Chapter 25: Return to the Tower
"Anything more I need to know?" Corvo asked as the boat approached Dunwall Tower.
"Tower's got more security than Kaldwin Bridge. Tallboys, Overseers with music boxes, wolfhounds, Walls of Light, arc pylons, gunboats, dirigibles- you name it, Burrows's got it armed and ready." Samuel answered.
"What's a Tallboy?" Corvo asked.
"It was that stilted thing we saw at Kaldwin Bridge." Emily answered.
Just then, an explosion went off in the water.
"Get out of the boat! NOW!" Samuel yelled.
Corvo grabbed a leather pouch and jumped. Samuel then proceeded to give Emily a light shove off the side of the boat.
"Signal me with a flare when you've dealt with Burrows!" Samuel yelled, turning on the boat's motor and promptly fleeing.
"Coward!" Emily yelled.
"Emily, start swimming!" Corvo ordered.
The two swam toward the lock that Corvo's boat had entered on the day the Empress had been murdered. They entered through a side door. Once inside, they were presented with the challenge of moving up past the active machinery that operated the lock.
We'll have to blink past. Emily signed.
On my signal. Corvo signed back.
Emily nodded, and Corvo gave a countdown.
NOW! Corvo signed at the end.
Blinking from gear to gear, Emily and Corvo scaled the machinery into the bowels of Dunwall Tower.
"We made it!" Emily exclaimed.
Corvo reached for the pouch and removed a large rectangular object.
What are you doing? Emily signed.
Using the wireless. Corvo signed back.
"Samuel? Are you there?" Corvo asked into the wireless.
"Aye. There's a dirigible up ahead. Take it out quietly." Samuel answered.
Corvo looked through his spyglass. About one hundred feet ahead, the dirigible was shining a large floodlight on the tower yard. An impatient Emily tugged on his arm.
"Let's go." Corvo whispered.
Blinking across the tower yard, Corvo and Emily made their ascent onto the airship.
This should be fun. Emily thought.
On board the dirigible, Corvo and Emily noticed a lack of guards.
Where to now? Corvo signed.
The gondola. Emily signed back.
Where's that? Corvo signed.
At the front of this thing. Beneath us. Emily signed.
Emily activated her Dark Vision power and scanned the floor in search of the hatch to the gondola. The smell of whale oil, sweat, liquor, and peanuts pervaded the dirigible. As Emily searched for the hatch, Corvo treated himself with a bag of peanuts that he had stolen from Samuel.
Found it! Emily signed.
Corvo moved to Emily's position and pulled the hatch open. The two dropped into the gondola. The pilot didn't see either until Emily launched a throwing knife into his chest, thus killing him.
You idiot! Corvo signed.
What? We just throw the body into the water. Emily signed.
"Fine." Corvo whispered.
Emily reclaimed her knife and opened a window. The pilot's body was tossed out of the gondola, and Corvo disabled the floodlight. The two then proceeded to blink back down to the tower yard.
We did it! Emily signed.
Corvo had no response, as he was trying to determine the situation ahead. Using his spyglass, he sighted the controls for the arc pylons.
"Emily, see what you can do about those things." Corvo whispered, pointing to the master control panel.
Emily nodded and proceeded to blink across the tower yard to the controls. Once there, she examined the panel. A dial labeled ARC PYLON POLARITY was there. ARC PYLON AMPAGE was next to that. Emily cut the power to the pylons and adjusted the two dials. Corvo soon arrived, and Emily turned on the power. Before their eyes, the pylons created a miniature lightning storm, taking out Tallboys, Walls of Light, and dirigibles alike. Emily grinned as the carnage unfolded before her.
From his lair, Lord Regent Hiram Burrows was idly rolling a multisided die when the telephone rang.
"Dunwall Tower, Burrows speaking." Burrows announced.
"Your excellency, the dirigibles, Tallboys, arc pylons, and Walls of Light have been rendered useless!" a guard exclaimed.
"Why is this?" Burrows snarled.
"A freak lightning storm, milord!" the guard explained.
"Why do I not hear rain?" Burrows asked.
"Dry lightning, I guess." the guard answered.
"Goodbye." Burrows replied, taking care to hang up the telephone.
Outside, Corvo and Emily witnessed the scene before them. The dirigibles and Tallboys were downed, while the Walls of Light and arc pylons were completely burned out.
"So much for stealth." Corvo snarked.
