Rusty Lake: Roots

A complete walkthrough for Rusty Lake: Roots, the second premium game from Rusty Lake. James Vanderboom plants a special seed at the house he has inherited, and across thirty-three acts and seventy-five years his family tree grows into something monstrous. This guide covers every act, the ten sacrifices, the nine hidden signs of the “More Roots” bonus, and the elixir ending.

How the game plays

Roots is a point-and-click puzzle game. It needs no installation, the controls are simple, and your progress saves automatically when you quit. Each act is reached by clicking a frame on the family tree, and finishing an act adds a portrait to the tree.

Act one: James

Spring. James Vanderboom arrives at Rusty Lake. His uncle has recently died in mysterious circumstances, and James was his only heir. He could not have imagined how these events would change his life.

Click the white square on the screen to begin.

Zoom in on James and take the letter from his pocket. It says his uncle has left him the house and a special seed, and invites his nephew to “plant the seed and start a family”.

Planting the seed

Note the number 572 written at the bottom of the page. Zoom out and zoom in on the case, then look at its combination lock. Enter 572 and open the lid. Take the BONE, then look at the casket. Slide the catch aside and take the SEED.

Zoom out. Give the BONE to the dog and click it; the dog digs a hole in the ground. Put the SEED in it.

Zoom out. Take the WATERING CAN standing on the right and turn to the well. Attach the can to the hook and turn the winch to draw water. Take the full can and water the seed. It sprouts at once and becomes a tree.

Click the white square appearing on James’s face. His portrait joins the family tree. Click the tree, then click the new frame on it.

Act two: The house

Spring 1860. James stands by the house trying to reach a bird’s nest on the veranda roof. The door is locked.

Opening the door

Drag the bench over to James: hold the left mouse button on it and move the mouse right until he puts a foot on it. Double-click so he climbs up. Turn to the tree and break off a STICK. Put it in James’s hand and double-click the nest on the roof. The nest falls to the ground.

Look down at the nest and click the egg in it until a chick hatches. Turn to the clay pots by the fence.

Click the left pot and take the second DIAMOND. Pick up the WORM crawling beside them. Feed the chick, then click the bird: it flies out of the nest. Take the DIAMOND it leaves behind.

Zoom out from the nest and look through the veranda window. You spot another stone behind it. Break the glass, and for an instant Mr. Crow appears. Take the third DIAMOND.

Set all three DIAMONDS into the sockets on the door and open it.

Click the white square, then the tree, then the third square that has appeared on it.

Act three: The uncle

Summer 1860. Move your view right, zoom in on James sitting in the armchair and speak to him. He asks you to light the fire.

Lighting the fire

Look at the painting on the wall. Pull the torn corner and tear the canvas away. Take the KEY. The picture underneath shows a heart in a jar. Zoom out.

Move right and zoom in on the cabinet. Unlock the bottom drawer with the KEY and take the CUTTER. From the second drawer down, take the MATCHES.

Zoom out, move left and zoom in on the wooden block. Split it with the CUTTER and take the FIREWOOD. Zoom out, move right, go to the fireplace, put the wood in and light it with the MATCHES.

The first sacrifice

Take the KEY from the fireplace, now visible in the firelight. Zoom out and look at the dozing James; he remembers a woman.

Zoom out and look at the window, secured with a padlock. Open it with the KEY and click. Look at the bloody handprints on the glass.

The window is divided into squares, just like the cabinet of buttons on the left of the room, which also has bloody prints on it. That is the hint.

Turn to the cabinet and press the buttons matching the window squares that carry prints. Open the door and take the POCKET WATCH. Click it to open the lid, then click the dial. The hands turn and settle at 8:25.

Move to the grandfather clock’s dial and set the same time, 8:25. You hear the mechanism click open.

Click the clock, open the door, and behind it is a corpse. Click the body and it falls to the floor.

Look at it and zoom in on the nipple on the bare chest. Click it three times to open a hole in the chest. Climb inside the circulatory system, move forward and pick up the HEART. Climb out, zoom in on the jar on the cabinet and put the HEART in it.

Click the white rectangle, then the tree, then the new frame on the trunk.

Act four: Looking for love

Summer 1865. James sits on a bench beside Mary, holding a card. Both are occupied with the lovers’ eternal question.

Proposing to Mary

Zoom in on the flowerpot and take the ROSE. Turn to the crow sitting in the tree and pull out a FEATHER. Give Mary the ROSE and click it. Mary starts to bleed.

Take the HANDKERCHIEF from the pocket of James’s shirt and wipe the blood from her face; you now have a BLOODIED HANDKERCHIEF. Zoom in on the card in James’s hand and use the handkerchief on it, leaving a drop of blood in the corner. Dip the FEATHER in it and click the card. James writes Mary a note asking her to marry him, and a LOVE NOTE goes into your inventory. Give it to Mary, who moves closer to James, delighted.

Take the WORM from the back of the bench. Give it to the crow and click the bird; it flies away. Take the KEY.

Turn to the cabinet by the fence and unlock it with the KEY. Take the RING from the hand nailed to the inside of the cabinet. Put the RING on Mary’s finger. Her heart is won.

Act five: The staircase

Summer 1870. The uncle sits in an armchair reading, thinking about how to open the secret passage.

Opening the secret passage

Look around the room, paying particular attention to the bookcase: three active areas on the shelves, and a compartment locked with a combination.

