[Aethelron]

I just got this game and already I've hit a brick wall. I need to get the key from the gargoyle to enter the castle. I've collected all the items from the available rooms, but can get no further. Having checked online for walkthroughs, I'm worried my game might have a bug (spoiler alert for next two pars, so if you've just started the game, avert your peepers).

From the walkthroughs I've read, I know I need to trade [raven] Edgar the newspaper for the clothes pin. Whenever I try to do this, however, Froderick says, "Whoa! Mona. Don't be giving stuff away for free..." This seems like a logical thing to do - he wants the newspaper; I want the clothes pin - but my game won't let the trade happen.

Second walkthrough hint that doesn't seem to work on my version: after oiling the first hinge on the trapdoor downstairs, you need to run the fruit and nuts from Froderick's cage through the grinder. The oil is saved into the empty bottle and can be used to lube the final hinge, allowing access to the basement room. Every walkthrough I've been to says combine the fruit and nuts with the grinder to make more oil (as a sidenote, I think this puzzle is ridiculous). When I try this, however, Mona says, "That doesn't need fruit and nut snack."

So no oil for me, and no trip to the spooky basement - very frustrating!

Can anyone out there enlighten me as to what I've missed?

[Hansi]

You'll need to open the pit before Edgar accepts the newspaper, otherwise you don't know you need the pin. For the fruits and nuts use the crushing device on the chair next to the headless man not the grinder.