Episode 4

The Cat in the Mirror

Cover art from Episode 4

Light which radiates from the inside of a cat's skull visualizes the contents of the fourth episode. The fact that cats must be gathered is shown by the cat's head. The skull reflects the theme of the world beyond. Rays of light make the skull itself a kind of lantern, which is the second essential part of the episode. Overall, the picture expresses the motto "light into the dark between life and death": Chris paves the way from the turmoil of the imaginary world to return to life.

Intro: Descent into the Depths

Before Chris can ascend to the way out, the house on the hill, he first falls deep into the darkness. The first cat, however, will lead him out.

• Continue to the left behind the drip stones.
• A cat meows. Enter the crevice.

In the dark, Chris falls down a slope. He remains unharmed, but loses all inventory items except the butterfly glass, the empty glass, the water glass and any weapons.

Explore environment and swim to other side:

• Look at the cat sitting on the left on a rock, as well as the spilled slope.
• Walk down into the water and swim to the opposite shore.
• Still in the water you can look at the scaffolding in the distance.

Bring wooden pillar to the first shore:

• At the shore, look at the anchors in the wall as well as the scaffolding and the ladder located above it.
• Push the right pillar of the large scaffold, so that the bar rolls down. Caution: Walk aside so the falling bar won't hurt you!
• Click on the bar to slide it into the water.
• Click on the right end of the bar repeatedly to let it drift to the other side. Tip: The bar is in proper place when it hits the shore.
• Click on the cat which will jump on the bar.

Ship the cat to the other side:

• Go down to the shore and push the bar into the water by clicking on the left end.
• Swim in the water and look at the cat and its reflection.
• Move the bar with the cat to the other bank where the cat climbs up the scaffold.

Leave the cave:

• Click on the ladder to place it on the wall. Then climb up.
• Look at the cat, then the opposite side of the abyss.
• Follow the cat.

Marshes

• Look at the red-colored sky. Collect the mushroom ( Toxic Seduction) and climb down the slope to the swamp.
• Run backwards and pick up the blue lamp.

Marshes > Ruins

• Continue to the ruins. Collect the mushroom to the left of the entrance area ( Toxic Seduction). Look at the old lazy cat under the last archway. Collect the mushroom in the back ruins section. ( Toxic Seduction)
• Read the inscription on archways (only possible if a lamp is worn or placed in front of the arches), in the order: rear (above the cat), front (entrance), center. Wisdom from the past

The verses of Alanus

The inscription is the first line of the medieval poem "Omnis Mundi Creatura", also called "Sequence of the Rose", written in the twelfth century by the Cistercian monk Alanus of Insulis. It deals with the circle of life, transience and a humility founded on it. The first lines deal in particular with the (divine) connectedness of all living beings, which is also part of the story of Episode 4. The world and its creatures, Chris, Sam and all the characters connect to each other as they are either Chris' imaginations or messengers from real-world struggling for his salvation.

• Walk back to the main street and turn left to the portal. Collect a mushroom on the way. Toxic Seduction

Marshes > Portal of the Seven

• Look at the cat sitting on the fallen pedestal.
• Look in the mirror.
• Look at the sockets, especially the one directly to the right behind the mirror.
• Look at the blue lantern in the inventory. It shows a vertical symbol.
• Drag the lantern from the inventory to any pedestal. The mirror glistens blue and a vertical line appears on the board above the mirror frame.
• Walk through the mirror, which is now a portal.

Colors and shapes

Both the color of the lantern and the lines on the mirror's shield form a unique symbol. If lanterns are placed on a mirror, the portal glistens in the color of the light source(s). In order not to exclude color-blind players, the bar symbols additionally represent an alternative visual coding of the portal's target programming.

Marshes > Water sinks

• Walk down the jetty and collect a mushroom, before you turn left. Toxic Seduction
• Only if Barbara and Valerian are dead and you have no butterfly glass in the inventory, you can collect the fishbones here. Corpse Fisher

Marshes > Water sinks > Ghost Lights

• At the end of the wooden boards another mushroom can be found. ( Toxic Seduction)
• At the end of the trail, you will find yourself on a ramified path through the mud. Run to the kitten hiding in the upper right corner of the screen under a root and look at it.

Did you see?

The violet ghost cat appears in this cat's reflection, too.

