1000 FEET UNDER

Levels by Cleopal

Authorized walkthrough by Phil Lambeth, using very helpful notes provided by scottchu.

SKULL CAVE

As you begin, you hear the sound of Lara sliding down a slope, but it's so dark that you can see nothing. Before continuing, boost your monitor's gamma settings as necessary to see what's going on around you. Turn left and go through the short corridor, pausing at the bottom of the steps for some flares. Turn right and go up the steps to trigger a brief flyby of the deep cave ahead, pausing at an ominous stone skull structure. The camera angle changes as you step forward, and flames start shooting out of the mouths of the lion statues perched on the higher N and S ledges. Hit the look key to restore camera control, then turn right to face E. There's a triangular-shaped ledge jutting out from the wall, so take a running jump toward the vertex of that ledge and you should land safely. Step forward and crawl into the crawl space. Turn around and lower Lara down the other side. Climb down the ladder into a rocky corridor and then climb down a second ladder. Turn around at the bottom and run forward for SECRET #1. Pick up the large medipack, the small medipack, the desert eagle ammo and some flares. You can't pick up the bones, and I was unable to make them shatter with the pistols.

Climb back up the ladders and jump back across to the W ledge. Walk forward to the NW corner and you'll find a ladder leading downward. Climb down until Lara is dangling, then release and grab the lower section of the bridge. Pull up and run toward the S wall. You can now proceed either right or left, but for no particular reason let's turn right and proceed W along the wooden bridge fragment. Side step to the right (you can see how the ledge across the way slopes down to your right) and take a long running jump and grab to a point near the far right corner. Pull up and run forward to the end of some steps. Take a running jump W without grab to land on the end of the ledge ahead. You can see ladders ahead and to your left. Leave the ladder to your left for later and walk forward carefully, as the last three tiles in front of the ladder in the far W wall are breaktiles. You can avoid crumbling all three of them (thereby saving them for possible later use) by hopping slightly NW beyond the first two breaktiles, then carefully positioning yourself so that you can take an angled jump and grab to the ladder. Climb up and shift left to drop down onto a ledge.

Turn left and hop SE onto a triangular ledge in the S wall. Turn left to face E and step back as far as you can. Take a standing jump to a higher ledge, then go up the higher steps to the end. Take a running jump to the lower E platform. Look up NE at that blue-tinted area near the ceiling of the cave, and use your binoculars to zoom in for a closer view. Make a mental note of the four symbols you see there, as they'll become important shortly. Then enter the S doorway and go down the stairs to a rock bridge. Approach the pedestal in the middle and the gate ahead closes, releasing a bat at the same time. Shoot it, then locate the ladder in the SW rock face near the pedestal. Use it to climb down to the bottom and vault up into the W alcove. Turn to face SE and take a standing jump into the corner of the opening beside the ladder. Step down S toward a dead soldier. The corpse is quite sticky, causing you problems when you attempt to pick up the nearby artifact. The best way to do it is to stand next to the artifact, opposite the corpse, crouch and use the action key to obtain the first TURQUOISE. Go down a little further and you'll find some flares next to another ladder.

Climb up the ladder to the rock bridge. Hop over the gap and enter the W opening. Go up the steps and follow the passage to an area where you'll find a side passage to your right (S) for some more flares. Go back out, enter the E crawl space, continue forward and find yourself back at the pedestal, having exited from the opposite opening. We still need to get that S gate open, don't we? Go back through the E opening, through the crawl space, and light a flare in the more open area to locate a trio of moveable blocks in the S wall. Number the blocks from right to left, 1, 2 and 3. Push Block 1 all the way S into an alcove. An opening is revealed to your left. Push Block 2 once into that opening. Turn left and pull Block 3 once W (into the space formerly occupied by Block 2). A fourth moveable block is thereby revealed, behind where Block 3 was originally situated. Push Block 4 once S, then turn to your right and push both Block 2 and Block 3 once W. Go back to Block 4 and pull it back N two times. Now go into the S passage you've formed, and at the end turn around and activate the jumpswitch in the alcove. You hear the sound of a nearby gate opening, and that's indeed the gate we want.