The combination lock

Examine the sheet on the coffee table, which is hint 1. Zoom in on the book the uncle is reading, hint 2. Turn to the painting on the wall and pull its corner to reveal hint 3. Look at the compartment’s combination lock and enter the code by adding the three hints together. Take the BINOCULARS.

The books on the top shelf

Arrange the books so the lines drawn on their spines form a continuous pattern.

The figures on the middle shelf

Open the window and look through the BINOCULARS at the windows of the neighbouring mansion. Note how the guests at the reception are standing. Zoom out and turn to the middle shelf, then rearrange the figures into that same order.

The books on the bottom shelf

Rearrange these books so the pictures on their spines line up.

Go through the passage that opens.

Act six: The birth

Spring 1867. Mary sits on a chair in her room beside three cradles. She needs a birthing potion.

Making the potion

Turn to the cabinet, pull out the second drawer down and take the SCISSORS. From the top of the cabinet, take the SPOON and the PESTLE. Look at the PLANT growing in the pot on the wine barrel and cut it with the SCISSORS. Put the plant in the mortar and use the PESTLE. Draw the BIRTHING POTION into the SPOON and give it to Mary.

Delivering the babies

Click Mary and a baby is born. Cut the umbilical cord with the SCISSORS and click the baby; it goes into a cradle automatically. Repeat for the other two babies. Click Mary once more and pick up the PLACENTA.

Feeding the babies

Try the cabinet on the wall; it is locked. The dog has a key round its neck but growls if you reach for it. Give the dog the PLACENTA, and when it falls asleep full, take the KEY. Unlock the wall cabinet and take three empty BOTTLES.

Examine the three birth certificates. Note the pictures of the children and the colour of the stain on each document: Emma’s stain is bluish, Samuel’s is white and Albert’s is red. Turn to the babies in the cradles and work out that Samuel is on the left, Emma in the centre and Albert on the right.

Take the TAP from Emma’s cradle. Give one bottle to Mary and she fills it with MILK. Fit the TAP into the wine barrel and fill the second bottle with WINE. Open the window and fill the third with WATER.

Give Samuel the milk, Emma the water and Albert the wine.

Act seven: The elixir of life and death

Summer 1870. James dreams of inventing an elixir of eternal life.

Making the elixir

Study the posters on the wall. One says the elixir can grant either eternal life or sudden death. The other lists the ingredients. Only two masses are known, the liquid in the bottle marked + and the one marked with a heavy dot. You have to find the rest.

Weighing the ingredients

Zoom in on the scales. By experiment you find that the bottle marked with a wavy line equals the + bottle plus the dot bottle, so the wavy line is 3 (1 + 2). The bottle marked with a cross equals the wavy line plus the +, so it is 4. The bottle marked with a circle equals the + plus the cross, so it is 5.

Following the recipe on the poster, add to vessel 1: one drop from bottle 2, one drop from bottle 3 and two drops from bottle 4.

To test it, pour the elixir into the dog’s bowl and click the animal. The dog drinks and is unharmed; it will now live forever. Then pour the elixir into James’s glass. He drinks it and dies instantly.

Act eight: The wake

Summer 1870. The poster on the wall calls for another sacrifice: a tongue.

Taking the tongue

Open the coffin lid; James’s eyes are open. Look at the fragments of a bust on the floor and on the shelves.

Assemble the bust: take a fragment, bring it to where it belongs and click, and it sticks in place. The bust has no eyes. Turn to the cabinet.

Take a COIN from behind the jar on the cabinet. Click the buttons below, slide the plates and restore the picture. Open the door and take a second COIN.

Look at James’s corpse. Lay the COINS on his eyes and click his face. Take the EYE from the tongue that protrudes.

Turn to James’s hands. Swap the rings around so they match the tattoo, then repeat with the rings on the other hand. Take the second EYE.

Go to the bust and fit both EYES. Take the KNIFE from the compartment that opens below. Go to James’s body, zoom in on the face, cut out the TONGUE with the knife and put it in the jar on the cabinet.

Act nine: A children’s game

Spring 1876. The children are playing outside. Samuel wants a catapult; Emma and Albert want to catch a butterfly.

A catapult for Samuel

Zoom in on the tree and break off a TWIG. Turn to the clay pots by the fence and take the GLASS MARBLES from the left pot. Look at Emma and take the HAIR ELASTIC from her hair. Give Samuel the TWIG, the MARBLES and the ELASTIC.

Catching the butterfly

Zoom in on the pots by the fence again and pick up the JAR LID. Look at the beehive in the tree, take the HONEY and put it in the jar Emma is holding.

Click Samuel, then the butterfly on the branch. He shoots at it and the insect lands on Emma’s head. Click the butterfly to make it settle into the jar, then cover the jar with the LID.

Click Albert and he and Emma start shoving each other. Keep clicking until Albert falls under the tree. Then click Samuel and the beehive repeatedly until the hive falls on Albert’s head. Click Albert’s head.

Mr. Crow appears at the fence. Talk to him to end the act.

Act ten: Fertility

Spring 1884. Emma wants to breed a new variety of flower.

Zoom in on the box of flowers. Each flower has a number beneath it, and that is the order you must grow them in. Turn to the tree on the right and pick up the GARDEN RAKE from the ground.

Growing the flowers

Turn to the potted flowers. A bee hovers over the white pot. Click above another flower and the bee flies to it. Click the flower in the white pot again and the bee returns, and the flower takes on the colouring of whatever the bee was just visiting. Experiment and you can breed the flowers you need.

