King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow – Part 1

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The Isle of the Crown (Long Path):
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Night Mare will drop Alex off on the beach and then take off with Cassima's
parents so that they can figure out how to put a stop to the vizier's plans.
Head up to the crossroads and give Sing-Sing the white rose. She won't be
coming back after this, but that's okay. Go into the village and enter the pawn
shop to find the genie camping out here again. Exchange the tinderbox for the
paintbrush and then drink the rest of the contents of the 'Drink Me' bottle.
Both the genie and the proprietor will think Alex is dead and as you listen to
the genie telling the vizier about the good news, make a note of the type of
bottle that the genie resides in. It is a blue, long-necked bottle and this
clue will be important in just a minute.

After Alex comes to and reassures the shopkeeper that he's fine, save your game
and then leave the shop. Give the hunter's lamp to the lamp seller and choose
to take the blue long-necked bottle, which looks similar to the genie's bottle.
If you pick the wrong one, re-load your game and get the correct bottle. 

Head to the castle and follow the path that branches off to the left of the
guard dogs. You'll now be at the side of the castle, which is currently
featureless. Time to cast the third spell. Go into your inventory and use the
black feather to mix the contents of the teacup. Use the paintbrush on the
blank wall and Alex will paint himself a door. Use the spellbook on the painted
door and cast the spell so that the fake door becomes a real one.

Save your game again and then enter the castle through the newly made door.

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The Castle of the Crown (Long Path):
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**NOTE: Guard Dogs will be patrolling this room, so do not linger any longer
than necessary. If they happen to catch you, Jollo will spring you from your
prison. If caught a second time, you can use the skeleton key but if you're
caught a third time, you'll be left to rot.**

From your starting point, enter the middle dungeon cell. Inside you will find
the ghost of a little boy who can't seem to find his mother. This is the ghost
you agreed to find for the spirit back in the Land of the Dead. Give him his
mother's handkerchief and he'll let you in on a little secret. The suit of
armor at the north end of the basement has a hidden latch that can be used to
enter a secret passageway.

Exit the cell and then head into the northern passageway with the suit of armor
and the entrance to the guardroom and cross to the opposite end of the
basement. Enter the only door on the eastern wall to discover Jollo's room.
Jollo will tell Alex that Cassima is upstairs, and if he can find evidence to
prove just how evil the vizier truly is, the guard dogs might be willing to
listen to him. Give Jollo the replica bottle that you picked up from the lamp
seller and then follow him out the door.

Go back over to the suit of armor and pull on the armor's right arm to open up
the secret door. Peek through the hole in the wall to eavesdrop on a
conversation between Captain Saladin and a pair of guard dogs, making a note
that the vizier said the word 'Ali' before being interrupted by a guard dog
while he was at the door to the treasure room.  Walk up the stairs to the next
floor and Alex will overhear a woman sobbing in the room nearby. Ignore them
for now and continue west into the next passageway. Gaze through the next
peephole to see the vizier writing a letter to the wizard Shadrack, where he
tells him about his real plans for Cassima.

Continue down the passageway and you'll wind up at a dead-end. If you look
towards the northern end of the western wall, you will see the faint outlines
of a door. Push on it and Alex will emerge inside of the vizier's bedroom,
courtesy of his wardrobe.

Open the black box on the table near his bed and look at the note inside. Make
a note of the word 'Zebu' that is written on it. This is the second half of the
phrase the vizier used to open the door to the treasure room. Use the skeleton
key on the chest at the end of his bed and take the letter from the top of the
pile. It is a letter from Shadrack praising the vizier for the trouble he has
caused the Isles, and it is the evidence Alex needs to prove the vizier's true
intentions.

Head back into the secret passageway by entering the wardrobe and go to where
Alex heard the woman sobbing. Peek through the hole to find Princess Cassima
sitting inside of her bedroom. After they catch up on things, hand her the
dagger and then show her the letter you took from the vizier's trunk. She'll
tell you that you should show it to Saladin and afterwards, someone enters her
room and takes her away.

