~Meet Your Maker!~

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of these characters or this setting, they belong to Sierra On-Line. May that great company rest in peace.

Chapter 1: The Knight.

The young man blinked twice as his head began to clear. His mind was suddenly filled with several burning questions as he started walking-

First of all: Who am I? He looked down at himself- he was human clearly, Caucasian and muscular, wearing a red tunic with blue pants and black boots. He searched his belt and found no weapon on himself. Hmmm…I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, he thought as he scratched his head, now feeling he had hair and was wearing a hat.

Second of all: Where am I? The young man took in his surroundings- light green grass and flowers at his feet. An oak tree stood tall above him while chirping birds flew in the blue sky and landed on the branches. Looming even higher than the trees was a castle made of stone with small flags of different colors flapping in the gentle breeze from the towers and various colored standards on the walls. A moat surrounded the castle and the man shuddered as he peered into the water while crossing the bridge; there were alligators in there, and they looked like they could tear him apart with those teeth.

Thirdly: What am I supposed to be doing here? I don't even remember what my goal is. I just somehow… woke up here. He thought hard about this, but couldn't find anything to trigger his memory any further than now. Almost as if he simply didn't exist before he woke up.

Fourthly which pertains to the first question: What's my backstory? What sort of person am I? Am I a peasant? A king? Or am I somewhere in between?

The fact that I can't remember anything other than waking up here greatly worries me. What if my goal was important? If I can't remember, then for all I know, this land will go up in smoke or something else horrible! Why can't I remember?! He looked up at the castle. The castle… maybe the king and queen can-!

The man's foot stepped wrong and he found himself slipping and falling straight into the moat.

SPLASH!

Panic immediately set in as the man went under the water and saw several reptilian eyes stare back at him. He surfaced with a gasp and attempted to swim back to the shore, but it was too late. Already the alligators were set upon him.

He grabbed at the edge of the shore, but the sharp pain in his legs and the force of the alligator's bite dragged him away. He tried to kick, but found it wasn't working to stop them. He tried to scream but that just filled his mouth with water.

Blood filled the water and the man's vision grew blurry and his attempts to escape became weaker and weaker until at last, he could fight no more. As he became limp, he sank underneath the water. His eyes grew heavy and as they closed, he breathed his last. His final thoughts were, Why? I was so young. I didn't want to die this way…

In the darkness he heard voices.

"Oh dear… they certainly did a number on him, didn't they?"

"They sure did, Roberta. Should we heal him or should he figure it out for himself?"

"Ken, he doesn't know how to do that! He was questioning everything about himself, so I highly doubt he knows how, so we need to revive him and then teach him the spell." There was a pause, "Go on now gators, shoo! Shoo! Ken, grab him."

Another pause. He could have sworn he saw a pinprick of light, but it faded in and out of existence so he couldn't quite reach it. He heard 'Roberta' speak softly, "Graham… Sir Graham…"

Sir Graham? Was that his name?

"Ken, his fingers twitched. I think he's trying to come back to us."

"Then do what you gotta do, dear."

"Sir Graham… by my power, may you be healed!"

The light grew larger and shone brighter. Roberta's voice ripped through his ears as she shouted, "RESTORE!"

Graham felt agonizing pain for just a moment and managed to take a breath and grit his teeth. Then, the pain resided and he felt a rejuvenating energy flow through him. His heart lurched and started to beat in his ears. He managed to open his eyes and saw two people standing over him, one was a smiling young lady with long wavy brown hair and eyes and the other was a man with short brown hair and eyes, who had a nice looking mustache.

The woman, whom Graham assumed was Roberta, knelt down next to him and stroked his hair. "Thank God you're alright," she said, "I was worried for you, Sir Graham."

Graham smiled back at her and sat up to look at himself. Whatever she'd done was amazing, for he looked and felt completely restored as if he'd never fallen in the moat at all. He wasn't even wet anymore. He looked at Roberta and said with a scratchy voice- almost as if he'd not spoken in a very long time, if at all -, "Thank you. Thank you so much for saving my life. I must repay your kindness somehow."

Ken held up his hand and shook his head, "No, no. You don't have to repay us, Sir Graham. I think the fact that you're okay is good enough."

"Oh nonsense!" Graham replied, "There must be something- anything! –I can do to help you in some way!"

Roberta looked thoughtful and then said, "Is it possible that you could be more careful?"

Graham winced and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'll try to watch where I'm going next time."

Roberta nodded and she smiled again. "But," she said, "Just in case something like this happens again…" she saw Graham shudder at the thought, "I shall teach you something, a spell of sorts."

Graham's eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly.

"I actually have two spells that I will teach you, both important for your quest. They're called, 'Save' and 'Restore'. Restore is what I used to revive you just now. Save allows you to… hmmm… how do I put this? Save allows you to make sure your memories in this adventure you're going to go on are not forgotten. It's very useful in case you're about to do something dangerous."

