Confident that they were not here to raid, I gave permission for Jarl Injeborg's crew to disembark and make camp. Outside the walls of course. Whatever their intentions, if they could see how weak were our defences, they might well be tempted to sack the town. I took Carradock's comment on their piratical nature perfectly seriously.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVk6udPWc3k
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37NNSGFrUY
Back among my people, I organised a rota of pretend guards to face the Vikings, sent Carradock off to separate the prisoners and bring back the ones from Southway, then took Figus and Carlena with me to the keep.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06G8lBImrW
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nEAziYVeP
There, in privacy, I explained the food situation and how important those 30 units of food in the ship were to us. We were up to 6 units of meat daily, with consumption at 15 (hopefully 14 when I got rid of the prisoners). Reserves were at 38. That gave us 4 days and then people would be on short rations. If we had the fish in the longship, that would give us 8 days before the stores were empty. Even then, we'd have plenty of iron but I had no idea how long it would take to build a ship, crew it and make a return journey to the Kingdom of Lost Souls. More than 8 days surely?566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhs0aEnE3gm
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwXWDtQdPS
'Which is why,' I concluded, 'I think Figus will have to go to the Necromancer and ask for an advance.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKmHKrhsiT
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97EQn5QSKe
'Tonight sire?' Figus looked carefully at me.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hr24duEjJ
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8ZDA2lqOj
'Right away.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2mDHtGIS8
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZy8nywftLb
'Perhaps the morning would be better, it is Moon Day and I have been working on entertainment that might raise the morale of the people.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwjlIVNjPj
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVoP5S3lSm
'What's the significance of Moon Day?' I wondered aloud.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgesxpPF4fS
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiO4ThKtRN
Immediately Figus turned to Carlena with a face of pure suspicion. 'What's going on?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHbtaOpLJx
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6bsg6xqCQh
Feeling a flush of embarrassment, I realised I'd asked a question that King Carlos would not have raised. I had been too caught up in the menus and had dropped my concentration.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHqAlCRHc9
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuLGYnFNqr
'Well?' now the Bard turned his startling blue eyes on mine, expression hard and suspicious.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWFA8O2084
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJ3Id10dAn
'Well what?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe73HLR2U85
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLr6Js3cjH
'You're not King Carlos, are you?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPn3cB3bfZ
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4poTZuYFx
'What do you mean?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZTO3ZDiY5
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3H9SlmIHK
'You don't talk like him. You don't think like him. And you don't know that on Moon Day the burghers of the town attend you in the evening.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHITtfIDHs
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡctm3Rksgi3
'Listen carefully, Figus,' Carlena didn't move but her sharp, clipped words leaned over the Bard. 'If you go around talking like that, you'll bring ruin on us all. If his popularity gets any lower, no one will work or fight. And they'll abandon the realm.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgst7Vq3Cc
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1TFg5W7id
'I'm no fool Carlena, even though you think me one. Just tell me.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspgBef0oqZ
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZAnbjhySf
'My real name is Sean de Courcy,' I said quietly, 'I was summoned here by Carlena to replace King Carlos.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhji4WeD3wi
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkAvMcSXaau
'Summoned?' Figus looked at the sorceress.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjP4f3vK1W
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFTruKQkCq
'That ignorant slob was a fool. All he cared about was his dinner menu. And he thought we could do nothing about his ruin of the kingdom. That we couldn't lift a hand against him without the realm losing its menus.' Carlena was becoming impassioned, her normal pale face flushed and her words coming fast. 'He underestimated me though, and Miya, our goddess. She didn't want her realm to be destroyed. She came to me in a dream and guided me in a ritual to replace King Carlos with a hero from another plane.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdcKz8dnvE
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIDl1LohzX
This was the first time I'd heard that a goddess had been involved in the summons. The role of gods and goddesses was clearly another aspect of this world that I needed to understand better.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYs4ouWt7X
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'Pause there, please Carlena. Can you tell me more about Miya and the other gods? Can we get her help? Does everyone have the help of a god? How can I talk to her?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJ9AHjFFNp
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsagx8N9SM0
'I'm a Sorcerer. All I can tell you is what everyone knows, that the gods created this world to play out their game. Each has one kingdom and they are all rivals to each other.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFM0wub93D
