Valentianum

Level made by Katya Franze

Walkthrough made by Selene

This adventure consists of two levels. There are 3 secrets to be found(2 in the first level and 1 in the second), all of which are listed here. Note that there is also a transition point between two levels (this is in the hallway where you find the gemstone receptacles, you will see a load screen when you cross that point). If you are low on health, instead of using medipacks you can cross this transition point and go back again and your health bar will be full.

BUG NOTE: There are three known bugs in this adventure, all of them found in the second level. Please refer to the readme for further information.

Storyline:
Katya F, directress of ancient history museum in a not better specified Italian resort, entrusts Lara to recover a precious manuscript, kept in an ancient and guarded palace, the Valentianum, in the south of Italy. The book has to be recovered by Lara before Beatrice B., a crazy local industrialist, old rival of Katya in the days of university, may use it to make a ritual that give her immortality. Lara has to get into the palace, recover the book and the 2 sacred seals required to make the ritual, get the better of the sentries and of Beatrice herself, who has arranged a series of deadly traps to avoid someone to approach to manuscript. The adventure consists of 2 levels: in the first, that takes place in the inner courtyard, the main purpose is to kill the sentries and to find 4 keys (fire gems) to enter in the building; the 2nd level takes place inside the palace, and it aims at the recovery of the golden manuscript, located in a room at the upper story.

Level 1- Cortile Del Valentianum (The Valentianum Courtyard):

Pickups: 2x Silver Keys, small medipacks, crossbow explosive ammo, normal shotgun ammo, uzi clips, large medipacks, torch, Gold Key, Cardinal Points Scroll, crowbar, Bronze Star, 4x Fire Gems, crossbow + 2 Secrets (large medipack, uzis and ammo + uzi clips, shotgun normal and wideshot ammo and a large medipack )

Enemies: Sentry guards, fire wraiths

The Garden Of Valentianum- Gaining Entrance:
As the level starts we see Lara barely having entered the gardens surrounding Valentianum. The gate slams shut behind her, so now there's no way back. Start by going right to the path by the hedge leading out (the camera angle changes as soon as you leave the starting area). Go right and follow the hedge along up a hill which leads up to the courtyard outside the palace. As you reach the courtyard turn left and get out those pistols to retaliate the hospitality of the sentry guard patrolling in front of the entrance. When he falls you can pick up the Silver Key he dropped. There are two keyholes on the outside of the palace walls; a golden one for a key you don't have yet and a silver keyhole where the key you just picked up fits like a hand in a glove. Inserting the key in the keyhole opens the main door, giving you free access to the palace courtyard.

The Fountain Courtyard:

As you approach the now open door you will see a sentry guard sneaking out so kill him and pick up his small medipack. Enter the palace and go right (N) down the hall to reach the Valentianum Courtyard. As you get there a fly-by showing you the area will kick in and it also leaves you a free view of two guards creeping in on both sides. Deal with them both and pick up the small medipack that the one coming from the left was carrying. There is little to do in the courtyard itself, but as you have probably noticed there are no less than 11 closed doors surrounding it(3 along each of the three first walls counting from the right and two on the wall to your immediate left). You need to go through a minimum of 10 of them to complete the level (the 11th door leads to a secret, which is of course preferable but fully optional. I will still be mentioning it here when that time comes). To make it easy I will number the doors from 1 to 11- starting with the first door to the right as you enter the courtyard (the first door in the E wall closest to the main entrance) and the follow the room around counter-clockwise (from right around to the left). Another important thing to note is the transition point between level 1 and 2 that I mentioned earlier. The hallway leading there can be found in the S/W corner of the courtyard (between door number 9 which is the last door in the W wall and door number 10- the first of the S wall). Every time you enter that hallway you will see the aforementioned load screen and Lara's health will be replenished completely. This is a good way of managing the health without wasting medipacks (as there are quite a few things here that will cost a lot of health, the heavy weaponry of the sentry guards among other things).

Before continuing with the quest go through there and you will find that there are two gemstone receptacles on each side of a set of locked doors ahead. So the main goal of this part of the adventure is to find the four Fire Gems to unlock that door. But before going back out to the courtyard and continuing in our mission, let's go and clear up any hostile encounters in this area so they won't be in your way later on. Go around the corner to the left and on top of the stairs there is one guard for you to kill. Once he's down continue up the next flight of stairs which is unguarded and as you turn the corner to start up the top flight there is yet another guard up there waiting for you. He drops a bunch of crossbow explosive ammo which can come in handy for later on. The doors up here are all closed and will remain so for now, so go back down to the courtyard and the previous level and let's start the serious business.

The Congress Room- Switches And A Rolling Stone:

There is one (and only one) door in the courtyard that is already open and does not acquire a mechanism or switch for Lara to open it and that is door number 1(first door in the E wall). Stand in front of the door and press Action and Lara will lean forwards and push the door open. Ready guns and kill the guard waiting for you in the Congress Room. Pick up the normal shotgun ammo he drops and go over to pull the switch in the N/E corner. This done the gate in the E wall behind the table opens. Before entering look up to spot an opening in the ceiling over the ramp leading downwards. This is in 96 % of the cases an indication of a boulder trap and there is no exception to that rule on this account: run down the ramp and the boulder will crash down behind Lara so jump at the very end and the giant rock rolls safely down into the opening at the bottom of the ramp.

In the next room take a mental note of the star receptacle on the left wall. There is also a switch perched high up on a ledge above. We don't have any star to insert in the receptacle and the only climbable crate in here is too low to aid Lara in getting up onto higher ground, but we didn't come down here for nothing after all. The second crate in the E wall (counting from the right) is moveable so push it in as far as it goes to reveal a large medipack and a switch. A medipack is always useful to bring along and the switch raises the climbable crate out in the previous room, enabling Lara to climb up to the ledge with the switch and Bob's your uncle (yes, that DOES mean that it's pretty obvious you are meant to pull said switch up there). As you do so another set of double doors up in the courtyard opens. Make your way up the ramp again, jumping over the boulder and leave the Congress Room to find out what doors you opened.

The Hall of the Stone Serpents- A Silver Key:
On your way out you are met with a guard and he kindly leaves you a large medipack. The doors that opened count as number 5(middle set of the N wall). There are two stone serpents in the room, they're not of the moveable kind though so climb the ladder in front of you and backflip onto the balcony above. Pick up the uzi clips from the right side and pull the switch on the left. Doing so you will see a concealed trapdoor opening in the floor below so climb down there and proceed to climb down into the opening. There are two ways to go here....the E leads into a room with three burning medipacks on pedestals and the N goes into a basement storeroom.

Go into the room with the burning medipacks first. You can pick up the small one from the pedestal on the left with no harm done at all, but if you try picking up the two large ones Lara will catch fire. However, there is a small cheat on how to get these: pick one up and as soon as Lara catches fire save the game. When you reload she's no longer on fire and the medipack is safely tucked away into your possession. This does cost her a bit of health though, but it's worth it (do be sure though that you save in a different slot should it all go wrong!!!). Pull the switch in this room to open another one of the doors up in the courtyard and then make your way out to the basement storeroom. The middle crate in the N wall is moveable so pull it out once, go around it to the left and push it up in the corner to reveal a crawlspace behind it. Crawl in, pick up the 2nd Silver Key and go back out.

