In game Text - Murti Schofield

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IN-GAME TEXT
In-game website and emails
[WEB-adresses]
07-February-2001

"WEB ADDRESSES
With Lara having access to web addresses, within the game or in the real world, certain locations suggest themselves as likely to have a terminal.
PLACES WHERE LARA MIGHT HAVE ACCESS TO A TERMINAL:
  • Cyber cafés – Paris, Prague.
  • The forger’s at the scrapyard.
  • Margot Carvier’s Louvre office.
  • Von Croy’s apartment.
  • Strahov Psychiatric Institute – in the Cabal’s subterranean medical facilities.
  • Art dealer Mathias Vasiley’s mansion – (access to Luddick’s personal files?)
  • Somewhere in Archivist Rouzic’s rooms in the Vault of Trophies.

POSSIBLE WEB ADDRESSES
  1. Obscura Engravings – Carvier’s personal files.
http://www.artacademie.fr/~carvier/research/obscura.html
(instead of artacademie, find proper French sounding title to do with art)

  1. Alchemy - Von Croy’s personal files.
    • http://www.voncroyinc.com/~voncroy/research/alchemy.html
    •  
  1. Lux Veritatis - Von Croy’s personal files.
    • http://www.voncroyinc.com/~voncroy/research/luxveri.html

  1. The Cabal – (Agency Incorporated) – Luddick’s files, Prague. (passworded)
    • http://www.i-detektiv.cz/private/cabal.html
    •  
  1. The Strahov - Luddick’s files, Prague.
    • http://www.i-detektiv.cz/private/strahov.html       
    •  
  1. Nephilim      – public domain.
    • http://www.nephilimlegacy.com

  1. Monstrum      – public domain.
    • http://www.monstrumarchive.co.uk
    • http://www.monstrumarchive.com"


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Luddick's profiles on the Cabal – Full Version
[FULL-PROFILES-CABAL-v1]
13-February-2002

"LUDDICK’S PROFILES ON THE (CABAL) MAFIA – FULL VERSION

NEEDS CHECKING WITH LUDDICK PROFILES FOR CONVERGENCE*
All five have buried their pasts and changed their identities. Physical appearances give no clues as to the actual age of any Cabal member. All origins are, at best, guesses based on fragmentary or contradictory records. Even names are suspect.
  
JOACHIM KAREL Corporate legal giant. Oversees The Cabal’s legal protection and interests.
BASED: in Paris.
ORIGINS: Russian-Finnish border – or – N Africa, Algeria?
AGE: indeterminate. Known to be active in the Cabal in the early to mid 1900’s.
FOR THE CABAL: masterminds the Cabal’s covert activities and legal security measures ensuring anonymity for the alliance and all Eckhardt’s activities. Ensures integrity of all The Cabal members’ interests including the acquisition and protection of anyone or anything they deem valuable. His legal expertise provides total protection for Eckhardt when in Europe or elsewhere.
ORIGINS: was accepted into the Cabal ranks after the inexplicable disappearance of a previous member. As far as can be ascertained from any records this was early in the 20th century. (It was in fact in 1890.) He might have originated in the Russian Polish borderlands or equally from somewhere within the Algerian N African coastal area. All available records are vague and contradictory. The name Karel is not believed to be his authentic one.
Age indeterminate.
 
DR. GRANT MULLER Heads the Botanical Research wing of the Strahov Complex.
BASED: in Rome.
ORIGINS: Tyrol Southern Germany – or – Languedoc area of S France?
AGE: who knows.
Totally obsessed with the botanical world. Nurtures extensive collections of giant carnivorous plants, genetic mutants and deviant fungi.
Head of Department of Botanical Exotica in Rome and member of the World Pharmaceuticals Commission. Runs extensive research programmes in everything zoological and medicinal at university facilities world wide.
FOR THE CABAL: runs the Cabal’s covert botanical research laboratories and experimental bio-form modification programmes. Responsible for numerous plague outbreaks and mutagens.
ORIGINS: known to have namesake connections with the Tyrolean area of southern Germany but Muller denies these. Some contradictory records list the southern Languedoc area of France but these may have been ‘adjusted’.
Age: who knows..."


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Von Croy's Notebook – Handwritten Notes
[NOTEBOOK-VonCroy-v8]
28-August-2002

"VON CROY’S NOTEBOOK – HANDWRITTEN NOTES Gp 2.1
 
OBJECTS & IMAGES in NOTEBOOK.
1/ Battered photo of Von Croy and Lara in Egypt on some occasion earlier than her disappearance in the tombs. Notes are scrawled on the back:
“Found Lara after the tombs but she refuses to return to England with me.”
2/ Rough sketches of Nephilim statues or engravings.
3/ Sketches of Nephilim alphabet and symbols.
4/ Alchemical alphabet, diagrams and symbols.
5/ Hand drawn CHART showing relationship of Paintings to Engravings. Diagrammatic not actual images.
6/ Hand drawn DIAGRAM of a Lux Veritatis lock (engraved with a big LV symbol) on the buttress. There are many symbols on it but FOUR SYMBOLS are keys and must be set in a specific arrangement. Two key symbols are drawn in full, two are missing.
 
TEXT AND NOTEBOOK ENTRIES
THESE TEXTS ARE ALL PRESENT WHEN LARA GETS THE NOTEBOOK. THE PLAYER MAY ACCESS THEM ALL OR MAY ONLY WANT TO REFER TO THEM LATER AS THEY OCCUR IN THE GAME. OR ACCESS TO SOME OF THEM MAY ONLY BE RELEASED WHEN THEY OCCUR IN THE GAME – TO BE DECIDED.
 