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozSDjTSuao
'But how much do they intervene? How can we – or our enemies – draw on the powers of our gods?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27wMETkZ0n
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡros8M59W5Q
'They provide divine spells to their priests daily: Clerics, Druids, Paladins and Bards.' The Sorceress waved a hand towards Figus. 'Otherwise, hardly at all. I had never seen or heard from Miya before my dream.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMC2GZU6ae2
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOdUkr69ob
Figus nodded, then spoke, still with a tense and clipped voice. 'I believe… Sean de Courcy… that if you were to build the church up to a cathedral, and have very large numbers of worshippers for her, that Miya might be able to intervene more and provide significant benefits to the realm. Her attributes being those of fertility and renewal, they would most likely involve crops and healing.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJh5wCiWF6U
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX29N9o8gRK
'Interesting.' And it really was. I was already thinking that upgrading the church was an attractive option and this information reinforced that idea. 'There you have it, Figus. I'm a newcomer. I don't know the name of the days of the week here, let alone the rituals around them. But I'm confident I can save the kingdom and, in time, go on the offensive.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡziczx5KBHm
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaehCP2pOoN
'This makes sense of everything that's happened in the last four days.' After my last words, the tension in Figus seemed to melt and all at once he was his usual devil-may-care self. 'Hello Sean,' he offered his hand. 'Welcome to our world. I'm sincerely glad you are here. We need someone like you.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNGpRYxjrb
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhUThgZ9Bp
'Thank you.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKpHRtK2OB
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPpJfiYNJW
'This is exciting news. I feel hope again. And you know what? I think most of the people of the town would too, knowing the old King Carlos has gone...' Figus gave the Sorceress a rueful expression, as though apologising in advance for what he was about to say. 'You might consider telling them all. Especially if the goddess approves.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbddr3YQYM
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZh1uT6inra
'It's too soon. He's doing well but we need to come on a lot more before we can risk a collapse in authority. I think his popularity has to be able to take a much bigger drop than it currently can.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdIyC5TSxO
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ypNXk3RYJ
'I might be able to help with that.' Figus grinned and turned to me. 'If I have permission not to depart until morning.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGHYDYJRsB
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92qgOkEsJE
'Permission granted.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrqP83oGiQ
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBTErA7x51
'In that case,' he stood up and bowed to us both. 'I'll take my leave and make my preparations.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT10VRdLFnn
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Qz87epTso
When he had left, I looked over at Carlena. 'I like him.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDi2StF0rR
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84OR2jZFgY
'I am a difficult person, Sean, because I'm uncompromising. Figus was at King Carlos's right hand most of the time. I understand that he had to play the lackey to avoid punishment. But still, he used his skills to mock other people for the king's entertainment.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVF5jQVLmh
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5N9oBfPFgS
'I see. Including yourself, no doubt. But you can still work with him in our joint enterprise?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCvqXCEWoS
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHxjxApxtf
'Of course.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzM9l1bzU6
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywu4g2XPt6
'What's the Moon Day event he's planning for?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLQFtqMG7y
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnz9FeINOVB
Carlena looked tired at the thought. 'The town has burghers.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8vILvlvti
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlc5CIFnqz
'Burgers?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJuN5ViWts
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrFdfubc5E
'Yes. Each guild has a representative: the chief baker, the chief butcher, the supervisor of the mines and so on…. These are the burghers of the town, they have a committee to govern all matters in Carrick that are outside of your menus, such as holding court on property disputes, and they have the right to a seating with the king on Moon Day.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdkWsYJxto
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRB24WK3U2
'A seating?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDV8t33J3B
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡio3LZD7CLU
'They come to a grim and dull evening meal in the castle. Where you sit at the top of the table, hear any complaints they have and resist the urge to hang the lot of them. At least, that's what I think King Carlos usually does, to judge from his expressions.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNIQNKIAxo
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oBtA94fmf
'I see.' I didn't really but I could manage to sit at the table and listen. It might even be useful, teaching me something about the way in which the orders I made through the menus resulted in changes in the town.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVzv1f3g10
