The other vision tells of an even more fascinating ability. When I watch myself clench my fist, time itself appears to slow down around me. The nearby guards are moving slower and take longer to detect me. Just like before, I feel myself pour the energy of my collected Runes into these visions, and my powers respond in kind.
When I jump out of the sewers and arrive back at the pub, Cecelia says that she’s impressed with my bravery, and informs me that Martin has just arrived. I take that as my queue to head to the bar and speak with him. He’s with Havelock, and together they brief me on my next assignment. As fortunate as I’ve been, the assignment is the one I’ve been anticipating more than any other: I am to finally rescue Emily. She’s been taken to the Golden Cat to hide out with Pendleton’s brothers, Morgan and Custis.
While saving my daughter is my top priority, I am also to ensure that the Pendleton twins do not survive this day. With them out of the picture, Trevor can take his brothers’ place as head of the family and take control of Parliament. The former overseer and the admiral depart, telling me that Trevor is waiting by the docks to brief me personally. Giving my next targets, this must be bittersweet for him. He sounds about as conflicted as one might expect a younger brother requesting the death of his siblings to be. It seems that when he talks about their cruelty towards others, knack for putting wealth over all else, and alliance with the Lord Mole, he’s trying to convince himself more than he is trying to convince me that this is the right thing to do. I almost feel bad for him, but he knew the risks of being involved in this. In the end, Trevor made his choice just as I have. Leaving him to his thoughts, I ask Samuel to head out.
When we arrive, we touch down at the same spot as we did the night before. While Samuel tries to help by advising me to ask Slackjaw for a way into the Golden Cat. I appreciate his helpfulness, but that would simply be leaving too much evidence behind and I’m still too mad at Slackjaw’s men to even consider it. On a more useful note, he warns me of a watch tower installed on Clavering. After Campbell’s death, Lord Mole must be getting paranoid. The Heart reveals to me the presence of 3 Bone Charms in the area. If they were Runes, I may be more willing to go out of my way to get them. As it stands, I consider it far too risky.
Rather than go the same route as last time, I opt instead to use both the extended range of my Blink and the new watch tower to my advantage. I climb onto the top of a nearby pillar, and then use a series of Blinks to scale up to the top of a lamppost and eventually onto the watch tower. From this point, I can teleport to the top of the archway housing the Wall of Light in my path. It is a trivial matter to move from here to the next archway’s roof by sticking to the high ground, and it’s from there that I see a sign advertizing the Golden Cat, with an arrow pointing to a nearby door. Passing a second watch tower, I open the door and proceed onward.
According to nearby signage, I’m getting close to the Golden Cat. Pulling out the Heart, I detect 3 nearby Runes and a Bone Charm. Rather than risk the guards spotting me, I opt to take to the alleyways, using various crates and stands as barriers between myself and the watchmen on patrol. Eventually, one the alleyways is set up in such a way as to allow easy access to the rooftops with my magic jumping powers. This vantage point gives me full view of the Golden Cat’s exterior. Pulling out the Heart again, I also see that from here I can easily get to one of the Runes. I cross the street and onto an adjacent rooftop with a single Blink, and dive into the building in order to acquire the Rune I saw earlier.
Teleporting back onto the roofs, I find a ventilation shaft I can use to sneak onto the second story balcony of the Golden Cat. Instead of entering from this location, I decide that it might be a better idea to sneak in through the attic, as less people are likely to be there. Plus, the Heart indicates a Rune is there too. As I drop in, I immediately peep into the door in front of me to make sure it’s safe. That’s when I see that which I’ve been looking for. There’s no mistaking it, Emily is in this room. As quietly as I can, I open the door go to her. She’s initially scared thanks to my Death mask, but when I take it off, she leaps into my arms. They told her that I was dead and that nobody would come for her. Unfortunately for them, they were lying. Despite this, she never lost hope and planned her escape. I put my mask back on and prepare to get her out of here. Out of sight of the guards and staff, she leads me to a locked back entrance. Emily suspects that after her last attempt, the Madame Prudence locked the door and keeps the key on her person. Until I get that key, my daughter is stuck here in a whore house. There is no way I’ll let that happen.
When I make it to the second floor, I spot the Madame. Talking to a watchman, she reveals that Morgan Pendleton is located in a soundproof room called the Ivory Room on the second floor while Custis is upstairs in the smoking room. As I see her come towards the door I’m peeping through, I quickly dive for a corner. Luckily, she does not spot me as she passes towards her office. I seize this chance to take the key off her belt and sneak back to the bottom floor. Using my shiny new key, I unlock the door. As I do, Emily deduces that I had to have arrived by boat and tells me that she’ll meet me there when I’m done. She’s smart, like her father, so I have no doubt that she can get there. That leaves 1 objective complete. All that remains is to find the remaining 2 Runes and find a way to kill the Pendleton twins discreetly, making it look like an accident. A tall order perhaps, but I think I just might be able to pull it off…
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