Quest for the Crown: From the Chronicles of Daventry, Part I

Quest for the Crown: From the Chronicles of Daventry: Part I (Part 1 in some editions) is a chapter in The King's Quest Companion, it is the chronicle of Graham's adventure to find the three treasures and save the kingdom, as Graham told to the Royal Scribe (a nameless court chronicler) and transcribed into the Chronicles of Daventry.

The novelization is actually designed as a walkthrough for the original version of King's Quest, that can be followed to win the game. It follows the main path through the game (as designated by the game developers).

Introduction of the remake
In the second and 3rd edition he calls the changes in the KQ1 remake's story 'creative license'. The 2nd edition (and 3rd edition with some slight edits to reflect chapter number changes) added a explanation as to why the author never bothered to adapt order of events as told in the KQ1 remake, but rather left the version of the story as shown in the original KQ1. Explaining that the original story was the true history of Daventry, and it would be wrong for him to be a revisionist historian.


 * In improving the look and sound of the game, however, Sierra decided to make a few changes in the game itself. Not many, just enough to make a few tough problems more logical and a little easier to solve. Thus, in the SCI Version only, the gnome's name problem can be answered in more than one way, the condor doesn't appear until late in the game, and the pebbles by the river find a more visible home by a lake. These, and the fine tuning of other sequences, changed the game slightly. It's called "creative license"...


 * This book covers both versions of King's Quest 1 game. However, the changes in the game do not, and cannot reflect what actually did happen to Graham as he quested to save Daventry and win its throne. Anyone with an older or non-IBM/compatible KQ1 can play the game along with the narrative in Chapter 2 and win through to the end. This is no longer completely true for folks with the new version.


 * It has been strongly suggested to me that I "rewrite" that particular court chronicle to reflect the game's changes. I have not. To do so would be to rewrite history, and thus reduce Graham's adventurings to a mere fiction. To do so would be to deny the reality of Daventry, something I am not prepared to do at this time.


 * The other reason for my decision to leave the KQ1 narrative the same as it appeared in the first edition of this book is a more practical one. The vast majority of KQ1 players have the original version--King's Quest Classic, so to speak. To modify the words of that nameless court scribe would be a disservice to those game players, as well as a misrepresentation of apparent facts. For the sake of verisimilitude, my editors and I have decided to leave the narrative the same as it was sent to me.


 * However, all of the changes to KQ1 have been included in Chapter 11, "The Easy Way Out." That chapter reflects both "game realities," the old and the new, and can be confidently used by all King's Quest players. No matter which version of KQ1 you have, we've got you covered.

Part I
We live in a time of changes and contradiction. The kingdom is in an uproar, yet it is whole and united as never before. A land of poverty, famine, and despair is rich with hope and gold. We laugh and shout and rejoice in our grief. We weep, wail, and with sorrow beat our chests in our euphoria and jubilation. Tears of every type score every face. The kingdom has been saved and the three great treasures of the realm returned. The fat and happy and quiet days are back upon us. But there was a price. Ah, the price. There always is a price. Great indeed it was, mortally great.

The King is dead! The King is dead! Long live the King! Long live King Graham of Daventry! Love live King Graham!

It is for others, at other times and places, to decide the reputation of the man we called, during our own time, King Edward the Benevolent. Elsewhere we have recounted the stories of how he relinquished Merlin's Mirror, the Shield of Achille, and the Chest of Gold. He lost all through love and treachery. He was the kindest and bravest and most innocent of men. Though he built schools and universities, he was not the most brilliant of monarchs, and in the end it was his very humanity that doomed him, and almost doomed Daventry. Today we look to the future with the young and brave King Graham. He is a man of wit, wisdom, and learning; one of undoubted courage and fortitude. I pray that our future is as bright to our prospects.

During this, the inaugural week of his reign, we have been directed by King to set down on paper the events that brought him to the golden throne. It is a tale of daring and mystery that begins when Graham enters the very castle from which he now rules....