Climb the ladder up to the top and head back to the main courtyard. The last door you opened turns out to be number 4(the rightmost door in the N wall, to the right of the one leading to the Hall of the Stone Serpents that you just came from). There is a guard in the next room so blow him a goodnight kiss and take his small medipack for the trouble. The Silver Key you found fits in the keyhole to the right of the gate, but you still need one more key to open it. Pull the switch instead to open something else: another set of doors with a swinging chain behind it. Little else to do in here, but before leaving take a mental note of the star on the left wall and add a crowbar to your wish list in company of the gold key. Now leave this room and head over to the next door you just opened: number 9(the leftmost door of the W wall, to the immediate right of the hallway with the transition point).

One for the spikes, two for the flames; three is the way to go:

Make your way past the swinging chain ahead (this is relatively simple: all you need to do is to walk around the left corner, hugging the left wall tightly to avoid being hit. Do the same with the second chain ahead, sticking to the right wall this time. Note the closed gate on the left and continue on into the
next room. Here you will find three switches, each with a trapdoor below them and a closed gate in the far W wall. Pulling each of the switches opens the trapdoors beneath Lara's feet: the first one will send her down a slope into an inevitable spike trap and the second is no better, here she'll end up being
fried on a burner. The moral of that speech is: go for pulling the third switch. There is a spike trap halfway down this slope too, but this one you can jump over and land safely on the continuation of the slope. Slide down to a hallway and save your game before sliding down the next slope. Jump over the spike pit at the end and you will find a spiked wall sliding towards Lara from the left. Stick to the right side of the room (but not too close to the spiked wall coming in from the right) and as soon as you have passed the left spiked wall run to the switch left and pull it, then sideflip right out of the second spiked wall's way. Do not worry about not getting the small medipack below the switch, there's a trick for that too: save your game and immediately reload it and you will find that the spiked wall has gone back into the wall opposite and will pose no threat to Lara as she picks up the small medipack.

Reflections Over Spikes And Fire:

Continue down the hallway and climb the ladder on the left. In the next hallway on top you will see a burning torch on the wall ahead which we'll need later and a closed gate at the end, but that all comes in due time. First of all enter the room on the right (CAREFULLY though). This is a mirror room and seeing how Lara seems obsessed with the image of herself in the mirror as well as the opening in the ceiling above (at least at first) the next task becomes a lot harder than it should. There are actually hidden traps in the floor and they can be spotted only thanks to the mirror in the S wall. Looking in the mirror the grey floor tiles hold fire traps and the ones with holes in them are spike trapped. Your immediate goal is to reach the diamond tile by the opposite wall to the left. Walk to the second tile along the right wall and do a standing jump over the third tile (a fire trapped one). The fourth tile is also safe and the next (the one where the suit of armour stands) is a trap.

Stand-jump over it to the next tile and from there go one tile to the left, then turn to face the opposite side of the room (N) and go one tile forwards. You can now climb the low crate in the middle of the room and do a standing jump from there over to the diamond tile by the left wall. As you step onto it the crate you just stood on rises, giving you easy access to the opening in the ceiling above.

Well, easy.....you still have to get there you know!!!! Walk onto the first tile towards the mirror (S) and do a standing jump over the spike trapped tile. Lara should now be standing by the mirror so jump right over the fire tile and go one tile right again.....you can now climb the risen crate. From there pull up into the opening to find a torch. Bring it with you and drop back down onto the crate. From here you can actually do a running jump to the tiles in front of the exit and leave this room.

And A Gold Key- Return To The Courtyard:

Go right and up the hallway and on your way light the torch you just found on the already lit wall torch. Continue along and the gate ahead of you opens as you approach. You're now back in the hallway with the swinging chains, but do not leave yet. Instead go left back to the room with the three switches and the gate on the far end is now open. In this room there is a small medipack in the corner and two sconces you can light to open the next gate. Behind it there is a Gold Key on the burning pedestal for you to pick up. You can leave your torch here if you like as you don't need it anymore and go back to the main courtyard.

The Puzzle Room- Which Direction To Go?:

There is now another guard out there so deal with him and relieve him of his small medipack. You can now re-enter the room with the gate and keyholes (door number 4) and use the Gold Key in the remaining keyhole (and the silver one too if you haven't already). Enter the puzzle room and a guard starts firing at you from the balcony ahead. Retaliate and pick up the normal shotgun ammo he drops. Now you can take a look at the pattern in the floor. There are four large circles and also, as by a coincidence, four moveable pieces lined up along the S wall. The four pieces bear different symbols on top of them, you will find upon closer inspection (from left to right) a white leopard, a red bird, a green dragon of sorts and finally some dark wraith. As of now we have no means of knowing how to solve this puzzle, but climb onto the balcony and go over to the N/E corner to find a crawlspace. Go through and at the end you will find the Cardinal Points Scroll. It reads: Black Knight=North. Red Bird=South. Green Dragon=East. White Leopard=West. Now you know where the moveable pieces go at least: arrange them onto the middle of the circles on the floor according to the cardinal points given each symbol. So place the one with the knight closest to the N wall, the bird closest to the S wall and so on. Once you have done this correctly the gate in the N wall opens.

Mom Always Said Iron Was Good For Me:

Slide down the slope and jump in the last moment to grab the pole. Be careful as you slide down, as there is a circular blade rotating around the pole right below the opening. You can of course slide down the slope backwards, grab the edge and time a drop down to get past it, but that will cost you quite a lot
of health. Unfortunately it's very difficult to time a slide down past the blade, as you can't really see it when Lara is hanging onto the pole so save your game and try sliding down quickly. If you're very lucky you will make it past without taking damage, if not you can reload a savegame and try again. In the room below there are poisonous darts shooting out of the wall, so crouch and crawl to pick up a large medipack in the N/W corner and then crawl into the alcove in the E wall where you can pick up the crowbar (here called "Jemmy"). Now crawl back outside and go through the opening opposite. There are two ladders here; one on each side. In front of the left one there is a burning tile and above the one on the right you have spikes sticking out to make bad even worse. Jump up to grab the right ladder and climb upwards four times, then backflip/roll and press Action to grab the ladder opposite. This way you should avoid both the spikes and the fire. Climb up to the top and the gate opens automatically, letting you out into the puzzle room.

Another Star On The Wall:

Go back to the ante-chamber (the one with the gate and two keyholes) through the W opening and use your newly acquired crowbar to pry off the Bronze Star from the wall ahead. Now you can return to the main courtyard, killing a guard on your way, and retrace your steps to the first door you opened (the one leading into the Congress Room). Continue down the ramp through the gate in the wall opposite of where you enter and in the room below you can use the Bronze Star in the receptacle to open yet another door in the main courtyard. You know how to get back there so do this for a start.

The most recently opened door is number 2(so to the immediate right of the one you come out through). Lara is now standing in the Auditorium and a guard is trying to hide on the left side while shooting at her. When he falls he drops a large medipack for you to pick up. Go over to the stage and climb up and as you do so a guard starts firing from the opening on the left side. First of all pull the switch on the opposite side of the stage to open another set of doors. Do not leave the stage yet though, instead go through the left opening where the guard came from and follow it to a garden area.

