Introduction

So, you didn't have enough with finding heaps of bodies and almost getting killed in the Colonel's Bequest. Now you want to find even more bodies (in even more grisly condition) and almost get killed again. Some people just never learn, huh? (grin)

The first thing you should do is sit through one playing of the game's introduction. This sets up the mystery to follow, and also provides a valuable clue or two for the end game.

Throughout this walkthru, I will be making the assumption that whenever you examine something, you are doing it with both the naked eye and the magnifying glass (so I won't have to keep repeating myself ;). This is very important, as often you will not see a critical piece of evidence if you don't use the glass...and you do have to see pretty much everything (as well as taking anything that isn't nailed down, in the usual tradition of adventure games).

I will also be assuming that you're saving the game as you go along, just as a precaution. Even with a walkthru in hand, it's easy to make a little mistake and find yourself dead, or head into a new Act without some vital item. Certain places are more dangerous than others, and I will warn you specifically to save at those points...but be sure to do it regularly throughout the game nonetheless.

Act I is fairly standard stuff, and it's hard to go wrong there. After that, the next four acts take place in the museum, and the clock advances and acts changed based on both time and actions. So, especially in Act III, time may drag a little. If you've done everything, just be patient. Eventually the action will pick up (and when you get to Act V, you may wish things were a bit slower!).

In Act VI, where you make your accusations, you have to be very careful. One mistake here could bring Laura to an untimely end, and we don't want that. This is particularly true since you can't save in this segment, so you have to get it all right the first time.

Okay, so here you are, Laura Bow, hotshot reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper with an unusually long name (heh). After you pass Rube's simple Egyptology question (the game's copy protection of sorts; if you happen to be up on your Egyptology, you probably don't even need the stuff in the manual), have a seat at your desk.

This will bring up a view of the blotter. Lift the lower right corner to get the drawer key. Open the drawer and take the press pass inside. That's all in the desk, so investigate the trash can next. Hmmm...a baseball, eh? Who knows, maybe you can break a window with it or something.

These are the only things to find in the office. Now have a chat with Rube and ask him about everything that's in your notebook. When you've exhausted his fund of knowledge, it's time to hit the streets and do some investigative legwork of your own.

Much of what follows can be done in almost any order, at least to a point. So if you're already playing the game and did things a little differently, don't worry about it. By the way, the museum is closed and will stay closed until you're ready for the big party, so there's no reason to go there until the end of Act I.

Let's try the police station first. Touch the taxi sign with the hand icon, and wave your press pass at Rocco (who must have a very poor memory, since you have to show him your pass every time you ride in the cab).

When you arrive at the precinct, you'll find a drunk snoring away on the sidewalk. Amazing that the cops let him sleep here. Anyway, go over there and try to wake him up (use the hand icon; talking doesn't work too well). He isn't interested, and turns over. That's enough for now; step inside and have a brief talk with the desk sergeant.

Not very cooperative, is he? However, his outburst holds a clue to what can soften him up a little, namely some food. Keep that in mind as you head for the office door in back and a visit with Detective O'Riley.

This portion is all automatic, and O'Riley isn't any more helpful than the sergeant; in fact, he may even be worse. At least you got a look at the skimpy police report before he kicked you out. Don't bother trying to get back in again; this is the one and only time you'll see O'Riley until the museum fund raiser this evening.

When you leave the station, you'll note that the drunk has gone, but his newspaper is there on the sidewalk. Picking it up and examining it shows you a coupon for a free corned beef sandwich. Just the thing for Flaherty! Now all you have to do is find Luigi.

Which isn't all that difficult, since he just appeared outside the paper. Take the taxi back to the Trib, and exchange the coupon for a sandwich. Poor Luigi; for some businesses, modern advertising methods don't work too well. But you have what you need, so taxi on over to the precinct house again.

Give the sandwich to the sergeant, who will now be happy to answer any of your questions. As it turns out, he knows very little about most things, but he has one piece of important info, namely the password to the speakeasy (which conveniently appears in the back of your notebook).

Time to visit the laundry. Outside, you'll see three kids burning up ants (an old New York pastime, no doubt ;) with a magnifying glass. Stinky isn't a very pleasant kid, but Biff is a bit more mellow. Offer your baseball to him, and you'll get the magnifying glass. Step inside and have a talk with Lo Fat if you like; he doesn't have any real information for you, but it's interesting.

