The Tusk Idol (2)

Type:	Object
Function:	Treasure
Source:	Behind the locked door in Madame Tusk's Dice House in Tide Pool
Cost:	$40,000
Damage:	1 (Thrown)
Notes:	Only appears if Sparrow is interacted with.

For the diamond-clad skull found in the restless dead levels of Spelunky HD and Spelunky Classic, see Crystal Skull.

The Tusk Idol is a shiny special Idol carved from diamond, and the most valuable item in the game, worth $40000 when you take it to the exit, putting it at double the value of a regular Golden Idol.

Obtaining

There are multiple hoops that the player must jump through in order to get their hands on The Tusk Idol:

1. Steal anything from a Shopkeeper in a way that triggers the "Stop, thief!" text.
2. Two levels after the player stole, the player will find a small wooden structure somewhere on the level. Within is a thief named Sparrow who will hand them a rope pile and compliment the player for being a skilled thief, while also challenging them to steal from Madame Tusk.
3. Find Madame Tusk's Dice House in either 4-1 or 4-3 of Tide Pool. The Tusk Idol is behind the locked door located right outside. One can open this door with any Metal Key or with a more easily obtained Skeleton Key and obtain the Tusk Idol.

Notes

It is important to note that if the player did not do the previous two steps, The Tusk Idol will already have been stolen by Sparrow, with her leaving a note reading "Too bad. I got here first."

Step 1-2

For step 1, the player must take an item out of the Shopkeeper's shop without attacking them or their Shop first. If the Shopkeeper yells "Vandal!" instead of "Stop, thief!", then the player will not be able to continue to the next step in the quest until they have successfully triggered it.

• Initially stealing from a Shopkeeper in Dwelling will cause Sparrow's abode to spawn in 2-1 of either Jungle or Volcana, while initially stealing from a Shopkeeper in 2-3 or 2-4 will cause her place to spawn in 4-1 of Tide Pool.
  • If the player has been marked as a thief specifically on World 2, Sparrow will spawn in her usual structure within the first level of Tide Pool, relocating Tusk's dice house to 4-3, allowing one to obtain the Clone Gun before stealing The Tusk Idol. This can net the player a maximum of $160,000 from securing 4 Tusk Idols.

Step 3

The Tusk Idol is a necessary step in advancing the questline with Sparrow, as after successfully stealing it, she will later appear in Neo Babylon 6-1 to tell the player of their plans to help them steal from Madame Tusk's Palace of Pleasure.

• Killing Madame Tusk will drop a Metal Key, if the player is in need of one.
  • Killing her will cause her Palace of Pleasure to not spawn in Neo Babylon, voiding the remainder of Sparrow's quest.
  • Alternatively, players who do not wish to continue Sparrow's quest may attempt to kill her in her first encounter in order to loot the Skeleton Key from her body.
• If Tusk or her Bodyguard sees the player with The Tusk Idol, they will immediately anger.
  • In addition to being triggered if they see the player holding the Tusk Idol in front of them, Tusk's Bodyguard will also anger if the player gets 1 tile or more closer to him while holding it, even if there is a wall, floor, or ceiling between him and the player.

Trivia

• Strangely, if the Bodyguard dies to something that the player is not blamed for, they will be able to sell the Tusk Idol to Madame Tusk herself by setting it down in her Dice House. Doing this will not anger her and still allows the player to continue Sparrow's quest.