The Auditorium Backstage And Garden- Precious Rocks And Secrets:

As soon as you enter the garden a guard starts shooting at you from the left side so take care of him first. There are a few pickups scattered around the garden: first go forwards and onto the green grass on the right to find a small medipack. Now dive into the water and swim left, then immediately left again into a narrow channel. Straight ahead (N) there is a foliage covered opening, swim through there and almost immediately look up before the next opening above to find a ceiling lever. Pull it to raise a block out on the stage and continue going forwards. At the end go left (W) and swim forwards, picking up the uzi ammo in the channel to the left and the shotgun straight ahead. You can now climb out of the water and go over to the burning pedestal on the middle ledge to the N. Pick up the 1st Fire Gem and return to the stage the same way you came. Before leaving the Auditorium climb the now raised block on stage and pull up into the dark opening above. Here you will find Secret 1: a large medipack, the uzis and belonging ammo. Drop down and go back to the courtyard.

Next door out is to the immediate right again (door number 3). Head down a long flight of stairs and at the bottom kill the guard on the right and relieve him of his small medipack. The brown tile on the floor is a trapdoor and we need to find out how to open it. In the N/W corner you will find a red, torn curtain on the wall. Behind it there is a concealed opening. There's nothing of interest in there, but from the opening you can turn around and do a standing jump to grab the balcony above. Pull up and make your way around it, picking up a small medipack on your way and pulling the switch at the opposite end to open the mentioned trapdoor below.

The Floor, The Floor, The Floor Is On Fire:

Drop down and climb the W wall down into the opening. At the bottom you will find a seemingly innocent-looking room with a switch at the opposite end. Think again....there are concealed fire traps in the floor. Getting across is fairly simple though: from the tile you stand on jump across the second one (fire-trapped) to land on the third. From there do a standing jump past the fourth tile (also fire-trapped) to land on the tile below the switch. Pull it to open another set of doors up in the courtyard and make your way across the room the same way you came. Climb up, leave this room and once more go back to the courtyard.

Today’s Exercising- Swimming And Jumping:

Door number 8(the middle one in the W wall) is next for you. Follow the hallway around until you find yourself on a pillar above a pool. Your goal here is to reach the ledge on the far left side where there are two switches to pull and the process is not quite as easy as simply jumping over to it. Oh no, you are going to have to make your way around the perimeter of the room starting on the right side to get there and to make your life more miserable here you have swinging chains and burners to make the job harder (just in case it wasn't hard enough already). Stand on the far right side of the pillar where you entered, facing the first chain pillar and as soon as the burner right in front of you cuts off for a moment run forwards and jump at the edge, then grab the pillar below the swinging chain. Carefully pull up and as the chain swings away run over to the other side of the pillar. Now turn left and as soon as the next burner subsides do a running jump to grab the pillar ahead. Pull up and turn left to face the next burner/chain. This is a bit more complicated, because the chain is swinging above the burner rather than the pillar and the next pillar is positioned slightly back. So in this case you'll need to stand at the corner between the burner and the pillar and time a quick jump past as soon as the flame stops and the chain swings away. With some luck and good timing Lara should make it to the next pillar unharmed. Once more time the burner in front of you and do a running jump to grab the final pillar. Pull up and, being cautious of the burner and chain ahead, do a running jump to the ledge with the switches. The E switch opens a door out in the courtyard and the W switch an underwater gate. We'll continue the show by going through the latter to begin with.

The Lair Of The Dragon:

Jump in the water and swim through the tunnel, passing a closed gate on your way and up into the opening. Pull out and go through the next doorway and you will see a fly-by of the room ahead. There is a dragon in the room, but it's luckily not alive and kicking. However, it IS spewing out fire from its mouth and the same goes for the snake statues perched upon ledges along the way. The pool below contains water in a sickly green colour and that's never a good sign. On top of all this there is another gemstone that we'll need on the far right side of the pool, right below the fire-breathing dragon. Go to the left and do a running jump and grab to the first ledge, then pull up and pick up a large medipack. Turn around and immediately do a running jump back to the ledge you came from as you now have a very angry fire wraith on your tail. Luckily the rescue is not far away...you can go back to the pool you just climbed out of and put out the wretched company. Once that's done return to the dragon's den and the ledge where you picked up the medipack.

Continue with running jumps and grabs over to the corner ledge and from there turn right and do a running jump to land onto the dragon's neck (which in fact functions as a slope, so Lara will start sliding down). When she reaches the bottom do a standing jump forwards and (ta-daaa) you can pick up the 2nd Fire Gem. Do a running jump to the ledge on the right and here there's a pool you can jump in. Swim along the passage and around the corner and upwards you will meet a small inconvenience (two in fact): first you will have a set of spikes shooting out from the left wall as Lara passes and secondly there will be another set coming from the ceiling. It's impossible to see on beforehand where this will happen, so you can't time your way past them (at least I found that to be impossible). Simply swim past them, taking damage along the way, and try to stick as close to the ceiling as possible (if you're too close to the ground Lara will get stuck and be impaled in no time at all). If you have at least half your health left she should get past them alright.

On top swim left and then left again to get back to the room with the chains and burners. The crate ahead (by the last burner/chain) has risen so climb that first. Unfortunately you can't simply jump to the switch ledge and from there over to the entrance.....you have to make your way past the chains and burners again. The way there is fairly simple so I won't go into any detailed description again: just make your way over the entrance and once you're there follow the hallway back to the main courtyard.

Flipping Heck- It’s A Landslide:

Back in the courtyard you will now find door number 7 open (the rightmost door in the W wall). A guard surprises you in the hallway there so kill him and take his large medipack before continuing to the next room. Here you will find a switch and another pedestal with a gemstone on top of two giant ramps. The middle section between the ramps is a slope and if Lara steps on it she will be deposited down into the burner trap at the bottom. So please do avoid that part. Before beginning up the ramp on the left look up above it to see....yeap, some boulders. What to do???? Here's the deal: start up the ramp on the left and as the boulders drop sideflip right to the other ramp. As soon as you step onto the right ramp two boulders will drop there as well so immediately sideflip over to the left ramp again. There are still two more boulders on each side so go up the left ramp a bit and when the boulders fall sideflip right, then instantly sideflip left again to avoid the second pair. Now the coast is clear so go up to the top and pick up the 3rd Fire Gem from the pedestal before flipping the switch to the left, something which opens yet another pair of doors downstairs. To get back to the main courtyard follow the right passage, killing a guard along the way, and push open the doors ahead.

The Garden Part II- The Final Quest For The Gemstone:

Almost done now, so enter the hallway behind door number 10(rightmost door in the S wall). Climb down the ladder at the end and continue following the way around until you can run down a ramp into the garden. You will get an aerial view of the area, revealing that there are two guards patrolling out here. Kill them both and before getting the gemstone ahead go for some pickups. Go to the immediate left of the entrance to the garden and hop down into the trench with the trees. Follow it around to the end, climb out and go ahead, then hop down into the second one as well. Here you'll find a switch and pulling it opens the last set of double doors out in the courtyard. Take a dip in the channels as well to gather the crossbow and a small medipack. And now for the grand prize: pick up the 4th and final Fire Gem from the burning pedestal in the middle. Immediately roll and run over to either of the channels, then drop in as quick as you can to put out the fire wraith that awakens as you pick up the gem. When you climb out of the water another guard has appeared over on the right side of the garden so kill him before returning to the main courtyard.

