Levelbase Advent Calendar 2006 -
A WINTER FAIRY TALE, 3 & 4

Levels by Sweet

Walkthrough by Selene

Pickups: 7x Crowns, revolver ammo, torch, Church Key, revolver, flares, lasersight, small medipacks, Library Key, Christmas Record + 3 Secrets (flares + flares + large medipack)

Enemies: Bats, bull

THE HIDDEN CAVES:

You now find Lara in a room with a closed gate ahead and all the crowns placed upon pedestals around the perimeter of the room. The first thing you need to do is to pick up all the seven crowns. For each one you retrieve a gate somewhere will open. Once you've gathered them all the passage ahead will be entirely open for you to run through. Pass straight through the room with the campfire and out into the snowy area ahead to move on to the next part.

THE CASTLE:

Ignore the hole in the ground ahead, instead continue out to the snowy area. You're now standing by the castle, but the drawbridge is up so there's no way you can cross over. Go right(N) and look down to the left to spot an opening in the castle wall further down. There is a stone pillar across from said opening, right below where you stand so drop down onto it and do a running jump over to the opening. Start down the passage and make a first right turn, then slide down to slopes and Lara will end up in a dark room with a pit. At the bottom of said pit there is a moveable piece and a cage. You'll also see two pillars of different sizes, on each of these you should spot the contours of a cage. There is also a lever by the N wall.

First things first: pull the lever to lower the cage in the pit. Now you can drop down there and pull the moveable piece from the corner onto the lowered cage. Use the block by the W wall of the pit to climb out and push the lever back to its original position to raise the cage again, this time with the moveable piece on top. Now notice that there are two ornate tiles by the E wall. You'll need to push/pull the moveable piece onto each of those tiles in order to raise the two remaining cages in the pit(these will remain raised even when you move the piece away from the tile). Starting with the lowest cage closest to Lara make your way over to the opening high up in the N wall and climb up there. Here you'll find an empty pedestal. Place the 1st Crown on it and you'll see a lovely fly-by showing the drawbridge lower, giving you free access to the Castle. If you can get there, that is....

Make your way down to the ground by the lever and head out where you entered in the first place. You'll notice that the slopes have now turned into stairs, quite conveniently considering that it makes it easier(possible at least) to leave that way. Up in the passage from before drop down to the ground. Go through the dark passage E and climb the snowy block in the S/E corner. From here you can climb out onto the floor above. Locate the low block in the N/E corner and facing S/W you can do a standing jump from the edge to grab the opening above. Pull up and on the next level you'll also find a block that will enable you to reach the next opening, from which you can pull up onto the top where you began. It's now time to cross the drawbridge and enter the Castle.

The Cage Room- Going For A Little Dive:

Head up the stairs and on top you're faced with two choices: going straight to end up in the Main Hall or go down the stairs on the left. For now we're going to go for the latter. Follow the passage until a fly-by cuts in, showing you a large room with a closed gate, four cages and a pool. You can shoot the barrels if you like, but there's nothing of interest in any of them. On the elevated ledge by the W wall you'll find some revolver ammo. Notice that three of the cages have moveable pieces trapped inside while the fourth cage cuts off your access to a bunch of torches. Obviously we're going to have to find a way to lower the cages. Also take note of the ornate tiles near each cage(the tiles that separate themselves from the rest, with a golden face on them).

Dive into the water and swim W, then go through either of the submerged archways. On top there is a waterhole where you can surface, should Lara run out of air. You can't climb out of the water there though, as the floor is sloped. Swim S under the arch and on top you'll find an underwater lever by the tile depicting a human, there are two of these levers(one on each side). Pulling both of them you'll see a camerashot of the cages out in the other room. Now swim back out(surface for air if needed) and this time swim through the archway N. Here you'll find two more levers, both in the same position as the two on the other side of the room. For each of these you pull you'll get a camerashot of the cages again, this time around you'll see two of them lower. Return to the room with the cages and climb out of the water.

