The plot of Events in Highrock is quite… convoluted: from its long premise text I figured out that Garrett while hiding from City Watch in small town Highrock was beguiled by some dark mage (who paid for Garrett's work with "false money") and is trying to find another thief, Switcher, who was intermediary between Garrett and that mage - to find out who this mage is and how to find him to get revenge. The very beginning of actual mission is quite iconic: haunt (perhaps, there's again dark mage involved here) break into Garrett's apertment in Highrock forcing him (and player) to take an unequal fight or to flee in hope to get lost on streets of Highrock. After our escape the city expands around us.

What I like most in this mission is the strong sense of adventure. Garrett is lost in small city: he is hunted by some dark mage, he must find one thief and to rob the stingy fence and to finally turn the tables and get revenge on the damned mage. While Highrock is not the biggest or the most vertical, it keeps you busy with secrets and optional objectives that pops up while you are exploring the city. The main challenge is to find ways into different sections of level - which can be very well hidden. There is fully functional billiards game here; magic horn that can help you to traverse one particularly treacherous lake to find some treasure; there are scripted sequences with Switcher and our foe. Also Thief default ambients are put to good use here. I guess it was quite the revelation back in the day of its release and was superseded only by Calendra's Cistern made in the same year. And this mission feels like expanded variant of Assassins from T1 and FM Autumn in Lampfire Hills from previous year.

The weaknesses of Events in Highrock are direct continuation of its strengts. Quests are a bit amateurish with hints being too cryptic and with our targets being a bit too well-hidden. The way to Switcher is quite convoluted. Robbing the fence is counter-intuitive; you must wait for some event triggering in several seconds. The mountain section is mostly devoid of interesting details and the lair of our enemy feels… uninspired? It seems like author's most creativity was spent onto the city part. In general, the mission is slightly uneven in quality. It is raw from design standpoint but somehow captivating at the same time.