• Click on the kitten to follow you. Guide the kitten to the exit by walking back to the jetty.
• When you run, the kitten stays behind and will run back to its hiding.
• Ghost lights rise along the way. The little blue flame announces a wisp of light. If it ascends while the kitten is nearby, it is frightened and will run back to the hideout.
• Cheat Tip: Ghost lights are usually formed on one side of a branch. When the flame is created, the path on the other branch leads to a clear path.
• When the kitten reaches the dock, it runs to the mirror. You can teleport back through the mirror and find the cat on a pillar or just continue to the unexplored bridge side. (You will return later to the Portal of the Seven anyways.)

Color of hope

All mirrors - except the first one - glitter green even without a lantern and teleport back to the Portal of the Seven any time. In this context green symbolizes the return to the homeland.

Marshes > Water sinks > River

• Now or later: pick up the red lantern and collect the mushroom. ( Toxic Seduction)
• Continue until you reach a turnoff. Walk to the right to get to the river. Talk to Gara and watch the happenings. Travel Memories 4
• If Gara's body is left behind and items in the inventory are available, Gara's butterfly can be picked and you can cut meat from the remains using the knife. In addition, a fungus can be found on the tree stump. ( Toxic Seduction)
• Then go back to the turnoff and walk to the right into the bushes, where you will find a big cat. Collect the mushroom to the right of the cat. ( Toxic Seduction) Depending on what is in the inventory, this cat can be lured to the portal of the seven with fish meat, fishbone or a butterfly.
• Run - with the red lantern in the inventory - back to the gate and teleport back to the Portal of the Seven (green splinters, lantern remains in the inventory).

Gara and the Fog Wanderer

The encounter with the wanderer can end in two ways:
• Gara disappears only when Barbara and Valerian have died in the previous episodes. If butterflies are in the inventory, one of them must be used by the fat cat. Otherwise, the bones can be found and used as bait for the fat cat.
• Gara dies if Barbara or Valerian (or both) survive. If the fishbones are in the inventory, they must be used for the fat cat. Otherwise it is possible to cut meat with the knife from the fishtail or lure the fat cat with a butterfly.

Marshes > Portal of the Seven

• Swap the blue lantern for the red one. You can simply drag the red lantern from the inventory to the blue one.
• Teleport through the red sparks to the Trinity Tree.

Marshes > Trinity Tree

• Collect the mushroom that grows right next to the portal. Toxic Seduction
• Look at the bottom of the swamp.
• Place the lantern on the pedestal and then walk to the right.
• At the root below the first branch is another mushroom. Toxic Seduction
• Continue to the right until the end of the root.
• Look at the twisted tree and use the branch fork to swing over the marsh.

Marshes > Trinity Tree > Flowers

• Collect the mushroom in the middle of the screen. Toxic Seduction
• Look at the cat and the huge flower.
• Continue to the back. Use the lever on the tree root, which unlocks the tree mechanics.
• Collect the mushroom at the end of the growing root. Toxic Seduction
• Go back and swing to the first root. Take the lantern and climb up the ladder.

Marshes > Trinity Tree > Observation platform

• Walk on the platform to the left to the lens design.
• Collect the mushroom on the tree trunk.
• Hang the lantern on the hook and press the lever to open the lenses.
• Run further backwards to the back of the tree and turn the red wheel. The beam of light opens the flower and the outflowing pollen lures the cat to the portal.
• Run down the ladder to the totem poles.

Marshes > Trinity Tree > Totem Poles

• Firs walk to backwards first and push the dead tree trunk.
• Collect the mushroom on the small branch at the bottom right. Toxic Seduction
• Climb up the stairs and rotate the platform twice so that the lantern lights towards the totems.
• Climb down the ladder and swing back to the flowers with the help of the tree. Walk over the tree in the water to the totem poles.
• Collect the mushroom. Toxic Seduction
• Look at the cat.
• Turn all six discs of totem poles so far that a click sound can be heard. When all the panes are set correctly, the piles throw the shadow of a wolf, scaring the cat.
• Hint: The slices only click when the lantern shines down to the piles!

Omnipresent hunter

The wolf is the symbol of the wanderer, who wears a wolf mask himself. The cat escapes from the wolf, whom she fears as overpowering, which alludes to the cats' duty of service to the wanderer.

• Run back, get the lantern off the platform and teleport to the Portal of the Seven.

Marshes > Portal of the Seven

• Place the blue lantern on a free base, so that the two lanterns blend into a violet light. Travel through the portal to the summit point on Sun Pass.

Did you see?