You'll now need to move the two pieces onto each of the ornate tiles closest to them. Nothing seems to have happened as of now, but locate the jump switches up on the glass window behind the lowered cages and the third cage will lower as well. You now have free access to move the third moveable piece onto the last ornate tile and as you do so the gate in the S wall opens up. There is a thing preventing you from getting much further there though and that is the fact that there's another closed gate behind the one you just opened. Use the third jump switch behind the cage you just lowered and now the fourth and final cage lowers as well. Go over to it and use the jump switch there to open the remaining gate, then pick up a torch from the heap.

NOTE: I received a message from the builder notifying me that if Lara uses the revolver and lasersight to shoot the barrels in the pool here the low wall torches on the W wall will be lit. This way Lara does NOT have to bring the torch with her into the Church like mentioned below, instead she can light it on either of these wall torches.

The Mirror Room- All Will Be Revealed:

Go through the two open gates, jump onto the higher floor at the end and enter the Mirror Room. Lara is keeping an eye on the mirror, making it hard to see what's going on. The mirror does reveal several things though, among them some concealed crawlspaces up by the ceiling. Leave the torch for now and if you look in the mirror you'll see something golden behind the wooden pedestal in the middle. Using the mirror as a help pick up the invisible Church Key from the floor. Now go to the middle of the N wall where you can climb an invisible block, pulling up into an equally as invisible crawlspace on the wall. Crawl left(W) and at the end hang from the edge, shimmy around the corner left and pull up again. Continue crawling left until you reach a new opening W. Go through there to the end and climb up, then head on through the open gate(which closes behind Lara by the way) into a snowy garden.

The Snowy Garden- Finding A Secret:

Head right and shoot the barrels to get some revolver ammo. Near the S/E corner of the garden there are more barrels and when you shoot these you'll find the revolver too. By the W wall(near the snowy mound in the corner) there is a hidden passage under the snow, but for now Lara will only reach a closed gate and not be able to proceed any further down there. Jump onto the mentioned snowy mound in the N/W corner and pull up onto the roof W. Go left and in a depression on the roof on the right-hand side you'll find Secret 1: some flares. Drop down to the ground again and go to the gate in the N wall(right of the mound you climbed onto). To the right of the gate there is a jump switch so pull it to open said gate and re-enter the Castle.

Follow the passage around, but be careful as you'll sooner or later run into a flame emitter in the floor. Time your run past it as the flame ceases, but don't rush ahead as there's another flame emitter right around the next corner. Run past this one as well and go to the end where you can slide down a short slope to end up in the pool with the levers from before. Swim through to the pool in the cage room, climb out of the water and return through the gate to the Mirror Room where you can retrieve the torch(or simply pick up a new one from the heap in the cage room). Leave the room with the cages and return to the ground floor of the Castle. This time go through the wooden hallway W and left to enter the Main Hall.

Follow around the railing to the stairs(noticing the empty record player by the E wall and the closed gate and keyhole in the W wall), go down the stairs to the ground floor and head over to the far E end(still bringing the torch with you of course). At the end you'll find a closed gate flanked by two pedestals. Put the 2nd and the 3rd Crown onto their rightful places on the pedestals and the gate opens. Bring the torch with you and go through the gate to enter the Church.

THE CHURCH:

As you start down the stairs you'll notice a glowing green light and the buzz of some sort of electricity. At the bottom of the first flight of stairs you'll find the culprit down by the floor to the left: behind a grate(which you can shoot by the way) there are electrical currents sweeping the floor. Going that way is in other words not an option for now. Continue down the second flight of stairs to the bottom and you'll find four mirrors giving off some sort of energy plus a platform surrounded by four statues in the middle. There are also three other stairways leading out of the room(four including the one you came from). The stairway you came from is the N staircase. Going up the W staircase you'll only find another grate covering a crawlspace, this one is also leading into a room with electrical currents making it completely impossible for Lara to enter that way. The E staircase leads down to a pool with a closed gate on the left wall and a lever in the pool, indicating that you'll need to drain the pool somehow. All of the so far mentioned paths are currently dead ends so for now head up the S staircase.

