Though I first discovered Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser in the pages of Deities and Demigods back in the very early 80s (the Nehwon Mythos were one of three fictional mythologies included in the original version, Melnibone and Cthulhu being the others), it has taken until now (December 2015) for me to read Fritz Lieber. Like Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser star in short stories that were mostly published in magazines and only later compiled into books. Thus, this first book is composed of 3 stories. The first two serve as origin stories, one for each of them, and the third covers their meeting.
Snow Women: Fafhrd is a barbarian from the Cold Wastes. The place has a Viking feel to it. The women of Cold Corner hold great sway thanks to their magic. They gather in covens and can conjure ice and snow to target those they disfavor within a wide range. The peculiar magic does not readily convert to D&D rules, which grants it an even more magical quality. Fafhrd is utterly fascinated by civilization and wants to escape the Cold Wastes with an actress who is part of a traveling show. However, his mother, who is head of the coven of snow women, wants the actress dead and her son bent to her will. As Fafhrd tries to convince Vlana the actress that he should accompany her, there are others who desire her. Fafhrd must escape the icy curse that seeks to hold him back and strike down those who would take Vlana as an enslaved concubine.
Snow Women: Fafhrd is a barbarian from the Cold Wastes. The place has a Viking feel to it. The women of Cold Corner hold great sway thanks to their magic. They gather in covens and can conjure ice and snow to target those they disfavor within a wide range. The peculiar magic does not readily convert to D&D rules, which grants it an even more magical quality. Fafhrd is utterly fascinated by civilization and wants to escape the Cold Wastes with an actress who is part of a traveling show. However, his mother, who is head of the coven of snow women, wants the actress dead and her son bent to her will. As Fafhrd tries to convince Vlana the actress that he should accompany her, there are others who desire her. Fafhrd must escape the icy curse that seeks to hold him back and strike down those who would take Vlana as an enslaved concubine.
The story is really quite good and paints a full and deep picture of Fafhrd’s homeland. Of course, from how it is described, I am amazed that all the men hadn’t fled to the warmer lands of the south and left the women to cast their frigid spells. The women are powerful, cold, and vindictive. Part of that probably reflects the presence of the show, which is mostly barely clothed southern women dancing around for the men’s enjoyment. Yeah, the strip club has come to town and all the wives are pissed.
The Unholy Grail: The apprentice of Glavas Rho the White Wizard returned from a quest only to find the still-smoldering remains of his master’s cottage. He found that only a charred corpse remained of the gentle and wise Glavas Rho. In a fury, he followed the hoof marks and found proof that the duke had done this. He would have his revenge. Like the youthful fool that he was, he confronted the duke directly and would have paid with his life but for a timely distraction. Holding his rage at a simmer, he hid himself in a dark cave where evil magicks were empowered. Here he laid a curse upon the duke. But now he was betrayed, unwittingly, by Ivrian, the duke’s daughter. This time, the duke would make sure the apprentice of Glavas Rho would die, and die horribly. Fastened to a rack, his limbs were slowly stretched but, thanks to his magical knowledge, he was able to channel his pain through the medium of Ivrian and into the duke.
Less exciting than Snow Women, this gives a further look into the peculiar magic of Nehwon. Mouser actually uses a voodoo doll to afflict the duke but he also had a spell to hide himself and, of course, the almost inexplicable magic that transferred his death to the duke through nothing more than eye contact with Ivrian who had a hand on the duke’s arm. Wow, that’s some weird and powerful magic. The story also explains the name of Gray Mouser. The white wizard repeatedly said that Mouse, as he called him, was more of a mouser (i.e. a cat) and he was as likely to use black magic as white, thus being gray.
