Part 1: Cleaning the Kitchen

Hello everyone and welcome to King's Quest III. Like before, I'm going to let the narrator handle things for the intro, and I'll see you all on the other side.

: You wish to hear another story of Daventry? Very well. Then I shall tell you the tale of Gwydion, the poor slave boy with a grand destiny...



: Gwydion is a lonely lad of seventeen who has lived for as long as he can remember with an evil and cruel wizard, by the name of Manannan. Gwydion gazes upon the countryside of Llewdor with longing, wishing he were free to leave. But, alas, such is not the case.
: Manannan treats the poor boy like his slave; ordering him about, constantly threatening him, and refusing to ever let him leave the premises. Often, Gwydion wonders who he really is, and how he came to live with the old wizard. But, Manannan offers no help in that area.



: Suddenly, the front door opens and out stalks Manannan, the wizard!
: Gwydion!
: Gwydion rushes to his side, afraid he may be in trouble.
: Why are you not WORKING, boy?
: Sorry I...
: The kitchen floor is FILTHY! Go sweep it, NOW!!
: The wizard turns and re-enters the house, slamming the door behind him.

: Such is the story of young Gwydion's life to this point. What's a poor boy to do? Oh well. In resignation, Gwydion obediently follows Manannan into the house.



So, the UI is much the same for this game. However, there's one incredibly important addition to the top middle of the screen. That there is a timer. King's Quest III is a highly scripted game. Events happen based on the timer up above, with or without Gwydion being there to observe them.

For the most part, these events involve Manannan and his capricious whims. So let's get started.



>talk to wizard

: Don't bother me, boy. I've got important things to think about. Also, that kitchen is filthy! Go clean it, now!

You ever work a job where you had an overbearing boss who liked to micromanage you? That's Manannan. This guy is an asshole with a capital A.

I should also point out that if you watch the intro, Manannan doesn't appear here. When the game starts, he gives you one of four chores to complete. If you watch the intro, he gives it to you there. Here, we're being asked to clean the kitchen. Just as well, because we need stuff from in there anyway. For what it's worth, Manannan could also ask us to dust his study, feed the chickens outside, or empty his chamber pot.

Anyway, the house has safe and dangerous rooms. The study to the north is a dangerous zone. If you haven't been told to go in there, then Manannan will kill you if he finds you inside. Same deal with his bedroom and the top floor as well. The kitchen, the dining room, the entrance, the upstairs hallway, and Gwydion's bedroom are all safe rooms.

Let's get started...



The dining room is sparse and for some reason Manannan has a picnic table to dine on. I guess he's living the dream.

>look table

: The large dining table is made of pine planking. Matching benches run its length on both sides. The table is big enough to seat at least ten people. There is a little metal cup on the table. Gwydion picks it up and carries it with him.

We'll need this cup in the future. It's one of four items from the kitchen and dining room area that we'll need for certain.



The kitchen is Gwydion's office, for lack of a better term. Manannan never pokes his head in here as far as I can tell. His cat, though, is a different story.

>look cat

That detestable pet of Manannan's is a constant annoyance.

>kick cat

: Screeeeeeeeeeeeech!!!!!!!!
: Heh, heh, heh...

While it seems mean, the stupid cat will move around while it's on screen with you. Occasionally Usually it will move to sit directly in your path. The only way to urge it to move again is this way.

Also Gwydion is a jerk. Anyway...

>get broom



That's a 25 second GIF that's only 200KB. The good thing about the timer is that you can see just how long these animations take.

While we're here, let's loot the shit out of the kitchen so we never have to return again.

>look shelf

: The kitchen shelf holds many ingredients and kitchen implements for cooking. One useful item that catches Gwydion's eye is the clay bowl he uses for all of his mixing. He retrieves it from the shelf.

>look rack

: There is an iron rack hanging on the wall by the fireplace. Gwydion's trusty knife and wooden serving spoon are both hanging on the rack. He retrieves both objects.

>look table

: Gwydion uses the heavy oak table when he prepares food for the wizard. Right now, there is a loaf of bread, some fruit, and a mutton chop on the table. He takes all three food items as well.

