Essay Questions

In the story “The Circle Curse,” why are Fafhrd and Gray Mouser determined to leave Lankhmar and hit the road to Ilthmar?

Fafhrd and Mouser have decided to leave Lankhmar because it is full of misfortunes, and they can no longer bear the burden of bad luck. Fafhrd and Mouser lost their first loves, Vlana and Ivrian while serving the Thieves' Guild. Vlana and Ivrian were murdered by black magic. Fafhrd and Mouser will start a new life in Ilthmar, where people worship a rat god. Despite being determined that they will never step foot in Lankhmar, Sheelba reminds them that, east or west, home is the best place implying that at last, they will return to Lankhmar.

How does Leiber make good use of the literary device in the story “The Jewels in the Forest?”

Leiber personifies the stone house in the forest as a living creature with an invisible mouth and jaws. However, people entering the house do not realize that they are getting into a trap that they will never come out alive. According to the Mouser, the person who built that stone house is evil, and he will never see the gates of heaven. The reader further realizes that the stone house has a brain of an alien, and it can see, sense and hear people's conversations. Fortunately, Fafhrd and Mouser did not enter the house because they sensed danger in advance.

What does the document found in the Thieves’ Guild Warehouse symbolize in the story “Thieves’ House?”

The document found in the Thieves’ Guild Warehouse symbolizes hidden treasure stolen by the priests many years ago and hidden in the Votishal temple. The relics the priests stole from the warehouse are Ohmphal’s hands and the skull, which are very valuable in the current time. The Master of the Thieves Guild is determined to recover the stolen treasure because it is worth countless jewels. However, recovering these treasures is not easy because very dangerous monsters guard the Votisha temple. The Master of Thieves’ Guild comes up with a strategy to use Fafhrd and the Mouse to steal the treasures. The treasure is under an unpickable lock. According to the Master of Thieves’ plan, Fafhrd will kill the monsters, and then the Gray mouse will steal the treasures, which he will steal from them later and put them under his possession.