Read The Dead of Winter- - Thieves World 07 Online
Authors: Robert Asprin,Lynn Abbey
Tags: #Fantasy - General, #Fantastic fiction; American, #Fantasy, #Fiction - Science Fiction, #General, #Science Fiction, #Science Fiction - General, #Adventure, #Fantasy fiction; American, #Fiction, #Short Stories
SUMMARY:
A fearsome cold threatens Sanctuary and an army of the living dead is on the march, in the latest "Thieves' World" anthology featuring stories by Janet Morris, C.J. Cherryh, Diane Duane, Robin Bailey, Andrew Offutt, and others
The Dead of Winter
Edited by Robert Lynn Asprin
Dramatis Personae
Lynn Abbey
Introduction
Robert Lynn Asprin
Hell to Pay
Janet Morris
The Veiled Lady,
or A Look at the Normal Folk
Andrew Offutt
The God-Chosen
Lynn Abbey
Keeping Promises
Robin W. Bailey
Armies of the Night
C. J. Cherryh
Down by the Riverside
Diane Duane
When the Spirit Moves You
Robert Lynn Asprin
The Color of Magic
Diana L. Paxson
Afterword
Andrew Offutt
Dramatis Personae
The Townspeople:
Ahdiovizun; Ahdiomer Viz; Ahdio
Proprietor of Sly's Place, a legendary dive within the Maze. Lalo the Limner
Street artist gifted with magic he does not fully understand. Gilla His indomitable wife.
Alfi
Their youngest son.
Latilla
Their daughter.
Vanda Their daughter.
Wedemir
Their son and eldest child.
Dubro Bazaar blacksmith and husband to Illyra.
Illyra
Half-blood S'danzo seeress with True Sight.
Arton Their son, marked by the gods and magic as part of an emerging divinity known as the Storm Children.
Hakiem
Storyteller and confidant extraordinaire.
Harran
Overworked surgeon for the false Stepsons and one-time priest of the
nearly forgotten goddess, Siveni.
Jubal Prematurely aged former gladiator. Once he openly ran Sanctuary's most visible criminal organization, the Hawkmasks. Now he works behind the scenes.
Kurd
Vivisectionist slain by Tempus upon whom he had performed some of his viler experiments.
Lastel; One Thumb
Proprietor of the Vulgar Unicorn. Betrayed by local magicians, he spent a small eternity in death's embrace. Freed when Cime wreaked havoc on the local Mageguild, he is a shadow of his former self. Moruth
King of the Downwind beggars. Myrtis-Madam of the Aphrodisia House. Tamzen
Young woman, daughter of a tavernkeeper, who loved Niko and was killedby Roxane.
Zip
Bitter young terrorist. Leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Sanctuary (PFLS).
The Magicians:
Askelon
The Entelechy of Dreams, a magician so powerful that the gods have set
him apart from men to rule in Meridian, the source of dreams. Datan Supreme of the Nisibisi wizards; slain by the Stepsons and Randal. His globe of power, which now belongs to Randal, was the foremost of such artifacts manufactured along Wizardwall.
Enas Yorl
Quasi-immortal mage cursed with eternal life and constantly changing physical form.
Ischade
Necromancer and thief. Her curse is passed to her lovers who die from
it.
Haught
Her apprentice. A Nisibisi dancer and freed slave.
Mor-am
Her servant. A Hawkmask she saved from certain death, whose
pain and torment she holds at bay in exchange for other services.
Moria Mor-am's sister, also a Hawkmask but now the somewhat alcoholic chatelaine of Ischade's uptown establishment.
Stilcho
One of the Sanctuary natives chosen to replace the Stepsons
when they followed Tempus to Wizardwall. He was tortured and killed by Moruth, then reanimated by Ischade.
Roxane; Death's Queen
Nisibisi witch. Heiress to all Nisi power and enemies. Snapper Jo
A fiend summoned and controlled by Roxane.
Others:
Bashir
A Free Nisi fighter and ally of the Stepsons during their sojourn at
Wizardwall.
Brachis
Supreme Archpriest of Vashanka, companion of Theron.
Mradhon Vis Nisibisi mercenary, adventurer and occasional spy. Theron
New military Emperor. An usurper placed on the throne with the aid ofTempus and his allies.
The Rankans living in Sanctuary:
Chenaya; Daughter of the Sun
Daughter of Lowan Vigeles, a beautiful
and
powerful young woman who is fated never to lose a fight. Dayrne-Her companion and trainer.
Gyskouras
One of the Storm Children, conceived during an ill-fated Ritual of the Ten-Slaying, a commemoration of Vashanka's vengeance on his brothers.