Part II
Graham opened the castle doors and began following the familiar red-carpeted halls toward King Edward's throne room. He tried to keep the armies of depression from invading his mind, much as he had been trying to keep Daventry free from the invaders that had been shrinking its borders since the loss of the magic shield. Both tasks were nearly impossible. The famine had reduced the population again and again, and few remained in Daventry. Even if an army could be raised, no gold existed to pay it. The moat with its flesh-eating beasts and the thick metal-clad door were all that guarded Castle Daventry. The weakening spells of long-departed sorcerers, backed by the sword-arms of fewer than 100 worn-out and battered knights, were the kingdom's final defenses. "Whatever the old king wants," Graham thought as he bowed respectfully in front of his aged and weary monarch, "it will probably be the last thing I ever do for him. It's unlikely either of us, much less the kingdom, can go on much longer." Edward struggled to give a pleased smile at Graham's bow." Always the proper and respectful one, aren't you?" "Here it comes," thought the young knight. He listened to the king's still energetic voice echoed quietly through the throne room. Like Graham's hopes, the room was empty save some tapestries--sad reminders of brighter days. "I'm old, Graham. My end is near. Find the three treasures. I've searched for years without success. You are quick of wit, strong, clever, and are learned in all the subjects taught at the royal university. Use that knowledge. Use your mental faculties as well as your knightly skills. You alone among my subjects can do it. There is no time; you are Daventry's last hope. GO." "Yes, sir!" "This much I promise you, Sir Graham. If you succeed, the kingdom will be saved. In reward, you will inherit my throne and become King of Daventry in my place!" "Thank you, sire!" "Now get out of here, Graham. As you leave, I shall lock this castle's doors; it shall be my last stand against this kingdom's enemies. Locked they will remain against all, including you, Sir Graham. They will only open again when you bring me the three treasures. Our wishes go with you. We can give you no more! I have spoken!"

Part III
Just west of the castle, Graham paused to consider his problem. He leaned against a large rock in the first clearing he came upon, a peaceful spot dotted with wildflowers and shaded by many trees. he was not a large ma. His body's length was just at six feet, and his muscles were long and low. When forced to arms, Graham beat with speed and skill, not muscle. He kept his dark brown (almost black, really) hair cut long to cover his ears. he had begun doing this during his first years in the palace school, on the theory that if the teacher couldn't see his ears, the teacher couldn't pull them. The theory didn't work, but the hair length stayed. Sir David of Bruce, a former classmate of his, once described Graham's features (with clever but undue harshness) as being "forgettable the moment you saw." The truth is, Graham is pleasant and strong looking, in a vague sort of way.

It was his quickness that set the future king apart from the rest of humanity. Nimble and fast of both hand and foot, he was, and still is, even nimbler and faster between the ears. Graduating the first of his class from the royal university, Graham had specialized in knowing a lot of things. No one subject could capture him, and he had devoured all the lore and learning he could listen to and read. As he leaned against that rock, he scratched his belly, and began to think.

The only leads to the missing treasures the young knight had to go on were slim. One: the dwarf who had taken the magic Shield of Achille had been seen disappearing into a whole in the ground. Two: the shape-changing witch who had stolen the Chest of Gold escaped on her broomstick into the clouds that clung to the peaks above Daventry, solid-seeming masses that looked like snow cornices, impossible outcroppings poised out from the mountains with no support. Three the nameless sorcerer who had absconded with Merlin's Mirror had said it would be kept in a safe place, guarded by some fearsome beast. There were no easy answers in this list, but that was all anyone knew about the mystery.

To these facts, as lightweight as fiction, Graham added some home-brewed observations. "My daddy used to tell me, 'Boy, if I have learned anything in my life, I have learned this: when in doubt, or in trouble, pick up anything that is not nailed down, and, if it is, check for loose nails or boards. Check carefully into, under, above, below, and behind things. read everything; you might learn something. Wear clean undergarments, brush after meals, and always remember, nothing is at it appears.'"

With all of this in mind, Graham took inventory of what he had. he discovered nothing. That meant he had to get some food, some gold or the like with which to buy things, and a weapon. He leaned forward harder and harder, as he set his plans and sorted out his situation. The rock rolled. Graham stumbled but a little and, as he recovered his balance, noticed that the rolling stone had revealed a hole. "Well, its time to heed some of Daddy's advice," he said so the trees, and looking into the hole, he saw what appeared to be a dagger. So it was, and while taking it he breathed, "Thank you, Father," a note of respect in his voice.

"I sure hope this is an omen."

Part IV
Food and treasure were next for Graham to obtain. Treasure, he realized would not be particularly easy to come by, but food could be taken care of quickly in a vegetable garden that had been planted behind the castle. Graham headed north so as to arrive at the garden from behind the castle. Passing beside a large, lush oak tree, flushed with the confidence of one easy success, he decided to test his father's rule another time.

There was nothing hidden in the hole at the tree's base, so Graham started climbing up, the songs of birds surrounding him, until he reached a fork in the oak's branches. Within that fork a nest had been built; in it a lone egg lay surrounded by the dry twigs and grass. Graham looked closer at the egg and almost fell out of the branches so startled was he to find that the egg seemed made of gold.