Go back to the rock bridge and enter the open S gateway. Go up the stairs and find yourself in a small room cluttered with debris. Pick up the flares, then pull up into the N crawl space. Crawl forward and emerge on a ledge high up in the Skull Cave. Take a running jump N and grab the crack in the wall. Shimmy a bit left and pull up into the crawl space. Crawl forward and lower Lara down the other side while spooky music plays. Believe it or not, you're now inside the skull structure. You're facing a bay of five wall switches in the N wall, with a closed grate in the W wall and multiple flames in the E wall (the skull's "eyes" and "nose"). The holes in front of the switches portend a spiky death if you pull down the wrong ones. Pick up the flares next to the skeleton, then pull up into the right "eye" (the one on your left as you face it) and use your binoculars to review the symbols on the E wall that you noted earlier. Now hop down and look at the wall above the five switches. You now know that you must pull down all the switches except the one in the middle (yep, the one where the skeleton lies). You need to pull them down in proper sequence, too. Numbering the switches from left to right, pull down 5, 2, 1 and 4, in that order. A cut scene shows double gates opening in the wall of the Skull Cave.

The grate in the W wall has also opened, so pull up into the crawl space and crawl through the passage until you reach a room with a grated floor. Pull the chain once in the W alcove, and a flyby takes you below the grated floor and into the Skull Cave, where the flames in the skull structure are extinguished. Go back through the crawl space and return to the room with the bay of switches. You may have noticed a trap door in the floor of this room. It leads to an essential artifact, but if you get it now you'll be obliged to follow a path different from the one described below. You'll be coming this way later, so to avoid confusion I recommend that you leave the trap door alone for now. Exit via the crawl space in the SW corner and safety drop from the other side, losing a small bit of health. Face SW and take a standing jump to the slope. Slide down and grab the edge. Shimmy left until you near the S wall, then pull up and back flip to the base of the steps. Turn around and follow the steps to the top. Take a running jump to the lower E platform. Cross the wooden bridge, enduring the fixed camera angle, to the N side. Enter the arched opening and go down the stairs. Crawl through the cramped space and hop down into a room with a caged artifact. Climb onto the pillar fragment to the N of the cage and take a standing jump and grab to the top of the cage. Pull up and turn to face NE. Shoot the only headless lion statue and take a long running jump to the near corner of the ledge on which it was perched.

Turn to face slightly NW and take a running jump to grab the side of the ledge sticking out from the N wall. Climb up to the top and note the inaccessible wall switch in the N alcove. Take a running jump S onto a rock bridge where you have a choice of three wall switches (except that the S and W ones are also hole-protected at the moment). Stand in front of the E switch and save your game. When you pull it down, a timed trap door rises in front of the S switch. Reverse roll and jump across the bridge to your left to save time. Dash into the S alcove and pull the switch there to raise the trap door in front of the N switch behind you. Get there as fast as you can, pull down the switch, and make your way quickly to the fourth and final W switch, where another timed trap door has been raised. When you pull it down, a cut shows the cage being lowered around the artifact, but an SAS comes out to take it away!

Go out and safety drop from the N side of the bridge onto the pillar fragment, then hop down and follow the SAS through the S opening. A cut scene shows the SAS being attacked by a giant scorpion, then by another, until he finally succumbs and leaves the artifact behind. Run along the E ledge, turn around at the end and hop back. Grab the edge and shimmy right around the corner. When Lara's feet find the ladder, climb down and keep shifting right until you drop down onto a balcony. You can try to kill the scorpions from here, but it isn't easy. At some point you're going to have to make your way down to the cave floor, whether to finish off the scorpions or to explore the area at your leisure. Pick up the second TURQUOISE dropped by the SAS near the S wall, and locate the flares near a boulder that has crushed an unfortunate soldier. There's a nearby hole in the mesh floor, and if you look hard enough you can see a third caged artifact off in the distance to the E, but you don't want to go down there yet. Instead, head S past the boulder and locate the entrance in the cave wall. Follow the passage until you're warped to the companion level.

