You've a simple job set up for this evening. The wealthy Lord Bafford is under the foolish belief that he keeps a jeweled sceptre in his mansion... Your fence, Cutty, could get you a very good price for it. The job should be easy to pull off because Bafford and the captain of his house guard are out for a while.

Objectives:

• Sneak into Lord Bafford's manor.
• Nab the jeweled sceptre.
• Steal (Hard) 350 or (Expert) 700 worth of loot.
• (Hard/Expert) Leave quietly.
• (Hard) Don't kill the servants.
• (Expert) Don't kill anyone.

Vaguely interesting side-note: Although the game uses American English, having you stealing the "scepter," Garrett's map notes use the British spelling "sceptre." Even though Garrett is clearly American.

This is a good training mission which is little more difficult on Expert mode than Normal. Just remember how to stay hidden and how to quietly dispose of guards. There's over 1400 loot available for the taking, so the cash objectives are of little worry. The extra objective of leaving may sound scary, but fortunately for you the exit is marked on the map and involves just backtracking from the sceptre room. Your main disadvantage is the quality of your map; it shows only areas of the mansion instead of actual rooms. Keep your head and check your compass to stop yourself from going around in circles. Guarded areas are few, so you won't run out of water arrows unless you're really paranoid. Saying that, though, you really won't need any more Broadhead arrows and shouldn't need any more healing potions, so you might as well buy all the water arrows you can.

Maps: First floor, Second floor.

You start off out on the street in the northwest corner of the map, marked by a green dot on ours. Nearby is the main entrance to the Bafford manor, and it is probably a bad idea to try and get in that way. Fortunately for you, Cutty has brought to light a much better choice. Before we go into that, though, take your map's advice and pick up that stash of arrows you've got hidden under an archway. Remember to keep your weapons put away, because there's a civvy and a patrolling guard who might get worried if you point a sword at them.

Sooner or later, you'll stumble across a manhole offering access to the sewers. Although not particularly necessary, as the guards on patrol will ignore you if you go above ground, it's worth exploring down there. Behind a door there's a small room which contains 200 worth of loot and a switch to open the adjacent gate. If you choose to take this route, you'll surface just to the side of the well, marked on our map as a red dot. If you take the streets, you'll appear in front of the well guard instead of behind. This would usually be a Bad Thing in Thief, but this time it's OK as the guard is, well, off his face. He'd barely notice if you ran up to him and set him on fire, let alone crept up and snatched that key dangling from his belt. When you're sure the patrolling guard isn't looking, slip quietly into the well and lock the door behind you.

The only way is down, here. Dive into the water and start making your way along to the manor basement. There is a detour available here for those wanting to grab an extra 100 in loot: Once you reach the drainage room with water pouring from the ceiling, dive to the bottom and look around for an underwater tunnel. At the other end of this you'll find a secret cave containing a chest and a bunch of spiders. You could attack them (even on Expert difficulty), or you could take the easy way out and just charge past them, flicking open the chest as you go and then diving back into the water.

Eventually you'll reach the basement. You'll know because Garrett will say so. Be careful as you enter the next room, and you'll catch sound of two guards conversing. Wait patiently for them to depart, and then keep an eye on the small window. When you see the guard walk past it, it's safe to continue. Take whichever route you feel most comfortable with (tip: the one without the guard), and make your way to a storeroom-type area. Here you'll meet the other guard from before, standing in an open doorway and with his back to you. A quick blackjacking will help you get past and take the flash bombs in the chest. Climb the spiral staircase to reach the servants' quarters, marked with an "enter here" on our map.

At the top, there are two chests. The one leaning against the wall contains a meagre 5 gold, and the other a completely useless vase. Explore the area a little, but be wary of the two servants chatting in one of the rooms. It's worth popping into the kitchen (which can be found behind a wooden door) to take the gold jug, but be careful not to alert the servant. Of all the routes into the mansion, the optimal one is probably the northernmost, at the end of a long, dark corridor. You'll emerge right behind a drunken guard (sheesh), who can be silenced with little worry.

The next oddly-shaped areas on the map are likely to cause problems, as two guards patrol them regularly. Wait until you hear one leave, then dart out and take refuge behind a pillar. There are a few torches here which can be quenched to make life easier for you if need be. Now to take on those weird turret-shaped rooms on your map. Each one is worth exploring, as some contain goodies. The westernmost two also contain staircases up to the second floor; staircases which are regularly visited by guards, so darkening the rooms would help there.

You'll now find yourself on the top floor, peeking into a corridor. These are also patrolled by the staircase guards, so stay alert for them. If you want to supplement your cash flow, head west to another corridor which leads off into carpeted rooms. Each of these brightly-lit rooms is part of a guard's small patrol zone, and each can be backed up by an archer at a moment's notice, so care must be taken not to get spotted. If you make it into these rooms and up the stairs therein, the attics can be found to contain nice treasures.

So to the east, then. First off you'll find either a lounge area or a library, both unguarded and containing loot and/or readables. Next, the large central area (labelled "patrols" on our map) is well-lit and has two strong guards and a tiled floor with carpets. If you don't knock them out, be very careful to remain on the carpet whilst moving. Jump from carpet to carpet if necessary, as it will make much less noise than running across the tiles. If things get hairy, you can take refuge in the darker bath area smack dab in the middle. The western side has a staircase leading down to a very long series of corridors, eventually ending in a small room in the basement. Here you can read up on Lord Bafford a little, as well as borrow a key and some goods from his chest. This area isn't guarded, so there's no need to spend hours sneaking through it when the "run" key will do. Make sure that the guards on the top floor don't see or hear you, though. The key in that basement is the same one as carried by the patrolling guards, so this is an alternative to those who don't like pickpocketing.

Further east, and the sceptre is almost within our grasp. All that remains is one guard in a well-lit, tiled room. OK, it's not as bad as it sounds. For one, the floor has a few carpets which you can sneak around on. For two, the guard keeps turning and facing in different directions, tempting you to get closer. And for three, all four torches can be put out with little risk. The sceptre sits in the room behind him. Take great care in sneaking up, sticking to just the carpets and staying completely still when he looks in your direction, like that game you used to play at school. If he sees you, he will run to one of the gongs and alert the entire house, so don't let that happen. Once he has been disposed of, you can simply waltz into the throne room and claim your prize.

Unless you're playing on Hard or Expert, in which case you must get back out. This is much easier than it sounds, as it simply involves retracing your steps back to the first floor and heading north. Don't forget to make sure that you have reached your loot objective before leaving. Take the brightly lit and carpeted pathway between the two turrets, and you'll see the streets behind a solid gate. Fortunately, the lever for that gate is also in the corridor, next to the electric light. Pull it, and run out into the safety of the alleyways.

There, that wasn't so tough now, was it? Most of Thief's tactics have been covered in this level, so if you managed to successfully outwit the guards in Bafford's manor you are set up for the rest of the game. You've beaten patrolling and stationary guards, you've put out torches and watched your footsteps to conceal yourself, and you've probably learned how foes react to your mistakes. Now for the bad news. This is an incredibly short and safe mission by Thief standards, so from here things just get longer and more intense. The rest of the missions will throw more difficult encounters at you, with more routes and more enemies. The really terrifying stuff is still to come...