Ningauble of the Seven Eyes

Ningauble of the Seven Eyes is one of two wizards in Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. The patron warlock of Fafhrd the northerner, Ningauble is so named due to his roving seven (sometimes only six) glowing eyes. Along with the Gray Mouser's patron warlock, Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, Ningauble often sends his hapless minion on ludicrous missions such as recovering the mask of Death or to steal the very stars from the highest mountain. Ningauble's mysterious cavern has obscure space-time linkages which permit Fafhrd and the Mouser to be sent to other worlds.^[1] Ningauble is referred to as the "gossiper of the gods", for his fondness for stories of an unusual nature and his sometimes bizarre spies and informants.

Ningauble is a mysterious being with a manipulative character, as described in this passage from Adept's Gambit:^[2]

Some said that Ningauble had been created by the Elder Gods for men to guess about and to sharpen their imaginations for even tougher riddles. None knew whether he had the gift of foresight, or whether he merely set the stage for future events with such a bewildering cunning that only an efreet or an adept could evade acting the part given him.

The relationship between Fafhrd and Ningauble of the Seven Eyes is captured well in this exchange from The Swords of Lankhmar:^[3]

Ningauble shrugged his cloaked, bulbous shoulders. "I thought you were a brave man, addicted to deeds of derring-do."

Fafhrd cursed sardonically, then demanded, "But even if I should go clang those rusty bells, how can Lankhmar hold out until then with her walls breached and the odds fifty to one against her?"

"I'd like to know that myself," Ningauble assured him.

"And how do I get to the temple when the streets are crammed with warfare?"

Ningauble shrugged once again. "You're a hero. You should know."

References