Tomb Raider: Temple of Xzolotecl

In the depths of the jungles of south America, the temple of Xzolotecl had stood preserved in time for many centuries, almost as if something otherworldly was preventing it from decaying. Those few foolish explorers that have ventured inside it have never returned from their raids, instead being swallowed by the sands of time and forgotten by those beyond the surrounding villages and tribes.

Certainly the stories floating around about the many mysteries that surrounded the temple, had much to do with it for some. Others, whose lives were not ruled by superstition, would stay clear due to more logical reasons like the fear of a cave in or the many traps that still remained.

However, some treasure hunters never learn, but think that no challenge is too great for them and believe only in cold, hard facts instead of mumbo jumbo stories of curses told by old folks. A few such men, accompanied by a beautiful female explorer, decided to take on the supposedly ‘’impossible’’ task of exploring the temple.

The fact that the temple had never been raided by anyone who'd made it back outside only made the men's curiosity even greater, leading them to wonder what treasures laid hidden inside it. Who could say what treasures awaited them inside? The woman, however, only seemed interested in one particular treasure, the staff of Xzolotecl.

A long time had passed since they'd first entered the temple. Initially it had been silent, but loud screams of agony soon broke that silence as the men turned on each other. Before long, the loud screams of agony mixed with the sound of gunfire until finally, the temple was silent once again.

The woman that had led them stood on a raised platform, observing her surroundings as she held her guns ready. There was not a soul alive, and whoever had done the shooting was now either wiped off the face of the earth or had run away.

Stepping back, she cautiously looked for any traps or bottomless pits of doom, she knew not to foolishly barge in and fall to her certain doom, or worse, get impaled by deadly traps which if unlucky would make for a slow and painful .

‘’Blip, Blip’’ While carefully scanning her surroundings yet again, she reached for her PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).

''Lara are you ok...crsshhhhhhh...Lara? I repeat Lara….'' A voice came from her headset as she tried to adjust the frequency.

''Yes I’m fine, Zip. Wish I could say the same about Ortega’s men.'' She replied.

''What happened Lara? I lost all contact...'' Zip asked

Zip was Lara's computer tech guy, having been there to offer her tech support, hints and tips throughout her past adventures. They had a long healthy relationship of working together. He was the one of the 3 people who reside in or close to Lara's mansion, the other two being Alister Fletcher, an eccentric archaeologist, and of course Lara's trusty butler Winston.

''As soon as we entered the temple Ortega’s men started acting weird, then they stormed inside. That's when it happened." She explained.

''What happened Lara? Let me guess, they got chopped to pieces or ended like shish-kebab?'' Zip asked.

''Funny, Zip! Glad you can find the time to joke about it! Anyway, we entered the temple and after that….they…..just started killing each other out of the blue and what remained was taken by the dark……''

''Dark what Lara?''

'' ……..dark...mist!''

''You mean it covered their bodies!'?'

''No Zip I mean it snatched them away… literally.''

''Damn! sounds like something straight out of a movie! Is Ortega ok?'' Zip asked, now somewhat worried.

''Ortega escaped with a few other men within the temple, but I've lost all contact with him.''

''Ok, let me know if you find anything new.'' Zip replied as the feed cut off.

Lara had been hired by Gerald St. James, a wealthy businessman who believed that the tales of the temple's curses were nothing more than mere fabrications brought about through human superstition. He wanted the yet to be retrieved ''Staff of Xzolotecl''. According to St James, his interest in the staff was not motivated by its supposed mystical powers, but by its status as a priceless artefact.

To him the artefact not being recovered yet was simply due to the lack of skill of the explorers that he'd sent before Lara, but he had all the confidence in her skill as an adventurer and he was willing to pay good money for it. He had heard many great stories about her and strongly believed that she might be the one to finally succeed.

Lara's quest continued.....

Lara shot the grapple hook to the ceiling and swung above the ground as spikes emerged from underneath her to make it a close call, but she luckily managed to get over unscathed. Proceeding even deeper within the temple, she came across a door mechanism which required her to pull the lever located a few feet off the ground attached to a wall.

Shooting at it did nothing nor was there any other way of activating it from the ground. Even her grapple hook failed her. She carefully started climbing the vines immediately grabbing the edge next to it as she worked her way up, finally reaching the lever.

She tried pulling it but it wouldn't budge, not even hitting it with the butt of her gun several times did anything. Next she jumped and grabbed it with both hands, hanging from it in an attempt to use her weight to pull it down. Even then, it took some effort to actually activate it as the centuries of abandonment had left it stuck in place, but she eventually succeeded.

The door opened slowly with a loud creaking noise as dust emerged from every crevice. She descended down the long set of stairs, cutting the thick spiderweb obstructing her path.