After this, take a ride to the docks and meet Steve Dorian. He'll give you the information that Carrington was picked up by the Countess Waldorf-Carlton, and her name is now in your little black book. That's about all you'll get from Steve, and I know you really want to have a peek at the speakeasy, so make that your next stop.

After saying the secret word, talk to Ziggy who is sitting at the first table on your right. This will add another name or two to your book, and acquaint you with the Amon Ra riddle, which is of critical importance later on (of course, since you have this walkthru, you don't really have to puzzle out the answers, but you might want to try figuring it out before you get down to Act V of the game).

In the rear right is the door to the Women's Lounge, currently inhabited by a not very savory flapper. You can interrogate her, although you won't learn very much. That takes care of your first visit to the speak.

When you call for a taxi, you'll notice that you finally get a different driver, namely Bob The Slob. Filthy would be an understatement for the condition of his vehicle. However, all that trash is about to provide you with a very necessary item.

Don't be in a hurry to give a destination. Instead, start moving around the trash that is just to the right of Laura. Do this by putting the hand icon on a piece of garbage, holding down the mouse button, and dragging the trash away. At the very bottom, you will uncover an old laundry ticket. Now you can have Bob drive you to Lo Fat's.

All right, you sashay up the steps, and meet Wolf Heimlich, museum security chief and stormtrooper-in-training. Wolf is about the only person in the game you can't ask anything, because you never have the opportunity. Besides, he's the type that likes to be on the other side of the chair during interrogations. Hand him your press pass and step into the museum.

Fancy layout, huh? They sure could build some nice things in the old days, when money went much further than it does today. A lot of snobbery went along with those bucks, though, so don't bother trying to talk to anyone but the main characters, because you won't get a response.

What you have to do here is waltz back and forth and eavesdrop on a total of fourteen different conversations. You may want to write the numbers 1-14 on a piece of paper and cross them off as they occur to help you keep track of them. Remember to talk to the suspects and future victims as well (there will be time for this inbetween the conversations). They have some interesting and important things to say.

Also during your peregrinations, be sure to pick up an empty glass. This will come in handy later on, for listening in on people behind closed doors. Sorry to say, however, you won't be able to try any of the fine food and drink being offered (considering the strenuous evening ahead of her, you'd think Laura would be allowed at least a little something; she hasn't eaten all day!).

When you've finished with the conversations (Steve Dorian is here, too, and is likely to be the last one you listen in on), stroll over to the museum Gift Shoppe, which has been left conveniently unlocked for you. Most of the stuff in here is just the usual junk reproductions, but those daggers in the case look interesting.

Scope 'em out with your magnifying glass. Made in Pittsburgh, eh? They do pretty good work there. Well well, what's this near the end? Funny, this dagger doesn't have "made in Pittsburgh" on it. Do you suppose....naahhh, it just couldn't be THE dagger, could it?

Well, of course it is, but you have no way of getting it right now. The locked case is locked and there's nothing you can do about it. Besides, good old Wolfie just goose-stepped into the room and kicked you out.

At least this gives you the opportunity to have a romantic interlude with Steve the wannabe artist and sometime stevedore (he also walks a lot like Robbie the Robot for some reason). When the moonlight walk is over and you're back in the museum, it's time to do a little exploring.

You'll note that all the main characters have, by this time, more or less disappeared from view. They'll be turning up again throughout the game, in one condition or another (usually dead ;). For now, head into the Mastodon Room, then north to the T. Rex exhibit, and pick up the bone. You never know when a heavy old bone might come in handy.

Continue on through the Armor Room and into the Egyptian exhibit, far left. Since this is a murder mystery, you just *know* there's a body in one of those mummy cases. In case you had any doubts, there is also a small pool of blood and an ankh in front of one of them.

Before you go discovering any corpses, though, pick up the ankh and take some time to view the half Rosetta stone on display. This will put the hieroglyphs in your notebook.

This is the longest act of the game, with much to see and do, so remember to save often. Once the automatic part at the beginning of the act ends, it's time to do some major snooping around the museum.

Let's visit the Old Masters Gallery first. Just because there's been a murder doesn't mean you can't take out a little time for art appreciation (heh). Actually, there is a lot more here than is first apparent. For instance, there is a gleam from one of the pictures. What could this be?

