The Knife of Dunwall takes on one final mission.
Dishonored: The Return of Daud is an interquel Expanded Universe novel of the Dishonored series, written by Adam Christopher. It takes place a year after the events of Dishonored: The Corroded Man and before Dishonored: Death of the Outsider.
The legendary assassin Daud has returned to Dunwall, a city in turmoil. He is seeking a mythical weapon, said to have the power to kill the Outsider, and will go to any lengths to find it. But there are those who are watching his every move. Travelling the Isles to complete his mission, Daud will soon discover that old enemies have been waiting for him, and new enemies are easy to make…
It takes place sixteen years after the events of the original game and alongside the second game.
This book contains the following tropes:
- Artifact of Attraction: The mirror in Norcross' collection can mesmerize those who look into it. Daud uses it to find out where the thieves took the Twin-bladed Knife.
- The Atoner: Daud, who decides to kill the outsider in the hopes it would free himself from his past sins and the world from the black-eyed bastard.
- Bazaar of the Bizarre: Wyrmwood Way, a place where heretical and arcane items could be bought and sold in Dunwall through the black market.
- Blindfolded Vision: The Sisters of the Oracular Order wear blindfolds and see prophecies into the future, but they aren't blind. The wear blindfolds that obscure their vision from distractions, but the materials are thin enough that they can be seen through if needed.
- Carry a Big Stick: The Oracular sisters carry ceremonial maces that they can and will use.
- Church Militant: The Abbey of the Everymen's Overseers and the Oracular sisters, are dedicated to rooting out heresy when possible.
- Closed Circle: How the two witches eventually catch Daud. Using lenses from the Oraculum and a dead man, the trap him within Jindosh's manor within his mind.
- Collector of the Strange: Maximilian Norcross of Gristol. He collects pieces of history, up to and including a castle, heretical artifacts, and people who he adds to his Wax Museum Morgue And he wants to include the Knife of Dunwall to his collection.
- Contrived Coincidence: Daud starts being haunted by nightmares that inspire him to go to karnaca and kill the outsider. At the same time, rumors about the knife that made him were floating around and giving him the means to do it.
- Conveniently Timed Distraction: A group of invaders sabotaging Norcross' attempt at preserving Daud and stopping his mechanized Music Box, allowing him to get free. It's later revealed they're members of the Eyeless Gang.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Daud, after retiring from being an assassin. He finds purpose only when he decides to kill the Outsider.
- Failure Is the Only Option: When Billie came to the past the first time, she crystallize the moment she would lose the Twin-Blade Knife and Daud would gain it. As a result, she can never change the fact that the knife would end up making him ill and killing him later on. No matter how many times she tries, it remains a constant.
- Friend on the Force: One of Daud's former lieutenants in the Whalers had a daughter who he smuggled into Karnaca. She became an officer in the Serkonan Grand Guard.
- Gang of Hats: The Sixways Gang have the men where round hats and wax their mustaches into a curl, while the women have top knots.
- The Hermit: Daud spent six years as a hermit outside a small village in Tyvia until the village leaders were ready to burn the hut down on accusations of witchcraft.
- Hero of Another Story: Emily's escape and dismantling of the Brienna Ashford's coven show she's being active.
- Hidden Supplies: Daud has safe houses hidden all over the Empire and stores platinum ingots for a rainy day.
- High-Altitude Interrogation: Daud does this to a new Overseer to learn about what happened in the finale of The Corroded Man and the Twin-Blade Knife.
- Human Sacrifice: The Outsider while mortal was ritualistically sacrificed to become one with the void, his mind drugged with incenses and potions before they killed him via Slashed Throat.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: The Devlin's cut and run with the half of their payment from Wyman and leave Daud to the mercenaries they hired, figuring they would either kill him and complete the contract or they would fail but they would be safe.
- Legacy Character: Eat Em Up Jack, whose title has passed from leader to leader. The current one is a woman at around 25 years old.
- Living Doll Collector: Norcross. He takes people, kills them, and the uses a process that will preserve them before placing them in a gallery where they remain to enact out a scenario in poses. His collection includes a mother and her two children.
- Mad Oracle: What happens to Kara once the interference kicks in. She begins ranting about a curtain with many hands reaching out to grab her, falling into sibilant whispers, and thrashing against herself.
- Mercy Kill: Presumably what Pelagia intended to do with Kara once her mind was taken. It's left ambiguous if Sister Hathena ultimately decided to go through with it.
- More than Mind Control: Breanna Ashworth has used magic and emotional manipulation to make one man loyal enough to her to be willing to use a magical communication device despite the fact that he knew it was killing him and others would take his place.
- The Needs of the Many: High Oracle Pelagia Themis justifies this to both herself and Sister Hathena using Kara as she did. She knew that her young and untrained mind would fall to the interference and needed to understand the mechanics behind it since the prophecies are important enough to declare war and peace, so she essentially made the girl a sacrificial pawn.
- Plagued by Nightmares: Daud was starting to settle down and move on when he was haunted by nightmares, visions of Karnaca being swarmed by endless bloodflies and death, until he couldn't sleep anymore. That leads to his decision to kill the Outsider.
- Portal Picture: Daud finds a mirror in Norcross' collection that alllows him to peer through to the Void. He sees the Outsider on the other side and gets ready to enter until a sound snaps him out of it.
- Professional Killer: Daud used to be one. Now he has a pair known as the Devlin couple hunting him on Wyman's orders, since he put out a contract on him.
- Psychic Nosebleed: Kara suffers from one as she starts seeing into the future, but it gets worse until she's bleeding from her eyes, mouth, and ears, nearly killing her in the process.
- Ritual Magic: The Ritual of Prophecy. Seven sisters sit in place and have no food, rest, or water as they clear their minds to peer into the void and past it to see the future. But without training their minds can wander in the void forever following their subconscious instead of the actual future.
- See-Thru Specs: Norcross possess a monocle with an ivory stem and lens made from a ground crystal from the Pandyssian continent. It allows him to see magical artifacts and the like, including the Mark of the Outsider.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Billie Lurk from three years from the future shows up to try and fix things. Unfortunately for her, it seems You Already Changed the Past takes effect and she ended up causing the illness that kills him by the end of Death of the Outsider.
- Shrouded in Myth: Daud's legacy as the Knife of Dunwall is told to new initiates of the Overseers to warn them about what can't be allowed to happen again.
- Signature Item Clue: The vagrants who tried to capture Daud in Porterfell had military-issued guns that were well-maintained. That was the first clue that they were professionally trained. It then came out they were members of the League of Protectors, who were supposed to guard the Imperial Throne.
- Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Billie can materialize the Twin-Blade Knife from her inhuman arm.
- Tele-Frag: One of the Witches end up teleporting right into Daud's sword, impaling herself.
- Thunderbolt Iron: Daud has a sword made from Tyvian Meteorite Metal, hidden in Shindaerey Peak.
- Torture Technician: Norcross' interrogator, who uses razors to carve into the flesh of his prisoners.
- Town with a Dark Secret: The small fishing village is actually being used as the main smuggling operation of the Sixways Gang, since it provides an easy way to get goods out without using normal trade routes.
- Villainous Valor: Even as a combat robot slaughters them down to a man, the Sixways Gang chooses to keep fighting in order to let Daud get their leader to safety.
- Willfully Weak: Daud refuses to use his Mark of the Outsider early in the book after going years without using it.
