Part 4: A Poiiiisonous Snake

Hello everyone, and welcome back to King's Quest II. Things should start moving more smoothly from here on out, as we've covered most of the overworld at this point. So let's get started!

Last time we returned the trident to King Neptune in exchange for a golden key. That would certainly qualify as "making a splash" so I think the first door riddle has been solved.



This next bit we can technically do at any point after we return from the sea floor. This group of rocks is down on screen G1, and mostly serves to highlight one of the few terrain features we haven't seen yet.



Over on G2 is this sinister cave. It's got a nasty bat emblem above the door and two skulls lining the entrance. This is the cave where Hagatha, the local witch, lives. But if you didn't know she lived here, you might call it the bat cave due to the emblem.

Wait a second... bat cave. Bat. Cave. BatCave!



Yeah, they went there. A not bad PCSpeaker version of this also plays.

: He must have gotten lost, I don't believe he belongs in this story.

Anyway, before we enter the cave, there's something we need to do. If you remember the text from last time, Neptune gave us a bottle.

>look bottle

: There is a large cloth in the glass bottle.

This is the only hint you have to the existence of the cloth, which is the only purpose for the bottle. We need the cloth to not die horribly in about 45 seconds. Also...

: Graham pulls a large piece of cloth out of the bottle.

: It is a large sheet of cloth.



There's a random chance when you enter the witch's cave if she'll be home or not. If she's home, you need to leave and try again until she's not here.

: Graham looks around this dreary cave. Fear grips him as he notices human skulls lining the wall. A cauldron with a bubbling brew fills the cave with a putrid aroma. On the far wall, he can see a nightingale in a gilded cage.

>look cauldron

: The iron cauldron is bubbling with a nasty smelling brew. A hot fire burns underneath.

>look skulls

: There are many human skulls in Hagatha's cave. She has a taste for human flesh.

The nightingale cage is the only thing we can meaningfully interact with in here.

>put cloth on cage

: Graham drapes the cloth over the birdcage. Hopefully, this will keep the nightingale quiet. Quietly, Graham picks up the covered birdcage with the nightingale. To his relief, the bird remains silent.

This is why you need the cloth. If the bird is awake when you take the cage, you will die because Hagatha will hear it singing and come investigate.



Graham is not a smart man. Not pictured in the gif is more pcspeaker noises, this time approximating a nightingale's song. Again, it's completely random if Hagatha will show up after you leave the cave, so if you don't have the fairy's protection, it's time to save scum.

: As you look at the bird it begins to sing merrily.



Anyway, after dodging the witch and dwarf several times, we're back here at the bridge.



>unlock door

: The key to the first door fits easily into the keyhole. Graham turns the key and, PRESTO, the door opens, and the key disappears... revealing a second door with another inscription.



>read door

: The inscription reads: Whosoever chooses to seek the key for this door should set their sights high.



This is over on screen C6, just two south of the mission. It looks like a little store.

>look sign

: The sign says closed.

>knock on door

: Graham raps loudly on the door and hears a cheery, "Come on in."



: How may I help you?
: Hello. I saw your shop and had to stop in. I love looking at antiques.
: That's nice of you to say. We just got an oil lamp in this morning. Maybe you would be interested in it?

: The shopkeeper points at the oil lamp sitting on a table against the wall.

: That lamp looks perfect. I would like to buy it!
: The oil lamp is expensive, young man. It will cost you two treasures. There is an alternative, though. The old hag, Hagatha, stole my precious nightingale. If you can return it to me, I will give you the oil lamp.
: You mean this nightingale right here?

: Graham hands the birdcage with the nightingale to the little old lady.

: My precious!

: The little old lady tears up and hands Graham the oil lamp. She then ushers him out of the shop and closes and locks the door.



: The old oil lamp is fashioned of brass that has been tarnished. There is a spout at one end, and a round handle at the other. The lamp is empty inside.

Yeah. The game is gonna go there. Your first thought regarding the lamp is correct.

: The lamp looks a little dirty. I wonder if I can...

: Graham polishes the old ramp with his sleeve. When he does so, the lamp rumbles and shakes, and with a POOOOFF, a genie appears!

: Master, I leave a gift for you. A magic carpet!

: The genie poofs back into the lamp.



This is the evil enchanter. He appeared in the first game too, but thanks to random luck we never ran into him. In this game, he'll turn you into an animal if he catches you and you aren't protected by the fairy's spell.

This is the first and only time we'll run into him in the entire series, but it won't be the last time we hear from him. But that won't be for a long time to come. So for now wave hello and goodbye to an annoying random encounter.



