1.)   Getting into the Mansion

First of, get the purse from the Guard who will patrol outside of the entrance (pickpockets 1 of 10).

Then head back to the NW of the Courtyard, shoot a rope arrow into one of the wooden beams in the roof, and climb to the balcony.

If you want to take a visit on the outer walls, then shoot your rope arrow into the beam in the N. Climb it until your eyes are at the same height as the small bay in the NW, and then hop onto it. You will need to mantle yourself on it. From here, you have the choice: Either you visit the W roof of the Mansion, or you hop on the outer wall.

Leaving the outer wall is easy, if you jump from it directly back to the balcony. With a mantling, you should be able to climb back to it.

Open the (unlocked) balcony door, enter the barracks, snatch the coins, and head into the 1rst floor. Take the goodies from the shelf in the W, if you have a use for a mine and a flashbomb.

Then open the door, and position yourself in the perfect shadow in the S of it. Lean forward and right, and wait that the Guard will come by. You need to pickpocket his key to be able to open the door of the barracks in the 2nd floor (pickpockets 2 of 10).

Once you have the blue key, visit the room ahead of you (SW of the 1rst floor), and take the goodies from the E pillar.

Then head back to the barracks, 2nd floor, and unlock the door.

2.)   The 2nd floor

Head S and follow the long hallway to the E. If you are ducked, you don't set off the traps. If you are moving slowly, no one will ever hear you. In the room with the beds and the chest is a healing potion in the E chest. Make it yours, and continue your way to the E of the 2nd floor.

The chest in the first room (2nd floor, SE) is trapped. So, make sure you are positioned in a safe distance of it, when you open the chest.

Now get the loot from all the rooms in this corridor, also don't forget to get the silver key from the room S of Constantine's bedroom.

In the room in the very NE, you will have two minor problems: (a) you need a heavy piece of junk (i.e. the rubble from Constantine's biological experiment-room (AKA "bath room" ;-) ), to drop it on the floor tile that will stop the traps; (b) the room-brush of this room is connected to the room-brushes in the Garden. It is very likely that the Guard in the Greenhouse area will notice you when you enter the room. Ignore his shoutings, pick the lock of the chest, get your gem, and leave this trapped room again.

Now head back to the long hallway in the S of the 2nd floor. Sneak back to the W.

You can hop from here into the room with the fire in the center of the floor (all the doors are trapped). Make it so, get your nugget, and hop back.

Now you need to jump across the hole in the floor to the N. If you hold to the E wall, you will not set off the trap.

Enter the room with the 2 bugclouds, get the gem, and proceed to 'Viktoria's bedroom' (in the NW from here). Get the water arrows, read her book, and head back to the doorframe of the room with the bugclouds. Wait in the perfect shadow that the Guard in the E passes by. Follow him into the room where you hear the nice little bells (this is the room above the dining room). Get the vase, and then open the 'secret' door in the ceiling. Shoot a rope arrow into the ceiling of the room above this one, and climb up. Get your rope arrow back, and close the 'secret' door. Watch out for trapped floor plates, and hop to the chests and the mine. Hop back to the 'secret' door, open it, and wait up there that the Guard passes by. Then slide down, close the 'secret' door, open the door in the floor, wait that the footsteps of the Guards in the dining room are indicating that there is currently no one in the dining room (once the footsteps from the N (wooden surface) changed to loud surface, carpet, loud surface, and finally you heard a door being opened). Now ready a water arrow, and hop down onto the table.

3.)   The 1rst floor

You are now in the dining room in the 1rst floor. Douze the torch ahead of you. The table you are standing on is your friend - from here, you can pickpocket the 2 Guards that will eventually pass by (pickpockets 4 of 10), and you can easily snatch the candlestick. Once you have what you came for, shoot the first moss arrow into the door frame to the kitchen. You want to hurry in there without getting heard. o Wait for an appropriate moment and slide down from the table. Head to the shadow SE of the door to the kitchen. Wait that the Guard passes by and enters the hallway in the W, and then run into the kitchen, get the vase, and head back to the shadow.

Now you want to follow the 2nd Guard through the stairs hall into the bar. Sneak slowly to the door to the stairs hall, and wait in the shadow (hug the left wall, so that the Guard will not notice you when he passes by) that he walks from the dining room to the bar. As soon as he enters the bar, follow him by stepping only on the stone surface close to the S wall. Once you are in the bar, head into the shadow at the left wall, and hug the wall. If you have done it right, the Guard will not notice you, when he goes back to the dining room.

When the Guard in on his way to the dining room, sneak to the carpet ahead of you. Then run as fast as you can to the inner part of the bar. Get the goodies, and hide yourself in the 'secret' compartment. Watch from here how the Guard comes in and goes out again.

Now hurry to the door in the E. There is a perfect shadow in the N of the doorframe - it is quite a bit difficult, but you can position yourself in that shadow just in time.

The Guard that you see infront of you is the main problem of the entire mission. If you doubt that, just spend some time in the shadow, and watch his patrol pattern.

Take a deep breath, and begin with stealing his key when he enters the stairs room (pickpockets 5 of 10). Then shoot your second moss arrow on the area infront of the door in the SE.

Wait that the Guard enters the stairs room again, and then hurry into the room in the SE of you. Get the vase, and head back to the door. If you are sitting NE of the door, the Guard will not see you when he walks to the S.

Follow him to the S. Be careful and slowly, in the corner in the very S of this hallway, because the floor is noisy there.

