Daventry town

Daventry (aka Daventry town, the town of Daventry or the village of Daventry ) is the main center of civilization in Daventry, though there are other towns. Castle Daventry lies to the north overlooking the town of Daventry. It is a tiny village, and not very large lying fairly near the gates of Castle Daventry, in the shadow of the castle. The town consists of closely crowded houses and narrow streets. Lake Maylie lies to northeast of the town of Daventry beyond the castle (or at least did at one time).

Background
Over the years as the population of Daventry grew the town became home to most of the citizens of Daventry. A road leads south from the main keep of then castle to the town. The town is filled with many shops and houses, taverns, a town bakery, and even a butcher just outside of town. Outside and around the town lie the kingdom's farmlands where farmers grow the nation's crops and produce, which work in coordination with the town and create a good volume of commerce and trade.

The town has millwrights, masons, carpenters, work gangs and horses and mules for hire. There is even a village goose girl.

In the center of the village is the large circular grounds used for the market as well as for the Midsummer Fest Dance.

Another busy section of the town is the Daventry's main town square. One one corner of the Daventry town square stood a dark oak building whose walls were concave and worn with years. Outside was hanging a sign that declared FOOD AND DRINK in red letters across the bottom and the name of the establishment, Purple Pig, in large gilt letters, at the top. There was a painting of a pig, appropriately purple, in the center.

Across the square hitching posts stood alone next to the water troughs next to the town's stable. The town stable was a large oak building with granite water troughs out front. It stood solidly to one side of the main square. Horses stood together inside a large box stall just inside. The stabler's wife's brother was part of a work gang. A fountain is located at the center of the square. A bench sits next to it. The main square is the center of life in Daventry.

There are abundant oaks and sycamore trees in the area around the town, making only the main square visible from a distance.

The west road travels west through the fields and orchards of Daventry, crosses the Merelee River, before reaching the fair grounds of Daventry. The south road from Castle Daventry leads into the town, before continuing on to lands beyond, first passing through the southern Old Woods. The east road travels east towards the Old Wood; a path travels south from it to Old Sam the butcher's shop outside of town, just beyond a Haystack boulder.

Beyond the town and farmlands is the fair grounds of Daventry where many festivals and other great events and entertainments are held.

In earliest messages sent by Derek Karlavaegen, he mentioned the names of just two towns in all of the messages he sent, Daventry and Bruce. This may have been of some importance. He later mentioned the town of Serenia.

Many people were driven away from the town when the kingdom had fallen victim to the ravages of a dreadful three-headed dragon which had burned the land all around and killed many people. It is unknown if most of the people ever returned, or moved elsewhere.

Daventry once bustled as a thriving village under the peaceful rule of King Graham and Queen Valanice. During the cataclysm, continuous darkness covered the land, vile Goblins and monstrous Spriggans roamed about unhampered, and the entire population had been turned to stone. Connor started his journey here, leaving behind his home in search for the sacred pieces of the Mask of Eternity.

Connor lives in an area just outside of Daventry. The community is made up mostly of farmers. A grinding mill in the center of the community is for the processing of grain. Connor lives here where it’s less populated and nearer trade with hunters, as he is a windmill, an Alchemist Shop, the church, and a tavern. A fountain exists in the middle of the town square, and is a source of fresh water. An ancient mausoleum was built near the church, and is the location of an ancient magical doorway to the Dimension of Death. The town is built on the two sides of a small river. People are able to cross the river via a small covered bridge. The river flows from a waterfall from an aqueduct (from the castle), and forms a small shallow lake where the Wizard's Island is located. The Lady of the Lake resides within the lake.

Castle Daventry (and apparently most of the rest of the town) lies to the north of the village, and a road through a narrow pass leads to other sections of the kingdom. This road was blocked during the cataclysm. Additionally the castle (specifically the Dining Hall and Throne Room) can be reached through a secret passage through an aqueduct.

The village lies roughly southwest of a mountain within the valley, where the ruins of an old castle is located. The Tomb of Sir James lies near the ruin's gates. Behind the mountain's peak lies a pond where a Unicorn could often be found.

Citizens
Hrothgar the tavern keep, Peter the smith, Hesthia (wife of the town baker), Benjamin, Betony (her children) and Bernard live in the town center proper, and Old Sam the butcher lives on a road just outside of the town. Connor, Sarah, and the Widow Burke live live on the edge of their community near the farm lands on the edge of town. One of the local masons lives near the community repairing buildings and an aquaduct that flows from the castle feeding the local Lake. The Simms family maintain a small farm within the community. A local Alchemist keeps a shop, and Julia maintains a tavern. Daventry's church located there to the south and utilized by the local priest, and citizens of Daventry town are buried there.

