Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser take to the sea in the classic sword and sorcery series that "has lost none of its luminous magic" ( San Francisco Chronicle ). Hugo and Nebula Award–Winning Grand Master of Science Fiction Swords in the Mist, a story collection in the Lankhmar series, thrusts our indentured, sword-swinging servants into "The Cloud of Hate", its power, and its purpose. "Lean Times in Lankhmar" illuminate the link between money and love. Luckily, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser don't always believe in love. When Lankhmar gets too gritty, our travelers take to "Their Mistress, the Sea." But the sea can play tricks on men, and so can the sea king. He can break a man, or worse yet, curse him. But "When the Sea King's Away", it's all play for the formidable swordsmen and the Triple Goddess . . . and two luscious sea queens. But luck may not always be there, as they discover on the way to see Ningauble, their wizard employer. After a long journey in defense of their control over their own fates, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser find themselves pawns in a life-and-death chess game, all of Lankhmar being the pieces. How many pawns will be left on the board before someone wins? "Fritz Leiber's tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are virtually a genre unto themselves. Urbane, idiosyncratic, comic, erotic, and human, spiked with believable action and the eerie creations of a master fantasist." —Harlan Ellison