POOL CAVE

Follow the passage to some flares, then pause to shoot a scorpion. In the next room are more flares, together with a grated opening on a S ledge and a W crawl space. Enter the crawl space, navigate the partially water-filled hole and follow to a small cave with two small pools. Jump W out of the first pool and wade into the second one. Pull back the drowned soldier and claim the LASER SIGHT that his corpse was concealing. As you approach the S opening four scorpions pour out of the nearby shallow pit that's filled with bones, so kill them quickly before proceeding. Enter the S passage and follow to a room where two SAS are engaged in mortal combat with a pair of giant scorpions. The brief flyby ends with a glimpse of the desert eagle in an upper alcove. Unfortunately, the scorpions win, so you need to deal with them before you can proceed. However, you can shoot them from the safety of the passage. However, when you enter the room a third giant scorpion is awakened to your left, so hop back into the passage and dispatch it. When all is quiet, enter the room and pick up the desert eagle ammo and the small medipack. There are openings in the N and S walls, but for now drop down into one of the corner holes at the E wall.

Locate the wall switch and pull it. Return to the previous room and find that a block has been raised at the E wall. Now enter the N opening and the gate ahead lifts as you approach it. Enter a small underground room with a shallow pool and an open gateway S. Stand at the threshold of the gateway, noting the closed gate SW, the lighted torch to your left and the unlighted torch to your right. Save your game here in preparation for a timed run. When you step forward the gate slams shut behind you and a spiked wall begins closing in from your left. That's the direction you must go first, however. Dash toward the skeleton, quickly pick up the TORCH, then hop back with a midair turn and run to the flame near the closed gate and light your torch. Then side flip to the left and light the adjacent torch, which opens the SW gate behind you. Reverse roll and take a running jump into the opening before the spiked wall reaches you. This sequence is made more difficult by a fixed camera angle.

Once you've arrived safely, save your game again and step back from the wall in front of the crawl space. Toss your torch through the opening so that it slides forward and falls into the hole in the floor. The hole is partially filled with water, so your torch will be extinguished, but don't worry about that. Just crawl in after it, pick it up and jump S into the passage. Follow the passage and slide down into the SAS-scorpion room. Taking the torch with you, stand on the flat central tile on which the pedestal sits. Take a running jump E and you should land safely on the raised block. Stand at the SW corner of the block, facing the lower portion of the higher ledge N, and take an angled running jump toward that lower corner. Walk forward one step from the edge and toss the torch into the crawl space ahead. Go in after it, pick it up and head up the stairs to an opening high up in the wall. Take a running jump across the SAS-scorpion room to a flaming pedestal. Light your torch and then toss it down to the floor far below. Take a running jump S to the alcove with the DESERT EAGLE and pick it up.

If you don't mind losing a little bit of health, you can safety drop from the triangular platform in front of the alcove. However, it's just as easy to face E, take a standing jump and grab the wall, and climb down until you can release with complete safety. Retrieve your torch and use it to light the central pedestal. You hear both a trap door and a regular door opening, both of which must be nearby. Drop your torch, hop down either of the holes at the E wall and find the open trap door. Hop down further and pick up the WINGED SERPENT. Climb back out, retrieve your torch and exit via the W opening by which you entered. You see that a block in the W wall has been lowered, but stay away from there for the time being unless you wish to unleash prematurely a plague of insects. Return to the cave with the drowned soldier and continue to the deeper pool E. Save your game here, just in case. You need to toss your torch into the SE crawl space so that it slides forward into the partially-filled water hole (snuffing out the flame, but so what). Once you've accomplished this, go back the way you came and return to that spot where the block was lowered.

Once you enter the revealed passage you'll release a horde of beetles, so run quickly to the intersection, turn left and run to the end. Pick up the small medipack and the flares, then reverse roll and run around to the other end past the bones. You'll be rewarded with the chimes for SECRET #2. Quickly pick up three stashes of desert eagle ammo and the large medipack while the beetles nibble at your heels, then beat a hasty retreat to the crawl space into which you threw your torch earlier. Retrieve your torch from the partially water-filled hole and jump E into the passage. Toss the torch into the cave ahead and crawl forward to retrieve it. The grate on the S ledge is now open, so take an angled standing jump onto the ledge and toss your torch through the opening. Follow it inside, lower Lara down the other side, retrieve your torch and light it with either of the torches in the spike wall room. Turn around, hop onto the block against the N wall and toss your torch into the crawl space opening. Follow it inside, retrieve your torch, run forward into the NE passage and follow until you're warped back to the previous level.