A last secret before leaving:

When you return there a guard is shooting at Lara from the left side so kill him first and take his small medipack. We're about ready to make a trip to the bowels of the Palace, but first we're going to find a little secret. Go over to the last door you opened (number 11, which is the only one you have left). Climb up to the top and here you'll find Secret 2: uzi clips, shotgun wideshot ammo and normal ammo and a large medipack. Leave this room and you can now go back out and dispatch of the guard shooting at you in the courtyard, retrieving his small medipack too. Now go over to the opening in the S/W corner of the courtyard and follow through the by now very familiar passage to load the next level.

Level 2- All'interno Del Palazzo(The Interior Of The Palace)

Pickups: Small medipacks, flares, crossbow, explosive ammo, normal shotgun ammo, 2x Gilt Seals, torch, Scroll, 5x Bronze Stars, shotgun wideshot ammo, large medipacks, uzi clips, Gold Manuscript, Fire Gem, Gate Key + 1 Secret (uzi clips and small medipack)

Enemies: Bats, skeleton guardians, armed guards, wind harpies, Fire Dragon, moths, ice monster, Beatrice herself

A Few Close Encounters.....Already:

To begin with go forwards and insert the four Fire Gems into the receptacles on each side of the wooden doors to open them. Enter and pick up the small medipack on your right before dropping down into the hole. Follow the passage around the corner, but be careful as there is a stargate waiting for you there. Go as close to it as you can, sticking to the middle, and roll through it as it starts opening. There is another stargate around the next corner so repeat the same procedure to get through that one (if you've done it correctly Lara's health bar should still be full). Now as you reach the opening in the floor SAVE your game in case you fail on the first couple of attempts. Position Lara with her back to the left wall, angled slightly left so that she's ready to run off into the opening (see this screenshot for further help). Press Action so she won't bang her head as she drops and run into the hole. The camera showing Lara from the front will also help you see the spiked wall closing in behind her so rush over to the switch in the N/E corner as soon as she lands (straight ahead if you've positioned her correctly before dropping). Pull it to open a gate in front of the alcove in the W wall (the left wall when she's facing the switch) and immediately roll, then run ahead and right into the alcove to avoid being impaled on the moving wall. Pick up the small medipack here.

*NOTE: If you save the game and reload it while inside the alcove the spiked wall will shift back to its original position so that you can't get past it. If this happens simply run a few steps out of the alcove and the wall will start moving towards you. Stay on the spot until it gets almost too close for comfort, then hop back into the safe alcove. If you hop back too early the wall will stop halfway down the hallway. After it has passed the alcove run out and to the right where it came from. The smartest move if you save inside the alcove is to avoid reloading the game and then save again once you've started down the stairs where the wall was.*

Either ways as soon as you have gone a few steps down the stairs SAVE your game again, that will save you further trouble with the spiked wall (note that as if you reload at this point the wall will still be back all the same). As you come down the stairs a pesky bat will start pestering Lara so get rid of it and pick up the flares. Go up the stairs ahead to the small nave and pick up some goodies from the altar: the crossbow (very much needed I might add) and some explosive ammo for it. Now notice that past the stairs where you came from there is a crawlspace in the right wall (W). At the moment it only leads down to a dark hallway with a bat and a ladder leading down to a closed gate so you can either go through to kill the bat as to not having to worry about it later or ignore it for now.

A Very Well Guarded Gilt Seal:

The room ahead (S) is the Dark Hall (in lack of something better to call it) and you can go through it thoroughly to begin with in order to deal with the bats living here and to pick up normal shotgun ammo and some more flares behind the pillars going around the perimeter. There are also two gates in the room (right wall from the entrance-W- and the wall straight ahead from where you enter-S) and a star on the pedestal in the middle, but leave that alone for a moment. Go back to the nave and notice the skull pillar in the S/W corner. If you turn around to face the corner opposite (on the left side of the altar while facing it) you will see a cross. What you need to do is to move the skull pillar (yes, it is indeed moveable) into the corner diagonally opposite (on the right side of the altar). When you do this the gate in the S wall in the Dark Hall opens, but as the fly-by when you first ventured in there indicated the right (W) gate is a lot more important for now. The question is how to open it and that is a lot easier than it first seems. Arm yourself with something explosive (such as the crossbow *hint hint*) and go forwards to pick up the Gilt Seal on the pedestal ahead. As you do so six guardians arise from the dust so use the crossbow to wipe them all out. When the party is over you will find upon closer inspection that the W gate is now open so we're going to start the continuation of our journey there.

Once Upon A Time There Was A Scroll....:

Before sliding down the slope take a moment to prepare yourself (and light a flare if needed). A bit down the slope there is an opening so right before you reach it you need to jump ahead and grab the wall (which is in reality a ladder). Climb up to a dark alcove where you'll find a torch to pick up. Drop back down, slide the rest of the way and continue until you reach a wooden bridge going over a lava pool. There's a break in the bridge at the far end so be careful to not rush ahead....instead do a running jump across the gap. As you do so and enter the next room a gate in the opposite wall opens (didn't that seem a bit too simple???). There is also a glass case with a scroll inside it here.

BUG NOTE: As stated in the read-me bugs are known to occur around these glass cases. You are meant to find a way to lower the cases in order to pick up what's inside them, BUT it is possible to simply climb onto the cases, press Action and get the item that way. If this is done we'll miss quite a bit of action so we'll continue doing it the way the author intended (that would be the hard way).

Light your torch here and use it to light the two unlit ones on the wall. When you do this the glass case in the same room lowers, granting you free access to the Scroll. Pick it up and watch as you're shown a library with scrolls littering the floor and a dark-haired woman running through a hallway (your arch enemy Beatrice perhaps??). Now leave the torch here and follow through the gate in the opposite wall until you come to a ladder where you can climb up. Kill the bat here (if you haven't already) and go through the crawlspace. You're now back in the nave and there's a skeleton guardian on the loose (quite unfortunate, as I found it running against the other end of the crawlspace and you can't use the crossbow while crouching). I was extremely lucky as the guardian turned out to be quite inept when it came to using a sword and thus Lara could crawl out and away, stand and blow him up with the crossbow without taking ANY blows from his blade whatsoever. Once it's down return to the Dark Hall and this time enter the second passage (the one straight ahead in the S wall).

About The Dangers Of Playing With Fire:

Ready guns and go in blazing as a couple of bats fly down to greet you. Continue down the dark, water-filled passage and around the corner and proceed ahead. You will meet some more bats along the way and once you've taken them all down go nearly to the end and light a flare to spot an opening up above. Below this opening there is an unmarked ladder on the N wall so climb up and left. Here you will find a Bronze Star on the W wall that you can pry off using the crowbar. Return down where you came from and continue down the hallway to the E. It would seem to be a dead end, but there's a ladder on the wall to the left so climb up here. After you pull up you're faced with a seemingly innocent dark passage with a gap and a monkey swing above it. Only seemingly though, because if you wait a bit you will notice that a flame emitter starts spewing out fire from the right wall ahead. Which means that here you have to be very cautious. This is a bit of a time-consuming venture, because it is very hard to judge how close Lara is to the fire and thus it's easy to go too far ahead and get fried. To make things even worse you'll encounter two more flame emitters along the swing across and they will only start as soon as Lara gets close, so try not to rush things too much and save as you go along (preferably right before and after a flame emitter).

