The Secrets of Da Vinci walkthrough

(Please, note that this walkthrough is copyrighted. Hence, any attempt to reproduce anything from this walkthrough will be severely punished to the maximum extent of the law.)

For those of you who might be concerned, this game has nothing to do with "The Da Vinci Code" book or movie. Rather, it is just a very intriguing, quite non-controversial, and (apparently) fictitious story about a youngman who has been hired anonymously to retrieve an invaluable manuscript left behind by the great Leonardo Da Vinci. The story line is wonderful, the graphics are superb, and the quest as well as the puzzles are quite clever and engaging. In short, this is a game that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for some good, clean fun with the touch of a nice intellectual challenge.

As for the dynamics of the game itself: This is a point-and-click game. In addition, please note the following about the Inventory Page that you can access at any time during the game by right-clicking, i.e., clicking on the right button of your mouse.

The "Conscience" Gauge: This is undoubtedly the most important dynamic in the game. As explained in the game booklet, some of the actions you carry out would have a "good" or "bad" impact on this gauge, depending on how you choose to accomplish a given objective. You need to strive for a balance: if you are too "Angelic," you would not be able to carry out at least some bad things that you might have to do; similarly, you can't afford to be too "Diabolic" either. For my part, I have taken the "Angelic" approach, for the most part, using bonus points to keep the Conscience gauge balanced. But don't worry – you will have more bonus points than you will ever need in this game, in no time at all. In the following walkthrough, I have pointed out at least some of the "Diabolic" actions that you can take. If you decide to try them, however, please keep in mind that doing so does have at least some unpleasant consequences, although none of these consequences will prevent you from doing well and finishing the game.

The Diary: You will find this particular notebook under the hero's portrait, in the right-hand portion of the Inventory Page. It contains virtually all the information you need about the story: the description of the place, characters, and events. It even gives you a checklist of things to do; and once you have accomplished a given task, that task even gets crossed out in the list. Be sure to check out the diary at the very beginning of the game. The sooner you can get a hang of using it, the more useful it will prove to be later. Here is how to use the Diary.

Click on the Diary in the Inventory Page to access it. Note the four arrows (or rather the arrowheads) at the bottom of the screen. You can click on the two arrows in the middle to flip through the pages, two pages at a time; or you can click on the arrows in the extreme left or right (the ones with a vertical dash each on their point, i.e., I< or >I) to immediately get to the first or the last two pages, skipping everything in the middle. The box with all the arrows would be grayed out at the beginning of the game, of course, because there are only two pages in the diary at that time. Right-click (click on the right button on the mouse) OR click on the Exit icon (the circular combined image of the Sun and the Moon) at the lower right-hand corner of the screen, to return to the Inventory Page.

The Portfolio: This is the large notebook you see in the top center of the screen. It will contain all the documents you collect in the game. In addition, any document that you produce or reproduce in any way will at first appear among the various objects in your inventory as a "sheet to be added to the portfolio." You would therefore have to click on this "sheet" and then on the Portfolio, in order for the sheet to be attached to the Portfolio as a document. Here is how to use the Portfolio.

Click on the Portfolio to access it. A close up of the notebook would be presented to you. Note that there are two sets of four arrows each on this page – one to the right of the Portfolio, and the other to the right of the black box (the "Text Field") under the Portfolio. Use the four arrows to the right of the Portfolio (above the Exit image), to flip through the documents collected in the game. The two arrows in the first row (I< or >I) take you to the first and the last document, respectively, while the two plain arrows (< or >) in the second row allow you to flip through the documents, two pages at a time.

Once you have the document you would like to check out, click on it in the Portfolio and a close up of that document will be presented to you. Click on this close up and the text of this document will appear in the Text Field under the document's close up. Use the four arrows arranged vertically to the right of the Text Field box, to read through the text. Once again, the plain arrows in the middle move you through the text, a few lines at a time. Use the outer arrows (I< or >I) to zoom to the beginning or the end of the document.

Finally, it would be a good idea to organize your Inventory from time to time, because that really makes it much easier to locate the items you need.

Well, that is all I can think of in terms of a general guide to the game. Following is a more detailed step-by-step walkthrough. Please, feel free to address any comments or questions about this walkthrough to ZSZUBAIRIE@AOL.com.

You arrive at the Cloux Manor at Amboise, property of François I, King of France. This is where Leonardo Da Vinci died three years ago. The manor is currently inhabited by Madam Marie Babou de la Bourdaisière, your hostess. You are ushered to your room by Saturnin, the guardian of the manor.

As the controls of the game are returned to you, read the two pages of the Diary first. Exit the Diary and then read the two documents already collected in your portfolio. While the first document gives you some information not already given in the opening cutscene, the second document gives you even more new information.

Exit the Portfolio and the Inventory pages. Turn slightly to your left and examine both the drawers in the chest-of-drawers. Retrieve the Doublet from the top drawer and the Brandy from the drawer under it. Feel free to don this doublet now or later when your meeting with the hostess is imminent. As explained in the booklet, you would put on the doublet by opening your Inventory and clicking first on the doublet and then on the hero's portrait in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Step towards the table under the window, to your right. Open its drawer and retrieve the Knife and the Charcoal Crayon. We are done in this room. So turn left and step out of the room. Turn around and look at the large rug hanging on the wall behind you. There is no icon on it, so we can ignore it (for now).

Turn around again and go down the stairs, arriving in what we will call the Pantry. If you pan the camera around, you will see sacks of food and other goodies in this room. But there is no icon right now to allow you to take anything. Look down and note the stairs leading to another room below with an open door indicating a route out of the house. But there is no reason either to go down or out of the house yet. So just turn around and enter the Kitchen, through the door facing the stairs you had used to come down.

As you enter the Kitchen, pick up the Bottle of Milk and Oil from the table in front of you. Step forward, turn left, and pick up an Egg from the other end of the same table. Note the food dish down on the floor to the left of the table. Pan the camera further to your left and you will see a black cat sitting on the floor, to the right of the door you see there. Click on the cat, and listen to the hero's comment. Turn back around to the table and feel free to put some milk in the food dish on the floor (i.e., click on the Bottle of Milk in your inventory, exit the inventory, and then click on the food dish). Now step in the cat's direction and turn around to see the cat drinking the milk out of the dish. A "Use" (or gear) icon appears on the cat; but nothing happens if you click on this icon. [Apparently, the only purpose for feeding the cat is to befriend it; and this is the only time in the game that you would be able to do so. This act of kindness on your part also raises your Angelic level.]

Turn to the table on your left. You can try to pick up the knife lying on the table, but the hero will not pick it up because he has "got one already." (The extra knife is no doubt provided just in case a gamer missed the one in the hero's room.) Step towards the door on the left of this table and step through it to enter the Great Hall. (It is actually the dining room, but we will call it the Great Hall because it will be referred to as such much later in the game).

Pan the camera slightly to your left and pick up the Bottle of Water sitting on the dining table in front of you. Now step towards the door to the left of the table. If you go through this door, however, you will enter a corridor where the door to the right is closed at this time. But that is the area we want to explore next – what we will call the Workshop. So let's ignore the door leading to that corridor for now and use the other entrance from the Dining Room to the Workshop: the door to the right of this one.

As we thus enter the Workshop, we find that the left half of the room is shrouded in darkness. Even if you click on the arrows pointing to the dark side of the room, the hero will refuse to go there, because of the darkness, reminding us instead of our immediate objective: to find Leonardo's Study. [Note: the hero says that the Study must be on the "First Floor." This is actually European terminology, whereby the floor we are on would be called the ground floor and the "First Floor" actually refers to the one upstairs.] But let us do a little exploring around the Workshop, so long as we are here. So pan the camera to your right and pick up the Stick leaning against the table to your right. Pick up the Link from the floor, to the left of where the Stick was standing. Step towards the area lit by the candle in front of you. Note the sawing table on your right and the drilling equipment on your left. Note also that both the crank and the drill bit, in the drilling area, can be removed. But leave them alone for now, because you will just have to put them back again when you use the equipment later.

Turn to the sawing table. Bring out the Stick from your Inventory and click on the gear icon on the top of the table, to place the Stick in front of the sawing blade. Next, look under the table and click on the machine's foot pedal on the floor. The sawing begins, but nothing is happening to your Stick! Don't worry. Look at the top of the table again and click on the Stick now, to move it against the blade and saw the Stick in half. Pick up both pieces of the Stick (which will now be labeled as "Small Stick" in your Inventory).

We are done in this room – for now, so step back out in the Dining Room. Step forward and use the door on your right now, to step into the corridor that we had ignored earlier. Turn left and step forward to arrive in a small hallway with a set of stairs leading up to the First Floor. Take a step up the stairs, turn around and look down to find a "Collar" (necklace) on the landing area between the two flights of stairs. Pick up the collar, wait for the hero to finish his comment, and then take another step up the stairs to reach the First Floor.

As you arrive on this floor, you can turn left and step forward to enter a rather dimly lit area. But there is nothing of interest here. So go back out and enter the corridor to the right of the stairs you had used to reach this floor. Look to the right of the corridor, but there is no arrow allowing you to go further in this direction at this time. So enter the room to your left. This is what the hero calls Leonardo's room. For the sake of clarification, however, we will refer to it as Leonardo's Bedroom. But it is Leonardo's Study that we still need to locate and, according to the hero, it must be near.

Look at the bed to your left. Note the symbol of a triangle at the top of the left bed-post. Even if you can't actually see it, just move your cursor slowly around over the square block forming the top of the bed-post until a magnifying-glass icon appears. Click on the glass icon and listen to the hero's comment about the triangular symbol ("sign"); but we don't have enough information just yet to figure out what that symbol means. Note a similar triangular symbol at the top of the right bed-post as well.

Feel free to click on the two paintings, on the walls on either side of the door you had used to enter the room. Turn around then and step forward to the tall bookcase across the room. Again, feel free to click on the two paintings on either side of this bookcase. Note the markings in the center, just above the bookcase. Click on the magnifying-glass icon appearing on these markings, and the hero will read, "The path of pleasures." Hmmm…

Turn left and step forward, to find yourself facing another door. Click on it and listen to the hero's comment. Click on the painting of St. John the Baptist, hanging on the wall to the right of the door. Turn left of the door, step forward, to face yet another door. But this one is of no interest. So look at the bed on your left and check out the triangular symbols on the top of the bedposts on this side of the bed. Next, turn to the small table, to the right of the bed, and pick up the Sheet of Paper. If you try to pick up the Charcoal Crayon lying next to that sheet, however, the hero will refuse to take it, because you already have one – the one you got from the drawer in your room. So just turn to the large table, to the right of the door, and pick up the Mirror. Feel free again to click on the painting above the table.

Open your Inventory, click on the Sheet of Paper and then click on the Portfolio, to attach the sheet to the Portfolio. You will be presented with a close up of the sheet you just attached (it is the one that appears as the right page in the close up). Note the strange markings on this sheet. Click on the black Charcoal Crayon, in the middle circular slot to the right of the Portfolio. Now click first in the top half, and then in the bottom half, of the sheet with the mysterious markings. A shading will be drawn across the page, revealing an inscription in white, but it will be illegible. Click on the page, but the Text Field below will also call it "Illegible Text." Release the crayon by right-clicking, and pick up the Mirror, from the top slot to the right of the Portfolio, and then click on the shaded sheet again. You will now be able to read the text of the sheet, but only in the Text Field under the Portfolio. Feel free to put away the mirror (just right-click your mouse) as you scroll through this text. It is a message from Leonardo to Francesco, presenting him with two riddles the solution to which would enable one to find or make the necessary keys.

After you finish reading the message, use the arrows on the right of the Portfolio to turn the page. Note the four triangles on the left page. These are the same signs we saw on the top of the bedposts! There is some kind of writing under each triangle, but you can't read it off the page; and if you click on the magnifying-glass icon appearing on this writing, the Text Field would also call it Illegible Text. So use the Mirror on the right of the Portfolio again, and the Text Field will tell you the meaning of these triangles. Thus, click on the writing under each triangle, one by one, and find the Symbol of the element Fire, the Symbol of the element Air, the Symbol of the element Water, and the Symbol of the element Earth.

