Disclaimer: King's Quest and its characters do not belong to me, they belong to Sierra On-Line. Trust me, if I did… I probably would have characterized everyone better.


Chapter 7: The Escape Plan!


Night had long since fallen on Mordack's Island, and the royal family was miserable. In Mordack's laboratory, Alexander sighed and hung his head, "I shouldn't have left him there. I should have made sure he couldn't escape and find his brother so easily." He looked at his mother and sister, "I'm really sorry. This is all my fault!"

"Alexander, you didn't know this would happen." Valanice said, trying to comfort him. "We'll get through this, one way or another."

"Well, sitting here and moping won't do us any good!" Rosella stated, getting to her feet. She looked up the spiraling staircase that led to some sort of machine at an upper level, "There has to be a way out of here..."

"But, Rosella… even if we do find a way out of this bottle, how are we going to get out of this castle? We don't have anything to make us grow back to our regular size, nor do we have any idea how far away from home we are." Alex noted, crossing his arms.

"'Nothing is as it appears' is what grandpa said, right?" Rosella asked.

"It's pretty clear to me that we're stuck here." Alex replied.

"All we can do is hope that your father comes here soon." Valanice said.

"He will, I'm sure of it." Alex said confident. "But still, patience is a virtue."

"Well, it's a boring virtue." Rosella sighed, sitting down again.

The door opened with a creak. They all looked up hoping to see Graham walk in…

…Well, it wasn't Graham to their disappointment. But, luckily, it wasn't Mordack either. Instead, it was somebody they'd never seen before!

She was slender and dressed in a ragged grey dress, with olive skin and long raven hair. She looked around nervously, and they saw she had a pair of lovely hazel eyes.

Maybe she can help us? She looks trustworthy… and lovely. Alex thought. He jumped up and down and called, "Hey! Over here, ma'am! Help us!"

"Can you help us out of here?" Rosella yelled.

"Help!" Valanice cried.

The girl turned to the sounds from the table, looking surprised at the bottle with little people in it. She'd thought she'd heard Mordack talking to someone earlier. Maybe, if she could find something to defend herself with, they could all escape from the wizard and she could finally return home to the Green Isles.

She began walking to the table and asked, "Who are-"but she was interrupted, as suddenly a shimmering blue door appeared in the wall out of nowhere, and an ugly beast with spiraling horns and covered in blue scales, came out with its claws outstretched to grab her. In an instant, the Beast had snatched her and quickly carried her back through the blue door which closed with a 'snap!'

"Alexander, what are you doing?" Valanice questioned, spotting her son trying (and failing) to scrabble up the smooth glass with his bare hands. He slipped down as expected and he answered, "We have to help her! We can't just-"

"Alex!" Valanice interrupted, "We can't help her until we get out ourselves! And we can't get out of here until Graham comes. You know that."

"By then it might be too late!"

"There's nothing we can do, Alexander. We will help her yes, but right now we need to focus on getting out ourselves." Valanice said, dead serious. "And for that, we need to be patient."

Alex sighed and nodded, leaning against the glass. "Right. Patience is a virtue."


The first thing Graham felt as he came to was pain. Lots of it! His head ached like it had gone through a brick wall. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to ignore it as he surveyed his surroundings.

He was alone in a tiny room with a stone floor. There was nothing much in here but some barrels, and a shelf. A lone torch lit up the room, and wooden steps led to a wooden door. Graham looked down, and saw he was tied up with strong rope. He struggled with all his might, but it was no use! The innkeeper certainly knew what he was doing when he'd captured a guy like him, since he'd not only tied him up, but stole all his stuff as well, bag and all! All he had was the shirt on his back.

"Great," Graham muttered to himself. "Just fantastic." He took a deep breath and thought, Okay, Graham. No need to panic. You can get out of this if you stay calm and think about your situation. Check carefully into, under, above, below and behind things. Pick up anything that is not nailed down, and if it is, look for loose nails or boards. What are things in here that look useful, Graham? Torch? No, it'll set the place on fire. Shelf? No, nothing but bottles and jars. I need my pack, not a jug. Barrels? No, considering this place, they're probably filled with nothing but ale or grain. The door looks like it's locked- figures since they don't want me running around upstairs. There is a hammer over there, but I can't reach it when I'm tied up like this! Wait- is that a hole in the wall? He whispered, "Psst! Hey, anyone in there? Can you please help me?"

