The Dwarf

The Dwarf is an individual (or possibly several individuals) that stole the magic Shield of Achille from Edward, and later attempted to rob Graham during his adventures in Daventry and Kolyma. There may have been one or more dwarfs (it is unclear). A small dwarf tried rob him while he was attempting to retrieve the three treasures of Daventry. He could be found in the forest of Daventry, and the mountain cave through the Door into Mountain which lead to the Land of the Clouds. Graham encountered a little dwarf in Kolyma living in the Dwarf Tree. It is unclear if he encountered several dwarfs or if had encountered the same dwarf several times. The dwarfs seen in KQ1AGI and KQ2 wear the same clothes and same appearance (as they share the same sprite).

Background
Historically Edward encountered a being known simply the Dwarf who offered a so-called curative root to save Queen Maylie from the Plague. In return he wanted the Magic Shield. King Edward reluctantly gave him what he wanted, and received the root. However the Dwarf wasn't being truthful, and Maylie died soon after she used the root. The dwarf took the shield down into a hole, and was never seen again. Edward vowed that he would take vengeance on the false dwarf. A court scribe wonders if he may have possibly been a member of one of the other diminutive races of the world including the Leprechauns. Still others argue that he was a real dwarf, but chose to leave the shield in the protection of the leprechauns.

Graham encountered one known as 'The Dwarf' in Daventry, who was out looking for trouble. The dwarf was a desparado and surly bandit, but is unclear if it was the same individual who stole the shield from Edward. He was a sly little chap that caused much trouble in Daventry. The tricky little dwarf was quite interested in Graham, and wanted to see what items of value he was carrying in his pockets. He was married, and was worried that his wife would be upset if he didn't steal any treasure. That day he had wasted two hours trying to find treasure.

Graham would encounter another little dwarf known as The Dwarf in Kolyma, like the one he encountered in Daventry. After Graham was robbed, he gave the Dwarf, the title; Citizen Bandit. He was also interested in robbing Graham. For being so little he was very fast. He was always busy running around, possibly with Graham's treasure. Graham tried to escape, but it overtook him anyway, he was knocked to the ground by the force of the thief running in him. They tumbled for a bit, until the dwarf was able to strike a strong blow to the king's head, knocking him senseless long enough to escape with the Sapphire Brooch.

He made its home in the Dwarf Tree. Where he had a pot of chicken soup in his fireplace, and a chest to keep the treasures it had stolen. Graham explored his home to take the soup and collect any treasures the dwarf may have stolen.

The Dwarf later attended Graham's wedding to Valanice at the Monastery of the Blessed Wilbury.

Behind the scenes
In the original manual of King's Quest 1 its stated that Graham would be encountering dangerous dwarfs of Daventry (which states that actually more than one appears in the game, although they all look the same). The king's quest companion mentions that there ar at least two, a little dwarf and his wife. So it is possible that dwarfs inside the mountain and outside represent seperate dwarfs.

In the KQ1 manual, is the story of "the Dwarf". He is referred to as the 'the Dwarf', and is described as the "the dwarf" and later as the "false dwarf" in the story after he tricked the king into giving the shield. This is both a nod towards him possibly being a Leprechaun as suggested in the King's Quest Companion (explaining how the leprechauns obtained the shield), but also likely due to the fact that he was untruthful to the king. The Dwarf in the manual is inspired by the Dwarf that appears in the game itself. In the KQC, An Encyclopedia of Daventry states that it was a dwarf, and that the dwarf chose to leave the shield in the protection of the leprechauns. In this case 'false' could just be a nod to the dwarf's treachery.

Another character called "The Dwarf" (KQ2 Hintbook) is a little dwarf that shares the same graphics and many of the same descriptions of the dwarf from King's Quest I, which may imply that it is the same dwarf Graham encountered in KQ1. But its not completely clear. In KQ Companion and other hintbooks the KQ2 dwarf is often described as the "thieving dwarf". The novelization for KQ2 in the King's Quest Companion calls it 'the dwarf' which could imply that it is same one from KQ2.

The dwarfs in KQ1 (AGI and SCI) and KQ2 are described as "the dwarf", "a small dwarf" , or as a "little dwarf" , "thieving dwarf". In KQ1AGI looking at the dwarf just brings up a comment on dwarfs in general. In the KQ2 hintbook, the character is known as the 'The Dwarf'.

The dwarf in KQ1 is also described as 'the dwarf', 'crazy dwarf', 'desparado' and a 'surly bandit' in the KQC.

This is possibly the same 'Dwarf' who took away the Magic Shield of King Edward. Although it is believed that was really a "false dwarf", and probably actually a leprechaun in disguise. Though others disagree.

See The Dwarf's Wardrobe.

Dwarf (unofficial)
See Dwarf (unofficial).