The Forsaken Bride - Chapter 1 - twisted paths

Talk to the woman attending your father. A beam struck his head, but he’ll be alright. The little boy is in awe. “Did you see that thing? It was huge!” The old man is still ranting and raving “He’s right. You’ll need a light… that is, if you’re reckless enough to enter the forest while the moon is full.” Click on the table. The lantern has been smashed and you need to repair it first before you can use it.

There are 5 pieces of stained glass around the table. Just pick these up and put them back on the lantern. Come out of the table view and take the CANDLE from the window ledge on the right of the screen. Click the candle on the lantern and voila – a working LANTERN. Once this is complete and the lantern is in your inventory, Edward will appear again telling you there’s no time to waste. Follow him outside the village.

OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE

As you go through the archway, the other villagers are then visible. Edward tells you we have to hurry. Use the lantern on the pathway to light up your way. As you do this, you will see the bear on top of a hillside to your right still carrying Lilly on his back. Unfortunately, the hillside is too slippery to climb up and follow the bear. Try to move the cart by clicking on it. Edward will then automatically take over the task. “Allow me.” The cart is sliding. You need to do something to lock its wheel. Examine the totem on the left. Move the leaves out of the way on the bottom right to reveal an EYE. Place the eye in the socket of the totem. Now take the HORN from its hand and place it on its head. Its mouth will open revealing a CUTOUT. Place the cutout on the front belly. The front belly will now open revealing a TOOTH. Place the tooth in the mouth. This releases its grip on a figurine. Take the WEDGE-SHAPED FIGURINE. Select the cart twice and place the wedge-shaped figurine under its wheel. Edward will say “Come on! No time to waste.”

BROKEN BRIDGE

The bear is seen running over a wooden bridge which breaks up under his feet. We have to find a way across that ravine. He then tries to move the tree. “If only we could knock over this tree.” Examine the huge boulder to the right: this boulder is shaped like a huge, heavy ball. Examine the boulder. There’s a part at the bottom that might be a good spot to lever. Notice also the little waterfall on the left. Examine the tent area. Examine the little charm hanging from the twig “Another charm. I wonder if they still believe these things have any power.” Take the EMPTY CAULDRON, MAP and BEAM (at which point the tent will collapse. The map will now appear on the bottom left of your toolbar. Now look to the left of the screen. You’ll see part of a tree trunk balancing on a rock. Examine this. The trunk swings like a scale. There’s a hiking pick wedged under the trunk and you need to get this out. Place the 2 rocks that are lying nearby onto the trunk. It’s not quite enough. Zoom in on the large boulder and use the cauldron on the water to get a FULL CAULDRON. Now use the full cauldron on the trunk to get the HIKING PICK. Use the hiking pick to remove the stones by the boulder and the beam as a lever.

The boulder will then free itself and roll down knocking the tree over the ravine. As you cross the ravine, you spot the bear again. Edward takes aim with his crossbow and you try to stop him “Don’t shoot! You might hurt Lilly!” Edward then pushes you back and you fall into the ravine.

THE SHRINE

You land in some kind of enchanted garden. On your left is an opening in the wall, on its right is a stairway of some kind. At the bottom of the stairway is a pedestal. To its right, a waterfall and far right is a cluster of red flowers on a wall. Examine the pedestal. Click on it to remove the leaves. “This relief is incomplete”. Yes, with that whopping great hole in its face I must concur. In the grass on the bottom right you will find a FAIRY. These are hidden throughout the game and there are 30 in total. So, keep a lookout for them. Examine the water “The water is cold and crystal clear.” Click on the cluster of red flowers. Hidden in there is a DIRTY RELIEF PIECE. You’ll need to clean it first. Use the dirty relief piece on the water to clean it then place it on the face of the pedestal. This releases a mechanism that brings a female stone statue out of the wall opening on the left, and the stone stairway starts to open. “That was incredible! But I think something broke in the mechanism…”

Examine the stone statue in the wall opening. The figurine is clasping the sickle tight. She is holding a symbol of an ancient cult. Just above this is a brick jutting out of the wall. Press the brick. This has activated the first of many Hidden Object Puzzles (HOPs). This is a construction HOP. You have to find the missing pieces that make up the objects listed below. Generally, this makes an object useful for the game. In this case, a CRESCENT MOON. Zoom back into the stone figurine and place the crescent moon onto the symbol she is holding. This releases the sickle. Take the BLUNT SICKLE.