SKULL CAVE

Follow the passage into the floor of Skull Cave and approach the boulder straight ahead. Toss your lighted torch into the hole in the mesh flooring to the left of the boulder and safety drop in after it. Pick up the torch and approach the fiery trench E. Take a running jump either NE and SE and slide a bit down the slope, then jump off with the right or left arrow key as appropriate to bring Lara farther E. Continue until you reach the flat ledge at the halfway point. Pause for a breather if you wish, then take the second leg of this brief journey. When you land safely on the E side, light the pedestal in the SE corner and watch the cage lower next to you. You're not yet through with the torch, so drop it only momentarily to pick up the third TURQUOISE. You get another cut scene of that closed grate high up in the wall of Skull Cave. Retrieve your torch and hop the slopes back to the W end. Hop up onto the N ledge and take a running jump onto the S block. Turn around and take a standing jump through the hope onto the mesh flooring of Skull Cave.

Head E through the ruins and leave your torch here for the moment. See that broken-down structure with several lone pillars, to the W of the more complete structure that has all four pillars intact? Inside that ruined structure is a corner where two walls meet. Stand in the corner, facing S, and pull up onto the highest point of the wall remnant. From there, sidestep left a bit, jump straight up and grab the roof of the structure. Pull up, turn around and take a standing jump N to the top of a lone pillar fragment. Step up to the SE corner and take a running jump E to the roof of the more complete structure. Grab the edge, shimmy right a bit and pull up onto the roof next to the lion statute. If you have difficulty making the grab, give yourself a little extra running room by hanging from the E edge of the pillar remnant, pulling up and doing a reverse roll before starting your running jump.

Make your way to the S side of the roof and take a standing jump S to the sloped pillar remnant. Pull up, slide down the other side and jump off at the last instant to grab the edge of the rocky ledge in the S wall. Pull up and go to your right. Follow the ledge W until you reach the ladder in the S wall. Climb the ladder to the top, shift to your right and drop down onto a familiar ledge. Turn right and approach the next ladder in the W wall, avoiding breaking the crumbling tiles once again if you wish, and climb the W ladder to the top. Shift left, drop down onto the ledge, and turn left to hop onto that triangular outcropping. Turn left and jump to the higher E ledge, run up the stairs and jump down to the large platform. Cross the wooden bridge to the N platform, turn left and safety drop from the NW corner to the top of some steps. You can see a caged medipack in front of you. Run NE across the corner into the N passage (or, if you want to be absolutely safe about it, hang from the E edge, shimmy right around the corner and pull up into the passage). Follow the passage up some stairs to an apparent dead end. However, if you turn to your left you'll find that the S wall is climbable. Jump up and grab it, climb up four rungs, and back flip into an upper chamber.

Turn around to find a receptacle for your Winged Serpent. Insert it for a cut scene showing a gate lifting elsewhere. Enter the W crawl space and follow to an area with some desert eagle ammo. Return to the previous room and enter the E crawl space. Run up the stairs and listen for the sound of a nearby flame blower. Turn to your left when you reach the top and take a running jump into the S alcove. The frayed mesh window can be shattered with your pistols. Draw your desert eagle, combine it with the laser sight, and take aim at the exposed brass ball across the way in the S wall. An earthquake ensues when you shoot it. Turn around, go back down the stairs and through the crawl space, and you'll find an open trap door in the floor ahead. Hop down into the lower area and find the jump switch in the N alcove. Activate it and you'll hear the sound of a door opening. Exit the alcove and head E down the passage. As you turn the corner a flyby shows the fourth Turquoise (caged, naturally) in the next room, together with a new area that you're obviously intended to explore before doing anything else.