"They'll blame it as dry lightning." Emily replied.
"You're crazy, Emily." Corvo snarked.
"I know. I think you've rubbed off on me." Emily snarked back.
Just then, a blinking light went off from the nearby Broadcast Tower.
Let's check it out. Corvo signed.
The two blinked across to the Broadcast Tower. Once inside, their attention was caught by a young man and his female companion.
"What do you want?" Corvo whispered.
"Look, I know you're here for Burrows. You don't need to kill him." the man whispered.
"What do you mean?" Emily asked.
"There's some private audiographs in his safe. We play those, and his arse is going off to Coleridge." the woman whispered.
"What's the combination?" Corvo asked.
"Nine Three Five." the man answered.
With that, Corvo and Emily blinked out of the Broadcast Tower toward Dunwall Tower proper.
Where's his safe? Emily signed once they were on a ledge outside the tower.
Corvo shrugged.
How are you going to find it? Emily signed.
The Heart. Corvo signed back.
Crawling through an external air vent, Corvo and Emily broke into Dunwall Tower. Once inside, Corvo removed the Heart from his coat. It started beating. Corvo made a series of rotations until the Heart was virtually squirming in his hands. Grasping onto the thing, he moved forward as the sound of the Heart's beating drowned out all other sounds. Finally, just as the noise became unbearable, he entered a large room with posters of Burrows lining the walls.
"Burrows's saferoom." Corvo mouthed.
"Where's the safe?" Emily asked.
The Heart squirmed uncontrollably in Corvo's hands. The safe was literally right in front of him.
"Hold this." Corvo ordered, throwing the Heart into Emily's arms.
Corvo opened the safe and obtained the audiographs. Nearby were some documents labelled "IMPERIAL NAVY REPORT- THE PAINTED LADY". Corvo took those as well for the sole purpose of reading them back at the Hound Pits.
"Emily, be a good girl and take these back to the Broadcast Tower." Corvo ordered.
Emily sighed and left. Corvo grinned as he prepared to take on Burrows.
Revenge really does solve everything. Corvo thought.
In his private room, Burrows was trying to unwind with some soothing music and a glass of wine. Just then, Corvo kicked down the door.
"Get out of here!" Burrows yelled, grabbing for the Overseer's music box that he had kept for himself.
Silence.
Burrows turned on the music box. Corvo tried to bend time and sneak behind Burrows, but his powers didn't quite work.
"You fool! The powers of the Outsider are rendered null when the mathematically pure notes of the Holger's device are used!" Burrows exclaimed.
Just then, Burrows heard his own voice over the loudspeaker.
"If I explain, then you will see, I am not at fault. My Poverty Eradication Plan was meant to bring prosperity to the City, to rid us of those scoundrels who waste their days in filth and drink, without homes or occupations other than to beg for the coin for which the rest of us toil.
And it was a simple plan – bring the disease bearing rats from the Pandyssian Continent – and let them take care of the poor for us. The plan worked perfectly. At first. But the rats – it was if they sought to undo me. They hid from the catchers, and bred at a sickening rate. Soon it didn't matter, rich, poor, all were falling sick.
And then people began to ask questions. The Empress assigned me to investigate whether the rats had been imported by a foreign power. I knew the truth would come out eventually. So there was no other way than to be rid of her, and take power myself. She had to die, you see. SHE HAD TO DIE.
Bringing about the death of an Empress is not an easy thing, but it gave me the chance to attack the plague with some real authority. Quarantines! Deportation of the sick! But there's always some idiot woman searching for her wretched lost babe, or some sniveling workman searching for his missing wife. And then quarantine is broken!
But you can see how my plan should have worked? Would have worked! If everyone had just followed orders." the recorded Burrows announced.
Burrows was as white as a sheet. Just then, some guards kicked down another door.
"Have you not heard of knocking?!" Burrows exclaimed.
"Your Poverty Eradication Plan killed my mum!" one guard exclaimed.
"Now let's be reasonable-" Burrows began.
"The only thing reasonable is that your arse is going to Coleridge Prison!" another guard exclaimed.
And with that, the regime of Hiram Burrows ended in what was effectively political suicide. Corvo went off to rejoin Emily at the Broadcasting Tower. Once there, the two went back to Samuel's boat.
"How'd it go?" Samuel asked as they left.
"Burrows is going to rot in a cell." Corvo snarked.