To remove a flower grown by mistake, use the GARDEN RAKE.

Flower I: click the yellow flower, then the flower in the white pot; the same yellow flower grows in the pot. Then click the red flower, then the pot. Then the green stem in the pot, then the pot. Then the red flower, then the pot. That gives you the first flower.

For brevity, from here the click on the white pot after each is taken as given, and only the flowers clicked in the other pots are listed.

Flower II: blue, red, the stem in the fourth pot from the left, red.

Flower III: blue, red, blue, the stem that appears in the second pot from the right, and the leafy stem in the third pot from the right.

Flower IV: blue, yellow, blue, and the stem that appears in the first pot from the right.

Move to the pot in front of Emma and plant the grown FLOWERS in it. Click them, then click the glowing flower that appears. That ends the act.

Act eleven: Masks

Spring 1885. Albert wants to sacrifice a butterfly.

Finding the butterfly

Open the window. Take the BLUE MASK off the mannequin and put it on Albert. Now rain falls outside.

Take the WATERING CAN from the cabinet and fill it with RAINWATER. Pour the water into the mouth of the first pipe from the left and take the KEY. Unlock the glazed hanging box and take the WHITE MASK. Swap the blue mask on Albert for the white one. Now it is winter outside.

Break off an ICICLE and use it to get the KEY out of the second pipe from the right. Open the second cabinet, the one under the glazed box, and take the BINOCULARS.

Look through them out of the window. Find Mr. Crow, zoom in on him and note the symbols drawn beneath him. Zoom out. Put the blue mask back on Albert and look through the binoculars again to find two more symbols.

Set the symbols you saw on the cabinet and take the MOON MASK. Put it on Albert and look through the binoculars again. Zoom in on the slot in the moon’s disc and note how many fingers the silhouette in the window shows you: 5, 2, 3, 1. Enter that code on the case lock and take the BUTTERFLY.

Give it to Albert to end the act.

Act twelve: The clock

Spring 1889. Samuel needs a saw.

Take the SAW and give it to him. He now plans to repair the grandfather clock. Examine it: the inner wall needs rebuilding and the chain mechanism restoring.

Repairing the wall

Take the GLUE from the workbench and zoom in on it. For the first piece, simply click the board and Samuel saws it at a right angle. Move the two offcuts onto the square on the drawing and join them with the GLUE.

For the second piece, turn the saw blade to the left and cut the board. Put the parts on the red drawing and glue them. Make the third, fourth and fifth pieces the same way. The word Ready appears on the drawing when all the pieces are made.

Move to the clock and assemble the pieces into the wall, then close it with the door.

Repairing the mechanism

Collect the gears:

• One lies by the workbench.
• One lies on the workbench.
• One is hidden behind the poster on the wall.
• One is outside the window.

Zoom in on the top of the clock, fit the GEARS and the mechanism starts. Put the dial and the cover back.

A pipe for Samuel

Look at the poster on the wall and note the drawing of two dials with hour and minute hands. Zoom in on the grandfather clock’s dial and set the time to 3:30.

Ida the fortune teller appears at the window. Go to the window, click Ida and take the PIPE. Give it to Samuel and take the MATCHES from his breast pocket. Light the tobacco.

Act thirteen: The fortune teller

Enter the fortune teller’s tent and click Ida. She needs a crystal ball.

Getting the crystal ball

Look at the table in front of her. Spread the tarot cards apart and note the symbols. Leave the tent and look at the dolls, which carry the same symbols as the cards on her table:

• Three dolls lie on the little table, with the symbols for The Empress, The Devil and Death.
• One doll hangs from a branch, the symbol for The Hanged Man.
• One doll is hidden in the tree trunk, the symbol for The Hermit.
• A star symbol is on the cupboard doors by the fence, under the drawing of a star: The Star.

Return to the tent and lay the cards out to match the symbols on the dolls. Take the KEY. Leave the tent, go to the cupboard with the star on its doors, unlock it with the KEY and take the crystal BALL. Carry it into the tent and hand it to Ida.

Press the crystal ball in her hands, watch the six images that appear and note the symbols for a new arrangement of the tarot cards. Lay the cards out to match, then click the ball again to end the act.

Act fourteen: The swing

Autumn 1891. Albert wants a pumpkin mask, and Frank dreams of a teddy bear.

A mask for Albert

Take the KNIFE from Albert’s jacket pocket and move to the pumpkin lying by the fence. Use the KNIFE on it and take the MASK. Put the mask on Albert.

A teddy bear for Frank

Take the KEY Albert produced from his pocket when the mask went on. Unlock the little shed and take the bear’s HEAD. From behind the shed, take an ARM. Attach the ARM and HEAD to the bear lying by the well, then pick it up and give the TEDDY BEAR to Frank.

Hold the left mouse button on the swing Frank is sitting on, pull it right and release. Frank falls off, straight towards the well, but catches the winch with both hands.

Pick up the TEDDY BEAR he dropped in the fall and give it back to him. He holds the bear with one hand and the winch with the other. Click Albert, and his brother pushes Frank into the well.

Act fifteen: The search

Autumn 1891. Emma is distressed at Frank’s disappearance.

Read her letter on the table at the right. She writes that when Frank finds it, he should “look for her among the stars”.

Zoom in on the wall cabinet. Its combination lock needs the value of the expression B + C + D – A.

Finding the numbers

Look down at the table on the left. A sheet of paper has been torn up and pieces are missing. Find the first behind the altar, the second behind the portrait on the wall, and the third behind the wall cabinet. Add them to the pieces you have and assemble the drawing.

