"Attention, Citizens of Dunwall. The Old Port District has been added to the evacuation list. The Weeper count for the Month of Seeds has increased. The Lord Regent has decreed that plague ordinances will remain in effect through the Month of Rain. Stay alert, and stay loyal."
Corvo paused, briefly, to listen to the announcement as it came over the loudspeaker. He'd met the man tasked with announcing news to the city a few times around Dunwall Tower; Malleus was his name. He'd found that he'd missed the regular (if now somewhat desolate) announcements made via the loudspeaker system during his time in Coldridge Prison. They were part of Dunwall, they were constant, dependable, a sign that all was well, albeit on the surface. Corvo, of course, knew better. Nothing was well. His world had been reduced to a space barely bigger than six square feet for six months, and he'd watched the city rot from inside a prison cell. He'd seen it in the guards faces every time they went past his cell – the dirty looks they had thrown in his direction had gotten dirtier by the day. His food had become of lower and lower standard, the torture had gotten worse. They had blamed him for the deterioration. They'd not known any better. Burrows had set him up perfectly, the returned Royal Protector turned murderer. He must have improvised, too, what with Corvo's early return from the rest of the Isles.
If Corvo wasn't so busy hating the man for what he'd had to endure, he'd almost admire his ingenuity.
But still, there wasn't any use dwelling on what had happened, the fact was it had happened. Ruminating on the whys and what-ifs wasn't going to change the fact. It also wasn't going to help him bypass the Wall of Light that was blocking his access to Clavering Boulevard. Samuel had warned him of the devices, able to disintegrate a man to dust and nothing else. It had been a long time since Corvo had even seen one in use, but then again it had been a long time since Corvo had been to a place such as this one. He'd been travelling for the better part of a year for the Empress, and the places he'd seen on the Isles were too well-secured, or simply too poor, for Walls of Light. He remembered them as a child on Serkonos, watching guards wire them from the window of his room as a boy. They were a contradiction, the Walls of Light; their name defied the perils they held. A simple step and you were no more. Just dust, floating in the same light you'd stepped into. But Corvo had seen there was no light at the end. There was simply end. And beginning. Everything and nothing. There was a duality, a sense that everything was equal and yet everything was not equal. It simply was. You were a vast object, but so was an ant. Scales of vastness were one and the same.
Corvo had looked into the eyes of the Outsider and seen eternity staring back. But he had also seen nothing.
He shook his head for a moment, clearing his thoughts. Samuel had warned him about the area around Clavering Boulevard; what wasn't patrolled by the Watch was instead crawling with gangs, most notably the Bottle Street Gang. He'd also mentioned someone named 'Granny Rags', and something in Samuel's tone had suggested to Corvo that Granny Rags was probably the most dangerous one of them all.
Corvo was in no mood to trifle with Watch Guards, however, so he turned from the Wall of Light and headed into the darker parts of the Distillery District.
The smell got worse as he went deeper, the tang of brine mixed with the stench of the distillery itself. But he continued, heading deeper into the slums of the district.
This is what the Wall of Light is in place for, he thought. Not the criminals or the assassins, but for the poor. The rich of Clavering Boulevard don't want to look upon the dying.
A clatter above his head drew his attention; an old woman throwing out rubbish and muttering to herself. Corvo didn't get much of a glimpse of her but there was something that unsettled him. He could hear her muttering continue as she went back into the building.
The building drew his attention. He peered at it for a moment, before resolving to climb to the balcony, if not to investigate, then simply for a better view and to lessen the likelihood of being spotted by an errant guard. A dull thud rang in his ears, almost imperceptible, but enough for Corvo to notice. The Heart was beating. The Heart, whispering to him with the voice of the dead Empress, revealed the runes that were dedicated to the Outsider.
He paused on the balcony, wondering whether to venture into the apartment or continue on his way past the distillery. He was unsure as to whether the woman – most likely this Granny Rags – was a threat or not. In the end he resolved to go inside, the rewards outweighed the risks of his small detour. Campbell wasn't going anywhere tonight anyway; the sun had only just gone down and Corvo had hours to get to Holger Square. The Overseer compound itself was fairly easy to navigate, he'd been there a few times with the Empress and remembered its layout reasonably well, or at least well enough to get in and out.