Go to the other side of the bed now (the one next to the door you had used to enter this room). Click on the magnifying-glass icon on the left bed-post first, and the hero says, "The sign for air." Now click on the magnifying-glass icon on the right bed-post, and the hero says, "The sign for fire." The hero then automatically quotes a line from Leonardo's message, indicating we have solved his second riddle. The camera will automatically pan down to the floor, and focus on the corner of a carpet at the foot of the bed. Click on the gear icon appearing on that corner of the carpet, to flip it back and reveal a white rectangular panel in the floor underneath. Use your knife on this panel (i.e., open your Inventory, click on the Knife, close the Inventory, and then click on the white panel) to remove it from the floor and reveal something hidden inside. Click on the hand icon to retrieve another Sheet of Paper and a Key Mould.

Open your Inventory and attach the new sheet to the Portfolio. A close up of this sheet will now be presented to you. Click on the writing that appears at the bottom of the page, but it is "Illegible Text" again. So use the Mirror again on the writing, reading the Text Field to learn about "Bronze, a metal used for casting statues as well as for ordinary objects such as keys" and how it is "an alloy of copper and tin." Turn the page now, and decipher the writing in the middle of the left page, using the Mirror and the Text Field again, to learn a little about the properties of gold and how gold coins are molded.

Feel free to go around to the other side of the bed and click on the magnifying-glass icons on the top of the bedposts on that side. The hero will call out the meaning of those symbols also, but nothing will happen after that, of course, because the symbols on the first side of the bed were the only ones relevant to the riddle leading to the secret panel in the floor.

We are done in this room, for now. All that remains is to somehow enter Leonardo's Study which we still haven't found. There are two ways to accomplish this objective. Let us try the Diabolic approach tonight. [Note: The Angelic approach will be discussed a little later, because we would have no choice but to use it then anyway. Using the Diabolic approach tonight would be advisable for two reasons. First, it will give you a chance to use some of the Inventory items that you would not be able to use otherwise. Second, you will get more bonus points for having tried both the methods of entering the Study than if you had used the same Angelic approach twice. The "downside" of using the Diabolic approach, of course, is that you would then have to use some of these bonus points to increase your Angelic level, thus restoring the balance in your Conscience gauge once again.]

The Diabolic Approach: Step out of the bedroom, turn right and enter the small hallway above the stairs. Go all the way down the stairs and enter the Kitchen, through the door on your right. Take two steps forward and enter the Pantry. Look down on the floor to your left and go downstairs to arrive in an area that we will call the Store Room. There is nothing of interest here at the moment, so just step through what we will call the Store Room Exit/Entrance, to come outside the house. Turn right, step forward, and then pick up the Ladder lying against the wall (with the large closed gates) to your right.

Wait for the hero to finish his comment and then turn to your right. We need to reach the corner of the house to your extreme right. The first arrow on your right will take you back to the Store Room Entrance, from where you can turn right and step forward to arrive at the spot we are seeking. But the direct route (from the spot where you found the ladder) would be to just click on the second arrow to your right, and you will be instantly transferred to the corner of the house we want. Turn around to your left now and look up at the side of the house, to find a "Specific Use" icon (two gears with a line drawn across them) between the windows on the ground floor and the First Floor. Bring out the Ladder from your inventory and click on the gear icon that now appears between the windows, to place the ladder under the First Floor window.

Step on the ladder but the cut scene shows the rungs breaking under the hero's weight. Don't worry. Just bring out the two Small Sticks from your Inventory, one by one, placing each on the Ladder to serve as rungs now. Click on the arrow now appearing on the ladder, to arrive in what appears to be another empty bedroom. [In fact, this is Madam Babou's bedroom, as we will learn later, but she is not here, at the moment.] Feel free to explore the room, but there is nothing of interest. So step to the door on the left of the fireplace. Click on the keyhole, and then on the door handle above it, to open the door; and then, enter Leonardo's Study!

This would be a good time to check your "Conscience" gauge. The bad news is that your Angelic "level" has gone down; but the good news is that you have 14 bonus points! [Note: It would have been only 12 points, if you had sawed the Stick in half only after the ladder rungs had broken. Thus, your foresight was actually rewarded by 2 points!] So just click once on the button under the Angelic gauge, and your Conscience will be balanced again! Your bonus points are down to 4, of course, but don't worry – they will be up again soon.

Turn right now and approach what we will call the Lab area, with the "Still" apparatus on your left and the desk (with all the phials, etc.) on your right. Feel free to examine the Still, the boiler under it, etc.; but you don't need to start tinkering with any of that just yet. Instead, turn to the desk itself, to the right of the Still. Pick up the Empty Phial of Ink and the Phial of Sulphur from the bottom shelf, on the left side of the desk. Pick up the Sheet of Paper sticking to the wall behind, and hidden by, the two phials you just removed. Next, pick up the Phial of Sleeping Potion, from the top shelf.

Open the Inventory Page, attach this new Sheet of Paper to the Portfolio, and use the Mirror to read the text in the upper left- and lower right-hand corners. [You will only be clicking on these positions with the Mirror, of course; the text itself would appear only in the Text Field under the Portfolio.] The first portion of the text tells you how to make Black Ink and the second tells you a little bit about the So-Called Invisible Ink. Turn the page then and use the Mirror to decipher the text at the top of this page as well, to read a little bit about how to use Distillation to produce Brandy, Perfumes and Oils in the Text Field again.

Feel free to explore the room, but there is nothing else of interest, at this time. So when you are done, return to the door you had used to enter the room. Now click on what appears to be a portrait of Leonardo himself, hanging on the wall to the right of this door. The portrait will flip around, revealing yet another Sheet of Paper sticking to its back. Retrieve this Sheet, and listen to the hero's comment. Open the Inventory Page, attach this new Sheet of Paper to the Portfolio, and examine the "Clockwork Mechanism" – which is actually a puzzle you need to solve to proceed further in the game. Here is how to do it.

Note that there are three gears in the "clock" at the top of the page, and a lone gear at the lower left-hand corner of the page. Note also the seven gears of varying sizes at the very bottom of the page. Click on the lone gear, and it will start running. Now pick up a small gear from the bottom and click around the lone running gear. [Note: You can place a gear anywhere that the Specific Use icon does not appear.] The objective is to attach the new gear to the lone running gear, so that the new gear would start running as well. You must thus attach all seven gears from the bottom of the page, one by one, arranging them all the way up to the third gear sticking out of the "clock." When the last gear is successfully attached, the clock will start running.

As the day begins, you are taken out of your room and brought out of the house, through the Store Room Exit, where you find yourself engaged in a conversation with Saturnin. While you gain some important information, you also find out that Saturnin has discovered your little "indiscretion" the night before. You must now pay him to keep his mouth shut. So open the Inventory, click once on the coins (appearing under the Diary), close the Inventory, and click on Saturnin to pay him that one coin. A short dialog follows. Feel free to click on Saturnin again, to have him repeat the last part of the second dialog.

If you haven't done so already, put on the Doublet you had found in your room. Turn around and step forward, to reach the corner of the house where you had put your ladder the night before. There will be no icon to allow you to put a ladder there today, of course, but there is an icon on the rose bush at that corner of the house. Use your Knife to pick up some Roses from this rose bush, and then step back to the Store Room. Enter the Store Room.

Pick up three handfuls of Charcoal from the sack on the floor to the left of the stairs. Next, pick up some Split Logs piled up on the floor to the right of the stairs. [Note: The hero will refuse to take more than once.] Turn further to your right and grab the pair of Pliers from the back of the closed half of the door. Go upstairs now to the Pantry. Look down slightly to your left and pick up three handful of Grains of Wheat from the sack on the floor. Turn to the (Kitchen) door on your right and pick up the Broom, leaning against the wall, to the right of this door. Enter the Kitchen now. Turn right and pick up the Thyme from the top of the floor-cabinet against the wall. Step forward then, turn around, and pick up the Lemon from the top of the other end of the same cabinet.

Turn right and step forward, going past the fireplace. Turn left and step through the door, to arrive in the small hallway with the set of stairs leading up to the First Floor. Go all the way up the stairs, turn right and step through the door to arrive in the corridor in front of Leonardo's Bedroom. Turn right and note that the door on the other end of the corridor is now open. You can even see a balcony outside. But there is no need to go there yet. So just turn around and enter Leonardo's bedroom, to the left of the door you had used to enter the corridor.

Step forward to your left, to reach the door next to the painting of St. John the Baptist. Recall the first riddle in Leonardo's message from the night before, telling us to "follow Saint John the Baptist." Note how St. John's finger is pointing up. Move your cursor on the upper right-hand corner of the picture frame until a hand icon appears. Click on the hand icon, to retrieve a Key. Use this key now on the keyhole to open the door to your left. Enter Leonardo's Study once more. [Note: Your Conscience gauge will not be affected by entering the Study this way. I merely call this the Angelic way, to contrast it with the Diabolic method we had used the night before. At any rate, you do gain 4 points for using a different method this time.]

As you enter the Study, a cutscene follows. You finally get to meet Madam Babou. In addition to some helpful information, she gives you a couple of tasks to perform for her. She even gives you an Engraved Plate, just before retrieving the Letter of Introduction from you. As the cutscene ends, feel free to click on her again, but she is not in the mood of chatting anymore, at least at the moment. Recall Saturnin's last words about trying to soften the lady's heart with words and gifts. So give her the Collar (necklace) that you had found on the stairs the night before. Another short dialogue follows; but if you click on her again, you realize that it would not be so easy to persuade this lady to let you visit her apartments where you hope to find some critical clues to your actual quest. Try to give her the Roses you had just clipped outside, but she is not pleased by the fact that you cut her roses. [No harm in having tried though.]

Turn right, and pick up the Lyre leaning against the wall, under the window. Turn further right and pick up the Empty Bowl (actually a tea-cup) and the Empty Perfume Bottle, from the small round table in front of the couch. Step towards the lab area then. Click on the small cupboard to your right, above the table, and listen to the hero's comment about making a key from the mold you found the night before. Turn around and return to Madam Babou, now seated on the couch. As you approach her, she compliments you on the Doublet you are wearing. You are given a choice of two possible responses. Feel free to pick either one, because neither will affect your Conscience gauge or award you with bonus points; and the lady will give you the same information in return, no matter how you respond to her compliment. As she finishes, feel free to click on her again, to have her repeat the information she just gave you, but it will now be delivered as separate responses to the four choices presented to you.

Turn right then and step into Leonardo's bedroom. Step forward and turn left, to face the tall bookcase against the wall. Click on the markings above the bookcase. The hero will first repeat the phrase from the night before ("The path of pleasures"), and then notes that the room he slept in the night before must be right behind this bookcase. Note that you also get a gear icon on each of the books today. In fact, this is another puzzle; and the hero's remark is actually a clue to the solution, which is as follows.

You must click on the books so as to spell out the name of the person Babou mentioned in her last statement: SALAI. Here are the books you need to press.

Note: It really doesn't matter which "A" you pick first. All that matters is to get the spelling of the name right. In this connection, note that "I" = i. Note also that you must click a little to the right of the book you would like to press in order for the right one to go in.

As you click on the last book, a short cutscene shows the opening of a passage. You find yourself on the other side, back in front of your room. Note: When you go back to Leonardo's bedroom, you will find that the bookcase still appears as before, but there is an arrow on it now, allowing you to go through. Thus, from now on, you can use this route as a shortcut to your own room, without having to tinker with the books again. Unfortunately, however, there is no such shortcut to get back in Leonardo's bedroom. If you turn around and look at the wall rug, you will see a gear icon on it. However, when you click on it, the hero notes that the "passage must also open on this side," but that he will "take care of that later." [See The Bookcase Puzzle – 2, much later on Day 4.]

Go down to the Pantry and enter the Kitchen. We need to go to the Workshop now, but let's try a different route than the one we used the night before. So as you enter the Kitchen, take two steps forward, to enter the small hallway with the stairs leading up to the First Floor. Turn right and step forward, to find yourself in a corridor. The Dining Room is on your right; and another door leading out of the house is now open on your left. [For the sake of clarification, we will call this the Main Entrance/Exit, because it is the only one we will find in this game that can properly be called as such.] We are not leaving the house just yet, so keep going forward in the corridor. The next step brings you into another small hallway. Feel free to click on the wall painting to your right. Click on the double doors to your left, only to find them locked. Step forward now to enter the Workshop.

