E1M8: The Tomb of Xerxes I (HUMP mini)

E1M8: The Tomb of Xerxes I is the eighth and final map in episode The Coast of Praevus of HUMP mini. It was designed by Devon Barnett (Xyzzy01) and uses a MIDI rendition of the song "Dreamland" by.

Essentials
Take the Tome of Power in front of you (and a Firemace if it spawns) and approach the green mural, which will lower to reveal a spiral staircase leading down to a teleporter. The teleporter will send you to a small room containing yellow and blue keys as well as two locked doors; you can only take one of the keys, as the second key will be sealed away. Taking the blue key makes the level easier as it allows you to collect Gauntlets of the Necromancer and a Pile of Mace Spheres behind the blue key door. If you take the yellow key then you can get a Tome of Power and a Crystal Geode, but several of the corridors will fill with lava.

Regardless of which key you take, go through the locked doors and follow the passage until you drop into a curved corridor then head west past a pack of gargoyles to a wooden wall guarded by four sabreclaws. The wall will lower as you approach - step past it to find a Tome of Power along with a Crystal Geode and a Pile of Mace Spheres, then wait for a switch to appear by the east wall and press it. Destroy an iron lich that appears behind you then enter the dark tunnel behind it to be teleported to the east side of the level, where another switch stands at a junction with seven exits. If you are playing on bringest them oneth (BTO) skill level or higher, you will need to kill two or three undead warriors blocking your path before approaching the switch.

Pressing both switches will open a pair of doors due west of your location, revealing an iron lich on yellowbellies-r-us or lower or a maulotaur on BTO or higher. Head straight through the doors to find a blue switch guarded by a pack of fire gargoyles, then head back to the junction where you found the second switch and go east to find that another door has opened revealing an iron lich on any skill level except BTO. Head down the curved steps and interact with the gravestone in front of you to finish the level.

Other points of interest
Near the center of the level are six cages containing various enemies. Entering the room with the blue switches will activate crushers that will kill all of these enemies. Because the cages use skies as ceilings, a minor hall of mirrors effect can be observed when the crushers lower.

Secrets

 * 1) In the room where you can choose between the yellow or blue keys, shoot the wall between them to get a Phoenix Rod. (sector 217)

Current records
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:

The (absence of) data was last verified in its entirety on January 7, 2022.

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level: