THE TOMB OF CLEOPATRA'S HANDMAIDEN

Level by SH

Unauthorized walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

Lara slides down a dark slope and is deposited in an alcove. Hop back and turn to your right. Step forward into a large underground chamber that's lighted only on the east end, where you're now standing. Light a flare and run toward the dark west end and enter the open doorway there. Be careful not to venture inside too far, however, as otherwise you'll fall to your death into the deep room below. Instead, turn left immediately upon entering and pick up some much-needed flares at the end of the passage. Then return to the west doorway and walk carefully to the edge overlooking the large deep room. Angle Lara to the left and take a running jump to the ledge running along the south wall.

Follow the ledge west and turn right at the corner. Turn left into the west doorway and turn left again to pick up the UZIS in the corner. Then climb up onto the platform in the center of this anteroom and throw the floor lever. A flyby shows a door opening in the room far below. Hop down and exit this room via the left opening, then continue along the ledge outside until you reach the moss-covered irregular portion. A couple of well-placed standing jumps will bring you up to the NE corner. Face east and sidestep to the right until you come to an overhead crack in the wall. Jump up to grab it, then shimmy to your right and around two corners until you hear the chimes of SECRET #1.

Drop down into the passage and pick up some shotgun ammo and two sets of flares. Pull out at the south end and use the crack in the wall to shimmy back to the left to the NE corner of the ledge. From here, retrace your steps all the way around the ledge until you reach the SE corner. Turn Lara to the left and take a long running jump to the west entrance to the large chamber where you began this level. Run across to the east side and vault up into the entrance there.

Hop down into an area dominated by tall columns. Go to your right and behind the columns, and you'll find the SHOTGUN on the floor near the south wall. Turn left, run across to the other side and locate the block against the north wall. Climb up onto it and take a standing jump and grab to the next one, then a running jump and grab to the third one. Pull up and turn left. Enter a long, dark room, light a flare and pick up the large medi-pack resting on a platform. When you do so, two scorpions come to attack, so shoot them and then pick up the flares, the uzi ammo and the small medi-pack at your leisure.

Return to the floor of the column room. Where the stairs start going down, go over to the south wall and climb up onto the block there. The adjacent column with a piece missing has a climbable surface on its south face. Jump up, grab the face and climb up as far as you can go, then climb back down one rung, shimmy around the corner to the right, and backflip to the top of the column behind you. Jump up, grab the hole in the ceiling and pull up into a small attic. Throw the floor lever you find there, and a cut scene gives you a view of the stairs descending into the darkness below.

Drop back down the hole to the column top, then jump and grab the surface of the facing pillar and climb down to the floor. Go down the stairs and find two giant jackal statues. The doorway behind the one on your right is now open. The statutes can be moved, but there's no need to bother. Simply squeeze between them and enter the next area.

You find yourself on a ledge partially spanning a deep subterranean area. Turn left shortly after entering and walk out to the north terminus. Then take a running jump into the darkness and grab the edge of the facing ledge. Pull up and run forward a few paces, then stop and turn to your right. Hop back and grab the west edge of the ledge and climb down to the cavern floor. Run a considerable distance south until you reach a passage off to your right at the end. Go inside for some shotgun ammo, then climb back up to the top of the ledge. Pull up (you may have to shimmy right or left until you reach a sufficiently flat spot), turn to your left and enter the doorway. Draw your shotgun and deal with the ninja.

Continue carefully down the dark passage and look down to your right when you reach the end. There's another ninja prancing about on top of a structure in the middle of this immense room, so kill him from up here. Then face north once again and take a running jump across the gap to the next ledge. Follow it around until you reach the portion near the middle of the north wall. Turn to face the central structure and take a standing jump down to it. Hop back, grab the edge and safety drop to the floor with an unavoidable loss of health. Draw your shotgun again and use it to kill the ninja who pounces out from behind a column near the east wall, then turn around to mete out a similar fate to another ninja coming from the other side.

When the coast is clear, step up onto a platform on the south side of the central structure and pick up the HAND OF ORION. You hear the sound of a door opening while a darkened cut scene gives you scant clue as to what just happened. Reverse roll and run around the Jeep into a sloped cavern. Pick up the small medi-pack and a couple of stashes of uzi ammo at the entrance, then continue a short distance up the slope. You see something perched higher up, but let's save that for later. For now, locate the opening in the east wall and jump inside. Vault up onto the ledge to your left and use the climbable wall ahead to climb up a long distance and pull up into a dark passage.

