Resident Evil 4/Chapter 4-1

Trap
You must now merge Leon's inventory with the items that Ashley picked up. If space is tight, then combine the healing items as much as possible. You can also combine two partial boxes of ammo into one if the total is small enough. When you're done with this Salazar calls again, but nothing very important is said.

The natural impulse at this point is to continue north to collect the last missing piece of the relief from the audience hall in Chapter 3-1. We've got two of the pieces now, the Goat Ornament found in the gallery in Chapter 3-2, and the Serpent Ornament found in the storage room in chapter 3-4. But there are some some optional paths we skipped before because they weren't open, and some the areas that were cleared earlier now have enemies in them again.

So we're going to backtrack for a while and you can skip the next couple of sections. Alternatively, you can wait until you reach the audience hall again and then follow the same route again to cover the optional areas from a different direction.

Assuming that you're doing the optional areas, go west back though the armory, and into the refectory.

Refectory (optional)
More zealots have appeared here and if you didn’t fight the garrador earlier he will be back for you to have another chance at him. Immediately go left as you enter and go to the area behind the counter; it a long passage where you should be able take on the zealots even though you're outnumbered. There may be more monks in the dining area, so take them out as well; use the doorway as a choke point if they start to surround you.

Follow the hallway south and get two remaining jars at the end. Then go through the door to another area.

Fountain (optional)
You enter a storeroom. Before moving, equip your rifle and carefully scan the ceiling ahead for one of the Novistadors, the invisible insects from the sewer. Snipe it before it can cause any trouble, then step forward a bit and scan the ceiling around the corner to the right for another one. When you're satisfied that the room is bug-free, explore for items. (You can avoid dealing with the insects by getting these items in part 3. You would then go through the hedge maze to avoid coming through this room now.)
 * 5000 PTAS from a cabinet on the left as you enter
 * A pot on a cabinet to the right of this
 * Two boxes on shelves in the next corner
 * A Green Herb on the table
 * Two barrels on the southwest corner
 * Two pots and a box on the north wall, the right pot has a snake.

Break the lock on the door and go through. You're now at the end of the long hallway you came down just after leaving the gallery, having come through the door that was locked before.

Go west to the fountain as before, but this time stop at the window to the north noted earlier. Piggyback Ashley here to have her go through the window above and unlock the door. Go in to discover four treasure chests, our main reason for this excursion.
 * 5000 PTAS
 * Red Herb
 * Broken Butterfly
 * Elegant Perfume Bottle

The Broken Butterfly was for sale from the Merchant since entering the castle, but it wasn't worth buying because we're getting it now for free. It uses magnum ammo, which is rare so be very stingy with it. Basically only break out the magnum for tough bosses where you'll be very grateful for the extra firepower.

Head back to the area where you reunited with Ashley and go north to the next area.

Trolley one
You enter a room with a lava pit on the far side. There is a passage to the left which leads to a trolley, but we don't need to worry about it for the moment. Get the two pots here though and check the cabinet on the right for Handgun Ammo. It's probably a good idea to save at the typewriter here. Get on the contraption at the edge of the lava to be carried across; Ashley will remain safe here for the moment. You are taken to the opposite ledge; go through the door to a new area.

Lava lake
You enter a large room where the floor is pool of lava. You're on a ledge and must cross a walkway to the far side.

Step out onto the ledge a bit and you will see a zealot take control of a machine shaped like a dragon. This periodically spews flame out of its mouth onto the path in front of it. Also the zealot can slide the dragon to get different sections of the path. If you can, snipe the zealot while he's sliding the dragon toward you; you only have a clear shot from the side. If you miss the first time then either go back to the start and wait for him to return to his starting position, or wait for a pause in the flame and rush past him to try from the other side. Once you kill the zealot the dragon will fall apart and a treasure chest will appear as a reward.

Continue on the path and collect 5000 PTAS from the treasure chest. Up next is a rotating platform and you must wait for the right moment to step through the gap in the fence. There are zealots waiting between two pillars on the next section of the path. Either snipe them from the platform or confront them where they are because another dragon is covering the path before and after the pillars. One of the pillars protects you from the flame as long as you're behind it. To defeat this dragon, wait for a pause in the fire and step past the pillars. The zealot will try to follow you, so quickly double back and shoot from the other side before he can react. If you go too far forward then a third dragon will appear and zealots start dropping down between the pillars, so try to take out the second dragon before that happens. Open the treasure chest that has appeared as a reward for the second dragon, you get the second Illiminados Pendant.

Go forward a bit and trigger the next dragon, then go back between the pillars to take care of the zealots that appear; better to do it now than have them sneak up on you.

For the third dragon you need to use the same kind of fake out maneuver as with the second one. There are two walls you can safely wait behind. Pop out on either side during a lull in the flames and wait for the zealot to aim at you. Then dash to the opposite side and snipe him before he can turn again.