Pray that the Guard in the hallway at the entrance does not approach you now, and head to the inside of the tower E of the main entrance. Douze the torch infront of you.

Take this opportunity to steal the healing potion from the chest in the room with the Guard (don't forget to douze his torch firstly).

Now wait that (a) the Guard in the hallway at the entrance has his back turned, and (b) the Guard from the hallway in the E has entered the 'eastern coffin room'. If the time is ripe, follow the Guard into the 'coffin' room. Take the goblets, and wait at the door that the Guard leaves the room in the SE, and then hurry after him into the stairs room.

Head N, douze the torch in the E, and enter the Garden.

4.)   The Garden

First of, you want to clean the E of the garden. I would hurry to the shadow just W of the pool, and wait there that the Guard in the E approaches your position, and turns his back again. Then run to him and get his purse (pickpockets 6 of 10).

Wait at the door that he leaves the room in the S again, and hurry in. Get the loot from this room and the room in the S, and then shoot a rope arrow into the wooden surface above the water in the ceiling. Climb up. In this small 'secret' room, it does not matter how much noise you are making. Enjoy yourself, get the vase, climb up to the wooden beams in the ceiling to get the 3 arrows.

Leave this room (don't forget to get your rope arrow back), and wait at the door that the Guard passes by. Follow him into the Nursery, enter the room with the silver key, and get the scroll as incriminating evidence (the classical incriminating evidence). Leave this area, and wait that the Guard passes by. Follow him, enter the tool shed, get the vases, and hop into the pool in the N.

Swim happily around a bit, and get all of the water arrows. Finally, you should swim to the very W (to the temple room), and leave the water again.

Get the loot and the fire arrow from the temple, and then ready yourself for the new 'secret' area in Constantine's Mansion. Jump across the water, and press the tongue of the face in the W pillar.

Hop into the water, and dive in.

5.)   The 'secret' area

Diving in just in time before you drown is a little bit tricky. Make sure that you press both the "run forward" and one of the "strafe" keys, because then you are moving faster. As soon as you find the waterfall, you have done it well.

Head into the shadow behind the tree right of you. Here is a Guard, and you don't want him to see you, so wait here that he goes back to where he came from.

Before you follow him, take a visit at that small 'Stonehedge'-thingie left of the waterfall. Take the air potion; then follow the Guard and get his healing potion (pickpockets 7 of 10).

Jump into the water left of the small village, and dive into the 'cave' ahead of you.

Once you have finished the long dive in, and are back at the surface, you may want to take a real save.

Now head out and explore. This room does also count as incriminating evidence.

Here are lots of arrows of all kinds, several enemies, a speed potion, and also two pieces of loot. Run around and explore, and don't forget that you can mantle yourself on a wooden beam when you have shot the rope arrow at its side.

None of the enemies in this area is a real problem, because the distances are too huge for them to see you clearly when you run around at the opposite walls of the rooms.

Leave the room via the small mouse hole in the bedroom. The small corridor at the top of the cabinet will lead you into the room under the 90° turned living room in the 3rd floor of the mansion.

6.)   The Garden, part 2

Because you have not yet finished the entire Garden, you want to open the door in the floor of the next room. This leads you back to the W of the Garden. Follow the Guard who is on patrol here, get his key (pickpockets 8 of 10), get the items that lie around on his patrol pattern.

Then head to the room with the bridge across the water, head to the door in the N, and wait that the Guard in there comes closer. Get his purse (pickpockets 9 of 10), wait that he has his back turned, and enter the tunnels with the 2 huge trees.

You can find in these tunnels a moss arrow and a nugget. Get them, and approach the 2nd room of the patrol of the Guard. When he has left this room, shoot a rope arrow at the wooden platform, climb up, and get the other moss arrow. Head back into the tunnels.

The tree in the N cave is the more interesting one - in its crown, you will find a shortcut way to the 3rd floor of the Mansion. Run around the tree until you see the small hole in the ceiling, then shoot a rope arrow into it, and climb up.

If you have too much time at hands, then try to reach now the inside of this tree (head towards the light once you are climbed up the rope). But be warned - this is a highly time-expensive adventure and the positive effects of it are well... not much. In Thief Gold, the moss arrow seems to be removed.

If you don't want to give this wiggling adventure a try, then head into the shadow once you are climbed up the rope.

7.)   Getting the Sword

Find the 'headache' area of the 3rd floor now, it should be just ahead of you. Cross it, and head left. Now you should be in the 'endless' room of the 3rd floor. Get the last two pieces of loot, and follow the tunnel.

If you keep running ahead now, you should approach an area where you see a vine hanging from the ceiling, a hallway, and another tunnel ahead of you. Jump on the rope, and hop into the second tunnel.

Wait that the conversation is finished, and then head to the shadow at the left wall of this tunnel. From here, you can get the healing potion of one of the Archers (pickpockets 10 of 10).

Now you try either to approach the Sword slowly and with lots of caution, or you just run to it, jump, and grab the Sword while you are jumping. This is the most stylish way to get it, IMHO. ;-)

8.)   Leaving the Mansion

You are now on the pedestal of the Sword. If you crouch, you can leave it again.

If you were quick and clever, only a few Guards in the 3rd floor should have caught a sight of you. However, run to the exit (not to the 2 stationary Guards), head left, hop on the vine, hop off the vine, run to the 90° living room. Here, you are safe and can wait that potential Guards who followed you go away again.

Then leave the 90° living room again, head right, and follow this tunnel - it will lead you back to the room with the 2 bugclouds. Hop back to the barracks, and leave the Mansion via the balcony.