Turn left and follow the passage until you reach a hole at the end. Turn around, hop back, grab the edge and drop down into a passage you visited earlier. This time go back the way you came, south along the precarious ledge, until you reach the end. Take a running jump and grab across the gap, but instead of pulling up drop and immediately grab the crack underneath. Shimmy right, around the corner and continue until Lara makes as if she wants to turn another corner. However, pull up at this point and make a horseshoe turn to the right into the opening in the wall. Continue down the slope and insert the Hand of Orion in its receptacle beside the west doors.

Those doors open (while the east doors remain closed), so go inside to a semi-submerged area spaced with ledges. Before using them to jump to the other side, dive into the water and pick up some shotgun ammo near the north wall, to the left of a closed gate. Swim back to the SE corner and pull up onto the ledge. Jump back up to the entrance to this room and jump to the next ledge west. Walk forward to the leading edge and look to your left. Take a jump into the alcove and position Lara in the corner. Using the action and up arrow keys, jump up, grab and pull up into a confined space. Walk forward to the edge and take a standing jump down to the pillar jutting out of the water. Run off the pillar onto the ledge near the center of the room.

There's a structure resembling an amusement park slide ahead and to your right. Take a standing jump onto it so that you slide forward. Just before you reach the water, jump off and grab the edge of the last ledge ahead. Pull up and walk to your left to the south end of the ledge. Turn SE to face the nearby pillar and (because there's a low ceiling here) take a standing jump and grab its edge. Shimmy to the right, around the corner and pull up onto the pillar. There's an opening in the south wall that's hard to see in the dark, so walk to the SE corner and, facing south, jump up to grab the monkeybars. Swing over to the opening and drop down inside. Run forward, around the floor lever and throw it. You hear the sound of a distant door opening.

Turn around and note the hole in the ceiling. Pull up into an area adorned with five vases and another hole at the other end. Shoot all the vases (two are empty) and pick up the crossbow arrows, the small medi-pack and the flares. Then go to the far hole and stand with Lara's back to the west edge. Hop back, and as soon as Lara clears the edge (otherwise, she'll grab it) hit the action key to land below on the ledge in front of the west opening.

Hop over (or simply walk through) the short railing into the next room. Turn to your next and vault into the now-open alcove where you can pick up the CARTOUCHE PIECE 1. Now go back to the previous area and dive into the water. The underwater gate in the north wall is now open, so swim inside and pull up into a tunnel as ominous theme music plays. Walk up the ramps to the NW and stop along the way to pick up the CROSSBOW and a small medi-pack. Make a hairpin turn to the left and continue up the ramp. Pull up into the north alcove, turn around and jump over the gap. Turn around again and safety drop to the dark room below. A cut scene doesn't reveal very much about what's going to happen next. However, if the room looks familiar, it's because you've returned to the place where you began the level.

Run across the chamber to the west end and enter the doorway. Retrace the steps you took earlier in obtaining the first secret by first jumping across to the south ledge and making your way over in a clockwise direction. Use the crack in the wall near the NE corner to shimmy around to the right, but this time when you make the first turn release right there and drop down to a sloped ledge. Turn around to face south, then from the right side of the ledge take a running jump into the darkness and land on a moss-covered ledge across the way. The door ahead is now open, but you need to take a standing jump over a slight gap in the ledge before entering.

You're in another attic-like cavern. Ahead and to your right is some shotgun ammo in a depression in the west wall; but taking it alerts a couple of nearby scorpions, so be prepared to deal with them. Continue south through this area until you reach an opening to your left. Back up to it, then hop back and grab the ladder. Climb down into an indoor swimming pool area with closed doors in the north and east walls and a receptacle for the completed cartouche (of which you now have half).

Jump into the water and swim down toward the bottom of the pool. Note that there are holes in the NW and SE corners. Swim down into the SE hole, follow the tunnel and turn left at the intersection. Enter a submerged room with wall alcoves and central pillars, and a closed door at the upper far end. Remember that door and return to the main pool. Swim down into the NW hole and follow the tunnel past two closed gates to your right and continue downward, pausing to the right in front of another closed gate for some crossbow arrows. When you reach the end, swim up a long distance for some air. Pull out into a small room with a floor lever and a closed wooden door in the north wall. Prepare to throw the floor lever and save your game before doing so.

When you throw the floor lever, a brief cut scene shows the closed door that you noted earlier opening. It's timed, however, so hit the look key to restore camera control and jump over the lever with a swerve to the left so you land in the water. Quickly swim down and through the tunnel back to the main pool. Swim diagonally across the pool bottom and enter the SW hole. Without stopping, swim to the submerged room and all the way across to enter the next room before the door slams shut.