The figurine will disappear for a moment and a book will appear in front of it. Read the book to find out more about the moon and its phases:

A Moonlight Glow
Since the dawn of history, Man has gazed upon the enchanting glow of the moon, knowing this alluring light imbued great influence upon the world around him… on the forest, the animals, even the tides… but most of all, upon the mystical world of spiritual magic.

Moon Phases
The power of spirits and magic grows and diminishes parallel the moon’s waxing and waning. The nearer the full moon, the more powerful enchantments can be cast, and the more anxious the spirits become.

The Art of Witchcraft
Every man who is empathic enough can learn the art of witchcraft. However, due to some deeper, inborn connection between the moon and women, most witches are female. (Actually, all witches are female; male witches are called Warlocks).

Obedient Tool
Despite common beliefs, the art of Witchcraft is not necessarily wicked, or evil. Its moral properties depend on how the individual uses it.
To the left of the book is a braiding ring. Remove the braid from it. “A ring for braiding wreaths”. To the right of the book is a stone slab. “This whetstone looks old, but still has enough grain to clean or sharpen a blade.” Use the blunt sickle on this slab to get a SICKLE. Examine the cluster of red flowers and use the sickle on them to cut away the vines, revealing a cave entrance.

THE CAVE

Enter the cave. Examine the 3 boards on the back wall of the cave. “One of the wheels is missing” “The rope is shredded to pieces. I’ll need a new one if I want to fix this machine.” It’s some kind of pulley machine. Examine the hole in the wall. “One of the wheels from the mechanism. But I’m not putting my hand in there.” This is where Kitty comes in handy. Use Kitty on the hole. He will frighten the mice away. Take the WHEEL. Use the hiking pick on the stalactite on the left, then use the sickle 3 times on the vines. Take the CUT VINES. Leave the cave and return to the book and braiding ring. Put the cut vines onto the ring to get VINE ROPE. Return to the cave. Click on the pulley mechanism, place the wheel onto the missing slot and place the vine rope onto the pulley.
Wheel Puzzle

Click and hold one of the colored wheels then draw an uninterrupted line connecting it with the wheel of the same color. Repeat for all the colored wheels. This is what they should all look like when complete:

The stairway is now repaired. Go up the stairs.

THE HUT

Kitty makes a beeline for the hut. “Hey! Where are you going? Get back here!” Click on the hut to zoom in onto the window of the hut and watch Kitty jump in the window into the hut. “Bad cat!” Take the BROOM and use it on the trap by the door. Now you can safely enter. Kitty jumps up on to the mantelpiece above the firestove. “Seems like Kitty knows this place pretty well.” Click on the red book to the right of Kitty. It’s a journal:

September the 23rd
The bear was here again. What does it want from me? It’s already taken all that was dear to me. Destroyed my dreams. I hate it!
September the 27th
I saw it studying me from a distance. I thought I was going to die. But it didn’t come near… What is it waiting for?
October the 2nd
I’m setting new snares every day, but it passes them with ease. I can’t live in this constant fear. I can’t stand it any longer!
October the 3rd
Or maybe it’s some kind of a punishment? The cast of my sins?
October the 5th
Will it end some day? I can’t recall how long it’s tortured me. Is it ten years, or twenty?
Take the RAVEN EYE 1/2 from inside the book. As you exit the journal, a woman appears in smoke. She is accompanied by a raven. “How dare you break into my house!” “What…? You’re lost? A bear kidnapped your sister?” “Calm down, dear.” “Let me see if I can help you…” There might be a way. You’ll need to make a special powder. It will reveal the bear’s trail, even lead you to its lair… if you so choose. Some of the ingredients you will find in the hut… and the rest, outside. The woman has to go into the forest to take care of a problem. She takes a book and opens it on the table. “Everything you’ll need to know is written in this book.” “Our little Kitty looks cold. Please, set the fire.” With that, she leaves. Examine the chest in front of you. It’s locked. Go to the table and zoom in. Open the book. Take the second RAVEN EYE 2/2.