1/ ECKHARDT.
“Eckhardt – client. Be wary!”
 
2/ LOUIS BOUCHARD.
“Louis Bouchard. Useful contact – purchased handgun. Discretion assured.”
 
3/ FEAR FOR HIS LIFE.
“Terrified to go out. Monstrum terrorising the streets.”
“Tried contacting Lara again in London. No response. Still not forgiven me for Egypt.”
 
4/ OBSCURA PAINTINGS
THERE IS A HAND SKETCHED CHART SHOWING CLEARLY THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE FIVE ENGRAVINGS TO THE FIVE PAINTINGS. IT IS A DIAGRAM AND DOESN’T SHOW THE ACTUAL IMAGES.
“Obscura Paintings: five 15th century works of black alchemic magic. All lost, hidden by the Lux Veritatis.”
 
5/ OBSCURA ENGRAVINGS.
“Five Obscura Engravings – drawn copies of the Paintings. Contain encrypted maps of each Painting’s location?”
“Mathias Vasiley in Prague. Has sent me four Obscura Engravings. He kept the fifth Engraving back. Wants more money.”
“Deciphered the encrypted map in Vasiley’s Engravings.  One of the Paintings is beneath the Louvre. Where the latest archaeological digs are.”
“Carvier says she has a security pass for the digs in her office.”
“A metallic symbol is hidden beneath surface of each Painting. Check with Carvier about X-Ray facilities in Louvre?”
 
6-7/ LUX VERITATIS & THE PERIAPT SHARDS.
“Lux Veritatis - ‘Light of Truth’. A secret 12th century Order of warrior monks who hid the Obscura Paintings in the 1400’s.”
“Said to posses the three Periapt Shards – artefacts of power, crystalline shards shaped like spearheads – ‘weapons of light.’ !!??
“Lux Veritatis try to suppress the Cabal of the Black Alchemist from the 1300’s onwards.”
“Lux Veritatis - links to Nephilim???”
8/ NEPHILIM
“Nephilim – from ENOCHIAN gospels. Cursed hybrid offspring of angels and humans. Exterminated in biblical times.”
“Related prophecy: ‘Through the Golden Lion the Nephilim will enslave the sons of man and inherit the Earth.’
 
9/ LEGEND OF THE SLEEPER.
“The Sleeper or Cubiculum Nephili – literally ‘sleeping cask’ or ‘chamber’. Thought to be the last intact specimen of the Nephilim race. Supposedly buried in Anatolia, TURKEY.”
 
10/ THE SANGLYPH
“The Sanglyph – some artefact of alchemic power? Linked to the Black Alchemist in 1400’s. Details scarce.”
 
11/ CLUES FOR THE LOUVRE BUTTRESS PUZZLE.
Accompanying a hand drawn DIAGRAM of the Lux Veritatis lock and FOUR KEY SYMBOLS (two are missing details):
“The two missing symbols are hidden close by the buttress."


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Lux Veritatis Vault texts
[LV-VAULT-texts-v1]
04-September-2002

"ITEMS and INFO IN VAULT OF TROPHIES Gp 13.3

OBJECTS & ITEMS
THE VAULT OF TROPHIES houses the Lux Veritatis trophies and records:
1. AN IMAGE/SKETCH of Eckhardt’s CONTAINMENT SUIT showing where the three Periapt Shards were inserted to keep him a helpless prisoner – [similar to the Painting we saw prints of at Carvier’s office and Von Croy’s apartment].
2. DRAWINGS OF THE FIVE ORIGINAL PAINTINGS/IMAGES: five outline drawings of the sinister SANGLYPH ‘IMAGES OF BLOOD’ created by Eckhardt. They are obviously works of evil. Next to these are the later, Obscura images that the Lux Veritatis painted over to hide the originals.
3. CHART and LATIN inscription showing the 3 PERIAPT SHARDS glowing & confining evil. [TRES PERIAPTI CONIUNCTI CUM IUSTITIAE IGNE MALA CINGUNT  - The three Periapts joined together burn (or glow) with righteous light to confine evil.]
4. CHART of the five metallic SYMBOLS of the SANGLYPH artefact (fitting together?). The power of each individual symbol is keyed to a particular element in the human body: sulphur, iron, copper, phosphorus and potassium.
5. Hundreds of LV artefacts.
6. VAST BOOKCASES full of tomes and records.
7. NEPHILIM skeletons displayed.
8. Shields and armour of fallen Knights.
9. Trophies of defeated Cabal members – the early ones pre-1461.
10. A HUGE TAPESTRY (showing Castle Kriegler) hangs from the wall at the back of the Vault.
11. FIFTH OBSCURA PAINTING is behind the tapestry.
 
TEXT AND NOTEBOOK ENTRIES.
A long dead guardian, a Lux Veritatis knight, sits slumped over a MASSIVE CRUMBLING TOME. In it is the early history of the Lux Veritatis’ struggle to combat Eckhardt’s evil.
“RECORD AND HISTORY OF THE SUPPRESSION OF THE BLACK ALCHEMIST AND HIS WORKS BY THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE LUX VERITATIS – YEAR OF SALVATION 1461.”
“As of this day the accursed Black Alchemist, Eckhardt, remains confined in the Pit of Pain, guarded by good Lux Veritatis brothers. Only the power of the three Periapt Shards restrains him. May their radiance never fail.”
[Written next to the sketch described in #1 above – and the chart described in #3 above.]
“Eckhardt’s unholy pact with the Nephilim damned him. For the promise of immortality he would use alchemic arts to awaken the Cubiculum Nephili, the Nephilim dead known as the SLEEPER. A new Nephilim race would be bred from this abomination.”
“For this blasphemous act of necromancy Eckhardt created a thing of power, a blood sign, the Sanglyph. Its parts were five talismanic symbols forged of metals gained from the Nephilim elders.”
[Written next to the chart described in #4 above.]
“The Five symbols had to remain hidden until all of Eckhardt’s treachery was complete, for he planned to betray his demon masters and rule the new race himself.”
“The Black Alchemist created five wooden images in which to conceal the five symbols.”
[Written next to DRAWINGS of five paintings described in #2 above.]
“And always he sought the stone cask of the ancient Sleeper. But he was not ready for the Nephilim’s cunning and was brought low. Thus were the Lux Veritatis Order able to confine and punish him in the year of salvation 1445.”

