Tangled Tales/Fairhaven Valley

The beginning


The game starts in your room. Before moving, [L]ook at the things around you, then [A]ct: open the chest and collect starting equipment, then open the drawer for the mirror (you can leave it there and come back later).

Leave the room and do what Jacob tells you: go upstairs. There, you can meet the Archmage Eldritch, who gives you your first quest. You should find some adamantite dust (the word "adamantite" has the same etymology of "adamantine" and "diamond"). His words are pure gold: use the commands [L]ook and [T]alk as much as you can (also remember to try out [A]ction). As in Realms of Darkness, you will be rewarded if you step on every single tile.

"Light" spell
The floor below the starting one is the library. [L]ook (read) any book in the room, and you should easily learn the Light spell, among other things.

"Heal" spell
Talk to Drek the Magician, and he will speak about a specific establishment in town: Moe's Magic Shop. Leave the tower and go there (to the north-west of the village). Pick up ([G]et) the items and [D]rop one in front of Drek. He will disappear, and you are free to search his room for the second spell.

"Fear" spell
If your strength and speed are low, but your charisma is high, then you might consider recruiting Sedrick. He asks 10 or more Gold Coins per day (depending on your charisma), but you have nothing. Visit the pub, enter the kitchen, and explore the basement for a pouch with 40 gold coins.

Talk to Mayheco the bartender. He relays you to Billy Bob, the bucket seller. The latter gives you clear directions to find Alvin out of town. This party member has light equipment, but he regularly gives you information about the various areas of Fairhaven Valley. With one free-of-charge companion, Sedrick becomes less useful.

Eldritch suggested to look for Riley's help. Visit the Sleeping Dragon Inn and talk with Mary. Pay her to access the rooms. Riley will join you only if you help Sir Isaac. The latter can be met in the pub, and he asks for some apples. Leave town, go north-west, release the shapeshifting Idunn from the cage, get the apple seeds and plant themin the nearby enchanted garden.

Come back later (explore the valley surface, grind enemies, or sleep in the tower), and get the apples. [D]rop the fruit in front of Sir Isaac, then go back to the inn with him and talk to Riley. Sir Isaac has limited usefulness, but Riley is a strong fighter and also he will give you precious information when the occasion arises.

There is a secret passage in the goblins cave (where you met Alvin). There, you can get a shovel. Climb the stairs and defeat a ghoul for some equipment. Use the shovel to dig ([A]ction) in the enchanted garden, and get some nightcrawlers. Drop them in the fountain, and the goldfish will give you the blue key. Use it to open the door of the haunted house, where you can learn the Fear spell.

You can definitely dismiss Sedrick now.

"Silence" spell
Right now, you have two open threads: Eldritch asked for some adamantine (diamond) dust, but Phineas Taylor is in trouble, too. First things first: Eldritch's quest!

Leave town and look for Bounty Bob, who is usually to the south-west. He can give you precise directions to a diamond mine. Once you locate and enter it, there is just one thing to do, for the time being: interact with the statue. Riley can give you additional information. The statue directs you to the next step in the plot: Fizzle's cabin.

At the cabin, you will meet the three bears who ran from Phineas Taylor's circus. Thanks to Alvin, you can get a free item from Billy Bob in Fairhaven Village. Once the bears are out of the way, enter the cabin and recruit Goldilocks. Examine all the furniture, and remember what you learn from the statue in the previous dungeon.

Eventually, you will obtain the Silence spell, as well as a strange wizard's hat. Remember to go back to Eldritch and ask him about your new spell.

Go back to the pub and check the table where Phineas Taylor was sitting: he left something for you.

"Spell blast" and "shield" spells
The next dungeon is concealed under a boulder on the west border of the valley. You need a sufficient number of companions to move it (almost as in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures). You might recruit Sedrick, if your manpower is insufficient.

Before entering the dungeon, purchase a unpetrify potion from Drek and get the hand mirror from your own room.

In the first room, you can use the potion on the statue.

The third room, to the north, holds some equipment upgrade. A room straight south has a bed. Get the equipment, [E]quip what you can, then rest: your companions will equip the rest; when you wake up, you can equip what your companions discarded.

Examine the bed room for an useful item. A room to the east has several cells, where you can find an important party member, an enemy in disguise, and an enemy that can only be defeated using the mirror.

Riley gives a hint about the magic password. Jennifer helps finding a secret passage: explore that area and learn two spells.

You can now leave the dungeon. In fact, you have to do some backtracking before you can progress here (also, ask Eldritch about your new spells).

The vial of adamantite dust
The shield spell allows you to pass unharmed through damage areas. In the slime cave, you can try and fight the repton chief for a magical dagger +2.

Back to the boulder dungeon, one puzzle in particular requires a long series of steps:
 * 1) get the pick from Bounty Bob and the matches from Cookie;
 * 2) recruit Sneezy;
 * 3) go back to the diamond mine and let Sneezy get the diamond crystals for you;
 * 4) go back to the tower basement and drop some diamonds in the pool to turn them into coal;
 * 5) go back to the boulder dungeon and light the brazier.

After that, you will need Jennifer to speak to Esmeralda in order to pass a portal, and then the silence spell to get past the last gate.

Xavier himself is almost invincible. Instead, avoid him and xamine all the special tiles in his quarters, until you find the object of your quest, as well as a shortcut