Servant of the Lake Day 1

Hint, then the cups

The tin cups are the first real lock. Hint: ignore pretty arrangement and count the lines on each cup. Answer: sort them 1 through 5 by that count. Community-observed: a coin appears when the row is right — if your build pays a different item, the count is still the lock. If a cup will not sit, you still have the order wrong — do not start brute-forcing the portraits instead.

The door is a key, the job is a signature

Hint: look the yard over before you live indoors — a metal piece may belong on the door, not in your pocket as loot. Community-observed answer: use an iron bar / key on the entrance, walk in, and sign the contract. The signature is verified; the exact door tool is not re-checked on our hardware. The house will not tell you that an unsigned paper is why a later chore never flags. There is no skip.

Portraits are a count, not a guess

Hint: click each family painting and watch what it does — a motion is a digit. Answer: Aldous’s pocket watch ticks three times, Alexandra holds up two fingers, William blinks five times. That is 235, and it opens the sugar box you will need for porridge. It is a house lock, not a redeem code. Full count method also lives on puzzles.

Play order from here is kitchen, then Aldous’s bedroom — not guests. If the pot is the thing that will not finish, jump to the breakfast section. If he will not rise, stay for the morning section next.

Clock first, secret clock later

Hint: the bedroom clock is a wake time, not decoration. Answer: set 7:00, then work the curtains and the razor. 3:05 is the hidden You Found Him / Kate beat on secrets — overwriting 7:00 on the opening morning is how people “break” a clock that was never broken.

The shave is supposed to go wrong

Hint: if the razor scene looks too sharp, you are still on the right beat. Answer: complete the shave and pick up the ear lobe — that leftover is an intended item. Community-observed: feed that lobe to the bird at the window; the bird pays you with a key that opens a berry drawer the porridge still needs. Walk the kitchen return in the next section — do not throw the lobe away.

Exercise is community-observed

Hint: match the direction cues in the room; it is a copy pattern, not a combat combo. Community-observed answer: Left, right, down, right, right, down. If your build shows a different prompt, trust the room and mark this line community-observed rather than forcing six clicks that do not fit. Exercising with Mr. Aldous fires when the beat completes, not when you hunt a hidden flag.

Dress him after the exercise. He hates cold feet; community-observed that slippers belong in the dress beat. When he is clothed, Demo / Lite can end. The full game keeps the house open for Alexandra, guests, and night — those clicks start after breakfast is actually in the bowl.

Mouse, cat, matches

Hint: the kitchen wants fire before food, and the matches are not in the obvious drawer. Answer: take the dead mouse from the wall hole, give it to the cat, and pick up the matches when the cat moves. Petting the cat is fine; it does not replace the trade.

Fire, then the pot

Hint: light first, ingredients second. Answer: wood into the fireplace, matches on the wood, pot on the fire, then milk, oats, and sugar. Sugar is the 235 box from the portrait wall — if that box is still closed, walk back to the paintings, do not guess 000–999 on the kitchen table.

Berries and the bugs

Hint: if the porridge still looks wrong after milk, oats, and sugar, you are missing the post-shave trip, not a second kind of oat. Community-observed: use the bird key, take berries from the drawer, add them to the pot. When bugs crawl in the bowl, watch which hole they use and plug that hole with berries until you can squash them. Repeat per hole. This is observation plus speed, not a maze.

Serve Aldous only when the bowl is actually porridge. If you are stuck on one ingredient rather than the day order, keep puzzles open. Guests wait until this pot and his clothes are both done.

Reception is hospitality, not a new system

Hint: if the hall looks empty, you skipped a prep prop, not a combat check. Answer: walk the reception, greet when the door asks, and treat Preparing the Reception / Opening the Reunion as landmark names from the Steam list. We will not invent which vase or napkin is the one required click. If a hotspot is obvious, use it; if it is not, do not pixel-hunt the wallpaper.

Tea that tastes wrong is still progress

Hint: the first cups will be called too weak or not sweet enough. That reads like a fail. Community-observed: it is the Serving Tea process — adjust and keep serving through the 16:29–18:25 window. Do not reload because a guest grimaces. Do not invent a “perfect brew” achievement name that is not on Steam.

Flowers stay on the puzzles page

Hint: a bouquet or garden bed that will not sit is its own lock, not a hidden guest flag. Answer: Ruining the Bouquet is a named Day 1 Steam goal; the exact petal / vase order is TBA on this walkthrough until we have step-level evidence. Use a hint pass on puzzles instead of filling vases at random. Candles and dusting portraits may show up in the same afternoon — click what highlights; do not invent a dusting combo.

When tea is done, the house turns toward night. The last section is what you can miss on the way to the attic, not a new combat chapter.

Attic and crow: names yes, pixel order no

Hint: night wants you upstairs, not back in the porridge pot. Answer: when the house sends you to the attic, go. Searching the Attic is the landmark. We will not invent room IDs, crate order, or how many times to click the crow for Chase away the Crow. If a hotspot is obvious, use it; if a guide starts numbering unlabeled beams, it is guessing.

Horse, bird, and the other clock

Petting the Horse is a named goal, not a required chore — walk the yard around the 16:05 stamp if you care about the 49-list. The Demo secret remains follow the bird; this page will not steal the secrets route. 3:05 reuses Aldous’s clock after you already trust 7:00. Finish morning first.

Day 1 ends when the house sleeps. Morning two is a different brother: Day 2. If one lock is still stuck, stay on puzzles or tips instead of skipping the night.