Part 6: Bad Rats

Hello everyone, and welcome back to King's Quest I. In spite of everything going against us, we've finally reached the endgame. Only three puzzles stand between us and becoming King Graham.

First of all, let's get our bearings. We're on screen B-3, which is directly south from the castle. The bridge where the goat knocked the troll into the river is directly to the east, but the way is blocked by some rocks.



: A large bulbous mushroom grows in the meadow.

This is of crucial importance. Here on screen A-3 is a single mushroom. Do not enter that hole on the previous screen without this mushroom. It is the game's final "fuck you" in that this item is 100% necessary to win.



I don't believe I've ever looked at this screen before, but this is directly south of the clearing on B-3. You could conceivably approach from the south, but there's never a need to do so.



Here's a look at our inventory. I mostly want to show the mushroom, as it's red with speckles on top. Unless I'm mistaken, that usually indicates a fly agaric. This will come into play later.

: This is the woodcutter's old fiddle.
: The fine old fiddle has been beautifully carved.

: This is a small, unusual-looking mushroom.
: Careful! You do not wish to damage the delicate mushroom.



With that business out of the way, let's drop into the hole in the ground.



This small cave system is a straight shot to the goal, so there's no getting lost.



One screen down...



And one screen west.



Yeah, I went there.

: The rat grins crookedly, his long, pointed fangs glistening in the torchlight.
: That's right, mister, just walk a little closer...

: Hell there, my friend. You looking for anything in particular? You wanna pass through my little door here, right? Well, maybe we can work somethin' out. What's it worth to you?

: Keeping in mind the rat's remarkable agility and even more remarkable fangs, Graham decides not to risk an attack.

The narrator says this if you use your hand icon on the rat, if you use the dagger on the rat, or if you try to shoot the rat with the slingshot. Violence is not the answer here.

Maybe we can just slide past him...





Or not. Maybe we can sneak by instead with the elf's invisbility ring...

: Graham places the shimering ring upon his finger. As he rubs it, he turns invisible!



Graham is transparent beneath the speak icon. That's how you know he's invisible.

: Using his sense of smell to guide him, the rat attacks Graham. In the scuffle, the ring falls off, making him visible again.



And from there it's the same death again.



Bribery does work. In this case we're giving him a golden walnut.

: Some sort of treasure? Now you're talkin', mister. Lemme see some of that treasure.
: The rat takes the treasure from Graham's hand.



And then the rat poofs out of existence. Seems all well and good, except giving away our treasure made us lose three points. So instead of losing points, here's the actual solution.

: Graham offers the rat a piece of cheese.
: Cheese? Well, yeah, now that you mention it, I guess I am kinda hungry...
: The rat drools at the sight of the cheese, and snatches it from Graham. You might want to count your fingers...



In this one case, there's special dialogue for using the eye icon on yourself...

: One, two, three, four...
: Amazingly enough, Graham still has all his fingers!



That's one puzzle down, and we're immediately thrust into the second. Like the rat, there's an easy way to solve this puzzle.

: Oh no! There are leprechaun guards here... and they don't look pleased to see Graham at all. What is he going to do now?

If you try using a weapon on them...

: Don't even try it. They're more agile than Graham, and they outnumber him.
: The leprechaun king's magic does not permit Graham to use weapons in the throne room. Thus, while the sling is still in his pocket, he finds himself entirely unable to put it in his hand.

So what's the easy solution?



: With a genuine four-leaf clover in his possession, the leprechauns fear and respect Graham. Rather than risk offending him, they decide to leave him entirely alone.

Yeah. If you thought to search the clover patch and pick the clover from it, you can simply stroll through the penultimate puzzle in the game and suffer no consequences. I don't have a recording of it because it would take too long to get. But if you don't have a clover and you come to the endgame, you get a game over where Graham spends the rest of his days peeling potatoes.



: The leprechauns, sensing the power of the four-leaf clover, begin to vanish.



And then you're free to pick up the shield. The simple act of doing nothing gets you no points. But that's not satisfying at all is it?

So let's reload one last time and do it right.



Last save of the game right here.



The leprechaun guards stare menacingly at you for a long time before they decide to attack. So you have plenty of time to try literally everything in your inventory. In this case, the correct answer is to use the fiddle.

: Wonderful job! Leprechauns find fiddle music irresistible. The moment they hear the music, they begin dancing a frenzied jig.



Graham continues playing for a while here, with the guards dancing the whole time. Incidentally, this scene is why I'm doing a LP of the VGA version. I got to this point in the SCI version and the game bugged out and refused to fire the next script once I started playing the fiddle, leaving Graham playing indefinitely.



: Hearing the fiddle music Graham played in the hallway, the leprechauns have begun to dance! As they do, they pop away in a fit of merry making.



The leprechauns all individually disappear, except for the king.



The king dances out of the hall instead.



However, more importantly, the king will leave behind his scepter when he dances out of the hall. If you walk through with the clover, he takes it with him.

: This is a rather simple stone throne, upon which sits the leprechaun king's jeweled scepter.
: The scepter is fashioned from gold and silver, and accented with emeralds.
: The shield is made of titanium and is rimmed with jewels.
: Please don't move the carpet. It hides the dandelion wine stains on the floor.