The Route To The Second Floor:

Once you reach the far end you will begin to hear something sharp clanking together around the corner ahead. Pick up some shotgun wideshot ammo and look up the ramp to see another stargate. Go as close as possible (sticking to the middle) and as it unfolds roll through. Around the corner you will find two more stargates up the stairs and if you keep the pistols drawn you will see Lara aim for something right before the first one. This would be a bat or two so it's a good idea to kill them first to save you from having to deal with wings and blades at the same time. After you've dealt with the winged company go through the stargates the same way as before and finally pull the switch on top to open a set of double doors somewhere in the building.

Unfortunately the doors you opened are NOT the doors on your right, but that can easily be fixed: you can open those by simply standing in front of them and press Action. Ready weapons as soon as you can because an armed guard is firing at poor Lara from the top of the stairs ahead. He kindly leaves you a large medipack.

NOTE: If you go down the stairs instead of up you will return to the beginning of the level where you placed the four gemstones. Here you can cross over again to the first level should you need some extra health;)

The Hallway Of The Many Doors:

Go through the open doors ahead and there you'll find some more of the unbreakable urns (wouldn't want to go looting such a nice museum would we????) and an ornate double door on the right. Pull the switch to open it and prepare for more gunfights.....there are three armed guards awaiting in here. When they're all dead pick up whatever is left behind: shotgun wideshot ammo, uzi clips and a small medipack.

The two doors along the N wall do not open yet and the second door in the S wall requires a gemstone. This leaves us with only one option: the first door in the S wall. There is another armed guard in here so shoot him and take his normal shotgun ammo for the trouble. In here there is a switch, a block on the ground floor and various ledges going upwards. We're about to deal with the first timed run (or jump rather), but first we're going to clean the table. Climb the block and jump to the first ledge by the W wall. Pick up the uzi clips and go back down to the ground floor. The switch opens a timed gate up on the top ledge and the sequence to get there is as follows:

Pull the switch-backflip onto the block-sideflip left to the first ledge-turn around 360 degrees-stand-jump to ledge number 2-sideflip left to the third one and finally run forwards and jump up to grab the last ledge-pull up and sprint through the open gate.

It will close behind you, but don't worry about that for now. There's a receptacle for the Bronze Star in the wall ahead, but I'd recommend you to use the switch in order to open the gate out first (NOTE: I found that you have to push the switch down first and THEN flip it back up to open said gate). You can now insert the Bronze Star where it belongs to open a set of doors down in the hallway where the three guards were. The reason for opening the gate first is that another guard will come out from the hall beyond the doors you just opened and if the gate is open at that point you will be able to go back down to deal with him a lot quicker, preventing him from getting as far as to ambush you down at the bottom of this room.

The Book ’N’ Stars Lobby:

When he's dead you can pick up the normal shotgun ammo he dropped and continue down the slope until you reach a room with four star receptacles, four doors and a glass case with the book you've been looking for safely tucked out of your reach (unless you use the bug cheat). It almost seems as if you're stuck here, but luckily that's not the case.....there is one (and only one) door here that can be opened by force and it's the one leading to the Air Chamber (the rightmost door in the N wall with the sky-blue tile above it).

The Air Chamber- All About Claws, Sharp Items and Electricity:

Pick up the large medipack in front of you and follow the ramp up until you reach a ledge above a checker-tiled room with a blue sphere hanging in mid-air. Shoot it and electrical currents will start sparking off around the room. These currents notify that there is a safe (albeit invincible) ledge by each one so begin with a standing jump from the ledge to get to the first one, a running jump + grab to the second, a long running jump and grab to the third and finally turn right and simply pull up onto the last one. You're now under some heavy attack by two wind harpies. I suggest you deal with them now before going over to the final ledge, there you will have enough to worry about as it is. You can either ignore them or take them down with two explosive arrows each.

Now do a running jump and grab to pull up on the ledge. The buzzing sound you hear is made by some drills right over your head and they're closing down on Lara so best hurry up. Here you'll also find another one of the bugs mentioned in the read-me. You HAVE TO pull the switch on the right BEFORE prying off the Bronze Star to the left. If you get the star first the switch will be useless and you will not be able to pull it down at all. So: as soon as you pull up turn right and sprint over to the switch. Pull it and while you see the camera shot of the door opening back out in the Book and Stars lobby roll and start sprinting in the opposite direction towards the star. Pry it off and now hop backwards twice, turn left and do a standing jump back to the first ledge with the electrical current (and safe grounds for now). Make your way across the invincible blocks again and go back to the lobby where you'll find that the leftmost door in the same wall has opened.

The Fire Room- Goodness Gracious, Great Balls Of Fire:

Follow the ramps down and here you have another potentially unsafe room: lava and blocks below, two fire-spewing statues and some small pools of water on each side. First we're going for a pickup. Dive into the left pool and follow through the narrow crack in the E wall. Go along the passage until you reach Secret 3: uzi clips and a small medipack. Swim back out and climb out of the water. The blocks in the lava pool below might look fire-trapped, but not all of them are so drop down onto the first one (near the S wall) and do a running jump to the left one where you can pick up the uzi clips (take care to avoid the little fire flies spouting out of the lava though). Ignore the blocks along the W wall as they hold a nasty surprise for Lara, instead do a running jump to the block in the middle of the lava pool and then to the right block (not the one closest to the opposite ledge in other words, that will leave you at a bit of a disadvantage). From here do a standing jump to grab the edge and shimmy right as far as you can, then pull up. A massive (not to mention angry) dragon-like creature rises from the ashes on your left and its fireball attack is quite harmful so no time to waste. Run right and pull the switch to open another door out in the lobby, roll and dart under the creature to the opposite wall where you can pry off the 3rd Bronze Star.

Roll again and run ahead, then off the ledge to the right to find that the blocks have now melted into a firm trail (and a safe one at that). Run to the other side and pull up, then start up the ramp to the lobby. Do NOT turn the first corner though, but crouch right in the corner ahead. Reason for doing this is that a swarm of moths appear and when Lara crouches in a corner the damage caused seems to be minimised. Once the bugs have dispersed you can continue up to the lobby.

The Earthly Halls- Rocks And Dust:

Now the open door in the E wall and the picture above it tells us that we're about to undertake the element of Earth. Follow the ramp down and you'll encounter two armed guards in the main room. When they're dead pick up the uzis and small medipack they leave behind. In this room there are some tall pillars, two boulder ramps adjacent of each other above the entrance, a cocoon-like device (that doesn’t appear to have any particular function) and a switch + some openings and a monkey swing up on the second floor. Now what??? First obvious thing to do is to pull the switch on the S wall in order to open the last door up in the lobby. But we're still in need of a star, so better do some searching around while we're down here. The doors in the S/E corner, left of the switch, are closed and they will remain very much closed for the time being so there must be another way to get this done.

Climb the lowest pillar in the room and from there do two running jumps, first of all to the second and slightly taller pillar and then to the tallest one right by the first out of two openings. Follow the ramp up to the top and you'll find yourself on top of the rightmost boulder ramp. Now we need to find a way to get those nasty things out of the picture somehow. Stand facing E, right by the opening and sideflip left over the boulder to land on the other side. Lara's angle will shift (she'll either land facing towards the second ramp or with her back to it), either ways immediately jump forwards/backflip to land on the opposite ramp and out of the first boulder's way. The second one won't start rolling yet so don't worry about hurrying to get back. To trigger it safely stand at the edge with Lara's back to the boulder, then take one step and finally one hop backwards. NOW the boulder can and will start rolling so better dart ahead and jump at the edge, then grab the opposite ramp and wait for the second boulder to roll by.