You're running out of air, so quickly swim forward while counting the alcoves to your left. Swim into the fifth one and swing right into the alcove. Pick up the HAND OF SIRIUS and immediately reverse roll. Swim through the gate that's just opened behind you and head upward for air. After filling Lara's lungs, you can, if you wish, swim back down to the previous room and grab the large medi-pack perched prominently on the upper south ledge. After doing so, swim back up to get more air, then locate the underwater south opening.

Swim inside, and you'll immediately be buffeted by strong currents. Your objective here is to swim across to the south wall, turn right and fight the current by swimming west along the wall until you reach a wooden block where you can climb up. There's another submerged block to the west, with a fairly stable section of current near the east face where you can pull up onto it. Do so and turn around to face east. Take a standing jump to the block against the north wall and pick up the small medi-pack.

Jump back to the west block and from there take a running jump west into the water and swim forward. You'll soon escape the current and swim into a large cavernous area where you can pull up onto a block to your left. Head west along the ledge toward the palm tree and step down to your right onto the rocky beach. Turn right and head toward two palm trees to the north. Jump into the water in front of the one on the right and swim down to find a large medi-pack on a floor pad for SECRET #2.

If you wish, you can continue swimming around the north wall and let a current suck you down. Find some flares near the SW corner of an area with dark walls and floor, then locate the nearby current that drags you back up again. Climb out on the south side, using the same block as before. Return to the west beach and turn right when you reach the darkness past the palm tree. Run across the beach to the north wall and locate a sandy vertex, almost due west from the palm tree, jutting up against the wall. Stand straddling its topmost point and take one step back. Turn slightly right to face NE and hop back once. Light a flare and take a running jump to land on a stable ledge. It'll likely take you a few tries, but you'll get there. Now turn to your left and navigate your way over to the SW corner. A final standing jump and grab will bring you to the corner block. Pull up and turn to your left.

Take a running jump to the next block east. Take another running jump in the same direction and grab the ledge. Pull up and turn left. Take a running jump into the darkness and grab the edge of a ledge you can't see. Pull up, sidestep to the corner and face SE. Side flip to the left and grab the edge of the adjacent surface when Lara slides down. Shimmy to the left and pull up. Step forward and turn to your left to pull up onto an irregular block. Face the rope to the SE and take a running jump and grab toward it.

Slide down to the bottom of the rope and turn to your right. Squarely facing the second rope, swing forward and jump into the darkness ahead. You'll land on a slope and slide downward toward the rope. You have enough light here to see, so wait until you reach the bottom of the slope, then jump off to grab the second rope. Swing forward and jump off to clear a gap and land safely inside a cavern to the south.

Step forward and crawl underneath the rock barrier in front of you. Once past it, take a hairpin turn to the left and locate the underground passage. Hop down into it and turn right. Light a flare if necessary and follow the passage until you come to an intersection where you can make a horseshoe turn to the left and find a small medi-pack in an alcove. Come on out and locate the north passage with a ledge running up to the right. Turn around and allow Lara to slide down the ramp backward. She'll come safely to rest in a dark area near a lovely waterfall.

Light a flare and walk in a westerly direction until you reach a tunnel with a sandy-colored floor. Continue until the tunnel ends with an opening to your left. Drop down through the opening into a small submerged area and note the three openings ahead. Swim into the south opening and allow the current to pull you up through a couple of passages. Pull out of the water and mind the nearby steam blower. There are two parallel east passages here, connected by alcoves and guarded by steam blowers. There are blockages along the way, so use the available openings and make your way east until a connecting door opens upon your approach. Go to the very end of the passage and drop down the hole to your left into the water.

Don't stray too far north, as there's a nearby current that will suck you through the waterfall and make you start your trip all over again if you happen to swim into it. Carefully turn toward the underwater opening and swim south. Follow the well-lit tunnel until you reach an area fortified with wood paneling. Swim up and locate the north opening. Swim through an irregular brown tunnel and surface for air. There's some shotgun ammo in an underwater nook near the NE corner, if you care to hunt for it before proceeding in this large underground chamber.

