Explore the cellars and the ground floor of the Baron's estate - description | Chapter 6: A Man Apart Thief Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Note - If you want to take accessing the Baron's study straight away, skip to the part of the walkthrough on the page entitled Reach the Baron's private study. Personally I recommend against that and, instead, explore all of the floors of the villa and also try to access the secret chamber. The entire estate has been described, in detail, on the following pages of this guide.
The cellar of the estate [Northcrest Manor - Cellars] is not too big a location. In spite of that, it may play a vital role, because this is here that you start exploring the estate, if you have chosen Variant A (accessing through the sewers) or variant B (using the side stairs). In the cellars, you are not going to encounter any enemies but, you weed to watch out for traps, which can be disarmed with the Wirecutter used on be box, in one of the main corridors. In this location, you can find a Coin Purse - 18G, a Vase - 10G and two Gilded Bottles - 2x40G. You can leave the cellars over the stairs to the kitchen or by taking the staircase to the North.
There are many different ways in which you can reach the ground floor of the estate [Northcrest Manor - First Floor]. It is worth pointing out that there are three main staircases on this floor. For changing floors, I personally recommend the Northern staircase, which is not watched by anyone, especially that it connects all four floors in the building. The remaining staircases are in the library (the Eastern part of the villa) and in the waiting hall (the Southern part of the building). Apart from that, in various points around the villa, you can use climbing points (one of them is in the great hall in the Western part of the estate).
In the Northern part of the building, there is, first of all, the great hall [Northcrest Manor - Great Hall]. After you get in here, for the first time, you will bump into two guards, who walk away after they finish their conversation and start patrolling the area. This will make it considerable more difficult, for you, to explore the estate, which is why you should remember to switch off all the sources of light and to avoid staying in lit areas. You can try to rob both of the guards of their Coin Purses - 9+12+5G. When it comes to the great hall itself, there is some valuable loot here and so, you can find here three Wine Glasses - 3x10G, three Saucers - 3x4G and a Gilded Bottle - 40G.
The two other, bigger, areas in the Northern part of the estate are the kitchen and the bedroom. In the kitchen, you can only find a Saucer - 4G. From the bedroom, you can take a Perfume Bottle - 25G, a Watch Medal - 30G, a Pocket Portrait - 10G and a note (Dismissal Notice). While you are here, also explore the Northern corridors, thanks to which you will obtain a Watch Medal - 30G.
In the Eastern part of the villa, you will find another big hall, which is the library [Northcrest Manor - Library]. You need to watch out here, because there are as many as four guards around. Two of the guards should be standing at the fireplace (you can put out the fire with a water arrow), and the two other are patrolling the library. In the case of the ones in the library, you should watch out for the opponent patrolling under the lamp. This is not it, yet, because you also need to watch out for bird cages, by not running around them and by using Swoop. I recommend that you try to rob the two enemies, because one of them has a note (Annabel's Note). Apart from that, you can obtain some Coin Purses - 7+17+26G. While staying in the library, you can safely use the stairs to the first floor, and the southern door thanks to which you will be able to walk around the corridors, in the Western part of the building, safely. In this location, you can also find some more loot, i.e. a Letter Opener - 6G, an Ink Bottle - 8G, a Coin Purse - 25G and a book (Baron Northcrest - The Primal).
In the central and the Western part of the estate, you will find a number of corridors and a few smaller rooms. Also here, you need to keep necessary precautions, because there are bird cages here. Also, there are two guards here, where one of them stays put. Of course, you can use throwables, putting out candles and switching off the lights, to your aid. You can rob one of the guards of two Coin Purses - 5+12G. Apart from that, in this area, you can also find two other Coin Purses - 8+15G, two Chess Pieces - 3+10G, Baron's Bust - 25G, a Perfume Bottle - 25G, a book (Baron Northcrest - The Tome) and a letter (Eastwick's Letter), from which you will learn about a secret chamber (to learn more about how to find the secret chamber, and about its exploration, see the page entitled Find and explore the secret chamber). Finally, find the safe located in the Western room. The safe combination can be figured out from the note that you have stolen from one of the guards in the library (889). Collect the Baron's Bust - 60G and the ring (Serendi Stone Circles - Sapphire Circle) from the safe.
The final area that you should explore, on the ground floor, is the is the waiting hall [Northcrest Manor - Waiting Hall], i.e. the location with the barricaded main entrance to the Baron's villa. In here, there are two opponents. It is quite difficult to rob one of them of his Coin Purse - 3+7G because only one of the enemies is actively patrolling the area and, apart from that, the guards are occupying a well-lit spot (you can use throwables here). In the hall, there are no collectibles, but there are stairs to the first floor.