LEVEL 4: SOUTHERN MEXICO - PART 3: THE MIDGARD SERPENT
Health Items: 14  Treasures: 20  Relics: 0  Keys/Puzzle Items: 5

ENTRANCE ROOM WITH SPIKE PIT: Along with this room's main feature, the large pit lined with spikes that almost killed Lara earlier, there's a switch near one wall. This is missing a part, however, and doesn't work yet.

LONG HALLWAY WITH THREE PITS: Hop back on the motorcycle and follow the skull-decorated hallway. At the bottom of the first flight of stairs, continue along the hallway as it turns left, right, right again and then left. At this fourth turning there's a clay jar containing a treasure (29/50). Get it and continue down the next flight of stairs.

The passage now continues straight ahead for quite a distance, but there are several spike pits you have to jump using the motorcycle. (There are some poles sticking out of the wall between the first and second pits, but you can ignore these for now.)

BUG NOTE: If you come to the first pit only to find the ramps collapsed, preventing you from jumping across, you've encountered the infamous Midgard Serpent bug. This is fixed with PC Patch v1.1 available from the main Underworld page.

After jumping the first two pits, slam on the brakes or try the stylish power slide (Crouch) to stop short of the third pit, where the ramps are collapsed. Hop off the bike and pick up the health potion.

Then, to raise the ramps on the third pit, first grab the lower of the two horizontal poles. Climb in toward the wall and turn to face the left side of the alcove. Jump straight up to stand on top of the pole. Then jump toward the left side support column and quickly jump again to leap off the column and grab the pole above. Use the upper pole to swing, jump and grab the handhold on the right side support column. Lara's weight pulls part of the column down, raising the ramps above the pit.

Three enormous spiders crawl up out of the pits. You can probably shoot them one-handed while hanging from the column, though you may need to climb around to the front of the column, depending on where the spiders are. They will try and climb the wall to reach Lara, though. Shoot to knock them off the wall and then riddle each one with bullets as quickly as you can. If you do fight them on the floor, stay away from the edges.

When the coast is clear, position the motorcycle facing the ramp as far back as you can get without backing into the other pit. Again, use the speed burst—hold the brake (Jump), rev the engine (Forward) and then release the brake—to race up the ramp and clear the third pit.

Continue along the passage as it turns to the right. At the next left turn pick up another health potion near the corner to the left, then a third health potion on the right at the bottom of the next flight of stairs. Drive down the stairs to the large room below. Go forward to trigger a cut scene.

Cinematic: Lara walks to the center of the room and checks out the seated statues. She speaks into her camera's audio recorder: "The lords of Xibalba were said to kill visitors for sport by sending them into devious trap rooms." Hmm. . . sounds right up Lara's alley.

BUG NOTE: There is another potential bug in this room. These involve the wooden clubs mentioned below in the section on OPENING THE FOUR CORNER ROOMS. A few players have found that after picking up one of these clubs and then dropping it in another location, the club then becomes stuck in the floor or otherwise unusable. After reloading the game, the club is missing entirely, so the level cannot be completed. I highly recommend not picking up either club until you are ready to use it and then doing so immediately.

LORDS OF XIBALBA STATUE ROOM: The door where you entered closes, trapping Lara in this room with 2 giant spiders, along with several small ones. When fighting giant spiders in a safe, open area, try and keep your distance while firing constantly. This is also a good spot to use the enemy vault maneuver: get a target lock on one of the spiders, run toward it and jump. Lara will leap over the spider and land behind it. So you can continue firing without immediately being knocked down. Also, consider using the spear gun here. It's surprisingly effective at penetrating tough chitin. When dealing with the small spiders, switch back to pistols to conserve ammo.

Before going on, make a few pick-ups around the room: There's a health potion and a breakable jar with a treasure (30/50) just to the left of the entrance (i.e., left when Lara's back is to the door). And, to the right of the staircase on the opposite side of the room, there's a health potion on the floor and 2 more health potions on the low ledge just to the right of the first.

