OSR Commentary On Clark Ashton Smith's Clark Ashton Smith's The (1932) Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan

So we've been reading through the Hyperborean cycle by Clark Ashton Smith through those sweet Ballintine collection. And a few Sword & Sorcery thoughts occur in my head. 

Let's pick the Hyperborean thread from back in May on the blog & let's get back to the back of beyond and the frozen lands of CAS's Hyperborea. Here's a pro tip give the beggar a dollar or a good tithe because you never know when it can come to bite you in the end. That begger in the street may be far more then he seems or at least he is in the CAS story; ""Give, give, O magnanimous and liberal lord of the poor," cried the beggar.

Avoosl Wuthoqquan, the richest and most avaricious money-lender in all Commoriom, and, by that token, in the whole of Hyperborea, was startled from his train of reverie by the sharp, eerie, cicada-like voice. He eyed the supplicant with acidulous disfavor. His meditations, as he walked homeward that evening, had been splendidly replete with the shining of costly metals, with coins and ingots and gold-work and argentry, and the flaming or sparkling of many-tinted gems in rills, rivers and cascades, all flowing toward the coffers of Avoosl Wuthoqquan. Now the vision had flown; and this untimely and obstreporous voice was imploring for alms.

"I have nothing for you." His tones were like the grating of a shut clasp.

"Only two pazoors, O generous one, and I will prophesy."

Avoosl Wuthoqquan finds this out exactly in Clark Ashton Smith's Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan, The (1932). For our purposes the money lender found out exactly what kinds of unholy horrors dwelt within the jungles and temples of CAS's Hyperborea. And there is a certain sardonic wit and wisdom to his ea erm meeting with the Smithian god within the story. The take away reminds me of Michael Moorcock's demons and dieties within the Eternal Champion mythos. What Clark Ashton Smith's Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan, The (1932) is establish that the lands of Hyperborea are ripe with the divinity of the Lovcraftian gods of the Hyperborean cycle.
And the other thing is that the Lovecraftian gods of the Hyperborean cycle are very active taking vengence and sacrifice quite nicely on thier own. And this makes the old school versions of adventures set on CAS's Hyperborea all that more deadly. Accepting strange jewels from strangers can be indeed very deadly and dire. 
Avoosl Wuthoqquan is an interesting character unto himself. He's not simply a money lender but one of 'the' money lenders of Hyperborea. He's immesily corrupt and slightly guillible but at the same time obviously a very ruthless character. He'd make a Hell of an NPC before the events of The (1932)  Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan. There's a lot that CAS implies within the story. There are networks and guilds of thieves throughout Hyperborea and they have taken a heavy toil that calls the gods themselves to take a hand within events. 
And for a Stormbringer rpg party this opens up the opportunities to actually have a few adventures within CAS's Hyperborea. Just a bit of food for thought. 

So not only could this work out for a Stormbringer rpg campaign set up similar to what we spoke about on the blog here.  Could there be a time travel element that could really screw with OSR Hyperborea rpg players as well?! Hmm