Lara walks slowly through the stony hallway. According to her research, there shouldn't be any more traps in this section, but better safe than sorry. The legend says, here inside the temple of the mysterious Samtsirhc is hidden a terrific treasure. What this treasure exactly is obscure, but it sounded interesting enough for Lara to check it out.
The last few meters. The end of the corridor is already in sight. The straps of the backpack cut painfully into Lara's shoulders. Because before she got so far, she collected moreover the seven keys of the temple guards. This keys, however, were in fact large stone slabs in different colors. Only six of them would be needed to open the gate to the sanctuary of the temple. This allowed the temple to be opened, when one of the guards was prevented. To perform this, the stone slabs could be arranged in different patterns, with respectively one left.
Finally, she reaches the great hall in the center of the temple. Elaborate murals adorn the walls. They are already faded and partially damaged, but still look impressive. On the opposite side is the huge gate to the sanctuary of the temple. In the center of the hall is a square on the floor. It shows a grid of six by six smaller squares. There the slabs are destinated to be placed, to trigger the opening mechanism of the gate.
Lara grabs the slabs from her backpack and puts them first next to the grit. Then she begins to arrange them properly. According to a hint, if it is used, the orange plate have to be placed so the long side touch the edge of the floor square. That would already be a good start. Then Lara suddenly hears strange noises on the side wall of the hall. She quickly pulls her arms and cautiously approaches the wall to look.
An explosion rips her feet and suddenly throws her back a bit. Stones fly through the air. Painfully scrambles Lara up. She feels dizzy and the air is full of dust. So she can not see properly. But it is enough to see that in the wall is now a gaping hole. A figure climbs through. It is been followed by two more, which are bigger and stronger.
Slowly the view is clearing up. It is Amanda Evert with two mercenaries. The guns! Damn it! The explosion had thrown them away. They now lie a few meters away from Lara. Quickly she dives toward it, but the two men, who were brought by Amanda, are faster. You grab Lara and hold her tight.
«Lara Croft.» Amanda says smugly «It's good to see you again. You wouldn't go to get the treasure without me?» She smiles and turns to the door. She looks at the square and the stone slabs, which were spread by Lara besides. They may be partially covered by the smaller debris, but are all still intact. «You do not happen to know how you have to arrange them» she asks Lara.
«Maybe.»
«Search through her! She certainly has some notes with her.»
One mercenary release Lara's arm, to grab for her backpack. Lara uses this opportunity. She hit him a blow with her elbow against the neck and hit the other guy between his legs. So she finally manage to free herself completely.
«Idiots!» Amanda shout «Get her!» and now runs herself on Lara, but Lara can avoid from her. She walks past the gate and grabs one of the stone slabs. She runs back into the hallway with it and vanish behind the next bend. In the many passages here she will never be found by anyone. Here Lara decides waiting until Amanda has given up, because she is convinced that she will never make it to open the gate.
And she is right: As much as she also tries, Amanda is not capable to order the remaining six stone slabs to a square, so gate can be opened. Indeed, it is even absolutely impossible without the stone slab, which Lara has taken. And this despite the fact only six plates are needed. Because this slab, which was once owned by the top guard, and was taken by Lara, is necessary for all combinations. Without it, the temple would not be opened.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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You can use this representation to find the solution. The individual plates can be moved by click and drag. Use Ctrl and click to rotate by 90° clockwise. Use Shift and click to rotate to the back side.
Solution
There are six different ways to assemble the stone slabs to form a square. In each case a different part remains.
As you can already see, the part B in purple, that looks like an L, is always there. Without of this it is impossible to form a square.
So this is the solution.
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As every year there is also the TRForge advent calendar contest. Achieve the matching challenge to every calendar door and collect points, to get the chance to win a great prize in the end! You can find more infos here: contest, or you can click on Lara at the calendar page.