Nehwon

[GT]

OK, I just re-read the Fafhrd and Grey mouser stories, and I noticed two things:
1) Drow are mentioned in passing at the bottom of page180 in the 1977 Ace printing of "Swords & Ice Magic".
2) I found no mention of the Cold Woman or Cold Spawn in the seven books I have--was this a creature that Leiber and Fischer invented for the Lankhmar game that was then carried over to the Deities & Demigods book? I know that the versions of Movarl and Pulg(h) presented therein are from two "heroes" from the game...

[geneweigel]

What was the thing in the trees in the first story? When the cold was surrounding them?

[GT]

That was a creeping ice spell cast by the "Cold Witches".

[grodog]

Hey GT, can you please post the drow reference in full from the book?

[GT]

Sure thing, Grodog!

"And so the celebration began that lasted half the night and involved much drinking and eating and impromptou cheering and dancing and parading around and about and in and out. And the longer it went on, the more grotesque the cavorting and footstamping marches got, and all of it to the rhythm of the vindictive little rhyme that still went on resounding deep in the Mouser's mind, the tune to which everything was beginning to dance, "Storm clouds thicken round Rime Isle, Nature brews her blackest bile. Monsters quicken, nightmares foal, niss and nicor, drow and troll."

The run-on sentence is Leiber's own, and intentional to this part of the story... ^__^

[GT]

The same rhyme had been chanted earlier, on page 157 of the book; I believe by the Norse god Loki if I recall correctly...

[geneweigel]

I still can't recall the story reference to that "cold woman" thing but I swear that I read it before.

Unfortunately, I don't have copies on hand anymore. Everytime I bought a Lieber book it was either "borrowed forever" or just plain disappeared. I'm not even sure if I read all of them at this point but I'm pretty sure that I did. Shit, the only Leiber I have is non-Nehwon.

What was "Beauty and the Beasts" from "Swords and Ice Magic"? Does anybody have a copy of that one? That seems to ring a bell.

[geneweigel]

AHA!!!!

I found it!!!!



In "SWORDS AGAINST DEATH" Chapter II "JEWELS IN THE FOREST" after the battle Fafhrd exclaims it in a curse, or oath, or whatever Nehwonian Ice bastiches say...

Heres a chunk from it:

To cap the situation, the Mouser dropped lightly down, as if out of the sky. Fafhrd automatically started to raise his sword, for a backhand swipe. Then he stared at the Mouser for as long a time as it took the man sitting on the ground to give three tremendous gasps. Then he began to laugh, first uncontrollable snickers and later thundering peals. It was a laughter in which the battle-begotten madness, completely sated anger, and relief at escape from death were equally mingled.
"Oh, by Glaggerk and by Kos!" he roared. "By the Behemoth! Oh, by the Cold Waste and the guts of the Red God! Oh! Oh! Oh!" Again the insane bellowing burst out. "Oh, by the Killer Whale and the Cold Woman and her spawn!" By degrees the laughter died away, choking in his throat. He rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand and his face became starkly grave. Then he knelt beside the man he had just slain, and straightened his limbs, and closed his eyes, and began to weep in a dignified way that would have seemed ridiculous and hypocritical in anyone but a barbarian.

[geneweigel]

At the time of LANKHMAR (the game) (and later DEITIES AND DEMIGODS), things between Leiber and Gygax were very open and although the game that was in the box was practically made from whole cloth by Gary for public consumption, Gary said that Fritz added many previously unknown elements. So in the case of the Cold Woman and her spawn (as well as the Movarl and Pulgh as presented) these might actually be of Leiberian design. But we may never know. As in the case of DEITIES AND DEMIGODS most of that was of Gygax "design by proxy" (a back and forth redevelopment of GODS, DEMIGODS AND HEROES between him and Ward). So whether or not Fritz suggested the pudding final design is anybody's guess. Sounds awful "Gary-ish" though....

[GT]

Ah, thanks GW!! I remember that passage but I missed the reference to Cold Woman!