“A tall swordsman and a small one strode out the Marsh Gate of Lankhmar and east along Causey Road. They were youths by their skin and suppleness, men by their expressions of deep-bitten grief and stony purpose.”
These are the opening words to the first story in this collection of tales about the legendary Fahfrd and the Great Mouser. Ultimately, the entire canon devoted to these two protagonists—stretching over decades—comes down to being a story of friendship. Just over the length and breadth of the stories contained in this volume, plots will revolve around everything from treasure hunts to encounters with fearsome beasts to this realm’s equivalent of Atlantis. No matter who the foe or the point of the battle, the story at hand will always back around to the tall guy traveling with the short guy. Key to understanding the relationship is this oppositional but not antagonistic juxtaposition. Take not that not only are is one tall and one short, but both move with athleticism of youth while carrying the scars of great and often painful experience on their faces. This motif of opposition without antagonism recurs in multiple ways throughout the stories, appropriately reflecting the status of them both as roguish heroes more than capable of skirting the law but operating within moral boundaries they are not willing to cross.
“They did not find forgetfulness there, the ghosts of Ivrian and Vlana were not laid, yet perhaps solely because of passage of time, the two heroes were a little less troubled by them.”
The stories of Fahfrd and the Great Mouser up to the point at which this collection begins were not without romance. The opening pages of the first story situate the circumstances of the grief mentioned above. Both men have lost the love of their life and in response they have resolved never to return to the site of these tragic losses: Lankhmar. The title of the opening story foreshadows the reality that this is a vow which cannot be kept. By the end of the story, in fact, they have already returned. Ivrian and Vlana will basically disappear from the narrative at this point in terms of actually mention by name, but the specter of their deaths and the ensuing grief will hang over the adventures. Almost two-hundred pages later, however, they will return as the focus of the story aptly titled “The Price of Paine-Ease” in what is kind of a genre-bending ghost story. It is at this point of reintegration of two significant recurring characters in the series that their absence in the intervening stories in this collection is felt most strongly.
“The Gray Mouser knew the layout of the Thieves' House— not as well as the palm of his hand, but well enough— and he led Fafhrd along a bewildering route. They careened around stony angles, sprang up and down small sets of steps, two or three each, which made it difficult to determine which level they were on…Twice Fafhrd stumbled and recovered himself."
Although pursuing themes of friendship, loyalty, and moral ambiguity, ultimately these are action stories. This is not a collection of stories about two men sitting around expressing contemplative philosophical thoughts about moving on from the loss of their lady loves; there are things to be done. An organization called the Thieves’ Guild plays a role in several of the stories, including this one. In fact, the origin story which tells how Fahfrd and the Mouser came to team up is told in another story not included here. The table of contents includes hints about what to expect from each story and the capsule summary included with this tale observes that it is the duo’s third visit to the “primal sink of iniquity” in which members of the Guild meet. That the Mouser knows the layout of this meeting place almost like he knows the back of his hand suggests that those two previous visitations with Fahfrd do not represent the sum of this visits in totality. Once again, a passage hints at the oppositional but antagonistic tie bonding the two men together. The Gray Mouser is portrayed as moving confidently and stealthily while Fahfrd is almost a bumbling assistant. In reality, neither is the Dr. Watson to the other’s Sherlock. While Mouser is leading the way on this particular adventure, those roles will be reversed in others. The two are distinctly different yet perfectly complementary.