You can also read the instruction for the powder:
The Hunter’s Dust
If you need to find your prey, follow close the words I say: the first item you should seek is your subject’s favorite sweet.
The next item to obtain, shares with your prey its own name
The third item you may trim from the body of its kin
At last to complete the dust, seal it with prey’s track you must

Return to the wooden chest that you couldn’t open previously. Place the 2 raven eyes into the eye sockets. Take the MATCHES and BELLOWS. “There’s a branch of mistletoe stuck between the pages. But I can’t open the book. It’s locked.” Take the STEEL SHOVEL on the right. Zoom in to the fireplace. Use the matches on the wood in the fireplace. Examine the fumigator to the left. “This insect fumigator is empty and missing its bellows.”

TWISTED PATHS

Go outside and take the path to the right to the forest. Take the BEAR POPPY (red flowers on the left by the bee tree). Examine the honeycomb on the tree. “The bees are guarding their hive.” Examine the paw print on the path. Use the hiking pick on the tree stump. Take the TINDER. Go back to the hut area and examine the honeycomb press on the left. Take the HALF HEART PIECE. Take a closer look at the water and the small pier. There’s a wooden crow holding a chain in its claws. Pull the chain to get the boat. Examine the boat and take the MUG.

Return to the hut, fireplace and fumigator. Place the tinder inside the fumigator. Use the steel shovel on the wood of the fire to get STEEL SHOVEL WITH EMBERS. Place the steel shovel with embers into the fumigator. Use the bellows on the fumigator. Take the FUMIGATOR. Examine the box on the mantelpiece to the left of Kitty. Place the half heart piece onto the box. That side will open revealing a CLAW. Take it. Return to the Bee Tree. Examine the honeycomb. Use the fumigator on it. Take the HONEYCOMB. Now you need to extract the honey from the honeycomb. Remember the honeycomb press outside the hut? Place the honeycomb into the press. Take the WAX and the BOWL OF HONEY. Back in the hut, place the wax in the cauldron on the fire, then use the mug to get a MUG OF WAX.

By clicking on the alcove area left of the fireplace, you will trigger another HOP. Find and use items. You need to find 5 main items according to the scroll at the bottom. Because this is a “find and use” HOP, there is an order to do things:

The items you need to find (in order) are: walnut, nutcracker head, cracked nut, key, wing nut, knife, dragonfly, clippers, signet ring, tongs, grinder crank, grinder drawer and finally, a coffee grinder which you get to keep. Take the WALNUT next to the coffee grinder. Try and take the key from the baby squirrel. It won’t give it up. Maybe you can bribe him. Take the NUTCRACKER HEAD from the top of the dragonfly box at top right. Place it on the nutcracker body (center of screen), put the walnut in it and get CRACKED NUT. Give the squirrel the cracked nut and take the KEY. Use the key on the small drawer to the right. Take a WING NUT. Take the KNIFE that fell out as the drawer opened. Use the knife on the string the dragonfly is hanging from. Take the DRAGONFLY and place it on the front depression of small box (top right). This opens revealing CLIPPERS and a SIGNET RING. Take both. Take off the cover to jar (front right) and use the clippers on the lid. Take out the TONGS and use them on the green fishbowl. Take the GRINDER CRANK. To open the little drawer on the statue (middle top), place the signet ring in it. This will release the GRINDER DRAWER. Take it. Click on the coffee grinder, put the grinder crank on it, the wing nut and the grinder drawer to get a GRINDER.
HUNTER’S DUST
First, you need to get one more ingredient: the wax track. Go back to the twisted path. Examine the tree trunk. Use the mug of wax on the paw print to get a WAX TRACK. Return to the table in the hut. Start preparing the hunter’s dust: Place the bear poppy, claw, bowl of honey, grinder and wax track on the table.