The Nave- Jumps And Ropeswings For A Secret:

You'll enter a room with marble busts, blue chests(that you can't shoot) and two closed gates in the left wall. Continue through until you reach a room with two blue statues flanking a large set of double doors in the left wall. In here you're surprisingly ambushed by two bats that you'll need to kill. That done use the key you found in the Mirror Room to unlock the double doors(using the keyhole to the left of the doors). Enter the Nave and some more bats. The camera angle changes here, making it a bit hard to see what you're doing, but leave the torch by the entrance as you don't need it at the moment. Go to the opposite side of the nave(S) and climb onto the ledge here to get some more flares. Drop down and go over to the right(W) where you'll find a lever that opens the black gate next to it. Enter the small room and pick up the revolver ammo to the left. Leave and climb onto the pulpit nearby where you can pick up the lasersight.

Go back towards the entrance and look up in the ceiling to spot a bronze ball. Arm Lara with the revolver combined with the lasersight and shoot it to lower a rope over the nave. If you look up on the E wall across from the rope you'll find a black grate in front of a crawlspace. Once more use the revolver and shoot it out. Now go and climb the ledge where you found the flares and do a running jump N to the first chandelier. Another running jump will take you to the second and you'll need a long running jump + grab to reach the third and fourth chandelier. From the last one you can do a running jump to grab the rope. Swing towards the crawlspace and then jump at the end while pressing Action to grab the edge. Pull up and crawl through to find Secret 2: more flares, then drop down to the ground again.

Return to the last chandelier the way you did before, but this time climb the chain attaching it to the ceiling. It's a bit of a long climb, but at the end you can backflip into a passage, kill a bat and pull the lever to open a gate with a bull waiting behind it(and I who thought this was a Christmas level with no enemies!!!!). Drop down to the chain again and slide down to the chandelier, from here you can drop down to the ground. Now fetch the torch again. Noticed that lowered area on the floor?? If you stand on the higher part of the floor you can use any of the lowered candles to light the torch. Bring it with you and leave the nave.

NOTE: If you're having trouble with the bull you can lock it into the small room in the Nave where you found the revolver ammo(thanks to Sweet for pointing that out to me)

The Bull Run:

Go right(E) and kill a few bats. Proceed around the corners until you see an open gate on the left side. This is the gate you opened earlier and that's where you'll find the dreaded bull. We might as well get rid of it right away, but first go down to the main room with the central platform and leave the torch there for now. Go back up to the bull and save your game. Behind the bull there is an ornate tile. You'll need to get the beast to crash into said tile. Doing so will open the rightmost gate in the wall opposite of the bull room. First lure the bull out of the room and get the small medipack. Now stand in front of the ornate tile and wait for the creature to come crashing ahead. Jump away in the last moment and run out. Dash into the room on the right and place the 4th Crown on the pedestal here. This opens the gate left of the room where you are now. Run in there and place the 5th Crown in its rightful place(the bull is still around so be careful). A camerashot will show you one of the rooms with the electrical currents, said currents will shut off. Run out of the room and down the stairs to the main room, the bull won't follow Lara down there.

Head up the W stairs and crawl through the high crawlspace. This is the room with the lever that you saw in the camerashot before. The floor is now safe so go over and pull the lever. You'll see another camerashot showing you another lever and a now safe floor. Climb back out and return to the main room, then go up the N stairs. Crawl through the crawlspace and pull the lever on the other side. As you do so a camerashot shows you a third room with electrical currents being switched off, this time in a room with a key on a pedestal.