It shows buildings marked with the same letters as the cabinet. Beside letter B, above the mansion, is the number 62.

Open the window and zoom in on the telescope eyepiece. Turn the discs to set 60 with the left slider and 2 with the right. The telescope points at the mansion, so 62 is your reference coordinate.

Zoom out. Note the parrot that has settled on the balcony rail, with a string and hook round its neck. Look at the drawing again and note the lettered buildings, then use the telescope to find their values:

• Mill (A): 4
• Bridge (C): 35
• Church (D): 33

So 62 + 35 + 33 − 4 = 126. Zoom in on the cabinet and enter 126.

Sending the letter

Take the SEAL from the cabinet. Take the INK from the altar and move to the table on the right. Pour the INK into the inkwell and dip the SEAL in it.

Stamp the letter, roll it into a tube and put it in the case. Close the lid and hang the case on the hook round the parrot’s neck.

Act sixteen: The wedding photograph

Winter 1890. The family has gathered for a wedding photograph.

Collecting the accessories

Zoom in on the top of the cabinet on the left. To open the door you press the white button above or the black button below as many times as the figures in the centre have corners.

• White button: 4 times.
• Black button: 3 times.
• White button: 5 times.
• Black button: 3 times.
• White button: 4 times.

Take the HAT for James. Turn to the lower compartment of the cabinet. Here, besides the single triangle, Morse code is used: a dash is two clicks, a dot is one.

• White button: 2 times.
• Black button: 1 time.
• White button: 2 times.
• Black button: 3 times.
• White button: 2 times.
• Black button: 1 time.
• White button: 2 times.

Take the MASK for Albert. Move to the coat stand and take the BONNET, the CAP and the VEIL. Move to the cabinet on the right half of the room, press the buttons below, slide the plates and recreate the picture of a cube. Take another HAT.

Put the accessories on the family members, then stand behind the camera and take the photograph.

Act seventeen: The painting

Summer 1896. Emma is still thinking about her son.

Making the paints

Zoom in on the leftmost pot and pick up the SHELL and the TURMERIC. Turn to the three pots of flowers and take the KEY, noting the colours of the flowers. Move to the shed by the fence at the back of the screen, unlock it with the KEY and take the BOTTLE, and the BRUSH standing there too.

Move to the foot of the tree. Click its trunk and collect OIL into the BOTTLE. Pick the BERRIES and move to the table. Take the PESTLE.

Put the TURMERIC in the mortar, add OIL and grind with the PESTLE. Take the YELLOW PAINT. Repeat with the BERRIES and the SHELL to get RED and WHITE PAINT. Turn to the canvas on the easel and put the paints on the palette.

Painting the picture

Colour the parts of the picture marked with a flower symbol, matching the colours of the flowers in the pots, dipping the BRUSH in the paint you need.

Turn to Emma, who has taken her own life, and click her face. Take the third sacrifice: the tears of Emma Vanderboom.

Act eighteen: The game of lies

Winter 1896. The family are playing truth or lie. Each holds a card with three statements on it, and the answers are all in the room. The note on the central table says:

• The High Priestess always tells the truth.
• The Devil always lies.
• The Chariot lies once.
• The Empress tells the truth once.
• Look outside.

Working out who is who

Samuel, first on the left:

• “My sister is dead” is true; there is a report in the newspaper.
• “The lock code starts with 37” is true; with the second half of the code you can open the cabinet.
• “The key is hidden behind the bottom right corner of the painting” is true; click there and you get a KEY.

All three true, so Samuel is the High Priestess.

Ida, sitting beside Samuel:

• “The key is hidden under the newspaper” is false.
• “My photograph is in the Devil’s pocket” is true; Ida’s photograph is in Albert’s pocket, and he turns out to be the Devil.
• “The lock code ends in 46” is false.

One true, two false, so Ida is the Empress.

Albert:

• “I do not love Ida” is false; he keeps her photograph and thinks of her constantly.
• “My brother is not married” is false; Samuel is married to Ida.
• “A card is hidden to the right of the painting” is false; there is no card there.

All three false, so Albert is the Devil.

Mary:

• “A card is hidden behind the top left corner of the photograph” is true.
• “The lock code ends in 94” is true; adding 94 to Samuel’s 37 opens the cabinet.
• “It is summer now” is false; it is winter.

Two true, one false, so Mary is the Chariot.

Collecting the cards

Open the cabinet with 3794 and take the Empress card. Behind the left corner of the wedding photograph, take the High Priestess card. Behind the bottom right corner of the photograph, take the KEY, unlock the window catches and take the Devil card.

Add them to the Chariot card on the table and hand them out:

• Samuel: the High Priestess
• Ida: the Empress
• Albert: the Devil
• Mary: the Chariot

Zoom out from the table, then zoom in on the window, where the Deer has appeared. Open the window, take the SKULL and put it on Albert to end the act.

Act nineteen: The family band

Summer 1904. The family have decided to form a band. Mary listens from her rocking chair.

Take the PARTS of a musical score from Leonard’s pocket and Albert’s pocket. Find another PART behind the jar on the table. Add them to the part already on the board on the wall and read the score.

Ask each to play their sequence by pressing the letters given in the score:

• Samuel: E G E G
• Leonard: C B C B
• Albert: A E A E
• Ida: T L T L

The adults vanish. Only Leonard is left, sitting by a wall on which the words “There will be blood!” have appeared in blood.