As you enter, you find yourself facing a Press. The hero will automatically indicate the machine's purpose, but there is no need to start tinkering with it just yet. Instead, look down on the floor and pick up the Gear (which looks like a ship's helm or a rimless wheel with spokes sticking out; so, for the sake of clarification, we will call this the "wheel-like Gear.") Turn left and approach the fireplace. Moving left to right on the mantel, pick up the Iron Box, the Lighter, and a thick Drill Bit. There is also a Sheet of Paper stuck on the wall above the mantel, but you must use your pair of Pliers on the sheet to pick it up. You thus get both the sheet and the Nail that had pinned it to the wall. Open your Inventory then and attach this Sheet of Paper to the Portfolio, to find a diagram on some kind of waterworks. In fact, this is a puzzle that you must solve in order to provide Madam Babou with her fountain. Here is how to do it.

Note: Please, don't be overwhelmed by the following instructions. It is actually much easier to solve this puzzle than to describe the solution itself! Moreover, be sure to look at the Diagram following these instructions, and you will see just how simple it all really is. With that in mind, begin by moving your cursor (which is in the form of a gear icon right now) on the various parts of the diagram and noting the name of each part in the Text Field. Thus, we find:

Click on the Water Pump and the water will come out of the pump and "flood" the whole page. Click on the Jack, and it will be connected to the Water Pump. Click on the Water Pump now, and this time the water will go all the way to the Archimedes Screw. Click on this Screw, and the water will go to the Hydraulic Press. Click on the Hydraulic Press, and the water will move up and "flood" your whole page again. But note how this happened. There is a horizontal line, with two vertical lines on either end, in the upper portion of the diagram. There are two breaks (or gaps) in the horizontal line. Thus, when the water came out of the Hydraulic Press, it went through these gaps in the horizontal line and flooded the page. Hence, we must find a way to plug up these gaps, and reroute the water so that it would sprout like a fountain at the top, instead of leaking from the bottom and flooding the whole page.

Note the five geometric lines in the "box" above the Water Pump. Three of these are straight, double (or pairs of) lines, which you can think of as "pipes." There are two curved lines also (with two openings each), which you can think of as "bowls." You must use these five geometric forms to plug the two gaps in the broken horizontal line. In fact, it will take you only ten simple clicks to do it. Moreover, you don't need to be precise in your placements. Just click close to the areas indicated below, and each line will automatically go where it is supposed to go. With all this in mind, here is how you place those lines.

1. Click on the tallest "pipe" (or double line), and then click on the second (counting left to right) gap in the horizontal line, to place the pipe under that gap.

2. Click on the medium-sized pipe and then click on the first gap in the horizontal line, and the pipe will automatically connect, going halfway up through the gap.

3. Click on the shortest pipe and then click in the middle of the two pipes we just attached, to put the shortest pipe between the other two.

4. Click on the bowl (curved line) that has both its two openings at the top, and then click between the tallest and the shortest pipes, close to the bottom of both those pipes, so that the end of the tallest pipe would appear to go through, while that of the shortest pipe would only touch, the bowl opening next to it. This bowl will thus direct the water flow from the tallest pipe to the shortest pipe.

5. Now click on the bowl that has one opening at the top and the other at the bottom, and then click in the area between the bottom of the middle-sized pipe and the top of the shortest pipe, so that the shortest pipe will appear to go through, while the end of the middle-sized pipe will appear to only touch, the bowl opening closest to it. This bowl will thus direct the water flow from the shortest pipe to the medium-sized pipe.

Now let's see if it works! So click on the Jack first, to connect it again to the Water Pump. Then click on the Water Pump, and watch the water flow up to the Archimedes Screw. Click on this Screw, and the water will now go up to the Hydraulic Press. Click on this Press, and the water will come out of the top of the Hydraulic Press, pour into the horizontal line, enter the system of pipes and bowls you arranged, and finally sprout out of the top of the medium-sized pipe in the form of a fountain that the lady had desired!

A cut scene follows, after which the hero indicates that we must find the prototype of Leonardo's fountain in the barn. Before we get to that, however, let's take care of a few things right here in the Workshop. If you are still facing the mantel, turn around to your left and step towards the "crooked" door. If you click on the door knob, the hero will explain that the door has come off its hinges. Turn down slightly to your right, to see a pair of Pliers on a small floor cabinet. The hero will refuse to take these pliers, however, because you already have a pair in your inventory. Turn further right and pick up the Gear from the floor. [We will call this the "small gear," to distinguish it from the wheel-like gear we had picked up earlier.] Turn right yet further and click on the Jack sitting on a wooden box. The hero notes that it doesn't work at the moment. Pick up the Engraved Plate, to the right of the Jack.

Turn right and take two steps forward, to approach the drilling machine. The bit currently in place will prove to be too thin for our present purposes [although you are welcome to try using it, of course!]. So remove (pick up) this thin Drill Bit, and replace it with the thicker Drill Bit you had retrieved from the mantel earlier. Now put the wheel-like Gear on the table, under the drill bit, and click on the Crank (sticking out from the left of the drill-bit holder). The machine will drill a hole in your wheel-like gear. Pick up the wheel-like (now Perforated) Gear, and then put your other (the small) Gear on the table and drill a hole in that gear as well. Pick up that (also now Perforated) Gear. Having drilled a large enough hole in both of your gears, pick up the Crank from the machine.

Return to the crooked door and turn to the Jack on the box (no pun intended, all ye American fellow gamers!) Put the small Perforated Gear on the Jack, and then pick up the Jack. We are done in the Workshop for now, so let's step outside the house through the Store Room Exit. (Note: There are three different ways you can go down to or come around to this Exit, but the simplest to explain would be to use the other door to go directly into the Dining Room; then go into the Kitchen, and then into the Pantry, down to the Store Room and out). As you step out of the Store Room Exit, look around to your right to find an open door now to the left of the Exit you just used. This is the Barn. Step inside, and a cut scene follows.

As the cut scene ends, look at the table on your right. There are several things on it that you can purchase from Saturnin. Click on the table, after Saturnin stops speaking, and he will repeat his offer. After that, you will be able to click on individual objects, and Saturnin will just tell you the price he is asking for that object. Bring out the number of coins he wants, from your Inventory, and click on him, to pay him that price. Then, just click on the object and (if you have paid the right amount) you would be able to pick it up. However, there is nothing here that we might need shortly that we cannot find or make ourselves. So just turn to Saturnin's left, and pick up the Fountain System from the floor.

Step out of the Barn. Turn right, step forward, and pick up the Ladder from the ground on your right. Turn left then and step towards the Pool. Turn right to face the Pool and place the Fountain System in its center. A cutscene will follow, taking you back up to Madam Babou in Leonardo's Study. Feel free to pick either one of the two choices presented in response to her compliment, because neither will affect either your Conscience gauge or your bonus points. Feel free also to click on the lady then, and ask her to let you visit her apartments; but she is "not at all in the mood" to allow you to do so. So turn to your right and approach the lab area. Click on the small boiler door below, to open it, and put some Charcoal inside. Use the Lighter then, to light up a fire; and then, close the boiler door again.

Next, remove the Gooseneck connecting the Still to the Funnel at the top of what we might call the Distillation area of the mechanism. Put the Roses into the Still (it looks like a pot or a tiny cauldron, and you must click in the center of the pot, not at the top). Next, bring out your Bottle of Water and click on the Still, to add some water to the roses you had just put in the Still. Put the Gooseneck back in its place, and the hero will say that something is still missing. Put the rest of the water from the (now Opened) Bottle of Water into the Funnel at the top of the distillation area. The hero will indicate that the product is ready, as a pink liquid trickles down into the phial at the bottom of the distillation area. Bring out the Empty Perfume Bottle and click on the phial with the distilled product, to fill your bottle with the newly made perfume. Return to the lady and present this Perfume Bottle full of Rose Oil to her. She will accept it graciously enough; but if you click on her and ask her again to let you in her apartments, she will firmly decline to do so. Offer her the Brandy, but she will not appreciate that. [There is no harm in having tried though; and it does add an entry to your Diary about her.]

It is time now to head for that bridge that the lady had indirectly asked you to repair. Take the shortcut through the bookcase in Leonardo's bedroom. Go down to the Store Room and step outside the house. Look to your right and find that Saturnin is back there again. You can click on him and still ask him about purchasing something from him, and he will take you to the Barn. But as mentioned earlier, there is nothing that we need from him right now. Feel free to ask him about how to soften the lady's heart. He will tell you to give her gifts like perfumes and flower oils, but we have already done that. Other than that, he will tell you to just continue with gifts and compliments. Turn left now and take two steps forward, to reach the other end of the garden. Turn right and take a step towards the coach that had brought you to the Manor the night before. You will not be allowed to reach the coach itself though. Instead, turn left and grab the clump of Gall Nuts hanging down from the big tree.

Turn left then and take three steps forward, to reach the unusable Bridge. Note how it is anchored by two mechanical units on your left and right. Pick up the Iron Bar sitting on the wheel-like gear, on top of the unit anchoring the bridge on your left. Look to your right and note that a similar wheel-like gear is missing from the anchoring unit on that side. Bring out the wheel-like Perforated Gear from your inventory, and place it on this unit. The bridge is now fixed! Note that it can be moved to three different positions: (1) the present position, pointing into the canal; (2) towards the first parcel of land on your left, where the Dovecot is located; and (3) across the canal, to the second parcel of land on your right, where the Mill is located.

If you look at your Diary, one of your assignments is to locate the Dovecot where we are expecting a message for the hero. So let's head there first. Click once on the right anchoring device, and then step forward on the bridge. Look to your left and note the pile of logs on the ground. You can pick up one of these, but you cannot put it in your Inventory. You can only place it on the tree stump to the right of the pile of logs. But then, you don't have an axe to chop up the log, before you can pick up the split logs. Besides, you already have some split logs, and you don't need anymore just yet. So ignore the pile for now, turn right and take another step forward on the path in front of you.

Look to your left again, and note the beehive buzzing with bees. Obviously, it would not be a good idea to disturb these bees, because you don't have any protection; and if you click on the hive, the hero will say so. So turn right and cross another bridge which is fixed, unlike the one we just repaired. Pick up the Small Logs and Twigs from the ground on your right and a handful of Dead Leaves from the ground on your left. Step forward then, towards the red-brick building in front of you, to enter the Dovecot.

As you enter, the camera automatically pans to a half-open window on your right, and then up towards what we will call the Loft. As the hero finishes his comment, look down to your right and pick up a handful of Pebbles from the ground. Continuing to move to your right then, pick up the Copper Object sitting on the window sill, the Long Rope hanging down from the wooden beam, and the pile of Old clothes lying on the ground.

Go up to the Loft now. Note the barrel towards the edge of the Loft to your left, and the patch of hay or straw on the ground to your right. But there is no need to tinker with either of these, because they don't become significant until much later in the game. So just pick up the Pewter Dish from the floor on your left. Then, look at the six pigeonholes vertically aligned to the left of the window. Pick up the Call from the second from the top of these pigeonholes, and then bring out this Call from your Inventory. As you close the Inventory, you will see the Call suspended in the air in front of you, inviting you to yet another puzzle.

This is actually a very simple puzzle in which you must play the right notes to summon all the birds out of their holes, so that we can see if any of them has a message for us. Imagine as if the holes that you see on the Call were numbered 1-5 as follows:

As you play each correct note, a bird will come out of its pigeonhole. Miss a note and all of them will withdraw, and you will have to start all over again. After you have played all five notes correctly, all of the birds will be out and the Call will disappear from your view, indicating that you have solved the puzzle. You must now click on the magnifying-glass icon appearing on each bird, to check to see if it is carrying a message. As you click on the fifth bird (the one in the top pigeonhole, in the extreme right), a cut scene will follow that will show the hero reading the message sent to him and then his own response to it. [Note: you might want to save your game just before clicking on this bird, if you would like to hear these messages again, because they are not reproduced in your Diary or Portfolio.]

We are done in the Dovecot for now, so step outside and head back across the movable bridge that we had repaired. Click once on the right anchoring device again, to move the bridge towards the Mill on your right this time. Step forward on the bridge. You will find a path in front of you, while the Mill is on your right. Before going in the Mill, however, take a step forward on the path. Look to your right, and use your Knife to cut and pick up a Reed. There are some Pebbles lying on the ground to the right of the crop of reeds, but the hero will refuse to take them, because you already have some.