Violet is the Fog Wanderer's key color, and indeed the mix of red and blue light leads to the point closest to the Wanderer in this episode. In the house on the hill the earthly bodies of Chris and Sam remain. It is the origin and destination of the journey.

Marshes > Sun Pass > Summit

• Look at the house in the distance. Travel Memories 4

Did you see?

The house is surrounded by a purple aura suggesting the presence of the Wanderer. A single, brightly lit window is visible: the room in which Chris's body lies.

• Collect the mushroom in the foreground and run down the slope. Toxic Seduction
• Another mushroom can be found at the bottom of the slope. Toxic Seduction

Marshes > Sun Pass > Sea of Grass

• Watch the sunset and the shady grass.

Evening Mood

The sunset symbolizes the end of the day, but also the end of the journey in the fantasy world and the return to a new day, a new life.

• Continue to the left and exit the meadow downwards. Here you can find both a mushroom ( Toxic Seduction) and the green lantern.
• Walk back to the meadow and find the cat, which shines green in the light of the lantern. Click on it to shy it out of the tall grass.
• Tip: Two paths lead through the grass: behind and in front. The cat is on the front way.
• Exit to the left and go to the portal.

Marshes > Sun Pass > Portal

• Collect the mushroom to the left of the mirror ( Toxic Seduction) and then teleport back to the Portal of the Seven.

Marshes > Portal of the Seven

There are now six cats around the mirror and meowing. One pedestal is still free.

• Walk to the old cat in the ruins and take the red lantern with you.

Marshes > Ruins

• Look at the cat. It listens to the cries of others, but is too blind to see the way.
• Place the red lantern on the pedestal to the left of the cat.
• Walk back and carry the green lantern to the pedestal in the middle of the ruins.
• Finally, get the blue lantern and place it on the pedestal below the first arch at the entrance to the ruins.
• Walk to the cat and click on it.
• If these lanterns are placed in this order, so that the cat passes first red, then green, then blue, you will receive the achievement Triclops.
• Walk back to the Portal of the Seven.

Marshes > Portal of the Seven

• Seven cats are now sitting around the mirror, which has opened another portal. It glows green and purple.
• Look at each of the seven cats to receive Soul bound.
• Enter the portal.

Play of colors

Violet is the color of the Wanderer, green stands for Home in this episode. The green-violet glittering end portal expresses where it leads to: The home of the Wanderer (and Chris) which is the house on the hill.

The meaning of the cats

The cat has always been considered a mythological crosser between this world and afterlife. Cats appear in Episode 4 as a spiritual leader without clearly taking sides. Although the cats help Chris to finally find home, they also serve the Wanderer. When he tries to reach and catch Chris' soul, cats help to make the Wanderer reach his destination. In the real world, Sam has exactly one cat whose seven lives appear as seven cats in the spirit world. These portray different phases of life, such as Youth and age or even characteristics and emotions like playfulness or fear. The purple mirror image, which is identical for all cats, shows the one real cat that presents itself as a ghost cat through the reverse worldview. Whether a cat has seven or nine lives differs between mythologies. As the sum of three that symbolizes the divine and four that symbolizes the worldly, the number 7 in numerology stands for the perfect.

Color Table for Laterns

Achievements

Travel Memories 4

Find out where your story leads you.

• Talk to Gara in the swamp.
• Look at the house on the hill.

Wisdom of the past

Read the verses of Alanus.

• Enter the ruins at the marsh entrance with a lantern in your hand. (Or a lantern each on the pedestal in front of each archway.)
• Read the verses on the archways in the correct order (back, front, center).

Corpse Fischer

Collect the fishbones.

• Play Episode 2 so that Barbara dies. Do not collect your butterfly.
• Play Episode 3 so that Valerian dies. Do not collect his butterfly.
• Walk in the swamp from the water portal (blue lantern) along the bridge and then to the left towards the kitten puzzle. The bones swim under the dock.

• ---

Triclops

Guide the seventh cat to red, green and blue.

• When there are six cats at the gate, place the three lanterns in the ruins as follows: Red nearby the cat, Green in the center, Blue at the ruin entrance. Then click on the seventh cat to run to the portal.

Soul bound

Look into the eyes of 7 cats.

• Look at each cat when all seven cats sit at the gate.

Toxic Seduction

Pop 20 mushrooms.

• Find all 20 mushrooms hidden in the four swamp areas.
• Note: Mushrooms are not indicated by Whispering Voices hint system, they must be found directly.

Episode success: Broken Shell

Complete Episode 4.

Next

• Episode 5
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