Hidden Ruins

'Hidden Ruins' is the 11th game that Haiku Games has made. It was released on April 2017.

## **Summary**

Professor Burns is on the brink of the archaeological breakthrough of a lifetime - discovering the mysterious Kumari civilization which is rumored to have the key to eternal life. His plans are foiled when Larissa, an unscrupulous rival archaeologist, forces her way onto the scene with the help of her armed guards. Will you be able to stop Larissa before she takes the treasures of the Kumari civilization for herself? Team up with a curious cast of characters including Rachel, the daughter of the billionaire who funded the expedition, Tawa, a trusty local guide, and Peter, a tech genius with an unnatural love of drones.

## **Characters**

* Professor Jonathan Burns
* Rachel Reynolds
* Larissa
* Tawa
* Peter Clay
* Bert
* Henchmen
* Royce Reynolds

## **Plot**

### **Chapter 1**

We start at the entrance to the ancient Kumari temple. Professor Jonathan Burns, Rachel Reynolds, Tawa and Peter Clay have set up around the entrance. Tawa congratulates Burns on his incredible archaeological breakthrough. Meanwhile, Peter is explaining that the temple is even bigger than they thought to their expedition sponsor, Royce Reynolds. Mr Reynolds is delighted and asks how his daughter is doing. The screen pans to the truck where Rachel is on her phone complaining about how her dad sent her on this trip. Burns says 'Alright, let's head in'.

Burns cuts through the vines and figures out the password to the entrance. Peter stays behind while, Burns, Tawa and Rachel enter the ruins. Once in, they light the torches to reveal a dark unsteady stone bridge. They find the safe way the cross it and but Tawa says that he would like to stay at the bridge and examine the markings on the doorway.

The next room is a wide temple with four giant statues and 2 other doorways. Rachel asks who build this place and Burn replies that is was made by the ancient civilisation known as the Kumari, though Rachel does not seem particularly interested. Burns continues to explain that they had apparently discovered the secret eternal life and guarded it inside a temple full of puzzles and traps. But one day, a earthquake came out of nowhere erased all evidence of their existence. Rachel asks why there is no one left if they could have lived forever. *"That what we're here to find out."*

Rachel takes a selfie in front of the ruins. They search the rooms and piece together objects of significance to the four big statues. Once they place the objects into their respective hands, a small dome opens up into a lotus shape to reveal a large ruby crystal: "The Key of Ages". Burns exclaims that it will grant them passage into the lower sanctum and to the Elixir of Life! Unfortunately, that's when Larissa and her two henchman appear.

Larissa thanks 'Jonathan' for leading her the Key. Burns is surprised at her presence and demands to know where Tawa is. One of her henchmen laughs and takes the key from him. Larissa (now holding the Key) says that her goons had a little 'chat' with him and that she *thinks* he's still alive. She starts explain that for years she has wanted to beat him to this discovery, but now she realises that she was thinking too small. She plans to take the elixir for herself and live forever. Burns is appalled at her claim and says that that sort of power isn't theirs to take. Larissa is unfazed and declares that she will have the power of the gods. They blow up the entrance as the three run from the scene, leaving Burns and Rachel trapped. As Larissa and her goons run across the bridge, Tawa (who had been hanging off the ledge for dear life) falls off the side.

### **Chapter 2**

Tawa lands in a pool of water within the lower temple and survives the fall. He prays to the Kumari Spirits to forgive him for his trespass. He finds supplies and lights a torch. Then, he decodes the Kumari number system and reads the pillar carvings to find the correct way out of the cavern. Tawa lights the torches around the next room and grabs a 'jade fox head' that was placed inside an animal skull. He uses it to open a box on the left hand side of the room. Inside there is a sketch showing the code for the big lock on the main door. Tawa climbs through till he reaches a huge well that leads to the surface. After careful climbing and consuming many mushrooms to keep his energy, he finally manages to reach the surface.

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**More coming later...**

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