The Secrets of Sylvan Gardens: Walkthrough with Hints

# General Tips:

- For the best experience, it’s recommended to explore each character’s dialogues thoroughly. If you leave a conversation with the character, some options (if any remain) may no longer be available the next time you speak with them. You won’t lose anything essential to completing the game, but you might miss out on narrative content and character development.

- As you get to know the characters, your dialogue choices will affect their relationship with you by affecting their hidden attitude rating. This will determine which friendships and romances will become available to you as the game progresses. If you want a specific character to like you, treat them with kindness, curiosity, and trust.

- You’ll be able to explore the same locations in the Sylvan Villa & Gardens across multiple chapters. Usually these locations will be static, but sometimes they will change and new clues will appear depending on where you are in the story. To avoid missing anything, you may want to be thorough; the game will let you know when you’ve explored “enough” to progress.

- Don’t forget to save your game frequently.

# Walkthrough with Puzzle Hints & Solutions (SPOILERS!)

## Prologue

- Regardless of your choices, just progress through the narrative and you will successfully complete the prologue.

## Chapter One

To finish this chapter, you will need to complete the following (at minimum):

- Library:

- Read all three books.
- Ask Rion to see the Wunderkammer (available via the dialogue that starts with: "Could you tell me a little about the library?").

- Conservatory:

- Talk with Penny and ask about her research into medicinal plants.

- Naiads Pool:

- Examine the pool and fountain.

- The Garden of Flowers:

- Read the bronze plaques (follow the path north).
- Talk with Felix.

- The Garden of Follies:

- Examine the follies (up the steps).
- Talk with Felix a second time.

- The Woodland:

- Talk with Balanor.

- Receive a map from Rion, Penny, or Felix.
- Once you’ve completed these tasks, you will be given the option to go home. Going home will finish the chapter.

## Chapter Two

To finish this chapter, you will need to complete the following (at minimum):

If you haven’t already done so, I recommend telling all of the characters about your sleepwalking trances in order to trigger special scenes with them (and boost your attitude ratings) during this chapter! This will also be necessary in order to get dates — friendly or romantic — after chapters four and five.

- Library:

- Read “The Name of the Naiad” and solve the puzzle of the Naiad’s name.

- HINT for puzzle solution below (highlight to see hidden text!):
  Study the illuminated capital letters in the book.

- Naiads Pool: After reading the library book, go to the pool and say the correct name the correct number of times (the hints you need are in the library book).
- Conservatory & The Garden of Flowers (southern path):

- Talk to Penny and get her instructions on how to harvest Owls’ Feather and Eye of Noon. Find and cut the correct plants. Then bring them back to Penny.

- The Garden of Follies:

- Talk with Felix.
- Examine the follies (up the steps) and place the object you find in the suitable location.

- Puzzle solution below (highlight to see hidden text!):
  Examine the temple folly, then place the tooth at the great stone face.

- The Woodland:

- Talk with Balanor.

- At the end of the day, you will be prompted to meet Rion at the Naiads Pool. Progress through the scene to finish the chapter.

## Chapter Three

To finish this chapter, you will need to complete the following:

- Track down and chat with each of the four characters (including a second conversation with Balanor after the opening scene). They are each in major locations within the gardens. After doing so, you will be prompted to proceed to a scene that will lead to the end of the chapter.

## Chapter Four

To finish this chapter, you will need to complete the following (at minimum):

- Library:

- Read Rion’s notes.
- Talk with Rion.

- Conservatory:

- Read Penny’s notes, then propose to her the correct combination of magical plant and body part.

- HINT for puzzle solution below (highlight to see hidden text!):
  In Rion’s notes, learn about patrilineal curses. Then go to Penny and propose the plant that helps with ancient curses and the body part that is described as representing love in Penny’s notes.

- The Garden of Follies:

- Find the second missing tooth, then place it next to the great stone face.