Zoom in on the voodoo dolls on the wall, a man and a woman, Samuel and Ida. Turn to Mary and see that she has died with her mouth wide open. Zoom in and take the TEETH. Put them in the glass jar.

That is the fourth sacrifice: the teeth of Mary Vanderboom.

Act twenty: Voodoo

Summer 1904. Albert wants a new sacrifice: eyes.

Take the CANDLE from the table and zoom in on Albert’s left hand, which holds the Samuel doll. Set the doll’s hands and hair alight, then raise the left hand. Samuel raises his own arm and knocks a lantern to the floor.

Zoom in on it and take the KEY. Turn to the box on the table at the right, unlock it with the KEY and take the NEEDLE. Note the positions of the arms of the figures on the right.

Stick the NEEDLE into the Ida doll. Turn the doll’s arms to the position shown by the first figure, look at Ida’s facial expression, and set that expression in the window of the device on the table. Set the doll’s arms to the second position, look at Ida’s expression and set it in the second window. Set the arms to the third figure’s position, look at her expression and set it in the third window.

Open the lid and take the SCISSORS. Cut out the dolls’ eyes. Take the real eyes of Ida and Samuel and put them in the jar on the table at the left. That is two more sacrifices.

Act twenty-one: Offspring

Summer 1909. Worried about extending his branch of the family tree, Albert comes to an artificial insemination laboratory. He needs a receptacle.

Take the JAR from the laboratory table and give it to Albert, who gets on with it quickly. Take the JAR OF SEMEN. Open the box on the table at the right and take the EGG CELL. Study the instructions on the wall, which give the order of the process.

The process needs a source of fire. Take the POTATO from the table and move to the grating in the wall on the left. Click it until a man appears out of the darkness. Give him the POTATO and receive a FLINT.

First build the pipework running from the receiving funnel at the top right to the fertilisation chamber at the bottom centre. Drop the SEMEN and the EGG CELL into the funnel. Light the burner under the vessel at the bottom left with the FLINT.

Then rebuild the pipework so the chamber receives the chemical from the vessel on the left and liquid from the tap. That ends the act.

Act twenty-two: The war hero

Spring 1914. Leonard needs to repair a motorcycle.

Look at the sheets scattered on the ground and zoom in on the motorcycle blueprint. Study it, then turn to the motorcycle itself. Take the parts from the ground and fit them, joining the mounting points marked with matching symbols.

Some parts are missing. Look at the sheets again and zoom in on the map.

Puzzle: the pigeons

Note the drawing to the left of the map, which shows how many pigeons must deliver each missing part. The pigeons set out from the dovecote, in the bottom right corner of the map, and the coloured lines show which directions they can currently fly. Move to the dovecote and note the arrow symbol above each opening showing where that pigeon will fly.

Match the two up. First send the four pigeons that must deliver part D: seat them, check against the map so all four are aimed at D, ring the bell, zoom out from the dovecote, zoom back in, ring the bell again and zoom out. Pick up the PART and fit it.

Then send three pigeons for part A and fit that part. Finally send two pigeons for part B and one for part C, then fit both.

The repair is done. Zoom out and send Leonard on his way.

Act twenty-three: The trenches

Winter 1918. A badly wounded Leonard lies on a table and needs medical help.

Search his pockets and take the KEY. Zoom out and zoom in on the cabinet at the right. Unlock the bottom drawer with the KEY and take the PLIERS. From the second drawer down, take the SCISSORS.

Cut the bandage on Leonard’s head with the scissors. Turn to his leg and cut the trouser leg. Apply bandages so they cover all the bleeding wounds. Cut the left sleeve with the SCISSORS and extract the bullet from his arm with the PLIERS.

Turn to the table on the left, take the WOODEN MUG and break off a WOODEN LEG from the table. Fit the WOODEN MUG in place of his kneecap and use the WOODEN LEG in place of his leg.

Leonard opens his eyes, but the pupils have rolled back. Click his face, zoom in on a pupil and press it to enter Leonard’s memories.

Inside the memories

Zoom in on the grenade lying at your feet and pull the pin. Join the parts of the torso together, then leave Leonard’s mind.

Click Leonard’s face so his eyes roll back again and enter the memories. Repeat with the grenade, then join the two torsos, the man’s and the woman’s, Samuel and Ida. Return to reality.

Enter his mind again, repeat with the grenade, and join the pieces of Albert’s torso with his deer antlers. Leave.

Enter once more, repeat with the grenade, and join the parts of Mr. Crow’s body, then speak to him. The Crow asks you to save Leonard, whom he needs in order to find the treasure. Take the KEY and return to reality.

Go back into the memories and unlock the box with the KEY. Take the GAS MASK and put it on Leonard in his soldier form, then pull the grenade pin. Leonard is left with one leg.

Click Leonard and look at the scattered symbols. Move them and join them together. Return to reality. Zoom out from Leonard and look at the box on the table at the right. Set the symbols you saw in his memories and take the LEG.

Put it in the jar on the table at the left for a new sacrifice.

Act twenty-four: Rose and the spirit board

Autumn 1919. Zoom in on Rose and click her. A voice asks “Can you hear me?”

Look at the table and zoom in on the board. Set the slider to YES. Zoom out and click Rose again. The voice asks “What is your name?”

Zoom out and look at the portrait of William Vanderboom, then press the plaque. The ghost reacts to your touch. Note the correct spelling of the name. Turn to the board and spell WILLIAM. Zoom out and click Rose.

