A Rock and a Hard Place

A Rock and a Hard Place is the first chapter of Among Thieves. After awakening inside a train carriage dangling precariously off a cliff, a severely wounded Nathan Drake had to climb his way to safety before the train would plummet to the depths below.

Story[]

Cliffhanger[]

Nate woke up inside of a train wagon, and quickly realized he was bleeding heavily from a wound in his abdomen. It slowly began to dawn on him that the carriage was hanging down from a cliff as several objects began falling down toward him, followed by his bench, and ultimately himself as well. Fortunately, he broke his fall on the exterior handrail at the lower end of the carriage. From there he carefully managed to climb back up the wagon and reach the second carriage atop the cliff edge. As Nate entered this second carriage, it began to slide off the cliff, prompting him to make a quick run toward the cliff, narrowly escaping death, but falling unconscious after he climbed back onto the clifftop.

The Lost Fleet[]

The story flashes back to an earlier time where Nate was drinking at a beach bar, before being approached by his old colleague Harry Flynn. After the two shared a brief hug, Flynn offered him a part in a job in which they needed to acquire a certain object for a client, who was willing to offer a huge sum of cash in return. Flynn presented Nate with a pamphlet of the Travels of Marco Polo exhibit in the Istanbul Palace Museum. Nate initially refused, pointing out that the both of them knew two people who were killed pulling off this kind of work, with only Nate himself barely making it out alive. Flynn was in desperate need of Nate's assistance, and although Nate was reluctant, he stayed when Chloe Frazer joined them. Nate, who knew Chloe as an old flame, was a bit surprised to see her but kept quiet about their history when she pretended that they never met.

Flynn began laying out the plan, in it he and Nate would venture through the sewer before climbing up to the museum's courtyard. From there, they would have to climb to the rooftops, which they would then need to scale across to reach the exhibit hall. Chloe would aid the two by switching off the museum's floodlights, allowing the two to approach the building without any risk of detection. At this point, Flynn revealed what they were after, a Yuan Dynasty celadon oil lamp. Claiming that the artifact was worthless, Nate saw no point in going after it until Flynn showed him a 13th-century Latin journal entry, which he "borrowed" from his client's files. As Nate translated the entry, he realized that it was written by Marco Polo. As he translated the rest of the document, he and Chloe realized that it referred to the "lost fleet".

Flynn, initially believing it all to be gibberish, had no clue what they were talking about, therefore Nate filled him in on the details of Marco Polo's voyage. He explained that Polo left China with 600 passengers and fourteen ships loaded with treasure from Kublai Khan. A year and a half later, he arrived in Persia with one ship left and only eighteen passengers. Despite recording every detail of his journey, Polo never revealed what happened to the thirteen ships, the passengers, or the treasure. Nate then discerned that this oil lamp was what Flynn's "client" was after. Examining the lamp image closer, Nate realized that it must have been a gift to Polo from Kublai Khan. Flynn and Chloe pieced it all together as they recited a line from Polo's journal: "The light of the great Khan shelters the fate of the thirteen." Nate pointed out that Polo hid a clue inside the lamp, something that pinpoints the site of the lost fleet. As a final thought, the three decided that they were going to betray Flynn's client and go after the treasure for themselves.

Back in the present time, Nate awakened atop the cliff and proceeded through the wreckage of the train, somewhere in the mountains, trapped in a blizzard. The wreckage was strewn around a snow-covered plateau. Throughout the wreckage, he passed the bodies of dead soldiers, and at one point, encountered a live one, who was quickly killed from an unexpected blast. As Nate carried through the wreckage, the fire around him caused a fuel carriage to explode. The explosion dislodged another carriage, which barreled down a slope and hit the carriage Nate was in, causing it to tumble over several times, knocking Nate unconscious again.