The Heart thrummed louder in his ear, informing him the rune was nearby, and he ghosted past Granny Rags, giving her a cursory glance as she sorted through what he assumed were her possessions. From what he caught of her monologue, she was annoyed at some 'gentleman callers' disturbing her pet birds or something similar. He could also tell she was blind; he was under no illusion that she hadn't heard him as he made his way past. He opened a door, quietly, and found himself looking upon a shrine built the Outsider. The only time he'd ever seen one of these before had been in the Void, the place which was eternal and instant at the same time. He wondered if the Outsider found the Void lonely, if that was why he reached out to people and looked upon the world. He wondered if these shrines amused him, as much else seemed to.
The rune was sitting in centre place; the Heart's pounding grew louder as he reached for it, and for a moment he stopped, deliberating on whether to pick it up. He did so, the weight of the rune surprising him for a moment, before the mark on its side glowed.
"Be careful, Corvo."
The Outsider was here, hovering in the space above the shrine, surrounded by a black swirling mist. He gazed down upon the man, his black-eyed features inscrutable as ever.
"They call her Granny Rags," the Outsider continued, confirming Corvo's earlier suspicion. "You wouldn't recognise her real name, or even the name of her family, but an Emperor begged for her hand once, and rich young men fought each other for her favour. I watched her consider them all, measure their worth, and find them wanting. Then she made a different choice."
The Outsider paused for a moment, almost as if he were choosing his next words with care.
"You're on your way to face the High Overseer, the leader of a great cult dedicated to loathing me. More than me," he said, "they loathe what they fear, and while they may not fear me they loathe what was brought here through me."
Corvo raised an eyebrow as the Outsider unfolded his arms, raising his right hand.
"I have a task for you," he said. "Normally I would not be so brash, but time is of the essence, for you and for the man I brought to this world."
He waved his hand, and the room around Corvo flickered, changing. Corvo recognised the vast emptiness and stillness of the Void, yet it was all in image. He could still feel himself standing on the floor, partially rubble, and he could still hear Granny Rags moving above him.
In front of him stood a man. Or, more accurately, the man was running in front of him, but he was slowed, moving slowly enough for Corvo to gauge his appearance. He was dressed in dark leather, fingerless gloves, with a hood and a cloak. Most of his features were masked, but Corvo did see a scar cutting across his right side of his face, and interestingly, his eyes were of a different colour. He ran holding onto a bow, slowly reaching behind him to pull an arrow out of a quiver and fire at an unseen assailant.
"He is called Garrett, and he was born a long way from this realm," the Outsider spoke. "He is here to set an issue right in which nobody in this world can. He will need your help, and you will need his. But in drawing him to this world, I miscalculated, and he now resides in the dungeons of the Overseers. Loathe me as they do, they know enough that I cannot see him, and I cannot draw him back into the Void. I must, instead, ask you to retrieve him for me."
Corvo stepped closer to the moving image of Garrett – for that was all it was, an image – and watched the man's movements. He was agile, thin but well built, and clearly fast.
"Why is he important to you?" Corvo asked, speaking for the first time.
"He is important to everyone, to everything," was the enigmatic reply. "I shall explain to you both the nature of the situation you are placed in once you are safe and I can draw you to the Void. For now-" the Outsider broke off, and the image of the Void, and the man named Garrett, faded – "you must continue with the task you were given. Deal with Campbell as you will, and then find Garrett. Convince him to trust you. He will be unwilling at first, if what I have seen of him proves true, but like you, he will find that he has a pivotal role in the days to come."
Corvo recognised the final words; the same had been spoken to him the previous night, in the Void.
"Find Garrett, and know that I will be watching," the Outsider dictated, before disappearing, an inky black vortex being the final thing Corvo saw.
Corvo wondered if that was the Outsider's way of saying good luck. He didn't seem to be the type of person to say such a thing out loud.
Garrett, whoever he was, was clearly important. Perhaps more so than Corvo, by the way the Outsider insisted on finding him. Unlike anything else given to him by the Outsider, with this man Garrett, he was removed of choice. This was something he had to do.
And in all the time Corvo had been to Holger Square, not once had he seen any cells or detention area in the Overseer Compound.
He muttered a curse to himself, before turning and heading past Granny Rags and out onto the street. On top of finding and getting rid of Campbell, Havelock had also tasked him with finding an Overseer named Martin; Corvo assumed that once Campbell had been taken care of this Martin would take his place and put the Loyalists in power within the Abbey. He hoped Martin was easier to find than Garrett.
