Illiat was sent to search the Quaxet temple, by Igor Bowmane. Illiat's expedition was attacked by a group of mercenaries who were also interested in what the walls of the temple keep secret. They force Illiat to hand over a map and leave him for dead within the temple. But Illiat only gave them a part of the map. Later Lara Croft saved Illiat from an attacking Mummy, but was too late to save his life, since he had lost too much blood. Illiat gave the full map to Lara and told her to stop the mercenaries before he died.