Return to the bridge now and step towards the right of the Mill. Pick up the Axe, leaning against the door frame, to the right of the Mill's entrance. You will find another batch of Dead Leaves on the ground to your left; but if you try to pick some, the hero will refuse to do so, because you already have some in your Inventory. Turn further left, towards the canal. Bring out your Empty Bottle of Water and click on the canal, to fill up your bottle with water again. Turn further left then, and click on the arrow pointing into the canal itself. The hero will note that you need to find something to help you breathe in there. So open your Inventory, click on the Reed and then on the hero's portrait, to put the Reed on his face. Jump into the water now and look up, to your left, to find a tangle of twigs blocking the water-wheel. Use your Knife on this tangle, to free the wheel, allowing it to run again. Turn further left and click on the arrow to come out of the water. Open your Inventory now and remove the Reed, by clicking on it in the hero's portrait (unless you want to hear Saturnin's "crack" about your appearance, when you later approach him and start to move away!). Turn right and enter the Mill.

As you step inside, note how the Mill is divided into two separate areas: the actual Mill area, to your right, and what we might call the Forge area, to your left. We will need both these facilities to achieve some of our objectives. Before we get to that, pick up the Beekeeper's Veil (hanging under the shelf on the wall, to the right of the window) and the Gloves (hanging down from a hook, on the front edge of the worktable).

Turn now to the Furnace on your left. Place the Small Logs and Twigs inside. Next, put in the Split Logs. Use your Lighter then to start a fire. Now turn to the worktable on your right. Our first task is to make a key for Leonardo's cupboards. Feel free to refer to Leonardo's notes in your Portfolio, about making a key. We will need Bronze (which is said to be an alloy of copper and tin), for this purpose. So put the Copper Object and the Pewter Dish in the Crucible. Click on the crank (which is attached to the side of the metal pole that is on the left of the Crucible), to raise the Crucible. Click on the metallic "arm" above the Crucible, to move the Crucible into the Furnace. Click on the crank again, to lower the Crucible on the Furnace floor, and the hero will say, "Perfect, but it is not hot enough." Click on the metallic "arm" again, to move it out of the Furnace, leaving the Crucible inside.

Click on the huge metallic cover, sitting on the floor under the Furnace, to pick it up. You can't deposit it in your Inventory, of course. Just move it up to the Furnace and click, to place the cover on the Furnace. Open your Inventory and put on your Gloves (by clicking on the gloves and then on the hero's portrait, in the upper-right portion of the Inventory). Click on the Furnace cover again, but the hero might ask you to wait for just a few more seconds. In fact, it will be only a few seconds before you can click on the cover again, to remove it and place it back on the floor. Click on the metallic arm now, to bring it back above the Crucible. Click on the crank, to raise the Crucible. Click on the arm again, to bring the Crucible back to the table; and then click on the crank again, to lower the Crucible on to the table. Click on the arm, one more time, to move that device out of the way for now.

Place the Key Mould on the table, in front of the Crucible. Click on the Crucible, to pour the contents into the mould. Click on the gear icon on the mould, to open its cover. Pick up the Bronze Key, and then the Key Mould. We are done with the Forging area for now, so let's take care of a few things in the Mill area. [Note: You can go back to Saturnin and he will tell you generally how to use the Mill to make paper and flour; or just proceed as follows.]

Put the Old Clothes in what looks like a trough, on the left side of the Mill area. Next, put in some water from your Bottle of Water. Close the cover. Click on the handle, which appears under and to the right of the anvil. The machine will start grinding. You don't need to wait at all. Just click on the same handle again, to stop the grinding; open the cover; and then, pick up the Paper Maché.

Bring out a handful of Grains of Wheat and put it in the large metallic Funnel that you see up on the loft, against the left side of the ceiling. Look down on the floor to your right, and pull the handle on the left of the bucket by the door. Pick up the Flour from the bucket. Feel free to pull the same handle again, to stop the machine. We are done in the Mill area as well, so let's return to the other side of the movable bridge again.

We still have two more things to take care of, before we can return to the Manor. So click on the left anchoring device this time, to move the bridge back towards the Dovecot parcel of ground again. Step across the bridge, and then turn left. Pick up a log and place it on the tree stump. Use your Axe to chop this log. Pick up the Split Logs from the ground. [Note: one click will pick up both pieces that have fallen on either side of the tree stump.]

Turn right now, step forward, and then look at the beehive on your left. Put on your Beekeeper's Veil. Click on the smoking apparatus ("Bee Smoker"), sitting on the ground to the right of the beehive, to open it. Put some Dead Leaves in it; use your Lighter to light a fire in those leaves; and then, pick up the Bee Smoker. Bring out the Bee Smoker and click on the beehive, to chase the bees away. Put away the Bee Smoker (just right-click), and then click on the top of the beehive to pick up its cover. You cannot put this cover in your Inventory though. Instead, put it on the small stool, to the left of the beehive. Click on the beehive now, to remove two Honeybee Combs. Feel free to replace the beehive cover. Now take off your Beekeeper's Veil (again, unless you want to hear Saturnin's "crack," when you approach him and start to move away). You can take off your gloves as well.

Return to the Manor now and approach Saturnin, standing to the left of the Store Room Exit. Feel free to tell him that you have repaired the bridge, even though doing so will not affect either your Bonus Score or your Conscience gauge. The only new thing you will learn is that you need to use the press to make sheets of paper out of the paper maché you made in the mill. More importantly, however, talk to him about the two Honeybee Comb frames you removed from the beehive. At the end of the dialog, he will take both of them from you, to keep one for himself in exchange for making honey for you out of the other one. [Note: Once again, you may ask him about purchasing something from him, even though you really don't need to do so. But if you do ask him about it, be sure to do that at the end of the conversation, because he will not talk to you about anything except the purchases when he is inside the Barn. He talks about other matters only when he is standing outside next to the Store Room Entrance, and you would have to go elsewhere and then come back before he returns to that location again.]

Go upstairs now to Leonardo's bedroom. Approach the locked cupboard, under the painting, on the other side of the bed. [Remember, it was in front of this cupboard that you had found your mirror the night before.] Use your newly made Bronze Key on the keyhole in the top center of this cupboard. The "Exit" image (of the combined Sun and Moon) appears in the lower right-hand portion of the screen, indicating the beginning of this puzzle.

This is really a very easy puzzle which is actually more complicated to explain than it is to solve. Take a moment to study the set-up and get comfortable with it. Note how the cupboard is divided into five vertical columns and four horizontal rows. The keyhole appears at the top of the central section, i.e., in Row 1, Column 3. There is a rectangular compartment under this keyhole, and a large diamond-shaped socket under that compartment (in Row 4, Column 3). Note the location of the pink Knob at the top of this diamond-shaped socket, above three gray (actually empty) slots. This is our Reference or the Fixed cell.

There are eight other cells on either side of Column 3 (i.e., 16 cells in all), and each pink knob appears in different locations (within its diamond-shaped socket) in all of these sixteen cells. The objective is to bring all those pink knobs at the top of the three empty gray slots, just as it appears in our Reference/Fixed cell.

Note the eight Control Knobs – four at the top of Columns 1, 2, 4, and 5; and then, two on the left, and two on the right, side of the cupboard. As you can probably guess, the Control Knob at the top of a column (1, 2, 4, or 5) controls the adjustment of all four Knobs under it, in that column. Similarly, each Control Knob on the Left side of the cupboard controls the adjustment of the four Knobs appearing to its right, in that row; and each Control Knob on the Right side of the cupboard controls the adjustment of the four Knobs appearing to its left, in that row. Thus, we must click on these Control Knobs to set every pink knob at the top of its socket, in the sixteen cells on both sides of the Reference/Fixed cell.

Now I am not sure if the computer sets those pink knobs randomly in each game, but this is how it worked out for me. I clicked on the Control Knob at the top in

(1) Column 1, three times, until the pink knob in Row 1, Column 1 was set at the top;

(2) Column 2, twice, until the pink knob in Row 1, Column 2 was set at the top;

(3) Column 4, none, because the pink knob in Row 1, Column 4 was already set at the top; and (4) Column 5, once, to bring the pink knob in Row 1, Column 5 at the top.

(5) Right Side (Top) à none, because all the pink knobs in Row 1 were already set at the top;

(6) Right Side (Bottom) à three times, to bring the four pink knobs in Row 3 at the top;

(7) Left Side (Top) à once, to bring the four pink knobs in Row 2 at the top; and

(8) Left Side (Bottom) à none, because all the pink knobs in Row 4 were already set at the top.

Pick up the Mould for Gold Blanks, the Coining Die, the Hammer, Leonardo's Jewel, and the Roll of Parchment from this compartment. Be sure to retrieve your Bronze Key from the cupboard keyhole as well. Open your Inventory then and attach the Roll of Parchment to the Portfolio. The close up you get shows that it is a "Plan of Cloux Manor – First Floor." If you move the cursor around, the Text Field will indicate the various areas in and outside the Manor. Note the gear icon you get, when you move your cursor around the circular drawings in the four corners of the document. But we don't have any information about what they represent or how to use them. So let's just ignore them for now, and head for Leonardo's Study.

As you enter the Study, turn left and step towards the table to the right of the fireplace. Turn right and look down at the table. Click on the drawer, to open it. Pick up the Monocle and the Blood Stone you find inside. Close the drawer and step towards the lab area.

Use your Bronze Key to open the cupboard on the right, above the table. Pick up the Nuggets of Gold from the top shelf, and the four small glass jars (one filled with Varnish and the other three with the Red, Blue, and Yellow paints) from the bottom shelf. Close the cupboard, and retrieve your Bronze Key.

We need to make some Blank Ink now. Feel free to refer to Leonardo's notes about making this ink, in your Portfolio, to note that we can use either Charcoal or Gall Nut as the powdered black pigment necessary in making the blank ink. So put either Charcoal or Gall Nut (whichever you prefer) into the Mortar, and use the Pestle (on the right of the Mortar) to grind it. Pick up the powder from the Mortar; and then, bring it out of your Inventory and put it in the empty dish on your right. Add an Egg, and then some water from your Opened Bottle of Water, into this dish. The solution is ready, so bring out your Empty Phial of Ink and click on the dish, to fill this phial with the newly made Blank Ink.

Go down to the Workshop and approach the Press. Note the thin drawer right under the Pressing block. Click on the handle in the center of this drawer, to pull out the drawer. Click on the top of the drawer, to open its cover. Note that there are four (little balls of) Paper Maché in your Inventory. Take out one of them and put it in the drawer; and then, close the drawer and push it back in. Click now on the hammer-like handle above the Pressing block. The handle will move to the left, pushing the Pressing block go down. Click on the handle again, to move it to the right, bringing the Pressing block back up. Pull the drawer out, open its cover, and remove your first Blank Sheet of Paper. Repeat this procedure to make three more Blank Sheets of Paper out of the other three (balls of) Paper Maché in your Inventory.

Now that we have some paper, let's print the two Engraved Plates that we have in our Inventory. So open the cover of the drawer (unless it is already open, of course, after you made your last Blank Sheet of Paper), and put one of the two Engraved Plates in it. Bring out your newly filled Phial of Ink and click on the Engraved Plate inside the drawer, to spread some ink on this plate. Put a Blank Sheet of Paper on the now-inked plate, close the drawer and push it back in. Now click on the handle above the Pressing block, to push the Pressing block down; and then, click on the handle again, to bring the Pressing block back up. Open the drawer and remove both the just-printed Sheet of Paper and the inked Engraved Plate. Now print another Sheet of Paper from your second Engraved Plate in the same way. Again, remember to remove both the newly printed Sheet of Paper and the inked Engraved Plate. We are done printing, for now. So close the drawer and push it back in.

Well, now that we have printed both our Engraved Plates, let's see what we got. So attach each of these new Sheets of Paper to the Portfolio, one by one, and examine their contents. It's all right if you lost track of which of the two Engraved Plates you had received from the lady, and which one you found right here in the Workshop, because it really doesn't matter. If you have kept track though, you will find that the Sheet of Paper printed from the lady's plate tells us a little bit about the bridge we fixed earlier. [Note: Use the mirror to decipher the writing in the top and central portions of this Sheet.] As for the Sheet of Paper printed from the second plate, use the Mirror at the top of the page to learn something about the "fumagents" and how to make them. Now click on the drawing of the two cannons in the lower-right hand portion of the page, and those cannons will "go off," spilling some writing of their own. Use the Mirror again on this writing to learn how to make gun powder.

