Looks like I have something useful to learn from a seminary for a change.
Eavesdropping is the fifth mission in Thief II: The Metal Age. After receiving a tip from the Keepers, Garrett sneaks into the Eastport Mechanist Seminary to eavesdrop on a secret meeting regarding the people who hired Sheriff Truart to kill him.
Overview[]
Keeper Artemus invites Garrett to listen to a prophecy at the Keeper Library, but Garrett shows little interest. Before Garrett leaves, Artemus gives him a letter which reads, '...if you seek the private knowledge of the Sheriff, go to the Eastport Mechanist seminary tomorrow night. With stealthy discretion, overhear what you may: a certain very timely meeting...' The Mechanist's church has two open towers and some back doors, which can be helpful for getting in. The catacombs below the church can be another way in, though it may be undesirable to tread where the dead sleep. The meeting will most likely take place in some sort of conference hall. All he needs to do is to get close enough to listen at the door.
Objectives[]
- The Keeper's tips are your best lead...so you'd better be at the door to overhear the Sheriff's conversation. It should start when the church bells toll midnight. You'll need to stay close to the door to ensure you hear every word.
- Once you're done, get back out by heading to the front gate.
- The Mechanist seminary was once a Hammerite cathedral, so there's bound to be plenty of trinkets lying about:
- steal at least 800 in loot (Normal)
- steal at least 1000 in loot (Hard)
- steal at least 1200 in loot (Expert)
- Killing is the mark of an amateur. Don't kill any innocent bystanders. (Hard)
- Killing is the mark of an amateur. Don't kill anyone. (Expert)
Later Objectives:
- Find the deposit box key and make an impression of it in wax.
- Take the wax key impression with you. You can make a copy later, after you leave the seminary.
- Bring the original key back to the place you found it so the Mechanists don't realize you've stolen it.
Gear[]
Starting Gear[]
Normal[]
- 35 Broadhead Arrows (10 on Expert)
- 15 Water Arrows
- 10 Moss Arrows
- 3 Rope Arrows
- 1 Healing Potion
- 1 Invisibility Potion (none on Hard and Expert)
- 2 Scouting Orbs
- 5 Flares
- Lockpicks
Shop[]
- 25 Broadhead Arrows
- 15 Water Arrows
- 10 Moss Arrows
- 4 Noisemaker Arrows
- 3 Healing Potions
- 3 Speed Potions
- 1 Invisibility Potion
- 4 Flash Bombs
- 15 Flares
Characters Present in the Mission[]
| Type | Count | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Hard | Expert | ||
| Mechanist Mace Guard | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| Mechanist Crossbow Guard | 3 | 3 | 4 | Two more on the second floor on Hard. |
| Masked Servant | 3 | 3 | 3 | Two of which are trapped. |
| Combat Bot | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Worker Bot | 1 | 1 | 1 | In the workshop. |
| Haunt | 1 | 2 | 2 | In the catacombs. |
Difficulty Alterations[]
Two Mechanist Archers in the seminary are added on Expert and one more Haunt is added in the catacombs on Hard and Expert. On Expert, a tenth key location is possible, in the catacombs.
Walkthrough[]
Loot List[]
Total loot:
- Normal/Hard/Expert: 1429 Gold + 250 Gems + 440 Goods = 2119 Total Loot
Loot list: Keepers' Chapel
Secrets[]
Total Secrets: 1
Secret 1[]
Location: East Courtyard
Claiming: In the room with the Masked Servants and dead people, there is a fake floor, moved by a switch next to the east door of the room. Once moved it opens a pit with some bodies in it.
Loot: A small Gold Ring worth 125 loot.
Tips[]
Key Locations[]
The game is programmed so that each playthrough/restart randomizes the location of the safety-deposit box key. Specifically, the game uses system time when the level loads to randomly select a key location. The specific location is stated by Karras after Sheriff Truart leaves. There are 10 possible key locations, some of which are listed below:
- Downstairs Guards' Quarters
- Downstairs Acolytes' Quarters
- Chapel, West Storage Room
- Chapel, pulpit
- Chapel, 2nd Floor, Southern Room
- Storage Shed (2nd floor)
- Workshop
- North Catacombs
- West Tower, 3rd Floor
- East Tower, 3rd Floor
The key may be found in any of locations even before eavesdropping on the meeting. However, they will be unlabeled and insignificant until the meeting concludes.
Sneaking Around[]
It may be difficult sneaking inside the eastern part of the complex trough the northern door because it is difficult to spot if a Mechanist is about to exit trough there. A better approach is to go around the building and enter trough the eastern door because a bit further, on the left wall, is a small open window which make it possible to spot and even hear any Mechanist that is walking inside the room.
Haunting[]
While inside the catacombs the player can either lure one of Haunts outside, into the Seminary through the garden, which will cause the Haunt to attack and kill any nearby Mechanists. The guards can also kill the Haunt, as could one of the Combat Bots. The Haunt will return to the catacombs if it fails to find any other targets. Conversely, the player can lure Mechanist guards inside the catacombs from inside the Seminary or the courtyard with similar results. This will not trigger a mission fail as Garrett did not kill any human NPC, but rather the Haunt did. Both strategies come at a great risk of being detected, unless Garrett lures wither parties with a noisemaker arrow while hidden in the dark.
Trivia[]
- One of the various Mechanist workshops features Masked Servants trapped inside of liquid-filled tubes. If the player returns to this room after a certain amount of time, the Masked Servants will have disappeared.
Behind the Scenes[]
Unused sound files included in the release version of the game imply that there were at least three other locations planned - the Kitchen, the Loft, and the Gallery. A fourth unused sound file refers to a Storage Shed. It is unknown if this refers the 2nd floor Storage Shed and was re-recorded for added clarification (the in-game map refers the the 2nd floor Storage Shed as merely the Storage Shed), or if it refers to a separate, unused key location. Interestingly, the finished level has no kitchen or gallery, suggesting that at one point these rooms were to be included in the final level design.