There is no going back.
Trail of Blood is the only mission with this feature.
It is like two mini missions.
Once you passed from the Pagan Village through the portal,
you cannot return to the village.
So I hope you have really checked that you’ve got all your collectables.
Take the Flare from the hand of the Dead Archer nearby.
When Garrett sees the blood trail leading West toward the cave’s only exit,
he will remark “Looks like I’m still on the right track…”
Check your map. Garrett has started creating a map of the territory;
right now, it’s just marked with “Portal” at the North end of the map.
The downhill path divides around a large stone “pillar”,
and rejoins on the far side;
just follow the blood trail through the torchlit area
and you’ll reach the same place as the shadowy path to the left.
Beyond the torch, the path turns South.
At the next torch, the path divides and rejoins again.
The caves end at a gap in the rock leading West, lit by a single mushroom.
Beyond the gap, you can see some strange plants.
It was rather scary when you see them for the first time.
The pools of the cavern are populated with Eyeball Plants.
However hard you try, there is no way to sneak past them.
The Eyeball Plants are nature’s answer to the Mechanists’s Watchers.
They will see you no matter how you try to traverse their territory.
Fortunately, they are not connected to any kind of alarm system;
you can pass through the cavern at your leisure.
Try your Sword on the Eyeball Plants — they vanish without a corpse.
The purist should chop down all of them for a perfect Cleaning job.
The blood trail is clearly visible, leading past the plants nearest to the entrance.
The first pool (the one closest to the entrance) hides
a Water Crystal (Diff N/H only).
Move South and take the the Water Crystal the second pool.
The third pool, at the Southmost end, contains not only
a Water Crystal,
but also a human skull and spine.
Garrett will quietly remark, in a puzzled tone
“Is this the Maw? It looks… different. ”
Continue to follow the blood trail.
Turn East toward the fourth pool of water,
where the corpse of an Archer is lying.
You can also find
a Water Crystal (Diff N only) in the pool.
In the patched game,
you will hear the sound of Rats.
Two Rats are nearby,
while a third is a bit farther away in this area.
To exterminate the pests, you need to ready your Sword
and kneel down before striking at them.
The exit of the Eyeball Plant Pools is at the Southwest corner.
Just beyond the exit, the path forks.
The blood trail goes right (West).
So let’s first explore the left (East) side.
Follow the East Path, and soon you can see the giant Pitcher Plant.
Don’t worry, they won’t swallow you,
but it hurts a bit if you stay too close to them.
Take a look at the reddish Swamp beyond the plant.
Although it is red, it is not lava (which would kill instantly).
You can wade through the Swamp for short distances
— but you would choke and gradually lose health.
Towards your Southwest, you can see the
East Cone
in the middle of the
Swamp.
It is a Pillar formed when a growing
Stalagmite met a
Stalactite.
Zoom your vision at the Cone and you can see an embedded
Fire Crystal.
At Normal and Hard Difficulty,
a second Fire Crystal is embeded on the other side of the Cone.
There are no hidden surprises with the cones:
no secrets, no teleporters that bring the crystals to you or you to the cones.
There is not even a way to stand on the cone.
The only way to collect it is to go out there,
grab it while standing in the fuming
Swamp,
and struggle your way back ashore.
Let’s handle it at a later time.
There is another cone on the West part of the Swamp.
We’ll see it later.
A Fire Crystal is also embedded in the West Cone.
The East path leads to a bridge over the red fluid and then tunnels through a Column
(from a geographical point of view, these Columns are big brothers of the Pillars)
to arrive at a dead end.
In front of you is a sudden drop into the Swamp.
The lookout provides a great view of the East Cone
and the path along the Upper Cliffs over the South shore
(and the Ape Beast (Diff E only) patrolling up there).
You can also see the
Stepping-Stone Rocks in the Swamp:
they start from your rear right and connect to the Southeast Shore on your far left.
It is not easy to access the Southeast Shore.
Many people use the Stepping-Stone Rocks to go there and come back.
Since the path is hazardous, I prefer not to cross it twice.
