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Return to the Tower is a mission in which Corvo must return to Dunwall Tower and assassinate the Lord Regent, Hiram Burrows.

BriefingEdit

It's time to end the Lord Regent's rule, and if you succeed Emily can be crowned Empress. You must return to Dunwall Tower and infiltrate the place where you once served as Lord Protector. Ever-paranoid, the Lord Regent has upgraded security over the months and has a heavily-defended safe room to which he will escape if you set off any alarms.

InfiltrationEdit

Once dropped off by Samuel, swim into the waterlock used in the beginning of the game. Use Blink to climb up and into the mechanism. At the top of the gate, find the exit to the outside on the left wall of the room hidden below the walkway.

From here there are several routes to infiltrate the Tower. Sneaking along the right side of the yard is recommended, and Blinking onto the ledge that rims the Tower. Walk along the ledge until directly above the main door. Across the ledge is an open ventilation shaft; enter the tower via this shaft.

Corvo will exit the ventilation shaft into the Tower foyer. If no alarm has been triggered, the Lord Regent will reject the advice from his guards to go to the safe room, and insist on sleeping in his regular bedroom. He will receive a report from his General and then insist on being left alone, making this a very easy kill.

If an alarm has been sounded, Burrows will already be hiding in the safe room atop the Tower. There are many ways to access this room:

Possess a rat and climb through the ventilation shafts.
Climb in from the right side window, or walk through the front.
Sneak onto the second floor via other routes (the kitchens, the broadcast stairwell, the foyer door to the main staircase, etc), and use the walkway from the music room to the roof.

The whale oil to disable the wall of light blocking the Lord Regent is in the back left room.

Non-Lethal SolutionEdit

In order to eliminate the Lord Regent non-lethally, Corvo must enter the Broadcast Tower, the source of all the announcements played over the course of the game. Be careful as there is an Arc Pylon in the middle of the stairwell; its power source can be removed at the base of the stairwell. The Propaganda Officer in the Broadcast Tower, fearing for his life when Corvo arrives, offers to help him ruin the Lord Regent politically in exchange for his survival. He will inform Corvo that the Lord Regent has recorded a confession and locked it in the safe in his bedchamber. The Officer then gives Corvo the combination to the safe, saying that if the confession were played over the broadcast system, it would be the end of the Lord Regent.

Corvo can then steal and play the recording--it reveals not only Burrows' part in the assassination of the Empress, but his plot to bring the rat plague to Dunwall to kill off the city's impoverished citizens. By broadcasting this information, Corvo succeeds in eliminating the Lord Regent, as his own men overthrow and send him to Coldridge Prison.

Side ObjectivesEdit

After returning to the Hound Pits from the Boyle Mansion, Corvo can speak to Callista in the barroom. She claims that Emily is hiding, and asks Corvo to find her. She is located either in the streets behind the Hound Pits, or in Corvo's bedroom. After Corvo speaks with her, she will give him a rune.
Corvo is tasked with eliminating the Royal Interrogator, who can be found in his torture chamber in the basement.

General Mission NotesEdit

Depending on whether or not Corvo causes any alarms, Burrows will either be in his bedroom (low) or safehouse (high). Ironically, the safehouse protects him well, but also allows easy access to his crime evidence which can be used in the non-lethal elimination.
When Corvo enters the Tower foyer, he will see General Tobias and a guard holding conference with the Lord Regent over a view-screen. If Corvo approaches the screen, he can choose to taunt the Lord Regent over it, and can even remove his mask to reveal his identity. This action will put all remaining guards on high alert, cause Burrows to remain in his safehouse, and result in Corvo being surrounded by guards after the conversation ends. If Corvo has not raised an alarm, Burrows will return to his bedroom after finishing the message, and must be contacted before the screen turns off.
The mission is made considerably easier by having the Dunwall Tower Skeleton Key found during the previous mission. It opens most doors, including the door to the Broadcast Tower.