Bypassing the first Wall of Light was fairly simple; the only trouble Corvo encountered were two members of the Bottle Street Gang hassling a pedlar inside a fishmongers. He quickly dispatched the two with swift blows to the back of the head, knocking each of them out. The man had introduced himself as Griff, thanking Corvo and offering him a discount on his wares.
He knows who you are, the Heart had whispered, but he will pretend he does not.
Corvo had left Griff behind, instead traversing the rooftops to reach Holger Square. The Outsider had provided him with the gifts needed to travel unseen by the guards; he didn't want to cause conflict with men simply doing their jobs. As such, he moved swiftly and silently skirting guard patrols and reaching Holger Square.
Almost immediately he was alerted by the sound of someone speaking – an Overseer talking to a man chained in the middle of the courtyard.
"Hello Martin," he began, immediately causing Corvo a wave of relief in that he didn't have to spend his entire night looking for the man, "I hear the second day is when the skin really starts to come off. Is that true? Or is it the itching that really gets you? Or the rats?"
He didn't get a chance to gloat further, as Corvo crept up behind him and rendered him unconscious, choking him and then dragging him to the shadows. He'd wake up in a few hours, when both Corvo and Martin – and Garrett, if Corvo could find him – would be long gone.
Freeing Martin was simply an action of releasing the lever that controlled the shackles that held him. He was grateful to the man for breaking him out of Coldridge, but in seeing Martin he found him to be slightly disquieting. No wonder he'd been caught, if Corvo had been in his previous office he probably would have suspected the man himself.
"Feels good to stand up straight. Thank you, Corvo," the man said, rubbing his wrists and stretching. "What you're here to do tonight," he continued, "is of the highest importance. We've got to find Emily, so kill Campbell and make it quick. Once it's done, search his body for the journal – his notorious black book – and get out of there.
"Campbell is meeting with a guard named Curnow, and word from my informant is that that Campbell is going to poison him. Maybe you can use that to your advantage."
Corvo recognised the name. Callista had said something of the sort to him before he'd left the Hound Pits. Curnow was a good man; he'd travelled with Corvo across the Isles on the Empress' orders. Corvo found it hard to believe that he was involved in any conspiracy, and the fact he was going to be poisoned reinforced the idea that Curnow was simply trying to survive the tumultuous time.
"Curnow was also the man who found the Sleeper," Martin added, causing Corvo to frown behind his mask. "I suspect Campbell will also attempt to dispose of him tonight, whoever he is."
Martin seemed to register Corvo's confusion, for he elaborated. "A week ago, a man appeared in this square. Fell from the sky, straight at Curnow's feet. At least, that's what my informant tells me Curnow says. He hasn't woken at all; they're keeping him in the old interrogation room until he does – Coldridge is having an issue with security, after all, and we couldn't rule out Outsider interference. Most likely Campbell would legitimise his murder of Curnow by saying that he and the Sleeper plotted to kill him. Especially now, after your escape."
After imparting his information, Martin bade Corvo farewell, informing him that he'd notify Samuel to move the boat to the back of the Overseer's office. Corvo simply nodded, mind turning over the information Martin had given him. This Sleeper was clearly an anomaly, so much so that Corvo was in little doubt that this was who the Outsider had sent him to find.
Now there was simply the matter of getting Garrett and getting him out, something which would be difficult if the man had not woken up for a week. He figured he would deal with Campbell first, now that he knew Curnow was in imminent danger, and he didn't want to loiter at the entrance to the compound.
Crossing over the gate was a simple task, and soon he was crouched on a ledge on the side of the High Overseer's office, watching the guards patrol below. They were speaking of something called the 'Heretic's Brand', and as far as Corvo could tell, it was a way to expel an Overseer of any rank from his office, and even from the city itself. Creeping across the ledge, Corvo considered using this method to get rid of Campbell.
Corvo could kill a man if needed, but he also saw that there were other means of disposing of enemies. The Empress had been a champion of justice and compassion. Corvo was acting in her honour; it made sense to acknowledge her commitment. Could he allow himself the grim satisfaction of seeing a man cast out, like he was?
He decided he could as he reached a window that was open, putting him in a corridor in the High Overseer's office.