Click the eye on the lower right (for some reason, it has to be the lower right corner) of the painting. A close-up with the magnifying glass shows a skeleton key! However, it's stuck pretty tight on the canvas, and you have no way of getting it right now. Just remember this later on.

Now check out the other paintings. Hmmm...some of them seem a bit recent, eh? If you touch them, you'll discover that most are still wet, and you actually smear the paint! Get the feeling that some of these "old masters" may not be so old, and may even be forgeries? There sure are a lot of strange things going on in this museum.

While you ponder that, continue on to the hallway with the statue of Rodin's The Thinker. Ah, voices coming from behind Yvette's door. Quickly you whip out your trusty drinking glass and listen in. Unfortunately, just as she and Olympia are getting to the good part, they lower their voices. Darn!

That's all you're going to get from spying right now, so go over and examine the statue. Good stuff, except there appears to be something a trifle odd about the neck. Give it a push. The head slides up, and The Thinker looks really odd now. And in the distance, you hear something heavy move. Let's go find out what that was.

Well well, you uncovered the museum's stairway down to the lower level...and what timing, you managed it just as the light bulb burned out. Not everyone has talent like that!

Fortunately, a replacement is not far away. Return to Yvette's office and go inside (no one is there now). Turn off the desk lamp. Since the bulb is still hot, you'll have to wait awhile before you can take it.

Pass the time by going into Carrington's office. Do we hear some voices from the previous room? Out comes the glass for another round of I Spy, this time on Yvette and Najeer. Busy lady, that Yvette.

When they're done, check out Carrington's desk, especially the phone book and the intercom. Bet you could listen in on some other neat conversations with that thing! And besides, it's part of your job (grin).

The phone book has some cute names in it, particularly B.Sayff. That's so obvious, you might be tempted to overlook it. Don't, because that "phone number" is actually the combination to the safe behind the painting over the fireplace. Inside is Carlton's diary, which does not shed any good light on his widow. My my.

Before leaving, check out the fireplace and grab the piece of coal. Bet you were wondering how to read the marks on Carter's notepad, weren't you? Well, now you have the right item, so use the coal on the pad. Aww shucks, it just has a list of his appointments for that evening.

Anyway, that bulb is cool now, so go back to Yvette's and pick it up. While there, also pick up the carbon paper in the trash basket. You'll be able to read it soon enough. In fact, just as soon as you've replaced the dead bulb at the stairway; hold the carbon paper up to the light.

Gosh, it seems just about everyone around here has some dirty little secret, doesn't it? Even Ernie has something to hide. You may notice that the carbon paper vanishes from your inventory after you read it. I don't know why that happens, but it won't affect the outcome of the game, so you needn't worry over its disappearance.

So you traipse down the stairs to the lower level, and duck into the Alcohol Preservation Lab. Smelly place, isn't it? And yes, another conversation behind a door for you to listen to. Hmmmm...sounds like Ernie may be heading for some big time trouble.

But that's his problem, and you have other things to do down here. Check out those vats (later you can read Ernie's book and see what's in all of them). Say, doesn't number thirteen (lucky number) seem to have been used rather recently? Let's look into this.

Swish....swish....swish....what fun....let's hope you don't faint from all the fumes (something that could happen if you look into more than two vats at a time, so don't ever do that! ;).

Hey, ya got something. It's shiny...it's real gold...it has a sharp point..and it *doesn't* have "made in Pittsburgh" on it. Yessiree, you just found the one and only, original, genuine, real McCoy, honest-to-gosh Dagger Of Amon Ra! (rah rah for you! ;).

However, that doesn't mean you're near the end of the game. There are still corpses to be found, people to spy on, places to find, and things to do. This is barely the start!

You can visit the storage room in back, but you won't be able to do anything there as yet, since Dr. Myklos is looking for one of her pets. Good thing it's just her ferret, and not Barney (you'll meet him later, hehehe).

Okay, you've got the dagger, so now you can pry that key off the painting (sometimes these ancient artifacts do come in handy). Uh-huh...as you pass Yvette's room...more voices. This is especially interesting, so listen good.