Ill Met in Lankhmar: Two members of the Thieves’ Guild, Fissif and Slevyas, trekked through the streets of Lankhmar with their haul of jewels from their evening heist. Happily on their way back to the guild house, they were set upon by a nimble little man on the one hand and a giant northerner on the other. No sooner had Fissif and Slevyas been dispatched than Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser gazed warily at one another. Neither had expected the other. However, they came to an almost instant agreement and felt a strange camaraderie. Then the bravos arrived. The thieves had had an escort, a trio from the Slayers Guild. Fafhrd and Mouser dispatched them with ease then went on their merry way with a fortune in jewels. After Fafhrd collected Vlana, the trio made their way to Mouser’s abode to celebrate. Despite the rundown appearance from outside, Mouser had a sumptuous apartment within, where he had made Ivrian as comfortable as a duke’s daughter should be.
Vlana was angry that Fafhrd hadn’t killed the two thieves. The entire reason she had agreed to team with Fafhrd was that he promised to aid her revenge against the Thieves’ Guild. After sufficient prompting by Vlana with an assist from Ivrian, Fafhrd and Mouser conceded to ‘reconnoiter’ the guild house for an eventual attack upon it. Dressed as beggars, they infiltrated the guild with surprising ease and even spied a sorcerer performing foul magic. They noted a rat-like creature that they had seen during their ambush of the two thieves earlier that night! The sorcerer dispatched his rat with some foul smoky tentacle creation. The two ducked away only to be summoned by none other than the guildmaster, Krovas. Mouser spun a clever lie that prevented their immediate beating but the arrival of Fissif and Slevyas exposed them. To battle! The pair managed to create just enough confusion to allow them to escape to the rooftop. After losing pursuers in a sooty cloud, the two returned to Mouser’s abode to find Vlana and Ivrian dead, slain by the sorcerer’s smoky creation. It had been meant for them. The jewels, which had been left in the women’s care, were gone.
After turning the rundown building into a funeral pyre for their beloved, the pair raced back to the guild house and visited their rage upon the sorcerer. Though he had conjured yet another smoke beast, they hacked their way through and killed both sorcerer and his rat. All other doors within the guild had been closed as the thieves hid from the sorcerer’s fearful magic. Fafhrd and Mouser left Lankhmar by the nearest gate.
Yet again, the unusual magic of Nehwon looms large. Of particular interest, in Snow Women, Vlana had killed a man by throwing her silver dagger; it had struck him in the eye. Fafhrd took that dagger from her corpse and hurled it at the sorcerer. Where previously tossed weapons had been caught by the smoky tentacles that filled the room, this dagger swept them away and struck him in the eye. Oooh! Magic Dagger! To my shock and dismay, they left it behind even though they collected the thrown weapons that had been blocked. Gah!
So far, it would appear that Fritz Lieber doesn’t think much of women. The Snow Women were cold and villainous, using magic to control their men. Vlana is manipulative and a bit unstable. Ivrian is a trembling and delicate princess who can barely deal with the stress of meeting new people – she has not ventured from the abode since they arrived in Lankhmar 4 months ago. Ivrian’s mother – who died prior to the events of The Unholy Grail – was described as a sadistic shrew who made both her life and the duke’s life a living hell. Then again, our heroes are a pair of thieves and are unlikely to encounter women of the best character. The men look pretty villainous too.
In all, the three stories made for a very engaging read and have gotten me hooked on Nehwon. I’ve ordered the next book in the series and should have more to say about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser before long.
The Unholy Grail: The apprentice of Glavas Rho the White Wizard returned from a quest only to find the still-smoldering remains of his master’s cottage. He found that only a charred corpse remained of the gentle and wise Glavas Rho. In a fury, he followed the hoof marks and found proof that the duke had done this. He would have his revenge. Like the youthful fool that he was, he confronted the duke directly and would have paid with his life but for a timely distraction. Holding his rage at a simmer, he hid himself in a dark cave where evil magicks were empowered. Here he laid a curse upon the duke. But now he was betrayed, unwittingly, by Ivrian, the duke’s daughter. This time, the duke would make sure the apprentice of Glavas Rho would die, and die horribly. Fastened to a rack, his limbs were slowly stretched but, thanks to his magical knowledge, he was able to channel his pain through the medium of Ivrian and into the duke.