+ extra info*
“The three Periapt Shards were seized in battle from the Nephilim lands in the year of salvation 1203. The Lux Veritatis ordered them to Europe to be guarded and studied.”
+ extra info*
“Ancient texts had told of three Sleepers buried in the underground cities of Cappadocia in Anatolie, but in the year of salvation 1203 a dedicated Lux Veritatis force destroyed two of them.”
+ extra info*
“Against all natural law the Black Alchemist could transfigure elements on the sacred Tree of Matter into new materials. His ungodly skills were blasphemous and deserving only the release of death, which the Lux Veritatis would gladly have granted. But he proved incapable of true death and was only confined by the use of the three Periapt Shards."


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Carvier's Office – Information for Werner
[Cavier-OFFICE-v7]
05-September-2002

"CARVIER’S OFFICE – INFORMATION FOR WERNER Gp 4.27
[When items in Carvier’s office duplicate those in Von Croy’s notebook they give more details and, where useful, extra info.]
 
OBJECTS & ITEMS
1/ On the walls or around the office: poster or painting & images of Nephilim and sites in Cappadocia, central Turkey – underground cities, lava towers etc.
2/ A few small, discrete statues or engravings of Nephilim.
3/ A medieval style print of an engraving of ECKHARDT’S CONTAINMENT SUIT.  It is labelled as a Lux Veritatis medieval torture device, like an Inquisition implement. The three openings for the three Shards are clearly shown but the Shards are not mentioned! No one actually knows what the suit is. It just looks like some weird Hieronymous Bosch type vision of hell thing.
4/ Copy of a hand drawn CHART showing relationship of Paintings to Engravings. Diagrammatic not actual images.
5/ A fax sent by Carvier to Von Croy is on Carvier’s desk.
 
Re: Mathias Vasiley in Prague.
Dear Werner,
Vasiley is more black market than genuine antiquarian but could have some or all of the five Obscura Engravings as he claims. He says he will send me his website address with a password to access a restricted area on it.
 
DATA ON CARVIER’S LAPTOP/PC:
CARVIER HAS TAKEN ALL DATA HERE FROM ONE OR MORE WEBSITES AND IT IS ARRANGED UNDER HEADINGS WHICH THE PLAYER CAN BE SELECTED.
MAY BE ENTERED AUTOMATICALLY INTO THE NOTEBOOK. THE PLAYER MAY ACCESS ALL THIS DATA IMMEDIATELY OR MAY ONLY WANT TO REFER TO ITEMS AS THEY OCCUR IN THE GAME – TO BE DECIDED
OR - ACCESS TO SOME DATA MAY ONLY BE TRIGGERED WHEN THE SUBJECTS OCCUR IN THE GAME – TO BE DECIDED.

1/ OBSCURA PAINTINGS
“Details researched for Werner.”
“FACT: Obscura Paintings, five images painted on thick wooden bases like Russian icons. Originally called the Sanglyph Paintings. Created by the Black Alchemist Pieter Van Eckhardt in 1300’s or 1400’s.”
“FACT: Eckhardt disappeared in 1445. The Lux Veritatis seized the Obscura Paintings, painted over them with religious imagery and hid them in five secret locations. They were called the Obscura Paintings from then on. See notes on Brother Obscura.”
“MYTH: the five Paintings together have great power as the Sanglyph, the Blood Sign. No reliable details of what this is or what it does. See further notes on the Sanglyph.”
“MYTH: Each Painting has a mysterious metallic symbol built into it.”

2/ BROTHER OBSCURA
“FACT: a deaf mute monk, Brother Obscura, was ordered by the Lux Veritatis to paint over the Black Alchemist’s Paintings. His work was carried out in secret and when it was done all his materials were destroyed and the Paintings hidden. Brother Obscura died two weeks after completing his task.”
“FACT: Bro Obscura made secret sketches of the Paintings and hid them. After his death the Obscura Engravings were based on these forbidden sketches.”
 
3/ OBSCURA ENGRAVINGS
“FACT: there are Five Obscura Engravings, unauthorised copies of Brother Obscura’s images.”
“MYTH: all five Engravings contain encrypted maps of each Paintings’ location.”
 
4/ LUX VERITATIS– A SUMMARY
“FACT: a secret 12th century offshoot of the Knights Templar dedicated to combating  evil, particularly works of sorcery and alchemy. Responsible for suppressing the work of the Black Alchemist.”
“FACT: the secret Order of warrior monks had the five Obscura Paintings painted over and hidden in the 1400’s.”
“FACT: the Lux Veritatis fought running battles with the Cabal of the Black Alchemist from the 1300’s onwards. Exchanges characterised by acts of staggering barbarity.”"


