#1 'The Colour of Magic': Magical Things Quiz

Answer: False

Upon his arrival in Ankh-Morpork, Twoflower (the Discworld's first tourist) bumped into Rincewind (Ankh-Morpork's worst wizard). The two of them met in the tavern, The Broken Drum, and they soon realised that they could both communicate in Trob. So, with some 'persuasion' from the Patrician, Rincewind became Twoflower's tour guide.

Twoflower assessed risks for a living. There wasn't a direct translation for it in Trob, but Twoflower called it 'inn-sewer-ants'. The owner of The Broken Drum bought an inn-sewer-ants-polly-sea from Twoflower and immediately tried to capitalise on his investment. He managed to set fire to the tavern... and the rest of the city. He didn't need the insurance payout in the end...

Answer: It had dozens of legs and followed him around wherever he went.

The Luggage was made of sapient pearwood, a very rare material that only grew on sites of ancient magic. It had a way of looking at you, even though it had no eyes. But it had feet. Lots of them. The Luggage would follow its owner wherever it went, even off the edge of the Disc.

Answer: There was an imp inside who could paint quickly.

When Twoflower arrived in Ankh-Morpork, most people had never seen an iconograph before. The tourist was able to persuade the people he met to be in the pictures by offering them gold for their time. Later in the story, the barbarian Hrun agreed to protect Rincewind and Twoflower in exchange for heroic pictures of himself. Hrun had to protect them because, as Rincewind pointed out, the iconograph needed someone to operate it.

Answer: One

While at Unseen University - a school for wizards - Rincewind opened a spell book for a bet. This particular spell book was known as the Octavo. It contained a number of extremely powerful spells that were first used by the Creator. The book was chained to a lectern in a secure room at the university so that the spells couldn't escape. Rincewind only looked at the book for a second when one of the spells jumped off the page and into his mind. Since then, he was unable to remember any other spells.

He was convinced that they were too scared to share his head with the Octavo spell.

Answer: Eight

The Octavo, as its name suggests, originally had the great eight spells that were used by the Creator. One of the spells lodged itself in Rincewind's head, so for most of 'The Colour of Magic', the Octavo contained seven spells. The spell that Rincewind knew tried to get itself said when Rincewind's life was in danger.

The first seven words of the spell were, "Ashonai. Ebiris. Urshoring. Kvanti. Pythan. N'gurad. Feringomalee."

Answer: Eight

The number eight had magical significance on the Disc. It was the Number of Bel-Shamharoth, a god-like being who was the opposite of good and evil. He was also known as the 'Soul-Eater' and the 'Sender of Eight'. The temple building had eight sides and the floor was tiled with octagons.

The corridors were built so that they had eight sides, too, and even the fallen masonry had eight sides. Bel-Shamharoth's temple was dark and murky. Twoflower and Rincewind managed to blind the creature by using the flash on the iconograph.

Answer: A sword

Kring was an enchanted, heavily decorated sword that had had many famous owners over the years. In 'The Colour of Magic', Kring belonged to Hrun the Barbarian. As a magic weapon, the sword took control of Rincewind's arm during a fight with a dragon-rider. Kring liked to talk incessantly about his adventures with past owners.

He also criticised Rincewind's attitude to fighting, calling him 'defeatist'. No wonder a previous owner threw it in a lake.

Answer: Death

Wizards could see Death: black robe, scythe, and all. Upon their demise, they were collected by Death himself, rather than a lesser entity acting on his behalf. Death appeared to Rincewind numerous times, but Rincewind always managed to escape with his life (it was almost as if something was keeping him alive). Death eventually gave up chasing Rincewind, reasoning that everything must die in the end.

Answer: They were powered by imagination.

The dragon-riders lived on the Wyrmberg, an upside-down mountain with a strong presence of magic. The powerful magical field allowed dragons to be 'imagined' into existence. Twoflower's imagination was much stronger than the dragon-riders', so the dragon he accidentally created was much better and allowed them to escape. With Twoflower, Hrun, and Rincewind on his back, Ninereeds flew higher and higher into the sky... until Twoflower passed out from lack of oxygen. Ninereeds immediately disappeared and the three of them plunged to the ground.

Answer: The Lady

The Lady was one of the pantheon of Discworld gods, though no one actually worshipped her. Fate had made a bargain with the Krullians: He would protect the crew of the Discworld's first space ship if Rincewind and Twoflower were sacrificed. Like Death, Fate was becoming irritated with Rincewind's ability to survive. Fate's nemesis was The Lady.

The Lady appeared to Rincewind and Twoflower to offer them one small chance to survive.