Retrace your foot steps back to the fork just outside the Eyeball Plant Pools.
This time, proceed from the fork towards the West.
At the edge of the Swamp, you find another Pitcher Plant,
under which
a
bundle of 5 Broadhead Arrows is entangled with a human skeleton.
From here, you can see the West Cone in the middle of the Swamp
(but not the embedded Fire Crystal, which is facing the other direction).
Over the South shore, you may see a patrolling Ape Beast.
Zoom at him: he and some of his brothers carry Blowpipes
— they can shoot at you from a distance!
Follow the path along the shore to another Pitcher Plant near the Northwest corner.
This time, you find under it a skeleton, a worthless Mechanist Mace and a Vine Arrow,
which functions in the same way as Rope Arrows.
The path turns right and loop back to the East.
You pass a short tunnel lit by Light Emitting Mushrooms,
and then over a rock bridge.
Look down from the bridge.
You are above the West path from the fork you took a moment ago.
The East end of the rock bridge forks into two paths around a Column.
The two paths rejoins soon, but each path shows you different parts of the scene.
Along the left (North) path you can see the pools with Eyeball Plants,
while along the other path (incidentally, the one with the blood trail)
you can see more of the Swamp and the South Cliffs.
On the East end of the Column,
the two paths meet and connect to a tunnel going back to the West (into the Column).
Follow the tunnel downhill to arrive at another bridge on the South side of the Column.
Stand at the tunnel opening, which is at the North end of the bridge (a N-S bridge) .
An Ape Beast with Blowpipe patrols E-W along the path at the South end of the bridge.
His patrol route runs from the next bridge (an E-W bridge) to the East all the way to the far West end of the path.
To knock him out, just walk or run behind him and blackjack him.
Since Ape Beasts are not human, you may dispose of their unconscious body by dumping them into the Swamp.
The West path on your right is a dead end, so we explore it first.
Descend all the way until you reach the Pitcher Plant at the end of the path.
Next to the human bones and the Mechanist Mace,
locate which are nearly invisible.
Right at the shore line is a Gas Crystal (Diff N/H only) floating a feet or so above the ground.
Look at the West Cone in the middle of the Swamp.
Zoom on it, and you can see a Fire Crystal embedded in the South face.
Like the East Cone, there is no easy way out.
Find the point on the coastline that is closest to it.
Do a running jump and continue to run towards the cone.
Take the Fire Crystal and run back to shore.
Retrace along the path back to the N-S bridge, sticking to the outer edge and crouching to avoid being seen by the patroller.
Continue on the cliff path towards the East, and it will swing due South, leading to a left-turn across another (E-W) rock bridge.
Instead of crossing the E-W bridge, continue South and descend down the slope until you reach the rocky area at the bottom.
Avoid the Pitcher Plant and proceed to the shore:
you’ll find another Gas Crystal floating there.
If you, like me, have difficulty in telling a Gas Crystal from a Will-o’-the-wisp,
remember this: Gas Crystals are white and Will-o’-the-wisps are blueish.
Offshore, you can see the East Cone.
Zoom your eye at it.
See the embeded Fire Crystal (Diff N/H only)?
You can run for it from here,
but I’ll further postpone it to a time when we are forced to get our feet wet.
Climb back up to the cliff path to continue East on the E-W rock bridge.
The cliff path turns North and enters a tunnel through another Column.
As usual, the tunnel opens onto a circular path around the Column from which you just exited.
Both branches in front of you lead to the same place.
The blood trail appears on the left branch, but do not go in that direction.
An Ape Beast (Diff E only) patrols the circular path in the clockwise direction
— so if you move left, you will run into him heads on.
Take the right (East) branch instead.
Better still, wait at the tunnel exit for him to pass,
and knock him out from behind.
and follow quietly behind him.
The top of the circular path is connected to the Upper Cliffs.
Hug the rock wall to your right and locate the another Ape Beast,
who patrols in a loop around the Upper Cliffs.
He will approach from the gem-lit doorway to your Southwest.