"I guess it always pays to heed your father's advice," Graham told himself as he climbed down from the tree. He had taken the egg--a treasure to match a weapon.

He was still marveling as he turned east into the castle garden. Mostly carrots grew here in neat, tended rows; but none was large enough for picking. Only on the Garden's western edge did he find anything worth taking. "I'll harvest just one carrot," he decided, shaking his head in disappointment. "I'm sure I can get more food along the way."

Leaving the walls of the castle behind, wondering if he would ever see them again, Graham wandered north, intending to skirt the small lake where he he had played often as a child. Some call it the Lake of Maylie still, after King Edward's lost wife. It had been named that when Edward and Maylie married. They were often seen sitting in a small boat upon the lake late on summer afternoons. Shadow players against a setting sun, they were alone in their love for each other. The lake's name has lost favor since Maylie's death, and few ever float upon it or splash in its water, out of memory of happier days.

Graham's mind was floating in the past when his reverie was broken by the sudden appearance of an elf playing in the sunbeams.

In the interests of understanding, it should be clearly noted here that many in Daventry don't hold much love for the little people--the short elves, dwarves, gnomes, and leprechauns. This was not always so, of course, for the little folk also withdrew, or were forced to withdraw, from the Other World. They too are partly responsible for the very fabric of our world. It was, however, one of the little people who duped the king into parting with the Shield of Achille. A dwarf, it was claimed, but that word never came from Edward's lips. he said it was a small figure bearing a root known only to dwarves. With the subsequent death of the queen, the populace pointed the fingers of hate, fear, and anger at all of the small ones.

Graham saw only someone who might offer him assistance in his quest. Feeling the dagger secure against his hip, he approached the gamboling elf and began to talk. "Hail, friend," he exclaimed. "I quest to save Daventry and hope you might be able to help me."

The elf stopeed, stunned--surprised by Graham's sudden appearance. He listened as the knight explained his search for the treasures, tugged on his ear frantically as if to hurry up his thoughts, and replied in a voice of pure melody.

"Sir Graham, I know but little of the treasures, and I cannot much help you there. But there are some things I do know that might help you in your travels. Known then there is much evil and danger now both on the ground and in the air. Ogres and trolls, wolves and dwarves, wizards and witches--all are about in the forest to the west. Take much care. Flee at first notice, or you are doomed. Giants and dragons patrol both above and below the earth. Weep for Daventry, the end is near! Know also that you, Sir Graham, are the first humanfolk to speak with me in years, and you have spoken without hate or anger. In return for that, I will give you something."

Holding out a tiny hand, the elf showed Graham a golden ring with an inset tiger's eye stone. "This ring is magic. Wear it and you will become invisible in time of danger. There is a catch; it works but once and for only a short time. Use it wisely, just as you have acted wisely in speaking with me! Only through wisdom and courage might you succeed in your quest."

In a blink, the elf was gone. Graham was so busy examining the ring that he noticed not if the elf disappeared or ran. He never had the chance to thank him for either the ring or the advice.

Dragon's Lair
Below is an exerpt of Graham's journey into the Dragon's Lair. On the road south, the piece of gingerbread house he was munching tasted even better than the one the day before. The morning had to be as sunny as Graham's mood, and he passed without encounter or incident through the territory formerly hunted by the wicked witch. About an hour later he came across an ancient well and stopped, thinking to cut his thirst with some water. Graham lowered the old bucket there into the depths of the well, but it reached the end of its rope without touching water. Drought had taken its toll here. Looking down, though, he could see a reflective glint indicating water down there.

Thirst gave the knight an idea. Raising the oak bucket back up, he cut the rope and took the bucket. Lowering the rope again, Graham intended to climb down the well, fill the bucket, and climb back up. He was confident in his agility, having scampered up and down ropes for years as part of his martial training. He was always considered the best climber in the army. Carefully, he climbed onto the rope and shimmied down. As he reached the bottom, the best climber in the army's hand slipped.

It was a short drop to the water, and when Graham recovered himself, he found he could reach up and touch the end of the rope with his hand. Knowing he could get back the way he came, Graham dove back under the water, as much for sport as for curiosity. One bit of father's advice had been search over, under, around, and through everything. Diving to the bottom he saw the usual assortment of old bottles and trash, but in one wall there appeared to be an entrance to a cave or grotto. Swimming into the opening he immediately popped out of the water, and was able to crawl into a dry cave.

