Suggested Level: 25

Hunting for Hotephres¶

If you followed the guide sequentially over the past few pages, since leaving Memphis you’ve quested your way through the Saqqara Nome, from the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu to the village of Nitria, down to Faiyum, where along the northern shore of Lake Moeris you visited the Kanaris and Soknopaiou Nesos. If not, you’ve got a fair journey to make west. Either way, your destination is the aforementioned Soknopaious Nesos, where you’re tasked with meeting up with Hotephres, Apollodorus’s informant in Faiyum.

When you reach Soknopaiou Nesos, use Senu to find your man, then pay him a visit at his house, only to discover you’re not the only one looking for him. Use your Animus Pulse, then search some papers and a dead dog on the ground floor before heading upstairs and searching a child’s doll on a table. Next turn west to find an abandoned office, in which you’ll find a desk with more notes on it, but it’s the feathers nearby which prove more useful. Climb a ladder, then ascend to the top of a pigeon tower, atop of which you’ll find more scrolls. No news on Hotephres’s location, but his servant might know… if you can free him from the camp he’s being held at.

This camp just so happens to be… the Beached Trireme Camp! Assuming you completed the quest “ Rebel Strike “, you can hurry back to find it unoccupied, otherwise, read that quest description for tactics on how to go about conquering the place, sans the dubious “help” of Theodoros and his allies. When the soldiers have been dealt with, search a ruined structure near the cliffs to the northwest, in which you’ll find a caged man - Hotephres’s servant. Free him, carry him out of the camp, then talk to him to learn that Hotephres is on a boat on Lake Moeris, which you can identify by the statue on board.

Or… you could head to the nearby shore, commandeer a boat and sail to a search area, then deploy Senu to find the exact ship you’re looking for. You can discount all of the smaller, two-man boats on the lake, as this one is considerably larger. You should find it moored southeast of the Beached Trireme Camp, off the coast of the island west of Philadelphia.

Board the ship and talk to Hotephres, to find that he’s capable of handling himself quite well, After flashing is Medjay badge, Hotephres will calm down, then share the customary cutscene-laden story showing the Crocodile in all his nefarious glory. Afterwards Bayek will be told that a ledger purchased off a corrupt Greek magistrate may lead you to the Crocodile, but the evidence is in the hands of Hotephres’s wife, Khenut, whom you must seek out. The key to earning their trust is a Shadya’s Doll , which he’ll give to you.

Before you leave, however, Hotephres will tell you to check the Informant Board on his boat, which may lead you to Crocodile-related tasks. These quests are those along the northern coast of Lake Moeris, so if you completed the previous few pages, you have no need to bother with them. There are other quests you can pick up here, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t, even if you don’t get around to some of them for… quite a while. Talk to the two other men on board to start the quests “ Fires of Dionysias “ (Suggested Level: 37) and “ The Sickness “ (Suggested Level: 26), then read a letter to start the quest “ Demons in the Desert “ (Suggested Level: 39). It’ll be a while before you bother with two of those quests (no points for guessing which), and while the quest “ The Sickness “ is manageable, there’s no real reason to abandon pursuit of the Crocodile at this time. It, and other quests around Euhemeria, will be dealt with later.

To Euhmeria¶

Now it’s time to make your way to Euhemeria. The quickest way there is to sail or swim south and slightly west, taking care to avoid the East Moeris Trireme and West Moeris Trireme sailing about, as well as the Okteres Blockade near the port. Failing that, you could take the longer, land journey by returning to Soknopaiou Nesos and traveling west, then south, then east along the road running along the coast of Lake Moeris. The former has the benefit of speed, the latter has the benefit of filling out the map, as you’ll certainly discover a few points of interest along the way, including the Dionysias fast travel point west of Euhemeria.

When you arrive in Euhmeria, note that in addition to the mandatory fast travel point you can find an optional fast travel point to the east, and along the southeastern end of the city you’ll find the Valley Market point of interest. The Valley Market is notable for the fact that you should be able to overhear some people talking about some stolen Siwan goods being sold, which naturally catches Bayek’s attention, starting the quest “ Forging Siwa “ (Suggested Level: 25). Along the northern end of the city you can also find the qeust “ Sobek’s Gold “ (Suggested Level: 27). Both of these quests are probably doable now, but they’ll be postponed until later… although “ Forging Siwa “ is awfully tempting for the legendary sickle sword is promises as a reward…

Hotephress Villa¶

Anyway, enough vile temptations. From the Euhmeria fast travel point head west to find Khenut, Hotephres’s wife, who will discuss business with you once you show her Shadya’s doll. After some chatter she’ll leave you in the care of her daughter, who will show you the location of their villa, where the ledger you need is hidden. Follow her to a nearby roof from which you can spot the villa, after which Shadya will wander off without a care in the world.