While you digest this revelation, pay a visit to Dr. Myklos' office. There in the cage, upper left, is Barney the pet cobra. I wouldn't get too close to him; those fangs look nasty, and the venom they hold is nastier yet.

Instead, check out what's under the cloth on the right-hand side. Aha, it's the other half of the Rosetta stone. Look this over to get the second half of the alphabet into your little black book.

There is an inscription on the blackboard, but sorry to say, it has nothing to do with the game. For those who insist on knowing (and don't want to take the time to do the translation), it says: "I pay homage to thee, ye lords of eternity. Ra, strong is thy sail in the wind as thou sailest over the lake of fire in the underworld. Behold Shu the mother creating the gods".

Now take a peek at the snake oil on the desk. As you try to pick it up, Dr. Myklos arrives and grabs it herself. She'll mention what snake oil does, and also tell you about a bunch of cobras on the loose somewhere in the museum.

Wonderful place, this museum. Burglaries, murders, forged paintings, deadly snakes roaming around...you were probably a lot safer in the Colonel's house. However, there's nothing much you can do but carry on, so you better start carrying on.

By now it should be safe enough to nip downstairs, break the glass with the dinosaur bone, and grab the lantern. If you do this too soon, Wolfie shows up, and we don't want that to happen.

It's about time to find another body. You'll love this one. Trek upstairs to the dinosaur exhibit. Ick! A corpse impaled by the pterodactyl...and it has no head! Boy, were you smart not to eat anything at the shindig, cause you'd probably have lost it by now ;).

Still, we have to figure out who this latest victim is (or was). Now, if you had done this atrocious murder, where would you put the head? Of course, you'd stick it in the Life Mask exhibit. So naturally you run right there and look over the heads. Sure enough, there in the upper right, is poor Ziggy's head. While he wasn't exactly the nicest of people, he certainly didn't deserve to go out this way.

Your screams bring O'Riley and Wolfie to the scene. Fortunately, O'Riley restrains Wolfie from having his own way, and lets you go. What a gentleman! (Or is he?).

Say, did we get that key from the painting yet? Probably not, with everything else that's been happening lately. Do that now, then go on to Yvette's office. Hmmm...that paper cutter wasn't red the last time you were here. I wouldn't be surprised if that was blood on the blade, and this is how Ziggy lost his head.

Which reminds us....it's been quite awhile since we saw Carrington roaming around, hasn't it? I wonder what could have become of him? Where could he be? You don't suppose.....

With some trepidation, you open the office door. Whoops! Looks like Carrington just got the point from the killer (quite a line in impalings tonight; perhaps the murderer is a descendant of Vlad). Anyway, check out the murder site for clues (nothing to take this time, though).

Now we need to pass a little time, so hop downstairs to Wolfie's office. All the weapons on the right-hand wall are electrified, except the broadsword, so it's best not to touch them. You could try taking the sword, only that will fall on you and bring you to a quick end. Best to leave all that alone.

What you do on this visit is check out all the books on the shelves on the left-hand side. A careful search will show one book is in backwards. Now why would that be? Well, well, well....beneath that Prussian exterior, Wolfie has a little romance in his soul....and Yvette's garter as a bookmark. The lady sure likes to (ahem) spread herself around (grin).

Okay, that should be enough, and you can return to Carrington's office to catch a little chat between Smith and Yvette. Bet you never thought you'd be spying on people while standing next to a corpse, huh? Bet they never taught you that in journalism school, either ;).

When they've left, go back downstairs again. Ernie's office should be empty, and you can pick up the snake catcher under his desk. Also open the toolbox and grab the wirecutters (hmmm...beige material...have we seen anyone wearing beige tonight?).

Step next door to Wolfie's. You might think that the wirecutters should be used on the wire, but that would only lead to a shocking experience. Instead, use the snake catcher on the mouse trap. Wow, that Wolfie doesn't kid around, does he? At least now it's safe to take the cheese out of the trap.

With this done, you have to walk around a little until the hour strikes. At that time, the storage room in the lab will be open. Now you can get in there to investigate that mysterious trunk. First though, pick up the snake oil on the table (Dr. Myklos must be the absentminded type), then get the disgusting meat out of the cold storage locker.

All right, unlock the trunk and immediately drop the meat into it. The beetles inside will troop off with their prize instead of devouring you on the spot. Look into the trunk and....yes, another body. If you sat through the intro, you're probably not surprised to see it here.