Go back downstairs and re-enter the main passageway of the castle. Head west
into the first hallway and on the western wall is a door without any means of
opening it. This is the door to the treasure room and it opens when the person
speaks the correct passphrase. Talk to the door and enter in the phrase 'Ali
Zebu' to open it. Pull back the drape on the table in the middle of the room to
uncover the Isles' lost treasures that the rulers thought were stolen by the
Isles' other rulers. Look at each one of them as well as the drape before
leaving the room.

After you exit, you'll hear the wedding music beginning to play, so you must
hurry if you are to put an end to it. By this point, you may hear the approach
of a guard dog, but he won't be a problem if you move quickly enough. Head
along the southern hallway to the opposite end of the basement and then proceed
through the door at the top of the stairs to enter the entrance hall.

After Alex emerges from his hiding place, Saladin will come out of the Great
Hall and will force Alex to explain himself before killing him. Show Saladin
the vizier's letter and he'll take you into the hall where Cassima and the
vizier are about to be wed.

Approach the couple to interrupt the wedding. The vizier will order Saladin to
kill him, but since he's not the king yet, he's not fully obligated to listen
to him. Saladin asks Cassima what he should do, and Cassima tells him to listen
to the vizier. Just as Saladin is prepared to kill our hero, Cassima's parents
burst into the room with guard dogs in tow. The queen will recognize her
“daughter” for what she truly is, the genie in disguise. The vizier makes his
escape through a door near the thrones and while the genie is seen casting
spells to stun the guards, follow the vizier through the door.

Run up the two flights of stairs to find the vizier as well as the real
Cassima, who is bound by a set of ropes. The vizier will summon his genie, but
if you gave Jollo the replica bottle, he'll show up and give Alex the real
deal. Use the bottle on the genie and he'll disappear into it, but not before
expressing his gratitude at having found a new owner who isn't as evil as the
vizier. The vizier becomes increasingly more angry towards Alex after foiling
his plans and he then draws his sword to do battle. Grab the ceremonial sword
from the wall and use it on the vizier to begin the fight.

If you gave Cassima the dagger like you're supposed to, she'll eventually free
herself and use the dagger to stab the vizier in the shoulder. With the vizier
distracted, use the sword on his head to knock him out. Now that Cassima and
Alex have been reunited and the vizier has been taken down into the dungeon,
Alex asks for Cassima's hand in marriage, to which she agrees.

Watch the ending sequences and if you managed to do everything that you were
supposed to, this should result in you getting the best ending possible. The
wedding will be complete with magic tricks being performed by the newly changed
genie, Jollo will also perform at the wedding, and you should see that both
Alex and Cassima's families are present at the wedding as well as the rulers of
the other islands.

This marks the conclusion of the long path of King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone
Tomorrow.  Now it's time to continue on with the short path of the game, if you
wish to go back and play through it.

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The Isle of the Crown (Short Path):
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Well, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for me to begin covering the
short path of the game, but some of us prefer to see the best of what the game
has to offer.

From the beach, head up to the crossroads and give Sing-Sing the white rose to
deliver to Cassima. The bird won't be coming back, but we don't need her
anymore anyway.

Go into the village and enter the pawn shop. Exchange the tinderbox for the
nightingale and head to the castle. The guard dogs will be here admitting
wenches into the castle to make the preparations for the upcoming wedding. Use
Beauty's clothes on Alex and he'll go into the guard shack and change into
them. Alex will automatically head into the castle and from that point on,
there's no turning back.

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The Castle of the Crown (Short Path):
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Alex will take off his disguise and stuff it into a vase. Walk up the left
staircase as the right staircase will result in Alex's capture and imprisonment.

At the top of the stairs, Alex will hide behind a wall to conceal himself from
the patrolling guard dogs. As soon as they head towards Alex and then head back
up the hallway, use the nightingale on the hall to distract them. Go into the
nearby alcove and use the hand icon on the pillar to hide from the guards while
they're involved with the nightingale.

After they leave, you have five minutes before they return, so you have to act
quickly. Take the picture off of the wall and remove the nail it was hanging
from. Head into the room across from the alcove to find the vizier's bedroom.
Use the nail to unlock the trunk near his bed and take the letter from the top
of the pile. It's a letter from a wizard named Shadrack praising the vizier for
all the trouble he has caused on the Isles. Leave the room once you're finished
and put the nail back where you found it. Replace the picture and then head
into the northern hallway.

