Ill Met in Lankhmar
"Ill Met in Lankhmar" is a sword and sorcery novella by American writer Fritz Leiber, recounting the meeting and teaming-up of his adventurous duo, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.
First published in 1970 in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, it is a prequel, as Leiber had by that time been chronicling the pair's adventures for thirty years. The story forms part four of the collection Swords and Deviltry.
It was awarded the 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novella[1] and the 1971 Hugo Award for Best Novella.[2]
Plot summary
One murky night in Lankhmar, Fissif and Slevyas, members of the Thieves' Guild, steal some valuable jewels from Jengao the gem merchant. While returning to the Thieves' House, they are ambushed by both the Gray Mouser and Fafhrd simultaneously, who steal their gems. Recognizing kindred spirits, they agree to share the loot. They return to Mouser's lodgings, where Fafhrd is introduced to Mouser's woman Ivrian, while Ivrian meets Fafhrd's love interest, Vlana.
Somewhat drunk, Mouser persuades Fafhrd to join him in a quest to infiltrate the headquarters of the Thieves' Guild, in the guise of members of the Beggars' Guild. They are initially successful, but their disguise comes unstuck when the Mouser's glib story is seen through by Krovas, Grandmaster of the Thieves, and the Beggarmaster. Fleeing, they return to Mouser's hovel, only to find to their horror that both girls have been killed and partially eaten by giant rats, as well as by Slivikin, a fast-moving evil witch-beast conjured up by Krovas's warlock, Hristomilo.
In grief and anger, they return to the Thieves' House and charge in, causing panic and chaos. They kill Hristomilo, before fleeing from the city.
References
External links
- Ill Met in Lankhmar title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- v
- t
- e
- Conjure Wife (1943)
- Destiny Times Three (1945)
- The Big Time (1961)
- The Wanderer (1964)
- Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966)
- A Specter Is Haunting Texas (1969)
- Our Lady of Darkness (1977)
Gray Mouser
- Two Sought Adventure (1957)
- Swords and Deviltry (1970)
- Swords Against Death (1970)
- Swords in the Mist (1968)
- Swords Against Wizardry (1968)
- The Swords of Lankhmar (1968)
- Swords and Ice Magic (1977)
- Bazaar of the Bizarre (1978)
- The Knight and Knave of Swords (1988)
- Swords Against the Shadowland (Robin Wayne Bailey) (1998)
collections
- Night's Black Agents (1947)
- The Best of Fritz Leiber (1974)
- The Book of Fritz Leiber (1974)
- The Second Book of Fritz Leiber (1975)
- Heroes and Horrors (1978)
- "Coming Attraction" (1950)
- "A Pail of Air" (1951)
- "The Moon is Green" (1952)
- "The Unholy Grail" (1962)
- "Bazaar of the Bizarre" (1963)
- "To Arkham and the Stars" (1966)
- "Gonna Roll the Bones" (1967)
- "Ill Met in Lankhmar" (1970)
- "The Snow Women" (1970)
- "Midnight by the Morphy Watch" (1974)
- "Belsen Express" (1975)
- "Catch That Zeppelin!" (1975)
- "The Terror from the Depths" (1976)
- Weird Woman (1944)
- Night of the Eagle (1962)
- Witches' Brew (1980)
- The Girl with the Hungry Eyes (1995)
- Bibliography
- Fritz Leiber, Sr. (father)
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