Go down to the Store Room. Step outside the house, and Saturnin will call you from behind and give you a jar of Honey. Go to the Mill now. [Note: You will have to click on the right anchoring device to move the bridge in the Mill's direction first.] Put the Split Logs into the Furnace, to revive the fire. Put the Nuggets of Gold into the Crucible. Click on the Metallic Arm, to bring it back to the table. Click on the crank at the side of the metal pole, to lift the Crucible off the table. Click on the Metallic Arm again, to move the Crucible into the Furnace. Click on the crank again, to lower the Crucible into the Furnace. The hero will note that it is not hot enough (meaning, we must cover the furnace, of course). Click on the Mechanical Arm, to move it out of the way. Pick up the large cover from the ground and put it on the Furnace. Put on your gloves then, and try to remove the Furnace Cover. [Note: You might have to wait a few seconds and try again though, as you did when you had made the bronze.] After removing the cover, click on the Metallic Arm again, to bring it back to the Furnace. Click on the crank, to raise the Crucible. Click on the Metallic Arm once more, to bring the Crucible back to the table. Click on the crank again, to lower the Crucible down on the table. Finally, click on the Metallic Arm, to move it out of the way.

Place the Mould for Gold Blanks on the table, in front of the Crucible. Click on the Crucible, to pour the Molten Gold into the Mould. Click on the Mould twice, to recover first the four Gold Blanks; and then, the Mould itself. Bring out the Coining Die from your Inventory, and place it in the circular slot on top of the Anvil (to the right of the table). Bring out one of the four Gold Blanks then, and place it on top of the Coining Die. Use the Hammer on the Gold Blank; and then, pick up the Gold Coin. Place the other three Gold Blanks, one by one, on top of the Coining Die still in the anvil slot. Use the Hammer on each of these Gold Blanks, to produce three more Gold Coins, one by one. Keep picking up each Gold Coin, as you make it. After you make your last (fourth) Gold Coin, pick up your Coining Die. [Note: The coins you just made are added to the coin collection that appears under the Diary, in your Inventory.]

We are done in both the Mill and the Forging areas of the Mill. So take off your gloves and return to the Manor. Go back up to Leonardo's Study and approach the lady, still seated on the couch. Give her Leonardo's Jewel (that you had found in the cupboard in his bedroom). She will thank you, and you will be given a choice of two responses. Pick the first response, telling her that you had found the jewel in Leonardo's cabinet. This response will not affect either your Bonus Score or your Conscience gauge, but the other one would have cost you Angelic points, without gaining anything in return.

Click on the lady and the hero will tell her about having fixed the bridge. She will be pleased, of course, but would like yet another favor from you. Again, you are presented with a choice of two responses. Although neither choice will affect either your Bonus Score or your Conscience gauge, pick the first choice anyway, because the other one is rather rude and the lady's reaction will be understandably unpleasant as well. So tell her that you are listening, and she will now ask you to play your lyre. Bring out the Lyre. As you do, the instrument will appear fixed in the top left portion of the screen, while the lower portion of the screen will be subdivided into three portions, featuring the strings of the lyre on the left, a musical sheet in the middle, and the Sun/Moon "Exit" sign on your right. You will also hear the first three sample notes, inviting you to solve this puzzle.

The objective is to pick the right strings to match the notes you just heard. Move your cursor across the strings in the lower left portion of the screen, and note the five positions (each appearing after each string) in which the gear icon appears. Imagine as if these clickable points were numbered 1-5 as follows:

As you play each note, a symbol will appear in the musical score sheet in the middle of the lower part of the screen. The color of this symbol will be dark brown, if you have played the correct note; but red, if you have not. [Note: You can click on the lady at any time, to hear the sample notes again. Apparently, she is the one who is – perhaps whistling – these notes for you to play!] If you have played the first three notes correctly, you will hear another sample of notes that you must match. This time, play the following notes:

As you play the last note correctly, a cut scene will follow showing the hero and the lady, sitting together on the couch, apparently singing and laughing, as the tune you started plays on sweetly in the background. Bad news follows this cut scene, however, as the lady declares that her throat is sore from all the singing. You must now arrange for a cure. The hero thinks that Saturnin might be able to help. So go down to the Store Room, step outside and talk to Saturnin. He will tell you about a remedy consisting of honey, thyme, lemon and water. Turn around and click on the second arrow to your left, to arrive directly at the pool. Fill up your now-Empty Bottle of Water with water again, and return to Leonardo's Study.

Go directly to the lab area. Remove the Gooseneck from the top of the Still. Put the Honey, Thyme, Lemon and some water (from your Bottle of Water), one by one, into the Still. [Remember to click in the center of the Still, to put in the ingredients.] The hero indicates that the remedy is ready. [Note: At this point, you can put in the Sleeping Potion in the Still, but you will just lose 20 + 10 = 30 Angelic points, altogether, and gain nothing at all. Moreover, you would not be able to go into the lady's apartments by yourself either, because the door is locked. So you would have to wait, i.e., go out of the room and then come back, for her to wake up and take you there herself. In short, there is no use in resorting to the Diabolic approach at all.] So just bring out the Empty Bowl (the tea cup) and click on the Still, to get a Bowl full of Syrup. Go to the lady then, and offer her this syrup. The lady will be pleased and will take you to her apartments without any further ado.

After the dialog, step to your left. Click on the drawing set in the corner on an easel, on your left. As the hero finishes his comment, the gear icon on the drawing will turn into a hand icon. But if you click on this icon, the hero will decline to pick up this drawing, saying that he will do so later. So turn now to the large drawing on the wall, on your right. Click on it, and listen to another comment by the hero. Note the sketch of a hand, in the upper left portion of the drawing. Feel free to refer to Leonardo's notes about the invisible ink, in your Portfolio, and see that the same sketch appears in those notes as well. Thus, this is a clue that there might be something written in invisible ink on the sketch on the wall also. So bring out your Lighter and click anywhere at all on the wall drawing. Sure enough, a line sketch of a telescope will appear, right between the sketch of the hand on the left and that of the woman on the right. Wait for the hero to finish his comment, and then return to the lady on the couch.

Click on the lady and listen to the dialog about the sketch of the Battle of Anghiari. You will then be presented with a choice of two responses. Feel free to pick either, because neither choice will affect your Bonus Score or your Conscience gauge. Turn around then and look at the telescope. Click on it and another dialog will follow. Click on the magnifying-glass icon now, appearing at the eye-piece, to try to look through the telescope. As the hero finishes speaking, click on the gear icon on the telescope, to open a small cover at the top, a little further up from the eye-piece. Click on this new opening, and the hero will tell you that the lens is stuck. Use your Knife, on the opening, to remove the Broken Lens. Then, bring out the Monocle from your Inventory, and insert it in the opening, to serve as the telescope's new lens. [Note: If you click on the handle, sticking out from the right of the telescope, to change the telescope's position, the hero will tell you that it is jammed. If you try to oil it then, the hero will decline to do so, at this time.] Click on the magnifying-glass icon on the eye-piece, to look through the telescope again. A cut scene will follow, taking you on to the next day.

As the hero wakes up, he wants to look at Leonardo's telescope again. So go down to the Kitchen, and step forward, to the door that leads to the small hallway with the stairs going up to the First Floor. Instead of stepping out into the hallway, however, take a step to your right. Turn right again, and pick up the Full Bottle of White Wine from the table in front of the fireplace. Turn around and note that several sacks that had been there on the ground since your arrival, have now been removed, revealing a trap door. Click on the door, to hear the hero's comment. But let's ignore the door for now, because we need to find out more about that telescope upstairs. So step out of the Kitchen, and go upstairs to Babou's apartments. Go past her bedroom and enter her Sitting Room.

Approach and click on Babou. After the dialog, turn around to the telescope and click on its handle, to find that it is still jammed. So bring out the Oil from your Inventory, and click on the handle, to oil it. Right-click, to put away the Oil; and then, click on the telescope's handle again, to see the telescope swing to the right. Another dialog follows. Click on the magnifying-glass icon appearing at the left end of the telescope, to look through the telescope. Turn around now and click on Babou. Two topics will be presented to you. Click on any one of them; and then, click on Babou again, to address the other topic as well, thus gaining some information about both Leonardo and his telescope.

Go down to the Store Room, step outside and click on Saturnin, sitting down on a bench today. As the dialog ends, we must now calm Saturnin's suspicions, to get those "two circular lenses" that the hero suspects he is hiding. Bring out the Brandy from your Inventory, and give it to him. But he seems even more suspicious now, or perhaps just greedy for some more Brandy. You are presented with a choice of two responses, each representing a different (Diabolical or Angelical) way of dealing with this situation.

The Diabolic Approach: Pick the first choice, urging Saturnin to remember harder. You lose 10 Angelic points. Go up to Leonardo's Study, and towards the lab area. Open the Boiler cover, put in some Charcoal, and use your Lighter to light up a fire. Close the Boiler Cover, bring out your Full Bottle of White Wine, and click in the center of the Still. Bring out the Gooseneck from the Inventory, and place it on top of the Still. The hero indicates that the product is ready, as it trickles into the phial to your right. Bring out your Empty phial of Brandy and click on the distilled product, to fill your phial with more Brandy. You gain 5 bonus points. Go down to the Store Room, step outside the house, and give this Brandy to Saturnin. He will graciously accept, and doze off after drinking it. Open your Inventory and click on the Angelic gauge, to restore the balance in your Conscience gauge. Thus, your net loss is 10-5 (points you had gained for making Brandy) = 5 Bonus Points, if you take this approach.

The Angelic Approach: Pick the second choice, telling Saturnin that you were just trying to be pleasant. Saturnin won't seem too pleased with this answer, but he will allow you to go fetch the colored lenses from his cabinet in the Barn, warning you not to touch anything else. Check your Conscience gauge to find your Angelic Score has risen by 10 points. Thus, you must click on the Diabolic gauge to restore balance in your Conscience gauge, losing 10 Bonus Points. But after you are finished in the Barn, you can still go make Brandy and gain the 5 points for doing so, just as you would have if you had followed the Diabolic approach above. Thus, your net loss is still 5 points, by using this approach as well.

In short, there is really no difference whether you choose the Angelic or the Diabolic approach, at least as far as the Bonus points are concerned. But the Angelic approach is quicker. Moreover, you won't really need either the 5 points from making Brandy, or any more Brandy itself. So there is no need to make the Brandy at all, making the Angelic approach that much quicker than the Diabolic approach, in getting on with the real story.

As you step into the Barn, look at the cabinet on your left. Click on the left door, to open it and see the two Colored Lenses on the middle shelf. Pick up the two lenses, one by one. Turn right and click on the white piece of paper, on the stool in front of the table with all the items that Saturnin had offered for sale. Listen to the message read by the hero. Then, click on the gear icon appearing on the little red-and-white cloth napkin on the table, to remove the cloth and reveal the coin that you had used to bribe Saturnin the day before. After the hero finishes his comment, a hand icon will appear on the coin. In fact, a hand icon appears on all the items for sale as well, allowing you to pick up anything and everything from the table. The first time that you try to pick up anything, however, the hero will suggest not doing so. In fact, I would suggest the same, because you will only lose Angelic points, and gain nothing in return.

As you step outside the Barn, you will find Saturnin asleep, even if you had followed the Angelic approach. Go back up to Babou, in her Sitting Room. Click on her, and tell her about the message you found in the Barn. A dialog will follow; and then, you will be presented with a choice of two responses. Picking the first one will cost you Angelic points, without gaining anything in return. So pick the second choice and "confess." You will lose Diabolic points and would therefore still have to use bonus points to restore the balance in your Conscience gauge. But you will also gain some information and, probably, a new ally.

Now turn around and note the two slots at the front end of the telescope. Bring out the two Colored Lenses from your Inventory, one by one, and click on the front end of the telescope, to put the lenses in those two slots. Note: The telescope will reveal three parts of a message. The order in which these parts come up seems to be randomly generated by the computer. Thus, no matter which of these two colored lenses you click on the first two times, you will get only Parts 2 and 3 of the message; Part 1 is revealed only after you have already discovered the first two parts. So, proceed as follows.