Pull out onto a platform near the place where you entered this area, and note the nearby jackal statue. First of all, head S through the hallway and climb into the third left alcove. From here line up NE and run-jump into the passage where the chimes of SECRET #3 appear. Follow the passage into a larger area. Head into the right building, up the stairs and jump into the E opening. Pick up flares in the cave and exit this cave. Back in the building climb on the N alcove and run-jump onto the E slope. Grab the edge, shimmy left and climb up for a large medi-pack. Now drop down and enter the N building, pick up a small medi-pack and head upstairs to find a NW cave with more flares. Now you can return downstairs and all the way back through the W passage to return to the previous area. Drop into the water and climb out at the same place as before.

There's another jackal statue very much like the first one tucked away in an area near the SW corner of the chamber. Go over there and push this statue west two times. A cut scene shows a door opening due west from the first statue, so go back there and locate the open doorway. The easiest way to gain access (but almost certainly unintended by the builder) is by wading to the sloped pillar in front of the door, standing against its south face in the corner next to the wall beneath the door, pulling up and immediately hitting the jump key along with the left arrow key. Go inside, make a hairpin turn around to the left and throw the floor lever you'll find in an alcove. Go back the way you came, but hurry, because on the return trip you'll trigger a couple of spike balls that are hidden in the darkness up on the sandy slope.

Jump into the water and bear right, as one of the spike balls will follow you and veer left due to the slope at the doorway. Pull up onto the platform where the first jackal statue sits and go into the south passage in front of the statue. There's a pyramidal outcropping of rock there, behind which is a hole you can swim into. Follow the passage until you reach a bend. If you turn left you'll come to a dead end, but you're rewarded with some crossbow arrows in the far corner for your trouble. Go back for air if necessary, then return and take a right at the bend this time. You'll come to a wood paneled area. Pull up and go into the right alcove for the HAND OF ORION.

Go out, jump back into the water and swim to the entrance. Pull out and go over to the south end of the chamber. The vase on the far left contains a small medi-pack; the others are empty. Turn around, go back to the water hole and pull up into the alcove on your right. Drop down the other side into the water and swim north along the channel. At the end, make a hairpin turn down and to the right, and swim south through the tunnel until you reach the deep wood paneled area. Swim down underneath the rocks and continue west and then north through the passage, and allow the current to spit you down the waterfall. Climb up onto the north side of the nearby ledge and back flip to the sandy beach. Turn to your right, light a flare and run west along the path as you did earlier. Turn left at the end and drop back down into the water.

Turn left and swim into the east opening. Let the current draw you up, but when you reach the crossing at the first higher level, fight to swim straight across so that the current continues to carry you up to a moss-covered area where you can pull out and locate the nearby receptacle for the Hand of Orion. Place it to open the door to your left, then step inside the room and throw the floor lever. A lingering flyby shows the area outside with the ropes and palm trees, and ends with an underwater view in the lagoon. That's where you need to go next.

Leave this room, drop off the hole to your right and allow the current to carry you down to the underwater room in front of the three openings. Go through the south opening, and at the first lateral crossing allow the current to keep carrying you up until you reach the area with the parallel east passages. Go to the other end and jump into the water hole as you did before. This time, however, instead of allowing yourself to be sucked into the waterfall, swim over to the east ledge and pull up. Turn left and walk along the ledge until you reach the NW corner. From here, take a long running jump into the water below. To help get your bearings, pull out onto the ledge against the south bank, then dive back in and swim across to the north side, keeping as far to the right as possible to avoid the current. Surface on the right side of a partially submerged block (one of three arranged in a row) and pull up onto it. Very carefully, lest you wade right off the block and become trapped by the current, sidestep to the north edge of the block, turn to face north and take a running jump toward the dark wall ahead. Grab the wall and climb up a long distance to the top. Pull up to find yourself on a ledge overlooking the indoor pool area.

Safety drop to the floor below and go over to the lighted torch stand in the alcove nearest the SW corner. Carefully sidestep past the flames. The right side of the alcove wall is climbable, so use it to climb up to the very top. Shimmy to the right as far as you can go, around seven corners, and climb up a couple of rungs so that Lara's feet become "set" when you reach the final face. Take a rolling back flip and grab the edge of the ledge behind you. Pull up and, standing on the left side of the ledge (because the right side ahead is blocked by a grate), take a running jump and grab.

Pull up into the opening and light a flare. Walk forward and turn left, and duck down to crawl through a low spot in the tunnel. When you reach the end, turn left and slide down the long slope into a new area. The closed door in the indoor pool area is now open, to your left, and there's an area to your right where you can pick up some flares and place the Hand of Sirius in its receptacle on a grated fence. Do so, and the nearby gate opens while Lara's theme music plays. Go inside and pick up the CARTOUCHE PIECE 2 in the right corner. The three vases are all empty.

