So, after all this, it turns out there is a use for a goat after all! Strutting into its pen, I choose to show the carrot to the goat instead of letting the goat just eat it outright, and I gain a loyal companion in doing so! With my new furred and horned friend, I have another walk about the woods to see what use he'll be to me, before coming back to the bridge with the trolls. It turns out that trolls and goats are sworn enemies, and at the first sight of the troll, the goat boots him straight into the river, never to be seen again. Gee, that would have been handy to know before I gave away my almonds.
Now that the goat and troll are both gone, it's time to see what other animal companions I can find - and wouldn't you know it, now there's a giant condor flying all over the place! The game informs me that the condor is actually flying low enough to touch my head, so barring any common sense, I take a leap and latch on to its feet, soaring into the air along with the majestic bird. After a minute's ride, the bird drops me off again in an unknown location, with an inviting hole in the middle.
I drop down into another massive system of catacombs, spelunking further again to find a giant rat guarding a door. Okay, this one's a no-brainer, give the rat some cheese and it's gone. It's past the gate, however, that things get more interesting as I'm instantly greeted by a pair of angry leprechauns. This game can be really weird sometimes.
This is apparently where picking up that four-leaved clover paid off, because the leprechauns fear it greatly, and instantly vanish into air at the sheer sight of it...including the entire high court of leprechauns, along with their king...who guard the magic shield, the final missing treasure of Daventry! Grabbing the shield from the empty room, I start to look for an exit, and find one at the far end of the room...only it's much too small for me to pass. Did I just make the game unwinnable? I'd better reload.
Reloading just outside the cave entrance, I look to the side screens - and son of a gun! This is the same area I was cut off from before, with that mysterious white mushroom that was just out of reach! I grab the mushroom and go through the cave again, this time eating the mushroom at the hole to shrink myself down (very Alice in Wonderland, too) so I can pass back out.
Now I've got all the treasures, all that's left to do is return them! Racing back to Castle Daventry, I find that the guards are missing from their usual post, and something is amiss at the castle at large. Everyone, of course, is huddled around King Edward, who appears greatly ill and dying. Thankfully, I've arrived just in time to give him the treasures, before he falls to the floor and dies. No time for mourning, of course, because the King stayed true to his word, and Graham is crowned King of Daventry!
In the epilogue, Graham peers into the magical mirror and sees his close relatives, his children and grandchilden will still have many adventures to come, but that's another story...
Final score: 129 out of 158.
Final thoughts: This game has honestly aged much better than you'd think, although still not enough. The open-ended nature hints of great ambitions for this game, but as you can imagine, for most of it I was just confused as to what I was supposed to do. A ton of interface issues hinder this too, and lots of puzzles could have been way easier to solve - but that said, this game does a lot to make sure you don't get stuck (too badly), because many puzzles have alternate solutions. Just remember to save often, and never overwrite! I wonder what the sequels are going to do to address these faults, though...so let's find out!
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