If you want to, you can also obtain another treasure (31/50) by climbing to the alcove directly above the entrance. Grab the small stone handhold to the left of the door. Jump straight up twice to grab the long, narrow ledge that runs along above the door. Climb to the right, jumping to the right to get past the broken part of the ledge just above the door. Continue climbing to the right and then jump up to grab another small handhold above. Climb to the left and jump left to grab the edge of the alcove. Pull up and take the treasure. Then hang from the edge of the opening, but don't drop down directly. It's too far. To get down without losing any health, go back the way you came. Or, if you don't mind taking a little damage, drop from the lower handhold to the right of the door.

OPENING THE FOUR CORNER ROOMS: Now it's time to figure a way out. Notice the 4 colored niches on the floor at the center of the room and the 2 square pressure pads near the exit. These are all part of the mechanism that opens the exit. You'll need a key for each of the niches, and in order to get those keys, you'll need to open the 4 doors at the corners of this room.

Pick up the gold-tipped club lying at the feet of one of the seated statues. Stand in front of the statue and press Interact to replace the club. Then go to the top of the long staircase that leads up to one of the corner doors (it's the only staircase that's completely intact) to find a second club. Return to the circle and give the club to the other statue that's missing one. When you do this, an octagonal, table-like structure rises up in the center of the room; the 4 statues seated with their backs to the corners lay their clubs across their laps; and the bands securing these statues to their bases retract, enabling them to rotate.

Go to each of the 4 movable statues in turn, stand in front of it, grab its club and rotate the statue to face away from the stone table and toward one of the corner doors. Each time you do this, a door opens. Open all four of them now to save backtracking later.

It doesn't matter which door you enter first. You'll need to go through all four eventually. Here is one possible sequence.

RATTLING HOUSE KEY: Climb the intact stone staircase (i.e., the one where you found the club earlier) and enter the room at the top. Six sets of enormous pounding blocks stand between you and the artifact on the pedestal ahead. Getting through them from this side is not too hard. Just stand at the center of the aisle, where the two sets of blocks meet, as close to the first set of blocks as possible. When they begin to open, sprint forward and you should make it through before they start to close again.

Take the RATTLING HOUSE KEY from the pedestal and turn around to face the blocks. Several giant spiders enter after you take the key, but it's unlikely they'll manage to get through the trap without getting squashed. Still, you may want to wait until the spiders stop coming before you proceed.

To get out of the rattling house, again stand close to where the first set of blocks meet, facing straight down the aisle between the blocks. When they open, grapple the shiny metal ring on the stone block above the doorway. Pull it down and drag it along the aisle between the pounding blocks. If the cable comes loose, just wait for the pounding blocks to open and grapple the ring once more. Keep tugging the block toward Lara until it stops in the groove between the nearest set of pounding blocks.

Now climb on top of the block with the ring. As long as you don't step off the edge, it's safe. Stand at the right side of the block facing left. Just as the pounding blocks are about to come together, chimney jump between the blocks, so Lara grabs the top of the block on the right. Pull up to stand on top of the block and make your way toward the right wall. As long as you stay near the wall, Lara will be able to cross over the tops of the blocks safely.

When you reach the farthest block, walk to the end of it but don't drop down. Wait for it to move toward the center of the room and then jump into the alcove with the treasure (32/50). Pick it up. Then step to the edge of the alcove. As soon as the blocks start to separate, drop down and run out of the way. Follow the short, dark passageway to the exit.

When you emerge in the LORDS OF XIBALBA STATUE ROOM, another giant spider and several small spiders are waiting. You can probably kill most of them from the stairs. If not, go down to the floor to take care of them, or they may bother you during the next climb.

CLIMBING TO THE FLAME HOUSE: From the top of the long staircase outside the RATTLING HOUSE, facing downstairs, turn left and Step out onto the small ledge with the carved animal head. Jump from there to grab the yellowish metal beam ahead. Pull up, walk to the end of the beam and jump to grab the narrow ledge on the square pillar ahead. Climb around to the left, either by traversing or by pulling up and sidestepping along the ledge. From there, jump to grab the narrow cylindrical column ahead. Point the camera toward the rough stone handholds on the nearby wall and jump to grab them.

