LEVEL 10: THE TOMB OF SEMERKHET

Secrets: 7

ENTRANCE AND BEETLE ROOMS: Shoot the two jars to get the Uzi clips and large medipak inside. Then slide down the ramp.

Cut scene: A horde of beetles scamper along the hallway toward Lara.

You can't kill the beetles. (So why even bother with the sturdy boots, I ask?) Quickly jump up to grab the handholds on the ceiling and traverse along the hallway to the far end. Let go and slide into a room with a climbing pole. Take a standing jump to grab the pole and slide down to the MIDDLE level. Don't go all the way to the bottom yet, since it's all about beetles down there. At least read the note below first so you'll know what to expect.

Climb the pole to the section with a thin brown stripe halfway between two thick brown stripes just above floor level. Position Lara between the thick stripes and press Jump to back flip off the pole. Explore this room, minding the gap around the perimeter. There's a small medipak in the left vase of the pair and a wooden TORCH lying on the step below the lit burner. If you like, you can pick up the torch, light it using the burner, then drop down into the room below. The torch is supposed to protect Lara from the beetles as she explores.

(NOTE: I found the torch very unwieldy, since Lara can't climb with it or reach into the niches when she's holding it. And it only does a half-assed job of keeping the beetles at bay. So my recommendation is to skip the torch business altogether and just run around to the various niches as quickly as possible to get the job done. Running jumps help keep Lara's feet off the ground, and you can use medipaks as needed to repair the beetle bites.)

Head for the small, rectangular niches in the alcoves on three sides of the lower room (all but the one with the lit burner). Make Lara drop the torch if she's holding it, but be sure not to drop it right next to a niche. If you do, she'll pick up the torch when you press Action instead of reaching into the opening. One of the niches (south side) contains a small medipak. The other two (north and east) have mechanisms you need to operate in order to open the exit door on the upper level. When you've done this, run back to the pole, climb up, and back flip to the floor.

Jump the gap and go through the door you just opened. It closes behind you. Go to the orange-and-gold door on the left (the one with the vertical crack) and use Action to push it open. Follow the passage to the next area.

SENET GAME BOARD: The huge game board is a variation on Senet, a backgammon-like game which was actually played by ancient Egyptians. Jump to the small ledge in the near left corner (when facing the game board) and from there to the ledge with the ladder. Climb up and dismount on the right. This is secret #1 (31/70), wideshot shells and a small medipak. Take a diagonal standing jump from the left side of the ledge to grab the ladder. Climb back down.

(NOTE: You can avoid the ROOM WITH POOLS AND FLAME NICHES and ROOM WITH SIX FLAME NICHES, described below, by taking advantage of a small bug here. Take a running jump from the protruding corner of the raised senet board to grab the bottom of the balcony. Pull up. Now you can play senet without going through all the trouble involved in collecting the rules. Skip down to 'A GAME OF SENET' below at the ***. If you like, you can go into the FLAME NICHE area and collect secret #2.)

Drop to the floor near the game board. Cross the room to the wide doorway below the balcony with the face. Enter here and climb the ladder to the wide hallway above. Climb up to an elevated hallway and continue to a large room where you can drop down.

ROOM WITH POOLS AND FLAME NICHES: Kill the 2 black dogs lurking about. Now choose the long route, beginning with the next paragraph, the shortcut, below at the ****.

Cross the room to the 3 flame niches. The left and right flames oscillate on and off. The center one flames steadily. Stand as close as you can to the right niche without letting Lara catch fire. When the flame dies down, run forward and reach into the niche to operate a mechanism that turns off the middle flame. Reach into the middle niche to operate another mechanism which lowers a pink marble block just to the right, opening up a passageway. Last, wait for the flame in the left niche to recede, then reach in to grab a small medipak.

ROOM WITH SIX FLAME NICHES: Go through the door you just opened and wade through a shallow pool to a room with 6 flame niches, three on the left, three on the right. The block door closes behind you. I have labeled the six niches A through F, clockwise from the near left, in the diagram below. When you enter there is no flame in C. B, E and F have steady flames; A and D have oscillating flames.

Reach into niche C for a box of shotgun shells. Stand Lara facing niche A, wait for the flame to die down, then run forward and reach in to operate the mechanism that turns off the flame in E. Use the mechanism in E to turn off the flame in F. Use the mechanism in F to raise a golden cage out in the room where you killed the dogs. This also makes the flame in niche B begin to oscillate. Stand Lara facing B, wait for the flame to die down, then run forward and reach in to operate the mechanism that opens the exit door nearby. Finally, when the flames in D die down, reach in for a small medipak. If you want to, reach into niche again to operate a mechanism raising another golden cage in the other room. Doing this also turns off the flame in this niche.

