The Palace of King Midas

The water was dark, but not dark enough to swim through. The current continued pulling Lara down a mysterious waterway to an unknown and increasingly mysterious area. She realized that it was leading her somewhere beneath and beyond the destroyed corner of the coliseum where she was previously denied access to because of all the debris that was in the way. Perhaps she was getting closer to the Tomb of Tihocan, or maybe she was about to stumble into another puzzling area that has been untouched for a few millennia. There was no real hint as to where she was headed. Wherever the water was going to take her, Lara somehow knew that she was going to be in for another surprise…that is if she was able to surface in time. When the oxygen in her lungs starting to give out, Lara struggled to find a place to surface and refill her body with breathable air. To go back and fight against the current would not do her much good, so she took a risk and continued swimming forward with the current. Time was definitely of the essence.

Swim, girl! Swim! Lara thought as she tried holding in the last bit of oxygen she had left. It was during that moment that she suddenly found herself in a different place as the current started to subside. She found herself in what appeared to a large ancient swimming pool that was decorated with beautiful depictions of dolphins similar to the ones she had seen in the Poseidon-themed area just beneath the ruins of St. Francis' Folly. These dolphins also displayed vibrant blue, mango, and white hues. As beautiful as these were, Lara wasted no time in swimming up to the surface of the pool to catch her breath before her body was unable to take any more torture. What Lara saw next was completely dumbfounding beyond her wildest dreams. It was not the Tomb of Tihocan, but instead what looked like a large underground palace complex. Could this be a palace? Lara thought as she looked around the large room while she continued treading water. She swam over to the edge of the pool and pulled herself out to get a better look of the room she was now in.

"What is this place?" Lara asked as starred down the large slightly-arched hall in front of her and saw the next room. Before she decided to investigate, Lara decided to take a quick look around the room she was already in. She first turned around to face the wall in the direction she came from and was surprised to see a large balcony that was being supported by fifteen-foot high Greek-style Doric columns which surrounded the glistening pool of water. There were three columns on the right side, two columns straight across the pool from Lara, the right one being toppled and destroyed, as well as three to the left, in which the middle column was missing its upper half due to natural forces such as past earthquakes and repeated weathering. Besides the large hallway Lara already saw, there were also two other large hallways, each leading in opposite directions to her left and right. The one on the right had stairs leading downward, while the left hallway seemed to lead around a corner down another hallway to the right. Looking up at the ceiling, Lara could see that it arched upward directly above the pool and had a slight hole that let in sunlight from outside. Overall, the entire area that Lara was in felt completely Greek and judging by the overall immensity of the underground complex, she could already tell that there was going to be a lot of space to explore. Whether or not any of the passages would lead to the Tomb of Tihocan was still questionable, but Lara was not willing to dismiss the possibility just yet. She advanced down the hallway closest to her, the one she was staring down not too long ago, and made her way into the room just beyond it.

"I wonder what this area used to be." Lara asked as she looked past two Ionic pillars that seemed to line what used to be a central walkway. There was also a beautifully decorated cantilever structure above the two columns that formed a square 'arch'. Looking around the rest of the room on either side of the 'walkway', there were short pilings of ancient brickwork that did not form any recognizable pattern. Whatever their purpose was, they have since disintegrated from their original splendour. On the right side of the room, where the ceiling was surprisingly higher, Lara could see two very tall brick platforms, both of which had unevenly-shaped doorways above them. Unfortunately, the platforms were too high for her to reach as she figured out the hard way. However, there were two small doorways at the far end of the room, both of which led to the same mysterious area. The only other distinguishable feature of the room was the decorative column carvings on the walls, as well as the remains of more columns lining the walkway which have since been destroyed.

"It's hard to tell. But judging by the two doorways on the other side of the room, this area must have some kind of significance." Lara said. "But what a curious setup this is."

Walking past the Ionic columns, she made her way over to the right small doorway where she found herself in a small hallway leading to a set of stairs to her left. She went up the small flight of steps and emerged into a slightly larger hall that was connected to the other small hall leading out the left doorway in the previous room. The hall continued for just a little ways before opening up into a large brightly lit cavern where a large and beautiful sandy-hued Greek temple structure stood at the top of a set of cream-coloured stairs. The massive triangular-shaped roof resting above the frieze and the architrave was being supported from below by six Doric columns, three on either side a large set of closed double doors leading inside the temple itself. The walls behind the columns were decorated by old elaborate carvings depicting men, similar to some of the carvings Lara had seen earlier. The massive double doors appeared to be connected to an odd mechanism that was run by an ancient pulley system. Lara could see what looked like the pulley itself above the temple structure, but there was no way for her to get up there. Even the rocky walls lining the cavern were not rough enough for her to climb on. She would have to find another way to reach the top of the temple if she wanted to open the doors, but she was unable to think of any other possible way to do it. Even so, the sheer grandeur of the temple was marvellous.

"Greek temples were, as a rule, colourfully painted." Lara said. "Only three basic colours, with no shades, were used: white, blue and red. However, they would sometimes even add black."

