You got a good price for the Horn of Quintus, and you've made a profit even after the rent. You've decided to treat yourself to some new tools, so you head on down to Farkus' place. He may be expensive, but the other choice is to work for the "city wardens," and you'd rather stay independent.

Objectives:

• Test out your new tools by stealing 1000 loot from the local Hammer temple.
• (Hard/Expert) Usual killing rules apply.

Real objectives:

• Steal Ramirez' purse from his belt.
• Steal (Expert) 2000 loot.
• Steal the silver fire-poker.
• Escape.
• (Hard/Expert) Usual killing rules apply.

Forget your initial briefing. As the title of the mission hints at, this isn't just a simple case of breaking and entering. Thief is about to pull one of its stunts on you and throw you for a loop.

Maps: Town, Ramirez' Mansion.

First things first, stay absolutely still. Farkus is about to meet the business end of an arrow, and you have to stay out of sight. Listen at the door to find that the arrow was meant for you. Your new objective is to follow the assassins without being detected.

Following the assassins is relatively easy, as the streets are mostly dark. Keep back, and when they pass a shadowy area, catch up and hide there. Every now and again they will stop and look back, so be wary of that. Also watch out for the sound of your own footsteps, and moss up the path if necessary. If they stay out of sight for long, the mission will be a failure, so don't let them disappear around a corner. The route they take is different each time, but you'll eventually end up on the far west side of the map, at Ramirez' mansion. You decide to take some retribution on Ramirez... but first, if you so wish, return to Farkus' to pick up various arrows and a few flash bombs. The shortcut is to the right as you leave the mansion area.

The guards will talk about the proposal to close Cragscleft, then leave. This is another thing that Thief does to you. Watching the cutscenes and reading the books only reveals part of the story; the rest is overheard in the game itself. Eavesdropping is essential to get the full Thief experience, and can sometimes reveal hints about the mission itself. Anyway, back to the mansion. The main entrance looks inviting, and behind those doors lies a single guard with his back to you, but the room is well lit and has a stone floor, so you won't get far. To the left and right there're patches of gravel overlooked by guards, too... So leave. Head around the outside, and note that the stream comes out from under the wall. Dive in and swim against the current and you'll come out right inside Ramirez' grounds. Sneaky.

There's a ladder leading up to a rampart-level door. Climb it and enter, then turn and face back out. See the sloping roof and that inviting door next to it? Jump the gap and open it. This will require you to use your spanky new lockpicks. Check your lockpicking instructions to find out how. Note that a lot of the locks in this mansion will require you to use them, so get used to it and assign a handy key to each pick. You'll enter a library, noisy and well-lit but devoid of guard. Listen at the next door to find Ramirez' location: you're going to need to get into the basement eventually. For now, climb up the stairs for 200 gold. Now, what would a mansion be without a secret passageway behind a bookcase? To the right of the fire is a usable book that will open just such a passage. Proceed down it, and wait at the top of the ladder and listen to the guards. Ramirez knows you by name, it seems. Wait for them to leave, and then descend. There's 25 loot there, as well as 150 on the desk and some flash bombs in the chest. Leave the same way the guards did and find a further 75 in the facing room and 200 in the next room from that. This place is home to so many shiny things that I'll only point out the juicy bits from now on. Take the northern exit from that corridor and turn left. Keep going until until you reach the end of that corridor, then open the door that leads into the courtyard area. Some guards will finish conversing and walk toward you; stand out of the way and silence them. The next room along is a very handy body stash. Climb the staircase.

The second floor is simply a square corridor with stairwells at the corners, and patrolling guards. These guards carry courtyard keys, if you ever fancy going back there. Explore the upstairs, raking in the cash, and you'll come across Ramirez' room. It's the one down a small corridor on the western side. There's a whopping 705 gold in here, and an all-important basement key in the chest. If you lean into the fireplace, you'll find a switch on the left. Flick it to open up a secret passage containing the silver fire-poker and a wadge of cash. The basement entrances are near the stairwells, and the easiest to access is the one in the northeast corner. The basement is patrolled by guards, from whom you can get a storage room key. The important basement, in which Ramirez can be found, is accessed by a metal door in this area. If you haven't got a basement key, you can pick the lock easily. To the left is a little alcove with a handy shadow along its perimeter. Enter and you'll see your target filing his taxes. You can pick up some extra moss and water arrows here, too. Nab his purse (300 loot) when he gets close enough, and you're done.

Or maybe not, if you're on Hard or Expert difficulty. Also in the room you'll find a flashbomb, 50 gold, a key to open chests containing a mere 15 more gold and some very interesting plot facts. Time to leave, then. If you choose to take the main exit, then you'll be given extra hassle and have to make your way to your home turf through streets infested with guards. Not nice. But remember the underwater entrance? It's also an exit. Make your way back to the library, picking up any remaining cash necessary for your objectives. Leap into the water from the balcony, and swim out. This way you won't have alerted any guards, and won't have to trek across the map.