Not Your Typical "Fairy Tale" Trivia Quiz

Answer: He broke his leg falling off a ladder

Mr. Howard (Adrian) Bowditch is a pivotal character in "Fairy Tale", and his accident is the catalyst that draws Charlie Reade into the story's deeper mystery. He is a reclusive old man who lives in a large, run-down house on the outskirts of town. He's known around the neighbourhood as a bit of a curmudgeonly crank, secretive, gruff, and intimidating. Nevertheless, Charlie stumbles into his life after hearing Bowditch's aging German shepherd howling in distress. Charlie discovers that Bowditch has fallen from a ladder and broken his leg, and he's been lying helpless for some time.

Despite Bowditch's initial resistance, Charlie calls for help and begins taking care of both the man and also his dog. Over time, a fragile bond forms between the three. Charlie visits regularly, helps with errands, and earns Bowditch's trust. It's during this recovery period that Charlie starts to realize there's more to Bowditch, and the house he lives in, than meets the eye.

Answer: Radar

Radar, Mr. Bowditch's aging German shepherd, is not just a background companion in "Fairy Tale", she's a central emotional anchor and narrative driver throughout the novel. At the beginning of the story, Radar is introduced as a fiercely loyal but old and ailing dog, suffering from arthritis and other signs of aging. When Charlie first finds Mr. Bowditch injured, it's Radar's howls that lead him to go to the house. Her vulnerability and devotion are what pull Charlie into Bowditch's life in the first place.

As Charlie begins to take care of Bowditch, his bond with Radar grows even more rapidly. Radar grows to become Charlie's companion, a thread of love and loyalty woven through the plot. Charlie, out of concern for Radar's health, is driven to enter the dangerous world of Empis and to restore Radar's youth. His unwavering loyalty to the dog is rewarded by Radar's love and loyalty towards him, and is pivotal in saving him and uniting the good forces of Empis.

Answer: In a shed in Bowditch's back yard

The entrance to Empis is located beneath the shed in Mr. Bowditch's back yard. It's accessed through a hidden trapdoor and leads to a long, winding staircase that descends deep underground. This passage eventually brings the traveller to a portal that transports them into the place between the worlds, and eventually into the alternate world of Empis.

Mr. Bowditch guards this entrance obsessively and faithfully for much of his life. He understands the danger of what lies beneath, not just the political and magical chaos of Empis, but the powerful, corruptive forces (like the Deep Well and Flight Killer) that threaten to break into the human world. He also fears the human influences that may poison Empis if people were to discover this world-bridge.

Bowditch's isolation and secrecy stem from his knowledge of this responsibility; he treats the portal like a sacred charge, knowing that if it fell into the wrong hands, if anything crossed over without his knowledge, or if anyone tampered with it, both worlds could suffer.

Answer: Grey

When Charlie enters Empis, he observes that many of the people there are afflicted with a disease of the flesh that turns their skin a chalky and unnatural shade of grey. Not only that, but it seems to swallow them up, their own bodies turning in on themselves.

This greyness is not just a physical illness, it's deeply symbolic. The condition, often referred to as 'the greying', reflects the spiritual and societal decay that has overtaken Empis under the cruel rule of the usurper, Flight Killer. The affliction causes the people's features to lose vitality and expressiveness; they become faded, dulled versions of themselves, both literally and metaphorically. Their personalities seem suppressed, their hope drained.

This is also a very contrasting thing for Charlie to see, as Empis feels alive with its colours. The people, however, emphasize the need for change. Charlie becomes determined to be that change.

Answer: It turns back time for anyone on it when rotated

The sundial in Empis plays a magical role. It is a healing device capable of reversing time for living beings, essentially restoring youth, strength, and health to those who use it. It is ancient, powerful, and deeply mysterious, and its power predates the dictatorship of Flight Killer and probably even the Gallien rule.

When someone steps onto the sundial and remains there as the shadow moves across the numbered stones counterclockwise, time runs backward for their body. The longer they stay on it, the further back they go. However, this gift comes with dangers. Overuse or careless exposure can regress a person too far, and there are also psychological dangers also associated with it (that caused Bowditch's surliness, for example).