Pick up the flares at your feet and turn around. Climb back up to the room where you placed the Winged Serpent, enter the E crawl space and return to the alcove where you shot the brass ball. Drop down onto the tiled ledge outside and follow it W to the end (walking carefully as you approach the slope). Turn around and slide down the slope backwards, grab the edge and drop to the large platform below. Turn around and safety drop to a familiar ledge. That small medipack you saw earlier is no longer caged, so take a running jump across the gap (with grab to land inside) and pick it up for a short burst of action music. When you step forward onto the slight ramp, the camera angle changes. Hop back until camera control is restored (you should be able to keep it now) and save your game here. Run toward the rope ahead, applying the sprint key when you hear the boulder rumbling toward you from behind, and jump off to grab the rope. Make sure you grab it as high up as possible, as the tile beneath it is spike trapped. So that you jump off the ramp at the optimum spot, make sure Lara's toes are lined up with the edge of the ramp before you take off on your run.

Climb up to the top of the rope to make it stop swinging. Turn left to face N, slide down to the bottom of the rope, swing forward and jump off to grab the next rope. This seems to be a most aggravating jump, as you tend to bump against the ceiling when you jump off at what appears to be the most opportune moment. However, the builder has informed me of a simple trick to make the jump successfully. Take a big swing, and instead of jumping off at the peak as you would normally do, wait until Lara starts swinging back in the other direction , and jump off at that point. You should then make the grab with no problem. When you successfully reach the second rope, align Lara with the jump switch ahead and swing forward to activate it. You'll drop down to a breaktile, so side flip to the left immediately upon landing and you'll wind up on a safe ledge. The builder intended that you reverse roll on the breaktile and jump back to the second rope, and get back the same way you came. However, she warns that there's little margin for error on the return trip. You can give her method a try if you wish, or you can simply follow the directions given below.

Turn to face due E and take a standing jump from the edge on the ledge you're on now. You'll land on a small but stable triangular area. Turn to face SE, just to the left of the notched pillar with the spike trap at the top, and take a running jump to the safe ledge there. Continuing to face SE, take a standing jump up to the flat area just to the left of the notched pillar. Sidestep left, facing S, then turn to face the notched pillar. Take a standing jump and grab the hidden crack in the W face of the pillar. Shimmy right, around two corners, and release to land on a safe ledge below. Hop down to the floor of Skull Cave and use the temple ruins to reach the large platform against the N wall as you did earlier. When you get there, enter the arched opening to your right (the one straight ahead is blocked by a gate). Go down the stairs, and in the next room you'll find two lion statues. Push the W one aside and enter the crawl space it was blocking. Follow up a ramp to an opening, lower Lara down the other side and release to drop down into a room with the fourth and final TURQUOISE. A cut scene shows that gate opening in the wall of Skull Cave. Jump into the E opening and hop down the other side for some flares, then exit this room the same way you got here. Stand underneath the crawl space in the S wall, slightly right of center, and access it by pressing the action key and the up arrow key, without jumping.

When you get back to the large platform in Skull Cave, you're attacked by three bats. After disposing of them, use the nearby single lane bridge to cross over to the SE platform. The central area of the bridge consists of breaktiles, but you can avoid crumbling any of them by hopping back to grab the stable part of the bridge and shimmying past the breaktiles. Once across, locate the nearby ladder and climb down until Lara is dangling by her fingertips. Release and grab the next section of bridge below. Pull up and follow the ledge around to your left, being mindful of the low ceiling when you reach the corner. At this point you can hop back and grab the edge, and shimmy past a row of breaktiles without causing them to crumble. When you're past them, pull up and use the nearby ladder to reach an upper ledge. Turn around and take a standing jump to grab the ceiling. Monkey swing S and turn left to face the new opening in the cave wall. Release to grab the edge, then pull up and allow Lara to slide down the long slope. Save your game on the way down, and Lara will shortly hit a warp trigger.

