Part 6: Vampire Killer

Hello everyone, and welcome back to King's Quest II. Let's just restore our game and not descend into a pitch black maze of stairs.



We need to leave the dining room to the north first. This particular part coming up is a bit of a pain in the ass to do.



You see, we need to climb this staircase here. But not all the way. We need to go halfway up.



To about here. Next we need to do something not immediately obvious.

>look torch

: The torch lends the only warmth to this dreary castle.

>light candle

: Graham holds his candle up to the blazing torch. It catches! His candle is now lit.

This is the only lit torch that's at approximately Graham's height. So in order to light our candle, we need to stand next to it.

The reason I say this part is a pain in the ass is because climbing twisting staircases in this series is a hazardous thing to do even in the best of times. We need to successfully climb up to the torch, light the candle, descend down again, and complete our business in the basement. Only once we finish our business donwstairs can we climb to the room at the top of this staircase

So, back into the dark basement...



The candle projects its light rather well, doesn't it? Don't get used to it. There will be a time in the not too distant future when a light source won't illuminate anything for shit.



This screen is why I restored the game at the start of the update. There's almost no chance anyone could get out of this screen in the pitch black, with only Graham's eyes to guide them.

>look

: Narrow, slippery stairs descend into this empty room. Graham's nose detects a foul odor coming from the doorway to the west.

>look rat

: Graham doesn't see a rat, but he hears scurrying sounds coming from the cracks in the wall.



: The rat darts nervously across the floor.



This little creepy room is our ultimate goal. If the coffin is open, we want to leave the room and return.



First, let's do something completely stupid.

>take off cross
>open coffin

: With trepidation, Graham lifts the heavy lid of the beautifully carved coffin. His heart beats wildly when he sees a vampire lying asleep within it. It must be Count Dracula!

>wake dracula

: That was truly a dumb thing to do! Run before he catches you!



So let's do it the right way now. This is one of the only aggressive things Graham will ever do in his life, by the way.



: Graham places the pointed stake on Count Dracula's chest. Quickly, using the mallet, he pounds the stake through the vampire's heart. Dracula disintegrates into a pile of dust. A small silver key is left behind in the coffin. Graham takes it.

>look coffin

: Trembling with fear, Graham peers into the ornate coffin. Finding it unoccupied, Graham sees the interior is lined with shiny red satin. A red satin pillow lies at one end.

>get pillow

: Graham removes the shiny red pillow from the coffin. Lo and behold, a large gold key was under the pillow!

While we're here, let's take a look at the new inventory items we got.

: The wax candle burns brightly. Ouch! Hot wax dripped on your finger.
: It is a shiny silver key.
: The smoked ham has a wonderful, savory smell. It's hard to resist tasting it. It looks as though someone has taken a bit out of it.
: The pillow is small, and made of shiny red satin.

As usual, the gold key looks the same as it ever does and its description hasn't changed.



So let's keep going. Now back to that spiral staircase from the start of the update.



For some reason, the perspective in these spiral staircase rooms makes it really hard to actually get on the stairs. You wouldn't think it would be so difficult, and then you wind up accidentally walking out the door three or four times.



You can't even diagonal walk up the part of the staircase that may as well be 2D. There's still depth where there shouldn't be any. So you have to awkwardly stutter step the whole way.





So finally in the room at the top of the stairs, and all that's up here is a chest in the corner.

>open chest

: The old chest is locked shut. You need to unlock it.

>unlock chest

: With hands trembling, Graham fits the little silver key into the lock. Slowly, he turns it until he hears a click. The old chest is now unlocked.

>open chest
>look in chest

Yes. You have to type the two commands separately.

: With a creak and a groan, the old lid opens, dragging cobwebs with it. Looking into the interior of the musty chest, Graham sees a dazzling diamond and sapphire tiara. He takes it.

: This tiara is stunning! It is encrusted with diamonds from the back to the front, progressively getting larger. The center stone in the front is a dazzling sapphire.

: Okay, that does it. When I get back to Daventry, I'm gonna see about annexing Kolyma. We need those diamond and sapphire mines.



Let's get the hell out of here. We have a ham, we have enough jewelry to start a collection, and we have a completely useless pillow. Most importantly though, we can unlock the last door and get to the end of the game.

>enter boat

: Graham climbs into the decrepit rowboat, and the shrouded fiend paddles across the toxic lake to the shore.



See you guys at the bridge!



Here we are at the bridge for the final time.



That's it. No fanfare, no dramatic collapse. But we've used up all of our crossings. But try to go across an eighth time and...





So let's unlock the third door and get our reward.

>unlock door

: The key to the third door fits easily into the keyhole. Graham turns the key and, PRESTO, the door opens, and again the key disappears... revealing a world unlike any he's ever seen before!



And THAT is where we're going to leave off for this time.

NEXT TIME: The end of the game

List of Points

+1 - Lighting the Candle
+7 - Graham Belmont
+2 - Dracula's silver key
+5 - Third gold key
+1 - Unlocking the old chest
+7 - Yet more gaudy jewelry
+1 - Crossing the bridge the seventh time
+7 - Entering the third door

Total: 163/185

Register of Deaths

Fangs for waking Dracula up
Falling off the stairs x2
Crossing the bridge an eighth time