1. Click ONCE on the outer colored lens, and then look through the telescope, to hear the hero read Part 2: "then find the Philosopher's stone,".

2. Click ONCE again on the same lens, and then look through the telescope, to hear the hero now read Part 3: "and the path to power will open up before you."

3. Finally, click TWICE on the inner colored lens, and the hero will read Part 1: "First, look for the stars".

After this, the hero will automatically read all three parts of the message in the correct order, and then restate the message (or rather, the riddle): "First seek the stars, then find the Philosopher's Stone and the path of power will open up before you." He will then turn to Babou, and a dialog will follow.

We must now find the constellation corresponding to the one we saw through the telescope. As the hero described it, it is a lozenge topped by a fifth star. Babou identifies it as the constellation of Lyre, and suggests using Leonardo's celestial globe. So go out to Leonardo's Study and step towards the Celestial Globe, to the right of the fireplace.

Note that the globe seems to be "lit up" now, with five bright points on it. These points correspond to the five points of the Lyre constellation we saw through the telescope. Note also the three metallic gold strips across the globe. One of these strips crosses the globe horizontally at the top, while the other two cross it diagonally. We must ALIGN these three strips, and the globe itself, so that the five "lit" points on the globe will come to the front and shine through the overlapping holes in all three metal strips. (See Picture below.)

As soon as you achieve the correct alignment, the globe will split open, holding out at its top a medallion that looks like the combined image of the Sun and the Moon, just like the "Exit" icon in the Inventory. Pick up the medallion and a cut scene will follow.

After the cut scene, go down to the Store Room, step outside and speak to Saturnin. He will introduce you to the black cat, curled up on the bench beside him. Feel free to click on the cat itself, to have Saturnin repeat the introduction. Now go back upstairs to Babou, still in her Sitting Room. Click on her, and you will be presented with a choice of four topics. The new topics will be highlighted in white, while the old one is grayed out. Feel free to address the old topic, if you like; but you must cover the three new topics (clicking on Babou repeatedly to do so), in order to proceed forward in the story. Thus, you learn that "Alkahest" (the name of the manor cat) also means the Philosopher's Stone, and that the cat wears a medallion.

Go down to Saturnin, but neither he nor the cat is at the bench anymore. So go to the Dovecot. [Note: You will have to move the bridge in that direction first by clicking once on the left anchoring mechanism.] As you approach the Dovecot, you will see the cat sitting up in the loft's window. Click on the magnifying-glass icon that appears on the cat, to hear an amusing comment by the hero. Then, step inside the Dovecot, and go up to the loft. The camera will automatically pan down to the cat, as the hero makes another comment. As he finishes, click on the cat to retrieve the second medallion, which looks like a silver crescent moon.

Return to the manor and go to the Trap Door now, in the Kitchen. Note the two sacks lying on the left portion of this door. Pick up the one on the right. You can't put this sack in your Inventory, of course. Rather click on the floor, to the left of the door, to put the sack there. Put the other sack there as well. Then, click on the little circular hook that had been hidden by the two sacks, to try to lift the door. The hero will tell you that it's too heavy. Look up at the ceiling, and note the brown pulley. Bring out the Long Rope from your Inventory, and click on the pulley. The rope will be automatically slid through the pulley, and one of its ends will be tied to the hook in the door and the other to a wheel on the wall. Bring out the "multi-purpose" Crank from your Inventory, and click on the wheel, to attach the crank to it. Now click on the wheel, to lift the door. Then click on the hand icon on the Crank, to retrieve it.

Bring out the Lighter from your Inventory, and click on the lantern hanging down from the lifted door. Pick up the lit lantern ("Lamp"); then, bring it out of your Inventory and step down the stairs of what we will call the Cellar. As you come down, turn left and pick up two handfuls of Saltpetre from the wall. Turn right and pick up the Cannon Ball from the floor. Turn further right and note the three barrels (one on top of two others) on the ground, to the left of the staircase. Pick up the Engraved Plate, leaning against the left side of the top barrel. Turn back around then, and step further in the Cellar. Turn left and click on the bricked-up doorway. Turn right, and click down on the cannon. Now turn further right, and click on the prototype of Leonardo's flying machine. Note that even though the hero says that he would take care of that (machine) later, he also complains about its being "pitch black inside." So look up, to your right, and use your Lighter to light up the chandelier.

Turn left and click on the flying machine again, to hear the hero describe what is wrong with it. But we don't have any reason or equipment to try to fix it just yet. So ignore it for now, turn right and step forward, to return to the first part of the Cellar. Turn slightly left and click on the magnifying-glass icon now appearing on what looks like another Engraved Plate (on the ground, leaning against a table or a bench). The hero indicates that we need some kind of a powder to make the marks on the plate more visible. So bring out the Flour from your Inventory, and click on the plate, to spread the flour over the plate. A short cut scene will follow, showing the hero making a note of those marks on a Blank Sheet of Paper. But you can't attach this Sheet to your Portfolio just yet, because it is "still incomplete." Thus, you can't even see the marks the hero just noted. We need more information to proceed further anyway. So let's ignore the marks and the sheet, for now, and proceed with the story.

We are done in the Cellar for now, so return to the Kitchen and head for the Workshop. Go to the Sawing machine, and place the Broom in front of the sawing blade. Click on the foot pedal to start the sawing. Then, click on the Broom, to move it against the blade and saw the Broom in half. Pick up both the Short Broom and the Wooden Shaft.

Turn left and step over to the Press. Click on the drawer, under the Pressing block, to pull out the drawer. Open the cover of the drawer, and place the Engraved Plate you just found in the drawer. Now bring out the Phial of Ink from your Inventory, and click on the Engraved Plate, to ink it. Then, bring out your last Blank Sheet of Paper and place it on the now-inked Engraved Plate. Close the cover of the drawer then, and click on the drawer, to push it back under the Pressing block. Click once on the handle above the Pressing block, to push the block down; and then, click on the handle again, to bring the block back up. Pull out the drawer, open the cover, and retrieve both the Sheet of Paper and the now-inked Engraved Plate. Close the drawer and push it back under the Pressing block again.

Open your Inventory and attach the printed Sheet of Paper to the Portfolio. Use the Mirror to read about "Alberti's Grid" at the bottom of the newly printed Sheet of Paper (the page on the right, in the Portfolio). As you exit the Portfolio, feel free to click on the Diary and flip back to the "To be done as quickly as possible" list for the date of 23 September 1522. You will find that the second item, about printing Leonardo's plates, is now crossed out, indicating that we have recovered and printed the last of the Engraved Plates we were supposed to print.

Turn around and approach the crooked door. If you click on the handle, the hero will tell you (once more) that the door has come off its hinges. So open your Inventory, bring out the Jack, and place it under the door. Now bring out the Crank from your Inventory, and place it on this Jack. Click on the gear icon on the Crank, to straighten the door. Click on the hand icon appearing on the Jack then, to pick up both the Jack as well as the Crank in one swoop. Click on the doorknob then, to move the door aside and reveal a large gray cabinet behind. Click on this cabinet, to open it. Click inside, to start yet another puzzle.

Again, it is much more complicated to explain the solution than to solve the puzzle itself. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the set up. There are two cups, at the bottom of the cabinet, under the round mechanical plate. There is a red dot on the left cup, indicating that we must put only red balls in this cup. So we will call it the RED CUP. Similarly, there is a yellow dot on the right cup, indicating that we must put only yellow balls in that cup. So we will call this the YELLOW CUP.

Now look at the round mechanical plate above the two cups. If we pull the chained handle on the right, the plate will start rotating clockwise, and several red and yellow balls will slide down from the upper left side of the mechanism and fill the holes in the outer edge (or rim) of the metallic plate. Note the two interlocking rings, with holes of their own, in the top half of the plate. Let's call the smaller ring on the left "RING 1" and the larger ring on the right "RING 2." (See Picture below). Note that you can drop the balls into the Red and Yellow cups only by moving them through RING 2. Moving the balls through RING 1 only returns the balls into the outer edge of the round metallic plate.

Examine the two arc-like, gold-colored buttons, in each of these two rings. Clicking on the button at the TOP of RING 1 will move the ring (and the balls in its holes) clockwise, while clicking on the button at the BOTTOM of this ring will move the ring (and the balls in its holes) anti-clockwise. The set up in RING 2 is the direct opposite of this, in that clicking on the button at the TOP of RING 2 moves that ring (and the balls in its holes) anti-clockwise, while clicking on the button at the BOTTOM of that ring moves that ring (and the balls in its holes) clockwise. Finally, note that the puzzle is set up so that the balls will alternate between the cups as they drop, i.e., the first ball to go down will automatically drop in the RED CUP, the second will drop in the YELLOW CUP, the third will drop in the RED CUP again, etc. So it is very important that you line up the balls in alternating colors as well, so that only the red balls will go into the RED CUP and only the yellow balls will go into the YELLOW CUP.

Now that we have figured out the set up, let's solve the puzzle! Please, keep in mind, however, that the order of the balls filling in the metallic plate might be randomly generated by the computer. So they might turn up in a different order for you than they did for me. Just be sure to drop the red balls in the RED CUP and the yellow balls in the YELLOW CUP. In fact, you must drop a total of 7 red balls in the RED CUP and 6 yellow balls in the YELLOW CUP. If you miss, and a ball goes in the wrong cup, don't worry. Just click on the "Exit" icon, step away, and then come right back and start the puzzle, to find that the puzzle has been reset for you. Here is how it worked out for me.

As I started the puzzle, I found a red ball was already in RING 1, before I even pulled the chain. So I clicked ONCE on the top button in RING 1, to move the red ball into RING 2. I then clicked THREE times on the top button in RING 2, to move the red ball down and into the RED CUP. I then pulled the chain. As the metallic plate started rotating, a yellow ball immediately slipped into RING 1. I then waited for a red ball to appear in the metallic plate's outer edge, just above the yellow ball in RING 1. As the red ball appeared, I clicked ONCE on the top button in RING 1. Thus, the yellow ball moved into RING 2, while the red ball slipped into RING 1 right behind it. I then clicked THREE times on the top button in RING 2, to deposit the yellow ball in the YELLOW CUP.

I then waited again, this time for a yellow ball to appear in the metallic plate's outer edge, above the red ball already in RING 1. As the yellow ball appeared, I clicked ONCE on the top button in RING 1, thus moving the second red ball into RING 2 as the second yellow ball slipped into RING 1 behind it. I then clicked THREE times on the top button in RING 2, to deposit my second red ball into the RED CUP. [Note: Don't worry if, let's say, a red ball slips into RING 1 instead of the yellow one you were trying to get in there. Use the button at the bottom of RING 1, to move the ring anticlockwise, just as a yellow ball appears in the metallic plate's outer edge. The yellow ball will slip in the empty hole in front of the red ball you just moved away. Thus, you don't have to start all over. By clicking repeatedly on the button at the bottom of RING 1, you can even return the wrong ball to the outer edge of the metallic plate. Be careful in using the button at the bottom of RING 2, however, because if pushed repeatedly at a time, it will just move the ball clockwise only to still drop it into one of the cups, when you might have been trying to just move that ball back to RING 1.]

Note also that the metallic plate tends to stop rotating after a while, so you will have to pull the chain on your right, from time to time. After dropping 6 balls into each cup (first in red, then in yellow, then in red again, etc.), when you drop the 7th red ball in the RED CUP, both the cups will go down and then come back up again, as the "Exit" sign in the lower right-hand corner of the screen disappears. This means that you have solved the puzzle! At that point, click on the wooden lever sticking out from the bottom right portion of the cabinet. The camera will automatically pan to your right, and you will see a wooden platform come up.

Step onto the platform, turn around and pull the lever in the floor, on your right. A short cut scene will follow, as the platform serves as an elevator to take the hero down into what we will call the Workshop Cellar. The cut scene will end, focusing our view on the lever on the floor, showing that it is now on our left. Turn right and take a step forward in this Cellar. Look to your right, and click on the gray wall cabinet, to open it and find the same kind of mechanism inside that you had just used upstairs to summon the platform elevator. But you don't have to solve a puzzle here. If you click on the lever at the bottom right of this cabinet, the camera will automatically pan to your right and show that the elevator has gone up. Click on the lever again, and the camera will pan to the right to show that the elevator has returned. But there is no need to fiddle with this mechanism at all. Apparently, it was put here only to show us how someone approaching from the other side of the Cellar would be able to summon the elevator to take him up into the Manor.

