Winter Lost Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Mercy Thompson’s 14th Adventure
Quiz: Winter Lost
This quiz covers the entire novel Winter Lost (Mercy Thompson #14) by Patricia Briggs. Mix of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Answers are provided in the key at the bottom.
Questions
1. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
What artifact must be returned to Hrímnir in order to release the blizzard he created?
A) The Soul Taker
B) A lyre (also called a harp)
C) Lugh’s spear
D) The Marrok’s treasury
2. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
On her way back to the lodge with a pack of eggs, which creature attacks Mercy?
A) Ymir
B) Garmr, the hound of Hel
C) A hungry ghost
D) A silver spider
3. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
What is the true identity of Hugo, the lodge’s gardener?
A) Hrímnir in disguise
B) Garmr in human form
C) An agent of Ymir
D) A green man
4. (Plot/Sequence – Short Answer)
In what form does Adam lead the SUV through the deep snow to find the hot springs road?
5. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
Who heals Mercy’s soul damage, a lingering effect of the Soul Taker?
A) Grandmother Spider only
B) The lake spirit only
C) Coyote alone
D) Grandmother Spider and the lake spirit together
6. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
What supernatural entity emerges from a wardrobe in the lodge to feed on Mercy?
A) A green man
B) A silver spider
C) A hungry ghost
D) Garmr
7. (Plot/Sequence – Short Answer)
What is the name of the vampire who agrees to help Mercy and Adam at Looking Glass Lodge?
8. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
Who are the two witnesses chosen during the wedding ceremony?
A) Emily and Elyna
B) Mercy and Adam
C) Peter and Dylis
D) Liam and Zane
9. (Character Motivation – Multiple Choice)
Why does Mary Jo reject Renny’s marriage proposal, according to her confession to Mercy?
A) She does not love him.
B) She wants to protect him from the danger of being connected to the pack.
C) She is determined never to marry.
D) Her family forbids the match.
10. (Character Motivation – Short Answer)
What is Ymir’s stated reason for attempting to call Mary Jo to him during the visit to Mercy’s home?
11. (Character Motivation – Multiple Choice)
Why does Hrímnir create the storm that traps everyone at Looking Glass Hot Springs?
A) He wants revenge on Mercy’s family.
B) He swore a vow that no one could leave until his harp is returned.
C) He is obeying Ymir’s commands.
D) He wants to prevent the wedding from taking place.
12. (Character Motivation – Short Answer)
What is Mercy’s primary reason for agreeing to retrieve the harp for Hrímnir?
13. (Character Motivation – Multiple Choice)
What is Ymir’s ultimate goal in manipulating Gary to steal the harp and goading Hrímnir into creating the storm?
A) To ensure the wedding happens
B) To prevent the renewal of the Great Spell and trigger Ragnarök
C) To claim the instrument for his own power
D) To trick Mercy into revealing secrets
14. (Theme/Symbol – Multiple Choice)
The Soul Taker’s lingering effect on Mercy’s magic and soul most directly symbolizes which theme?
A) The permanence of trauma
B) The danger of magical artifacts
C) The power of pack bonds
D) Coyote’s trickster nature
15. (Theme/Symbol – Short Answer)
The white stag that attacks Garmr during Mercy’s rescue is later revealed to be which character?
16. (Theme/Symbol – Multiple Choice)
The silver spider that first feeds on the ghost Jack is later revealed to be connected to which powerful being?
A) Grandmother Spider
B) Baba Yaga
C) The lake spirit
D) A Jötunn
17. (Theme/Symbol – Multiple Choice)
The blizzard that imprisons the lodge and its guests primarily symbolizes which theme?
A) Isolation and hidden danger
B) The beauty of winter
C) The unity of the pack
D) The power of vampires
18. (Synthesis – Short Answer)
How does the Great Spell binding Garmr reflect the theme of sacrifice in the novel?
19. (Synthesis – Multiple Choice)
Which character most strongly embodies the idea that even a terrible curse (such as being Garmr) can become a source of identity and longing?
A) Adam
B) Hugo
C) Zane
D) Gary
20. (Synthesis – Short Answer)
What unresolved threat is introduced in the epilogue that may carry into future books?
Answer Key
- B – Hrímnir demands the return of his lyre/harp, which Garmr chose as the shape of its leash. Mercy bargains to retrieve it in exchange for freeing her brother.
- B – As Mercy returns from the ranch with eggs, Garmr attacks her near the lodge. She defends herself and calls Adam through the pack bond.
- B – Hugo confesses he is Garmr’s human form, and Mercy later shoots him. Grandmother Spider then sends Garmr to fetch the harp.
- Wolf – Adam shifts into his wolf form to guide the SUV on the buried road, using his claws and sense of smell to find the way.
- D – Grandmother Spider takes Mercy to a hidden pool where the lake spirit heals the soul damage; Mercy wakes fully healed.
- C – In Chapter 9, a hungry ghost feeds on Mercy while she sleeps, exploiting her vulnerability from the Soul Taker.
- Elyna Gray – Elyna is the vampire who lives at the lodge with her ghost husband Jack. She later serves as the “avenger” witness at the wedding.
- A – Liam calls for a healer (Emily) and an avenger (Elyna) to stand as witnesses, and magic transforms them into archetypal figures.
- B – Mary Jo explains she turned down Renny because loving someone outside the pack puts them in danger; she wants to keep him safe.
- Because Ymir has power over wolves and attempts to call Mary Jo through it. – Ymir tries to claim her using his Jötnar authority, but Adam, Sherwood, and Joel counter with pack bonds.
- B – Hrímnir says, “I made a vow… that everyone at the lodge would remain trapped where they were until my harp is back in my hands.”
- To free her brother Gary from the Jötnar curse. – Hrímnir reveals Gary stole the harp; Mercy proposes retrieving it in exchange for lifting his spell.
- B – Ymir manipulated Gary to steal the harp and goaded Hrímnir into the storm precisely to stop the wedding and start Ragnarök.
- A – The Soul Taker permanently altered Mercy, leaving her with a chronic headache and vulnerability to ghosts. The healing later shows trauma can be addressed but not erased.
- Zane Heddar – The groom transforms into a white stag to attack Garmr and rescue Mercy, then later appears in human form.
- A – Grandmother Spider later appears in person; the silver spider was acting on her behalf, feeding on the ghost and later destroying the hungry ghost.
- A – The storm isolates the lodge, cutting off communication and trapping a diverse group of magical beings; it highlights danger and forced proximity.
- The Great Spell requires ongoing sacrifice—including the deaths of the goblins and Hugo/Garmr—to maintain the binding, and the wedding itself demands personal sacrifice from all participants to avert Ragnarök.
- B – Hugo/Garmr confesses he loves being human and growing plants; he hopes preventing the renewal might let Hugo live, showing his attachment to his cursed identity.
- Bonarata’s vendetta against Mercy – The epilogue closes with Mercy deflecting Bonarata’s call with a parody sales pitch, but the vampire lord remains a threat for future installments.