Climb the rough handholds around the corner and down to the right. Position Lara as high and as far to the right as you can and then jump back to grab the first of two horizontal poles. Swing and jump to the second pole. Climb to the left a bit if necessary and then jump up to squat on top of the pole. Jump forward to grab the narrow corner ledge ahead.

Climb around to the right and jump to grab the next skinny column. Point the camera toward the narrow ledge on the square pillar ahead and jump to grab it. Pull up and sidestep around to the opposite side of the column, or traverse around to the other side and then pull up.

While standing on the narrow ledge, jump straight up to grab the horizontal pole with the hooked end. Climb hand over hand to the end of the pole. Continue pressing the same direction key (or press on the control stick) as though you were still climbing along the pole. Lara's legs will start to swing back and forth, toward and away from the next pole. When her legs swing toward the pole, press Jump to leap from the first pole and grab the second. Climb in toward the next column and drop to grab the narrow ledge below.

Climb around to the left and stand on the narrow ledge. Jump from there to the yellowish metal beam jutting out of the wall. (It's a little hard to see the beam from here, but if you just stand Lara at the middle of the ledge and jump away from it, she should land on the beam with no problem.) Then jump from the beam to the doorway. Break the clay jars on the threshold and get 2 treasures (33 and 34/50). Just inside the room, before the traps, there's another breakable jar, which also holds a treasure (35/50).

FLAME HOUSE KEY: Observe the various flame jets in order to suss out the safe path to the key. Stand to the right of center facing the traps. When the first two flames, emanating from the gargoyle heads on the side walls, go out, run forward to the safe spot between the gargoyle on the floor and the right wall. Jump straight up to grab the pole above.

If you are collecting treasures, then turn around so Lara is hanging facing the entrance. (Otherwise, continue facing the key and skip the rest of this paragraph.) Jump up to stand on the pole and then jump forward to grab the next pole. Climb hand over hand to the right end of the second pole and then pull up to stand on it. Jump forward to grab the edge of the alcove with the treasure (36/50). When you have it, hang from the edge and drop to the floor. Then return past the first flame jet on the right to the first horizontal pole.

Hang from the first pole facing left and then press Jump to crouch on top of the pole. When the flame jet from the gargoyle on the floor goes out, quickly walk to the left end of the pole. Lara will be safe from the flame here.

Now watch the flame on the floor beneath the next pole. When it begins to subside, jump to grab the pole, climb to the right (i.e., away from the wall and the flame jet) and pull up to crouch on top of the pole. Turn toward the wall. (Lara should stand up on the pole when you tap the direction key or press on the stick.) Wait for the flame below to go out. Then quickly walk along the pole until Lara is standing beneath the shorter pole above. Jump up to grab it.

Turn toward the key, swing and jump to the next pole and then to the platform ahead. Take the FLAME HOUSE KEY.

To get back to the entrance, begin by grabbing the horizontal pole on the left wall (i.e., left when Lara is facing the entrance), pull up onto it and jump up to grab the longer pole above. Climb hand over hand to the right, onto the next pole and on toward the wall. Turn so Lara is hanging facing the entrance. Wait for the upper flame jet on the right wall to go out, then swing, jump and grab the pole beyond it. Wait for the flame jet on the floor below to go out. Drop to grab the pole directly below and quickly climb to the left end of the pole. Now, either pull up onto the pole or just dangle. Wait for the flame jet on the floor ahead to go out and then swing, jump and grab the pole above it, and then, as Lara swings forward, jump again to land near the entrance. Follow the short hallway back to the STATUE ROOM and drop down to the floor.

CLIMBING TO THE JAGUAR HOUSE: Cross the room to the wall opposite the entrance. Grapple the metal ring on the ledge above and climb up. Grab the health potion at the right end of the ledge. Then go to the left end and turn to face out toward the open room. Jump to grab the flat top of the fallen column ahead. Pull up and turn right.

Slide down the side of the fallen column and jump just before the end to grab the edge of the doorsill ahead. Pull up and smash the jars on the left to obtain a treasure (37/50).