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Objects and information in Eckhardt's old Alchemy Lab
[ECK-records-v3]
05-September-2002

"OBJECTS IN ECKHARDT’S OLD ALCHEMY LAB Gp 15.6
 
1/ ALCHEMY EQUIPMENT - laboratory gear - retorts, furnaces and weird stuff all unused for hundreds of years.
2/ GLOVE prototypes, rods of prima material elements; sketches and notes on use of the Glove.
3/ CHART and SKETCHES of the FIVE METALLIC SYMBOLS hidden in the Obscura Paintings – (see suggested chart layout). The power of each individual symbol is keyed to a particular element in the human body: sulphur, iron, copper, phosphorus and potassium.
4/ EARLY OUTLINE SKETCHES OF THE FIVE PAINTINGS/IMAGES (roughs of the Obscura Paintings ).
5/ THE SANGLYPH: diagrams and sketches of a discus shaped contraption with the five SYMBOLS slotted together.
6/ NEPHILIM limbs and torsos, ancient & dried out - abandoned experiments.
7/ THE THIRD PERIAPT SHARD. Eckhardt can’t use it (kryptonite to him) but he’s keeping it safe.
 
INFORMATION IN ECKHARDT’S OLD ALCHEMY LAB

Everything is written on parchments and in old crumbling tomes.)
1/ ECKHARDT’S FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE NEPHILIM.
EXTRA*
“Ninth day of this nine month 1344. At last, seventeen years labour rewarded. The Nephilim, the Grigori, truly exist!  Am allowed to enter their hidden realm in the innermost desert regions of Anatolie. In their city below the ground I meet with the supreme Elders. They have a task for my secret skills and offer me a prize beyond reckoning. That of prolonged life!”
EXTRA*
“There be none in excess of five and fifty still alive. A great race, come to this sad and tragic decline. But a great change is prophesied.”
 
2/ PACT WITH THE NEPHILIM.
“ Autumn 1345 Prague. Am returned from Anatolie. The pact with the Nephilim is made. I have 100 summers to prepare for the revivifying of their bloodline. And the prophecies say it will be so. By my help the Nephilim will rule their earthly realm again.”
EXTRA*
“Given into my care were five samples of purified prima materia metals, a godly alchemic prize indeed.  Bestowed by the Nephilim Elders the samples will aid me in my ordained tasks.”
EXTRA*
“The potency of the purified metals is astonishing. My own grievous wounds, received in my testing by the Elders, are already healed and I grow in strength with each sunrise. I could well become immortal!”
 
3/ THE SYMBOLS & THE SANGLYPH - INSTRUMENT OF BETRAYAL.
“ Darkening days of 1359. I shall not serve the revitalised Nephilim but rule them! Let the dark angels beware. I have begun the forging of the Sanglyph, a dread instrument of the Nephilim’s undoing.”
“1425.  By the means of human sacrifice the Sanglyph is complete! I have today cast the Nephilim metals into five symbols of power that comprise its separate parts.”
“ Each symbol I have matched to the etheric harmonies of five elements within the body of man. And so, sulphur, iron, copper, phosphorus and potassium!”
 
4/ THE GLOVE & HARVESTING
“The Glove, attuned in like fashion is almost complete.  It is both protection and weapon of terror. With it I shall harvest vital metals and essences from the bodies of man for the Sleeper’s awakening.”
 
5/ THE SLEEPER or CUBICULUM NEPHILI
“My every attempt to extract ichoric essences from captive Nephilim have come to nought. Only the Cubiculum Nephili may serve my purposes. The fabled cask of the Sleeper must be found. It lies buried still somewhere in furthest Anatolie.”
“ By the Glove and Sanglyph combined shall I bestir the Sleeper to my bidding. The time draws near.”
 
6/ FIVE ICON PAINTINGS TO CONCEAL THE SYMBOLS OF POWER.
“Until I am in full readiness, the several parts of the Sanglyph shall be concealed. I have fashioned five Icon Images of wood in which they may be hid.”
EXTRA*
“With the Sleeper my path to becoming the Golden Lion will be achieved. The prophecy is mine alone to fulfil.”
‘Through the Golden Lion the Nephilim will enslave the sons of man and inherit the Earth.’
 
7/ THE THIRD SHARD
“ The thrice cursed Shard of the Lux Veritatis maggots I have placed beyond reach. None will again deny me my victory whilst it is far from the light. I will rule as the Golden Lion over the new Nephilim and their earthly dominions!””"


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Vasiley's premises faxes
[FAXES-VAS-v1]
05-September-2002

"VASILEY’S PREMISES Gp 8.17

FAX TO CARVIER found stuck in a shredder but intact. This is the first time the password has been legible.
Mathias Vasiley Prague to Margot Carvier. 17a Place St Sulpice. Paris.
Mlle Carvier, you would do well to refer to a website SHADOWHISTORIES.PR There will be much there to interest you.
To access information relevant to your interests type BOGOMIL.

FAXES - BETWEEN VON CROY& VASILEY
Werner Von Croy Paris to Mathias Vasiley. Namesti Slobodi. Prague. Czech Republic.
Will purchase the four Engravings you have. Name your price. Any sign of the missing fifth Engraving?

Mathias Vasiley Prague to Werner Von Croy 613 Rue Valise, Chantell Building.Paris.
Regret fifth is missing. Will despatch the other four to you immediately. Suggest discuss price by phone.
Refer you to Slan Budeck’s treatise on ‘Possible encrypted maps within the Obscura Engravings showing the locations of each Obscura Painting’.

Werner Von Croy Paris to Mathias Vasiley. Namesti Slobodi. Prague. Czech Republic.
Packages arrived safe. Will purchase any further related materials or artefacts. What news on the fifth?