A squeak came as an answer, and a familiar rat poked her head out of the hole. "Hello there, sir! Oh my," she tsked, "You certainly have gotten yourself tangled up in some trouble this time, haven't you?" Graham chuckled and nodded. "Well, knot to worry, I'll break you out!" and she started gnawing on the fibers.

"Thank you, Miss. Rat. Say, for some reason, you remind me of someone I know."

Through a mouthful of rope, she replied, "Really? Who?"

"A lady named Roberta, the 'great dreamer.' Somehow, you remind me of her. Although, it could just be your voice."

"Yeah… probably." The rat said with a smirk. With one more snap of her teeth, the rope fell in a heap on the floor, and Graham was finally free!

"Thank you very much!" Graham said. "I must ask you one more favor though- can you search for my friend Cedric too? They got him too, I'm sure." The rat nodded, squeezed underneath the door and disappeared.

Now to get out of here myself. Graham thought as he picked up the rope -can never be too prepared- and the convenient hammer that was lying down next to the stairs. Peeking through the keyhole, he saw nobody there, so he gave the hammer a swing- TWACK! - at the… padlock. That was on the wrong side of the door. Graham tilted his head in confusion. Do they WANT me to get out? What?! How could they be so stupid as to do that? He shook his head. Oh whatever!

He swung again. TWACK! And again. TWACK! TWACK! The hammer obviously wasn't made for this as it began to crack. Luckily, the padlock was hanging on its hinges. One more swing. TWACK! Both the padlock and the head of the hammer clattered to the floor.

"Yes!" Graham cheered quietly. He opened the door softly and tiptoed out.


Cedric's eyes popped open and he immediately starting coughing and gasping for breath. Once he could breathe properly, he looked around.

He sat tied up by rope in a room. Specifically, it was a guest room, complete with nice bed and chamber pot. Cedric attempted to plug his nose, but because he was tied up so tightly he could barely move, he settled for wrinkling it in disgust instead and glancing out the window. Day was dawning now. Had they been out that long?

And why do I feel lighter for some reason? He thought. Then it dawned on him. Oh no… don't tell me…

He checked to where his bag was. It wasn't there. "Great… just dandy!" He laughed.

Okay, Cedric, okay… don't panic. Think! What would Graham do? Oh no- Graham! Is he okay? Nonono, focus! Okay, what's in here exactly? A bed. A window. A table with a candle on it. A closet. A mirror. The door- obviously locked, because that would be waaaay too easy. A chest by the bed, might be useful unless that is locked too.

A hole in the wall… wait a second! Cedric grinned, maybe the residents can help me? "Psst! Hey! Anybody there?"

A squeak was his answer, and the furry head of a rat appeared out of the hole. "Oh, there you are kind sir!" the rat said as she scurried over to Cedric.

"Oh boy, am I glad to see you!" Cedric replied relieved as the rat chewed the rope. "Tell me, is Graham alright?"

The rat nodded and smiled. Cedric relaxed, "Thank goodness." The rope fell down at Cedric's feet. "Thank you very much, Ms. Rat. Is there anything I can do for you?"

The rat shook her head and said, "No. The fact that you saved my life is enough for me. Well, I wish you luck friend!" and she scampered back into the hole.

Cedric got up and went to the door. "Hmmm… I know it's possible, but I've never tried it myself."

He closed his eyes, put his hand on the padlock, and whispered, "Let my word, rather than key or knock, open this door and undo the lock."

The lock brightly glowed with a faint hum… there was a click! And then a thud! The lock dropped to the floor, and Cedric's smile widened. "Freedom! I knew that spell would come in handy one day!" The "Unlock" spell was one of the first spells Crispin had taught him, as a safety precaution just in case he accidentally locked himself (or both of them) out of their house. Who needs a spare key under the doormat when you had that?

He tried it on the chest by the bed, just in case there was something in there. And indeed there was! There at the bottom of the chest was his flute and card deck. He stuck the flute onto his belt, and the cards in his pocket. He checked the closet and promptly facepalmed at what he found- they'd left their cloaks in there! Why?! How stupid could they be?! Well, at least it makes sense to keep it in a closet.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, he draped the cloaks over his right arm and started down the stairs. He stopped at the top of the timber stairs and took a step down. There was a "creeak!" as he put his weight on it, and he jerked his foot back. Okay, going straight down? Not an option. They'll hear! Same goes for sliding down the bannister, despite how fun it would be. Is there any other way down? He glanced around, spotting a nearby door. He carefully opened it, and he saw another set of wooden stairs going down and to his left being lit by torches all the way. Cedric smiled. Perfect!

