THE TEMPLE OF ARKANT

Level by TRLE Maker

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

Proceed through the passage and around the corner to face a closed gate. In the water on the left side is a small medipack, and on the right side is a floor hole leading to an underwater lever that opens the N gate. Proceed to an outdoor hub area where you're greeted by a wild boar. The closed N door is flanked by four gem receptacles, so you have some work to do here.

Go through the W opening past a side passage and use the reach-in switch in the wall near the end of the ledge to raise a platform so you can reach the first of two ropes. Use them to swing across the chasm to the S opening and enter the next room to awaken two bats. The vases are empty, so take the GEMSTONE (1 of 4) from the plinth and use the ropes to get back across to the N ledge.

Enter the N side passage and deal with another bat. Follow to a wider hallway and jump over the marked spike traps. Continue into the N passage as the door slams shut behind you and multiple corkscrews start descending from the ceiling. Sprint around the corner onto a breaktile and allow Lara to fall into the corridor below. Prepare to shoot an advancing crocodile and enter the W side room for another GEMSTONE (2 of 4). Go to the rubble at the SE corner, face N and jump up to open the ceiling trap door. Pull out and return to the hub area.

Go through the E opening, note the closed door near a snake head receptacle and go down the steps to an enclosed courtyard with an empty vase and a floor trap door. Face S, open it and jump into the water. Follow the passage to an underwater lever that opens the nearby door. Turn right at the wall and follow a ceiling hole where you can pull out into a small room that's connected to an indoor swimming pool. One of the vases hides flares, and when you exit this room you'll awaken two bats. Shoot the crocodile in the shallow water and push the button at the SW corner to open the door on the far side of the pool.

Take a running jump onto the first of three tiles marked with circular symbols on the floor of the pool. Jump to the other two marked tiles as well, for the door will close if you step elsewhere on the floor. Enter the E room, push the floor lever to open a trap door elsewhere and exit to the water hole. Swim back the way you came, but this time continue N and around the corner to find the opened trap door. Pull out, shoot two bats and continue to a larger S room where more bats lurk.

One of the lion statues is a pushpiece. Move it all the way to the NW corner, and a door opens near the SE corner. Enter the next room for an empty vase, a bat and a GEMSTONE (3 of 4). Exit the larger room N to find that a SERPENT STONE has materialized on the sunken floor tile between two lion statues. Jump into the water hole in the next room and swim past a crocodile to pull out to the courtyard. Go N up the steps and turn right to place the Serpent Stone and open the W door. Jump over the fire hole and enter a featureless room.

You can't reach the S ledge, so it appears that you're stuck. However, there's an unmarked pushblock in the N wall, so pull it over toward the ledge so you can use its height to get up there. Turn around and jump to grab the higher N ledge, but don't pull up at the middle where there's a spike trap. Shimmy to the left if necessary to get past the spikes, find the jump switch on the other side of the ledge and activate it to open a door high up in the W all. Get back onto the higher ledge, on the right side this time, and climb the ladder in the W wall to the opened door.

Pull up into the small room and take the GEMSTONE (4 of 4) from the plinth. You could simply leave now and finish the level, but you would miss out on the only secret. Push the button next to the doorway to close the door and awaken a bat. Push it again to re-open the door, climb down the ladder and exit this room to the hub area. Note that the button you pushed has also opened a floor trap door near the NW corner of the central structure (thanks, DJ Full). Drop down into a lower room for the SECRET and collect 2 x small medipack and a large medipack.

Pull out, go to the N wall and place the four Gemstones in their receptacles to lift the door between them. Go through the connecting passage to alert two crocodiles and enter the room to find the ARKANT RELIC on a plinth. When you pick it up, a rope appears at the spot where the level began. As you exit toward the hub area, action music starts playing, so get ready to dash past a horde of skeletons toward the lowered rope you saw in the cut scene. As you approach it, the level ends unceremoniously.