Seylalha
His mother, a temple dancer chosen to be Azyuna in the Ritual of the Ten-Slaying.
Prince Kadakithis
Charismatic but somewhat naive half-brother of the recently assassinated Emperor, Abakithis.
Daphne
His official wife, missing since the arrival of the Beysib. Lowan Vigeles
Half-brother of Molin Torchholder, father of Chenaya, a wealthy
aristocrat self-exiled to Sanctuary in the wake of Abakithis'
assassination.
Molin Torchholder; Torch
Archpriest and architect of Vashanka; Guardian
of the Storm Children.
Rosanda
His wife.
Rankan 3rd Commando
Mercenary company founded by Tempus Thales and noted for its brutal efficiency.
Kama; Jes
Tempus' barely acknowledged daughter.
Sync
Commander of the 3rd.
Rashan; the Eye of Savankala
Priest and Judge of Savankala. Highest-ranking
Rankan in Sanctuary prior to the arrival of the Prince. Razkuli
Hell
Hound slain for vengeance by Tempus.
Stepsons; Sacred Banders
Members of a mercenary unit founded by Abarsis
who willed their allegiance to Tempus Thales after his own death. Critias; Crit
Leftside leader paired with Straton. Second in command after Tempus.
Janni Nikodemos' rightside partner; tortured and killed by Roxane. Nikodemos; Niko; Stealth
Bandaran Adept skilled in mental and
martial disciplines. Once a captive of Roxane and Datan. Randal; Witchy-Ears
The only mage ever trusted by Tempus or
admitted into the Sacred Band.
Straton; Strat; Ace
Rightside partner of Critias. Enamored of
Ischade and, so far, immune to her curse.
Tempus Thales; the Riddler
Nearly immortal mercenary, a partner of Vashanka
before that god's demise; commander of the Stepsons; cursed with a fatal inability to give or receive love.
Walegrin
Rankan army officer assigned to the Sanctuary garrison where his father had been slain by the S'danzo many years before. Zalbar
Captain of the Hell-Hounds which, since the arrival of the Beysibexiles, have lost most of their influence.
The Gods:
Enlil Storm God/wargod for the more recently conquered Northern parts of the Rankan Empire.
Mriga Mindless and crippled woman elevated to divinity during Harran's abortive attempt to resurrect Siveni Gray-Eyes.
Sabellia
Mother goddess for the Rankan Empire. Savankala-Father god for the Rankan Empire.
Siveni Gray-Eyes
Ilsigi goddess of wisdom, medicine and defense.
Stormbringer
Primal Storm God/wargod. The pattern for all other such gods, he
is not, himself, the object of organized worship.
Vashanka
Storm God/wargod of the original Rankan lands; vanquished and exiled beyond the reach of his onetime worshippers.
The Beysib:
Monkel Setmur
Young chief of clan Setmur, an extended kinship of fishermen and
sailors.
Shupansea; Shu-sea
Head of the Beysib exiles in Sanctuary; mortal avatar of the Beysib mother goddess.
Robert Lynn Asprin
"You may remove your blindfold now, old one." Even as he fumbled with the knot binding the strip of cloth over his eyes, Hakiem knew much of his surroundings. His nose told him that he was in one of Sanctuary's numerous brothels ... though exactly which one he was unsure of. At his advanced age he did not frequent the town's houses of ill-repute even though he could now easily have afforded them, and therefore he was unfamiliar with their individual nuances. The memories of his youth, however, still lingered strong enough for him to recognize the generic aroma of a dwelling where women sold sex for a living and the incense used in a vain attempt to disguise that profession.
More important than the room's location was its inhabitant, and Hakiem had good reason to recognize the voice that now instructed him. It was Jubal, once Sanctuary's crimelord ... now the underground leader of one of the armed factions that fought overtly and covertly for control of the city.
"It takes longer to reach you these days," Hakiem said with a casualness that bordered on insolence as he removed his blindfold.
Jubal was sprawled across a large, throne-like chair which Hakiem recognized from earlier days when the black ex-gladiator/slaver had openly operated out of his Downwind mansion. He wondered briefly what it had taken to retrieve that piece of furniture; the Stepsons had attacked the dwelling, driven the crimelord into hiding. Of course, the "ersatz" Stepsons had been there for a while, which might have made the recovery easier ... but that would have to be a story to be purloined on another day.
"These are dangerous times," Jubal said without a trace of apology. "One as observant as yourself must surely have noticed that, even though you have seldom relayed such information to me since your promotion." Hakiem felt vaguely uncomfortable at this subtle accusation. He knew that he had long enjoyed favored status in Jubal's eyes, and at one time would have tentatively called him a friend. Now, however ...