Mathias Vasiley Prague to Werner Von Croy 613 Rue Valise, Chantell Building.Paris..
Good news. A fifth Engraving has come into my possession. Price will have to reflect its rarity. Other parties have expressed interest. Let me know if you are interested. "


To read the original document, click the download button.
Von Croy apartment faxes
[FAXES-VONCROY-v2]
05-September-2002

"AT VON CROY’S APARTMENT Gp 7.3
THIS IS THE REST OF THE BLOODSTAINED FAX PAGE LARA FINDS AT VON CROY’S APARTMENT. THE ACTUAL PASSWORD IS OBSCURED BY A BLOODSTAIN.
THE PAGE INCLUDE A REPRODUCTION OF AN OBSCURE SYMBOL:
 
FAX – BETWEEN CARVIER & VON CROY
THE TORN OFF BIT:
Margot Carvier. 17a Place St Sulpice. Paris.
Werner, I have information you requested on the Black Alchemist. Also the Obscura Paintings and related material. It would be best if we met here, not at my office at the Louvre. Some of the material is a little disturbing. The symbol is linked in some way.
(symbol*)
Heard from Vasiley in Prague again. Has sent his website address:
SHADOWHISTORIES.PR
The code to access the restricted area he wants us to look at is
BOGOMIL.
 
THESE FAXES ARE FOUND ROLLED UP IN THE JACKAL HEADED WALKING STICK IN VON CROY’S APARTMENT ALONG WITH THE FOUR OBSCURA ENGRAVINGS:
 
FAXES - BETWEEN VON CROY& VASILEY
Werner Von Croy Paris to Mathias Vasiley. Namesti Slobodi. Prague. Czech Republic.
Received the four Obscura Engravings today. Any sign of the fifth Engraving? Am VERY interested in any material relating to the Obscura Paintings. Yes, I am familiar with the ‘hidden map’ theory.

Mathias Vasiley Prague to Werner Von Croy 613 Rue Valise, Chantell Building.Paris.
Good news. Have located the fifth Engraving. Must discuss revised price. "


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Luddick's dossier texts
[LUDDICK-profiles-v1]
05-September-2002

"LUDDICK’S PROFILES ON THE (CABAL) MAFIA Gp 8.3
Luddick thinks he is dealing with the Mafia and has gathered a skimpy dossier on the SIX main figures currently in Prague. Also a photo of Bouchard.
Each profile has a blurry photo. The shot of Eckhardt is especially grainy and old. He has got Eckhardt first name wrong. The files are not particularly accurate.
The dossier goes into Lara’s inventory.
There is a paperclipped note on the dossier showing that Luddick has heard of the Cabal but doesn’t know what they are.
Possible Mafia heads. What is the Cabal ?

PIETRI ECKHARDT
Head of Mafia activities in Prague. First name unconfirmed.
BASED: in Prague.
ORIGINS: no details.
AGE: indeterminate but could be mid to late 60’s.

JOACHIM KAREL
International legal specialist. Controls the Mafia’s legal interests.
BASED: in Paris.
ORIGINS: Russian-Finnish borderlands, or possibly Algeria? Records are contradictory.
AGE: indeterminate but looks mid 50’s.
DR. GRANT MULLER
Botanical expert specialising in Mutagens. Heads the Botanical Research wing of the Strahov Complex in Prague.
BASED: in Rome.
ORIGINS: Tyrol Southern Germany?
AGE: appears to be in early 60’s.

KRISTINA BOAZ
Director of the Strahov Psychiatric Institute. Specialist in genetic tissue regeneration and cryogenic states.
BASED: in Prague.
ORIGINS: Argentina.
AGE: possibly mid 40’s.
LUTHER ROUZIC
Archivist of the Strahov Complex. Archaeologist and acknowledged world authority on dead language texts. Librarian Honorarium at Prague city archives.
BASED: in Prague.
ORIGINS: Czechoslovakia?
AGE: late 60’s but could be much older.

MARTEN GUNDERSON
Runs The Agency, a global security service. This is a Mafia front for an international mercenary recruitment agency.
BASED: in Amsterdam.
ORIGINS: Denmark – or – Bosnia?
AGE: looks to be in his late 40’s."

To read the original document, click the download button.
Vasiley's premises information
[VASILEY-INFO-v2]
05-September-2002

"ITEMS FOUND AT VASILEY’S IN PRAGUE Gp 8.17

1.      Subterranean hi-tech room full of treasure and all kinds of useful Russian Mafia hardware. Lara can stock up on ammo, medical stores etc.
2.       Statues, illustrations and carvings of Nephilim figures and artwork.
3.      Some rare Lux Veritatis artefacts – swords, document seals, unexplained jewellery.
4.      Photo of Vasiley with a young woman (his daughter).
5.      Eckhardt’s LV CONFINEMENT HELMET from Castle Kriegler.
6.      A copy of the PAINTING OF ECKHARDT’S CONFINEMENT SUIT showing the helmet and the Shard insertion points (same as in Carvier’s office).
7.      The LAST OBSCURA ENGRAVING with the encoded map of how to get to the Vault of Trophies.
8.      CHART and LATIN inscription showing the 3 PERIAPT SHARDS glowing & confining evil. [TRES PERIAPTI CONIUNCTI CUM IUSTITIAE IGNE MALA CINGUNT  - The three Periapts joined together burn (or glow) with righteous light to confine evil.]
9.      A safe with tumbler lock – (wall? Floor?).
10.  A document shredder with a partly shredded fax protruding. This is the one he originally sent to Carvier with his website address and password.
 
