At this point I spent a bit of time walking in circles trying to figure out what to do, but I'll spare you that. Why hadn't I noticed you can just walk behind the Jaguar temple to find the Witch Doctor? Dunno.
But there he is.
Old man! What say you?
I say that the end is near! Quetzalcoatl will destroy us all, lest I find one who can bring me the Pod of Might.
What name do you go by, ancient one?
My name is Tezacatl... I am the village's last hope! It is my duty as village witch to destroy this devil who plagues us!
(Pod) What is this pod you speak of?
The sacred Pod of Might. It contains the seeds I require to finish my spell, yet there is no way to reach it!
Why is that?
It clings to the Joining Tree... surrounded by liquid fire! Not even your stone form could withstand its heat!
Says who?
Actually he's right, you can't enter the lava. It's a bit odd how the tree survives it then.
(Tree) How does the tree survive if it is surrounded by fire?
Ha-HA!
It is magic, as is the Pod that grows on its mighty trunk. However, the magic is fading and the limbs will soon wither and burn.
Oh.
There must be some way to reach it!
Perhaps... the ancient Rite of the Warrior may be the answer.
(Rite) Rite of the Warrior? What will that old magic accomplish?
Then I will go through the trials. Perform it.
Should kick his ass.
(Village) Why do you sit here, idle in the village, instead of fighting? What kind of coward are you!?
Harsh words, your holiness. But I am not merely sitting here! I am meditating... to gain the power needed to combat his awful magic.
(Combat) How do you expect to defeat a god, little man?
Little man with your insignificant magics.
You would sacrifice yourself for the village?
Isn't that what all the warriors did, Olmec?
It must be done.
(Spell) What spell are you preparing?
It is called the Spirit Fire. It creates a mystic energy wave formed by the souls of the dead.
A spirit bomb?! His power level must be over 5000!
(Temples) I see the temples are nearly destroyed by Quetzalcoatl's dark magic.
Yes. The totems may be in grave danger.
What totems are you speaking of?
Your wife mourns for you, witch.
She's also a bitch, witch.
She knows what I plan, and fears the future without me. She has seen our two warrior sons die at the hands of Quetzalcoatl and soon she will bury me.
Sucks to be her. Let's head to the chieftain to ask about this whole rite of the warrior thing.
(Warrior) I have found your daughter, mason. It is time for me to undergo the Rite of the Warrior.
Doing things out of sequence again looks like. Eh, the game doesn't mind.
You are truly honorable, Olmec. Please find it in your heart to forgive me. I should never have doubt you -
Enough groveling, chieftain! Get on with it!!
Olmec has little patience for your prattlling.
Olmec is the Core Shepard.
Easy!
(Names) I'd like to undergo the second stage of the ritual.
Yes!
Do you know all six names of the warriors who came before you?
Of course!
No... not yet.
All d- wait what?
Oh right, there's the floaty spirit we couldn't reach.
I'm sorry, you must find all six before I test you.
So, another sequence of walking in circles ensues.
Even tried passing by ol' Doc Morgan here, but he zaps you down the steps. However...
You can head here!
A large statue. Violent earth magic has made it unstable.
Let's chuck it in the lava then!
Lava pours over the edge to the right...
Providing a bridge!
The 6th and final spirit...
Spirit! What say you?
Bitter... defeat... cursed to roam...
(Name) What name did you by in this world, fallen hero?
Centeotl... fierce warrior... clan... Shaven Head Otonmi...
(Clan) The Shaven Head Otonmi?
Yes... savage... destroyers...
(Warrior) What was your station as warrior, spirit?
You guys got all that? There'll be a pop quiz in a minute.
While we're here we check out the temple. The pressure plate at the front doesn't react if we step on it, but what's that on the side?
Images carved in stone... somehow these hold the key to the water temple.
These mean nothing to us now, so let's ask our dead fisherman's friend, Tepictoc.
(Carvings) As a fisherman, you must be familiar with the water temple. What do you know of the carvings that mark the inner wall?
Outer wall actually Olmec.
Sacred place... devout... may pass... to pray... within the cool walls... speak creed... live... creed...
What creed?
The creed... life... water... creed...
What?! You babble, shade!!
Death is no excuse to be incoherent!
Creed... the creed...
Well screw him. We'll have to try his wife, but first let's make fun of the old crone who is about to lose her last remaining link to this world...
And what of me? I need this protection more than the rest of the village! He should be here for me!
Still your selfish tongue, crone!! He does what is required. He faces death as a brave warrior should!!
You are as much a fool as him.
Oh it's on now.
Sad one, I have spoken with the spirit of your husband.
Is he well?
He says it's time to move on. Find a new life partner. One of the stone variety?
That tells us what we need to know. Look at the carvings again:
Like the puzzle by which we entered this chapter, it's a match-the-words-to-the-pictures puzzle.
There's 6 panels. The order is: #5 God's Eye (the sun), #3 spear, #1 water, #2 fish, #6 basket, #4 warrior.
Now it opens when we step on the plate. This totem isn't protected (unlike the other two), and there's one other thing in the temple...
A ruby fish! It's blood-like coloring must indicate something important!
A challenge for our Codex brethren. Can you figure out what it's for before I finish the chapter?!
Right now we have more important stuff to do. We now have all six names. Did you keep notes? Well little need, as it's pretty simple: Xilonen said he's the youngest, Ometech that he is young but older than Xilonen, Tepictoc too is young but older than Ometech, Centeotl is older than Tepictoc but younger than Huitzilop, Huitzilop is a veteran but the younger brother to Mixcoatl, Mixcoatl being the eldest and war chief.
Oh yeah!
How long will it last?
Not long. You must be swift in your quest.
Onwards to the ritual.
It is done. Go forth and fulfill your destiny, Olmec. The fate of our village lies in your hands.
Wait why is there a specific procedure for making stone flesh temporarily immune to elements anyway?
Who cares, we use it to go lava-diving!
Yoink. Got the pod! Back to Tezacatl...
I have the Pod of Might, old one. Here... work your magic.
Very good. Thank you, sacred one. I will begin at once.
Whoa hey, not sure you're supposed to drink it, old man...oh well, nevermind.
I go to fulfill my destiny. May my sacrifice save the village.
Tezacatl does battle with Quetzalcoatl. Spoiler: It does not go well.
Also honorable or not what was actually the point of that?
Ma... ma... m... mask.
(Mask) Mask? What mask do you speak of?
D... death mask his power... c... comes from it.
Could've told me that earlier.
Where is it?!
B... below... the maze...
The whonow to the whatnow?
Anyway Quetzalcoatl can still not be approached. We obviously need the final totem. But we still haven't found "blood that springs from a holy heart and a heart which does not bleed".
One should be obvious now...
Use the copper bowl to gather the Witch Doctor's blood.
And in his hut, we find...
Wait what? A crystal heart in the shape of a Valentine's Heart? What the hell?
The Jaguar Totem looks to be free for picking up, but it's locked into place.
Simple puzzle unless you don't notice the symbols on those wheels match the symbols on the steps leading to the Temple.
See? Match...
...and the totem is yours.
A beam of blue light connects the three temples.
Which then destroys Quetzalcoatl's statue.
Oh man I almost forgot! We should go back to mock the old crone who is now left as the sole surviving member of her family!!
...oh
Placing the three totems on the pedestal where the statue used to be opens up a hole in the ground. Olmec jumps into it, which
triggers the third and final piece of Max's discoveries. Did I post the other two? I think so, but just in case here's
part 1 and
part 2.
And puts us in the maze!
Which I'll leave for an upcoming short update.
(it's a red herring)