After the introduction, Sophia tells you that your parents are late arriving, and you must head downstairs and greet the guests yourself. Head down the stairs. A short cutscene will begin, and Haliphen will tell you more about what is happening. When you regain character control, head directly to the south-west and pick up the Sheet of Music (you will need this for an upcoming puzzle). If you want to see an optional conversation about recent events, head south-west to the guards at the entrance to the hall. Finally, return to where you entered from and talk to Sophia, who tells you Prince Ardus of Litania wants to speak with you privately. Follow her north-west to the armory. Here you will find out that Morning and Prince Ardus plan to marry, and have chosen this day to make the news public. Just then a messenger arrives. Head south-west to the gateway and go outside.
It turns out the messenger is the possessed corpse of Lord Oderan, sent to announce the Ashidians have come for the mana wellspring hidden beneath the castle. After the discussion is over, follow Haliphen back inside the castle. He now tells you to arm yourself. If you want more Potions of Life, look in the rooms facing onto the pool. If you gathered the ones mentioned earlier you should now have six. When you are ready to proceed, go fetch the blue armor you saw earlier. Sophia will then tell you there is someone locked into a closet. Head directly down south-east and click on the door of the bottommost room. Ardus has betrayed you, and has locked himself in. Head directly up and talk to the Royal Engineer to get the Storage Closet Key.
Use the key on the lock by opening your inventory (push or click the "I" circle on the HUD) and click on the key, then click on the door to use it. Head on in and click on Ardus to kill him. There are two Potions of Life in here with him (if you didn't already take them), so grab them if you wish. Unfortunately, before you got the door open Ardus managed to finish casting an infiltration spell which will teleport the Ashidians right into the castle. Head back to the gate and talk to Haliphen. After this Ashidians will appear everywhere. Fight or flee, whichever you choose; eventually they will kill Haliphen, and he will give you some final advice before departing.
You will wake up in your bedroom. When you regain control, go into the storage room here and grab the Glass Jar (you will need the Jar to solve an upcoming puzzle), then head to the Royal Engineer's workshop and get the Tainted King's study key from him. Be sure to grab the Shovel while you are here; this is needed for a puzzle later in the game, and picking it up now will save time. Go to the mural and use the key on the door. There are some potions here if you want them. When you are ready, head on into the study.
Tainted King's study[edit]
In the study, you will find some useful items. Pick up Leowyn Lore, Volume 12 from the mess on the floor, and the Crystal Lantern up against the wall.
The potion caches here work like vending machines. They are free to use and have an infinite supply of potions. You will encounter more of these during your quest, so you don't have to worry about conserving potions when you're near a cache. Before heading onwards, fill up on potions. Also take note of the strange patterns on the floor. You will need these later on, so be sure to write them down in the order they appear here. When you are ready, head to the right.
Mana Well[edit]
Here at last is the mana well spoken about by Haliphen. A large part of your quest will involve collecting magic artifacts, and throwing them into the well to cleanse it of the taint. You will need to throw in a certain number of artifacts before you can finish the game. You will find various random magic items scattered around this area, so be sure to collect and equip them (note that these are not artifacts and cannot be thrown in the mana well). Next, head to the northern corner of this area and use the Glass Jar on the spider web to collect a big black spider.
From here you have two options: you can go back to Castle Iridine and explore the upper floors, or you can venture into the dark and dangerous land ahead. The enemies in the castle are easier to defeat, so you will probably want to start there. You will eventually have to explore both areas to complete the game. You can move freely between the different areas of the world, so it doesn't matter where you decide to go first.