Servant of the Lake Aldous Morning Routine Checklist

Aldous Vanderboom’s morning is a sequence of gates, not a sandbox. Miss blood cleanup, forget the second slipper, or serve porridge before berries and he stalls—classic Rusty Lake structure dressed as servant work. This interactive morning routine checklist lets you tick each confirmed Demo/Lite step in your browser while you play. Progress saves locally under the key sotl-routine until you hit Reset checklist.

How to use this checklist

1. Open this page on a second screen, tablet browser, or phone beside the game.
2. Tick an item only after the matching in-game action succeeds—Aldous reacts, an animation completes, or inventory updates.
3. Watch the Progress bar fill; seven items cover the full public morning arc after the 7:00 note.
4. Reset when starting a new Demo run so old ticks do not mislead speed attempts.

The checklist appears below the first heading when the page generates. It does not sync with Steam achievements or mobile cloud saves—purely a player aid.

Before the checklist: prep gates

Several tasks happen before the 7:00 wake sequence but affect whether morning ticks succeed. Complete these in the game first; the checklist intentionally starts at curtains/wake because that is when Aldous’s gate chain locks in:

• Sign the contract at the estate entrance.
• Open the portrait safe with code 235 (watch shakes clue).
• Cook porridge base ingredients: wood, matches, pot, milk, oats, sugar.

If porridge is not ready, the Serve porridge with berries line will not complete even if you tick it early. Follow the Demo walkthrough for pre-morning clicks.

Checklist item breakdown

Open curtains / wake Aldous at 7:00

Read the note in Aldous’s room demanding a 7:00 wake. Set the alarm, open curtains, and initiate the wake interaction. Until this fires, slippers and shave steps fail silently.

Place both slippers (cold feet)

Aldous complains about cold feet. Both slippers must be placed—not one. If he keeps whining, search the room for the missing shoe before advancing.

Shave every hair and clean blood

The shaving puzzle requires removing every hair, including the earlobe segment. Blood appears on the floor or basin; clean it before Aldous accepts food. Skipping cleanup is the most common softlock.

Serve porridge with berries; squash insect

Base porridge alone fails the gate. Complete the bird key chain (earlobe feed, berries, insect berry holes) before serving. Squash the insect when the puzzle demands it—details in the Demo walkthrough.

Complete six exercise moves matching soldier

Mirror the toy soldier poses in order—six moves total. Watch the toy between clicks; Rusty Lake rarely randomizes this pattern in the Demo.

Dress shirt, then vest, then bow

Layer shirt, vest, and bow in that order. Wrong layering leaves Aldous undressed for the finale.

Check window for guest carriage

After all gates clear, inspect the window for the arriving guest carriage—the Demo’s closing beat.

Pair with walkthrough pages

• Demo full walkthrough — Complete route including portrait and kitchen prep.
• Walkthrough hub — Links to all step-by-step guides.
• Demo item tracker — Inventory dependencies for berries and shave items.

Tips for second runs

Speed players reset the checklist and game together, then race the Progress bar. Streamers can leave the tool visible for chat verification. Mobile Lite users should disable aggressive tab unloading so localStorage keeps ticks between short breaks.

Limits of this tool

The checklist covers Demo/Lite morning content only. The premium August 13, 2026 release may add weekend days, sibling tasks, or night chapters—this list will expand after verified launch play, not before.

For story context while you tick boxes, read the 1839 timeline and Vanderboom family pages.