So yeah, let's claim our prizes and get the hell out of here.

: Graham takes both the leprechaun king's scepter and the magic shield.

: This jeweled scepter belongs to the king of the leprechauns.
: It's long. It's hard. And it feels exactly the same way.

: This is the magic shield, one of the three treasures of Daventry.
: The magic shield of Daventry is incredibly light. You could easily forget that you were carrying it.



So let's move on to the final puzzle.

: This small hole leads to the outside world. Graham is much too big to fit through it.

You remember the mushroom? The fly agaric? Well...

: Graham eats the mushroom.



Fly agaric is a hallucinogenic. So in reality, Graham would now be tripping balls. But because this is fantasy land, there are no adverse side effects.

: Congratulations! Graham now has all three of Daventry's lost treasures! Now don't waste any time. Bring the treasures straight back to King Edward before it's too late.



We emerge on screen G-4, what the map calls "Boulders". From here, we simply need to make our way over to the castle on B-2. The simmplest way is probably to go East 1, North 2, East 1.



: I shouldn't have eaten that mushroom...



We end the game where we started it. Once we use the hand icon on the portcullis, we've won!

: That's odd. Why aren't the guards at their posts?



: This courtyard is deserted. Where are all the Lords and Ladies of King Edward's court? Something's not right here..



: Oh crap! The king!
: Graham can faintly hear a commotion to the King's Chamber to the west. He rushes into the throne room.



: There is nothing to be done. Our King's melancholy is too much for his heart to bear. If only Sir Graham had returned with the three lost treasures of Daventry...



: The nobles gasp and murmur amongst themselves as Graham strides to the throne with purpose in his steps.

: Your Highness, I am at your service.
: Did... did you succeed in your quest?
: I did, your Majesty... Here, as you commanded...



: The magic mirror... the magic shield... and the magic chest.



: I... I am afraid it is a little too late for me. But you have done superbly, my Knight. As I promised, the crown is yours.
: My King, I was gone for a few hours at the most. Surely your melancholy is not so great as to claim your life in so short a time.
: I saw you wandering around on your quest and... I apologize, but you know how I worry. It just grew too burdensome to bear...
: I know you will serve this kingdom well.



: The king is dead.



: Long live the King!
: You were really broken up about it, weren't you?
: We knew it was coming soon. I'm just relieved that he chose an heir. The last thing Daventry needs is a succession crisis.



: And thus ended Sir Graham's quest for the lost treasures of Daventry. Despite the loss of their beloved King Edward, the people of Daventry grew happy and prosperous for years to come.
: And whenever King Graham looked into his magic mirror, he saw visions of adventures yet to come... for him, for his children, and for Daventry, the land he loved so much.



: Congratulations! You scored the full 158 points! Thanks for playing. We hope you enjoyed King's Quest I VGA.

Well, I know I did. I've loved this series since I was a child, and it was fun to revisit a classic. Hopefully you all enjoyed reading it as well. Before we leave, let's take a look at our stats.

Total List of Points

+2 - Rolled the Rock
+5 - Took the Dagger
+2 - Climbed the Tree
+6 - Robbed the nest
+2 - Took a Carrot "for luck"
+3 - Got a ring from an elf
+3 - Picked up a bowl
+3 - Picked up a walnut
+3 - Found gold in walnut
+1 - Read bowl inscription
+2 - Filled bowl with stew
-2 - Ate the stew
+2 - Picked up pebbles
+3 - Found a pouch
+3 - It was full of diamonds
+2 - Riding a bucket
+2 - Grand theft bucket
+4 - Cave diving
+2 - Filling the bucket
+1 - Discovering the dragon
+5 - Dragon "slaying"
+8 - Got the Magic Mirror
+2 - Leaving the cave
+7 - Murdering the witch
+2 - Opening the Cabinet
+2 - Taking the Cheese
+1 - Taking the Note
+2 - Reading the Note
+2 - Eating the witch out of house and home
+5 - The taming of the goat
+4 - Goats hate trolls
+9 - Ifnkovhgroghprm
+2 - Four-leaf clover
+2 - Graham and the beanstalk
+2 - Climbing the Beanstalk
+2 - Finding a slingshot
+7 - Graham the Coward
+8 - Got the enchanted chest
+2 - Filled the bowl (again)
+3 - Fed a starving couple
+3 - Got the fiddle
+3 - Condor taxi ride
+1 - Picking a mushroom
+2 - Fed a rat
+3 - Graham the musician
+6 - Took the scepter
+8 - Took the magic shield
+3 - Took mushrooms
+3 - Raise the portcullis!

Final Total: 158/158 Points

Total Register of Deaths

Drowned in a moat
Crushed by a rock
Captured by witch
--The Graham cracker pun
Drowning
--The well pun
Dragonfire
--The ash pun
Graham vs Gravity - x2
Goomba Stomped
Mauled by a rat - x2

Final Total

10 Deaths, 3 Bad Puns

And with those stats, we're done with King's Quest I. Take it easy guys!