Thanks for the feedback! It's been years since I played it, let alone made it, so I'll have to dive back into it to check. Controlling the player path is always a fine balance between rigidity and openness.
For example, there is a way to try to return to the forest once the guards have left.
edit: just played it again and realised that forest thing was a bug and I patched it haha. Thanks for prompting me to play again. It's really reawakened my taste for developing and helped me see how far I've come.