Assassin’s Creed Mirage puts you against the Order of the Ancients in ancient Baghdad. You will take out several targets throughout the game. But before you can assassinate them, you must conduct an investigation. One such investigation is titled Of Toils and Taxes in AC Mirage.
The mission will start after you meet with Roshan and Rebeka at the bureau. You must go to the Karkh Assassin’s Bureau for this meeting. After that, there will be some initial exchange of information.
The mission will begin in the Karkh Bazaar, where your initial task will be to save a perfume seller from the villainous guards.
Save the perfume vendor
To track your mission, go into the Investigations Tab. There, you can choose The Bazaar lead, and it will automatically put up a marker that will take you to the heart of the Bazaar. The perfume vendor will be a foreign woman and will be tied up. She will be surrounded by guards asking for taxes.
Your objective will be to free her. Approach the heavy knight in the pack and speak to him. Bribe him with a Power Favour Token, which he will accept and walk away. You can always pickpocket it back from the guard as he walks away.
If you’re short on tokens or want to take a direct approach, you can then use your sword against the guards. It will cause quite a commotion in the Bazaar and will be significantly difficult, but it will get the job done.
The light enemies will be easy to take care of, but the heavy can be quite difficult to deal with.
Once you’re done with the villain pack, speak to the perfume vendor. She will tell you about her troubles and your favor in tracking her lost merchants.
Find the Stranded Merchants
According to the perfume vendor, the Stranded Merchants will be along the road south of Baghdad in the Of Toil and Taxes investigation in AC Mirage. Basim will have an idea of his own to check on the watering hole. This is precisely where you need to head next.
Open up the Investigations Tab again, and now you will be given another waypoint south of the city. Set the waypoint and start towards it. When you reach outside of the city walls, use Enkidu to have a better view from up above.
Just as the vegetation starts, you will spot a small village. Put a marker down on it and reach there. You will find the stranded merchants here among a commotion.
Gather clues
The merchants will be worried for their lives as they will have received a warning. One of their horses was killed during the night and someone then threw its head in the middle of the camp. The head merchant will have a conversation with you to express his worries.
You will then need to gather clues as to who could be behind this trick. Scan the area, and some objects will be highlighted in orange. The first clue you need to look at is the horse’s head. The cut will reveal the hand of a honed swordsman with a sharp blade.
Meanwhile, the owner of the horse will walk over, crying his heart out to the remains of his horse. Talk to him as well. The next person you must question will be a bystander just a few feet from the horse’s head. But talking to him will reveal nothing of interest. The last clue you will look at is a letter.
Head north from the eyewitness you just questioned. You should see a hut with a lootable chest. The letter will be placed close to the chest. The contents of this letter will reveal the involvement of Al-Anqa, and the letter will be instructions to the guards for the collection of taxes.
Escort the guards to safety
Reading the letter will give you a good idea that someone working for the government is against the foreign trading community. Head on over to the head merchant and offer him to escort safely to Baghdad. He will be thankful for your kind gesture and will gladly follow you out. You can then call your steed and ride towards the city.
Escape the ambush
Halfway through the journey, you will be ambushed by a group of soldiers. These soldiers will be hidden in the two adjacent cliffs you will come across. There is no way forward other than to fight the enemies.
This group will be a mix of light and heavy soldiers. You can take out the light soldiers first and then concentrate your attacks on the heavy ones later. But while doing this, be mindful of the rage attacks of the heavy enemies. These attacks can knock you down, and you must get up again.
This can give the enemies a large enough opening to easily eat up your health. The heavy enemies will be armored, so get in as many backstabs as possible. You can also use smoke bombs to your advantage, as the heavy enemies will be confused about your position.
Bid farewell to the merchants
After escaping successfully, continue your journey with the merchants. The head merchant will reveal that they have been part of an opposition against the taxes, and now the Caliphate wants their heads.
At the end of your journey, speak to the head merchant in the Of Toil And Taxes Investigation Mission in AC Mirage. He will give you the whereabouts and name of Al-Anqa, which is the final information you will need to eliminate him.
Infiltrate Al-Anqa’s Palace
Al-Anqa, namely Suhail, will be at his palace. Open the investigations Tab to set the waypoint for his place. The palace will be crawling with heavy and light soldiers. Stealth is paramount in this part if you lack fighting skills.
Enkidu will also be restricted due to the presence of various sets of eyes in the Of Toil And Taxes Investigation mission in AC Mirage. You will need to rely on your parkour skills for this one. Enter through the main entrance and keep towards the left wall. Hide behind the walls if an enemy approaches and keep hidden. Climb the tower while hidden, go into the bushes, and crouch.
Look for an opening and make your way to the backside of the mansion. The back door will be locked, and the key will be in the possession of a heavy soldier. Pickpocket him since it will be the best option available. Brute forcing your way out of this is not recommended since you can get cornered easily. But if you do, ensure that you’re moving around.
Make extensive use of smoke bombs if you want this fight to end quickly. Smoke bombs have the potential to hide you and confuse enemies, giving you a chance to assassinate them with your hidden blade.
Eliminate Al-Anqa
Enter through the backdoor once you have the key. Take care of the two guards silently to avoid startling Suhail. You can hear him talking, worried about his future on the upper floor. Go upstairs and kill him to complete your mission.
Now the goal will be to escape the palace. Use whatever approach you think is best. We still recommend stealth since it is the path of least resistance. Direct combat has the risk of you getting rushed and dying since there will be a lot of guards here, including the heavy that hits hard and is armored.