- Puzzle solution below (highlight to see hidden text!):
  Go to the southern end of the promenade and choose “observe.”

- The Woodland:

- Speak with Balanor.

- When you have completed everything above, Felix will approach you and ask him to follow you to a location, where you will have one more puzzle.

- HINT for puzzle solution below (highlight to see hidden text!):
  Try different teeth in the same position in the mouth. Then, once Felix offers to help you, you could just try all combinations until you hit the right one — but there was a clue to the correct sequence in Rion’s notes!

- Depending on your choices, you might get 1-2 dates (friendly or romantic) at the end of this chapter!

## Chapter Five

To finish this chapter, you will need to complete the following (at minimum):

- Play through each of the scenes queued at the beginning.
- After using Owls’ Eye, navigate to the correct location.

- Puzzle solution below (highlight to see hidden text!):
  Go to the Garden of Flowers and take the southern path.

- Depending on your choices, you might get 1-2 dates (friendly or romantic) at the end of this chapter!

## Chapter Six

To finish this chapter, you will need to complete the following (at minimum):

- Mark locations on your map.

- Puzzle solution below (highlight to see hidden text!):
  Every location where you felt a pull, or every location where you saw the glowing symbol branded *if* you found all four during chapter five.

- Draw lines on the map between certain locations.

- Puzzle solution below (highlight to see hidden text!):
  1. Great stone face to bronze plaque, 2. Great stone face to Naiads Pool, 3. Bronze plaque to Naiads Pool, 4. Naiads Pool to Wunderkammer

- Choose to ask everyone to join you at the Wunderkammer (or ask Balanor first, then invite everyone later — either way works).
- Progress through the scenes that follow.

## Epilogue

- Chat with everyone and finish your adventure!

# Achievements Guide (BIG SPOILERS!)

Here’s a complete list of the game’s achievements and how they can be unlocked. Not all of them can be achieved in a single playthrough (or at least not without “save scumming”—but no shame in that!).

1. Book Wyrm - Read a book in the library.
2. The Name Game - Receive a dryad name from Balanor.
3. Sharing is Caring - Confide in Rion, Penny, Felix, and Balanor about your ‘sleepwalking’ trances. (Available in chapter 1 & 2.)
4. Brute Force - Attempt to open the locked cabinet in the Wunderkammer by force. (Available in chapter 2 & 3.)
5. The Name of the Naiad - Open the portal at the Naiads Pool. (Available in chapter 2.)
6. Field Guide - Learn how to identify plants from Penny. (Available in chapter 2.)
7. Heartbeat - Feel a romantic attraction. (Available in chapter 3 & 4.)
8. The Garden of Love - Start a romantic relationship. (Available during one of the date interludes after chapter 4 & chapter 5.)
9. Mouthful - Open the portal at the great stone face. (Available in chapter 4.)
10. Social Butterfly - Schedule dates (romantic or friendly) with all four characters in a single playthrough. (Available in chapter 5.)
11. Night Owl - Open the portal in the Garden of Flowers. (Available in chapter 5.)
12. Cat Person - Pet Felix’s cat, Thistle. (Available in Felix’s date interlude after chapter 5.)
13. Key Holder - Open the portal at the Wunderkammer. (Available in chapter 6.)
14. Reforestation - Plant the seeds of the dryads’ trees. (Available in chapter 6.)
15. The Steward of Sylvandale - Protect Pecunia’s magic and the village of Sylvandale. (Available in chapter 6.)
16. Analysis Paralysis - Delay your decision about the dryads’ tree seeds. (Available in chapter 6.)
17. The Wizard’s Apprentice - Become Pecunia’s successor. (Available in chapter 6.)
18. The Scholar of Sylvan Gardens - Convince Rion to dedicate their scholarship to Pecunia’s life’s work. (Available in chapter 6.)
19. Adventurer - Decide to search the Dryadic Mountains for surviving dryads. (Available in chapter 6.)