King Edward the Benevolent had spent a score of years trying to recover the mirror that foretold the future. Countless people had searched, both in Daventry and elsewhere. And there it was, not more than a score of steps in front of Graham. One of the objects of his quest, one of the salvations of the kingdom, was in plain sight. All Graham had to do was get rid of a little problem.

The problem took the shape of a 12-foot long, iridescent, green-scaled, fire-breathing dragon. The flames that blazed from its jaws had scorched deep the virgin rock. From across the cave, the heat of the sulphurous flames singed Graham's hair. The dragon made half-rushes back and forth at him, taking its dragon time before making a killer charge.

Graham tested the balance of his dagger, knowing he had only one chance to strike the dragon in its heart. He knew he could retreat safely back into the well, but his duty was clear; he must rescue the mirror from the beast.

First, though, he had to distract the dragon to give himself more time to aim and a clearer target. The oak bucket was still with him, now mostly filled with well water. Graham reasoned that, instead of extinguishing his own thirst, that water was going to extinguish the dragon's flame. It was the distraction he needed.

Hefting the bucket, Graham advanced as close to the dragon as he dared, a mistake would turn the knight into a crispy critter. Just as the dragon exhaled, he flung the water splat into its snout.

As a distraction it may have worked, but Graham would never know for sure. The liquid hit the dragon's flame full-on and put it out. The green-scaled monstrosity just stopped and sputtered, steam and ubbles gurgling from his nostrils.

It was the expression on the dragon's face that held the dagger in Graham's hand. He speaks to wonder when he says that he never knew a dragon could blush and show embarrassment. It could only have been that; dropping its head and tucking its tail, the beast pushed a boulder asise and pussyfooted out of the cave. Sir Graham was left behind, alone.

Graham spent many minutes just touching and looking at Merlin's Mirror,. It's surface still shone, and the luster of the carved mahogany frame still glowed. Picking it up, Graham looked deep into the glass that told the future. His own face looked back, and on his head was a crown! "I hope this mirror doesn't make mistakes'", he prayed. He put the mirror into his pack and followed the dragon's route to see if it would lead to open sky. It did.

It was a jubilant and confident Sir Graham of Daventry who walked out of the underworld as if reborn. He didn't recognize the cave he emerged from, and he paused to get his bearings. Agove him, condors were soaring, sweeping steeply up and down, seemingly weightless. One unsually large condor made a few low passes at Graham in what seemed a friendly manner, as if inviting him to climb aboard and fly too.

A short distance to the west was another of the many lakes that dot Daventry. Tall cattails grew on its banks and trembled in the slight breeze. The lake was inviting to Graham, and after the singes and sulphur fumes of the dragon's cave, it was an invitation he could not refuse...

Behind the scenes
Other differences included in the remake (not always related to continuity or story) include;
 * Rumplestiltskin answering to Nikstlitselpmur along with the backwards alphabet version of his name. *The order of events when the treasures were collected in Chronicles it is Mirror, Shield, and then Chest (any order in the original game), and the remake it is any order for the mirror and chest, and then the shield is last.
 * The geography of the door into the mountain is different being stairs in KQ1AGI and KQ3, but suspended walkways and bridges in the remake. The door itself is magical in the remake, but acted as a normal door in the original.
 * There are no deadly holes in the Woodcutter's house but the family has turned for the worst with the wife nearing death (sick and in bed). She was starving and sitting in her chair in the original.
 * The witch doesn't lock you in a jail in her house but cooks you into a Graham Cracker.
 * Daventry is a darker kingdom, and covered with the thick woods of Daventry rather than such a brighter and cheerier and more open place it is in the original (but still woody in its own way).
 * Female Leprechauns have been added to the Land of the Leprechauns. Whereas females are considered rare or nonexistent in the myths, and that the race as a whole is possibly the male forms of the Fairy race. *Enemies do not patrol to one screen, but have an entire region that they can be found, that overlap with other enemy's territories.
 * Architectural changes to the castle; no entrance hall shown in the remake, but instead a court yard, the front gate functions differently and opens into completely different locations in both games (the three novels tried to blend some of these inconsistencies between the versions games, and the castle architecture).

Where the King's Quest Companion went with the idea that the original game was closer to the 'real' story, and chose not to change the story to keep it accurate. The Official Book of King's Quest (3rd Edition) went with a more blending of KQ1 remake with the rest of the series, basing its artwork on the remake, see The Official Book of King's Quest VI Artwork.