Climb out of the depression on the side with the deep pit (not the pool, where you came in). Jump up to grab the handholds on the ceiling and traverse around the corner to the exit. Return to the room where you killed the dogs.

Climb onto the block next to the gold cage on the right, then up on top of the cage. Turn and take a running jump from the top of the cage to the ledge on the right side of the central structure. Alternatively, climb up onto the cage on the other side of the room (the one raised using the mechanism in niche D) and take a running jump from there to the central structure.

There's another flame niche in the alcove ahead. Wait for the flame to abate and use the mechanism to turn off some flames in the room below. Before climbing down, go for a secret. Come out of the alcove and follow the ledge to the left. Turn around so the sloped block is on Lara's right and drop back to grab the edge of the ledge. Traverse to the right and keep going, using the wooden slats like a ladder to climb over to the right and around the corner. (If Lara refuses to traverse from the flat ledge onto the ladder, try hanging from the ledge just beyond the corner, then traversing around the corner and continuing on, or stand at the left side of the ledge and side flip onto the sloped block. Slide back, grab the edge and start climbing.) Keep climbing to the right, around the inside corner, then up to the alcove. Inside is secret #2 (32/70), wideshot shells and a large medipak. Climb down the ladder and drop to the floor.

(****NOTE: If you follow this shortcut, you can avoid all but the very last of the flame niches altogether and still get the secret. You can get the first medipak from one of the three niches if you like, but you'll miss the shells and medipak in the ROOM WITH SIX FLAME NICHES. Instead of opening the pink marble block door, climb on top of the block and turn toward the flame niches. From here you'll be able to see the alcove with the secret high on the wall above. Position Lara at the front outside edge of the marble block. Angle her toward the alcove as well as you can. Hop back once to give her room to run. Then take a running jump,tapping the right direction key while she's in the air, so she jumps past the corner of the alcove and pivots to face the climbing wall. Grab the bottom edge of the wall and climb up to the secret. After getting the secret, climb around the central structure to the left to get to the flame niche. Activate the mechanism inside to turn off the flames in the room below. Climb down the ladder and drop to the floor.)

Go down the wide ramp to the room below. Now that the flames are out, you can take the RULES OF SENET from the pedestal. This causes a trapdoor back at the SENET GAME BOARD to open. Return to the game room by going back up the ramp, crossing the room to the high doorway where you entered, and following the passage above. Cross the game room, climb the ladder in the other alcove, through the trapdoor you just opened, to the balcony.

Cut scene: The head of Semerkhet (?) pops out of the wall. Apparently this is to be your opponent.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: The path from here on depends on whether you win or lose. You must LOSE THE GAME in order to find all the secrets. Unless you don't care one way or the other, be sure to save your game before starting the competition.)

(***)A GAME OF SENET: To examine the rules, go to inventory, select them and press Action. These give you a basic idea of what to do. I'll elaborate a bit. You move the colored pieces; Semerkhet moves the gold ones. To take a turn, press Action to spin the tiles on the golden frame. You may then advance one of your pieces by the number of white tiles showing. Step on the colored square (red, green or blue) corresponding to the piece you want to move. The pieces advance as shown in the diagram to the right. Your pieces follow the path marked in red; your opponent's pieces follow the path marked in gray. If you spin all black tiles, this counts as six. If you spin a six or if one of your pieces lands on a square with an ankh, take an extra turn. You may not land on a square occupied by one of your own pieces. If you land on a square occupied by one of your opponent's pieces, it is sent back to the start. The first player to get all three of his pieces to the final ankh wins.

If you win the game and want to take that path, knowing you'll miss five secrets, pick up the walkthrough below at the *****.

LOSING THE GAME OF SENET - RAMPS AND FIRST SECRET: When you lose the game, the four light blue tiles in the floor below the game board open. There's a secret to be had on the way down to the area below. It's possible to get it using a couple of tricky jumps if you drop down through either of the two holes on the south side of the room. It's quite a bit easier, and less damaging to Lara's health, if you drop down through one of the two holes on the north side.

Save your game in case you miss the secret. Now slide down the ramps facing forward. When you see an opening ahead try to jump just before the turn in the passage, and press Action to grab the ledge. Pull up and drop into the next room for secret #3 (33/70). Take a standing jump from any of the ledges to grab the pole. Slide down to the room with the goodies: Uzi clips on the floor, plus a small medipak and wideshot shells in the vases.

