[Yvelina]

--- Vanheim II ---

One thing’s for sure. If I need the enemy thoroughly counted, I have the man for it. I sent a scout north to see how the local toughs feel about joining my glorious campaign… It seems that they were more interested in archery practice. My guy had to dodge some arrows, but he managed to get a good feel for the enemy’s numbers. Hell, he actually got an exact count. I would have preferred a few ears, and I would have settled for a lower count. Sixty seven men under arms, and even the archers are better armoured than anyone under my command. I am not sending troops in there. Green as my men are, they are bound to be decimated…

It’s a big cosmic joke. It seems that one of the things I taught them has stuck – everyone and his grandmother thinks he's a competant navigator. So, of course, every province near Vanheim has a port, and a sizable city that must have grown around it. Oh, and a sizable group of well-equipped, mounted mercenaries guarding it. As much as I hate to admit it, my own troops are a joke compared to what surrounds us.

I am not getting enough recruits, and news of my return are not spreading as fast as I would like it. The one decent wizard that showed up has a hard time bending the knee. I had hoped that he would become my prophet, but he remains unconvinced. I know one way, but then I would have to raise him, and frankly, I do not like undead. He spends all his time in the library, looking for who knows what.

This whole ascension business will be more challenging that I thought.