He ducked into the nearest room, avoiding the two guards talking at the end of the corridor, and found that, by luck, he was exactly where he needed to be. The Interrogation Room was split into three sections – a cage in the middle, with a chair; a viewing area with doors connecting to the outer corridor; and a raised platform. Corvo spotted the brand in question lying on a desk on the platform. So it was real, he mused, quickly skimming over a book that lay on the desk next to it.
He also saw that, considering the Office of the High Overseer did not have its own cell block, that the Sleeper had been strapped to the chair in the middle of the room.
For most of the evening a small part of him hadn't believed the Outsider's words, saying that he would find a man named Garrett in the middle of the Overseer compound. He'd been even less inclined to believe Martin's tale about the Sleeper. Yet, here he was, exactly as stated.
He was looking for Erin, the Heart whispered, briefly startling him. For six months he has searched. He thought he had found her when the Outsider brought him through the Void.
Corvo knew that he needed to get Garrett out, but he also needed to deal with Campbell and Curnow. He would have to come back to this room anyway to administer the brand, so he resolved to leave the man here for now, in case any wandering guard decided to check on 'the Sleeper'.
He quickly traversed through the corridors, using the series of pipes and lights hanging from the ceiling, as well as the gifts the Outsider gave to him. He soon came upon the Meeting Chamber, whereupon he spotted a bottle of wine (a fine Tyvian red, to be exact), and a tray with two already filled glasses. Presumably, one was poisoned.
He didn't have much time – he could hear Campbell and Curnow approaching the room now, talking about Callista. It appeared that in order to work with Havelock and Pendleton, she'd had to disappear. Pressed for time, Corvo simply spilled the wine, ensuring that Curnow was safe, at least from this method of assassination.
He barely had enough time to hide before Campbell and Curnow were at the door, but he managed it, blinking to the shadows in the top corner of the room. It surprised him how little people looked up; he'd discovered as much this night alone. Corvo resolved that if he ever got back to some position of respect he would instruct the guards to check ceilings more often.
Piero had supplied him with sleep darts; he quickly used them on both Curnow and Campbell. He couldn't risk Curnow alerting the entire Watch that he was here to deal with Campbell, and he simply didn't have the time to explain to the man his purpose, and what Campbell had planned to do.
The only issue he had now was what to do with Curnow. He couldn't leave him here, he would soon be found and if any of the Overseers were in on Campbell's plan then Curnow would be killed anyway.
He quickly placed the unconscious Campbell out on the window ledge, out of sight of anybody who happened to enter the room. Piero had informed him the darts rendered complete unconsciousness, without movement, so there was little chance of Campbell falling off the ledge. If he did, it would kill him. A pity, considering the fate Corvo had in store for him.
He hoisted the unconscious Curnow over his shoulder, using the gifts the Outsider gave him to traverse to the edge of the compound. A trash bin, while not exactly the most luxurious of places, would have to be Curnow's safe haven. He hoped the man would understand.
He was pressed for time; he quickly made his way back to Campbell, carrying the man along the outside of the building to the window opposite the door to the interrogation room, in doing so avoiding the guards patrolling the corridors. He darted into the room, closing the door behind him for good measure.
He unceremoniously dropped Campbell to the floor, moving forward to undo the restraints on the chair.
Before he had even begun to undo the strap around Garrett's right wrist, he stopped. The brand on his left hand had started to glow. Usually it only did so when he used the powers granted to him, but here he'd only touched Garrett. He guessed it was some influence of the Outsider; he wasn't naive enough to think that the Outsider didn't have some connection to him through the brand.
More so, the connection had apparently enabled Garrett to start to wake up.
Of course, Corvo thought. At least I don't have to carry him out.
Corvo couldn't risk him alerting the guards to his presence, so he did the only thing he could – he drew his sword and pressed his hand over the man's mouth, preventing him from making a noise.
Naturally, the man didn't seem to be pleased about his situation, as he shifted in his bonds, eyes narrowing at Corvo. He did keep quiet though, even as Corvo pressed the edge of his blade to the man's throat to reaffirm his point. He lifted his hand, quickly lifting his mask to reveal his face; hopefully it would make his intentions seem more genuine.
"I do not have time to explain," he said, quickly and quietly. "I was sent to get you out. I do not have time for your questions or for you to pull anything that will jeopardise my mission. The one who brought you here cannot reach you, he will explain later. Trust me, Garrett," he said, which got the man's attention, "I do not know why you are here anymore than you do."