Now that we've got all we need from the kitchen, let's be a bit daring...

>get cat

: Nimbly, Gwydion grabs the nasty cat by the scruff of its neck, avoiding its needle-sharp claws.
: Now that you have it, what are you going to do with it?

>get hair

: Screeeeeeeeeeeeech!!!!!!!!

: Gwydion manages to pluck some fur before the cat viciously scratches, and then leaps from his arms, snarling and screeching. With grim satisfaction, Gwydion surveys his wounds.
: Stupid cat, whether you know it or not, you just helped me.



Here's the inventory screen. Fairly standard, except for the cat hair. That, you might notice, has an asterisk next to it. Any items marked as such are dangerous. If Manannan catches you with such an item in your possession, he will kill you straight out.

Now that we're holding a bunch of items, let's take a look...

: You hold a small ball of black cat fur in your hand.
: The knife is big enough (and sharp enough) to carve a large roast.
: The clay bowl has been your favorite bowl for years.
: This is a wooden kitchen spoon.
: This is just a simple metal cup with a handle.
: Mmmmmmm! You love the smell of freshly baked bread.
: This is a leftover mutton chop that the old wizard hadn't finished. It still looks appetizing, though.
: The fruit consists of an apple and some grapes. They look sweet, fresh, and juicy.



We need to book it. The timer is 02:10, which means we have a minute to get upstairs and hide the cat hair before Manannan kills us for possessing it. This is harder than it sounds. The stairs in this house were designed by an asshole. You can walk diagonally on them, but they're angled in just such a way that you have to keep adjusting Gwydion up or down as he travels.





Manannan's house is pretty small. The second floor only has two rooms. The wizard's bedroom is to the north, while Gwydion's is to the east. The top floor is only a single room. We'll see it next time.



Gwydion has a tiny bedroom, but it's safe from the wizard. While we're here, let's look at a neat little easter egg...

>look behind tapestry

: Gwydion lifts the bottom of the tapestry and peers behind it. The wall is filled with cracks. He can see why Manannan would hang a tapestry here.
: There are also dozens of charcoal-scribbled drawings, diagrams, maps, and notes to programmers, with the legend "King's Quest IV," but Gwydion is uninterested in this, since he presently has his hands full with "King's Quest III. He lowers the tapestry and smooths out the wrinkles.

>look bed

: The bed is nothing more than a cot, hard and cold, and is difficult to sleep on. Gwydion's pillow is small, flat, and made of old rags.

My neck hurts thinking about that. Anyway, this next command is something the game never explicitly tells you, and the manual makes no mention of. You just kind of have to intuit this, I guess?

>drop all



: Gwydion gets on his hands and knees and quickly shoves all his possessions under the bed. They will be safe from the wizard's sharp eyes there.

Now that we've hidden the stuff, I'm going to show off what happens if the wizard catches you with something you shouldn't have.

>get cat fur

: Dropping to his hands and knees, Gwydion reaches under the bed and retrieves it.



Sometime around the three minute mark, Manannan will come check up on Gwydion to see if he actually did the chore that he was assigned.



He errs on the side of being late, in spite of what Gandalf claims. In a game as heavily time based as this, any delay is annoying. I'll have much more to say about this late in the LP.

: The hateful wizard growls and snatches the cat hair away from his slave.
: You'll create no magic around me, Gwydion.



: Thanks for playing King's Quest III... next time, be more careful!

The "zap into nonexistence" death is a catchall death for pissing the wizard off in general. It's the same for if you're caught with an asterisk item, for trying to escape the house, for being caught having successfully escaped, for being caught in a forbidden room, and for not feeding the wizard when he demands it.

Also, like the previous game, there are almost no death puns. There are one or two lurking around, and there are more creative messages than "be more careful!"

Anyway, that's enough for now.

NEXT TIME: Glorious copy protection

List of Points

+1 - Clearing the Table
+1 - Mixing bowl
+1 - Trusty knife
+1 - Serving spoon
+1 - I am Bread
+1 - Do you want a banana?
+1 - Mutton chops!
+1 - Fistful of cat fur
+4 - >drop all

Total: 12/210

Register of Deaths

Pissed off Manannan