Climb back up the pole and into the opening near the ramp. Save your game here, because the positioning for the next move is fairly precise. Stand at the edge of the opening and step off to land in the middle of the slope. Slide down the ramp and press Action but don't jump. If she's in the middle of the ramp, Lara will grab the next pole. If not, she'll land on the ledge below, but only if you press Action. (If you don't press Action, or if you slide down facing uphill, she'll fall to her death.) Climb down the pole and back flip onto one of the flat ledges with the items (not the steep slopes next to the ledges). Take the Uzi clips and small medipak, and slide down the pole or safety drop to the ledge below. A bat flies in from the stairwell, so stay alert.

ROOM WITH TWO DANGLING ROPES: Take a running jump to the ledge with the stairwell. Go up to the room at the top of the stairs.

[NOTE: If you dropped down through one of the openings on the south side of the SENET GAME BOARD ROOM (i.e., bypassing secret #3), you'll enter this room from the other side. There are poisoned arrows and shotgun shells on the ledges midway down the pole, as well as a bat fluttering about. You'll need to use the two ropes to swing across the big room to the high ledge with the stairwell inside.]

When you reach the room at the top of the stairs, kill the 2 guard dogs. Pull the Senet piece between the two hammers. (Veteran raiders should note that Lara can now do continuous pulling if you hold down the Action key.) Then use the lever to work the hammers, smashing the game piece so you can get the CARTOUCHE PIECE inside it.

Return downstairs to the high ledge. Take a running jump to grab the dangling rope. While hanging onto the rope, turn to face north and swing, jump and grab the second rope. From there, swing and drop onto the irregularly shaped gray ledge at the middle level of the room. Or, swing high on the first rope, jump and land on the gray ledge, losing a little health in the process.

Go through the crawlspace high on the side wall. Climb up to a room with an elevated walkway. Pull the game piece out of the alcove and along the walkway. When you can't go any farther, drop and hang from the edge of the walkway, traverse past the game piece and pull up. Now push it once more so it sits between the 2 huge hammers. Immediately hop back to avoid taking damage as the hammers swing down, crushing the game piece. Take the SECOND CARTOUCHE PIECE. This also opens a door below.

Go to the end of the walkway where you entered and drop down to the block below the doorway. Kill the 2 black dogs in the room below, break the jars to get shotgun shells and a small medipak, and climb back to the walkway. Take a standing jump from the edge of the ledge to the doorway, pressing Action to lower Lara's arc a bit so she doesn't bump her head. Return to the ROOM WITH TWO DANGLING ROPES the way you came.

If you came into this area through one of the chutes on the north side of the senet board (i.e., past secret #3), you can climb the pole on the north side of the ROOM WITH TWO DANGLING ROPES to get a few items. Climb the ladder to the base of the pole. Wait a moment and a pesky bat will appear. Kill it. Then shimmy up the pole and back flip onto one of the flat ledges with the items (not the steep slopes next to the ledges). Take the shotgun shells and poisoned arrows, and slide or safety drop back down.

From the base of the pole, take a running jump to the rectangular alcove on the left (east) wall. Run off the ledge at the corner to land on the ledge below near the orange-and-gold door. Or, jump down to the slope, slide down facing uphill, and grab the edge. Then traverse to the right to pull up on the ledge. Push open the door to find secret #4 (34/70), explosive arrows and a small medipak. Come back out to the big room, jump to the slope on either side of this ledge so Lara lands facing uphill. Slide down, grabbing the edge, then drop to the floor.

BA CARTOUCHE DOOR: Climb the rest of the way down the ladder to the ground. Combine the two CARTOUCHE PIECES to make the BA CARTOUCHE. Use this in the blue-and-gold receptacle near the east door. (It won't work for the other door.) The doors swing open and 2 black dogs charge out. Inside is a high walkway with hammers and a Senet piece, similar to the one you saw earlier. Only this time there are lit burners preventing you from moving the piece. The black switch high on the south wall turns off the burners, but it's on a timer, so you won't be able to move the senet piece all the way to the hammers without the burners relighting. I found it easiest to move the piece a little bit first, then turn off the burners and make the fast run.

Safety drop to the floor and go to the end of the room below the senet piece. Climb either of the poles near the small pools. Back flip onto the ledge near the senet piece. Pull, then push, the piece toward the hammers so it stops on the square just before the burner. Now return to the poles and slide down to the floor. At the opposite end of the room, below the switch on the right, is a crawlspace. Crawl in there and climb up a ladder to emerge in the ROOM WITH TWO DANGLING ROPES. From there, go back through the BA CARTOUCHE DOOR to the walkway.