Lara paused and studied the temple, trying to remember other information she had learned from her studies. "If I remember correctly, the paint itself was mostly applied to parts that were not load-bearing, whereas structural parts like columns or the horizontal elements of architrave and geison were left unpainted if they were made of high quality limestone or marble, or covered with a white stucco. Of course, the paint has since been worn away from this temple, as with every other ancient structure in Greece. But how I wish I could observe this place in its original state! It must have been a really impressive sight!"

With her mind wandering, Lara took a moment to reflect back on all of the things she has seen so far during her Greek adventure. So far, she had found a secret area buried underneath St. Francis' Folly contained four uniquely-themed areas with surprising puzzles and traps. From there, she followed a route that took her directly to a previously unknown Greco-Roman coliseum where she battled waves of lions and gorillas. Pierre had been stalking her for much of that time until she shot him in the arm with one of her pistols. Now that she thought about it, it had been a while since Lara had seen him on her tail. Did he give up? Lara wondered. Surely he wouldn't do that. Especially since I'm here. Maybe he found another passage? Wherever Pierre was, Lara knew that he was nowhere in the gigantic underground palace complex she had just discovered. The one question that remained in her mind was the amount of exploring she would have to do before she reached the Tomb of Tihocan. Were the rumours mentioned in the monk's journal even true? The only way Lara would know for sure is if she continued exploring. Besides, she had already made a few important discoveries, so why not add to the list?

Lara turned around and retraced her steps back through the somewhat empty room to the main area with the pool where she came from. From there, she made right towards the giant hall with the stairs going down. Lara continued before making another right and suddenly catching sight of something she had not seen in what seemed like eons: greenery. She had stepped foot into a beautiful Greek garden that looked as though it had not changed for thousands of years, which was definitely a far cry from the sandy hues of brown and grey that have been prevalent throughout the Greco-Roman ruins. Upon entering the garden area from the hallway, Lara stepped onto a narrow walkway that had patches of greenery on both sides of it, as well as a few small trees. Bordering the centre of the room and the green patches were six small and thin columns that were aligned perpendicularly with the small walkway, all of which were connected by a long beam of stone that also formed a round arch above the two centre columns. It was obvious that they were there strictly for decorative purposes and not for functionality. There were also two large fountains in the nearby corners that each had the face of a man carved into them, the identity of which was a mystery. At the far end of the room was a medium sized balcony that was being held up by six small columns where an opening was seen above it.

"This place is unbelievable!" she said, admiring the beautifully carved fountains in the near corners of the room. "It almost looks better than my garden!"

She went up a couple of steps and into the main courtyard where sunlight was pouring its way down through the ceiling and giving life to the plants that relied on its warmth and energy. Looking around the perimeter of the room, the left and right 'walls' were seen to be made completely of vegetation and there was a closed gate leading down a green passage on either side, which almost reminded Lara of her own hedge maze back at the mansion. Both of the gates had raised sections of stone on either side of them, which seemed to wrap around the far end of the room underneath the balcony and connect with each other. These were all lined with small decorative plants that added to the overall serene garden atmosphere. In the centre of the courtyard, Lara saw two old stone benches, both of which sat on opposite sides of a small pedestal that housed a fully functioning sundial, one of the earliest methods of keeping time. There was just enough light coming through the ceiling for it to cast a shadow, which suggested a time somewhere in the middle of the afternoon.

"They must've had a hard time telling time during the mornings and evenings." Lara said. "After all, the sun would not be able to shine directly into this area during those times. Perhaps they put it here as a decoration? If only I knew for sure…Now to see what's above the balcony."

Walking over to the short raised stone platform to the right side of the balcony, Lara pulled herself up on top of it and turned around to face the ledge of the balcony. Doing just a simple standing jump, she managed to grab the ledge and pull herself up onto the balcony. Looking back down to the ground, Lara saw the entire garden in all of its glory and formed the perfect mental postcard shot of her adventure in Greece, even though she wished she had a camera with her. After a moment, she turned around and walked through the dark opening in the wall and made her way down a small passage that opened up into another large cavern. When Lara rounded the corner, she immediately felt her jaw drop at the wondrous sight before her. In front of her was an enormous stone statue about the height of a three-storey building that depicted a man dressed in fancy robes and sitting in what looked like a throne fit for a king. Although the statue was no doubt completely amazing, it was not the most surprising thing Lara saw. The foundation on which the statue stood was raised and carved out of the same sand-coloured rock, but had a large inscription carved into it. It was a name, spelled using Greek letters, and it was remarkably easy for Lara to translate.

Μίδας

Her jaw dropped when the English translation came to her mind.

"No way!" Lara said. "It can't be…Is it really?"

She could not believe her eyes, yet the proof was right in front of her. Lara had discovered the palace of the legendary King Midas…

*UPDATE 08/11/14* Going back through this chapter and reaching the end, I realized that Midas' name was in English, contrary to the other mythological names that Lara had seen in St. Francis' Folly, which were in Greek. Therefore, I fixed Midas' inscribed name by having it spelled using the Greek alphabet. From there, it was just a matter of having Lara do a simple translation of Midas' name.

Another amazing discovery has been made by our beloved heroine! Lara has just come to the realization that she is standing in the palace of a mythological king from Greek legend, whose touch had the power to turn anything into gold. What implications will this have for Miss Croft? Find out in the next chapter! Until then, see you later ;)

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