Use the matches on the candle to start the process. The instructions for making the powder are as follows:

Take the bowl of honey and pour it on the candle to get DRIED HONEY. Use the tweezers on the dried honey and put this into the grinder. (TOP LEFT INSTRUCTIONS)
Click on the claws and they will be auto-wrapped. Use the mallet on the wrapped claws to get CRUSHED CLAWS. (MIDDLE LEFT INSTRUCTIONS)
Take the bear poppy and place it in the little sieve to get PULPED BEAR POPPY. (BOTTOM LEFT INSTRUCTIONS)
Take the wax track and place it on the pouch at the front centre of table to get a TRACK IMPRESSION (TOP RIGHT INSTRUCTIONS)
Use the spoon on the grinder drawer to get the dried honey and place this also on the pouch 2 times (2 spoonfuls). Put 2 spoonfuls of pulped bear poppy onto the pouch. Put 3 spoonsfuls of crushed claw into the mix onto the pouch. Click on it to mix it all together. Click on it again to a POUCH OF HUNTER’S DUST. (BOTTOM RIGHT INSTRUCTIONS)
Well done, my dear. You’re a natural talent. “Hmm… I wonder… Have we met before? You look familiar…” Go to the twisted path and sprinkle the powder over the ground. “My Kitty will go with you. It likes you, and might be of some assistance.” So, Kitty belongs to the hut woman. And why do I look familiar? Before you leave for the trail go outside the hut. Click on the branch that is overlapping the moon – it’s an elusive object. Just like Fairies, you can collect these throughout the game. There are 28 to be found, and they are not easy to see. They’re blended in with the scenery but they do shimmer, so keep your eyes peeled. Now, to the forest. Just click on the Hunter’s Dust and it will appear in your hand. Sprinkle it over the path to reveal the bear’s trail. We need to go to the left, to the left again, to the right, to the right again, to the left, and in front of you should be Castle Haugwitz.

CASTLE HAUGWITZ

Castle Haugwitz has been abandoned for some time. Examine the body on the left. “Those wounds… was it a bear?” Click on the body to find a letter. Read the letter “I was told that this triangular token is one of the keys to the Haugwitz’s treasury. The villagers are superstitious and believe this place is cursed, so they shouldn’t pose a problem. Watch out for the bear that lurks around these parts. Be careful…” Take the TRIANGULAR TOKEN. Examine the arrows in the water. They are too deep. Click on the bear mast. Click on the creel, empty its contents and take the CREEL. Return to the body and use the creel on the water. Use the arrows on the crossbow. Take the CROSSBOW. Examine the crates in front of you to find an empty vial and a jar of smelling salts. The smelling salts are corked tight. There’s no way to open them barehanded. Examine the drawbridge to get a closeup, and use your crossbow to trigger a mini-game.

Shoot all four sandbags that keep the drawbridge up. Move your cursor to aim and click to shoot. Best to start with the one on the left, then shoot the right. The 2 remaining become easier to see because of the decrease in weight. Once all bags are punctured, the weight decreases even more thus lowering the drawbridge for you to cross. Examine the main entrance. There isn’t a lock. Not even a knob. Notice the rune-like symbols around the stone archway of the door. Didn’t we see those signs already? Ah yes, the letter on the body.