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQyI71HEkA
'Carlena.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtNuBm9ED2
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowRGlP7bCJ
'Yes?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGK09RC3tzM
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yCFX99tac
'Are you happy?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6i0GTxV4K
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNPrXs6eYg
'Happy? Of course not. We are on the cusp of destruction. I'm a Sorceress with the minimum number of spells and few prospects to change that…' she shot me a penetrating glance. 'Worse, this is a miserable kingdom with a cultural level not much higher than that of the barbarians outside the walls. My existence is incredibly boring.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwaRNk1awr
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGyZXlvTyW
'What would make you happy?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlGjYug8sw
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAG0ivSNYSE
'I'll be honest with you Sean, although many would feel revulsion at my answer. It's power. Power over magic. Power over the other kingdoms. Power not for the sake of it, but to live free from the fear of capture or death.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUJqZcLrnm
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNW2kQ3Q5Df
'I understand.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxhl17lw0Y
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXHnsWMDDF
'Do you though?' Again that appraising look. 'I think you do, Sean. I think you understand everything.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mvKaR4eA3
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZ2XpvUBDU
There was a weight on the word everything that was important, as though she were letting me in on a conspiracy. I couldn't grasp her meaning though, nor did I want to reveal my ignorance by asking.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupJQs7pPoN
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCw9kQfG3v
'What about you Sean, are you happy?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjs67EStlG
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q0jhq6HQr
'Very. Before you summoned me, I needed a purpose to my life. A cause. And that moment when I thundered down on the enemy as a rhino?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmpWmcjCr1
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGWbU21B47
'Yes?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmWuzsAg3y
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOi9C3QLbWK
'I've never been happier in my life.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVnf9d0dxR
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqA4AHMGmw
Carlena laughed. 'I think you share something with the old King Carlos then. He would have been content to live his whole life as a rhino.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5cYwDQzWip
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***566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmlkYokYl8
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That afternoon I'd made sure to keep on top of all my town management choices, namely, assigning the completed steel pickaxes to the mines and deciding what to build, now that hunting lodge 3 had been completed.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShDvaJR8Qi
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwdKlT0IBe
Barracks 2 had its appeal, as it unlocked ballista crew training, and with just one more ballista on the large tower (therefore covering the bridge at the same time as the first ballista stopped groups of archers from congregating under the tower), I could hold Three Ways even against much larger armies. A scriptorium was attractive too. When I had stood before the Vikings and made my bluff about Fireball, it had really struck home to me how disproportionately important was magic here. If we had a research option that led to the discovery of more spells and really did obtain Fireball, Carlena would make our army ten times more threatening.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimgXBPlsev
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Upgrading the mine to level 3 would work as well. Given how important iron was becoming to our trading and diplomatic negotiations, I obviously couldn't have too much of it. Also, the description of the level 3 mine said that I would have a chance at discovering seams of silver and gold. Yet while I certainly would push up mining production as a priority, I'd run into the problem that I had no unassigned people after putting the last into the new hunting lodge.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEOcmjG2aq
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It was during my investigation of the question of how quickly new people would become available that I discovered to my dismay that this was proportional to the realm's happiness score. Greyland's happiness had to be above 25 to even attract one new adult a week.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZUas8X2Cd
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsLEmjf13u
Which is why I used 110 planks of wood to set about the upgrade of the church. A bigger, more noteable church increased overall happiness, improved healing rates and attracted a new cleric to the town. Then too, it strengthened Miya, our goddess, and even though I wasn't sure how to quantify this, it was surely an important consideration? The timer on the upgrade was 2 days and 14 hours.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIgd6Jzdpo
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During the afternoon, I'd also worked on my core muscles, although training wasn't at all the same on my own as when Carradock had been present. In the evening, I'd bathed and, on dressing for dinner, had been provided with furs and impressive jewelled rings to wear for the Moon Day dinner.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlN9LPr4W3
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRTHyQ5RhU
