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Guide · Story & Quests

Songs of Glimmerwick Main Story Walkthrough: Prologue to Harp of Six

Follow the supported main-story route from your arrival at Etchery through Strange Pamphlets, Fern’s Confrontation, The Secret Key and Harp of Six. The separate Winter Practical steps explain what you need to graduate; optional quest lines are outside this walkthrough.

Reach Etchery and finish the opening lessons

The written prologue walkthrough starts by heading left to the talking dragon, then continuing left to the uphill path and speaking with Headmistress Abigailia. Take her letter south to Bristlecone, the flute maker. Follow the cleared path to his shop, then go right into Wisk and collect the map at the gate. Gather a robe, cauldron, Potion Starter Set and Skill Trinket from the town shops; return to Bristlecone to receive the flute. Enter Etchery, meet Heather in the dorm, then follow Dean Clary’s letter and complete her garden introduction. Check the calendar for classes and dated events as you continue.

Follow the main-story quest order

The quest guide links the main route as Strange Pamphlets → Fern’s Confrontation → The Secret Key → Harp of Six. Several steps wait for a particular date or another quest, so use the journal and calendar to tell whether you are waiting on a trigger. This page covers that main route and the graduation prerequisite; it is not a walkthrough of every side quest. For Fern’s tea errand and the later confrontation details, see the Fern quest guide.

Spring 9: investigate Strange Pamphlets

On the 9th of Spring, read Clover’s pamphlet in the dorm and follow Heather to the Headmistress’s office. After that meeting, finish Fern’s conversation in Dean Hall; the storage closet off Grey Hall opens after it. The caretaker identifies the printing press as cursed. You need Song of Silence from The Cursed Mill: return to the press, play the song nearby and pick up the Pamphlet Cacophony Shard. Give the shard to either Fern or the Headmistress; the written quest guide says either hand-in starts Fern’s Confrontation. Compare the reported payouts in the Headmistress-or-Fern choice guide, or read the Fern quest guide for the follow-up. The Strange Pamphlets guide lists Spring 9 as the only known start, so the available sources do not establish an alternate trigger if the scene was missed.

Follow Fern to the Green Sprites Headquarters

If you gave the shard to the Headmistress, speak with Fern in Dean Hall to start her quest; if you gave it to Fern, the guide says she starts it at once. Then meet Fern in the Great Hall and follow her to the Green Sprites Headquarters near the Nocturne Forest. Talk through the scene with Zinnia to finish Fern’s Confrontation. The written walkthrough says the tracing potion identifies the last person to cast a spell on the press; Zinnia explains that she tried to stop the Cacophony, and the pamphlet author remains unknown. Completing this quest also makes Fern available as a Harp of Six ally in the guide’s recruitment table.

Fall to Winter: open The Secret Key route

From the 8th of Fall, after Fern’s Confrontation, watch for Clover’s dorm scene about the squeaky floorboard. On an eligible morning, agree to help and use your axe; take the Floorboard Key from beneath it. The guide says the scene skips some calendar-event and detention days and retries, so check your journal and calendar if it does not trigger immediately. Keep the key until the History Final on the 4th of Winter. After class, use it on the strange paintings in the history classroom and enter the hidden room. Talk to Nettleine’s toad; if you do not know Frog Tongue, the guide says he supplies it for the conversation. Ask about the room and the odd friend, then ask about Nettleine or the Silencer until Clover returns. Take the Music Box Disc Fragment, fit it into the broken music box and learn Tangleknot Remover. Agree to go through the wall, then play Tangleknot Remover at the Tangleknot wall in the Nocturne Forest. The guide identifies the forest but does not provide exact coordinates for the wall.

Recruit allies, recover the harp and finish the story

At the forest centre, ask Nettleine both “Did you burn the forest?” and “Are you a Silencer?” to start Harp of Six. Ask characters about the Harp of Six topic and watch the 0/6 counter. The guide lists Clover, Codrin, Zale, Celia, Azat, Amka and Arthur as always willing; Fern becomes eligible after her confrontation. It reports that only the first six recruits count and the topic disappears at six, so decide whom you want before filling the last slot. After the meeting, follow Zinnia and speak with her where she stops. Her harp-recovery plan is set for a free calendar day at least two days later; when she wakes you that night, follow her through the Music Hall into the noise plane and pick up the harp. With the harp and six allies, go to the Green Sprites Headquarters on a day with no calendar event. Tell the Green Sprite “I’ve gathered my allies,” answer yes when asked if you are ready, and follow the group through the portal. At the forest centre, play the harp’s song. If you miss the required score, try again; the guide says the game offers a “Continue Playing?” skip from the third failed attempt. After the scene moves to the Northern Grounds and the quest completes, answer yes to “Leave?”—the walkthrough identifies that choice as the main-story completion signal.

Complete Winter Practical if you want graduation

Harp of Six finishes the main story, but graduation also requires Winter Practical. On the 2nd of Winter, attend the Music Hall exam and the library study session. Read Chrys’s Leafkin Book to learn Song of Waking and the Leafkin Tincture recipe: 1 Bone Bundle, 2 Frostleaf and 1 Ruby Bells. Brew a tincture, play Song of Waking beside Dendron south of Etchery and give it to him. Ask about the spores, agree to help with Elma’s Root Day, then collect the other two gift parts from Chrisanthi in the Ochre Woods and Bristlecone at his house. Put all three parts in Elma’s chest in the Nocturne Forest and play Song of Waking. Report back to Dendron; the next morning’s results letter confirms the pass. Once the school year has ended, Clary’s internship letter arrives. If Winter Practical and Harp of Six are both complete, speak with Dean Clary to graduate. The calendar guide says these requirements have no deadline and that graduation rolls the credits, so finish any other activities you still want before accepting.

Version 1.09 fixes two reported Fern-story conflicts

The official Steam news feed listed Version 1.09 as its newest patch when checked on 30 October 2026. Its 28 October UTC notice says it fixed a conflict between Fern’s Confrontation and Seaflower Festival, and fixed Zinnia going missing for Harp of Six when Fern’s Confrontation is completed after the heist. These are specific patch-note claims, not a replay of this route or proof that every older save automatically recovers.

A quest dialogue scene at Rattled Tooth, with a glowing house surrounded by characters.
Official Steam store image used for context; illustrative only, not gameplay evidence.

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