As he walked down the steps, he started to formulate a plan in his head. Okay, first of all, find Graham. Secondly, get all our stuff back. Lastly, get out with our hides intact. But how? Hmm… maybe I could…? Would that even work? I'm not even sure they'd be fooled by that... I mean, I wouldn't know how to act-

He'd been so distracted by his thoughts (and looking down as he walked) that he didn't notice the door until his head had smacked into it. "Ow!"

After rubbing his forehead for a minute, he pressed his ear to the door and put his hand on the knob. It was quiet for a moment, but then he heard a door creaking open and bent down to look through the keyhole. His eyes widened as he spotted a familiar face in a red tunic and feathered cap. Graham! Thank goodness!

Cedric threw open the door, and tried to keep his voice low as he spoke. "Graham, there you are! I'm thinking of a plan to get us out of this place. Here," he handed him his cloak back.

"What's the plan?"

Cedric slipped his cloak over his head and flipped the hood up. It covered the upper part of his face, aside from his eyes. He opened the cupboard, and grabbed the carving knife next to a savory leg of lamb. He swung and thrust it through the air and watched the light of the sunrise glint off the blade. He nodded with a smile and strapped it to his belt. "A good thief is never without a good dagger." He turned back to Graham as his grin widened, "Alright Graham, here's my plan…"


Cedric took a deep breath and rubbed a finger up and down on the handle of his knife, trying to keep his nervousness down. If this plan of his failed, they were doomed!

He closed his eyes, clasped his hands together as if he were praying, and tried to remember the spell for casting an illusion over yourself. "Do not reveal, do not spy, allay your wandering eye. Do go on, I shall too, for I am simply one of you."

Cedric was covered in a cloud of smoke, completely obscuring his view. After a moment, the smoke cleared and, sure enough he'd been transformed! He looked like just your average thief- thin as a rake and pale as a ghost with his eyes flicking around looking for potential loot.

He tiptoed into a sneaky position, arching his back and drawing his dagger with a grin. Into the inn he went, hanging out in the back of the room near the door, leaning against the wall as he tossed and caught his knife perpetually (hoping he wouldn't blow his cover by accidentally slicing his finger off or something.) The bartender was talking about the next raid he'd planned.

"A'ight, now when we reach town, we should hide an' break off into two teams. Then after that, we'll head to opposite sides to flank the guards and rub 'im out."

Cedric raised his eyebrows at this, but his expression remained blank. Hmm… interesting…

"But boss?" One of the thieves from earlier (specifically the one who'd attacked Cedric who was named Brutus) asked, "What if someone notices the guards are gone?"

"They won't. We'll snatch their uniforms and take their places, a'ight?" The bartender answered confidently. "Then, once that's done, we'll signal the rest of you and you can go on with the raid." The chief thief smirked and clasped his hands together. "Boys, this should be a cinch."

Cedric crossed his arms and wore a small grin. Not if I have anything to say about it! He thought. His eyes tracked them as they all headed out. There weren't all that many thieves really, only 7 or so of them. Once they all left, slamming the door on their way out, Cedric walked over to the pantry door and let out a "coo-ee!" to let Graham know that it was safe to come out.

Graham stuck his head out and asked, "Nobody noticed you at all?"

Cedric shook his head and steepled his fingers, putting on an evil little smirk. "Hee hee hee! What'cha say, Graham? Why don't we… do a little raiding ourselves?" Graham nodded and they headed for the dining room, with the "Illusion" spell wearing off.


The very first thing Cedric started searching for was paper and a pen. "Paper, need paper. Need something to write with for my plan to work." He muttered to himself. He soon found both and started writing as quickly as he could,

To the guards of Serenia Town,

Beware! Today, there are some thieves on

their way to the town. They are planning to knock you

all out and replace you with themselves disguised as

you, and then they shall begin a big raid on the town with

no one to stop them! I can only hope that this message

reaches at least one of you so you might pass it on to

others nearby. Be on your watch for anyone suspicious

and do as you will to them according to our King and Queen's

decree of peace. –Cedric A. Shannon, Apprentice to High Wizard Crispinophur of the Society of Wizards.