Step forward to your left, and the camera will automatically pan down further to your left, as the hero will comment, "Ah, what's this?" Click on the ground, to clear away some of the dirt and reveal a set of marks. Bring out the Short Broom from your Inventory and click on the marks, to reveal a similar set of marks above the one already exposed. Take out the incomplete Sheet of Paper, from your Inventory, and place it on these marks. Now bring out the Charcoal Crayon, and click on the Sheet of Paper you just placed on the ground, to trace the marks onto the Sheet of Paper. Pick up the Sheet of Paper, and the hero will inform you that we don't have a key yet to decode these marks. Open the Inventory and attach this Sheet of Paper to the Portfolio. Thus, we will finally be able to see the marks but, as the hero warned us, we don't have enough information yet to decipher them.

Step forward into the Cellar, turn right and click on the door. Listen to the hero's comment, and note the round gray plate in the upper part of the door. Bring out the Sun/Moon Medallion from your Inventory, and place it in the gold-colored round slot, on the right side of the gray plate. Bring out the Crescent-Moon Medallion from your Inventory, and place it in the gold-colored crescent-shaped slot, in the top left portion of the plate. The door will swing open, but it is dark inside. So bring out the lantern ("Lamp") from your Inventory and step forward, to come down a set of stairs.

Turn slightly to your right and step forward. Then turn slightly to your left, and step through the Iron Gate. Turn slightly to your left again and step forward, to reach an arched doorway leading to a lighted area. Step through this doorway, look down on the ground and pick up the Precious Stone. As the hero finishes his comment, look up at the door leading to a well-lit stairwell, in front of you. But if you click in this direction, the hero will decline to go there. So turn left and click on a door that is slightly ajar, to open it completely. Step through this door, and the camera will automatically pan to your left. As the hero finishes his comment, click on the metal plate in the door, but it will squeak and the hero will advise us to be more discreet. So bring out the Oil from your Inventory, and click on the plate to oil it. Now click on the plate again, to open it. A cutscene will follow.

By the end of the cutscene, the hero will be out of that room and decline to go back in there. The stairs to the King's castle are on your left, and the way back up to the Workshop Cellar is on your right. So turn right and take two steps forward. There is no icon to allow you to go down the passage in front of you. So turn slightly to your right again, and step forward. Turn slightly right again, to see the foot of the stairs leading back to the Workshop Cellar. Note: It would be a good idea to SAVE your game here. Click in the direction of the stairs then, and a cut scene will follow, taking you to yet another new day at the Manor.

Francois I had given his Signet Ring and a Sheet of Paper. As the cut scene ends, open your Inventory and attach that Sheet of Paper to the Portfolio. In the close up that follows, the right page shows the marks you had traced in the two Cellars. The left page is the King's sheet, which is in fact the key to the marks on the right page. But we need to take care of something else before deciphering these marks. So go down to the Kitchen and find Saturnin sitting on the table in front of the fireplace. Approach the fireplace and a cut scene will follow.

As the cut scene ends, go back up to Babou's apartments. As you approach the door to her Sitting Room, turn left and pick up the Key from the mannequin. Enter the Sitting Room, and the camera will automatically pan to your left, focusing your view on the Venetian cabinet. Bring out the key (that you just retrieved from the mannequin) from your Inventory, and click on the keyhole in the top center of the cabinet, to start yet another puzzle.

As you can see, this puzzle is similar to the one we solved in Leonardo's Bedroom on the second day [i.e., "The Cupboard Puzzle No. 1"]. Once again, take a moment to study the set up and get comfortable with it. Thus, note how the cabinet is divided into five vertical columns and four horizontal rows. The keyhole (indicated by the green cell marked "K" in the picture below) appears at the top of the central section, i.e., in Row 1, Column 3. Again, there is a rectangular compartment under this keyhole, just as there was in Leonardo's cabinet. But instead of the large diamond-shaped socket we had in that puzzle, there is a colored circular pattern (in Row 4, Column 3) under the compartment, in this puzzle. Thus, this pattern is our Reference (indicated by the green cell marked "R" in the picture below), in this particular puzzle.

Again, there are eight other cells on either side of Column 3 (i.e., the 16 unmarked white cells in the above picture), and we find a variety of patterns in these cells. The objective, once again, is to make the same pattern appear in each of these sixteen cells as the one that appears in our Reference/Fixed cell.

Note that we have sixteen Control Knobs in this puzzle. I have labeled the four control knobs at the TOP as T1, T2, T3 and T4; the four at the BOTTOM as B1, B2, B3 and B4; the four on the LEFT side of the cabinet as L1, L2, L3 and L4; and, finally, the four on the RIGHT side of the cabinet as R1, R2, R3 and R4. Thus, we must click on these Control Knobs to set the pattern in each of the sixteen cells in columns 1, 2, 4 and 5, to match the pattern that appears in the Reference/Fixed cell. Once again, the Control Knob at the Top of a column adjusts the four Knobs under it; the Control Knob at the Bottom of a column adjusts the four Knobs above it; the Control Knob on the Left side of the cabinet adjusts the four Knobs to its right; and the Control Knob on the Right side of the cabinet adjusts the four Knobs to its left.

Again, I am not sure if the computer sets the patterns for the sixteen cells randomly in each game, but this is how it worked out for me (and, hopefully, it will for you too). I clicked

These first three steps set the correct pattern in all four cells in the T3 column. I then clicked

(4) Twice on T1, and once on B1, to set the correct pattern in all 4 cells in the T1 column.

(5) Twice on T2, to set the correct pattern in all 4 cells in the T2 column.

(6) Once on T4, and once on B4, to set the correct pattern in all 4 cells in the T4 column.

Click on the document inside the drawer, to find that it is the Letter of Introduction that you had given to Babou on the 2nd day. Pick up the gray sheet (on the left of the letter), place it above the letter and click, to find that the letter contains a secret message. A cut scene will follow, bringing the hero back out in Leonardo's Study. He will refuse to go back into Babou's apartments. So go down to Saturnin who is still in the Kitchen. Click on him and you will be presented with two topics. You don't need to buy anything from him, but click on that choice anyway, to find that no bargaining is possible anymore because of the guards outside. Click on Saturnin again, and the dialog will automatically follow.

It's time to use the King's key to decode the marks we found in the two cellars. So go to those two pages in the Portfolio. Examine the key on the LEFT page. Note the numbers 1-4 around the symbol in the upper left-hand corner of the page. Note also that this one symbol is in fact a combination of four symbols, each adjacent to a number from 1 to 4. Thus, each symbol represents the number that is closest to it. We find the symbols representing the numbers 5-8 and 9-0, in the same way.

Look at the marks on the RIGHT page now. There are four rows, each of which begins with a circular drawing on the left, followed by two or three symbols. Note the image of a heavenly body inside each circular drawing. So let's refer to each drawing by the object in it. Thus, going from the top to the bottom of the page, we have the SUN, the STAR, the MOON and Saturn, i.e., the PLANETS.

Pick up the Blood Stone, from the right of the Portfolio, and it will appear as your cursor. Click on the first symbol after the Sun drawing, on the right page; and then, click on number 1, on the left page. Since this is a correct match, a white space will appear at the end of the row. Click in this white space, to see number 1 appear in it. Click on the second symbol now; then on number 2; and then, on the white space. Since this is also a correct match, number 2 will appear in the white space. Finally, click on the third symbol; then on number 0; and then, on the white space, to see number 0 appear in it. Thus, you will now have 120 in the white space at the end of the first row. Proceed in the same way for the other rows, to obtain the following results:

Turn to the next page in the Portfolio: "Plan of Cloux Manor – First Floor." The circular drawings we just saw in the previous page now appear in the four corners of this Plan. It is much easier to identify the heavenly bodies in these drawings, however, because of the sketch of those bodies (the Sun, Star, Moon or Planets) next to the drawings. Note how each circular drawing is divided up in 360 degrees. The four main degrees (0, 90, 180, and 270) have been marked for our convenience. Note the two arrows around each circular drawing. If you move your cursor over them, a gear icon will appear on each arrow. Clicking once on either arrow will move the dial (along the inner edge of the circle) by 10 degrees. Based on this information, set the dials in the drawings as follows:

As you adjust the degrees, a gray beam from each drawing will move across the Plan. If you have set the correct values, the four beams will overlap and a red "X" will mark the juncture. Move your cursor over this X, and the Text Field will show that "The Manuscript is hidden somewhere in front of the entrance to the manor." Close the Portfolio and the Inventory, to hear the hero's comment. Click on Saturnin, to be presented with two topics, the first of which we have already addressed. So click on the second topic, to learn the secret: you must subtract 10 from the Stars and 10 from the Planets, and add 10 to the Moon. So go back to the "Plan of the Cloux Manor," in your Portfolio, and make the following changes:

The gray beams will now overlap at a slightly different point. Move your cursor over the new X, and the Text Field will show that "The Manuscript is hidden in the chapel."

Close the Portfolio and the Inventory, and click on Saturnin, to be presented with two topics again. Click on the first topic (the key to the chapel). Click on him again to address the second topic (why Leonardo entrusted him, rather than Melzi, with this secret). Then go upstairs to Babou's Sitting Room. She will start speaking as soon as you approach her, and you will get a choice of two responses. Although neither will affect your Conscience gauge or Bonus points, pick the SECOND response ("I shouldn't have lost my temper…") because it will give you a choice at the very end of the game that you won't get otherwise. Click on Babou again, for another exchange of dialog.

Go down to the small hallway, and step into the corridor. Turn left, to see a guard in front of the Main Entrance. We don't want to be caught, so turn right and step forward in the corridor. Use Babou's Key to unlock and open the Chapel door on your left. Enter the Chapel, to hear the hero's comment. Turn slightly to the left and pick up the Sceptre. Now click on the golden Lily (under the Cross), to hear another comment by the hero. Bring out the King's Signet Ring from your Inventory and put it in the hole under the Lily. Now bring out the Sceptre and put it through the ring, to open a door below. Pick up the Manuscript by Leonardo Da Vinci from this opening. Click under the Lily, to retrieve both the Signet Ring and the Sceptre, in one swoop. Then turn to the wall on your right, and click in the empty picture frame (to the left of the door), to hear the hero's comment.

We are done in the Chapel and must contact the King's messenger now. So go back upstairs and enter the Balcony (across the corridor from Leonardo's bedroom). The camera will pan to your right to show the guards below, as the hero makes a comment. Step forward in the balcony. Try to pick up some pebbles from the floor to your left, but the hero will decline to do so, because you already have some. So bring out the Pebbles from your Inventory, turn right and study the movements of the two guards below. Note that the guard stationed in front of the Main Entrance doesn't move at all. There is another guard to his left, however, that goes back and forth along the side of the house. Wait until he starts moving towards the house, and then throw the Pebble between the stationary guard and the Main Entrance. Thus, with both guards now moving towards the house, turn quickly and step into the Stairwell. Then turn quickly to your extreme left, and take two steps; and then, turn left again and step forward, to arrive in front of the moveable bridge.

We cannot cross the bridge, however, because a guard is stationed there as well. So step to the right of the bridge. Turn left, pick up the brush off the boat and place it on the ground, to your right. Click twice on the boat (first to hear a comment by the hero, and then to get in it). You can reach the Dovecot now in one of two ways: (1) go to the Mill across the canal, get out of the boat, and walk over to the canal across the Dovecot; or (2) take the boat to the Bridge, then down the canal to your right to reach the Dovecot. A guard is stationed before the Dovecot also, so you will still have to get out of the boat on the ground to the right of the canal. Thus, either way, you will arrive at the same spot. As you do, bring out the Ladder from your Inventory and place it across the canal. Then bring out the Pebbles, and throw one on the fixed bridge to your left. As the guard moves in that direction, cross the canal and enter the Dovecot.

