The Good Life Guide: “Mnemosyne Has Forsaken Me” Side Quest

In The Good Life, Rita Barrett has a special request for you. This guide will show you what you need to do to solve Rita's Mnemosyne Has Forsaken Me side quest. She can't remember where she got inspiration for one of her poems, and she needs your help.

The Good Life Guide Rita Barrett's Mnemosyne Has Forsaken Me Side Quest Cover

The Good Life has many quests. The main quests follows the game’s main story. Like any RPG though, there are also side quests, and a lot of them. You can pick up side quests from The Morning Bell, the newspaper Naomi Haywood works for, from the PC. You can also get requests from the residents of Rainy Woods. Pretty much all the residents offer side quests, with the tasks ranging. You’ll usually have to speak to someone, gather some items, or take photos. An example of one side quest is from Rita Barrett, called “Mnemosyne Has Forsaken Me”.

She’s a poet who can usually be found behind the desk at the town hall. She’s recently written a poem, but she can’t remember what inspired her to write it and where she was at the time. She wants you to take a photo of the subject that inspired her, using the poem as a clue. It’s a tricky poem to decipher, but it’s simple once you know. If you’re as stuck as Rita, this guide will help you solve Rita’s poem.

If you need help with other parts of The Good Life, check out these other guides:

For those not already onboard, you can purchase The Good Life on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

HOW TO START THE Mnemosyne Has Forsaken Me SIDE QUEST

This task is available at the start of the game. To start the “Mnemosyne Has Forsaken Me” side quest, you must first find Rita Barrett. You can find her in Rainy Woods. Rita is wearing a green hat and a green-and-red outfit, and she has long ginger hair. You’ll usually find her behind the desk at the town hall. When you approach her, you’ll notice a green exclamation mark next to her name and portrait. This means she has a task for you.

Rita Barrett can be found working at the desk at the town hall in Rainy Woods.

Rita Barrett can be found working at the desk at the town hall in Rainy Woods.

Rita will tell you about her poem and how she can’t remember where she was or what inspired her. She wants you to take a photo of the subject that inspired her. Once you’ve finished speaking to Rita, when prompted, accept the quest right away, or you can leave it later. If you want to complete the side quest though, don’t forget to activate it from the quest menu.

Rita will recite the poem to you, to give you a clue as to what you’re looking for. You can see a part of the poem when you look up the side quest in the quest menu, but not the full poem. The full poem goes as follows:

A steel-winged bird, resisting the wind

Searching for a star in solitude

Wavering on two lonely wings

With Rita’s poem, you now have to go and photograph what it was that inspired her.

The inspiration to Rita's poem is somewhere in Rainy Woods.

The inspiration to Rita’s poem is somewhere in Rainy Woods.

HOW TO SOLVE RITA’S POEM AND WHAT YOU NEED TO PHOTOGRAPH

Initially, this task may seem a bit daunting. You’ve got to decipher Rita’s poem and photograph the right subject, then show it to her to make sure you’ve got it right. The only clues you have is Rita’s poem, and she mentions that she was in Rainy Woods when she wrote the poem. Therefore, whatever you’re looking for is in Rainy Woods. However, it’s not that straightforward. Rainy Woods isn’t enormous, but there are a lot of things in the town the poem could be referring to. It’s a tricky one that’s easy to be stumped by.

The first thing you need to do is open up the world map. Make sure that Rita’s side quest “Mnemosyne Has Forsaken Me” is active. Take a look at Rainy Woods, in the middle of the map. You should see all the buildings and businesses and facilities marked. If you hover the cursor over the buildings, you’ll see its name. Look for a place named “Happy Scones”. It’s on the corner, near Mushroom & Evans and the post office. It might be hard to see, but if you look very closely, you’ll see a green circle fading in and out over Happy Scones. The green is associated with side quests, and the highlighted area means somewhere you need to investigate for that quest. In this case, the green circle is telling you to head over to Happy Scones.

To complete this quest, you need to head to Happy Scones in Rainy Woods.

To complete this quest, you need to head to Happy Scones in Rainy Woods.

Once there, it’s not obvious yet what you’re looking for, but it’s something to do with this place. The game has helped you by pointing out Happy Scones, but you now need to find exactly what it was that inspired her and take a photo of it – but what are you looking for?

Look up at the roof of Happy Scones. You should see a weathervane with a cockerel. This is what inspired Rita!

How is the weathervane linked to the poem? Let’s go over it again. “A steel-winged bird…” that’s the cockerel. “Resisting the wind…” referring to the weathervane. “Wavering on two lonely wings”, meaning the roof it’s sitting on. It’s simple once you work it out – or is it? 

You’ve found the weathervane, but it’s not that simple. Let’s look at the second line of the poem. “Searching for a star in solitude…” When do stars appear? At night, of course! Not only do you have to photograph the weathervane, but you must take the photo at night. Don’t worry whether it’s a clear night or it’s overcast or even raining. This won’t affect the photo. You just need the photo to be taken at night, rain or shine. Make sure that when you photograph the weathervane, you can see its name when the camera is focused on it.

Happy Scones is located near Mushroom & Evans and the post office.

Happy Scones is located near Mushroom & Evans and the post office.

Once you’ve got the photo of the weathervane at night, return to Rita. If the quest is active, her location should be marked on the map. If it’s greyed out, she’s not currently available. Go and speak to her. Make sure the quest is active before you speak to Rita. When you talk to her, she’ll ask you for the photo of what inspired her. Give her the photo of the weathervane at night. She’ll accept it and give you £30 for your troubles.

If Rita rejects the photo, you may have to take another photo. If you do have to retake it, make sure that the word “Weathervane” appears in the frame when you point at the weathervane. If taken correctly, the word “Weathervane” will also be tagged with the photo when you view it. Also, make sure it is definitely nighttime. You can see that it’s day or night by checking in the top right corner of the screen. The weather has no impact on the photo or this quest.

To get the photo right, it must be nighttime, with the weathervane in focus.

To get the photo right, it must be nighttime, with the weathervane in focus.

That completes Rita’s side quest “Mnemosyne Has Forsaken Me”!

2 Comments

  1. Avatar photo

    Can anyone help me with the ‘A surprise for Martha’ quest. Everytime I catch her around noon she is always running. One time I waited til 10 am and then she just ended up by the lake painting?!

    Reply
  2. Avatar photo

    I was stuck on this side quest and this really helped me. I hope you make more side quest guides because I am stuck on so many

    Reply

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