Rumplestiltskin

Rumplestiltskin is true name of the old gnome who posed a riddle to Graham. It is not exactly clear why he insisted on it being spelled, Ifnkovhgroghprm. He also has been known to go by the name Nikstlitselpmur. He likes helping adventurers and posing puzzles. The gnome is old and bent under the weight of years but a playful wisdom brightens his eyes.

Background
The old wizened Gnome was the only resident in the Gnome's Isle of Daventry. He receives few visitors due to the troll that guards the bridges to the island. He He is the same Rumplestiltskin from legend who would ask passers by whether they knew his name. He would reward whoever knew it. He claimed to be from a backwards part of the realm, so he asked that his name be spelled backwards usually using a backwards alphabet, and wouldn't accept anything else.

When Graham met him, the gnome asked him to answer the riddle of his name and would give him something that would be very useful to him on his quest. Graham guessed his name correctly (or rather the ones he had assumed) with help of a mysterious note he discovered in the Gingerbread House (it is rather unclear how the witch came accross that note). As a reward the gnome gave Graham the Magic Beans and seeded the Magic Beanstalk. The gnome knew of Graham's mission to retrieve the missing treasures of Daventry, would have aided him even he had guessed wrong. , by giving him the key to open the Door into Mountain that lead to the Land of the Clouds. Following the adventure, the Gnome became a good friend of the realm and advisor.

Alexander once encountered this gnome on his quest to save his sister at the time he lived in a shack south of Castle Daventry. Being an old friend of the royal family of Daventry and knew Alexander's true identity and explained what was going on in Daventry, and what he had to save the kingdom. He sent him up into the ruined Door into Mountain, and explained that a three-headed dragon that had moved into the kingdom and taken over the Land of the Clouds, and that his twin sister was about to be sacrificed to it. Alexander was told he had to somehow defeat the beast, save his sister, and save the kingdom. Alexander succeeded and he and his sister made the long climb back down the mountain, and soon met up with the gnome. Rumplestiltskin congratulated Alexander for his noble deed, and said he would go on ahead and announce Alexander's return to his parents.

Later Graham apparently met the gnome again in Serenia (or at least a close relative), playing with his grandson. He was able to return the magic spindle (Rumplestiltskin's one-of-a-kind heirloom) to the family.

Behind the scenes
The gnome is based off the fairy tale Rumplestiltskin. A gnome that spun straw into gold for a queen to give to her husband, in exchange for her first born child. When her first child was born, Rumplestiltskin returned to the take the child, but gave the queen the chance to keep the child if she could guess his name in three tries. Discovering his name, Rumplestiltskin, she answered correctly answered on the third try, causing the gnome to leave angrily. She kept the gold that was spun for the king, as well as her child.

The gnome of Daventry quite a bit friendlier and nicer than the gnome of the original fairy tale, and considered one of the "Good Guys" in King's Quest 1, according to original KQ1AGI Hintbook.

The gnome in KQ3 is the same gnome from King's Quest I, "This is your old friend, the gnome, from the original King's Quest game. You will find him friendly. He will tell you what's been happening in Daventry, and what you have to do."-Roberta Williams

Note: the gnome wants you to spell his name backwards. Rumplestiltskin is spelled backward Nikstlitselpmur. When you spell the alphabet backwards and pick the original places of the letters in the original alphabet, you will get ifnkovhgroghprm. King's Questions and The King's Quest Companion 2nd edition confirms that he is Rumplestiltskin.

Old Gnome (unofficial)
The old gnome appears in fan fiction, including fan games, see Old Gnome (unofficial).