JAGUAR HOUSE KEY: Follow the dark passageway to a jumble of fallen rocks. Roll through the low opening. There's a treasure (38/50) on the floor just to the right. Along with the JAGUAR HOUSE KEY on the pedestal, you'll find a health potion and another treasure (39/50) in a jar on the platform.

If you're not treasure hunting, simply go out the way you came. But if you want the next treasure, climb the rocks to the right of the low opening. Position Lara at the middle of the ledge, near the back edge, so she'll have the longest possible run-up to the edge. The name of the house should give you a clue as to what's required here. Sprint, like a jaguar, and jump to grab the edge of the alcove containing the treasure (40/50). Note that a normal running jump won't work here; you must sprint (Forward + Shift on the PC, L1 on the PS3, LB on the Xbox 360). Once you have it, drop down to the floor and exit the way you came.

A giant spider meets you on the way out, and there are 2 more giant spiders out in the STATUE ROOM. Deal with them as you have the others and then head for the final challenge.

CLIMBING TO THE RAZOR HOUSE: After exiting the JAGUAR HOUSE, go to the right, onto the low platform with four tall columns adorned with skeletons. (This ledge is on the left side of the LORDS OF XIBALBA STATUE ROOM if Lara's back is toward the entrance.) At the back of this low platform is a narrow alcove. Chimney jump up the sides of the alcove to reach the narrow stone ledge about halfway up on the right.

Jump up to stand on the narrow ledge and then jump forward to grab the nubby stone handholds on the other side of the alcove. Climb up to reach the narrow, corner handhold above. Climb around the corner, but don't go all the way to the left. Instead, jump to the right across the alcove to grab onto the rough handholds on the wall beyond. Climb down and to the right as far as you can and then jump past the area with no handholds to grab onto the wall to the right. Climb diagonally upward and to the right as far as possible. Then jump to the right to grab the skinny column.

Climb up the column. Then, if you want the treasure (41/50) on the ledge to the left, jump across to get it. (Stand on top of the column and jump from there, if that's easier for you.) Then jump back to the skinny column and climb all the way up to stand on top of it. Point the camera toward the next skeleton-adorned column and jump to grab it. Climb up the column a little if necessary and then jump to grab the next column. Climb down a little toward the spikes and then jump from this column to perch on top of the fourth one. From the top of the fourth column, jump to grab the narrow ledge running around the square pillar ahead. Either pull up and sidestep or simply traverse around the pillar to the other side.

NOTE: If you're having trouble jumping from column to column, understand that it doesn't matter how Lara is positioned on the column where you start. The important thing is to point the camera toward the column you want her to grab. Then just press Forward + Jump and she'll do it correctly.

Jump straight up to grab the horizontal pole above. Climb hand over hand to the end of the pole. Continue pressing the same direction key (or press on the control stick) as though you were still climbing along the pole. Lara's legs will start to swing back and forth, toward and away from the next pole. When her legs swing toward the pole, press Jump to leap from the first pole and grab the second. Climb in toward the next column and drop to grab the narrow ledge below.

Now, pull up and sidestep around the corner to the right, or traverse around the corner and then pull up. Jump from there to the yellowish metal beam jutting out of the wall. (It's a little hard to see the beam from here, but if you just stand Lara at the middle of the ledge and jump away from it, she should land on the beam.) Then jump from the beam to the doorway. Go inside and follow the dark corridor to the trap room.

RAZOR HOUSE KEY: This next bit looks much more difficult than it is. To get past the series of spear and blade traps, start near the middle of the room a few steps back from the first set of spears. When they retract, step forward past the groove where they emerge from the floor. Immediately stop moving forward and crouch. At this point, a situational adrenaline sequence begins and a set of slicing blades whips back and forth above Lara's head. The camera shifts to one side, making it difficult to maneuver, but it's OK. As long as you stay low, there's no need to move at all. The blades won't touch Lara. Then, when the blades stop moving, you'll have control of the camera again, and you can stand up and walk forward toward the second set of spears. When they go up, run under them, stop and crouch again. As time slows and a second set of blades does the slice-and-dice thing above Lara's head, just stay still and low. When the blades stop moving, stand up, walk around them and approach the third set of spears. Wait for them to retract and run through.