INFORMATION FOUND AT VASILEY’S PREMISES
1/ A FAX SENT TO CARVIER IN PARIS – this is sticking out of a shredder intact.
 
Mathias Vasiley Prague to Margot Carvier. 17a Place St Sulpice. Paris.
Mlle Carvier, you would do well to refer to a website SHADOWHISTORIES.PR There will be much there to interest you.
To access information relevant to your interests type BOGOMIL.
2/ FAXES BETWEEN VON CROY & VASILEY
Communications about the Obscura Paintings.
(see separate sheet – FAXES-VAS-v1)
 
ON VASILEY’S  PC  AND WEBSITE
1/ NEPHILIM HISTORY
“Nephilim - recorded in the Gospels of ENOCH as the unholy offspring of angels and humans. Also called the Watchers or the Grigori. They were wiped out in the desert regions of Turkey in biblical times.”
“The Nephilim were said to be near immortal and able to change their physical form. Their skills with metals were miraculous and they possessed artefacts of great power. The similarities between some of these claims and those of medieval alchemists is noteworthy.”
 
2/ LUX VERITATIS HISTORY
“The Lux Veritatis or ‘Light of Truth’. They were a 12th century secret Order, an inner  circle within the Knights Templar, formed in 1176. They were fanatically dedicated to the suppression of black arts, sorcery and alchemy.”
“Known to have destroyed the work of the Black Alchemist Pieter van Eckhardt with staggering zeal. Eckhardt vanished in 1445.”
“In 1445 The Lux Veritatis seized five painted icons of the Black Alchemist’s and ordered them painted over and hidden. The paintings later became known as the five Obscura Paintings.”
“From 1203 the Lux Veritatis Order was said to posses ‘weapons of light’ the three Periapt Shards. These had been looted from ancient sites in the wastelands of Cappadocia (later part of Turkey). There are no reliable records of what these Periapt Shards looked like or what they did.”
“The Lux Veritatis were also said to have destroyed the last of the Nephilim as well as some artefacts known as the Sleepers or Cubiculum Nephili. Dates are uncertain.”
 
3/ ON VASILEY’S WEBSITE AFTER USING THE PASSWORD
My Lux Veritatis past is catching up with me. Our new identities are compromised and my daughter Tanya has disappeared. I will be next.
I know that if the Obscura Paintings get into Eckhardt’s hands we are all lost. ALL OF US. The Paintings must kept from him or destroyed.
The fifth Engraving is safe, for now. 766677."


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Items and information in Von Croy's apartment
[VCroy-APARTMENT-v5]
05-September-2002

"ITEMS AND INFO IN VON CROY’S APARTMENT Gp 7.3
 
OBJECTS & ITEMS
Absolutely must find:
  1. The rest of the torn fax that Lara has at the beginning of the game with Carvier’s address on it. The lower part of it is obscured by bloodstains. (It’s on or beneath the desk).
  2. GUN – mentioned in Von Croy’s notebook and seen spinning under a heavy piece of sculpture in the opening FMV.
  3. JACKAL HEADED WALKING STICK. Rolled up inside this are:
  • Four Obscura Engravings sent by Mathias Vasiley.
  • Faxes from Mathias Vasiley sent to Von Croy saying he has a 5th Engraving. [see separate document for text of the faxes.] Amongst the faxes is a symbol that triggers Lara’s flashback

Extras around the apartment:
  • Print of a painting showing ECKHARDT’S CONTAINMENT SUIT with Shard holes.
  • CHART (hand drawn) showing relationship of Paintings to Engravings. This is diagrammatic, not actual images from the Paintings.
  • NEPHILIM IMAGES, figures - Statuettes or engravings.
  • ALCHEMIC alphabets and symbols, diagrams etc.
  • A fax from Carvier to Werner lies on the desk. There is a symbol on it.

DATA ON VON CROY’S LAPTOP/PC:
  • Most items here have already been covered by Von Croy’s notebook or are copies of the material from Carvier’s office in the Louvre.
  • This is the third chance for players to pick up essential info before leaving Paris for Prague.
  • Some items have extra details. These will be flagged  (+ extra info*)

1/ OBSCURA PAINTINGS  + extra info*
“FACT: Obscura Paintings, five images painted on thick wooden bases like Russian icons. Originally called the Sanglyph Paintings. Created by the Black Alchemist Pieter Van Eckhardt in 1300’s or 1400’s.”
“FACT: Eckhardt disappeared in 1445. The Lux Veritatis seized the Obscura Paintings, painted over them with religious imagery and hid them in five secret locations. They were called the Obscura Paintings from then on. See notes on Brother Obscura.”
“MYTH: the five Paintings together have great power as the Sanglyph, the Blood Sign. No reliable details of what this is or what it does. See further notes on the Sanglyph.”
“MYTH: Each Painting has a mysterious metallic symbol built into it.”
“MYTH: unconfirmed locations for the Paintings were: the Vatican, Lubeck in Germany, Uzkesk in Russia (the town has now disappeared), Prague in the Czech Republic and Old Paris.
 
2/ BROTHER OBSCURA
“FACT: a deaf mute monk, Brother Obscura, was ordered by the Lux Veritatis to paint over the Black Alchemist’s Paintings. His work was carried out in secret and when it was done all his materials were destroyed and the Paintings hidden. Brother Obscura died two weeks after completing his task.”
“FACT: Bro Obscura made secret sketches of the Paintings and hid them. After his death the Obscura Engravings were based on these forbidden sketches.”
 
