" Let the grape yield for us its purple flame, And rosy love put off its maidenhood:
"By blackening moons, in lands without a name,
We slew the Incubus and all his brood.
-- Song of King Hoaraph's Bowmen"
Cover page spread of Clark Ashton Smith’s “The Black Abbot of Puthuum” as it appeared in Weird Tales March 1936.
"Zobal the archer and Cushara the pikebearer had poured many a libation to their friendship in the sanguine liquors of Yoros and the blood of the kingdom's enemies. In that long and lusty amity, broken only by such passing quarrels as concerned the division of a wine-skin or the apportioning of a wench, they had served amid the soldiery of King Hoaraph for a strenuous decade. "
Clark Ashton Smith’s “The Black Abbot of Puthuum” is a classic yarn of Sword & Sorcery. There are a few incredible details that it classic for use in old school or Sword & Sorcery OSR play. Let's get the story's history outta of the way; "According to Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashton Smith Bibliography (1978) by Donald Sidney-Fryer, "The Black Abbot of Puthuum" was first published in the March 1936 issue of Weird Tales. It was included in the books Genius Loci and Other Tales (1948) and Zothique (1970)."
This blog entry picks right up from the Zothique play report on the blog here.
The plot is comes straight from the 'The Black Abbot of Putluum wiki entry; "In Yoros, Zobal the archer and Cushara the pike-bearer are assigned by king Hoaraph to retrieve the maiden Rubalsa from Izdrel for the king's harem. They are accompanied by the eunuch Simban."
Spoilers ahead, first of all you've got the mysterious Black Abbot of Puthuum which in our own campaign has relocated to the capital because of the infestation of lamia and demons. You've got Ujuk, who is an abbot for the monastery Puthuum & invites the adventurers to a feast. The Zobal the archer and Cushara the pike-bearer remain skeptical to say the least. Ujuk is the spawn of a lamia and then there's the benevolent mummy of the former monk Uldor. And at the story's conclusion the ruins of the Abbot of Puthuum are still there on Zothique. And these ruins are still lamia and demon haunted! Sure they disappeared but we get no confirmation that they were destoryed!
Zothique is demon haunted and lamia are nasty. They are masters of illusion and magic. The fact that they are haunting Putluum says that there are other people living in the area. The lamia have been breeding and bringing hybrid humanoids in the area. These lamia hybrids secure others as a food source. Here's another reason for adventurers to journey to Putluum. For the Castles & Crusades rpg this story presents a great bridge point for an encounter with demons or lamia on Zothique. The ruins of the abbot are waiting for PC's. According to the wiki entry on 'The Black Abbot of Puthuum; "In the 1988 book Fantasy: The 100 Best Books, James Cawthorn and Michael Moorcock noted the stories "Necromancy in Naat", "The Witchcraft of Ulua", and "The Black Abbot of Puthuum" on the theme of love and lust." These themes are perfect framing an adventure using C&C's Tome of the Unclean.