Puzzle of Unathriem
This puzzle hides the The Vault of Unathriem.
The puzzle consists of 3 principle parts.
- The dome
- The pillars
- The rods
The Dome
The dome is in the centre of the temple of Unathriem (Room 2) and covers the stairs down to the vault. The dome is covered in an elaborate work of art. In each of the 4 quadrants is a picture depicting a scene.
In the NW is a scene of funeral, with a man being laid to rest, attended by many somberful watchers (Death). In the NE is a scene of a very pregnant woman, obviously about to give birth, and attendants hovering around her (Birth). In the SW is a scene of a young man, striding into battle, sword in one hand, banner in the other (Youth). In the SE is a scene of an elderly scholarly man speaking to a group of youngsters (Seniority).
The images on this dome match the images of the 4 pillar rooms (3,4,5,6).
The Pillars
Each pillar is a tapered column that ends with a mounted clear crystal like ball. In the tappared pillar are 4 holes that run through the pillar. Fixed tightly into the bottom of each pillar is a rod. Each hole is a distinct shape, and the shape is different for each room.
- NW = Triangle (Death)
- NE = Circle (Birth)
- SW = Square (Seniority)
- SE = Cross (Youth)
The rod for each room, is wedged tightly into the lowest point of the holes, shaped in the symbol of that room, and with that symbol etched into the end.
The other 9 rods are spread about the temple.
The Rods
The rods are silvery and have a slight magical aura of an indistinct school. While each rod has a cross-sectional shape of it's own, each rod also as a raised symbol at each end, again the symbol is one of the four above.
In total there are 12 rods.
The Solution
The solution is to get all the rods into the pillars in the correct room and the correct order. Each room also has to be done in the correct order. When a room is correctly activated the crystal ball will start to glow. This will allow players to do this by trial and error is they must.
For each pillar the rods required are those of that room's shape. The order is in increasing age, from the rod in that room.
Bottom to top: NW: Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square (Death) NE: Circle, Cross, Square, Triangle (Birth) SW: Cross, Square, Triangle, Circle (Youth) SE: Square, Triangle, Circle, Cross (Seniority)
When all rooms have been activated correctly the dome will open (retracting into the ground) to reveal the stairs into the The Vault of Unathriem.
