How to Open the Cult Stash in Alan Wake 2 Return 1

Hiking through the forests around Cauldron Lake, investigating a murder, and desperately trying to stay dry, who doesn’t want to take a few minutes out of their day to raid a cultist’s stash of treasures? Here’s how to open the Cult Stash in Return 1 of Alan Wake 2.

How to Get Into the First Cult Stash in Alan Wake 2

Towards the end of Return 1, which is just what Alan Wake 2 likes to call its chapters, Agents Anderson and Casey will make it to the corpse of the dead man they’ve been investigating. Stopping in the back yard of the General Story, with the body lying in front of you, look to the right to see a small cabin hidden amongst the trees. Head on over to find that it’s clearly been abandoned but outside the door there’s what looks to be a lockbox. There’s a note on it that’s titled “Confused?” with a bunch of tips on how to crack the padlock:

• Wash your hands
• Take the chicken out of the fridge
• Take a nap

The padlock sealing the chest is also abnormal in that it doesn’t have numbers but a variety of triangles in different positions. While that may seem cryptic, it’s not too hard to figure out what it all means. For now, turn around to see the two overlapping triangles hanging outside the bungalow. Seems like a cultic sign, so let’s investigate.

Related: Do You Need to Play Alan Wake 1 & Control Before Alan Wake 2?

Walk into the cabin and you’ll instantly be struck by all the different triangles plastered on various objects throughout the different rooms. Figured it out yet? Walk around to the various stations that note hinted that, those being the sink in the bathroom, the fridge and the mattress in the bedroom on the right.

Above these two pieces of furniture (is a sink furniture?) and on the side of the fridge you’ll see triangle patterns. All you need to do is mentally jot down the order specified by the note (Sink, Fridge, Bed) and then plug those triangle combinations into the padlock starting with Sink at the top and ending Bed on the bottom.

The mechanism will pop open and you can loot some cool items: A box of 9mm ammo and a trauma pad for some healing if you need it later on. There’s also a note that tells you to not take anything unless you’re a member of the Cult of the Trees. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite us…

If you’re looking for more, check out how to get the Sawed-Off Shotgun in Alan Wake 2.