Answer: She has no mouth

Princess Leah, the rightful heir to the throne of Empis, is afflicted with a heartbreaking and unusual physical deformity: her face is twisted, drooping on one side, giving her a lopsided, disfigured appearance. One side of her face looks youthful and lovely, while the other is warped, almost melted, thus closing off her mouth and melting it shut.

The curse that afflicts the inhabitants of Empis also affected the royal family. Each of them has lost an important sense that prevents them from rising up against the evil Flight Killer. While they are saved from the grey, they are still cursed and unable to release their city and kingdom from evil.

Answer: The Fair One

The brutal, gladiator-style competition that Charlie is forced to participate in is called "The Fair One". This sinister event is organized by Flight Killer, the tyrannical ruler of Empis, who is, in fact, Princess Leah's younger brother Elden. The name is grotesquely ironic. There is nothing fair about it. It's combat to the death and a perverse spectacle meant to entertain Flight Killer and his inner circle while reinforcing his absolute power.

In the Fair One, prisoners, rebels, and unfortunate people who are deemed as threats or liabilities are thrown into the competition with little hope of survival. The combatants must fight each other, often while facing cruel handicaps or magical interventions, in front of jeering crowds. After every round, fewer and fewer remain until there is only one. Then that one must fight Red Molly, the daughter of the giantess Hana, who is certain to win.

For Charlie, even his chosen opponent is unfair. He faces off against Cla, a bigger, stronger, faster, and ruthless opponent who has made it clear that Charlie is going to die at his hands. However, when Charlie digs deep and wins, using Cla's lack of peripheral vision to his advantage, it gives hope to the remaining prisoners. It also reinforces for Charlie that the games must stop and the prisoners must escape.

Answer: Prince

Charlie doesn't begin his journey in Empis seeking glory or power. He arrives as a grieving, determined teenager trying to save his beloved dog, Radar, and determined to use the power of the sundial to restore her lost youth. However, as the story progresses, he becomes more deeply involved in the fate of Empis. He puts it on himself to right the wrongs that have occurred in the kingdom and, through his deeds, demonstrates remarkable courage, compassion, and leadership.

In Empis there is a legend of a prince that will come to save the people. Legend has it that the prince is blond and blue-eyed, something that Charlie is not. However, as the story progresses, miraculously his hair begins to lighten and his eyes turn blue. As he realizes his inner strength, his outer appearance evolves as well to match. Thus, he is referred to as "Prince Charlie" due to his actions to save the people.

Answer: Rumpelstiltskin

Gogmagog is a gigantic, grotesque creature: a blend of man and beast, possibly the last of the "Old Ones" or an avatar of the dark forces that once ruled Empis. His name is borrowed from the Bible (where both Gog and Magog are apocalyptic giants), and his promise of power to Elden Gallien came at a great cost. He lives in another world but the ortal to it can be found in the depths of Lilimar in a place called the Dark Well.

When Elden was young, he was bullied by his family and probably found the Dark Well escaping their taunts. There, he was corrupted by the power of Gogmagog but the price was both physical and mental. While allowed to exact revenge upon those who he perceived as having wronged him, he also allowed Gogmagog to take control of Empis.

When Elden is killed, Gogmagog and Charlie face off. Charlie sees Gogmagog as a very Lovecraftian creature and knows that a direct confrontation would be futile. However, he remembers from the story of Rumpelstiltskin that the power of a name can be devastating to an evil creature. He is able to banish Gogmagog back to his reality by invoking his name over and over again. While Gogmagog still lives, the portal only opens when Empis' two moons, Bella and Arabella, are aligned. However, since they just crashed into one another and got destroyed, Charlie believes that the danger is gone.

Answer: Yes

After the final and decisive battles are won, the curses lifted, and the kingdom on its way to healing, Charlie returns to his world with Radar. At first, he tries to resume a normal life, carrying with him the weight of all he has seen and done. But the experience has changed him deeply. He no longer fully belongs in our world; his heart is tethered to Empis, to the people he helped, and to Princess Leah whom he loves but had to leave behind.

So, after returning home, and in strengthening the relationship with his father, Charlie returns one last time to Empis. It's bittersweet, and in this final journey, he reconnects with Leah and others in Empis. However, there is the understanding that this is a final goodbye. Charlie realizes that staying would trap him between worlds, and he also recognizes the immense danger that leaving the passage open would create, especially if someone without morals were to find it.