Pull up and immediately backflip (this is a slope remember??) to land on the ramp again. This time you can follow through the opening previously concealed by the boulder and up a ramp to the second opening above. Turn left (E) to spot a third opening ahead, where you can use the monkey swing above to make it across. Proceed until you reach a closed gate where you can pick up some explosive ammo on the left and flares on the right. The gate opens automatically as you approach and in the next room three skeleton guardians are waiting for us. If you're lucky, one or two arrows should be enough to get rid of all of them. Here you'll find another gate by a switch, a boulder perched upon a double-sided ramp (this one however remains frozen in its initial position). You will also find the 3rd Bronze Star for you to pry off on the S wall and as soon as you do two more skeletons will come alive (well, as alive as skeletons can be anyways). After disposing of them pull the switch to open the gate next to it.

Go up the stairs and follow the hallway along until you meet a bat, which will be nicely dealt with using the trusty pistols. Do NOT rush ahead though, as there is a trench with a fire trap right in the doorway leading into the next room. Not just one actually: quite a few so stick to the higher ground. There is a large medipack for you to pick up in the S/E corner and an opening opposite so get your pickup and make your way over to the mentioned opening, killing two more bats along the way. Start sliding down the ramp and around the second corner you need to jump to avoid getting toasted by falling into the fire trap separating the slope. There is one more fire trap along the ride, but you will see that in due time before you reach it so jump at the appropriate minute and continue sliding to the end. Climb the blocks until you reach a door which can be opened by a bit of force (as you soon will come to see this is the door in the corner next to the switch in the main room). A guard is waiting on the outside so deal with him and pick up his large medipack, then return to the lobby and the last chamber waiting.

The Water Realm- Ice Palace:

Drop into the water at the end and swim around the corners until you reach an underwater stargate. Getting through these things really isn't much harder than getting through on dry land. Simply swim as close to it as possible and as it starts opening swim quickly through. Follow the passage around the corners, going by another stargate along the way. At the end you can surface in the next room. There are icebergs scattered around in the pool here and to the W you will find another pool, this one is solid ice. Walk carefully towards the frozen pool and draw guns. You will begin to hear snorting noises, which indicates that there is something else in the same room and it's far from friendly. How convenient...you have just stumbled upon the home of an ice monster and it's obviously not its lucky day: if you remain in the water you can shoot it from complete safety until it bursts into flames.

Once the coast is clear go over to the cluster of rocks in the middle of the room and retrieve a small medipack. Now climb the three pillars by the N wall, then turn to face S. You will notice a transparent, icy ledge ahead. This is of the collapsible sort so it's best to save the game here in case you fail (otherwise it will be impossible for you to reach the other side). Pull up onto the first tile and run until you reach the end (this can be a bit hard to see), then jump on to the next collapsible ledge and about halfway down veer right to jump to the balcony. Once there you can pick up some uzi clips on the left and pry off the 4th and final Bronze Star. The only way to get back down is by dropping from the balcony and this will cost a tiny slice of health (the impact is lessened if you roll as you land). Now return to the pool and swim down through the passage and the stargates back to the lobby.

Ingredients For Youth Potion: Gold Manuscript And Gilt Seals:

There is a guard waiting out there so kill him and proceed to insert all four stars in their rightful receptacles. The glass case in the middle lowers and you're now free to retrieve what you came all this way for: the Gold Manuscript. But the game doesn't end there. Quite the contrary....the only thing that happens is that a door opens back out in the hallway. Seems there is only one way to go now so return there, deal with an armed guard and pick up his uzi clips. The now open door is the rightmost one in the N wall. Go there and follow the hallway to the very end where there's an entrance to the garden on the left side. Before picking up the seal out there run around the garden and pick up a large medipack + wideshot ammo and uzi clips. There is nothing in either of the pools so ignore them for now and go get the 2nd Gilt Seal from the pedestal in the middle. And here comes the grand finale: Beatrice appears by the garden entrance. She shoots some bolts at Lara that are powerful and quite harmful too so a good weapon is required here (even with explosive ammo it takes about 7 arrows before she goes down). When she finally falls pick up the Fire Gem she leaves behind. Hopefully you remember where the receptacle for it is.....back in the hallway with the doors.

The Library- locating the Gate Key:

Place the Fire Gem in its rightful place to open the door and enter the library. Go straight forward (S) and in the S/E corner there is a pedestal for the scroll you found way back. A glass case lowers up on the second floor so turn around and go to the W wall, then turn left to find a flight of stairs. Follow them up to the balcony (and be careful not to drop off the stairs into the hole in the middle. If you do this Lara can't get out and you'll have to reload). On the balcony go around until you find the lowered case where you can pick up the Gate Key from the pedestal. Leave the library and get ready for a bit of backtracking (back to level 1 in fact).

Leaving Valentianum:

To get there head down the hallway W through the large double doors. Go through the doors on the left and head down the stairs. Ignore the open door at the bottom of the first set of stairs, instead continue around the right corner and down until you reach the very bottom with the four well-known gem receptacles. Continue around the corner here and you're back in the courtyard. Head right and leave the building. In the N/E corner out in the Fountain Courtyard there is a keyhole. Insert the key you found here to open the garden gate. Go through it and run down towards the next gate (take notice of the author's email address written on the ground) and as you approach the gate Lara's thrilling adventure in the Valentianum comes to an end.

Valentianum

Level by Katya (July, 2006)

Walkthrough by Harry Laudie

Level 1 - Cortile del Valentianum

You start with a flyby around a building and a gate closes behind you. Go east and follow around the building to enter a courtyard. Kill the thug and pick up the Silver Key. Go to the north-west corner and use the Silver Key. The door at the west wall opens. Kill another thug at the door entrance and pick up a small medipack. Enter the doorway and go north down the corridor. You get a flyby of the large open area with many doors and a fountain. Kill the two thugs and one will drop a small medipack. In the south-west corner is the entrance to the second level. You can go there and return in order to get full health. You may also notice that you need four items. Return to the first level and go to the east wall.

Open the south-east door, that is, the door to your right as you face the east wall. Call this door #1 and number them counter-clockwise. The first door to the west of the entrance corridor would be door #11. Push open door #1 and enter a lecture room with many chairs. Kill a thug for the red shotgun shells. Go to the north-east corner and pull the wall switch to open the gate in the east wall. Run down the slope and jump over the hole at the bottom while a rolling balls falls behind you. You can see a receptacle for an item that you do not have yet. There is a short block at the east wall with three wall panels to the right. The middle panel is a moveable block. Push in the middle panel for a large medipack and pull the wall switch. A block rises in the room. Use that block to reach a higher ledge. Pull the wall switch and get a cut scene of a door opening. Get down from the ledge and go back to the fountain area. Kill a thug and get a large medipack.

Go the north wall and enter the middle open door #5. Follow the tunnel to a small room. Climb the ladder and the north wall and back flip to a ledge. Pick up Uzi ammo on the east side. Go to the west side to pull a wall switch and get a cut scene of a trap door opening on the floor below you. Get down to the floor and climb down the ladder in the trap door and see two tunnels. Go north and pull out the middle block of the north wall. Push it aside and enter the crawl space. At the end, drop into a hole and pick up the Silver Key. Get out and go back to the trap door. Now go east and enter a room with three burning pedestals. You can pick up the small medipack without getting burned. Leave the large medipacks alone. Use the wall switch in the corner and get a cut scene of a door opening. Climb back up the ladder and exit back to the fountain area.