Landmarks

 * Connor's House
 * Sarah's House
 * The Lake
 * Wizard's Island
 * Wizard's House


 * Simms's Farmyard
 * Simms's Farmhouse (Farmer Simms's House)


 * Town Fountain
 * Farm Stand
 * Tavern
 * The Bridge
 * The Windmill
 * The Mill
 * Kavanagh House (Kavanagh's House)
 * Kavanagh's Outhouse


 * The Waterfall
 * Top of the Falls
 * Tunnel behind Falls


 * Tomb of Sir James
 * Castlekeep Ruins
 * Small pond
 * Teleporter Room


 * Alchemist's House (Alchemist's shop)
 * Churchyard
 * Church
 * Mausoleum
 * Graveyard

Behind the scenes
The town of Daventry was originally alluded to in in the King's Quest II Manual, with the line, "...the village goose girl". It was also alluded to in the KQ1 prologue, in the line, "Daventry's church bells tolled in mourning..." It was given a name in the King's Quest Companion (referred to as the 'town of Daventry') and the King's Quest Novels. The town of Daventry (or simply Daventry) is mentioned in the An Encyclopedia of Daventry in 2nd Edition of KQC within articles in the An Encyclopedia of Daventry (within the articles concerning Castle Daventry and Bruce). The town is also referenced in The Quest Thus Far... in the manual for KQ5 for the NES (which may suggest that the town was abandoned and possibly destroyed leading up to the events of KQ3);
 * The kingdom had fallen victim to the ravages of a dreadful three-headed dragon, which had burned the land all around and drove many people away from the town.

Daventry the village/town appears in King's Quest: Kingdom of Sorrow and in King's Quest: See No Weevil in the period of time set before the events of KQ3. It is known as the village of Daventry in King's Quest: Kingdom of Sorrow, and as 'Daventry town' in King's Quest: See No Weevil (its occasionally referred to as simply Daventry in the novel as well, and described as a village a few times as well). The village in both sources is intended to be the same location.

The various references to the town of Daventry inspired the creation of Connor's village in KQ8, which on the website was also known as 'Daventry' (see below).

Notably the main village of Daventry is described in the King's Quest Companion, 2nd Edition, that the Castle overlooks the town, In KoS it is described as being outside the castle gates, and lying in the shadow of the castle. But there are also descriptions of a road leading from the castle to the town, or at least another section of the town in See No Weevil. There is no reference to the town in The Floating Castle though Alexander does travel south at least passes near where it should be (which may imply that the town was no longer in existence after the events of KQ3). Noteably in KQ5 there is a hill or rise that overlooks the castle, and no village is noticeable to the south of the newly renovated castle, nor to the north (but rather a large garden instead), however there are roads heading off to the southwest and southeast, and it is not possible to see where these roads lead (so it is possible that if the town still exists it is just out of view).

Gerwain points out that there are other towns in Daventry at the time of KQ2 during his account of the events of King's Quest II for Graham, see Romancing the Throne: From the Chronicles of Daventry, Part II.


 * Word of the royal wedding was immediately dispatched across the realm, carried in the claws of a condor that winged from town to town with the proclamation. The news set off spontaneous celebrations by all at first hearing.

According to information related to KQ8, the village Connor lives in is known as Daventry or simply the Town. Connor's community is said to a less populated area located just outside "Daventry" and a sign in the game points to 'Daventry' (though according to Connor the context of the sign is pointing to "Castle Daventry"). Connor's village is located directly south of the castle based on the magic map (the location of the road, sign, and aqueduct) and information in the official KQ8 hintbook.

Two towns are shown on the world map of KQ8. A larger town is shown to be outside a smaller village surrounding a small lake, with a road passing between them leading up to the castle. However, the lake village is not necessarily Connor's village or the town of Daventry. The village surrounding the lake is much more densely packed than the community shown in the game, and lies close to the edge of the lake, than Connor's village is located, and there is no evidence of the Wizard's island in the center of the lake. Which may suggest that it is a different lake altogether.

The larger of the two towns shown on the world map, is apparently located "north" of the Castle according to information in KQ8 manual. The smaller village would be roughly 'east' of the castle based on that information. If Connor's village is located south of Castle Daventry it would be blocked from view by the mountain where Castle Daventry is located on the map. However, if the larger of the two villages is is meant to be the town of Daventry. Its possible that either the town moved (either intentionally over time or due to the magical flux that affects the Kingdom). This is not the first time that landmarks have shifted around the kingdom (for example the Door into Mountain has been located both north and south of the Castle at times), and even the Castle itself. ...It is also possible that the town in MOE represents yet another town within Daventry.

In the game most everything seems to be aligned so that the top of the magic map is always north (with the exception of the map for Castle Daventry). This is seen Dimension of Death, where the towers have names based on their locations within the Compound of Death (see the KQ8 strategy guide) and The Ferryman says that the Bridge to Life is east of the boathouse. According to the KQ8 hintbook, the same goes for Connor's community.