He replaced his mask, and set about freeing the restraints that were still around Garrett's wrists. The man hadn't spoken, but he watched Corvo carefully. When he was released, he stood up, slowly, stretching his limbs and rotating his wrists. He still hadn't said anything, but he did pay attention when Corvo lifted up Campbell's limp form.
"No questions," he said, forestalling any query that might be directed his way.
Garrett seemed to consider asking him anyway, but when he did finally speak, his question was much simpler.
"Where are my things?"
His voice was quiet, measured, and rasped slightly, Corvo assumed from disuse. He didn't seem to be suffering from any other effects of his week-long rest. Corvo wasn't even sure if the man knew he'd been in that chair for so long. For a moment he didn't register what the man meant, until he noticed that the quiver and bow the Outsider had shown him carrying were missing. He cast a glance around the room.
"Try the cupboard," he ventured, working on Campbell's restraints and pocketing the black book that Havelock and Martin had urged him to get.
The creak of the cupboard door startled them both, and Garrett winced as he slowly pulled the door open. It wasn't for nothing, however, he pulled out his bow and quiver, along with some other items that Corvo didn't recognise, but assumed they belonged to the man. He was intrigued by the device that fitted into a holster on Garrett's right thigh – it was connected to a rope that stretched across his stomach and wound by his left hip. He noticed that Garrett didn't seem to carry any form of lethal weapon beside his bow.
By the time Corvo had finished tying down Campbell, Garrett appeared to have found all of his equipment, for he closed the cupboard door quietly, making sure not to replicate the noise he'd made opening it.
"I think they're going to notice he's not me," Garrett said, crossing to stand by the door, nodding to Campbell's unconscious form.
Corvo smirked at the man's attempt at wit, before reaching for the Heretic's Brand. "Actually, you were in the way," he said, taking hold of Campbell's jaw and firmly pressing the brand to his face.
For his part, Garrett didn't comment, he simply watched as Campbell was roused from unconsciousness for a second as the chemicals on the brand reacted to his skin. After a few more seconds than was entirely necessary, Corvo removed it, eyeing the three lines that now cut across Campbell's eye.
Garrett looked as though he were about to say something further, but at that moment the door opened.
For a moment, nothing was said; the Overseer who entered simply looked between the masked Corvo looming over the unconscious Campbell, still holding the brand.
He managed to cry out for a split second before something impacted on the back of his head, knocking him out. Garrett caught the man as he fell, dragging him over to the cupboard where his weaponry had been stored and pushing his limp form inside.
"He'll be knocked out for an hour at least," he said, stowing the weapon he'd used – a blackjack by the look of it – back into a sling that lay above the rope on his waist.
He turned to Corvo, "I assume he wasn't your friend?" he asked.
"No," Corvo confirmed. "But we need to leave. We don't know if anyone else heard him. Can you climb?" he asked.
Garrett snuffed a quiet laugh. "Climbing is part of my occupation," he answered, pulling a scarf over his face, covering his features.
"Good, because we're going that way," Corvo said, pointing to the mass of pipes near the ceiling. "I assume I don't need to tell you that stealth is key here."
"Before we go," Garrett said, "I want to make something clear. Just because I'm following you, it does not mean I trust you. I'm following you because I am clearly not where I was before I woke in this chair, and your friend – this person who you say will explain everything – had something to do with it. He better explain it soon, is all I'm saying."
Corvo paused. "What do you remember?" he asked, curious.
"A headache," Garrett answered. He didn't elaborate, and Corvo knew they were too pressed for time for an explanation.
Corvo quickly manoeuvred up to the pipes – he wasn't keen on showing Garrett his powers as of now, and Garrett followed.
Moving along the pipes, Corvo admired the way the man moved, it was like he'd been born with the grace of a cat. He was silent – quieter than Corvo, anyway – and each step was carefully placed. He was more experienced with such a method of travel, it seemed.
Corvo lead the way; they traversed along the pipes at the top of the room and corridor outside, before reaching the meeting chamber. Corvo didn't fail to notice that the Overseers were on the alert – they must have noticed that Campbell and Curnow were missing. He wondered how long it would take them to find Campbell. He didn't reckon it would be long.
"We need to get out there," he whispered, indicating the open window. "Stay on the ledge and follow it right, all the way round the building."