BUG NOTE: It's possible to get past the first set of spears and then accidentally jump back toward the entrance (e.g., when the camera goes wiggy due to the adrenaline sequence). Since the spears remain extended once you pass them, you're then stuck outside, unable to get the key. If this happens, do not go back outside, since this can trigger another checkpoint. Just save the game manually and reload, or, quit without saving and reload the autosave. This will place Lara at the entrance with the traps reset and ready to go.

Once you make it past the traps, take the health potion in the right corner and the RAZOR HOUSE KEY from the pedestal.

To get out, and get a treasure in the process, turn around to face the entrance and go to the right wall. Climb the rocks from bottom right to top left. Then jump over the spears to land on top of the nearest inverted blade. Walk to the end of it and jump to the next blade. Jump from this blade to grab the next; pull up. Then walk to the end of the third blade and jump to the fourth. From there, you can jump to grab the alcove above the entrance, where you'll find a treasure (42/50). When you have it, hang from the edge and drop to the floor. (If you don't want the treasure, just drop down from the fourth blade.)

Return through the dark hallway to the LORDS OF XIBALBA STATUE ROOM. Another giant spider and a large number of small spiders come out of the stonework to bug Lara. You can shoot most of them from the ledge, but keep an eye out for stragglers after you drop to the floor.

OPENING THE EXIT: At this point, you should have all four keys. If you're missing any of them, check the walkthrough above for details. Go to the octagonal table at the center of the room and place each key in its proper niche. Each time you insert a key, part of one of the four corner thrones unlocks. When you've unlocked all four, go to the front of each throne in turn and push it toward the center of the room. When you've moved all four, the door where you entered this room opens. But that's not where you need to go.

To open the way to the lower areas of the ruins, return to the motorcycle and drive it onto one of the 2 pressure pads near the entrance. Hop off the bike and stand on the other pad. This raises the octagonal table, revealing a passageway below.

LONG, DARK TUNNEL: Get back on the bike and drive down the ramp into the hallway below. Continue down several flights of stairs. When you come to the bottom and are about to go up stairs for the first time, stop the bike and get off. In a clay jar near the right wall you'll find a treasure (43/50).

At the top of the stairs is what looks like an impassable pile of rocks, but if you start at the bottom of the stairs and rev the engine before taking off, you can use the stone ramp on the left to jump the motorcycle over the rocks. Stop the bike on the other side and get off. Turn around to find another treasure (44/50) in a jar to the right of the rock pile.

Get back on the bike and continue to the next cave in, a short distance ahead. As you approach, you'll see a close-up of a carved animal skull lying next to a real human skeleton. Dismount and pick up the carved skull. This is the XIBALBA KEY. You'll need it later to leave the ruins.

Climb up the rocks, duck through the low opening and drop down on the other side. Again, look back toward the rocks through which you just came. There's another treasure (45/50) on the right. Get it and continue along the hallway toward the light ahead.

Cinematic: As Lara passes through a section of the hallway lined with carvings, she interprets the pictures. "The Midgard Serpent, Jörmungandr, that lies on the bottom of the ocean, encircling all the world," she speaks into the recorder. "The coming of Ragnarök. . . . Jörmungandr thrashes beneath the sea, flooding the land and vomiting its deadly poison into the air."

She moves along the wall to a carving of a figure with a huge war hammer battling the serpent. "The final battle of the gods. Thor kills Jörmungandr with his hammer, Mjolnir, but then he retreats only nine steps before he succumbs to the serpent's venom."

After the cut scene finishes, turn around to find another treasure (46/50) in a jar on the right at the bottom of the stairs. Get it and continue down to the room with the blue water.

Cinematic: Lara examines the area, noting that ancient sites such as this must have been the inspiration for various underworld myths, perhaps because they were protected by the walking dead.