Connor's Village lies nearby, just outside of "Daventry" (the castle and perhaps Daventry town proper). According to the KQ8 website, Connor's village is known as "Daventry", but much like the manual Connor is described as living in a small farming community outside of Daventry proper.


 * Daventry once bustled as a thriving village under the peaceful rule of King Graham and Queen Valanice. Now, continuous darkness covers the land, vile Goblins and monstrous Spriggans roam about unhampered, and the entire population has been turned to stone. Connor starts his journey here, leaving behind his home in search for the sacred pieces of the Mask of Eternity.

In KQ8 there is a sign at the northern edge of the map of Connor's village, which points to "Daventry", Connor points out that the sign is pointing the direction to Castle Daventry. The cave/secret passage to the castle, and the aqueduct lie on the northern edge of the village as well.

Daventry (aka The Town') is a village appearing in KQ8, the community is said to be located in a less populated part of the kingdom in an area just outside of Daventry (the castle and apparently the city center of the town of Daventry as well). As such it is kind of a neighborhood of the main village proper. Connor's village is inspired by the town of Daventry mentioned in earlier material. The KQ1 manual (the second version of the manual) mentions Daventry's church... KQ8 is the first game to show the church (though the bells are missing from the bell tower). The village in the game is located in a small valley and surrounded by mountains on all sides. This is likely partly due to game mechanics. A small canyon leads out of the valley to the north with a sign marked simply "Daventry". Connor notes that that is the way to Castle Daventry.

The village was given the name "Daventry" in on the KQ8 website.

But also described much like the manual.


 * Connor lives in an area just outside Daventry. The community is made up mostly of farmers. A grinding mill in the center of the community is for the processing of grain. Connor lives here where it's less populated and nearer trade with hunters, as he is a tanner.

Mark Seibert added to this in another interview ;


 * Can you move back to Daventry and see well known things from the previous games?
 * Connor actually lives outside of Daventry. While you will be able to get into the castle (I can't tell you how because it would spoil the puzzle), you won't be able to get into Daventry proper.

Albeit, in the game you are actually in part of the Kingdom of Daventry, just not any place from the previous games.

In the game the name of the village isn't mentioned directly, and in the manual it is described simply as the community where Connor lives, "outside of Daventry", which implies it to be outside of the Daventry city center (in the 'burbs'). Alternatively the blurb could be interpreted to be describing the area where Connor lives specifically, where his and Sarah's houses are located in a more rural area, just outside of small Town where the Church, Pub, Simm's Farmstead, Town Fountain, the Mill, and Apothecary surround. ...or it could mean "outside of Castle Daventry", since the sign pointing to Castle Daventry (as Connor points out), is marked simply "Daventry".

One of the grave stones states that it is a town, The Town Drunk, and one other may imply the name of the village is also called 'Daventry', see Brigid, Samuel, and Colmcille. The KQ8 hintbook also refers to the fountain in town as the Town Fountain.

Since its a less populated farming community, it has to be a different than the section of town visited in the novels. The town from the books was supposed to be the main population center in Daventry.

The ruins near the town are ruins of a much older castle that predates even King Edward's castle, and not intended to be the castle seen in early KQ games (though it does share a rough similaraties in design).

KQ8 Location
In KQ8 the Town lies directly 'south' of the Castle Daventry. The road to Castle Daventry lies to the north, marked with a sign that simply says "Daventry". Most of the magic maps in the game are aligned with the north being north, and south being south. The only exception is the map for Castle Daventry, which turns the map sideways. The official hintbook for KQ8 assumes that the Kingdom of Daventry region is aligned as the top being the 'north' and the bottom being the south as well.

On the world map in the game, one can see what looks like a small village surrounding what appears to be a small lake (although the village appears more dense than the village that appears in the game, and built closer to the shore edge, and there is no evidence of the Wizard's Island in the lake.). A curvy road appears to make its way up the mountain towards a much larger town, and finally up to the castle itself. This may not necessarily be the village from the game however. Connor's village may not actually shown on the world map, and the view is blocked in the angle shown.

According to the information in the MOE manual, the overworld map is actually turned to be aligned with the left side being south, and the right side being north. According to the manual, the swamp (located to the right and below Connor's village on the map) is actually located to the north of Daventry. This would mean that the Underground Realm of the Gnomes lies directly north of it, and the rest of the lands shown still further north. The village and lake shown on the map lies almost directly 'east' (in relation to its location on the map) of the castle. The path appears to work its way around from the northside of the village to the larger town before curving south towards the castle.

Based on Mark Seibert's comment it would suggest that Connor's Village is outside of the Daventry seen in previous games.

If Connor's village is not shown on the world map, and is blocked from view by the mountain, it's possible that his village is a neighberhood or district on the outer edge of Daventry town proper (the southern town mentioned in King's Quest Companion and novels).