Garrett nodded, carefully watching the Overseer patrolling the room, edging along the pipes to the one nearest the window. Corvo had the impression that if Garrett wanted to, he could wait for the entire night for the right moment. As it were, he didn't need to, the man left the room, giving them both time to drop to the floor and exit through the window.
The ledge was narrow, but not difficult to traverse – Corvo had found it harder when carrying Curnow's unconscious form along it to the trash bin. Corvo spotted the door they needed to go through, indicating it to Garrett. There were only two Overseers here, and they were otherwise distracted, talking about some incident of the previous night; they were easily skirted. Thankfully, the door to the back yard was unlocked, and they quickly exited through it, Garrett softly closing the door behind them. He hadn't said a word since leaving the interrogation room, although neither had Corvo, aside from the instructions he'd given in the meeting room. He supposed that the man didn't have much to say.
He was drawn from his thoughts by raised voices in the alley near them – creeping to a near stone wall; both he and Corvo looked over to see an unmasked Overseer arguing with two of his comrades about a woman.
"Please, she's my sister. She's not a witch! I know her!"
Behind his mask, Corvo made a face. He'd never liked the over-zealous methods of the Overseers, and now in his newly enlightened state surrounding the Outsider, he disliked them all the more. He took another glance over the ledge – the two factions were on the verge of coming to blows.
"You want to help them," Garrett muttered, almost resignedly. "I'll take the one on the right," he added, moving into position.
At a signal from Corvo, they moved together, vaulting the stone wall and landing on the two Overseers, knocking them out.
The man and his female companion both seemed shocked by the pair's appearance, so much so that the former Overseer had even drawn his sword in alarm. Both, however, soon shared a relieved gasp as Garrett began to drag his unconscious Overseer to a nearby bin.
"You appeared as if from nowhere," the man said. "We would both be dead if not for you."
Corvo said nothing, but that appeared to not matter, as the woman – the former Overseer's sister, Corvo assumed – spoke.
"We are forever in your debt, I cannot thank you enough."
"I must get my sister to safety, but first I may know of a way to thank you," the man added. "There's a safe in the bunkhouse. The combination is 203. Take what you want, and good luck, both of you."
The pair quickly left, and Corvo quickly pulled the other unconscious Overseer to the bin Garrett had chosen.
"A safe, huh?" he mused. "Wonder if it's got anything valuable."
"We don't have time for detours," Corvo told him. "As soon as they discover Campbell this place is going to be on high alert. It was hard enough getting in here on lax security, let alone getting out."
"That's your problem," Garrett answered. "If we pass a bunkhouse on our way out of here, I'm taking a look, high alert or not."
Corvo was about to respond when he remembered what the Outsider had asked of him: "Convince him to trust you."
Corvo knew they were pressed for time, but he also knew they would most definitely pass a bunkhouse on their way to Samuel. He sighed, making a decision.
"Fine, but we're moving quickly. If you can't get to the safe without raising an alarm, we're not opening it. Understand?" he asked, receiving a nod of acknowledgement in return. "Good."
"Our best way would be up there," Garrett said, pointing to the series of ventilation ducts that lay pressed against the wall above them. He reached into the holster on his hip, removing the device that had caught Corvo's eye before.
"It's called the Claw," the man explained, loosening some rope into his hand. "It's useful for getting to high places."
He threw the device with accuracy, looping it around the bracket that held the duct to the wall, before pulling the rope taught.
"After you," he gestured, and Corvo quickly climbed, Garrett following after him and retracting the rope behind him. The traversed along the vents quickly, crossing the courtyard where a single Overseer was patrolling.
Following the rooftops from here was fairly easy, and the pair moved with Corvo in the lead.
They halted at the bunkhouse, standing on the roof of the adjacent building and peering through the window. There were three Overseers inside, in somewhat deep discussion. After listening for a few seconds, Corvo realised what the man was asking of his friends.
"Plague," he said quietly to Garrett. "He's infected."
"Seems like everywhere's got some sort of sickness," Garrett replied, watching carefully through the window.
Despite his dislike for the Overseers, Corvo couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the man; and his executioner.
"Over there," Garrett whispered, pointing to the safe. "You stay here and keep watch. I'll be two minutes at the most."
Corvo didn't get a chance to say otherwise, as Garrett turned and made his way into the building, silently treading along the vents and pipes. Watching him, Corvo suspected that Garrett was the sort of man who did this for a living. A professional infiltrator, a thief, perhaps an assassin, although the lack of lethal weaponry somewhat negated the third option.