Continue back to the main room and down the E stairs. You're now back at the pool with the lever. Now that you have the revolver and lasersight you can shoot out the underwater grate in the wall opposite. Dive in the water and swim through the now open crack. Ignore the first opening above, it only leads to a closed gate. Continue ahead and swim under the central structure to find an underwater lever. Pulling it opens the gate in the W wall(the one you'd find if you had gone up through the first opening I told you to ignore). Climb onto the central platform and do a running jump to the opening in the E wall. In here you can pull the lever to drain the pool outside.

The Library Key And Another Secret:

Drop down into the drained pool and locate the lever in the N/W corner. When you pull this you'll see a shot of a gate, but it remains closed. Crawl through the narrow crack and pull the lever here too, this opens a gate up in the N wall. Stand on the higher mound by the N wall and jump up to grab the crevice, then shimmy right and pull up right in front of the gate you just opened. Crawl through and out on the now safe floor and pick up the Library Key from the pedestal. Drop down into the drained pool and climb out to the W. Go up the stairs to the main room and this time bring the torch with you and head up the N staircase and the two following it to leave the Church.

You're now back in the Main Hall. Go up the stairs and on the W wall you'll find a keyhole for the Library Key. Go up the stairs and make a first left turn, head all the way to the end(S) and go right. Follow the first right again and continue along the path between the shelves, you'll reach a wooden pedestals with some flares. Head out to where you came from and when you reach the S wall go left(E) all the way to the end and left once more. In the dark N/E corner you'll find a crawlspace up on one of the shelves. Climb up and crawl through there. At the end you'll find an open gate and you're now overlooking the Main Hall. Do a running jump and grab to land on the first chandelier(losing a bit of health in the process), then do two more running jumps and grabs to get to the last chandelier. Climb up the chain and backflip to the floor behind. Jump over the gap E and pick up Secret 3: a large medipack from the pedestal.

Continue out through the opening/crawlspace to the left and climb down the ladder to land in the hallway outside the Main Hall. Return to the Library and this time go right, left and left again to find a small medipack on a pedestal. Turn around and go back to the N wall, then head right and straight ahead to spot a lever. The only problem is that it's currently on fire. Look up in the ceiling in the S/W corner to see a bronze ball. Arm Lara with the revolver and shoot it. You'll see a camera shot of a pedestal somewhere else. Leave the Library(going W, first left and left again). Pick up the torch and this time follow the top floor around out to the hallway by the drawbridge.

Some Lovely Music For Christmas:

Go down the stairs on your right back to the cage room in the basement. Now light the two unlit torches on the W wall and the two on the E wall as well to open a gate out in a snowy area you've been to before. You can leave the torch behind now and go through the open gate in the S wall. You're now back in the Mirror Room so climb the invisible block N and crawl/shimmy around left until you reach the crawlspace leading out to the garden. Head over to the W wall and wade through the snow down to the passage where you'll find the now open gate. Climb up and pick up the Christmas Record from the pedestal you saw in the camerashot earlier. Remember to retrieve the small medipack on the pedestal in the corner next to the fireplace as well. Leave this room and go out through the gate in the N wall. Time your run past the fire emitters and drop into the water, then swim through the archway back to the cage room.

The End Of The Quest:

Leave the basement and go back up to the Main Hall. Place the Christmas Record on the recordplayer by the E wall, enjoy the lovely music and watch the fly-by showing you through the library and a gate there that opens. Go up to the library and go right all the way to the N wall, then head left, left again(W) and make it a final left to find the gate you opened. Go through it out to the hall, then head left and in through the right doorway to the Dining Room. Climb onto the window sill W and place the 6th Crown on the pedestal to the left. You're shown a camerashot of a closed gate. Leave the Dining Room and head N down the hallway. Once you reach the doorway on the left go through there to enter the Living Room. In the window sill ahead you'll find another pedestal, this is where the 7th and final Crown is placed. The gate in the N wall opens so go through there and you'll hear the little dwarves giggling. Go on towards the fireplace and the level ends.