3/ OBSCURA ENGRAVINGS + extra info*
“FACT: there are Five Obscura Engravings, unauthorised copies of Brother Obscura’s images.”
“MYTH: all five Engravings contain encrypted maps of each Paintings’ location.”
“FACT: after the death of Brother Obscura the sketches were hunted out by the Cabal and the Obscura Engravings created based on his drawings, see notes on the Cabal.”

4/ LUX VERITATIS + extra info*
“FACT: a secret 12th century offshoot of the Knights Templar dedicated to combating  evil, particularly works of sorcery and alchemy. Responsible for suppressing the work of the Black Alchemist.”
“FACT: the secret Order of warrior monks had the five Obscura Paintings painted over and hidden in the 1400’s.”
“FACT: the Lux Veritatis fought running battles with the Cabal of the Black Alchemist from the 1300’s onwards. Exchanges characterised by acts of staggering barbarity.”
“MYTH: some historians claim that evidence of Lux Veritatis activities can traced as recently as the late 1800’s, but this remains unsubstantiated.”"


To continue reading, download the full document.
All faxes and websites
[FAXES-ALL-v4]
08-April-2003

"ALL FAXES – AND VASILEY’S WEBSITE
SEE SUMMARY OF ALL TEN FAXES AT THE END

PARIS
#1 The original torn fax in Lara’s hand, just a ripped fragment with Carvier’s address.
Margot Carvier. 17a Place St Sulpice. Paris.
TORN

#2 Fax in Carvier’s office in Louvre.
Margot Carvier. 17a Place St Sulpice. Paris.
TO: Werner Von Croy
Re: Mathias Vasiley in Prague.
Dear Werner,
Vasiley is more black market than genuine antiquarian but could have some or all of the five Obscura Engravings as he claims. He says he will send me his website address with a password to access a restricted area on it.

#3 The rest of the Lara’s torn fax at is at Von Croy’s Paris apartment minus the address at the top.
Werner, I have information you requested on the Black Alchemist. Also the Obscura Paintings and related material. It would be best if we met here, not at my office at the Louvre. Some of the material is a little disturbing. The symbol is linked in some way.
(symbol*)
Heard from Vasiley in Prague again. Has sent his website address:
SHADOWHISTORIES.PR
The code to access the restricted area he wants us to look at is
BOGOMIL.
[THE ACTUAL PASSWORD IS OBSCURED BY A BLOODSTAIN.]

BETWEEN VON CROY& VASILEY AT VC’s  PARIS APARTMENT
#4 These are rolled up in the Jackal headed walking stick along with the four Obscura Engravings.
Werner Von Croy Paris to Mathias Vasiley. Namesti Slobodi. Prague. Czech Republic.
Received the four Obscura Engravings today. Any sign of the fifth Engraving? Am VERY interested in any material relating to the Obscura Paintings. Yes, I am familiar with the ‘hidden map’ theory.
 
#5
Mathias Vasiley Prague to Werner Von Croy 613 Rue Valise, Chantell Building. Paris.
Good news. Have located the fifth Engraving. Must discuss revised price.

ALL FAXES – PRAGUE, VASILEY’S PREMISES
#6 This fax is lying on top of a shredder.
Mathias Vasiley Prague to Margot Carvier. 17a Place St Sulpice. Paris.
Mlle Carvier, you would do well to refer to a website SHADOWHISTORIES.PR There will be much there to interest you.
To access information relevant to your interests type BOGOMIL.
[THE ACTUAL PASSWORD CAN NOW BE READ.]

#7 Faxes between Von Croy and Vasiley
Werner Von Croy Paris to Mathias Vasiley. Namesti Slobodi. Prague. Czech Republic.
Will purchase the four Engravings you have. Name your price. Any sign of the missing fifth Engraving?...”"


To continue reading, download the full document.
Von Croy and Lara notebook prompts
[NOTEBOOK-FINAL-v2 notebook prompts1]
20-May-2003

"THE NOTEBOOK IS ARRANGED IN TWO PARTS:
1/ FIELD NOTES
2/ MISSION POINTS PARIS & PRAGUE
ARTWORK TO GO INTO THE NOTEBOOK IS IN RED.
FOR LOCATION OF ARTWORK SEE LIST AT THE END.
 