POOL CAVE

As soon as the new level loads, jump with a roll so that Lara slides down the slope backwards. Grab the edge at the end, then drop, turn left and run quickly to the S wall (being mindful of the dart guns) as a horde of beetles attacks you. Jump up and grab the crack in the wall, then shimmy left and around the corner. When you come to an opening over a breaktile bridge, save your game as you're pulling up. A lot is going to happen in the next few seconds, and it'll take longer for you to read about it here than it does to navigate the sequence itself. Run across the breaktiles and turn right at the intersection. A boulder is then activated, so sprint down the ramp while it chases you. You'll fall down into a hole at the end, but your troubles are only beginning. As soon as you regain control of your movements, make a hairpin turn to your right and run N down the next ramp before the boulder drops down and crushes you. Jump over a spike pit near the bottom, using the action key so you won't bang your head against the wall. Slide down the slope on the other side, and turn left as soon as you hit bottom. A spike wall is bearing down on you, so run to the W wall and turn right. Pull up into the NW opening and run across another breaktile gauntlet. Turn left and stand on a lone breaktile in the corner while a second spike wall approaches. Turn to face S and wait until it crumbles, and you'll fall onto a slope. Try to avoid the two blade traps by jumping over them as you slide down. Doing all this and coming out unscathed at the end may largely be a matter of luck as much as skill.

You're safe here for the moment, so pause and catch your breath. You're standing at the entrance of a slicer-dicer trough, so when you're ready to proceed and you hear it whirl past you step forth and turn left. Run down the steep ramp and drop down into the water. Locate the underwater lever in the N wall and pull it quickly before the slicer-dicer returns. Flip turn and swim down S, staying as high as possible. When the slicer-dicer rolls by, continue S and pull down the companion underwater lever in the opposite wall. Flip turn, surface and quickly pull up into the alcove. Climb the ladder, pull up and run N up the ramp. On the other side you see that a gate has opened NW, so slide down toward it, jump off to grab the edge, and pull up inside before the slicer-dicer gets you. If you wish, you can slide down the ramp on the right side, drop into the alcove and jump to the crack in the wall after the slicer-dicer goes by. Shimmy left and pull up into the opening. Run forward and go up the winding stairs to your right. In the small room above you'll find a pedestal with a JASP SPLINTER. When you pick it up, a cut scene shows a gate opening in the floor of the submerged section.

Go back downstairs, jump into the water and swim down toward the open gate. Pause to grab the small medipack from the skeleton, then swim into the opening and follow the passage until you can pull up in front of a wall switch. Pull down the switch and swim back the way you came. Turn right, toward the S wall, and pull up into the alcove with the ladder. The gate in the S wall is now open, so turn around and take a running jump toward the opening. Grab and pull up, then go up the stairs to your left as the gate slams shut behind you. You'll come to a bowl-shaped room with a water hole in the middle. Jump or slide down into the water, swim down and open an underwater door at the end. Swim inside and allow the current to carry you up to a larger pool where the camera angle changes. Get some air, save your game and then swim across the room and pull down the underwater lever in the W wall. The timed gate opens in the center of the floor, so swim down there and locate another underwater lever. Pull it quickly and continue swimming S. Pull up into a dry pool, identical in most respects to the previous pool, before the second timed gate closes.

Before approaching the ladder in the E wall, draw your desert eagle and combine it with the laser sight. Aim for the rectangular opening above the ladder and shoot the grate that blocks it. Ignore the corpse of the unfortunate decapitated soldier and run toward the ladder. Jump up to grab it as two wraiths and a couple of mummies are awakened. Climb to the top, grab the edge of the crawl space and pull up inside as the wraiths give chase. When you can stand up, turn around and jump up to grab another ladder. As you climb up the wraiths are somehow destroyed as if they'd encountered a nearby bird statue (I never saw one). When you pull up and step forward into the opening, a lingering flyby previews some of the tasks awaiting you. There's some unfinished business down below you need to take care of first, however. Climb back down the ladders into the dry pool with the mummies. If you're as fortunate as I was, you'll find that they've mysteriously disappeared. I thought that this may have something to do with triggering that flyby I just mentioned, and the builder has confirmed my suspicion. She adds that otherwise, the mummies would continue to be walking around after the pool has been flooded. In any event, you'll find to your surprise that they can be killed with your desert eagle, although their bodies don't disintegrate at death (the builder explains that this was the unforeseen result of an animation modification), so be sure to lure them outside into the open pool area before shooting them.