Less exciting than Snow Women, this gives a further look into the peculiar magic of Nehwon. Mouser actually uses a voodoo doll to afflict the duke but he also had a spell to hide himself and, of course, the almost inexplicable magic that transferred his death to the duke through nothing more than eye contact with Ivrian who had a hand on the duke’s arm. Wow, that’s some weird and powerful magic. The story also explains the name of Gray Mouser. The white wizard repeatedly said that Mouse, as he called him, was more of a mouser (i.e. a cat) and he was as likely to use black magic as white, thus being gray.
Ill Met in Lankhmar: Two members of the Thieves’ Guild, Fissif and Slevyas, trekked through the streets of Lankhmar with their haul of jewels from their evening heist. Happily on their way back to the guild house, they were set upon by a nimble little man on the one hand and a giant northerner on the other. No sooner had Fissif and Slevyas been dispatched than Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser gazed warily at one another. Neither had expected the other. However, they came to an almost instant agreement and felt a strange camaraderie. Then the bravos arrived. The thieves had had an escort, a trio from the Slayers Guild. Fafhrd and Mouser dispatched them with ease then went on their merry way with a fortune in jewels. After Fafhrd collected Vlana, the trio made their way to Mouser’s abode to celebrate. Despite the rundown appearance from outside, Mouser had a sumptuous apartment within, where he had made Ivrian as comfortable as a duke’s daughter should be.
Vlana was angry that Fafhrd hadn’t killed the two thieves. The entire reason she had agreed to team with Fafhrd was that he promised to aid her revenge against the Thieves’ Guild. After sufficient prompting by Vlana with an assist from Ivrian, Fafhrd and Mouser conceded to ‘reconnoiter’ the guild house for an eventual attack upon it. Dressed as beggars, they infiltrated the guild with surprising ease and even spied a sorcerer performing foul magic. They noted a rat-like creature that they had seen during their ambush of the two thieves earlier that night! The sorcerer dispatched his rat with some foul smoky tentacle creation. The two ducked away only to be summoned by none other than the guildmaster, Krovas. Mouser spun a clever lie that prevented their immediate beating but the arrival of Fissif and Slevyas exposed them. To battle! The pair managed to create just enough confusion to allow them to escape to the rooftop. After losing pursuers in a sooty cloud, the two returned to Mouser’s abode to find Vlana and Ivrian dead, slain by the sorcerer’s smoky creation. It had been meant for them. The jewels, which had been left in the women’s care, were gone.
After turning the rundown building into a funeral pyre for their beloved, the pair raced back to the guild house and visited their rage upon the sorcerer. Though he had conjured yet another smoke beast, they hacked their way through and killed both sorcerer and his rat. All other doors within the guild had been closed as the thieves hid from the sorcerer’s fearful magic. Fafhrd and Mouser left Lankhmar by the nearest gate.
Yet again, the unusual magic of Nehwon looms large. Of particular interest, in Snow Women, Vlana had killed a man by throwing her silver dagger; it had struck him in the eye. Fafhrd took that dagger from her corpse and hurled it at the sorcerer. Where previously tossed weapons had been caught by the smoky tentacles that filled the room, this dagger swept them away and struck him in the eye. Oooh! Magic Dagger! To my shock and dismay, they left it behind even though they collected the thrown weapons that had been blocked. Gah!
So far, it would appear that Fritz Lieber doesn’t think much of women. The Snow Women were cold and villainous, using magic to control their men. Vlana is manipulative and a bit unstable. Ivrian is a trembling and delicate princess who can barely deal with the stress of meeting new people – she has not ventured from the abode since they arrived in Lankhmar 4 months ago. Ivrian’s mother – who died prior to the events of The Unholy Grail – was described as a sadistic shrew who made both her life and the duke’s life a living hell. Then again, our heroes are a pair of thieves and are unlikely to encounter women of the best character. The men look pretty villainous too.
In all, the three stories made for a very engaging read and have gotten me hooked on Nehwon. I’ve ordered the next book in the series and should have more to say about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser before long.
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