Go east to find that door #4 is open. Enter the room and kill a thug and get a small medipack. Notice that the thug is sneaking and crouching in his movements. Go to the wall and pull the wall switch. You get a cut scene of a door opening. Exit back to the fountain area.

Go to the south-west for open door #9. Avoid the chains as you follow the corridor. You enter a room with three wall switches. The east and center switches open trap doors beneath you and you slide to a death trap. Use the west wall switch. A trap door opens beneath you. Slide down and jump over a spike trap. Follow the corridor to slide down a slope. Jump over a spike trap and into a room with moving spike walls. Go to the south-east corner and pull the wall switch. Then side jump into the corridor to the right side to avoid the spike wall. There is a small medipack to pick up, but I could not do it. Follow the corridor to climb a ladder on the north wall. Go east and enter a room with a mirror. Look at the floor in the mirror and use the safe tiles to get onto the platform to the south. It is a very short platform. Jump to the north-east onto a tile that has something painted on it. Turn around and a block has risen on the platform. Get back there and climb up onto the block. Pull up into an opening and pick up a torch. Hop down to the block and run and jump to the door to exit the room. Follow the corridor to the north to light the torch on a wall torch and go to the end. The gate will open as you approach. Go west and pass the three switches and remember the open trap door. The gate is open so enter the room. Light the two wall torches and the west door opens. The fire is a fake. Pick up the Golden Key from the pedestal. Pick up the small medipack from the floor. Exit back to the fountain area.

Kill a thug and return to door #4. Enter the room and use the two keys to open the gate. Enter the room and kill a thug at the east wall. Pick up red shotgun shells afterwards. Jump the east wall guardrail and go to the north-east corner. Get into the crawl space for the Cardinal Points Scroll. It states:

Black Knight = North

Red Bird = South

Green Dragon = East

White Leopard = West

Move the appropriate piece onto the appropriate circle on the floor. When all four have been moved, the gate opens in the north wall.

Slide down the slope and grab the pole. Slide down through the circular blade to the floor. Go into the east alcove and pick up the crowbar (Jemmy). Crawl to the north-west corner to avoid wall darts and pick up a large medipack. Enter the west doorway and climb the north wall. Near the spikes, back flip, roll, and grab the south ladder. Climb to the top and pull up into a corridor. Follow the corridor and a gate opens as you approach. You are back in the moving piece room. Exit to the west into the entrance room and use then crowbar to pry the Bronze Star from the wall. Exit back to the fountain area.

Return to door #1 and kill a thug who tries to stop you. Go down the ramp in the east wall to the bottom room. Use the Golden Star in the receptacle at the north wall. You get a cut scene of a door opening. Exit back to the fountain area.

Go north and enter door #2. This seems to be a recital room. Kill a thug and pick up a large medipack. Go to the east and hop up onto the stage. Kill the thug shooting at you from the north opening. Follow that corridor to the east and emerge into a water garden area. Kill the thug shooting at you from the north-west corner. He fell into the water. Go there and dive into the water. Pick up a shotgun and swim around for Uzi ammo. Continue swimming to go under a bridge. Look up and pull down the underwater ceiling switch. You get a cut scene of a block rising beside the piano on the stage. Surface to pull up to the walkways. On the south green walkway is a small medipack. Go to the north white walkway and pick up Fire Gem #1 from the pedestal. The fire is a fake and does not harm. You get a cut scene of the route to the second level. Go back to the stage and climb the block. Pull up into a room for secret #1, large medipack, Uzi ammo and Uzi's. Get down to the stage and enter the south corridor. Pull the wall switch and get a cut scene of a door opening. Exit back to the fountain area.

Go north and enter door #3. Run down the stairs and enter a room. Turn to the east to kill a thug. Go to the north-west corner and pull up into an alcove partially hidden by a curtain. Turn east and stand jump to grab an upper ledge. Pull up and go east for a small medipack. Go to the south-east corner and pull the wall switch. You get a cut scene of a trap door opening on the floor below. Go there and use the west side of the hole to climb down into the hole. You are on row #1. The east wall switch is on row #5. Row #2 and row #4 that are inline with the wall torches are fire traps. Row #3 is safe so do two stand jumps. Use the wall switch and get a cut scene of a door opening. Get back to row #1 and climb back up into the room. Exit back to the fountain area.

Go west and enter door #8. Follow the tunnel to a room with slopes, burners and chains. Run, jump, and grab the column to the north. Watch out for the chain and the burner and then go to the column to the west. Here you can drop, grab, and shimmy to the left to pull up in safety. Jump to the south column and then to the south ledge. Pull the east wall switch to get a cut scene of a door opening. Pull the west wall switch and see the underwater gate open beside you. Dive in and follow the underwater tunnel. Pull up onto a balcony and get a flyby of the area showing all the dangers. Go to the south wall and jump to the west ledge. Pick up a large medipack and a fire wraith attacks. Jump back to the balcony and into the water to extinguish it. Return and jump the south wall ledges to the very end. Jump and grab the north ledge. Pull up and just slide down the slopes. On the last slope, jump to a safe tile and pick up Fire Gem #2. Jump east and just follow the water tunnel back through underwater spike traps and into the burner room. At the entrance, pull up onto a block and onto the first column. Reverse the jumps you did earlier to get back to the room entrance. Exit back to the fountain area.

Go north and enter door #7. Follow the corridor to kill a thug and get a large medipack. Follow the corridor to see two ramps. Stay on the right side of the left ramp. Jump forward on the left ramp and two balls fall. Side jump to the right ramp and two balls fall. Side jump back to the left ramp and the left balls should have passed so you are safe. Go forward and repeat this procedure for another two balls that fall on the left ramp. At the top pick up the Fire Gem #3 from the pedestal. Go south and use the wall switch to get a cut scene of a door opening. Exit out the north doorway. Follow the corridor to kill a thug and push open the door at the end. Exit back to the fountain area.

Go south and enter door #10. Go down the tunnel and climb down a ladder. Follow the tunnel to enter a large outdoor garden. Move to either side to restore the camera view and kill two thugs. Go to the north-west quadrant of the garden and drop into a trench behind the trees. Use the wall switch and get a cut scene of a door opening. Go to the middle and pick up Fire Gem #4 from the pedestal. Dive into the south-west water trench to get a large medipack and destroy four fire wraiths. Pull up and kill a thug. Exit back to the fountain area.

Kill a thug and go east to enter door #11. Climb up the stairs and enter the room. You get secret #2, Uzi ammo, blue shotgun shells, large medipack, and red shotgun shells. Exit back to the fountain area. Kill another thug and pick up a small medipack. Go to the south-west corner and follow the corridor and the level changes.

Level 2 - All'interno del Palazzo

Run towards the four gem receptacles and kill a thug shooting at you from the south. Go up the stairs to kill a thug and pick up crossbow explosive ammo. Notice two closed doors on the way back to the receptacles. Use the four Fire Gems and the door in the west corridor opens. Follow the corridor to enter the room. Drop into the hole in the floor. Follow the tunnel and go through two circular slicers. Save the game before you drop into the next hole. Drop in the hole and run north to pull a wall switch and a gate opens. Turn and enter the west alcove before a moving spike wall gets you. You can pick up a small medipack. When the wall passes, exit and go south.

