| “ | I don't know what's going on, and I don't like that. | ” |
Trace the Courier is the eighth mission in Thief II: The Metal Age. Sheriff Truart is dead, and Lieutenant Mosley, the only individual Garrett suspects, has a solid alibi for the murder. Garrett nevertheless decides to observe her movements. Eventually, when she leaves work early suspiciously with a note in hand, Garrett follows her in the hopes of finding a solution to this mystery.
Overview
Truart is assassinated before Garrett can reach his bedroom. There is a key ring at the murder scene, and it belongs to Lieutenant Mosley of the City Watch, but she has an alibi for the murder itself. Garrett starts following her and one night she leaves the local Watch station well ahead of schedule carrying a letter. He trails her, and at a seemingly random spot Mosley deliberately drops the letter on the ground, allowing Garrett some time to read its content before it is then picked up by a pagan. The pagan is attacked by Mechanists, but escapes into a cemetery and disappears without a trace. Investigating, Garrett finds a mysterious, magical portal in one of the tombs, with no indication of where it leads.
Objectives
- Trace the message to its final destination without being caught doing so.
- Somehow find out the contents of that message.
- It's hard to imagine why you'd need to kill bystanders on a job like this. Anyway, don't do it. (Hard)
- It's hard to imagine why you'd need to kill anybody on a job like this. Anyway, don't do it. (Expert)
- Out on the streets is a poor place to pick up funding for your next escapade, but you ought to at least give it a shot. Perhaps the passers-by will be helpful. Pick at least six pockets. (Expert)
Gear
Starting Gear
Shop
- 4 Flash Bombs
- 6 Moss Arrows
- 10 Water Arrows
- 25 Broadhead Arrows
- 2 Healing Potions
- 2 Invisibility Potions
- 2 Speed Potions
- 3 Scouting Orbs
Characters Present in Mission
| Type | Count | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Hard | Expert | ||
| Sheriff Sword Guard | 6 | 10 | 12 | |
| Sheriff Bow Guard | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| Bank Sergeant | 1 | 1 | 2 | Though this character is listed as only appearing in Mission 6, at least one is spotted on every difficulty level. |
| Mechanist Crossbow Guard | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Mechanist Mace Guard | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Zombie | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Servant | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Unarmed Pagan | 1 | 1 | 1 | Courier |
- Note: The exact number of guards are hard to determine as some appear/disappear after certain points of the mission.
Storyline Characters
The following characters appear in this mission:
- Lt. Mosley
- Unnamed Pagan Courier
Difficulty Alterations
The only change between the difficulty levels is the path Lt. Mosley and the Pagan take, and the specific letter drop-site.
Walkthrough
Loot List
Normal/Hard/Expert: 730 Gold + 0 Gems + 100 Goods = 830 Total Loot
Keep in mind that are some mistakes on the map below. There are 100 Goods, not 50 (gold wind bottle, plus goblet in crypt), and also the cemetery locations are a bit off.
Secrets
Secret 1:
- Location: Southern cemetery crypt.
- Claiming: The very South-Eastern crypt in the graveyard contains a turn-able torch that opens a whole in the southern wall. It can be accessed from the other side via torch as well.
- Loot: None, just a Mechanist-free path between the cemetery and the rest of the city.
Tips
- Don’t worry about nabbing the purses as Garrett follows Lt. Mosley and the Pagan. They won’t go anywhere and after the Pagan enters the cemetery Garrett can freely explore the city.
- The weapons/items you have at the end of this level are carried over to the next. There is no shop, so take that into account.
- The courier takes different routes in each difficulty level as depicted in the photos above. Keep an eye on the courier for when she drops the letter.
Easter Eggs
Trivia
- The sleeping woman in the 2nd story bedroom across from Garrett’s house (from the mission ‘Ambush’) is still there…sleeping.
- Garrett’s flat has been renovated in the intervening time and now has bars on the windows, and the door cannot be opened normally. The only way inside is to blow open the door with a fire arrow, but there is nothing of value inside.
- There is a third access point to the cemetery. If the player ‘uses’ the door west of the cemetery (where the Mechanist mace guard and archer emerge from) as it’s closing, it will open back up. The player can then ascend the stairs, travel north past the room with the corpse and through the window into the locked NW cemetery area.
- You can pick the door to Lt. Mosley’s house and find her standing idly on the stairs.