The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet

Neal, who lives at the end of Eric’s street, is Eric’s best friend, but he can also be a little lazy, as when he offers to help clean the basement but fails to follow through. He soon emerges as the least responsible of the three friends at the heart of the story, for when Eric and Julie try to get started on cleaning the basement, he plays with the soccer ball instead, and his antics soon distract the others from their task.

Neal is also a little more fearful than his two friends. When Julie wants to close the closet door to show the other two how the mysterious steps appear, he objects because he does not want to be closed in the dark little room. Likewise, he initially refuses to follow Julie down the rainbow stairs to get the ball. Despite his fears, however, he shows courage when he follows his friends into Droon and helps them to triumph in their many adventures there.

Neal often provides comic relief during moments of tension. He bumps his already-sore nose on the invisible tower when the friends are searching for Galen, and he falls over a stack of books when Leep unexpectedly licks him. The pilka’s affection for Neal reflects the boy’s essentially good nature, and Neal’s impulsive and somewhat irresponsible traits actually benefit the group toward the end of the story when he recreates his basement soccer-ball kick and successfully attacks one of the Ninns.

Julie is another of Eric’s friends. She, Neal, and Eric have been friends “ever since they got stuck in a tree together in kindergarten” (5). The three have been in the same elementary school classes every year and have even gone to camp together. Julie is more responsible and helpful than Neal is; when she sees Eric cleaning the basement, she immediately jumps in to help, and when Neal’s soccer ball goes careening away, she quickly volunteers to retrieve it. Her sense of responsibility sometimes makes her act as though she is better than Neal. For example, when he gets hit with the carelessly kicked ball, she tells him that it “[s]erves [him] right” (6).

Julie is generally a very cheerful and confident person. When she sees the small closet, she immediately decides that it will make a perfect “secret hideout,” and when the two boys disbelieve her story about the disappearing stairs, she never doubts herself. She simply reaches over and slams the door, sure that this will make the stairs reappear. She is the one who insists that they all go down the magical stairs to get the ball, and her decisive action leads to the friends’ discovery of Droon. Julie is also clever and capable. She is the first to realize that Keeah’s message may be written in code, and she recalls lessons from the friends’ time at camp in order to contribute vital solutions to their current problems.

Keeah is a girl near Eric’s age. She is a princess from Droon, and her father, King Zello, is the current ruler of the realm. She has very pale skin and green eyes, and she wears a long blue tunic. Keeah is a brave and determined person whose main concern is to ensure the safety of her father’s kingdom, and she does not waver from this goal even when Sparr is relentlessly hunting her. She tries to stand up to the much more powerful Sparr even after she is captured, and she resists his efforts to steal the Red Eye of Dawn from her.

Keeah is also practical and clever. In the midst of fleeing from Lord Sparr’s troops, she understands the opportunity that Eric represents, so she stops to strike a bargain with him and convince him to carry a vital message to her father via Galen. She is also an optimistic person who believes in herself and others. Although she is not yet a fully trained magic user, she trusts her skills well enough to heal Eric’s wounded ankle, and she is later able to locate the missing rainbow staircase by tapping into the power of her dream visions. When Eric and his friends burst into the tower room where Sparr is holding her, she tells them, “I knew someone would come!” (56). This enthusiastic exclamation suggests that even in the most hopeless of moments, she refuses to accept defeat and always looks for a viable solution to her problems.

Lord Sparr is the primary antagonist of The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet and is similarly depicted in several more installments of the Secrets of Droon series. Although he is a powerful sorcerer, he has the general appearance of an ordinary but tall human. However, he also sports two strange purple fins that stand up behind his ears, and these fins darken whenever he grows angry. He wears a long black coat that drags along the ground when he walks, and he roars around the kingdom in a long yellow car.

Lord Sparr’s ambition is to conquer Droon by wresting control away from the current ruler, King Zello. He employs a large group of creatures called Ninns to complete his various underhanded tasks, and he sends them to kidnap Keeah and to attack Zello’s strongholds. From the fear that the Ninns show in his presence, it is clear that Lord Sparr is a harsh and dangerous person who punishes his subordinates for failure just as easily as he persecutes his perceived enemies. His first interactions with the three friends make it clear that until he is at least temporarily thwarted, the forces of evil will continue to threaten Droon, preventing Eric and his friends from returning home.

Galen is an elderly wizard who tries to help Keeah and her father, King Zello, by using his powers to fight against Lord Sparr. The children first meet him when they carry Keeah’s message to his tower. In many ways, Galen is the perfect stereotype of the archetypal wise wizard, for he is more than 500 years old and is widely known as the “first wizard of Droon” (37). Tall and thin, he has a long white beard and wears the requisite long blue robe and matching wizard’s hat. The round room at the top of his tower, where he spends most of his time, is cluttered with potions, ingredients, and books, characterizing him as an intellectual figure who remains devoted to his magical studies. 

When the three Upper World children appear in his tower, he is kind to them and takes the time to explain the current political struggles of Droon and to describe the various agendas of Lord Sparr, Keeah, and King Zello. His role is to serve as a plot device and a facilitator, for with the exception of delivering Keeah’s message to its intended recipient, he mainly provides crucial exposition that enables the three friends to continue with their adventures and gain a better understanding of this strange new world. 

Even in the midst of his explanations, it is clear that his first priority is the Kingdom of Droon. For example, he interrupts his conversation with the three friends to transport himself to Jaffa City because he knows that delivering Keeah’s message is important to Droon’s safety. He cares about Keeah and wants to help her when she is captured, but he also knows that the higher priority is the kingdom itself, so he chooses to return to Jaffa City to help Zello instead of rescuing Keeah.

Galen is very powerful, but now that he is elderly, his powers are weakening. He still has the power to disappear and reappear wherever in Droon he wishes to travel, and he uses his enchanted mirror to keep watch over the magical land—but he can no longer seal the portal between the Upper World and Droon. Galen’s age and waning powers therefore make the children’s discovery of Droon possible.