"And Restore?" Graham asked.

"Restore allows you to return back to the last memory you saved. Say for example, you fell off a cliff. If you saved beforehand, you'd be able to go back to that memory and try again, hopefully not falling off again."

Graham nodded and glanced at the moat, "Hmmm... I think I'll test this out. But first, how to activate this 'Save' spell?"

"Think of the spell."

"Alright…"

Save

Suddenly, a scroll appeared out of thin air in front of Graham, made of white parchment paper and floating with what Graham assumed to be magic of some sort. Floating next to the paper was a quill pen dripping black ink.

Roberta explained, "Use that pen to save. Just write anything you want," she saw Graham take the pen, "But, if I may give you some advice first?"

Graham stopped and looked at her. "Yes?"

"You should always remember this, Graham- Save early, save often and don't overwrite saves. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Graham replied with a nod. He then signed his name, "Sir Graham" on the paper. As soon as he set down the period, the scroll disappeared with a poof. He turned back to the moat, "Now then… let's see if this works," and deliberately walked straight into the moat.

SPLASH!

But before the alligators could chomp down on him again, Graham managed to think quickly, Restore!

Time seemed to stop as the scroll appeared once again. Graham quickly tapped the pen on his name and before he could even blink, he found himself back on shore safe and sound without a scratch. Graham whistled in astonishment, "Yes!" he cheered, "It worked!" He turned around and said, "Thank-!"

But there was nobody there. "-you…? Hello?" Graham called.

"Hello, Sir Graham."

Graham flinched and looked around frantically, "Gah! Roberta?"

"Yes! I'm now in your head. I'm your narrator. Now then, you were wondering what your goal was?"

"Y- wait, how do you know that anyway?"

"Well…" Roberta paused, "Let's just say that Ken and I are Wizards of a sort. Very powerful ones, to put it bluntly."

"Powerful Wizards helping a lowly knight, huh?"

"Yes, Sir Graham."

"And how do you know my name? Do you know where I am? Do you know why I can't remember anything?"

"This land is called the Kingdom of Daventry. But, I can't tell you everything, Sir Graham. You have to discover some things for yourself here, otherwise where's the fun in doing anything?"

"Are you hiding something, Roberta?"

"If I am, it's for a very good reason, Sir Graham. I don't want to overwhelm you. Now then, your goal."

"Right. What am I supposed to be doing?' Graham asked as he came to the front of the castle.

"You were right in assuming the king could help you with that. He is known as King Edward the Benevolent, and he is through those big doors. I believe King Edward wishes your services."

Graham nodded and opened the doors and walked inside the castle.

As his boots padded the soft red carpet, he started humming as he walked past the suits of armor.

"What are you humming there, Graham?"

Graham stopped and replied in confusion, "I don't know. This song just sort of came to me all of sudden. It sounds familiar, but I don't know where I heard it."

He heard Roberta chuckle softly and asked, "Oh? Do you know it, Roberta?"

"I do. You'll hear it more often in time, sir knight."

"If you say so."

He turned the corner, and came face to face with King Edward.

Graham frowned. Dressed in robes of red and purple and having a long white beard reaching his chest, King Edward looked weary sitting on his throne. His face was wrinkled, and there seemed to be no spark in those old eyes of his as if he was carrying a great burden more than just the crown that adorned his head..

Graham stopped at the foot of the throne and swiftly bowed before King Edward, dropping his hat in the process. He picked it back up and thought, I meant to do that! Really!

"Sure you did," Roberta said sarcastically.

Wait, you hear my thoughts too?! Oh great, Graham thought, I won't have any privacy will I?

"I'll cut you some slack after this adventure is over."

Alright, I trust you.

King Edward gave Sir Graham a pleased smile, and Graham couldn't help but smile back. Despite his troubles, King Edward looked to be a very kind man. Graham cleared his throat and said, "I am at your service, My Liege."

King Edward's smile fell and he sighed, "Sir Graham, I am an old man. I fear my end is near. I have chosen you to prove yourself worthy of the throne."

Graham's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened. T-throne?! Me, King?! Oh my…

The king continued, "As you know, our kingdom is weak and poor. I have knowledge of the existence of three things that will make our kingdom wealthy and strong. Somewhere within our kingdom, there is a magic mirror that foretells the future. There is a magic shield that will protect the bearer from mortal harm. Finally, there is a magic chest that is always filled with gold coins."

Graham nodded in understanding. King Edward nodded back and proclaimed, "Go, Sir Graham! Go and bring me back these treasures. If you succeed, you will inherent the throne."

Graham bowed again and declared to him, "Take heart, my king. I shall not fail you!"

King Edward smiled at his knight and watched him leave the throne room. He's a good lad, Edward thought, He'll make a fine successor, I'm sure.

As soon as Graham left the castle entrance and came back outside, his serious knightly composure dropped. "King?!" he exclaimed, placing a hand on his head in bewilderment. "He wants me to be king, Roberta?!"