She continued her search for Xzolotec’s staff, recalling the stories how it was supposed to bestow its user with great powers, but that it also carried a curse that meant it would take more than it gave in the end. Most likely, that was what made so many among the natives fear it and stay as far away from it as possible, while also making it such a desirable item among cultists and the likes.

But for Lara it was yet another artefact of great importance, one that she had to obtain for her client. She could care less about said curse but the supposed great power that rested within it intrigued her and made her curious. She was determined to get the staff in any way possible, but she was no fool and knew she had to be careful.

Over a hundred explorers and treasure hunters, all of them men, had come to this temple, and none had returned from it. Lara however was confident that where those whom had gone before her had failed, she would succeed.

She had been through a lot worse in the past so this was nothing new to her, and she had greater knowledge on her side. Besides, unraveling mysteries was what she did, and no challenge has been too great for her so far.

She had brought Ortega with her as he insisted on going along to ensure she didn't get lost or do something bad to the temple, an idea she didn't agree with, but it seemed now that she didn't have to worry about that for a while. Unless he managed to stay alive of course, but that would be something to worry about later.

Ortega was the chief of the village she was staying at and one of the guardians of the temple. Or at least, that was how the story went. She'd met him when she was asking around for some help with her travels. Later when she ran into some car troubles, she entered the closest village asking for help. She learned that it so happened by the draw of luck that Ortega, the man she previously met in the city, was the chief of that village.

Lara was quite surprised when he offered her a place to stay in his village, accepting his offer immediately and volunteering to pay for any expenses, but Ortega would have none of it. It was better than the shady hotels she'd visited before and the village had enough supplies to satisfy her needs. It was fairly close to the temple so she could easily make several trips back and forth, should the need arise.

After Ortega had learned about her going to the temple, he had insisted on being brought along. Lara wasn't too happy about this, the idea of someone constantly breathing down her neck wasn't sitting well with her. Besides, she intended to steal the artefact and she doubted a guardian of the temple would stand idly by and allow that to happen, but she'd finally agreed to his demands.

Ortega had hired some mercenaries, or "expendables" as he'D called them, to accompany them on this dangerous journey. It was per Lara's own request that he did so as she wanted some backup, should the need present itself. And it was her money that they were getting paid with.

In the temple, Lara now ventured deeper and deeper within it and the light became less and less apparent until it got completely dark, prompting her to use her flares to light up the way forwards and occasionally finding candles to light.

Moving in the direction of the voices that could now be heard coming from in front of her, Lara stayed on her toes the whole time. She eventually hid behind a wall structure, taking a peek around the corner. This hallway was surprisingly well lit for an abandoned, dark temple. The lit torch hanging above her illuminated a part of her face, her beauty appeared even more stunning than before. The fire from the torch was reflected in her eyes, where it danced in a playful manner.

What Lara saw was Ortega surrounded by naked, deformed humanoid looking creatures surprisingly tall with hairless bodies and blood red eyes. Their skin looked a pale grey, as if someone had strewn ashes all over them. Their bodies while appearing muscular were covered in thick veins, riddled by countless scars.

Their appearance led her to believe they might be the guardians or natives to the temple. Either way, they didn't seem like they were the type to ask for directions.

Ortega managed to fend them off, holding his own against them surprisingly well. If she didn't knew better, it was almost as if the creatures held back in some way.
He used that time to escape further into the ruins, as the creatures chased after him.

Welcoming this distraction, Lara cautiously pushed onward, marvelling at the sight of the drawings through the hallways. The temple was much bigger then she had imagined it would be.

''This staff better be worth the trouble... Of course it is, what the hell am I saying!?’’ she thought to herself.

When she left the hallways, there was a huge room, lit with countless candles and with all kinds of drawings resembling battles and various other things. Ranging from the murals depicting entire tribe battles with two figures that stood out, clashing against each other, to several depictions of females wearing very little to nothing. Some of them appeared to be slaves, others concubines.

Only one stood out, a woman dressed in amazonian armor fighting of hordes of enemies, her face unrecognizable.

As she watched this, she couldn't help but wonder, did the guardians light the candles or was it some sort of magic that kept them from running out all these centuries?. Water dropped through the openings in the walls, running down into what appeared to be a bottomless pit.

A long rope bridge hung across a huge gap in the room as she approached what appeared to be some kind of cathedral in the distance, with a massive golden door. She knew that the staff was supposed to be kept on an altar, and that the closer she got to it, the more likely she was to encounter dangerous traps and puzzles. Case in point, crossing this bridge wouldn’t be an easy task, since it was obviously in very bad condition and the wooden planks probably couldn't take much if anything. The ropes showed signs of serious wear and it looked like it could collapse at any given moment.

Lara slowly moved across the bridge, holding onto the ropes tight as she proceeded onward.