This edition contains two novellas: the title one and 'The Winter Players' which sounds as if it should be about musicians or actors. Perhaps the latter meaning is intended, as the two main characters are in a sense acting out parts or will be if they can't break out of the circle in which it seems they might be trapped. The paradox created was a little brain boggling but I could eventually see how it might work though it does beg the question of what happens to the main female protagonist after she takes decisive action to change events. Wouldn't she then cease to exist rather than remain behind to hand over the artefact needed for the other character to locate her changed self in the new timeline - and wouldn't that artefact also cease to exist? Presumably she did at some point 'disappear' or there would have been two of her in the later timeline.I did like the female protagonist and also the fact that the relationship between her and the young male protagonist is developed emotionally and based on mutual respect, rather than falling into the sadist-masochist style that for me mars a lot of this author's fiction.

The first (title) novella is the story of a conscientious warrior, at the start a captain in the King's army, who agrees to take the savings of one of his men - a young, inexperienced one - back to his family if he does not survive the impending siege of a town. Later, the siege over, the warrior resigns, sick of the killing, but has to join forces with an ex-underling of his, a man he dislikes, when their money, including the young soldier's savings, is stolen by a thief. To save his life from the underling's violence the thief shows them the hidden treasure of the now deceased witch threesome who formerly ruled the town, but it eventually becomes clear that it brings with it a deadly curse. This is a tense and well written tale of pursuit and sleep deprivation with a likeable male protagonist and, again, a nascent relationship between him and a young woman he meets near the end of the story, which again is a meeting of equals.

The only thing that holds this back from a full five stars for me is the slight awkwardness in the second story's resolution. So for me this earns a well-deserved 4 star rating. ( )

Really, nice, really well-written quest fantasy in the classic vein. Three unlikely companions, all with different motivations, end up looting a chalice from the sacked city of Avillis.
On the road, however, they come to know that the chalice is cursed.
Will the soldier Havor be able to fulfill his vow to a dying companion; to bring money to his destitute family? Or has he met his doom with the ill-advised theft?

Tanith Lee's writing brings a richness and depth to this type of story that's rarely seen. However, this book is very, very short. (This edition only contains the one story.) It's really a novella, not an novel. ( )

This book features two short narratives--Companions on the Road and The Winter Players--set in undefined fantasy realms. Companions on the Road begins at the end of a long military campaign, the first, the warrior Havor has just finished a campaign, when through a series of events, he joins with Feluce the rogue and Kachil the brigand to seek out treasure hidden in the dungeons of Avillis. But instead of a lengthy dungeon hack, the three promptly find the treasure they are seeking. And that's when the story really gets going. The three soon learn that they are being followed by something all of their battle experience has not prepared them to face, something that stalks and kills as subtly as it does relentlessly. Lee combines heroic fantasy with horror elements in a tense race against time.

The second story, The Winter Players, features the priestess Oaive, who guards the Mysteries of the Shrine. One day a wolf-like stranger comes to town, offering to buy one of the objects, which Oaive refuses to do. When the stranger returns, a confrontation ensues in which she learns that the stranger is more than he appears to be. Difficult choices and a perilous chase ensue, as the stranger leads Oaive onward towards an even greater danger. While Companions wove horror elements into its fantasy tale, Players' fantasy incorporates questions of free will and destiny, endless cycles, and a feel for the folklore of lonely fishing villages.

While slightly different in theme, both or excellent works of fantasy, told with Lee's consummate skill for character, setting and pace. ( )

The subtitle (Wondrous Tales of Adventure and Quest) made me expect more than the two stories included, but those two novellas were amble reward for opening the book.
The first one, which the book is named for, deals with a soldier who retires after the taking and burning of a town. He's been tasked to bring a small pouch of coins to the family of one of his young soldiers, but is side tracked by the prospect of some treasure underneath the castle. Three of them start out to take the treasure to a larger town to sell it and split the take, but it turns out that they're being followed by dark sorceries. It has a traditional sort of structure, with the three who start, and three following them, and the resolution, but the road to get there is rich with detail and foreboding.
The second novella starts with a stranger visiting a priestess and stealing an artefact from her. She follows him to regain her treasure, and uncovers his hidden motivations as she travels far from home. Most of the story is focussed on the mystery of the stranger, but there's a strong sub plot concerting the maturation of the priestess as a sorceress. ( )

*note to self. (copy from Al).