And you're probably not surprised by the watch inscribed to Dr. Carrington, either, are you? It's been pretty obvious for awhile that Carrington was a fake, which explains why so many weird things have been going on around the museum.

When you're done with the trunk, head upstairs so you'll be in time to overhear a VERY interesting and important conversation between O'Riley and Yvette (you don't want to miss this one).

Sheesh, even O'Riley's crooked! At least that explains why the robbery report was so skimpy, and why he didn't seem so interested in really following up on the burglary. Boy, it looks like you can't trust ANYONE in this place. Good thing you're picking up evidence as you find it!

Now you again have to walk around to pass some time until the next hour strikes (2 AM). While you're doing that, stop off in the pterodactyl room and cut a piece of wire. Get a close-up of the corpse, then use the cutters on the wire in the upper left. Keep moving around, stopping in the armor room now and then. Sooner or later, Wolfie and Myklos will march in, then march right out again, and it will be time.

The pace will start to pick up in this act, and become really fast in the next one (maybe faster than you'd like!). After everything you had to do in Act III, you may be surprised how quickly IV will be finished. Time just flies when you're having fun, I suppose ;).

Anyway, step downstairs to Ernie's office. No clues to his murder here, but now you can push that button on the wall near the door. This opens a secret passage in the storage room. I was really excited the first time I found this, but as it turns out, this tunnel only takes you up to the Egyptian Room, exiting via the middle mummy case. This is also a one-way trip, as there is no way to open the case from the outside.

Oh well. As long as you're up here, pay a visit to Yvette's office. For once, she's alone (of course, she's also running out of men, so perhaps that's not surprising ;). She mourns Ernie's passing and tells you about Icepick. When you leave (which is automatic), who should you run into but Steve Dorian (just where has this lout been for most of the night?) chatting with Dr. Myklos.

You don't have much chance to talk to him, as Yvette appears and practically carries him off into her office. Good old kindhearted Steve. Ever the gallant gentleman to ladies in distress. You might as well listen at the door (why not feel more miserable? It'll put you in the mood for what's to come).

After that little scene, walk around a bit until the clock advances (I was down in the preservation lab when that happened). Go back to Yvette's office. Uh oh, looks like some sort of fight went on in here. When you're done checking out the desk, head for the Old Masters room.

There seems to be a new addition here....a statue of someone who looks rather familiar. I think we just found Yvette. Give the statue a good whack with the dino bone. Crack! Yep, it's Yvette all right. After giving her the usual examination, head along to the armor room.

What's that by the dog? Why, it's a boot, and since Steve is the only one wearing boots tonight, it must be his. The fact that it's sitting in a small pool of blood is rather unsettling; does this mean that we'll be stumbling over his corpse soon? Only time will tell.

Now move on to Dr. Myklos' office. You'll get a "Meanwhile" scene, showing Myklos discovering the Countess in a very unpleasant condition. She isn't quite dead yet (will be soon, tho!), and Myklos isn't very bright (how'd she ever get through college?), but it doesn't really matter.

After your meeting with Myklos outside the office, check your bottle of snake oil. It should be a FULL bottle. If it isn't, go right downstairs to the Preservation lab and fill the bottle with snake oil from the small vat on the table. Without a full bottle, you won't be able to finish the game.

Save the game before going into Myklos' office. Barney is on the loose in there, and you don't want to make any mistakes in capturing him. After he appears, use the snake oil on him three times, driving him back into the corner. Now you can safely use the snake catcher on him, and deposit him back in his cage (use the hand icon to get him back into the cage).

With the cobra safely out of the way, you can examine what's left of the Countess. That was pretty nasty, tying her up like that and loosing the snake on her. The killer certainly is one vicious person.

Act V opens with you in the Mastodon Room, and an ominous cloaked figure, armed with nasty-looking mace, headed your way. This is Mr. X, and he wants you dead. If he gets close enough, or you make a mistake anywhere along the way, you WILL be dead. So move fast and look sharp.

Head right into the pterodactyl room. Shut the doors and use the wire on them to keep them closed. This is only a delaying tactic, but it will buy you some time to get further away.