Enter their abode and grab the desert eagle ammo from the NE alcove and the small medipack on the floor. Then pull out the block two times from the E wall (do not push it N, or you will not be able to move it later and you therefore won't be able to complete the level). Enter the revealed passage and go up the stairs to another bowl-shaped room with a central water hole. However, you can walk on the edge of this bowl without sliding down into the water (which turns out to be a nothing but a wading pool). Walk around to the W opening and go up the stairs. You see a chain beyond the closed grate and an unlit wall torch to your right. There's nothing more you can do here for the moment, so return to the large pool room. Turn around and climb up the E wall ladder again. Pull up into the crawl space, crawl forward, stand up, turn around and climb up the second ladder to the ledge overlooking the pool room. Step out and go to the N opening, noting the ladders on either side of it. Crawl into the opening and enter a third pool room (this one having water in it).

Run NW along the narrow ledge and shoot the balcony in the W wall. Vault up into the opening and use the ladder to climb down to a ledge at the water's level. Turn to your right and drop down into the water hole. Swim down and through the opening (you may encounter some unseen resistance here) into the larger pool. Swim across to the submerged ladder in the E wall and pull up into the opening. Follow to a ladder and climb up until you reach the opening to your left. Shift left and around the corner, and drop down into a small alcove. Turn around and place one of the Turquoises in the receptacle. Return to the ladder and resume your climb upward. Pull up at the top and go around to your left to pull down the wall switch. You hear the sound of rushing water. Climb all the way back down the ladder, jump into the water and swim across to the W end. Swim into the opening (again fighting that unseen resistance) and pull out E. Jump up to grab the ladder and climb up to the top. Jump down onto the ledge surrounding the third pool and follow it around to the S crawl space. Crawl inside to find that the second pool is now filled with water (and that the corpse of the decapitated soldier is floating on it).

Jump into the water and open the underwater door in the N wall, then flip turn and save your game before pulling the underwater lever in the S wall. A cut scene shows a block shifting in the next pool area, but it's timed so you need to hurry. Flip turn and swim through the N opening into the adjacent pool room, then turn left and swim into the W opening. Turn around and pull out E, then back flip onto the timed block and jump up to grab the ledge above before the block retracts. Pull up and step forward to place the second Turquoise in the receptacle. Safety drop to the ledge below, jump into the water and swim back across the pool. Pull up into the E opening above the submerged ladder and run around to your left to climb the ladder to the very top. Pull the wall switch back up for another sound of rushing water. Get back down to find that the connected pools below have both been drained.

Go S into the second pool, where the decapitated soldier once again lies on the floor. Climb the ladder in the E wall, use the crawl space to access the next ladder, and emerge on the ledge overlooking the second pool. Use the crawl space in the N wall to access the ledge overlooking the first pool, then run around to the crawl space in the N wall. Crawl through to find that the third pool is now filled with water. Jump into the water, swim into the opening high up in the E wall, and pull up W to place your third Turquoise. Now retrace your steps (and strokes) down to the floor of the second pool and pull that stone block out of the mummies' lair. Push and pull it through the connecting N doorway into the next pool (it's very picky as to where it will and will not go), and into the alcove in the far N wall. Once you get it there, you hear a sound like a bull ramming into an eye tile.

Return to the previous drained pool room and use the ladder in the E wall, etc., once again to get back up onto the higher ledge overlooking this pool. You see that the alcove across the way in the W wall is now accessible, so go there and place your fourth and final Turquoise. A flyby shows major changes taking place in the adjacent drained pool N. Go to the N opening and climb up one of the ladders on either side. Pull up at the top and jump down onto the central pillar in the next pool. Disregard the shining rays, which won't hurt you, and take the RUBY STAR from the pedestal. Two fire wraiths are instantly released, so run N and dive into the water of the next pool to douse them. Then pull out N and climb up either ladder past the opening, shift as appropriate and drop down onto the bridge. Run forward into the alcove and push the tile button.