"Yes, Graham."

"B-but I'm a knight! I don't know how to be king! How is the kingdom going to prosper with a man who has no idea how to rule on their throne?" Graham questioned, a whirlwind of horrible scenarios from the idea of him on the throne rushing through his mind.

"Graham," Roberta said gently, "it's alright. You'll do fine."

Graham frowned, "And how do you know that, Roberta? How do you know it'll be fine?"

"Trust me, Graham, I just do. I can't tell you how I know-"

"Why? Just tell me! It'll set me at ease."

"No, it'll only make things worse if you knew what I did, sir knight. You wouldn't be able to withstand this knowledge I have."

"What, will my head explode?"

"No… I'd have to do something I'll regret."

"And what's that?" he wondered.

There was no reply from Roberta.

"…Roberta? Are you there?"

Hesitantly, she spoke up again. "Yes Graham, I'm here. I just… I don't want to discuss this right now. In fact, I'd like it if you never to ask about this again."

"But I need to- AGH!" Graham suddenly felt a splitting headache coming on for some reason. He clutched at his head and yelled, "STOP! THAT HURTS!"

Roberta yelled back in reply, "DROP THE SUBJECT, NOW!"

Through gritted teeth and intense pain he managed to say, "Alright! Alright, I'm sorry! Just make it stop!"

The pain immediately stopped and relief washed over him. He stood there for a moment to catch his breath and allow his heart to calm down as sweat dripped off him.

"Bring up the subject of how I know all these things again, Sir Graham, and I'll give you worse than a nasty headache. Do I make myself clear?"

Graham could hear that she was dead serious so he nodded vigorously and stuttered, "Y-yes, Roberta. I will not ask you again."

As if a switch had been flipped, Roberta replied gleefully, "Wonderful! Now then, shall we begin this quest proper, sir knight?"

Graham replied with slight fear in his voice, "Y-yes ma'am. I… I think we should. Um, if you don't mind me asking though, where am I headed first?"

Roberta laughed, "Ah, Sir Graham, that's the beauty of an adventure! You get to explore and discover it for yourself."

Graham sighed, "I had a feeling you'd say that."

"Come on, Sir Graham!" Roberta said trying to encourage him, "Let's rescue Daventry! Let's make King Edward proud! Prove to me that you're worthy of being on that throne, Graham!"

Graham took a deep breath, "Right! I can do this! But first…"

Save

Graham wrote down "Adventure!" on the scroll. It disappeared with a poof, and Graham strode off to begin his quest.

"Daventry certainly is beautiful, isn't it Roberta?" He asked as he walked through the green woodlands and breathed the scent of nearby flowers.

"It certainly is, Graham. I can't think of any land that is lovelier."

Graham suddenly stopped to glance at a rock. Curious, he bent down and saw a small hole underneath it with something shining silver in the darkness. "I wonder…"

With all his might, he gave the rock a mighty shove. "There. Now what's in this hole?"

"Uh, Graham? Move!"

"What?" was all he could say before the rock rolled back downhill and right into him, cracking and breaking several of his ribs at once as he was crushed underneath. As he gasped for air and hacked up blood from his lungs, his world quickly faded to black.

Restore

He found himself standing next to the castle again. Graham looked down at his boots and said, "Let's… let's just forget that ever happened, shall we?"

"Right. Once more with feeling, Sir Graham!"

Graham nodded and began walking again. He thought to himself, If this keeps up, I have the feeling this is going to be one long adventure.

Roberta, of course, could hear his thoughts and replied, "It'll be worth it, Graham. Trust me, I know."

Graham smiled. Somewhere inside him, he knew she was right.

What's this?! A story from little old me?! SAY IT AIN'T SO! :o Yes, for all the, what? three? Four? Five people who care about my stuff on here, yes, I have a new story series for you here. It's called, obviously, "Meet Your Maker!"

I actually hope to go through every Sierra adventure game that's considered canon (basically from King's Quest 1 to Gabriel Knight 3), and have each protagonist of the Sierra game meet their creators in their adventures, usually in a situation like Sir Graham had there where the Sierra Hero is saved by their creator somehow. I already have plans on how to introduce Roger Wilco from Space Quest, Sonny Bonds from Police Quest, and the Hero from Quest for Glory. However, I'm not sure how I'm going to introduce characters like Adam Greene from Ecoquest or Gabriel Knight from Gabriel Knight, since in Ecoquest you cannot die or get a Game Over (however there IS apparently an unwinnable situation that you can get in the first game! so I hear. I trust TV Tropes moreso than Wikipedia these days, plus it's more fun to read) and in Gabriel Knight you can't die until the last third or so of the game Gabriel Knight 1: Sins of the Fathers (which is in one of the creepiest areas in the game.)

If anyone has any suggestions on how to solve this predicament, please let me know.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Oh, and don't worry about my KQ5 fanfic and my QFG1 fanfic, I'm still working on those. Very slowly.