Run into the armor room and north to the locked door. This time, you see a chair. Your first thought may be to climb through the transom. Nice idea, but that's not quite the thing (I spent a lot of time trying to get through that transom!). Push the chair to the door. Open the transom, then get down and continue on to the Egyptian Room. Hide in the leftmost mummy case.

This fakes out Mr. X, all right, and he batters down the locked door. As soon as you're out of the case again, run to that door and go through into the old storage room. There might be a way to get that heavy crate in front of the door, but I never found out how to do it (and you don't really need to, either).

Just move the crate on the right wall to reveal a secret elevator. Take this down to the mummy storage room. The elevator goes up again as soon as you leave it (no way to prevent that). Shut the door to the room. Get the mummy from the case on the floor, and prop it against the door.

There doesn't appear to be any way out of this room, but looks can be deceiving (where have we heard that before? ;). Use your snake catcher on the mummy case on the left wall, the one with the snake emblem near the top. This opens a passage into the secret room of the Amon Ra cult.

Najeer and a friend come over to you. Hmmmm....even though you promise not to say a word, they plan on sacrificing you to Amon Ra. Unless, that is, you can answer that two-part riddle you first heard from Ziggy way back in the speakeasy (seems like ages ago, doesn't it?).

So Najeer asks you the first one: what is the room you leave without entering? The answer is Womb.

Then he asks you the second: what is the room you enter without leaving? The answer is Tomb.

Having satisfied Najeer, you are free to go. However, your troubles aren't over yet. Even a room full of determined cultists isn't going to keep Mr. X off your tail for long.

So now you're in the furnace room, and there's Steve in the coal bin, pretty much buried under the anthracite. Fortunately, he isn't dead yet. Move the coal away from his face, then use the smelling salts to bring him around. As soon as the "wait" hand disappears, quickly get the boot from your inventory and hand it to Steve. If you take too long, he will step on something with his bare foot, and you can't allow that to happen.

Mr. X is getting closer, and you have no time to spare. Move the Egyptian design on the back wall to reveal a tunnel. Turn on your lantern, get your snake oil ready, and head off into the darkness.

Partway along, you run into those missing cobras. But you have just enough oil left to take care of them, so use the oil on the snakes. After they're gone, continue along the tunnel.

Almost at the top, you come across a pack of starving rats. Do NOT throw the cheese to them directly. I made that mistake, thinking they would kill each other in a fight over the cheese. They just gobbled the cheese, then gobbled us. Not fun!

Throw the cheese through the first doorway at the top of the tunnel. The rats will jump through after it. As soon as they're all gone, save the game before taking another step. That first doorway leads to the furnace, and you could fall in there if you aren't careful. It's the second doorway you want to walk through.

This brings you to - surprise! - the T. Rex room. As soon as you both have exited the dinosaur, save the game again. This is a precaution, as after the next move, you will go into Act VI, where there's no chance to save. If you blow the Coroner's inquest, you won't have to repeat too much.

So, whodunnit? Well, who do you think? There aren't too many people left alive, are there? Let's see, we know Steve is okay, because he was with you at least part of the time while you were being chased. Najeer was busy running sun ceremonies, so it certainly isn't him. That pretty much leaves only Dr. Smith and Detective O'Riley, doesn't it?

Actually, you probably already figured that O'Riley is the guilty party, and you're right. Our boy the crooked cop did all the murders tonight. His motive for most of them was to cover up another crime, except for Yvette; his motive there was jealousy (she just wouldn't leave other men alone).

The murder of Carrington (the real Carrington) was done during the game's introduction by the mysterious Watney Little. Little then impersonated Carrington, and stole the dagger. Ergo, his motive for murder was financial gain.

It was O'Riley who maneuvered Little into killing Carrington and stealing the dagger. This is a sort of guess on your part, since no one else fits as the mastermind.

Clearing up the other stuff, Little and The Countess were replacing the real paintings in the Old Masters room with forgeries provided by Ziggy the middleman. Ernie Leach was the fence, and Najeer the high priest of the Ra cult.

That finishes up your direct participation in the Amon Ra case. Now you can sit back, relax, and watch the ending sequence unfold. Hey, not bad for your first newspaper assignment, huh? You may get a Pulitzer yet!

The Dagger Of Amon Ra is copyrighted 1992 by Sierra On-Line Inc. This walkthru is copyrighted 1992 by Scorpia, all rights reserved.