| “ | The curtains went down on this guy a long time ago, but he's the best lead I have. | ” |
| — Garrett | ||
Song of the Caverns is the eleventh mission in Thief Gold and the third and final mission exclusive to that game. Garrett enters a secret cavern in search of the Talisman of Water, but soon learns that it has been discovered and removed by the owner of a local Opera House.
Overview[]
Garrett decides next to collect the Talisman of Water which the Keepers have stashed in a series of hidden caverns located deep below The City. According to their map, he should find it in a shrine located in the lowest cavern. He doesn't expect there to be anything too threatening other than a few venomous spiders. The section of the map marking the talisman states, "Stand not against us, lest you feel the sting of ignorance's barbs," which Garrett interprets as meaning the Keepers have filled the cave with traps.
Garrett seeks to enlist the aid of Giry, an old informant of Garrett's, made a home for himself in these caverns after he lost his job tending the ticket counter of a nearby Opera House. Upon entering the caverns, however, Garrett only finds Giry's body, wrapped in spider webs. Garrett nevertheless makes it to the resting place of the talisman, only to find that it has been removed by employees of the opera house. Nearby, Garrett encounters Raoul, the previous owner of the opera house, who, though now mentally unstable, is happy to provide Garrett with a map and key of the opera house.
Objectives[]
- Locate your informant Giry. He may have valuable information about the caverns for you.
- Use the Keeper's map to find the Talisman of Water. Remember they've probably rigged the place, so be careful.
- Escape from the caverns after you've taken the Talisman, it may not be as easy as you think.
- Loot may be scarce down in the caverns, but an expert thief such as yourself should be able to find at least 200 worth.
- Humans will be as scarce in the caverns as loot, so if you find your informant Giry, or any people, don't kill them. (Expert)
Later Objectives:
- The strange Hermit's ravings are your best clue that the Talisman has been moved to the Opera House above the caverns. Find the Opera House and break in. (After Garrett meets Raoul)
- The Opera House is filled with precious adornments and attracts the city's wealthiest patrons, so don't leave without at least:
- 700 worth of loot. (Normal)
- 1500 worth of loot. (Hard)
- 2000 worth of loot. (Expert)
- When he was alive, your informant Giry often bragged about the cash take in just a single evening at the opera house. Find out if he was telling the truth - get to the ticket office and steal the contents of the cash box.
- You read last week that the music director at the Opera House was just presented with a silver flute. An item like that could fetch a pretty penny on the market. Find it.
- An experienced thief shouldn't have to resort to violence, especially with an artsy set like the opera troupe. Don't kill anyone who is not armed. (Hard)
- Littering the opera house with blood and corpses is not worthy of a master thief such as yourself. So pickpocket, rob, steal, hide, and even run if you have to, but don't kill anyone. (Expert)
- After you get what you came for, get to the city streets outside the Opera House.
Gear[]
Starting Gear[]
- 10 Broadhead Arrows
- 6 Water Arrows
- 3 Moss Arrows
- 3 Rope Arrows
- 1 Healing Potion
- Constantine's Sword and a Blackjack
- Lock Picks
Shop[]
- 20 Broadhead Arrows
- 10 Water Arrows
- 4 Moss Arrows
- 1 Fire Arrow
- 2 Gas Arrows
- 3 Rope Arrows
- 2 Noisemaker Arrows
- 2 Flash Bombs
- 1 Mine
- 2 Healing Potions
Characters present in the Mission[]
| Type | Count | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Hard | Expert | ||
| Craymen | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
| Yellow Spiders | 7 | 7 | 8 | |
| Opera Sword Guard | 24 | 25 | 28 | |
| Opera Bow Guard | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Actor | 6 | 9 | 9 | |
| Servant | 7 | 8 | 8 | |
| Nobleman | 7 | 7 | 7 | |
Storyline Characters[]
- Raoul
- Captain Colliard (possibly the dead body)
- Lord B
- Carmella
- Ian Cribs (possibly)
Difficulty Alterations[]
The Craymen tunnels become less crowded on lower settings. The Opera House basement follows the same rule. Smaller changes include: one less Gas Mine in the basement on Expert, one of the guards has an extra silver key on Normal and Expert, one less Water Arrow on Expert, an extra Moss Arrow in the garden in front of the Opera House on Expert, and some modified guard paths on Hard and Expert.
Walkthrough[]
Loot List[]
There is a total of 2920 loot in this mission where 1725 is in gold, 300 in gems and 895 in goods.
Secrets[]
There are several secret passages throughout the opera house. Raoul still takes full advantage of these hidden shortcuts to steal provisions, and has marked them on his map with red Xs. Notably, the key which Raoul gives to Garrett unlocks a secret door in Valerius's chambers, which connects to an octagonal chamber on the floor below via a winding staircase. This is useful for evading the guards stationed at Valerius's door. He also informs Garrett of the hidden sewer entrance to the basement.
Also found in the basement is a ladder hidden in the kitchen's fireplace. This connects to a passage on the first floor between a parlor and a backstage room where Garrett can overhear two actors talking about the goings on at the opera house.
The furnace in the basement also has a chimney which Garrett can climb that takes him to a secret room on the third floor. Raoul's journal is found here.
The coat check room on the first floor has a hidden shortcut to the third floor corridor. The opening on the third floor is behind a tapestry.
Notes[]
- It's possible (but entirely unnecessary) to kill the guard or even render him unconscious in the tower at the very start of the mission. This causes the mission to fail immediately on Expert mode after the encounter with the hermit in the tunnels. This is likely due to the initial objectives specifying that no one in the tunnels should be killed. Thus, when the objectives switch to not killing anyone at all, the dead guard is counted and the mission is failed.
- The mission can be completed without taking the map and key from Raoul, since the chest containing the Talisman and the key which unlocks it are in the same room.
Trivia[]
NPC's[]
- It's possible to kill the guard at the basement, that stay near the elevator, without failing the mission on Expert difficulty by shooting a Fire Arrow at the red barrel from a reasonable distance. The explosion of the barrel will kill the guard.
- There is drunken servant sleeping on the bench at the small park near the main gate that will not react to Garrett's presence. It's possible to touch him or make a lot of noise but he will not wake up.
Objects[]
- The sandbags were supposed be able to knock people out when thrown at them, but gameplay and physics issues led to this being disabled.
- Shooting the elevator with a fire arrow will move it slightly.
- If the Silver Nugget, earlier in the level, is not collected then it can still be retrieved by using a Speed Potion, at the bottom of the well, to catapult Garrett and grab the edge.
- The note in the Keeper shrine from Lady Valerius to Captain Colliard shows an image of two figures standing within an oval frame captioned 'The Thief & His Wife'.
- It's possible to farm arrows from the arrow trap in the Keeper shrine. The two arrows that shoot out from behind the blue chest will stick into the patch of dirt just outside the door, which can be collected. The more times the trap is set off, the more arrows can be collected.
- This is the only other mission in Thief Gold (outside the training mission) to feature training dummies.