Alex will hear the sounds of a woman sobbing. Use the talk icon on the door to
learn that the mystery woman is actually Princess Cassima. Listen to the
conversation and then slide the dagger underneath the door. Slide the vizier's
letter under the door next and she'll read it before returning it. She'll tell
you that you should show it to Saladin and now it's about time for the guard
dogs to be returning to their posts.

Quickly go back into the alcove and hide behind the pillar. The guards will
return and they'll become too concerned for Cassima's well-being that they'll
leave to go check on her. Take this time to head back downstairs into the
entrance hall. As the music begins to play, you'll realize that the wedding is
about to start.

Saladin will emerge from the Great Hall and he'll spot Alex right away. He'll
give him a chance to explain himself, and you should use that short amount of
time to show Saladin the vizier's letter.

Saladin will escort Alex into the hall and after you regain control, approach
the couple to interrupt the wedding. The vizier will order Saladin to kill
Alex, but since he isn't the king yet, he asks Cassima for a second opinion.
Cassima will tell Saladin to listen to the vizier and before Saladin gets a
chance to run his sword through Alex's body, use the Beast's mirror on Cassima
to expose her for who she really is, the genie in disguise.

The vizier makes his escape through a door next to the throne, and you should
follow him through it. Chase the vizier up two flights of stairs and you'll
find the real Cassima all tied up. He'll summon his genie to kill you and when
you get a chance, offer the genie the peppermint leaf and he'll gladly take it
from you. The mint causes him to act drunk, which causes his spell to backfire
and kill him. The vizier will not react well to what Alex has done, and will
then draw his sword so that he can kill Alex himself.

Pull the ceremonial sword off of the wall nearby and use it on the vizier to
begin the fight. If you gave Cassima the dagger like you should have, she'll
use it to free herself from her bindings and then stab the vizier in the
shoulder. Use the sword to knock the vizier out and with Alex and Cassima
reunited, the guards will eventually show up and take the vizier into custody.

The resulting wedding of Alex and Cassima won't be as joyous compared to the
wedding you would have seen had you played through the long path of the game,
but either way you can say that you've beaten the game.

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Endings:
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King's Quest VI offers multiple endings, depending on your actions throughout
the game. Below is a list of the differences between each one:

1) If Alexander remembers to send his insignia ring to Cassima, it'll become
the wedding ring.

2) If Alexander never sends the ring to Cassima, but has managed to get it back
from the pawn shop, Alex will give the ring to Cassima at the wedding.

3) If you never retrieved the ring from the pawn shop, there will be no wedding
ring.

4) If Alexander goes to the Land of the Dead and brings back Cassima's parents,
they will attend the wedding. If he doesn't, the wedding will be somewhat sad.

5) If Alexander never becomes friends with Jollo, he'll be at the wedding but
he won't be too sure of what is to come. However, if you are friends with Jollo
but you killed off the genie, Jollo will be there but Cassima's parents won't be.

6) If Alex is friends with Jollo, and he saves the genie as well as Cassima's
parents, Jollo will perform at the wedding.

7) If Alex saves the genie and finds the stolen treasures, the genie will
perform at the wedding and the rulers of the other islands will be in attendance.

8) If Alex saves Cassima's parents, saves the genie, befriends Jollo, and finds
the stolen treasures, Jollo and the genie will both be performing at the
wedding and you see that the rulers of the other islands as well as Alex's
family are in attendance. (This is the best ending)

9) If Alex kills the genie, there won't be hardly anyone in attendance at the
wedding.

10) If Alex finds the stolen treasures, you'll learn that the islands are back
on speaking terms.

11) If Alex doesn't find the stolen treasures, he'll have his work cut out for
him as there will be a lot of work to do to bring peace back to the Land of the
Green Isles.

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Credits:
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Sierra – for making a fun adventure game. 'Tis a shame that adventure games
such as these are a dying breed.

Peter Spear & The King's Quest Companion, 3rd Ed. – the book was used to help
create the guide you see before you.