The Idol Swap — Temple Awakens

The tiny jeweled figurine is the objective and trigger: it sits on the polished pedestal as the prize Indy must secure. Its removal and replacement with a decoy directly provoke the pedestal's response and the wider temple mechanism.

The alternating white-and-black tiled floor functions as the trap matrix Indy decodes. He taps tiles with the torch to detect pressure-sensitive or dart-triggering tiles and strides only across white tiles in a patterned, ritualized crossing that tests his discipline and knowledge.

A tiny poisoned dart becomes proof of the floor's lethality when it fires into Indy's torch during his test. Its lodging in the torch confirms the existence and direction of recessed launch holes and elevates the perceived danger.

Recessed holes in the walls are identified by Satipo and Indy as the origin points for the tiny darts; their discovery converts abstract risk into actionable knowledge and guides Indy's crossing strategy.

The dead bird riddled with darts serves as a grisly clue: it demonstrates both the existence and indiscriminate reach of the poison mechanisms, forcing Indy to increase caution and change his movement cadence.

Indy's small canvas drawstring bag is the decoy device: removed from his jacket, filled with scooped dirt to approximate the idol's weight, and placed on the polished pedestal to replace the idol and test whether the mechanism will be triggered by weight alone.

Loose altar dirt is excavated by Indy to fill the canvas bag and create a believable weight-match for the idol; it is the literal filler that enables the substitution and thus directly causes the mechanical test of the pedestal.

The polished stone pedestal physically supports the idol and functions as the immediate trigger: when the decoy fails to meet its weight/profile the pedestal drops, initiating the temple's aural chain reaction and alerting other mechanisms.

The huge mysterious temple mechanism is the unseen antagonist: dormant until provoked by the pedestal's drop, it rumbles into motion, producing a steadily increasing aural chain reaction that converts a precise theft into an immediate escape sequence.

The ten skylights cast deliberate shafts of sunlight across the tiled pattern, aiding Indy's visual assessment of tile color and burn marks; they frame the sensory geometry of the sanctuary and heighten the ritual visual quality of Indy's crossing.

The doorway torches are the operational tools Indy uses to probe the sanctuary. Indy lights one and hands the other to Satipo; the flame is used to test tiles, reveal air currents, and provide the narrow cone of light necessary for observation.

The sanctuary entry doorway is the staging area where Indy and Satipo prepare, light torches, and set the threshold for the trial-like crossing; it represents the last safe ground before danger.