Go to the right end of the walkway. Save your game. Take a running jump from the end of the walkway to grab the switch. This turns off the burners for a little while, so now you must move quickly. Roll and run to the far end of the room and grab either pole. There's no need to turn left or right. Just climb up and back flip to land on the ledge and run to the Senet piece. Push the piece along the walkway until it is between the two hammers. If you've set it up beforehand, as described above, and don't hesitate while climbing or pushing the piece, you should be able to do this before the burners relight.

When you get the piece between the hammers, be sure to hop back to avoid both the hammers and the burner. Even after the piece breaks, the burners will relight, so carefully retrieve the RA CARTOUCHE.

RA CARTOUCHE DOOR/ROOM WITH THREE DANGLING ROPES: Return to the outer room and use the second cartouche to open the other door. Go up the stairs. When you reach the doorway to the next room, a fire elemental emerges from the burner below and begins chasing Lara. If you keep moving, the heat damage will be minimal. But if you stand still, Lara may catch fire. There are two ways to extinguish this guy: Either drop down into the room with the burner and climb the ramp to the high doorway on the right. Run down into the next room and pull the lever to release an ice elemental from the box. The two will destroy each other. Or, when the fire elemental emerges, sprint back down the stairs to the room with the switch and burners, fall down to the lower level, run to the left, and jump into one of the pools near the climbing poles. The fire elemental will follow and the water will put it out.

Whether or not you release the ice elemental, be sure to pick up the 2 small medipaks on the ledges in the box and lever room.

Climb back up to the doorway where you entered the ROOM WITH THREE DANGLING ROPES, and take a running jump to grab the first rope. Swing from one rope to the next across the room, ending up on the opposite ledge.

Inside the alcove is secret #5 (35/70), grenades and, around the corner, a box of (6) bullets for the revolver and Uzi clips. Don't drop down to the floor yet, or you'll have to repeat the whole rope-swinging process again. Instead, go back to the ledge and take a running jump to grab the third rope again. Slide to the bottom of the rope and turn right to face the ROOM WITH THE CLIMBING POLE. Swing over to the ledge.

Head toward the pole, killing the 2 bats that follow. Take a running jump to grab the base of the pole. Pull up. Climb the pole to the section with a thin brown stripe halfway between two thick brown stripes. Position Lara between the thick stripes, rotate so her back is toward the ledge, then back flip to land there. Kill another bat or two. Then turn left and take a standing jump to grab the black switch. This raises the ledge in front of the small, rectangular niche next to the ledge from which you just jumped.

Take a standing jump to the pole, climb up and back flip onto the ledge as you did before. Jump to the ledge with the niche and reach in to get a TORCH. (NOTE: You can back flip from the pole directly onto the ledge near the niche, but it's a bit harder to line up this jump precisely.)

Now you need to get back down to the floor. Lara won't climb while holding the torch, so throw it down first. Then take a standing jump to grab the pole and slide down. Take a running jump from the base of the pole back to the wide ledge, pressing Action to lower Lara's arc a bit. Return to the ROOM WITH THREE DANGLING ROPES and drop down to the floor.

Walk back into the ROOM WITH THE POLE and get the torch. Bring it back to the rope room and jump up onto the pedestal with the lit burner. Press Action to light the torch. Then use your torch to light the two mounted torches flanking the doorway to the pole room. Doing so opens a trapdoor in the floor nearby. Ditch the torch and drop down through the hole.

SECRET AREA BELOW THE ROOM WITH THE POLE: Follow the passage to secret #6 (36/70). A bit farther along the passage there's a circular blade trap blocking the way. To get through, stand Lara as close as possible without injury, position her at the center of the blades facing into them, then roll as they begin to open. (You can also do a diving roll—i.e., jump while sprinting—to get through without injury, but I find this more difficult. Or, if you don't mind taking a little damage, stand a few steps back from the blade and as it opens, use a standing jump-grab.)

In the next room you'll find wideshot shells, flash grenades, flares and a large medipak on pedestals. Grab these as quickly as you can, because the room begins to fill with nasty beetles. Run back to the hallway, using medipaks if necessary as you go. Fortunately you don't have to navigate the blade trap this time, since the trapdoors in the floor are now open. However, the beetles can and will follow you. So run through the hall, dropping in through the first trap door and climbing out through the second. Then continue along the hallway as it turns to the right. At the end you'll need to climb out on the left side to safety. Follow the passage to the ladder and climb up.