The castle hall looked splendid, with silver places laid out for a dozen guests, glittering in the light of candles and a huge open fire. Banners and tapestries covered large areas of the stone walls and again I saw one of a white rhino on a green background. The people present included the chief carpenter, to whom I had promised the role of shipbuilder, and a dozen other men and women, wearing their finest clothes and bronze chains of office clasping emblems with the symbols of their guilds. These were middle-aged people; there was a dull emptiness in their eyes that made me wonder at first whether they were fully human or some kind of limited NPC.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0ZmdgJd1G
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiTQh1oFha
It soon became clear to me that the dullness of their faces was a reflection of their interests rather than their intellect. Insofar as it was fair to generalise across them all, the issue was that their horizons were narrow. One after the other, they made the same kind of speech when their opportunity came to address me: the need to upgrade their factories or premises or equipment.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wu24BFhsK
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkhDMKF4ZP
The 'factor' of the hunters, as she called herself, was rather less given to whinging, after all, she'd had two upgrades recently and twelve new hunters to lead. But even she wanted upgraded bows and knives.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptlEucYqYS
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUbQjenuh6
I couldn't ask directly about how my choices in the menu options affected their work: it would reveal me to be an imposter. But I did get the impression from their remarks that they had free will, that they had ambition, rivalry, and passion even, somewhere beneath their solid exteriors. It also became clear that my instructions appeared to them as menus that the office holders could open and close, albeit that they couldn't make any amendments. Once or twice the burghers expressed thanks to our goddess, Miya, in a way that indicated that the divine power of the gods lay behind the menu system.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Qnj4vH2B7
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQodeE3GzAc
One question I thought would not be entirely out of character was that of reallocating workers. 'Ladies' – the baker, the brewer, the huntress, the seamstress and the scholar were female – 'and gentlemen. Today, we reached the maximum capacity of workforce in our town. Until such time as we attract new residents or the young come of age, I can only reassign workers. Tell me, is there any penalty for doing so?'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzwYSxmsAM
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgI1KdMOjU
All their faces were turned towards me, orange tinted in the light of the large fire. Then factor of the hunters spoke. 'I believe sire, that while the gods allow this and the workers will immediately know the relevant skill, those reassigned are very likely to be discontented and that will reflect in the overall happiness score for our community.'566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkf6wkwfQzO
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qwWrJqUYs
Something to be avoided then. Raising the population had become a problem almost as urgent as that of the food supply.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHmDQXmam1
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJqVxQ8dx7
When the meal was done and all the goblets refilled, Figus took the floor. His dress, as always, was smart. Tonight a leather waistcoat lay on a silk shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, that appeared purple in the candlelight but which may well have been blue by day...
I've published Summoned! To an RPG World on Amazon. And I've enrolled it with their Kindle Unlimited. One of the terms of the KU scheme is that I can only make public 10% of the book. So my apologies if you've been enjoying the story, I can't go any further with it here. I hope you understand.
I'm currently writing two other stories you might like and which are free to read.
Summoned! To Grimworld is another isekai LitRPG.
Planet Earth's greatest - but unrecognised - artist, Marcus Korol, is mind swapped into a crashing spacecraft. Ejected to the surface of Grimworld, a planet with a base-building system, Marcus has to master the system in order to survive and prosper. Even if he can cope with the monsters and environmental dangers, there are warlike tribes to consider, twenty of them, in a complex arrangements of alliances. Staying alive, let alone prospering, is a daunting challenge that even a battle-hardened general would find daunting. Yet Marcus treats the situation with relish.
Marcus's one companion is another person summoned from Earth, a former princess, Duchess Sina Koskina: Sina is a young woman who has never done a serious day's work in her life. Having previously had servants for every task, Sina has no idea of her real abilities or talents, but she is keen to find out.
Marcus and Sina must find a way to work together, build a settlement, and master the strange system of the planet. If they can do so, they might even find and solve the Ultima quest that Grimworld is reputed to be host to.
The White Dragon is a metaphor for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It is the year 472 and the Roman empire is still strong in an alternative Earth where magic exists. The Roman authorities hate and suppress the use of magic, which by its nature is wild and uncontrollable.
Unknown to the empress and her brother, rulers of the mighty empire, they have an enemy, one that is inexorable; destructive; remorseless; a conduit for elemental forces. By driving magic away, the Romans did not make it weaker, only wilder and darker. And now the White Dragon is back, the empire is at her mercy.
From a remote village in north Wales comes Arthyr, a beautiful young man of nineteen, who is the antithesis of Roman values. Yet the empress and her officers need his power over magic to assist their armies and face the White Dragon.
Sent to train in Roman boot camp, Arthyr is the most difficult, insubordinate recruit the Roman sergeant-majors have ever had to deal with.
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