It's also taken this long for the fairy's spell to wear off. So it lasts for an incredibly long time, and is pretty easy to make happen. All you have to do is wander back and forth west of the mission. So basically never be without a fairy spell.

Anyway, we had to dodge the damn enchanter, but we're not done with the lamp yet.

>rub lamp

: Master, I leave a gift for you. A beautiful sword!

And a third time...

>rub lamp

: Master, I leave a gift for you. A leather bridle!

: As the genie disappears back into the lamp for the third time, the lamp rumbles and shakes and disappears out of Graham's hands.

: The leather bridle is studded with silver rivets, and a silver bit.
: The shining sword is not incredibly large, but is very sharp! IT has a snake carved into the bronze handle.
: The magic carpet is a beautifully woven persian rug with a colorful fringe on the ends.

So that's our haul from meeting a genie. What do you say we put this carpet to work?

>ride carpet





: Look out! There is a poisonous viper blocking your path!
: Venomous.
: What?
: Venomous. Snakes inject venom with their fangs. It would be a poisonous viper if I had to drink its venom.
: Nobody likes a pedant, Graham.



First we need to be poisoned.



Then we need to go base jumping. Gotta get the basics out of the way. Now for the elephant in the room...

The clifftop area is only four screens long, but is incredibly infamous all the same. You may remember may rant from the previous game, about the atbash cipher. While it was stupid as hell you could at least somewhat follow the logic involved. The upcoming puzzle doesn't even have that benefit.

There is no basis in objective reality for the solution to this puzzle. It's literally "try everything in your inventory on the viper until something works." Even better, there are multiple ways to solve the puzzle, but only one strictly "correct" way to do it. If you solve the puzzle the "obvious" way, then the game becomes nearly impossible to finish. I'll point out later where that happens.

So without further ado...



I'm not typing that out. I'm including a screenshot so you can drink in the stupidity. Look at those four words, roll them around in your mind. I want you to really look at them and understand what they're saying.

The correct solution to this puzzle is to use an otherwise unenchanted item on a snake that only gives you one clue it's enchanted. You need to talk to the snake first and it will warn you to stay away. That is literally the only clue you get to this puzzle. You then have to intuit that this non magical bridle will somehow dispel the enchantment that you don't even know exists in the first place.



The snake's warning, by the way. Like I said above, this is your only clue to the puzzle.



You can also solve puzzle this way, by just typing "kill snake". In fact, you can kill a lot of things in this game. I'll show off everything you can murder in a bonus update.

But for now... let's grit our teeth and do this properly.

>put bridle on snake

: Graham tosses the leather bridle onto the coiled snake. Instantly, there stands before him not a snake, but a beautiful winged horse wearing the bridle!



: Thank you, kind sir, for saving me. An evil enchanter turned me into a snake when I refused to be his steed. To repay you, here is a magic sugar cube that will guard against poisonous brambles.

: Before Graham can respond, the pegasus flies off.

: It looks like a normal sugar cube. It does have a bit of a sparkle, though.



So, with the bullshit puzzle behind us, let's have a little fun. This screen is otherwise worthless, except for a little hole in the rock.

>look in hole

: Oh No! This is as bad as bad can be! Upon looking into the hole, you believe you see an incredibly blatant plug for another Sierra 3-D Animated Adventure. Hang On!

Click This For Soundtrack

You can watch the plug in Sierra or AGDI versions. I highly recommend you watch both, as they're entertaining in their own ways. Especially the AGDI version, as it will have the only pun in the entire game.

If you're curious about Quest for Glory or Space Quest, the Archive has you covered.



>look

: Graham sees a large golden key lying on a rock in the damp cave!

Anyway, let's finish this update out. Now that we're past the... snake... and the shameless plugs, let's grab the key and get the hell out of here.

The second key has the exact same look and description as the first one.



Now for the last thing I want to show off today. You have to be standing in the mouth of this cave to get this little message to appear.

>ride carpet

: It wouldn't be safe to ride the carpet until you are all the way out of the cave. Only weird QA types do that.

Anyway, that's enough for now.

NEXT TIME: Toccata and Fugue in D-minor

List of Points

+2 - Cloth in a bottle
+2 - Bedtime for birdie
+2 - Stealing from the Hag
+1 - Crossing the bridge
+7 - Unlocking the first door
+1 - Crossing the bridge yet again
+6 - Trading bird for lamp
+2 - Genie's first wish
+2 - Genie's second wish
+2 - Graham wastes his third wish
+4 - Magic carpet ride
+5 - The bridle
+2 - Sugar cube
+5 - Second key

Total: 118/185

Register of Deaths

Snakebite
Cliff diving x2 (The AGDI video counts!)