“What is your surname?” Spell VANDERBOOM.

“Do you want my key?” Spell YES, and take the GOLDEN KEY from Rose’s hand. Unlock the cupboard on the right with it and take a KEY. Click the ghost, clean off the blood and read the word LIVE. Use the key on the chest at the left.

Read the two notes in the chest, then turn to Rose again.

• “What do you want?” Spell LIVE.
• “What do you need in order to live again?” Spell SACRIFICES.
• “What do you need to open the entrance?” Spell TIMEPIECES.

The voice says “I will help you.” Click Rose’s face.

Act twenty-five: The well, part one

Autumn 1920. Frank, still down the well where his brother pushed him, wants berries.

Berries for Frank

Zoom in on the grating and click the bars. A hand appears, taunting him with a bunch of berries. Zoom out and look at the teddy bear, then take the SHARP STONE lying beside it. Zoom in on the grating again and click the bars.

Pierce the hand with the SHARP STONE and take the BERRIES. Give them to Frank and take the STICK.

Water for Frank

Click the bars again. Albert’s head appears; click it and it vanishes laughing. Click the paper aeroplane until it flies out of the well, and a bucket comes down on a rope.

Examine the writing on the wall, which explains how to communicate by building words out of three elements. Look in the bucket and note the wooden twig, one of the elements. Add the STICK from the berries to it. Look at the teddy bear, pull its head off and pull out the WIRE, the third element.

See how the word is built and lay out WATER in the bottom of the bucket. Zoom out. The bucket rises, then comes back down. Look in it and take the CUP OF LIQUID. Give it to Frank and he drinks.

Food for Frank

Using the WIRE and the STICK, build the combination for FOOD. The bucket rises and returns. Take the FRIED FISH from it, give it to Frank and take the FISH BONE.

A crutch for Frank

Build WOODEN STICK from the FISH BONE and the TWIG. You get a WOODEN STICK. Give it to Frank and click him: using the stick he reaches the bucket and climbs in.

Act twenty-six: The well, part two

Autumn 1920. Rose wonders who could be down the well.

Click the well and a paper aeroplane flies out. Take and unfold it: Frank asks for water, food, a wooden stick and help.

Water

Zoom in on the flowerpots and take the CUP. Put it on the ground next to the dog and click the dog. Take the CUP OF LIQUID, put it in the bucket and click the winch to lower it.

Food

Raise the bucket. By the flowerpots, take the WORM and put it in the trap. Zoom out, zoom back in on the trap and take the FISH. By the hearth, pick up the AXE. Chop a BRANCH from the tree and chop it into firewood. Take the MATCHES from the left flowerpot. Put the FIREWOOD in the hearth and light it with the MATCHES.

Take the STICK from Rose and lay it on the supports. Skewer the FISH on the improvised spit, take the FRIED FISH and lower the food down the well.

The stick, and hauling Frank up

Take the STICK off the supports and lower it down the well. Then click the well winch and haul Frank to the surface.

Act twenty-seven: Chess

Autumn 1926. Frank and Albert sit down at the chess table.

Zoom in on the wall cabinet. By experiment you find that the lower button draws the line downwards and the upper button upwards. One horizontal segment, or one vertical segment of the same size, is one click; a segment twice as long is two clicks. Press: down, up, down, down, up, up, down, down, up, down, up.

Take the chess KNIGHT from the cabinet. Turn to the painting on the right and take the KNIFE. Note the inscription written in blood and the drawing of a chess king. Put the KNIGHT on the board and zoom out. A horse mask appears on Albert.

Zoom in on the potato Frank is holding. Use the KNIFE on it to carve a chess KING and put it on the table. A crown appears on Frank’s head.

Zoom in on the board. Note that you cannot put the knight on a square marked with a cross. Move along the available path and checkmate the white king. Zoom out, and the crown moves to Albert’s head.

Zoom in on the board again. Letters have appeared on the squares. From the hint in the painting, the keyword is CEREBRUM, so you must move the black knight across exactly the squares carrying those letters. Solve it and checkmate the white king. Zoom out.

Frank stands behind Albert with his hands on his brother’s throat. Zoom in and click Frank. He strangles Albert and runs off.

Go to the dead Albert, remove the crown and extract the BRAIN. Put it in the glass jar: the brain of Albert Vanderboom.

Act twenty-eight: The bathroom

Winter 1928. Frank sits in the bath, freezing.

Zoom in on the thermometer: the room temperature is heading for zero. Turn to the windows. Close the left window and cover the holes in the right one with the boards, and the temperature rises.

Look at the mirror and click it; a ghost appears in the frame. Click three more times, take the mirror apart and take the KEY.

Move to the cabinet under the window. Unlock the middle drawer with the KEY and take the COAL. From the top drawer, take the MATCHES. Turn to the boiler, open the door, put the COAL in and light it with the MATCHES. Close the door and push the levers up. The temperature rises considerably.

Take the BUCKET from the boiler and fill it from the tap in the basin. Stand the BUCKET OF WATER on the boiler and zoom out. Zoom back in and take the BUCKET OF HOT WATER, then pour it into the bath. The temperature is now where it needs to be.

Click Frank and take the KEY. Unlock the bottom drawer of the cabinet and take the SCISSORS. Cut Frank’s hair with them to get HAIR, and put it in the glass jar: the hair of Frank Vanderboom.

Act twenty-nine: The treasure

Autumn 1929. Leonard is trying to find an old chronometer. Click the sheet in his hand: it shows the scheme for locating it.

