Stage 3

The guardian of the forest’s memory

It was Ombra, Decimus’ faithful friend, who scouted him out.
He barked softly, drawing the boy’’s attention towards a narrow uphill path. There, shrouded in silence, stood a tree with human features. Its trunk bore a face sculpted by time, branches with a few yellowing leaves rose to the sky and gnarled roots sank into the earth: it was the Guardian of the Memory of the Wood.

The wicked Witch froze my heart,
halted my breath and tore life apart.
Leaves that once danced in the breeze,
now lie frozen in time with ease.
Look closely, child, each leaf is rare:
match it to the tree where it belongs with care!
Only with patience, silence, and grace
will you bring life back to this place.

Complete the puzzle by matching each leaf to its tree: the number corresponding to the hornbeam leaf will be the third clue! Write it down or keep it in mind, you will need it together with the others to solve the mystery.
Continue now with stage No. 4! 

What to observe

Among the shrubs and trees typical of Cymatic Hill are the hornbeam, hazel and field maple. You can easily distinguish them: the hornbeam, with its slender carriage and straight trunk, has oval, serrated leaves and fruits similar to small winged bracts. The hazel, which is more bushy and branched from the base, is easy to recognise due to its rounded, toothed leaves and nuts wrapped in a fringed wrapper. The field maple has a neat, rounded crown, shallow five-lobed leaves and pair-winged fruits called samare.

If you pay attention, you may observe a few wall lizards warming themselves in the sun, the grass snake that glides swiftly through the grass or the slow worm, a long, legless, snake-like lizard, all of which are harmless to humans.