Mostly Professional[]

In another flashback, Chloe arrived at Nate's hotel room, shortly after their beach bar meeting. They alluded to a past relationship before Nate questioned her about her current relationship with Flynn. As the two shared an intimate moment on Nate's bed, Chloe assured him that her relationship with Flynn was "mostly professional". Nate then inquired about the plan, which was just like they discussed before—split the treasure three ways, before disappearing together, abandoning Flynn. Before the two made out on the bed, Chloe warned Nate that Flynn could not find out about them until after they had found the treasure. Nate knew that Flynn would be upset about it. Before she leaned in to kiss Nate, Chloe assured him that Flynn was going to be "fine".

The Phurba[]

Back at the present, Nate regained consciousness and continued on his search through the train wreckage, constantly hindered by his wound. He eventually came across a Phurba dagger sticking out of the snow. It was clearly of some importance, as he clutched it tightly within his bloody hands. The story then flashes back four months ago to the museum heist.

Nate, Flynn, and Chloe, having acquired an inflatable speedboat, sped towards the Istanbul Palace Museum. Flynn expressed his concern about not having a gun, but Nate assured him that they would not need them since they were only going to be dealing with museum guards, and they had their patrols all mapped out. Flynn, however, reminded him of the consequences of them getting caught, which would involve them getting locked away in a Turkish prison, which Nate realized better than him.

Chloe pulled the speedboat right below their entry point into the sewer. Once inside, Flynn led the way until they reached the passage that would lead them into the museum. Chloe, shining her light in the opposite path, decided that was her way in. Before splitting up, Nate made sure they were clear on the plan, by reminding Chloe that the tower's floodlights would need to be off before he and Flynn could get close. Chloe assured them things would go as planned and told them to meet her at the rendezvous point, where she would have the van waiting, provided they make it out in time.

Walkthrough[]

Climbing the train[]

The first part of the chapter involves a climbing sequence that re-introduces some of the basic moves from Drake's Fortune. To have Nate jump or pull himself up ledges, press , and to move in either direction, hold . Despite the situation, there is no actual timer, and there is no real chance to fail by accident or to get lost. Start by moving left along the yellow rail to the left to make it to the rear end of the dangling train carriage. Begin ascending up the train along the right side, until you reach a long rail that will collapse partway through. You will then be prompted to hold in the direction you want to swing and jump. After grabbing hold of the ledge, shimmy over to the left, then climb up to where you will be standing somewhat inside the carriage. Press forward on , and then jump to grab onto one of the benches.

Pull yourself on top of the ledge, then jump to a higher bench. Upon grabbing it, pull yourself up ( again) and make another leap. Keep jumping and pulling yourself up from bench to bench until events eventually put you on the outside again. Grab hold of the yellow rail here and ascend to the top. When the rail gives out, leap to the left and quickly pull Nate up. Continue climbing until he is at the very top of the hanging carriage, and then jump to the yellow ladder. The second he makes it inside the second carriage, he must now run forward, as the train will begin to slide off the cliff. The second you reach the very end of the carriage, make one leap to the cliff ahead, and Nate will pull himself up.

Searching the wreckage[]

After the flashback, Nate will wake up, and gameplay will continue. Head forward into the wreckage. After Nate squeezes his way through the narrow spot between two trains, look for a 92FS - 9mm near the dead soldier, then approach the door on the carriage on your left and press to open it. Once inside, climb over the trail, and pick up some additional ammo for your firearm. Upon reaching the other end of the carriage, you will find a locked door. Hold and then aim at the lock and press to shoot it off. You can also press to reload your gun.

When you exit the carriage, head forward and you will encounter a soldier. He will spot you and prepare to fire at you. You can either shoot him back or just wait for an explosion to strike him. After this, continue moving forward, pushing through another pair of doors, followed by climbing a series of crates from where you can enter another carriage. Walk to the end and climb out of it. The carriage you are in will get knocked over by another one that comes tumbling over and over due to an explosion. Nate will be left unconscious, and the game will begin another flashback. Once the flashback ends, move around to wake Nate up. Look for the opening in the train and jump to the yellow rail. Shimmy to the right and pull yourself up into another carriage. Head forward until Nate falls down, after which you can continue heading forward until you reach the Phurba sticking out in the snow.