Take the SPADE standing by the fence. Move to the tree trunk, click the hollow and take the BEETLE. Move to the table where the grasshoppers are.

Puzzle: the grasshoppers

You have to move the green grasshoppers left and the grey ones right. Writing G for grey and g for green, the starting position is GGG__ggg.

Move the third green from the right, then the third grey from the left, giving GG__gGgg. Then the second grey from the left and the green in the centre, giving GgG__Ggg. Then the second green from the right and the first green from the right: GgGgGg__. Then the second grey from the right and the third grey from the left: Gg__gGgG. Then the first grey from the left: __gGgGgG. Then the first green from the left, the central green and the second green from the right: ggGgG__G. Finally click the second grey from the right, the third grey from the left, and the central green.

Thanks to LuMar for working this sequence out; the credit is the original author’s.

Take the GRASSHOPPER. Turn to the frog and release the BEETLE and the GRASSHOPPER.

Finding the chronometer

• Put the frog on the grey pebble and make it jump three times right. Mark where it lands with a yellow counter.
• Put the beetle on that counter and move it three times up. Mark where it stops.
• Put the grasshopper on that counter and move it three times left. Mark where it stops.

Then move: the beetle two up; the frog two right; the beetle one up; the grasshopper three left.

Use the SPADE where the grasshopper stopped and dig up the chronometer. Give it to Leonard.

Act thirty: The stars

Winter 1930. Frank does not know what to do next.

Zoom in on the table at the left and take the BIRD FOOD and a CARD. Open the window on the right and pour the food into the feeder. Zoom out.

A bird lands at the feeder. Zoom in and take the LETTER from Frank’s mother out of the case tied round its neck. Give it to Frank. It is Emma’s letter, asking her son to look for her among the stars.

Zoom in on the portrait of Emma and the young Frank. Take the CARD from behind the frame and note the constellation drawn over the portrait. Turn to the portrait of Aldous Vanderboom, note that constellation too, and take the CARD tucked behind the frame. Slide the portrait aside and zoom in on the puzzle.

Rotate the discs so the lines on them line up. A ladder comes down from above. Go up to the first floor.

Zoom in on the telescope eyepiece and add your CARDS to the CARD 4 lying there. Join the stars with a line to recreate the constellations shown on the cards, using the slider to turn the disc:

• TREE
• CUBE
• DEER
• CROW

Then recreate the constellations you saw on the portraits of Emma with Frank and of Aldous Vanderboom. When you complete the one from Aldous’s portrait, Mr. Crow appears and asks you to make sure the great-grandchildren have found all three chronometers and to gather all the branches together again.

Take the LENS and go down to the ground floor. Look at Emma’s letter in Frank’s hands and lay the LENS over it. Line up the letter v on the lens with the v in the text and you get the word LOVE. Enter it on the casket and take the CHRONOMETER. Give it to Frank.

Act thirty-one: The last dance

Spring 1933. Frank and Rose need music to dance to.

Zoom in on the cabinet at the right and take the RECORD. Note the arrows at the top and memorise them. Put the record on the gramophone and turn the handle. Music plays and the pair are ready to dance.

Steer them by clicking Frank to move the pair left and Rose to move them right. The dance must follow the arrows:

right, right, left, left, right, right, right, left, left, left, right, right

Take the KEY from Rose’s hand and unlock the hanging cabinet. Take a new RECORD and a DRESS, and note the new arrows. Change Rose’s dress and put the new record on the gramophone.

Steer them through:

right, right, right, left, right, left, right, left, left, right, right, right

The gramophone breaks. Take the broken NEEDLE and prick Rose’s finger with it. Take the last sacrifice, the blood of Rose Vanderboom. All ten sacrifices are now collected.

Act thirty-two: The graveyard

Autumn 1932. Rose is at the graveyard.

Move right and zoom in on the dog. Take its BONE and turn your view into the grave. Add the BONE to the other bones lying beside the skeleton. Take the SPADE.

Join the parts of the skeleton and you find bones are missing. Zoom out from the grave and turn to the left half of the graveyard.

Open the graves with the SPADE. From the graves of Emma, Ida, Samuel and James take BONES. From Mary’s grave take a casket closed with a combination lock. Albert’s grave has a slab that the spade will not move.

Puzzle: the casket code

The code is made up of:

• the sum of the months of death of Emma and Ida;
• the sum of the days of death of Samuel and Albert.

Read the dates on those graves and add them up. The result is 2233.

Take the AWL. Use it on the slab on Albert’s grave and extract the BONE. Carry all the BONES to the grave with the skeleton, assemble it, then click the skull and take the CHRONOMETER. Give it to Rose.

Act thirty-three: Roots

Spring 1935.

Take the CHRONOMETERS from Rose, Frank and Leonard. Go through the arch and zoom in on each of the three paintings in turn.

Lay the CHRONOMETERS out in the correct order, following the inscriptions, and open them immediately. They all now show the same time, 2:45.

Return to the first room and zoom in on the grandfather clock’s dial. Set the hands to 2:45. Rose, the only member of the family not entwined in the strange branches, appears inside the clock. Click her, and the branches wrap around her. Click her again and the clock doors close, hiding her.

Go into the arch. The grating in front of the jars holding the organs of the ten sacrifices rises. Zoom in on them: the jars stand on pans marked with numbers.