Wait till he starts walking away, and bring him down.
You can leave his body here, because there is nobody else around.
Wait till he leaves.
But don’t stand there forever.
Your hiding place is dark enough, but the other Ape Beast will bump into you from behind.
Descend back a few steps along the circular path.
A sharp V-shaped groove is formed between rock walls of the ledge on your right (East) and the circular path itself.
Look down the groove: you can see a Pitcher Plant, but how to get there?
Everywhere else people are telling me to use a Slow-fall
Potion.
Odyseeos pointed out that it isn’t necessary.
Save game.
Turn around and look up.
Slowly descend backwards.
By wedging into the groove, you can descend step by step without falling out of control,
without using any Slow-fall
Potions.
When you arrive at the bottom, save game in another slot
(you may change your mind and want to restore the image saved before your descent).
Look around.
You have arrived at the Southeast shore of the Swamp.
Next to the Pitcher Plant you will find the remains of a human skeleton,
a
bundle of 5 Broadhead Arrows,
a Healing
Potion and a .
In the patched game, a Rat (v1.18 only) lives here.
I wonder if it has fallen from the Upper Cliffs.
But how does it survive here?
Feeding off the human skeleton, I suppose.
It is not possible to climb back up the groove.
Time for some serious jumping.
Quick save and study the Stepping-Stone Rocks offshore
(be careful to avoid the fumes from the Swamp when you are studying).
Do not stand on the red rock — it does not make the jumps easier, and it is slippery.
Max out your health before you start, and check your status after each jump.
Do a running jump to the first Stepping-Stone Rock directly off the shore.
Use your luminosity gem to aim, and balance yourself carefully as soon as you touch down on the rock.
Quick save and proceed to the second one towards the Northwest.
If you were not interested in Fire Crystals (but you should be, particularly in this mission),
you could continue with the Stepping-Stone Rocks towards the Northwest —
no matter whether you land successfully on the next stone
(which is not flat) or not,
rush to the fourth stone,
where you can mantle onto the North Shore.
Alternatively, you can head for the prize.
Quick save again.
Replenish your health.
From your Stepping-Stone Rock, do a running jump towards the East Cone.
Rush to its Northwest side for the Fire Crystal embedded there.
Rush to its South side for the Fire Crystal (Diff N/H only) embedded there,
and continue to the Northwest side for the other Fire Crystal.
Run to the shore at your Northwest (aim more or less at the Pitcher Plant).
You have come back to the East path.
Turn left (West) to go back to the fork, which is just outside the .
Repeat the path you took earlier in order to go back to the Upper Cliffs.
Your map shows that you can leave the Upper Cliffs on the Southwest.
So start your exploration from the East.
Head North along the ledge on the East of the circular path.
Pick up the from the ground.
Keep going until you reach the end of the ledge,
and pick up another from atop the rock.
Look carefully over the ledge;
you are now directly over the South end of the Swamp, where you picked up the Silver Nugget a moment ago.
But if you had jumped from here, you would have lost health even with a Slow-fall
Potion.
Move back to the main path on your Southwest.
The path go West and then forks around a rock wall,
and is patrolled by an Ape Beast.
Take the Southwestern fork (the left hand one) to look around.
At the Southernmost point of this area is a cave opening.
In front of the opening is a hugh Claw, which looks like the ribs of a dinosaur.
The opening is guarded by one (Diff N, v1.18) or two
(Any Diff
in v1.07 or
Diff H/E
in v1.18) stationary Ape Beasts.
With only one guard, it is trivial:
you can clean the area by sending him a Broadhead Arrow.
Otherwise you need to be more careful.
Since your current position too exposed, return to the top of the circular path
to take the other fork.
Follow the path until you have reached the shadows due North of the Claw.
Save your game, then (remaining crouched) move slowly along the shadows towards the ledge at the Northwest.
Follow the ledge to its Northwesternmost edge.
You are at the edge of a cliff.
If you look straight across Northwest, you can see still another cliff.
Turn left and walk along the edge of your cliff.