He rolled up the paper and tied it with some string, then looked up and around and muttered, "Now where is…?" He looked up at the longcase clock and stood on his toes to grab the object- his old stuffed owl toy. "Aha! There you are, Archimedes!" He placed the toy on the table

Graham looked up from a drawer he was rummaging through to ask, "Cedric, how is a-?"

Cedric smiled and held up his hand. "Just watch this Graham. This is something I've always wanted to try." He flexed his fingers, put one hand onto the owl's head and said thusly,

"Feel my need, hear my word, come to life, beloved bird," As Cedric spoke, Graham thought he saw the bird twitch as if he were trying to move.

"Eyes of glass, fill with light," the eyes glowed brightly, and the owl blinked.

"Feathered wings soar in flight," the smooth fabric all over the bird separated to form actual coarse feathers. Archimedes managed to spread his wings, giving them a good flap.

"Heed my call, most familiar fowl, transform from toy to living owl." The cloth feet sharpened into talons, the sewn string that had been stitched into his beak came apart and Archimedes gave a hoot. He stretched out his wings once more, taking his first flight around the room. He looped around a couple times, before coming to perch on Cedric's arm. Cedric tilted his head to the side, Archimedes did the same. Graham crossed his arms and nodded, impressed.

"Do you understand what I'm saying to you, bird?" Cedric asked, speaking gently. Archimedes nodded. "Good. Now, I have a task for you."

Cedric picked up the message he'd wrote and handed it to the owl. "Take this into your talons, old friend. Fly as quickly as you can to Serenia Town, and give this to the first guard you spot. Then return to me, got it?" The owl nodded affirmatively and snatched the paper from his master's hand. Graham opened a window, and the owl took off towards the town on silent wings.

Cedric turned around and looked at all the stuff that had been crammed into the dining room in every nook and cranny- from weapons of all kinds, to jewelry of immense value, to intricate pottery, to even a little ebony statuette of a falcon- if it had any worth at all, they had it! How the heck did they even get ahold of that?! Cedric thought, raising his eyebrows in surprise at the artifact. For a moment, Cedric wondered, Should I take it? It must be valuable, and Grahams father did say to 'pick up anything that isn't nailed down'… but what use could this have, logically or not?

Graham took notice of Cedric staring at the black bird and shook his head as he continued looking for his stuff, "We already have one bird, we don't need another. I say leave it."

Cedric looked at him and asked, "But your father did say-!"

"Unless you plan to smash it over someone's head, which I don't approve of, then leave it for the authorities to pick up. It wouldn't be useful, trust me." He smiled to himself as he'd found his satchel at that moment, stuffed under the stairs. "We really should only be taking what we need, and what is rightfully ours. That's what the plan was, right?"

Cedric was silent for a moment, then nodded and put it back on the shelf. He was about to take a look at the bookshelf, when he caught something else out of the corner of his eye.

There in the corner of the room was a lute. The morning sun shone through the window and onto the dusty, old instrument. Cedric went over to it and picked it up, running a hand over the lyre bird that had been carved into the wood. He closed his eyes and strummed his fingers over the strings. He smiled as the memories of meeting the lute's owner as a boy came rushing back to him.

"I didn't know you played the lute, Cedric." Graham said, looking up at him from under the stairs, trying to wrench the sled from underneath it.

Cedric opened his eyes again and replied, "I don't, but an old friend of mine does." He looked down with a sigh, "Or he did anyway. I hope he's okay." He placed it in his pack, "I'm taking this back to Crispin's house once we're out of here. He'll be wanting it back, I'm sure!"

"Or you could take it with you," Graham suggested, having yanked the sled out into the open with some effort. He stuck it back in his pack, with Cedric just shaking his head in confusion still at the logic of that.

"Why would I do that?"

"Well, you might just so happen to meet him on our journey. Friends show up in the strangest of places, you know. What was his name?"

"Alistair the Bard. I have him to thank," Cedric blew a couple notes on his flute, "for this. He gave it to me as a goodbye gift, since I liked it so much."

"Ah," Graham nodded. "When we have more time, you should tell me more about him."