Go down the stairs to kill a bat and pick up flares. Go east and enter a church. Hop onto the north altar for the crossbow and crossbow explosive ammo. Move the pillar with the skull from the south-west corner onto the dark circle in the north-east corner. You get a cut scene of a gate opening with a water trench behind it. Go south into the main church. You pass a crawl space in the west wall for later. Enter the church and get a flyby of the item in the middle. Kill a bat and go to the pedestal. Pick up the Gilt Seal and six skeletons arise from the floor. Collect all six in a group and try to use one explosive ammo to destroy them. If not, then use more ammo.

Go to the open gate in the west wall. Slide a little and jump up to grab a climbable wall. Pull up into an alcove and pick up the torch. Hop back and slide to the bottom. Run over the breakable tiles that did not break. Enter the room and a block rises around the pedestal. Light the torch on a wall torch. Then light the two wall torches on the east and west walls and the block descends. Pick up the Scroll and get a cut scene of a library and a woman in white. The north gate opens so exit into a tunnel. Climb the wall at the end kill a bat. Go through a crawl space ands kill a skeleton waiting for you at the exit. Go back into the church and go south to the open gate.

Get into the water and kill three bats as you wade to the end of the water trench. When you see a black circle on the north wall, look above you to see a shaft. The north wall is climbable. Climb the wall and shimmy to the left and into an alcove. Use the crowbar to pry a Bronze Star off the west wall. Climb back down into the water and continue east. At the end, grab the ladder on the north wall and climb up to a ledge. Ahead of you is a fire pit and fire emitters on the walls. Jump up to grab the monkey swing and start moving. There are three fire emitters to pass.

Drop at the end and follow the tunnel to pick up blue shotgun shells and go through a circular slicer. Continue and go up stairs and through two circular slicers. Kill a bat that tries to push you into the slicer. At the top of the stairs, use the wall switch and get a cut scene of a door opening and a thug. Push open the doors to the north corner. Enter the stairs and kill a thug for a large medipack. Go up the stairs to find the open door. Enter the room and use the wall switch to open the large doors.

Enter the room and kill three thugs. Then pick up a small medipack, blue shotgun shells, and Uzi ammo. There are four doors. Push open the south-west door and enter. Kill a thug and pick up red shotgun shells. Go the wall switch by the entrance and save the game for a timed run. Pull the wall switch, roll, stand jump forward, and then side jump to the right. Walk to the ledge end, jump forward and side jump to the left. Jump forward to grab the ledge. Pull up and sprint through the timed gate. Place the Bronze Star and get a cut scene of a door opening. Turn around and use the wall switch twice to open the gate. On the way down the ledges, pick up Uzi ammo on one of them. Exit the room and kill a thug for red shotgun shells.

Enter the open door to the north. Follow the tunnel to a red room with four doors and a book under a glass block. Go to the north-east door and turn around to kill a thug. Push the door open and kill a thug on the ramp. This thug drops a large medipack. Follow up the ramps to a room with a deep pit and a blue ball. Shoot the blue ball and you see electrical arcs in various places. These mark the locations of invisible platforms. Follow the platforms to reach the high upper north ledge. On the fourth platform kill two blue harpies before they push you off. Then jump to the fifth platform and save the game. This is where the author mentions a bug. First jump to the east end to use the wall switch. You get a cut scene of a door. Then roll and sprint to the west end and use the crowbar to pry Bronze Star #1 off the wall. There are black corkscrew blades descending while you are doing this. Then jump to the nearest invisible platform to avoid the blades. Jump the platforms to get back down to the lower south ledge.

Go back to the book room and enter the north-west door. Go down the tunnel and enter a room with a lava pit and platform. Go west and dive into the water at the wall. Swim to the bottom and enter a crawl space. Swim to the end for secret #3, Uzi ammo, and a small medipack. Look into the lava pit and jump onto the platform where you see Uzi ammo. Then jump to the center platform. Then jump to the platform by the north wall and save the game. Pull up and a dragon appears out of a pit and shoots fire and locust at you. Run to the west to pry Bronze Star #2 off the wall. Roll and run to the east wall to pull a wall switch. You get a cut scene of a door. The path though the lava pit is now continuous so it is easy to run back to the south ledge. Pull up and exit the room before the dragon fire or locust get you.

Go back to the book room and enter the east door. Follow the tunnel and enter a room with a large balloon. Kill two thugs and one will drop Uzi's. Go to the south-east corner and pull the wall switch. You get a cut scene of a door opening. Pull up to the central column and jump to the next two columns to the south-east. Enter the opening and follow the tunnel and face a green ball. Get near the middle of the tile. Stand jump over the ball and keep the jump key depressed. After a few adjustments, you should land on the edge of the far slope while the green ball falls beneath you. For the other green ball, turn around and hop back, then run forward and jump to grab the other ledge as the second green ball falls behind you. Pull up and back flip to the second slope and run to the top.

Follow the tunnel to a ledge. Grab the ceiling and monkey swing to the platform to the east. Follow the tunnel to pick up flares and crossbow explosive ammo. Approach the gate and it opens. Enter the room and kill five skeletons. Go to the south wall and pry Bronze Star #3 off the wall. Kill another two skeletons. Use the wall switch on the east wall to open the gate. Follow the tunnel and kill a bat. Enter a room with fire pits and kill three bats. There is a large medipack in the south-east corner. The exit is in the south-west corner. Slide down the slopes and jump two fire pits. Climb two blocks and a wall and push open the doors to enter the balloon room. Kill a thug and pick up a large medipack. Exit the room.

Go back to the book room and enter the west door. Dive into the water and swim through two circular slicers in the underwater tunnel. Then swim up to the surface and pull up on an ice block. Go west and kill the ice ahmet that attacks you. Climb the blocks at the north wall and look south to see breakable ice ledges. Jump to the first ice ledge and run south. Jump to the second ice ledge and run with a right curve to land on the balcony at the west wall. Use the crowbar to pry Bronze Star #4 off the west wall. Safety drop to the ground and pick up a small medipack off one of the platforms on the floor. Return to the water and swim back through the circular slicers.

Go back to the book room and kill a thug. Use the four Bronze Stars and the block around the book drops. Pick up the Gold Manuscript and get a cut scene of a door opening. Exit out the south door. When you enter the corridor again, go east and kill a thug for Uzi ammo. Continue east and enter the open door. Follow the tunnel to the end and then go east to emerge into a large garden. Pick up another Gilt Seal although it seems that you can only have one of them at a time. You get a cut scene of the women in white at the entrance door. Kill her and pick up a Fire Gem. You can run around the perimeter of the garden for Uzi ammo, blue shotgun shells, and a large medipack.

Exit back to the interior corridor and use the Fire Gem to open the south-east door. You enter the library. Go to the south-east corner and use the Scroll. You get a cut scene of a block dropping in a corner. Go to the south-west corner and find the stairs. Follow the stairs and the balcony to pick up the Gate Key. Get down from the balcony and exit the library and go west down the corridor. Go back down all the stairs and enter back to the first level.

Level 1 - Cortile del Valentianum

Go to the south-east and follow the corridor back to the outside courtyard where you started. Go to the north-east corner and use the Gate Key to open the large gate at the east wall. Run east over some graffiti on the walkway. Continue east to the second large gate and the level ends.

03-jul-2006