Turn around and follow the bridge S around the lion statutes until you meet a skeleton lying on the bridge. Pick up a TORCH, then turn right around and go back to the filled pool at the N end. Stand at the W side of the central lion statue pillar, one step back from the edge, and throw the torch down onto a raised platform in front of an open flame. Take a standing jump down to the platform, pick up the torch and light it. Hop down to the ledge below, drop your torch for a moment and pick up the large medipack in the nearby alcove. Then retrieve the torch and carry it with you to the S crawl space. Stand at the opening, hop back once and toss the torch through the crawl space. Crawl through and pick up the torch on the other side. Go around the ledge to the S crawl space, back up to the edge and toss the torch through the opening. Crawl through and pick it up on the other side. Toss your torch down to the floor, where the decapitated soldier awaits. Go around the ledge to the E opening and use the ladders to get down to the floor of the pool. Pick up the torch and enter the mummies' lair. Follow the passage you opened up earlier by removing the stone block, and go up the W steps to light the wall torch.

The nearby gate lifts, so go inside and stand next to the chain. Drop the torch at your feet by drawing a weapon, and pull the chain one time. A rising platform carries Lara (and the torch) to an upper level where you find more stairs leading W. Pick up the torch and follow the stairs around to a gate that opens upon your approach. Step out onto the top step and take a running jump to the lion statue. Apply your torch to create some fiery lion's breath. Drop the torch and enter the S alcove to push the tile button. A cut scene shows an underwater gate opening. Go back out, retrieve your torch and follow the bridges N to the companion lion statue. Light it as well, and you hear the sound of a nearby door opening. Draw weapons to drop the torch, then turn to find that the gateway to the W alcove is now open. Take a running jump with grab to land inside and take the EMERALD EYE from the pedestal.

Turn around, sidestep right or left, and take a running jump back to the lion statue. You're through with the torch, so simply jump down into the water and swim into the N opening. Find the shaft and swim upward until you reach the now-submerged dart room and (most likely) some waiting beetles. Swim up through the hole in the ceiling and pull out E. Follow the passage, crawling as necessary, until you reach a ladder. Climb up to the top, turn left and slide down into a warp trigger.

SKULL CAVE

Go through the crawl space and emerge on a high ledge overlooking Skull Cave. Climb down the long ladder, follow the lower ledge (shimmying past the breaktiles, if you wish), turn the corner and continue following the ledge all the way to the W wall in the same manner as described earlier. Climb the ladder in the W wall, shift left and drop down onto the higher ledge, and make your way E until you can jump down onto the large platform. Let's now take care of some important unfinished business that probably could have been handled earlier. Turn right into the arched doorway and return to a familiar room. Go past the central pedestal through the opened gateway and run up the stairs. In the next room, go through the crawl space in the N wall and emerge on a ledge overlooking Skull Cave. Take a running jump forward to grab the crack in the wall. Shimmy left and pull up into the crawl space. Crawl forward and lower Lara down into the room with the five wall switches.

Note the different-colored tile on the floor in front of the skull's "nose." Stand facing E and pull up a trap door. Turn around and hop back into the hole. You'll slide backwards down a slope. Grab the end and drop down into the skull's "mouth." Cross the bridge W into an opening in the wall. Follow the passage around to the right until you reach a small torch-lit room with the OBSIDIAN SPLINTER resting on a central pedestal. Continue through the N opening and go up the stairs until you reach an opening in the wall. Safety drop to the ledge below.

Follow the ledge to the E end. Stand at the SE corner, take an angled standing jump and grab to the ladder in the N wall and start climbing down, shifting right as you progress, until you can drop down onto the balcony in front of the open double doors. Go inside and locate the two lion statues inside. There's a receptacle at the base of each one. Insert the Jasp Splinter and the Obsidian Splinter. When you do so, a laser device drops down from the ceiling and causes an artifact to materialize on the central pedestal.

Go there and pick up the SAPPHIRE STAR. When you do so, an earthquake begins and two wraiths are released. At the same time, a gate opens in the N wall. Watch out for falling debris as you approach the opening. As you enter, the camera angle becomes fixed. The entire passage ahead consists of breaktiles over deadly lava, so run without stopping to the N end. Jump up to grab the ledge, and pull up as more debris falls. Turn left and climb the ladder to the top. Climb down two rungs and back flip into a higher passage. Turn around to find another ladder. Start climbing, and at this point the wraiths will probably self destruct. Pull up at the top and run forward to avoid being crushed by the stone slab that drops into the opening behind you. You'll then trigger a brief flyby through the room ahead that ends this epic adventure.