Return to the entryway of the ROOM WITH THREE DANGLING ROPES and repeat the rope swing to the last rope. Instead of swinging to the far ledge, this time turn left and swing to the ledge outside the ROOM WITH THE POLE. Climb back up the pole and once again back flip to the small square ledge. This time turn around and follow the ledge around to the left or right. (Watch out for another bat here if you didn't kill two of them the first time.) Take a running jump across the gap to the ledge on the other side of the room and go through the doorway. Follow the passageway to an opening in the ceiling and climb up.

ROOM WITH TWO RAMPS/LEVEL EXIT: Turn around and jump to grab the black switch above the opening in the floor. This raises a gold cage between the two ramps. Go up either ramp and climb onto the cage. Climb through the hole in the ceiling above to find secret #7 (37/70), the UZIS/Uzi clips, a large medipak and explosive arrows.

Drop back down to the top of the cage and follow the hallway to a door, which opens as you approach. Hop down into the room below. Off to the right is a high crawlspace—the alternative exit if you win the Senet game. Enter the big room with the red floor to end the level.

(*****) ALTERNATIVE PATH - WINNING THE GAME OF SENET: When you win the game, gold cages rise from each ankh square on the game board. Drop down to the floor and go up the stairs to the doorway above the game board. Jump to the top of either of the first two cages. From there, take a running jump to the second cage. Take a running jump to grab the third cage. Pull up and take another running jump to grab the last one. Jump to the ledge.

Go down the stairs to the big double doors with the ankh symbol. They open as you approach, and 2 black dogs charge out. Avoid the lit burners and continue downstairs to a small room with two jars. Break the jar on the right to get some Uzi clips. Go down the next set of stairs, stopping on the way to get shotgun shells from the jar between the two sets of stairs. Again, don't get too close to the lit burner.

There are 2 more dogs at the bottom, so stay sharp. Go through the doorway on the left and drop through the hole in the floor onto a ledge above a room with more vicious beetles. Hop down, run to the end of the room, jump up the ramp, then grab the pole and climb to safety. Back flip to land in the room with two jars on shelves. Shoot the jar on the right to get the large medipak inside. Continue to the next room.

ROOM WITH MIRRORS REFLECTING LIGHT BEAMS: The dogs don't awaken at this time. So go through the mirror room to the pole. Walk around the base of the pole until 2 bats fly down. Shoot them. Then climb the pole. There is one section of pole with a thin brown stripe halfway between two thick brown stripes. Position Lara between the thick stripes, rotate so her back is toward the room with the two rectangular boxes (coffins?), then back flip to land there. Pick up 2 quivers of arrows, regular and poisoned, behind the coffins. Jump across the pit to the doorway with the sloped ledge.

When you enter the next room, the door closes behind you. Push/pull the Senet pieces onto the corresponding colored squares, blocking the light beams. (Veteran raiders should note that Lara can now do continuous pulling if you hold down the Action key.)

Cut scene: A brief cut scene after each move shows the state of the MIRROR ROOM below. When the final piece is moved, the crypt with the golden crystal slides aside revealing an opening in the floor, and the two dogs awaken.

Solving the puzzle also opens the door where you entered. Jump from the small ledge to grab the doorsill. Pull up and return to the pole. Take a standing jump from the edge of the opening to grab the pole, then slide down. Return to the MIRROR ROOM, kill the 2 dogs and drop through the hole in the floor. Crawl through to a large room and drop down.

Off to the left is a small, square door, now closed. This is the alternative exit if you lose the Senet game. Enter the big room with the red floor to end the level.

FMV sequence: Lara turns on her flashlight and begins to read the hieroglyphs:

"For I have served the god of light, Horus, at the time of plagues. To read this inscription means that. . ."

We see the masked priest Semerkhet, and Semerkhet's voice fades in over Lara's: ". . . the ruler of darkness is free. Set is released to walk abroad amongst the mortals, enlisting his armies of the night to serve him. He who removes the amulet and releases the dark power of Set shall summon the Sun god, Horus, for whom the power of light will again imprison him."

We see Set and his skeleton minions unleashed, Horus seated and the armies of Set battling, then Semerkhet reading from a scroll:

"By the power of the amulet and armor of Horus shall Set be confined for all eternity."

We see the amulet placed on Set's chest and Horus surrounded by prone worshipers. . . then the stars spinning and the constellation of the hawk outlined and animated. . . light pouring down onto the armor of Horus, animating the god.

Semerkhet continues, "Summon the light of Horus through the light of the millennial constellations into his temple beneath the ageless pyramid, into his likeness set in stone. With his amulet and his armor, he is once again poised to battle and defeat Set."

Lara stops reading. She hears a noise in the doorway and turns toward it.

FMV Screenshots

Walkthrough text, maps, diagrams, and all other original images copyright © 1997-2008 Stellalune.
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