MIDGARD SERPENT POOL – UPPER LEVEL: Lara's observations turn out to be quite accurate. Even though they aren't real serpents, the impressive statues do spew toxic vomit, so stay out of the water. And keep your eyes open as you explore. The first undead creature, a panther thrall, rises from the pool on the far side of the room and races around the perimeter toward Lara. If you shoot at it as it approaches, backing up the stairs when it gets closer, you should be able to kill it easily with pistols. Just be sure to stomp on its bones (stand close and press Interact) so it doesn't reanimate.

Pick up the health potion beside the pool near the entrance and head to the right. On the right side of the pool there's a crack in the walkway where a small stream of poisoned water crosses the walkway. As you approach, a human thrall rises up from the stream and attacks.

These skeletal remains of ancient Mayans are not too powerful, but they do spit poison from a distance. If you run forward and blast a thrall with the shotgun as it materializes out of the water, it will fall back into the pool and dissolve. (Thanks to harel for that tip.) Otherwise, either stay back out of range while shooting or rush in, plant a flying kick to knock the skeleton down (run toward target and press Interact), and then blast it with the shotgun a few times before it can get up. Just take care as you fight not to accidentally slip into the deadly pool. And unless you knock the human thralls into the pool, or destroy them with explosives or an adreanline head shot, you'll need to smash their bones to prevent them from rising up again.

After you've dealt with the first one, jump across the gap in the walkway and head to the left. Four more Mayan thralls rise from the pool. Again, if you run right up to the pool, you can use the shotgun to destroy the thralls before they get a foothold. If you don't get there in time and end up fighting the whole group, try tossing a grenade or two into the crowd and then run like hell. They don't move fast, so you may be able to kill several of them at once this way. If any of them survive, finish them off with pistols, SMGs or the assault rifle from a distance. Just be sure to stomp the bones of any thralls that weren't destroyed by grenades or an adrenaline head shot.

When the first group has been destroyed, another 3 human thralls emerge from the pool. Deal with them as you did the others.

FIRST SERPENT'S HEAD: When the coast is clear, go all the way around the edge of the room to the back of the shorter serpent statue. Climb up on its right side and jump to grab the horizontal pole sticking out of its nostril. Lara's weight pulls the head down, closing the serpent's mouth and causing the water level in the pool to recede.

Do not grapple the ring under the serpent's chin. Doing this re-opens the mouth, refilling the pool. Instead turn around on the pole, swing and jump back to the ledge beside the head. Hop down on the other side and turn right. Climb the rocks and grab onto the narrow horizontal ledge ahead. Climb around to the left as far as you can go and then jump back to land near the entrance.

CLIMBING DOWN TO THE MIDDLE LEVEL: At the edge of the ledge overlooking the pool, opposite the stairs and near where you found the health potion earlier, there's a flat section of the ledge on which Lara can hang.

While hanging here you can see several flat handholds on the side of the column below. Drop down three times to grab the lowest of the handholds. The third drop is a long one, so you'll need to press Interact to do a saving grab. This brittle handhold immediately starts to crack under Lara's weight, so quickly traverse around the corner of the column to the right before the handhold crumbles, dumping Lara in the toxic pool. Continue to move quickly, as the handhold breaks off behind Lara. Traverse all the way around to the opposite side of the column from where you started. Climb all the way to the right and jump to grab the next column. Again, the handhold begins to crack, so quickly climb to the right and jump to the flat ledge beyond.

MIDGARD SERPENT POOL – MIDDLE LEVEL: Turn right and climb the rough stone ledges. At the top turn right and jump straight up to grab the metal beam; pull up. Walk to the right along the first beam. Turn and walk along the longer beam that runs parallel to the wall. About halfway along, the beam starts to crack. Don't hesitate here or Lara will fall into the pool. Either cross the weak section quickly using the walkover maneuver (Forward + Duck) or step back onto the safe part of the beam you've already crossed and then, when the beam breaks, walk to the end and jump the gap. On the other side of the broken section, continue along the tops of the beams toward the corner of the room, and then drop down to the floor.

