[Sedna]

Turn 19, R'lyeh

Great Iron Mines Batman! It was such a lightly guarded mountain village. I seized the high ground, and laughed to myself as the locals frantically grabbed spears, sticks, and hunting knives and struggled up-hill against the snow, giving me loads of time to prepare the familiar rituals which make me invincible: Quickness, Ethereal, Luck, Twist Fate. I have become so used to these spells I could cast them with my eyes closed, if I had any.

After the Last crunchy village baby, I noticed the mounds of iron slag sitting outside the town, only barely covered with a light dusting of snow. Beyond them, a well beaten mud path led me to the mine. It is good that minors are so tasty, because these miners will be necessary to continue digging the iron and shipping it down to the bottom of Red Lake, where my Illithids have been rounding up many volunteer Atlantians, who hope for a better life for them and their families. I shall gird them in steel and send them out to redden the seas.

As for batman? I knew that the Count of Katak-Ukon was going to be trouble the moment I first met him after that battle. He seemed... less cowered than most of the humans I appoint as puppet dictators. (In Takini I actually appointed a puppet as their new lord. That actually worked remarkably well until Last month, when the puppet inexplicably failed to deal with some brigands who had taken up residence there, forcing me to intervene. Needless to say, that puppet's head now rests in my display case, and another, more competent, piece of fabric is now in charge).

Sorry, I was talking about Folke, who now styles himself as a vampire. Apparently, the humans of this land are scared of such puny creatures, mainly because they suck the life out of their fellows (which is odd, as I do pretty much the same thing, and yet my citizens do nothing except praise me all day). At some point I'll have to send someone to deal with this usurper and his rabble.

Sammy, my first brave little sage, has uncovered a few valuable secrets. In an ancient tome he found the mystical incantations needed to re-arrange huge masses in the heavens, forming a giant lens which focuses the light of nearby O stars onto the surface of this planet. The effect should, in theory, be devastating. If the mass could be moved precisely enough, it would mean the destruction of this pathetic rock in a cataclysm of fire. Without such fine control (which I do not expect my servants to master) it will merely burn my enemies on the battle-field. Furthermore, Sammy has found a way to project his self into distant lands, and see the men and warriors contained therein. A useful skill, but I hope he did not discover it in an attempt to flee my service. The commander of the local construction crew, one Farol by name, says he often discovers Sammy wandering far from his office. Sammy claims to be sleep walking, but it is a mite suspicious that he always seems to have all his worldly possessions strapped to his back. I know, I shall volunteer a young lady into the sage-line. Then Sammy will have a friend, and maybe he won't leave me.