Turn right to note an object barely hidden by the three sacks against the wall. Pick up the Sheet, to find the Mona Lisa painting behind it. Pick up the Mona Lisa, and the hero will make a comment. Pick up some more Pebbles from the ground, behind you. Go up to the loft, and a black bird will arrive at the window. Bring out the King's Signet Ring and click on the bird, to hear another comment by the hero. Meanwhile, the guard should have returned to his post before the Dovecot. Wait for him to turn his back to you, and then bring out the Pebbles from your Inventory and throw one at the ground floor window behind you. The guard will come into the Dovecot, and you will get a choice of two approaches to return to the Manor.

The Angelic Approach: Pick up the straw from the ground on your left and throw it out of the loft window. Then jump out of the window. Turn left, cross the canal, and then turn around and pick up the Ladder. Return to the boat, take it back to where you had first found it, and step back out on the ground. The moveable bridge would be to your right, but you must wait for the guard to look away before going there. Thus, you must sneak behind the guards' backs to return to the Manor. [Note: This approach does not affect your Conscience gauge. I call it the Angelic approach only to contrast it with the Diabolic approach described below.]

The Diabolic Approach: As the guard stands below, click on the barrel resting at the edge of the loft floor, to find that you need a lever to move it. So take the Iron Bar or the Short Broom from your Inventory, and click on the barrel again, to roll it down on the guard. Go down and click on the unconscious guard, to take the Guard's Uniform. Open your Inventory, and put on this uniform. Click on the Angelic gauge, to restore balance to your Conscience gauge. Step out of the Dovecot, and pick up the Ladder from your left. Go past the guard at the bridge, without any problems. But the guard patrolling the side of the house will object, when you arrive there. You get a choice of two responses. You will get caught if you pick the first response. So pick the second response ("Leave me alone…"), and you will not be bothered after that.

What Happens if You Get Caught

It isn't "Game Over," as you might expect. Rather, you end up back in the hero's room. Step towards the fireplace, to hear a comment by the hero. Turn left towards the door and click on its keyhole, to hear another comment by the hero. Pick up the Blank Sheet of Paper from the floor, to the right of the door. As the hero finishes his comment, bring out this Blank Sheet of Paper from your Inventory and place it under the door. Now bring out your Knife and click on the keyhole, to push the key down on to that paper. Wait for the hero to finish his comment, and then pick up the Blank Sheet of Paper, retrieving the Key in the same swoop. Use the Key to unlock the door; and then, open the door and step outside. But we can't go down to the Store Room because the hero expects a guard to be stationed there. So click on the large wall rug, on your right, to hear the hero's comment. Bring out the Pliers from your Inventory and pick up a Nail from each of the two corners at the bottom of the rug. Click on the rug again, to move it aside and reveal the bookcase behind it.

The Bookcase Puzzle – 2

The code for this passage from Leonardo's bedroom was SALAI. Since we are on the other side now, the code must be read backwards: IALAS. So press the following books.

I – (the fourth book from the left, in the top shelf)

A – (the fourth book from the right, in the top shelf)

L – (the third book from the right, in the bottom shelf)

A – (the fifth book from the right, in the bottom shelf)

S – (the fourth book from the left, in the middle shelf)

A short cut scene follows, and you will find yourself back in Leonardo's bedroom.

As soon as you step into the Manor, the hero will indicate that Hector must have come via the Underground Passage, and suggest that we go down and meet him. [If you were caught, this comment will come after you enter Leonardo's bedroom through the Bookcase and can thus move about freely again.] Go down to the Workshop, and approach the gray wall cabinet. Open the cabinet and use the lever at the bottom right, to summon the platform elevator. Step on the platform and go down to the Cellar. Step out of the platform and a cut scene will follow. Click on Hector again, to cover another topic. Then, return to the Workshop.

We must now make a copy of the Mona Lisa. So go to the fireplace and turn left to face the easel. Click on the sheet, to remove it from the easel. Then bring out the four cans of (Red, Blue, and Yellow) Paints and Varnish, one by one, and place them in the slots under the canvas. Now click on the Reference frame on your left, to hear the hero's comment. Bring out a Nail from your Inventory and click on the frame, to put it on its left edge. Now bring out The Mona Lisa and put it on the Reference frame. We are now ready to make its copy.

This puzzle actually consists of three parts. In the first part, we have to make a charcoal sketch of the painting. Don't worry though, because no artistic talent is required. So pick up the Charcoal Crayon, lying to the right of the cans of paint and varnish; and click on the boxes in the easel, to turn the blank canvas into the sketch. It is not as easy as it sounds, however, because while a click on one box might turn it into a piece of the sketch, a click on another box might return the first box to blank canvas! So click on the shaded boxes below, in the order in which they have been numbered, i.e., click first on box number 1; then on 2; then on 3; etc.

The sketch will be completed as you click on box number 15, concluding the first part of the Mona Lisa puzzle. Right-click, to put away the Charcoal Crayon, and note the 16 large black dots in the completed sketch. In the second part of the puzzle, we are supposed to be roughly painting the portrait. Again, no artistic talent is required. Begin by clicking on each box. It will look as if you were flipping each piece, turning the sketch into a dull-colored portrait, but all the pieces of this portrait will appear to be jumbled up. Now click on any one of the 16 black dots and see how that rotates the four boxes around it. Thus, we must click on these dots to rearrange the pieces of the portrait until they form a coherent whole.

Note: I have often run into puzzles of this kind and found that while some people relish them, others absolutely dread or detest them. There is good news for the second group though. As I was working on this puzzle, one of my automatic programs kicked in, minimizing the game to the task bar. I closed that program and restored the game (by clicking on its name, at the bottom of the screen), to find the puzzle solved! As they say, Serendipity brings Good Fortune. But you don't need serendipity to solve this puzzle for you. All you need is something to minimize the game to the task bar, and Windows offers several ways of doing that. For instance, you can press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. The game would be minimized, as the Windows Task Manager window will pop up. Close that window, and click on the name of the game at the bottom of the screen, to return to the game and find the puzzle solved. OR: You can click on either one of the WINDOWS LOGO keys (that appear next to the ALT button, on either side of the Spacebar). The game would be minimized, as the Start Menu will pop up. You don't even have to close this menu, because it will disappear as soon as you click on the name of the game at the bottom of the screen. Once again, you will return to the game to find the puzzle solved.

We will actually use some paint in the third part of the puzzle. But again, no artistic talent is required. Just pick up the Paint Brush (from the right of the Charcoal Crayon), dip it in Red Paint, then in Varnish, and then click THREE times on your painting. Wipe off the red paint, by clicking on the piece of cloth hanging down from the bottom right of the easel. Now dip your brush in Yellow Paint, then in Varnish, and then click THREE times on the painting again. Wipe off the brush on the cloth once more. Finally, dip your brush in Blue Paint, then in Varnish, and then click TWICE on the painting. And voila! The painting is finished. Right-click, to put away the paint brush. Pick up your copy of The Mona Lisa, and then the original, to receive the Sewing Spool along with the original.

There is no use going back to the Dovecot, because the hero will decline to put the copy of The Mona Lisa where he had found the original. So go to the Kitchen instead and click on Saturnin. A dialog and a cut scene will follow. [Note: The phrase "a little over three hundred years ago" in the cut scene is a typographical error, of course, because Saturnin also mentions the date 1519, i.e., just three years before the events of the game. Besides, Saturnin himself was part of that cut scene event, and he certainly can't be 300 years old!]

In addition to information, Saturnin gives the hero a Wooden Bow and permission to take whatever the hero may like from the Barn. So go out of the Store Room exit and into the Barn. Pick up the bowl of Sugar. Return to the Store Room, and pick up two handfuls of Charcoal, from the sack on the ground to the left of the staircase. [Note: Once again, you will not have any problems getting in and out of the Manor, if you took the Diabolic approach in returning from the Dovecot with the Mona Lisa, and are still dressed in the Guard's Uniform. This is true even if you had been caught coming back. You would have to check to make sure the guard is moving away from you, however, if you had taken the Angelic approach.]

Go up to Leonardo's Study. [If you were caught, you can use the passage through the bookcase to return to Leonardo's bedroom, of course, and then go directly to his Study from there.] Approach the lab area. Feel free to refer to Leonardo's notes (in the Portfolio) about making Powder and Fumigants. Then open the boiler door, put in some Charcoal, and use your Lighter to light up a fire. Close the boiler door, and remove the Gooseneck from the top of the Still. Put in the rest of the Water from your Opened Bottle of Water + Sugar + Saltpetre, one by one, into the Still. The hero will tell you that the product appears to be ready. Bring out the Iron Box from your Inventory and click on the Still, to retrieve the Fumigant.

Now put a handful of Charcoal in the Mortar to your right. Use the Pestle to grind it, and then pick up the Charcoal Powder. Bring out the Charcoal Powder from your Inventory and put it in the bowl to your right. Bring out the Phial of Sulphur and add the Sulphur to the same bowl. Finally, add Saltpetre to the bowl as well. Pick up the (explosive) Powder.

Go to the Workshop. There is no use going down to its cellar, because you will find that Hector is not there anymore. So approach the sawing table instead. Remove the thick Drill Bit and replace it with the thinner Drill Bit from your Inventory. Bring out the Crank from your Inventory, and attach it to the side of the Drill Bit holder. Now bring out the Wooden Bow and put it under the Drill Bit. Click on the gear icon on the Crank, to drill a hole in the Wooden Bow. Pick up both the Crank and the Bow made of Perforated Wood.

Go to the Kitchen now and down the Trap Door Cellar. [Note: You won't need the Lamp anymore, because there is plenty of light now from the chandelier.] Go forward and turn right to face the Flying Machine. Feel free to click on it, to hear just what is wrong with it. Bring the Wooden Shaft from your Inventory, and click anywhere on the Flying Machine, to see the shaft attach to the machine's top front. Now bring the Bow made of Perforated Wood from your Inventory and click anywhere on the Flying Machine again, to see it attach along the side of the machine. Finally, bring out the Fumigant from your Inventory and put it on the ground (next to a chest, to the right of the Flying Machine).

Return to the Kitchen, to find that Saturnin is not at the table anymore. Step in one of the following directions: (1) forward (to the corner of the Kitchen, to the right of the table with the bowl of eggs on it); or (2) to your left, to the door leading to the Dining Room; or (3) through the door on your right, to step out into the small hallway, and then come right back into the Kitchen. As you follow any of these directions, you will hear a rumbling noise in the distance, as well as a comment from the hero indicating that we have no choice but to use force.

Go to the Workshop and try to approach the platform elevator, but the hero will decline to take that route. So go back to the Kitchen and down into the Trap Door Cellar. Step forward and the camera will automatically pan to your left, towards the bricked-up door, as the hero will make another comment. Bring out the Jack from your Inventory, and click on the cannon below, to place the Jack under it. Now attach the Crank to the Jack, and then click on the gear icon on the Crank, to straighten the cannon. Load the Cannon Ball from the front end of the cannon. Click on the small cover at the back of the cannon, to open it. Put your (explosive) Powder in this opening and the cover will close automatically. Finally, use your Lighter, to light the fuse just behind the cover. A short cut scene will show the cannon firing through the bricked-up door. Go through that door, to find Hector sprawled on the floor.

Check your Conscience gauge, and you will find that there is no loss in your Angelic gauge! Pick up the Manuscript by Leonardo Da Vinci, lying just above Hector's left thigh. A cut scene follows. [Hints of a sequel?] Now there are two ways to get out of this place: you can either go back to the cellar through the bricked-up doorway you blew up, or use the platform elevator (summoning it by using the lever in the large gray cabinet to your left) to go up to the Workshop. Neither method will affect either your Conscience Gauge or your Bonus Score. As you start to leave, however, the hero will indicate that we must leave the Mona Lisa painting here [to the left of the bricked-up doorway]. If you leave the copy, your Angelic gauge will go down. But if you leave the original, your Diabolic score goes down. Thus, either way you will have to spend 20 bonus points, to restore balance in your Conscience gauge. I suggest that you SAVE your game first and then, try it both ways, to see how it affects the ending!

Go to Babou's Sitting Room now and click on her, to say your Farewells. A cut scene follows. If you had picked that second choice (when you came to get the Chapel key from her) and apologized to Babou for having lost your temper, she will now ask the hero to take her with him. You get a choice of two responses, of course. Feel free to use the SAVE I just suggested to try each response and then,