"I will." Cedric nodded and put the flute back onto his belt and stuck the lute into his pack. As he walked over to the bookshelf and searched through it, he wondered aloud, "I wonder where Alistair is right now? Is he safe? I never saw him without his lute! That's troubling…"

"Cedric, worrying about him isn't going to help anyone. I'm sure he's fine." Graham said, reassuring him.

"But aren't you worried about your family, Graham?" he asked, finding their books and his journal. Looking in a nearby drawer, he found both his wand and Crispin's wand and tossed the latter to Graham.

"Of course I'm worried! But, I'm not letting that get me down. It's just making me want to get there faster." Graham replied, looking dead serious as he picked up the hammer and swung it a couple times before putting it away.

"Then lets not waste any more time!" Cedric exclaimed, running out the door to the backroom. Graham rushed after him, but once they were in the backroom he skidded to a stop and yelled, "Wait! We need food!" and proceeded to yank open the cupboard and got a whiff of meat. Graham licked his lips hungrily- a savory leg of lamb! He quickly grabbed it and put it away, finding the beeswax and the pie in there as well. The pie still looked as delicious as it did yesterday, to Graham's joy. Being careful not to let Cedric see it, he stuck it away in his pack alongside the beeswax.

"Graham, you coming?" Cedric called, getting impatient. Graham ran outside, looking ready to go.

Cedric looked up and pointed, "Look! There's Archimedes!" and as soon as he heard his name called, the owl swooped down and perched on Cedric's arm. "Tell me owl, did you succeed?"

Archimedes swooped back towards the town. As Graham and Cedric ran after the bird, they spotted the town guards up ahead with the thieves in their possession! One of the guards saluted the two of them as a thank you, and they smiled and saluted back. The thieves certainly didn't look happy that their plan had been foiled though. Cedric saw the innkeeper snarl and glare at him as he passed by. Cedric just smiled and said as he pointed his finger, 'Next time, perhaps you should count all your men to see that you're all there. Otherwise, you might have a traitor in your midst."

"When I get outta jail, you better watch yourself, kid- 'cause you'll get a dagger to the back one of these days!"

"I find that highly unlikely, thief. You're not gonna be seeing me for a loooong time, if our majesties has anything to say about it. Farewell!"

Cedric's smile widened as the guards rushed the thieves away to be judged. I feel so proud of myself! Cedric thought as he sauntered back the way they came, his nose pointed in the air… and then he proceeded to trip over a rock. "Oof!" he caught himself and Graham helped him to his feet.

"Be proud of your accomplishments, but don't be snobbish about it." The king told him.

Cedric looked surprised. "Of all the people to say that to me, it is a king?! Actually- come to think of it, Graham…" he looked thoughtful, "Why don't you exercise your authority more? I should be calling you 'sire', not 'Graham'! Tell me, sire: why are you humble?"

"Let's get going and I'll tell along the way. How's that?" Graham replied, motioning to the path ahead which turned and twisted its way up through the Great Mountains of Serenia.

Cedric and Graham stopped and looked up at the path ahead. They felt the breeze grow colder and harsher even as they stood there. Cedric took a deep breath and exhaled- this was it. Once they were up there, there was no going back for either of them. Cedric would be that farthest distance from his home he'd ever been, and yet, he didn't feel as afraid as he thought he would be.

"Graham?" Cedric asked, "I think I'm ready for this."

"Good. Let's go." Graham replied.

He started walking up the mountain path, with Cedric following close behind.


I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS GIANT HIATUS! :(

It's just... stuff kept getting my way: school, family problems, procrastination, Writer's Block, the fact that I felt discouraged that nobody seems to be reading or even just commenting on my stories... plus, I was expecting this chapter to be a lot more fun to write, which it turned out not to be.

I just kept running out of ideas and kept getting stuck on the details like the scene of Cedric getting out of the locked room, the scene of them getting their stuff back and the moment with Alistair's Lute gave me trouble as well, especially since after that, I hadn't thought of what to do after that. I knew they had to get to the Great Mountains, but I wasn't sure exactly HOW to transition to that. Like, I could see the scene I had in my head, but I couldn't write it down correctly!

Anyway, again: I apologize so, SO much for this long wait! Cliffhanger indeed, past me! I hope that the next chapter won't take nearly a year to complete!