Diamond skulls

Catbehemoth tells you about an avid artifact collector who was obsessed with collecting 13 diamond skulls of the ancient Mayan civilization, which supposedly have magical powers. According to the legend, one can gather all skulls in one place and obtain superhuman powers. The place is supposedly in the Zone, so the collector brought them here. The skulls were stolen from him, and scattered over the Zone. Meanwhile, Shadow of the Monolith claimed the rights to them after a vision that came to him. Only he knows how to activate them. You need to find the armor of the Monolith, and Shadow will decide if you're the chosen one to activate them.
It's known that one of the diamond skulls is in the possession of Clear Sky, so you should begin your search by talking to Suslov.
Parts of this quest are not tracked.
Before accepting this quest, you may want to check Suslov's one-time cyclics if you want any of his rare knives, as you will lose that dialogue.
== Walkthrough ==
It's highly recommended to bring all jumping artifacts you have; reaching these stashes in a genuine way is a chore.
=== Suslov ===
Head over to the Swamps and come to Suslov's shop. You won't find him there, and Marked One messages Catbehemoth for the advice. He instructs you to make your way inside his shop and search the shelves. Here's how to jump inside:
Then make your way to the top shelf, and find a teleport there.
Alternatively, look at the video below. (timecode 3:10)
The teleport takes you into Suslov's basement, where you find him dead. Take his PDA; it has his journal, from which you can find that he accidentally stepped into this teleport and died of thirst inside. There's also a tip on his stash near the [ Tuzla tunnel]. In the message exchange that follows, Catbehemoth advises you to talk to Sviblov, and Docent gives you a hint that you can leave the basement through the newly formed teleport.
Walk into this teleport to escape the basement, and talk to Sviblov.
=== Suslov's stash ===
The stash is located on top of the [ Tuzla tunnel], on the letter "T".
Inside, you can find the Shield of the Lost and one of the skulls. There's also a note saying that there's a teleport in the Tuzla tunnel, and the next stash is in Central Pripyat, in the house next to the monument to the soldier, on the first floor.
Walk into the teleport to leave the tunnel area.
=== Central Pripyat ===
Travel to Central Pripyat. The first stash is inside the [ apartment building] near the kindergarten, on the first floor. It leads to the sequence of stashes all over Pripyat. The entire sequence can be seen on the video above, timecode 8:35. You should know two things about this:
* The stash on the bus station roof won't spawn unless you follow the path on the video, as you need to hit invisible triggers in proper places.
* Making your way to the balcony stash through the tree is not necessary, as there's an easy teleport to this balcony. It's located near [ Doctor's place] on a one-story building wing. It's accessible by jumping from the stadium stands as shown on the picture below.
* After picking up the balcony stash, a teleport will spawn behind your back, on the same balcony. It's only visible in the first 3 seconds but then it's always here. It will get you out of that place.
=== Eastern Pripyat ===
See the same video, timecode 21:20. In this stash, you obtain the Jian sword.
=== CNPP-2 ===
See the same video, timecode 24:02. In these stashes, you obtain the Scorpion shuriken and Feather shuriken.
After picking the last stash up, Catbehemoth contacts you, and instructs you to visit Shadow of the Monolith with the entire set of Monolith armor and 12 diamond skulls.
=== Labyrinth ===
Note: traveling to the Labyrinth makes you a Monolithian until reaching the activation place.
Enter the Labyrinth and find Shadow of the Monolith. Say that you found the armor of the Monolith. Shadow will say that the last skull and the activation site are both here, in Labyrinth; you should listen carefully to the heart. Go to the lower levels of the Labyrinth, and find the semi-transparent stash using the hearbeat sounds. Look at the video above, timecode 26:44.
In the stash, you find 13th diamond skull and the Electric Microbe artifact. Shadow messages you and says that you should keep listening to your heart to find the activation place.
Continue searching on the lower level. Find the teleport in the depth of the Labyrinth. Enter it and go towards the hearbeat; you'll see the glow ahead. Approach the glow, and the invisible teleport will transport you inside it. Shadow messages you again; drop all 13 skulls from your inventory. After a minute, they transmute into the Idol of Monolith. Pick it up. You'll also receive the recipe for Shadow of the Monolith's embryo you'll need for the Assassination of the Shadow of the Monolith.
=== Back to Catbehemoth ===
Return to the Bar and talk to Catbehemoth. He says that the Idol of Monolith can control weather - after putting it on your belt the weather clears up.
== Notes ==
* If you want the knives from Suslov's one-time cyclics, you need to do them before speaking to Catbehemoth and starting the quest. While all of them are available elsewhere in the game, the Cossack Shashka, Samurai's Blade, "Desert Dagger", and "Ghost" knife are all rare and not offered at merchants.
* It's useless to try and resurrect Suslov with a Living Heart. It won't work. Suslov's death also won't affect anything in the game, including the S.T.A.L.K.E.R achievement. Later, he will be replaced by another identical trader, Kalancha.
** Unlike Suslov, Kalancha sleeps in the back room from about 22:00 to 06:00. You will have to jump behind the counter to interact with him at night.
*After completing the questline, each of the Monolith "arms" can be turned in to Freeman in one-time cyclics that reward stash locations. You may want to keep the sword, as it is a unique and usable melee weapon.
*The Idol of Monolith does not only clear the weather. It also renders you immune to the weapon-pulling effect of Burers, Blind dogs, and Pseudodogs when worn on your belt.
*The last chance to get this questline is at the end of Docent's Notebooks.
== Bugs ==
* Some stashes can be picked up multiple times when using the middle mouse button to take all contents. This can occur up to four times on a single stash.