Return to the room and study the portraits on the right-hand walls, noting the symbols and numbers:

• James, sacrifice tongue (J, 1)
• Rose, sacrifice blood (R)
• Leonard, sacrifice leg (L)
• Frank, sacrifice hair (F, 3)

Then the group photograph:

• Mary, sacrifice teeth (M)
• Samuel, sacrifice eye (S)
• Ida, sacrifice eye (I)
• Emma, sacrifice tear (E)
• Albert, sacrifice brain (A)

Look at the code panel of the cabinet below, then go back to the arch and zoom in on the jars.

Puzzle: balancing the jars

Rearrange the jars so that every vessel stands on a pan at the same level. That gives you these readings:

• Albert’s brain: 3
• Samuel’s eye: 1
• Leonard’s leg: 2
• Emma’s tear: 4
• Mary’s teeth: 3
• James’s tongue: 5
• Rose’s blood: 2
• Ida’s eye: 1
• Frank’s hair: 3

To open the cabinet you need six values: Samuel, Mary, Ida, Emma, Albert and Rose. Entering the readings as they stand does nothing.

Go back to the two photographs. James’s photograph gives the weight of his tongue as 1, and Frank’s gives the weight of his hair as 3. The scales currently read 5 for James’s tongue and 3 for Frank’s hair, and they are balanced. So:

3 (hair) + 3 (scale reading) + n (pan weight) = 1 (tongue) + 5 (scale reading) + n (pan weight)

which gives the pan weight n = 6. From that:

• S = 6 − 1 = 5
• M = 6 − 3 = 3
• I = 6 − 1 = 5
• E = 6 − 4 = 2
• A = 6 − 3 = 3
• R = 6 − 2 = 4

Zoom in on the cabinet and set those values. Take WILLIAM’S HEART, then read the inscription about the balance of the essence above the diagram.

Go into the arch and put the jar with the heart on the right-hand pan of the scales. Roots descend into the jars. Click the jars of organs and they disappear. Move forward along the roots, assemble the organs into the body and click.

The game is complete. To learn “all the family secrets”, choose More Roots from the menu.

More Roots: the nine signs

You are asked to collect nine more signs, and given the first hint: the number 666.

Note: the signs are numbered by their position in the list, not the order you find them. You can only enter the acts through the large paintings, which is itself a hint about what you are looking for.

Sign one

Three-digit numbers came up when you needed the code for James’s case in the first act. Go down to the bottom of the family tree and enter act one by clicking James’s portrait. Zoom in on the case lock and enter 666. Turn to the inside of the case lid, pull the corner and tear the lining away. Take the sign.

Examine the tarot cards revealed: Wheel of Fortune, Death, Queen of Pentacles, The Hermit and The Devil. These are the hints for the rest.

Sign three

The Wheel of Fortune card shows a clock dial with a time on it. Go out to the tree and into the Samuel branch. Zoom in on the grandfather clock dial and set the time shown on the card, 10:35. Take the sign.

Sign nine

The Death card shows the familiar pigeon-direction symbols. Go to the Leonard branch. Set the pigeons’ flight directions according to the card, ring the bell, zoom out, zoom in on the dovecote again and ring the bell. Take the sign.

Sign four

The Queen of Pentacles card carries Roman numerals, which you met in Emma’s flower bed. Go to the Emma branch. Zoom in on the pot of flowers and press the flowers above the numerals shown on the card: III, IV, II, IV, I. Take the sign.

Sign seven

The Hermit card. Go to the Frank branch. Press the letters on the rock to spell CROW, as written on the card. Take the sign.

Sign two

Back at the location, look at the tarot card The Lovers. That is the hand you took the ring from for James’s proposal. Go to the Mary branch. Press the fingers on the hand in the order shown on the card to get the second sign.

Sign five

The Devil card shows the symbols you used to open the cabinet. Go to the Albert branch, set the symbols shown on the card, and take the fifth sign.

Sign eight

Back at the location, look at the reverse of the Empress card. Go to the Rose branch. Zoom in on the spirit board and spell RUSTYLAKE to get the eighth sign.

Sign six

Study the tarot cards in James’s case once more. Go to the Ida branch, enter the tent and lay the marked cards on the matching symbols on the table. Take the last sign.

With all nine signs collected, another frame appears at the roots of the family tree.

The elixir

Speak to Aldous Vanderboom. He asks you to bring him an elixir. Move to the family crest: you need an egg and a glass bottle. Turn to the laboratory equipment.

Making the egg

Mix the ingredients by clicking a component and dragging it into the vessel:

• Water + Earth = Clay (1)
• Clay + Water = Plant (2)
• Plant + Water = Algae (3)
• Algae + Air = Small eggs (4)

That is the first component. Then:

• Earth + Fire = Lava (5)
• Lava + Air = Stone (6)

That is the second. Then:

• Water + Earth = Clay
• Clay + Water = Plant
• Plant + Water = Algae
• Algae + Water = Shell (7)

That is the third. Finally:

• Stone + Shell = Chalk (8)
• Small eggs + Chalk = Egg (9)

Making the glass

• Fire + Earth = Lava
• Lava + Air = Stone
• Stone + Air = Sand (10)
• Sand + Fire = Glass (11)

Mix the Egg and the Glass to get the ELIXIR (12).

Pour the ELIXIR into Aldous’s glass. He suggests you taste it first. Click to drink it, move forward along the vessels and pick up the SEED. Climb out and click Aldous. He drinks the elixir and turns into Mr. Crow. Give the Crow the seed to finish the game.