After a few steps, you will come to a place where you can simply walk (without jumping)
from the ledge you’re on
to the ledge you just saw across from you.
Head Northwest, and you’ll find a light-colored rock near the edge of the next cliff.
Next to the rock, you’ll find another and a Noisemaker Arrow (v1.18 only).
To Clean the Claw area, proceed to the next section;
to Ghost it, follow this link.
Head Southeast toward the Claw but stop before the first gem-lit area.
Use a Water Arrow to snuff the torch closest to you.
An Ape Beast might begin searching, but he’s unlikely to come your way
(if you’re nervous, back up to the cliff edge).
When he is calm again (scratching himself and shuffling his feet),
crouch and creep through the blue-lit area to the shadow beyond.
Use another pair of Water Arrows to douse the two torches to either side of the exit itself.
Don’t worry — there aren’t many places in the mission where we can use Water Arrows.
Now shoot a Noisemaker Arrow Eastwards, just left of the Claw.
When the Ape Beasts trundle off to investigate,
walk towards the cave opening but stop at the thumb of the Claw (the lone “bone”).
Turn around, crouch, and wait.
When the Ape Beasts get tired of searching and return to their posts,
you’re crouching right behind them.
Take out the one on your right first,
since he’s slightly behind the other guard
(and he’s more fidgetty as well).
Then blackjack the other.
When the Ape Beasts are down, don’t forget to retrieve your Noisemaker Arrow.
It’s over to the left of the Claw.
Enter the opening and walk across the Magic Bridge.
Skip the next section to continue with the .
Head South toward the Claw and its guardian Ape Beasts.
Crouch, and enter the shadow directly across from the cave opening.
Make sure the patrolling Ape Beast is nowhere nearby, and save your game.
Shoot a Noisemaker Arrow noisemaker arrow to the Southwest to distract the guardian Ape Beasts in that direction.
Run through the cave opening while they are searching, and drop from the Magic Bridge to dive into water.
Ape Beasts have very short attention spans,
so they won’t chase you for long once you’re out of sight.
Take a swim in the water if you want to,
but it is devoid of stuff.
Near the South end of the Magic Bridge,
2 Vine Arrows are entangled in the vines on the right.
You cannot reach them from the bridge.
Descend to the rock there.
Take the Vine Arrows, and shoot one of them above you.
Mantle up, jump on the bridge and retrieve the arrow.
Leave the bridge and walk into the tree on the South.
Inside the tree you will find a
letter
To the person or persons whom I hope will have an interest:
How does one begin? I am in a position to be of service to you
and your cause, to save lives. But even as I write this I doubt
you will trust me. Why would a high ranking member of the City
Watch help Pagans? But I tell you it is true. I have helped you
already, though you may not know it. Twice I have spied your
agents in the city streets, and twice I looked the other way.
Yes, I have helped and at great risk to myself too, for what if
this letter were to be intercepted? Or if one day I were to look
away when I see a Pagan, and find myself face to face with my
superior? A superior who has given express orders to destroy any
Pagans I find!
Question your agents, and you’ll see they will verify the truth of
my statements. Then, if you trust me, contact me. This is the only
correspondence I will send so brazenly. From now on we must decide
on a system for contacting each other.
With complete sincerity,
Lt. Mosley, City Watch
from Lt. Mosley, but not the same letter that the courier was carrying.
Someone has been very obliging — from this point on,
Garrett will find letters scattered like breadcrumbs along the trail,
in addition to the blood trail itself.
This letter is obviously the first in Mosley’s correspondence with some one related to the Pagans.
Incidentally, at this point you will encounter the first specimen from the other type of Will-o’-the-wisp.
Until now, they are simply blueish light bulbs doing nothing.
This one flies.
Since it is not an AI, it doesn’t take any notice of you or follow you around.
It simply follows a fixed path to travel around the area.
It won’t hurt you directly,
but it will light up the immediate area quite nicely,
which will bring any AIs in the area upon you.
Unfortunately, you can’t do anything to quench a Will-o’-the-wisp —
you just have to live with it when one is around.