Shadya might have a magical fighting doll to protect her, but Bayek has no such luck - you’ll have to dispatch the soldiers (level 25) at the villa. There’s a fair number of them, and their types are varied, from your traditional shieldless, disposable grunts to dual-dagger wielders, a brute and a shield-bearing soldier with a plumed helmet. Fortunately, the place gives you every advantage. You can probably snipe the enemies patrolling the high ground from the roof Shadya led you to, and the guards near the gate also have made the poor decision to stand near foliage, allowing you to whistle them do their doom. Once the ranks are thus thinned, you should have little trouble disposing of the rest of the soldiers. There are plenty of buildings you can use to get the drop on them - literally - as well as foliage to hide in.

When they’re dead, circle around the back of the villa (to its eastern entrance) head inside until you find a scroll shelf, at which turn south to spot some scrolls and a doll on the floor… which reveals the unfortunate locations of the ledger. Return to the alms kitchen Khenut operates back west and talk to a worker there who will tell you that Khenut and Shadya have been taken to the lighthouse.

Euhemeria Lighthouse Camp¶

A lighthouse doesn’t seem so bad, but of course, things can’t be that simple, right? In front of the lighthouse is the Euhemeria Lighthouse Camp, a fairly standard enemy camp with one captain (level 27) and a treasure to loot. You might as well clear the place out on your way there, too, since you’ll probably need to deal with at least some of the soldiers to get to the lighthouse.

Okay, so that’s not true. You can probably just swim around the camp, but it’s super easy to clear it. Sneak to the southern edge of the camp, where you’ll find an entrance. The camp itself isn’t very large or impressive, just a woode palisade surrounding enough space to pitch a tent and a set a fire, with some walking room besides. From the southern entrance, circle around to the east, using the bushes to stay hidden to find a hole in the wall you can slip through. The approach - which isn’t technically part of the restricted zone - and the interior of the camp you enter into - is all covered by bushes, which then surround the tent and extend north to the northern entrance to the camp. Just stay in the bushes, whistle all the guards to their demise, then search the tent for a red chest. Easy-peasy.

If you were paying attention, the soldiers stationed at the Euhemeria Lighthouse Camp were chatting about vile deeds done by the Crocodile… things that weigh heavily even on their consciences, and from experience that’s been a pretty low bar for Ptolemaic soldiers. Make your way to the dock near the lighthouse to find Khenut, then deploy Senu to locate Shadya. Make your way back through the Euhemeria Lighthouse Camp and travel to another dock to the southeast, then dive in the water at the marked location to find out what atrocity, exactly, the Crocodile committed.

Watch the scenes that follow, and this quest will end and the quest “ The Crocodile’s Jaws “ will begin. This new story quest has a suggested level of twenty-eight, which shouldn’t be a problem if you quested around Saqqara Nome and Faiyum. More importantly, though, it’ll draw your attention southeast, to the Faiyum Oasis province, more specifically to the city of Krokodilopolis, where more quests await. Before leaving, consider finishing up the few remaining quests in Faiyum - particularly the two in Euhemeria that were neglected earlier, especially if your level isn’t quite at the suggested level for the next main story quest.

The Leaning Tower¶

Whatever you choose to do, this is a fine time to complete a Papyrus Puzzle. Assuming you completed the quest “Murder in the Temple” in Karanis - and hence completed the Sarapeion of Karanis point of interest - you should have this scroll, which reads:

“ In Faiyum, north of Dionysias Caravanserai there is a tower with a hole by its feet. It’s in need of support, so I set behind it, but the wooden beams seem more helpful. “

Pretty simple, you need merely find the Dionysias Caravanserai - not to be confused with the Dionysias fast travel point west of Euhemeria - and head north from there. The Dionysias Caravanserai is a fort west of Dionysias, which itself is, of course, west of Euhemeria. It’s quite large and hard to miss, as it dominates the high ground nearby, and actually boasts a more prominent tower than the one you’re looking for. Fast travel to Dionysias and follow the road running along the coast of Lake Moeris to the northwest. The tower you’re looking for is a somewhat unimpressive structure, noteworthy only because of its poor desing. Being built with a dubious foundation on a treacherous hillside, it now leans precariously over the road, supported by wooden beams. Head to the northwestern end of this doomed tower and search a bush to find the treasure the Papyrus Puzzle promised.