If he was any of these, it begged the question, why did the Outsider want him so much?
By the time Corvo returned his attention to him, Garrett was already at the safe, turning the dials with speed. Creaking, the heavy door opened, and Garrett quickly emptied it.
"Hey, you there! Stop what you're doing!"
Corvo cursed – he'd been too busy paying attention to Garrett, and not on the door, where one of the Overseers had entered on his patrol. His position also made it nigh-on impossible to reach the Overseer before he reached Garrett, so he did the only thing he knew he could – he blinked to Garrett's side, grabbed his arm, and moved them back to the rooftop.
Corvo wasn't sure who was more surprised, Garrett or the Overseer. At least Garrett had the inclination to not shout his surprise, unlike the Overseer.
"Later," Corvo told him. "We're leaving, now."
They quickly traversed across the rooftop, before leaping over a wall and coming to a long chain that lead down to the riverside.
"Go," Corvo said, hearing the shouts of the Overseers get louder behind the wall. Soon the place would be swarming. Garrett did as told, and they both slid down the long chain, coming to stand on the dockside.
Garrett peered up at the chain rising above them, listening to the now faraway shouts of the Overseers, as Corvo crossed the dock to where Samuel was watching them both, eyeing the unfamiliar man warily.
"Who's your friend?" Samuel asked.
"This is Garrett," Corvo told him. "Garrett, Samuel."
"He the guy who brought me here?" Garrett asked.
"No," Corvo replied. "He pilotss the boat."
"I'm sure it's a pleasure to meet you," Samuel began, "but do you think the others are going to take you bringing a stranger into our fold so lightly? I've half a mind to shoot him now and save Havelock from doing it later."
"That's a bold threat," Garrett countered. "He'd have to catch me first."
"They're just going to have to trust me," Corvo told him. Garrett, for his part, laughed quietly.
"Another person who's going to accept your word?" he asked. "You've given me little reason to trust yours. You can keep telling me that the reason I'm here will be explained later, but if they don't do so soon then you're providing me with little reason to stay, let alone trust you."
For a short while nothing was said, before Corvo broke the silence.
"The Overseers will be down here any minute; we can talk more in the boat," he said. "Garrett, trust me, please. I told you I don't know any more than you do. I was told to get you out. Would you rather I left you there?"
He turned to Samuel. "Let's go, before the Overseers work out how we're going to leave."
"All right," Samuel said. "Garrett, if you do anything untoward, I'm pitching you overboard into the river."
Garrett, for his part, eyed the boat with distaste. "I'm sure it won't come to that," he said, carefully stepping in and sitting down. For the limited amount of time that Corvo had known him, this was the first time he'd seen Garrett look anything close to nervous, and this was a man who was willing to walk into unfamiliar territory for the sake of a safe.
"You don't like boats?" Samuel asked as Corvo took his place.
"I prefer to travel my own way," Garrett countered. "Boats are... not my usual method."
He almost drowned in the river as a child, the Heart said. He exists in a world where everything is controlled and precise. A boat is neither of these things.
"Well, I hate to break it to you," Samuel told him, "but in Dunwall, the only way to travel with speed is by boat."
"Dunwall," Garrett repeated, as Samuel started the boat's engine and moved them away from the dockside. "That's the name of this city?"
Corvo nodded, removing his mask as they left the outer reaches of the Overseer's compound.
"What about you?" Garrett asked, following Corvo's example and pulling his scarf down. "You know my name, but you never told me yours."
"Corvo," he said, holding out his hand. Garrett took it, grasping his hand in a firm grip.
"Well, Corvo, I hope your friend can explain what's going on better than you can, otherwise I'm going to really start to wonder what mess I've gotten into now."
A/N: So this is my first fic in a long while. I was hesitant about posting this one but I was persuaded by many a friend, so here we are! This fic can also be found on my new AO3 account, if you're wishing to read it there instead. I'll link my AO3 on my profile. Perhaps I should have said that at the start of this chapter heh. But yes, I hope you enjoy this! There is a lot more to come, of course. If you hadn't guessed, this fic is essentially the Dishonored game with bonus Garrett. This has been in my head ever since I played Thief!
But yes. Enjoy! Reviews etc are appreciated as always.