At the bottom of the letter are 3 rune symbols. Go back to the door and press the corresponding bricks in the order you see on the letter: bottom right, top right and bottom left. Go into the castle. As you enter the castle, you will get a glimpse of the bear. “I’m not afraid of you!”. Examine the burning candles area to the left. On the right should be a fairy. Click on the wood. There’s something behind those rotten planks. Use your hiking pick on the rotting wood to reveal a chest. Pull the chest to you and take the TWISTED PLATE. Examine the knot at the bottom of the rope. Select the knot 4 times to untie it. It will fall on the ground. Come out of the closeup and pick up the ROPE AND HOOK. Try the door: it’s shut from the other side. If I want it open, I’ll have to rip it off the hinges. But how? Click on the door to the left. It’s some kind of storage room. Kitty will meow and start jumping up excitedly. This means this is a job for her. Clever Kitty. She will jump into the room and start playing with the reflection from the pendant. Click on the pendant twice to move the reflection around and onto the key hanging on the wooden post. Kitty will jump up and knock the key onto the carpet which you can then drag towards you to get the WINDLASS KEY. There’s a letter in an envelope on the carpet. Read it.
“Dear Anna, I’m not sure if you know, but the baroness wants to abandon the castle, leaving us unemployed. I don’t blame her. First her husband. Now her son. Both killed by that beast. Nobody will miss this cursed place, or this wicked family, Love you. D.”

Click on the padlock to the right. Remove the cobwebs, then use the windlass key on the lock. This frees the large wheel. Use the rope and hook on the door knocker. Select the rope on the ground, click on it to tie it and rotate the large wheel on the right. This will be strong enough to open the door. Go up the stairs to find yourself in a courtyard. Examine the dragon picture: The Abyss. I never saw it when I was a kid, but I always heard terrible stories. Read the letter.

“I need my carriage ready by this evening. No excuses! I’ll not stay a day longer in this cursed place. Dismiss all the servants immediately! Then gather all valuables from the treasury and lock our weapons in the armory so that drunken mob will not steal our heritage or use it to kill each other. Baroness von Haugwitz.”

THE SECRET ROOM

Take the second TRIANGULAR TOKEN by the side of the envelope. Click on the lit entrance below the dragon. Take the FLAMING BLADE. Examine the hole left after you remove the blade. You can see into the next room where Lilly is lying on a makeshift bed. The bear will take the cover and gently pull it over Lilly. Obviously, he doesn’t want to hurt her. But what does it all mean? What does it want from her? You see the bear push down a torch which is the opening mechanism for the door, and he leaves the room. I have to find a way into this room. Come out of the puzzle. Go back to the storeroom. Use the flaming blade on the door. Examine the anvil. Use the twisted plate on the anvil, then the hammer on the twisted plate. Take the STRAIGHTENED PLATE. Use the straightened plate on the box by the rotting wood on the left. Take the third TRIANGULAR TOKEN. Go back up the stairs and click on the lit opening underneath the dragon. Put the 3 triangular tokens on the picture to trigger the puzzle.

Knight Puzzle

Click inbetween 2 tiles to swap them (they will rotate). Using the numbered image below, follow this sequence:

20-18-21-14-18-12-11-9-12-13-14-15-19-23-14-13-8-2-1-16-15-14-13-8-2-16-15-14-13-8-14-15-19-12-13-14-15-16-10-6-12-13-14-15-16-10-16-15-14-13-12-13-14-16. Once the puzzle is complete, the door will open. 
Enter the secret room. Examine Lilly. She’s in a deep, unnatural sleep. I need something to wake her up. Examine the torch lever on the right side of the room. Click on it. It snaps. Oops… I’m not strong enough to pull it down. Examine the stock on the left. The leather gloves are torn in half. Examine the table to trigger a HOP. Construct a useful item. Get a CORKSCREW.

Remember the urn containing smelling salts at the Mountain Foot by the drawbridge? Go back there now. Examine the crates and use the corkscrew on the urn. Take the SMELLING SALTS. Go into the castle and up the stairs. The bear starts to run towards you. It doesn’t actually hurt you. Just a lot of growling. Then he gets hit by an arrow. Edward is here and he just shot the bear. The villagers run in and say that you are in league with the bear. Then Edward pulls the scaffolding so that it falls on top of you and the bear. Not quite knocked out, you’re able to see the villagers carrying Lilly out and Edward fires another shot with his arrow, lighting everything in flames. “I won’t let you ruin my plans…” You realize that Edward just tried to kill you, and the bear was actually trying to protect you…it makes no sense…