YMMV / The Scarlet Citadel

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Pelias. An Evil Sorcerer who just happens to be Affably Evil compared to Complete Monster Tsotha-lanti? Or a genuinely heroic character with a case of Bad Powers, Good People? The text supplies evidence for both without offering a firm conclusion.
• Complete Monster: Tsotha-lanti, mage of Koth and true power behind the throne, is the keeper of the titular citadel within which he has wrought a legacy of eldritch horrors, with countless vanishing as fodder for his dark experiments and an entire library of books rumored to have been made with the skin of his flayed victims. Tsotha captures Conan and subjects him to the horror of the Scarlet Citadel while leaving Aquilonia in the hands of the corrupt Prince Arpello, first trying to feed him to his pale serpent Satha and taunting him that he'll flay the Cimmerian's maidens to make the parchment on which to write his triumphs. As Conan proceeds through the citadel, he finds Tsotha's own sorcerous rival Pelias whom Tsotha has bound to a magical, mind-draining plant in suffering idiocy for ten years, having already forced Pelias to watch as he fed his acolytes to Satha, and when Conan finally breaks out, Tsotha vows to sacrifice 500 maidens writhing in their blood as tribute to Set for the chance of victory.
• Unintentional Period Piece: From the dialogue between Conan and the man holding his keys, one can determine ten and even fifteen thousand golden coins are considerably less than the man (albeit a huge one) weighs. Howard probably had in mind something close to the 1.7 gram golden dollar, no longer circulating but still somewhat known at the time. A modern Fantasy reader is more used to the Cheap Gold Coins similar in size to the ones in Harry Potter movies.