Swords Against the Shadowland (Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar) by Robin Wayne Bailey Page A

heads greeted the lines of worshippers that filed through.
    In all his travels, never had Fafhrd seen a city with so many gods and temples. The Street of the Gods ran from one side of the city to the other, from the Marsh Gate to the River Hlal, with nothing but temples on either side of it, or shops selling incense, herbs, or other offering materials to hurried worshippers. Every god or goddess in Lankhmar had a temple on this street, as did many gods from other nations.
    Only Godsland itself, in the far north where the gods lived, could have more temples, Fafhrd figured.
    Aarth's temple marked the end of the Street of the Gods, but it was not the last of the temples in Lankhmar. Turning south, they started down Nun Street, and Fafhrd spied the first of the seventeen black towers of Lankhmar's forgotten gods.
    No one knew the names of the gods those black structures had been erected to honor, nor when they had been built. Already ancient and abandoned when the first Lankhmaran settlers came to this land, they were places of crumbling mystery, foreboding and forbidden. Some stood slender and tall, like thin claws thrust up from the earth to rake the sky, while others sat squat and low, like dark-skinned frogs watching the river.
    Despite the oppressive shadows those temples cast, a bustling commerce flourished all along the riverfront. Lankhmar sat near the mouth of the River Hlal, which opened into the Inner Sea. Trading ships from Ilthmar, the Land of the Eight Cities, and even the far-off Cold Wastes from where Fafhrd hailed regularly docked at Lankhmar's busy wharves, and Lankhmar's own merchant navy stood second to none.
    Shops and industries lined the streets of the riverfront. In addition, many of the city's nobles had built their homes and established fine estates in the district.
    Another palanquin passed them, jangling with scores of tiny golden bells, born by four powerful men in red liveries who wore long dirks sheathed on their belts. Crimson and silver draperies fluttering somewhat in the breeze allowed no clue as to the occupant. A trio of servants, dressed in the same red garments, followed hurriedly after it, bearing packages and covered baskets.
    Fafhrd scratched his short red beard. "She had a familiar face," he said thoughtfully.
    "Who?" the Mouser asked, glancing from Fafhrd to the palanquin and back again.
    "Your whore," he answered.
    A dark look clouded the Mouser's face. Wordlessly, he strode off toward the first of the forbidden towers, stepping off Nun Street and taking Fishbloat Lane, which ran straight to the wharves. With long-legged strides, a puzzled Fafhrd easily caught up with his smaller companion.
    "I want a look at each of the towers," the Mouser said quickly, as if preventing Fafhrd from reviving the previous subject. "If necessary, all seventeen."
    Fafhrd nodded agreement. "Will Malygris be waving a hanky prettily out a window, or are we just reacquainting ourselves with the city's sights?"
    "I don't know," the Mouser snapped with uncharacteristic rudeness. "Nuulpha's rumor may be just a rumor. But it's also a place to start. Do you have a better suggestion?"
    Stung by his partner's tone, Fafhrd hesitated. "No," he finally admitted.
    Forcing a path through a crowd of shoppers at an outdoor fish market, the Mouser spoke over his shoulder. "Then do me two favors," he said. Pulling back a corner of his hood, he forced a grin. "First, forgive me for my harsh speech." He held up one finger, then another as he abruptly stopped. "Second, look over the heads of this rabble and tell me where in Mog's name is the tower?"
    Fafhrd laughed, his hurt forgotten. A narrow street, the shops and warehouses that lined Fishbloat Lane formed virtual walls on either side of the way, and so thick were the crowds, now that the rain had ended, that his short friend was nearly engulfed in a sea of humanity. Even with the advantage of his height, Fafhrd could barely see the tip of the forbidden tower that marked