When the third dragon is defeated a bridge is raised so you can reach a chest. This contains the Lion Ornament. The area is now clear so you just have to get back and rejoin Ashley.

Trolley one (cont.)
We now have all the parts of the relief so it's tome to go back to the audience hall and use them. We're nearly done with this section of the castle, so if there were items you've been putting off collecting because of space issues, e.g. the Rocket Launcher, you should collect them now.

Fortunately there is a quick way to get back to the audience hall, namely the trolley mentioned earlier. Get in and it takes you to a room next to where you want to go.

Get two pots at the trolley's destination, then unlock the door (no key required) and go through to the audience hall.

Audience hall
Place the three ornaments into the relief; the wall sinks into the ground revealing the passage beyond. But don't go into the next area too quickly. There is a stairway on the right that leads to a balcony; on the landing get a pot and check Saddler's portrait to get 5000 PTAS. Now go back and continue to the next area.

Trolley two
This is just another trolley, but this time it takes you to a whole new area of the castle. Hop the fence on each side to get two pots. Board the trolley and when it reaches its destination check the platform for two more pots. Also check the painting on the left (not Saddler this time) for 5000 PTAS. Go through the door to the next area.

Royal suite
This is the long since abandoned quarters of the King and Queen. To the left is a door with a royal seal, but we'll come back to that. Go forward and get the Flash Grenade from the chair, then continue to a long hallway with open windows on the right. Shoot the sparkling objects on the statues to the left to get two Spinels, a Velvet Blue, and the second Purple Gem; you should now be able to complete the second Elegant Mask.

Check the statues of the King and Queen at the end of the hall to learn that they are missing drinking vessels of some kind, so finding them is going be the goal for the rest of the chapter.

Go back and explore the passage to the east. Get a Spinel from a cabinet and Yellow Herb from the table. Also pick up "Sample Retrieved"; it's by Salazar and it mentions his plans to recapture Ashley and eliminate you. There is a brown door at the end of the passage but we'll return to it. Meanwhile, go back and enter the door next to the entrance. You find the Merchant, a new shooting range and a typewriter where you should probably save. Find Handgun Ammo in the cabinet and a pot on the table.

At this point he have two new areas to explore and they can be done in either order. We'll start with the one one to the west, so go back to the main hallway and go through the door with the royal seal.

Queen’s chamber
You enter a room with a tiled floor and various shields and insignias on the walls. Check the door on the right for a clue; what you need to do is hold down the four colored plates in the corners of the room. First move the two statues in the middle of the room onto two of the plates, then have Ashley stand on one of the remaining plates while you stand on the last. This opens the door.

There is a short cutscene where Salazar starts the ceiling, covered with spikes of course, to lower down on top of you. Stop it by shooting the four red lights in the ceiling; you should have plenty of time if your aim is good enough to have survived so far. There is some Handgun Ammo on the floor if you’re out. Don’t bother trying to escape through the door Salazar went through since it closes when you reach it. In this case the door opens again when you stop the ceiling.

Go on though the hallway to the next room. Bars drop down separating you and Ashley and two monks driving a heavy machine with rotating blades in front start driving toward her. Snipe them quickly to open the doorway so Ashley can escape.

You're now in a storage room. Search to find Handgun Ammo, three barrels and two boxes. Get the Elegant Chessboard from a cabinet. Finally, open the treasure chest to get the goal for this area, the Queen’s Grail. Break the lock to get back to the first room and return to the previous area.

You may want to save again at this point. Continue east to the brown door and go through.

King's chamber
Head down the hallway and get the Handgun Ammo from the statue of the sleeping lion. You need to follow the passage to the left but there are suits of armor here like the ones Ashley had to deal with. Leave Ashley at the corner and press the buttons on the screen to avoid being hit while you get to the other end.

Call Ashley but have her wait in the hall while you go into the next room. Check the walls to get Shotgun Shells and a Green Herb, then get the King’s Grail from the chair in the middle of the room. This triggers a battle with walking suits of armor like the ones Ashley met. There's no escape this time though since the door closes, so you need to fight them.

Fortunately they move slowly and their attacks are easy to dodge, though if they do get you it will hurt a lot. The armor is tough so the idea is to shoot at their heads until the parasite controlling them comes out. If you have a Flash Grenade then do this two or three times and use the grenade to instantly kill the parasites. Otherwise keep blasting the parasite until it's gone. Another wave appears when you're done with the first one, but then the door opens and you can get out again.

Return to the previous area.

Royal suite (cont.)
You may want to save again, then go to the north hallway. This time there are zealots standing guard at the end, so have Ashley wait at the start and move forward until they notice you and attack. Back up to the doorway and use it as a choke point. An Incendiary Grenade or two will be a big help here.

Place the two grails in the corresponding statues to open the door and go through.