Return to the indoor pool area via the open south doorway. Step in front of the receptacle in the east wall, combine the two pieces to form the BA CARTOUCHE, and insert it in the receptacle to open the adjacent double doors. Go inside past the empty vase to your right while the doors shut behind you. Walk down the slight ramp on the right side and take a running jump over the dark pit to the facing ramp ahead. Walk straight forward up the stairs, avoiding another pit to your left, and step into what looks like an altar area. If you turn to your right, the torch there lights up and the right door opens. The same thing doesn't happen, however, when you turn to the left.

Therefore, go by necessity into the room on your right, whereupon two more torches inside light up. There's also another door in the south wall that refuses to open. Leave this room and turn left. (The key to this next maneuver appears to be staying as close to the left wall, all the way around, as you can.) Walk down the steps and take a running jump back over the gap. Turn right and find the adjacent ramp on the other side. Face east and take a running jump with grab (because of the low ceiling on this side) and grasp the edge. Pull up and run forward up the stairs. You can hear the faint sound of a door opening or closing somewhere, and when you step forward further the fourth torch ahead of you becomes lighted and the door to your left opens. A red scorpion follows you inside the darkened room, so reverse roll while drawing your weapons and kill it.

There's another closed door and two unlighted torches in this room, but don't let that bother you. There's also a climbable wall next to the doorway, so climb up the shaft, shift to your right at the top and drop down into a passage. Find the next section of climbable wall here and do the same thing to access a still higher passage. At the end is a room with a series of scarab tiles on the grated flooring.

Drop down to the floor and run across the room (avoiding several potholes along the way) toward the floor lever near the west end. As you approach it a cut scene kicks in; as soon as camera control is restored, reverse roll while drawing weapons, run forward to the east and shoot the red scorpion before it can reach the scarab tile and set the floor ablaze. Now turn around and go back to the floor lever on the platform. Throw it and two doors open in front of you to reveal moveable jackal statues, one to your right and one to your left.

Your objective is to move the two statues onto their respective designer tiles on either side of the floor lever platform. However, be forewarned that, while your attention is so engaged, more killer scorpions will do their best to sneak past you toward the lethal scarab tiles.

First, pull the jackal statue three times out of the south alcove. Then push it once to the west, reverse roll, draw weapons and shoot the scorpion sneaking out of an adjacent south passage. Go back to the statue and push it five more times until it comes to rest on its designer tile. A cut scene shows another scorpion scuttling out of a north passage, so run back to kill it.

Now it's time to perform the same drill with the jackal statute in the north alcove. Pull it out three times, then push it two times in a westerly direction toward its designer tile. This time two scorpions come out to play at the same time. Reverse roll and deal first with the one coming out of a far south passage to your right. As soon as it's dead, reverse roll and kill the second one that's coming out from behind the jackal statue. Go back and push the statue two more times. Another scorpion comes out from a far north passage, so reverse roll and run there to kill it.

Go back and push the statue two more times onto its designer tile, and the door in the NE corner opens silently. Go there and start running up the stairs. A cut scene shows a final scorpion making it successfully to a scarab tile while you watch helplessly. The floor is set on fire, preventing you from going back. Turn around, draw weapons and wait patiently for the scorpion to follow you up the stairs, then exact your revenge.

Resume your trek up the stairs, and you'll soon emerge in an upper level with four floor levers and a closed door in the NW corner. Throw only the two interior levers, and the NE door opens. Crawl inside and step on the scarab tile for a cut scene showing that the floor below is safe once again. Pick up the two HANDS OF SIRIUS, then reverse roll and use a nearby ledge for a shortcut safety drop to the room below.

Go into the passages behind where you moved the two jackal statues and place the Hands of Sirius in their receptacles. When you place the second one, the west double doors open. Be careful as you enter, as there's a steep drop that will kill you. Light a flare and jump to the column ahead. Drop off the north side to a block below, and continue until you reach the bottom. Watch the steam blower as you cross over to an opening where you drop down into a well-lit room with two closed gates. Step onto the tile between the two torches, and the west door opens. Run through the dark room with the decorated floor into another well-lit room, and the west double doors across the way open automatically.

In the next room are many torches and vases. The vases are empty; however, shooting the nearest three on your right turns off all the torches. Shooting the NW vase in front of the double doors gives you a cut scene while the doors open. Step inside and run up the ramp toward the sunshine until you hit the exit trigger.