Turn right (so the pool is on Lara's right) and go forward cautiously. A pair of Mayan thralls emerges from the pool ahead. When you've destroyed them 2 more thralls rise up to take their place. When you've dealt with the second pair of thralls, go forward to the gap in the walkway and jump to grab the handhold on the square pillar above the toxic stream. Climb around the corner to the left and pull up to stand on the narrow ledge. Chimney jump between the two columns to grab the handhold higher up on the second column. Climb around the corner and on to the left as far as you can go. It's difficult to see from here, but there's a beam behind Lara. Jump back to land on it. Walk along the beams until Lara is above solid ground. Then drop to the floor.

Head toward the next corner and turn right to spot a health potion on top of a large stone block. Climb up and take it. Then walk to the end of the block and you'll see a metal ring on the ceiling ahead. Grapple the ring and then jump forward off the ledge. (Be sure to jump instead of just stepping off, or Lara will end up in the pool.) Adjust Lara's angle on the cable so she's squarely facing the stone block on the opposite side of the pool. Swing back and forth to build up momentum and then jump to grab the edge of the block. Pull up.

The gap in the walkway ahead is too wide to jump. So, while standing on the same block that you grabbed after swinging across the pool, turn to face the big statue of Thor. Grapple the metal ring on the side of his shield and pull to move the shield toward you. Keep tugging until the shield is parallel to the walkway on the left. You may have to adjust Lara's position on the stone block to get the leverage you need to pull the shield into place.

Now jump to grab the horizontal crevice on the front of the shield. Climb to the left along the shield. Then jump back to grab the column behind. Climb to the left all the way around the column. Position Lara at the corner of the column so the ledge is behind her and jump back to land there. Once Lara reaches the corner of the column, you want to move quickly, because 2 Mayan thralls emerge from the pool at the far end of the ledge. If you jump back right away, you'll have plenty of time to kill them before they're upon Lara. Just take care not to accidentally back up into the crack in the floor. When they fall, 2 more thralls emerge.

After you've destroyed all four walking dead, pick up the health potion and treasure (47/50) lying on the floor near the spot where Lara first landed on this ledge.

SECOND SERPENT'S HEAD: You can't reach the horizontal pole on the second serpent's head from the brownish stone block between the columns, as you did for the first. So instead, climb the handholds on the column directly behind the serpent's head. Climb around the corner to the right end of the upper handhold and jump from there to grab the pole. Again, Lara's weight closes the serpent's mouth, lowering the water level further, revealing a platform in the middle of the pool that had been submerged before.

While still hanging from the pole, turn around and swing back to the ledge. Hang from the edge of the stone block between the two columns and climb to the right, onto the handhold beneath the serpent's neck. Then drop down onto a small, square ledge at water level.

MIDGARD SERPENT POOL – LOWER LEVEL: Hop over to the central platform and fight 2 Mayan thralls that rise out of the pool. When you've destroyed them both, head for the far right corner of the platform (i.e., far right if Lara's back is toward the small, square ledge where you first touched down on this level). Jump from the outer corner of the platform to the small stone ledge ahead and climb up onto the block to retrieve another treasure (48/50). Jump back to the big platform.

Stand near the massive carved screw at the center of the platform and grapple either of the metal rings on top of it. Pull on the cable to turn the screw. If it doesn't move, adjust Lara's position so she's pulling from the other direction. As you pull, the screw turns, going deeper into the floor. When you can't turn it any farther, leave the grapple attached, walk to the other side of the screw and pull some more. Repeat this until you've turned the screw all the way down to the floor.

At this point a brief cinematic shows the Thor statue raises its head and opens its arm, revealing a small hollow inside its chest. If you look closely, you can see THOR'S BELT within.

To get there, climb the short column next to the screw. Grab the health potion on top and then turn around jump to grab the foot of the steps leading up to the hidden compartment. Pull up and approach THOR'S BELT.

Another cinematic shows Lara reaching for the belt, only to have it disintegrate in her hand, leaving a similar device to the ones that powered the gauntlets. As she examines the belt device she notices a blue glow emanating from the gauntlets in her pack. So she tries on all three artifacts together and, voilà, nearly a complete set.

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Tomb Raider Underworld
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