FIELD NOTES
THESE FIELD NOTES ARE ALREADY IN THE NOTEBOOK WHEN LARA GETS IT FROM CARVIER:
“Eckhardt – client. Be wary!” NB050
“Louis Bouchard. Useful contact – purchased handgun. Discretion assured.” NB051
“Terrified to go out. Monstrum terrorising the streets.”  NB052
“Tried contacting Lara again in London. No response. Still not forgiven me for Egypt.” NB053
“Obscura Paintings: five 15th century works of black alchemic magic. All lost, hidden by the Lux Veritatis.” NB054
#1 [THIS IS WITH A HAND SKETCHED CHART SHOWING THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE FIVE ENGRAVINGS TO THE FIVE PAINTINGS.]
“Five Obscura Engravings – drawn copies of the Paintings. Contain encrypted maps of each Painting’s location?” NBO55
“Mathias Vasiley in Prague. Has sent me four Obscura Engravings. He kept the fifth Engraving back. Wants more money.” NBO56
#2 [THIS IS ACCOMPANIED BY ROUGH THUMBNAIL SKETCHES OF FOUR ENGRAVINGS]
“Deciphered the encrypted map in Vasiley’s Engravings.  One of the Paintings is beneath the Louvre. Where the latest archaeological digs are.” NB057
#3 [THIS IS ACCOMPANIED BY AN EXAMPLE OF ANCIENT WRITING]
“Carvier says she has a security pass for the digs in her office.” NBO58
“A metallic symbol is hidden beneath surface of each Painting. Check with Carvier about X-Ray facilities in Louvre?” NBO59
“Lux Veritatis - ‘Light of Truth’. A secret 12th century Order of warrior monks who hid the Obscura Paintings in the 1400’s.” NB060
#4 [THIS IS ACCOMPANIED BY A HAND DRAWN LUX VERITATIS SYMBOL]
“Said to posses the three Periapt Shards – artefacts of power, crystalline shards shaped like spearheads – ‘weapons of light.’ !!?? ”  NB061
#5 [THIS IS ACCOMPANIED BY HAND DRAWN SKETCH OF A MANUSCRIPT PAGE SHOWING 3 SHARDS CONTAINING EVIL]
“Lux Veritatis try to suppress the Cabal of the Black Alchemist from the 1300’s onwards.” NB062
“Lux Veritatis - links to Nephilim???” NB063
“Nephilim – from ENOCHIAN gospels. Cursed hybrid offspring of angels and humans. Exterminated in biblical times.”  NB064
#6 [THIS IS ACCOMPANIED BY SKETCHES OF NEPHILIM FIGURES OR ALPHABETS]
“Related prophecy: ‘Through the Golden Lion the Nephilim will enslave the sons of man and inherit the Earth.’  NB065
“The Sleeper or Cubiculum Nephili – literally ‘sleeping cask’ or ‘chamber’. Thought to be the last intact specimen of the Nephilim race. Supposedly buried in Anatolia, TURKEY.” NB066
“The Sanglyph – some artefact of alchemic power? Linked to the Black Alchemist in 1400’s. Details scarce.” NB067
“The two missing symbols are hidden close by the buttress.” NB068
#7 [THIS ACCOMPANIES A HAND DRAWN DIAGRAM OF THE BUTTRERSS LOCK AND ITS FOUR KEY SYMBOLS - two symbols are shown, two are missing]
 
FIELD NOTES ADDED TO NOTEBOOK FROM VASILEY’S  PC  
IN PRAGUE Gp 8.17
“The Lux Veritatis Order was said to posses ‘weapons of light’, the three Periapt Shards. These were looted from ancient underground cities in ancient Turkey.” NB069
“The Lux Veritatis were said to have destroyed the last of the Nephilim Sleepers or Cubiculum Nephili.” NB070..."


To continue reading, download the full document.
Lara notebook dialogue
[RECORDED-COMMENTS-TEXT-TRANSLATIONS]
20-May-2003

"TEXT TRANSLATIONS OF LARA’S RECORDED COMMENTS
AN EDITED VERSION MAY GET DROPPED INTO THE NOTEBOOK
EDITED VERSIONS FOR DROPPING INTO NOTEBOOK
1/ OBSCURA PAINTINGS
the Obscura Paintings
five images painted on thick wooden bases, like Russian icons. They were created by the Black Alchemist Pieter Van Eckhardt in the 13 or 1400’s.
Together the five Paintings hide something called the Sanglyph, or the Blood Sign.
The Paintings were seized by the Lux Veritatis from Eckhardt and painted over with religious imagery.
each Painting has a metallic symbol of power built into it. Eckhardt wants the paintings!
 
2/ BROTHER OBSCURA
the artist who painted over the original images. Brother Obscura. was ordered to disguise the Black Alchemist’s Paintings with religious imagery. Then the Paintings were hidden.”
But he made secret copies of the Paintings, sketches, and hid them too. They became known as the Obscura Engravings.
 
3/ THE FIVE OBSCURA ENGRAVINGS
the Obscura Engravings. all five contain encrypted maps of a Paintings’ secret location.
 
4/ THE LUX VERITATIS
the Lux Veritatis. They were a 12th century offshoot of the Knights Templar. Dedicated to suppressing  evil, particularly works of Sorcery and alchemy. Responsible for destroying Eckhardt, the Black Alchemist, in 1445.
 
5/ THE PERIAPT SHARDS.
the Periapt Shards. ‘weapons of light’ three crystalline shards shaped like spearheads No one knows how they worked.
 
6/ THE NEPHILIM RACE
the Nephilim were the hybrid offspring of angels and humans.
They were thought to be able to change their physical appearance and flourished in Turkey in early biblical times. Now extinct.
 
7/ THE SLEEPER – CUBICULUM NEPHILI
The Sleeper or Cubiculum Nephili – a stone cask. Reputed to contain the last remains of the extinct Nephilim race. Buried somewhere in Turkey.
 
8/ THE SANGLYPH
the Black Alchemist, Pieter Van Eckhardt, created an artefact of alchemic power, the Sanglyph. It was made in five metallic parts and hidden. Perhaps those were the metal symbols in the Obscura Paintings.
 
9/ ALCHEMY
Alchemy was the first real science in Europe. Alchemists claimed they could change the structure of all matter, like metals into other metals.
 
10/ THE BLACK ALCHEMIST
The Black Alchemist, Eckhardt, made a pact with the Nephilim in ancient Turkey. In return for using his alchemic skills to help the Nephilim he would live forever.
 
11/ THE CABAL
the Cabal…a powerful alliance of five alchemists and sorcerers in the 13 and 1400’s. Eckhardt is said to have betrayed and murdered almost all of them to control their secrets.
The Cabal and the Lux Veritatis battled constantly even after the disappearance of the Black Alchemist Eckhardt in 1445."


To read the original document, click the download button.
Copyright (c) 2024 Murti Schofield. Lara Croft and Tomb Raider are the property of Embracer Group AB and Crystal Dynamics (formally Core Design, Eidos Interactive, and Square Enix).
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