MP Game - Yarnspinners

[Sedna]

R'lyeh, Turn 36

I dreamt I slept upon the empty folds of space, slid down potential wells, and danced amongst the twisting, coiling fields which wreath the elemental orbs.

I dreamt of stepping through the stars, between dark portals of far years. I traipsed across the trackless wastes and watched the lights whirl overhead.

I dreamt of kingdoms, raging wide, beyond the reach of mortal ken. O thousand souls in bondage lay, and thousand corpses floated free!

And then I woke, and felt the old, familiar pull ... of gravity. And there before my tentacle lay many men in garb most strange. But as I sucked their weary brains, I learnt anew of wretchedness. Then knew I where my blind eyes fell, upon the face of this dust ball, and not amongst the friendly stars.

I killed them all, and used their bones to pick my teeth.

But now confusion reigns supreme, within my godlike frame. How came I to this weary place, where dull blue sky scrapes near the earth? Dared these fool peasants summon me, and pull me here to eat their brains? Or does the fulsome answer lie with other powers in the night? My enemies, my friends? Would they have hurled me thus? Back to my home, then down again, and why just here, and this?

My only clue, a piece of fish which fell from dull blue sky, and splat upon the blood-stained rocks and covered them with goo. It was a Starspawn's robe no doubt, though what was once therein, was dashed to pieces far and wide, and had no form to tell. Yet tentacles are chewy things, and some survived the fall. I sat right down and sucked on it — it tasted like the Straits.

I see bright lights toward the east, some hamlet there may lie. I'll eat their brains, and search to learn exactly where they die.

[Sedna]

R'lyeh, Turn 37

Xlikloth must die.

I ate the most interesting neurons the other day. For some reason, the villagers in this land, wherever it might be, had the notion that there was a new power in R'lyeh. "I thought the world had changed," an archer thought, as I split open his skull and feasted on the juicy, juicy goo inside. "I am never going to listen to a word my cousin in Abitopolis says again," ran through the mind of a militiaman. (At least he was being realistic about his ability to communicate with his loved ones after being et.) Really, I was quite puzzled as I ate my way through their ranks, because I kept sensing that they weren't expecting to be eaten! I mean, really. How long have I been taking over the world now, 3 years? 4? How many neighboring provinces must have sent out word of the terrible sucking death that awaits all in my path? I do try to pick off most of the stragglers when I eat a town, but I find letting a few get through releases a lot of adrenaline in the villagers in the next town over, which adds a nice complex undertaste. But these people... they were positively shocked to see me!

It all made sense, though, terrible terrible sense, when I ate Turioc. As a commander, his neurons fired just a bit more quickly than his dullard troops, so I managed to get a more coherent brain-wave pattern out of him: "I thought Xlikloth was in charge under the waters, and that this fiend had been sent back to the hell he came from." Xlikloth? I thought. My loyal Xlikloth? Wherever could he have got that idea from? But no: his fellow officers had similar thoughts, as did their wives and children when I reached the village for a bit of dessert. They all seemed to think that I had been killed/deposed/sent far, far away, and that Xlikloth was now the ruler of the Benevolent People's Republic of R'lyeh.

I tend not eat Starspawns, because they get touchy about it, but no one can deny that I am within my rights to take care of this disastrously failed business plan. I don't even care if I don't get to suck his brains out personally, that's how annoyed I am. (And Starspawn is so tasty with paprika and dill...) I am posting a description of the traitor, so that any of my loyal minions who love me enough (which should be all of them!) will know what to do with him. Some of them may die trying to take him down (he is distressingly powerful and admired), but what do I care? I just want him dead. Dead dead dead dead dead. Mit Torte.

[puffyn]

---- Arcoscephale, Turn 37 ----

At night, the grounds around the walls of Mictlan are a depressing place, littered with a hundred broken things. Although it is late spring here, the air is as bitter cold as in the depths of winter. It is as if there is some presence to the land that sucks all of the life and warmth out of every living being. And yet, amid all this decay, I have never felt more at home, more at peace in this strange land, then standing by the side of Amshula's funeral pyre, singing songs with her family. The fire leapt and curled high into the sky, where the sky was brilliantly clear, and the stars close enough to touch. A playful breeze from the south brought sweet forest scents to cover up the battlefield stench, and little gusts fanned the flames to even more daring acrobatics as they carried that incomparable spirit across the final river.

The next day, our force was attacked again by the rapidly dwindling, and very smelly, blood-hunters. We emerged from the battle only stronger, as we lost no one, and three more poor warriors joined our side, and brought with them two great horned serpents. These truly magnificent beasts are much used by Mictlan, but in battle one never gets a chance to examine them properly up close. In the hands of their trainers they are quite docile, indeed, almost friendly once you get over their evil-looking fangs. We will soon put them to good use, for after the battle it became clear that the defending forces no longer possess the wherewithal to keep us out; we will at last storm the gates of hell.

I hope Balachandra is all right. I know he blames himself for Amshula's death. I think he sees in her death a deep failing within himself. I do not see it though. His sorrow for a fellow warrior's death is the mark of civilization, rare among these people. I am glad that he is now bedding Andromache (this gossip can no longer be denied), for she has a remarkably level head after her own troubles and will help him through his self-inflicted torment. And who does this leave in charge of the mystics? A newcomer, ... well, it seems strange to write it, but here it is... Odysseus. No, not just someone with the bad sense to take that unlucky man's name, but someone who actually claims to be that famous king of Ithaca. It is odd: apart from this fairly serious flaw in his mental state, Odysseus is an extremely intelligent man. His rhetoric has done much to bring Mictlan deserters to our cause, and he likewise gives no credit to the persistent rumor that Limmy magically appears to fight by our side on the battlefield. One thing is certain, this man is Greek, and knows Ithaca and its environs well. If he were not mad, perhaps we would become fast friends. But is madness even that much of a handicap in this place and time?

Wlde, who has joined the siege, is very much not Greek. Impatient and bitter, she daily advocates abandoning the siege and marching south to relieve her sisters in the Sinking Land. The last we have heard from them, a local mystic had attempted a magic spell to repair the crumbling walls (it is not well to speak ill of the dead, so I shall refrain from pointing out that it was at Amshula's insistence that we build the walls from the local rock, which is little more than dried mud), but the spell, like most such things, had failed utterly. I do understand Wlde's desire to rescue her sisters, but the war's victory is nigh. Their last city vanquished, we have only to march a league south, where Sethra hides in the woods with a smattering of followers, and an end will be come to Mictlan.

---

[PashaDawg]

How is this game going? Looks like you guys could knit some wicked nice sweaters for a Jotun army with all the yarn.

[Sedna]

Yarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrn, there be stories in them thar giants.

[puffyn]

Hi PashaDawg,

Always good to hear from a loyal reader The game is going pretty well, so long as you're not Mictlan or Atlantis right about now... For your viewing pleasure, I'm attaching some of the more relevant score graphs (provinces, gem income, research, and army size). I suspect that with all the wars breaking out now these rankings are going to fluctuate wildly, so stay tuned.

[puffyn]

[puffyn]