Morning arrived with a lot of cries from cockerels and the scents of food cooking. It was probably very early, but I couldn't wait to get started. Rolling out of bed, I dressed myself in a long, loose tunic and a very fine cloak, it was a real struggle, though, sitting on the edge of the bed, to bring my foot up to a position where I could get a sandal on it. Should I wear my crown? For now, I just carried it in my hand.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvubhniHuk
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On leaving my room, a guard outside looked at me in astonishment before composing his face into a neutral expression.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCaJL1tQAD
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It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea of my way around this castle, yet it would be very strange if I were to ask the guard. So I just followed my nose and again, was met with looks of disbelief and alarm by servants and soldiers until I found my way down and around some wide stairs to a hall big enough for a feast, though all the tables were bare.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTwyn21f9n
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'Ah, sire, we weren't expecting you for many an hour yet. I'll hurry the cooks.' A female servant came over as I sat myself at the top table in what was obviously the king's large, padded chair.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT61bQoBFw
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'Just two poached eggs please and an apple and an orange.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQO4Sy45wz
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'We have apples, sire. Not the other.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoomdbE2oZ
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUllS4HLWhG
'Ahh right. Two apples then. And if you can press a few more to get juice out of them, I'll drink that.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH60t4dWImt
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ljmhoABZt
'Yes sire.' The servant, a middle-aged woman, had worry lines across her forehead. 'So no roast pork?' She gestured towards a door that I presumed led to the kitchen, judging by the concentration of cooking scents from that direction.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48a0ZIlsnx
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'No.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsABwaw4DA
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'Er… forgive me, but just to avoid error, sire, no beef slices in horseradish sauce?'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nitAFAh7B
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULLOZxs72S
'No.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3u9vaqvnGJ
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'Nor the chicken breast in garlic? The bread-and-butter pudding? The…'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWtH5xQyIP
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I caught the servant's eye and with a gulp she stopped speaking.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4x1BBUe7dC
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'Nothing,' I said firmly, 'other than the eggs, apples and the juice.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZToo7MPYPe
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'Certainly sire,' the woman backed away with an anxious bow.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqWw8UaEb6
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It would have been interesting to chat with someone and learn something about the world, but none of the guards and servants would dare look at me. The large dining hall was silent as though empty, even though I could count six guards and four servants.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wvg0b4fYK
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsoZayIoSC
Oh well. I raised my right arm and cascaded some menus. Good, steel pickaxes had been researched, my town now had the knowledge of how to produce them. So I opened up the smithy and planned for a build of 84 new pickaxes, one for every miner. That left my research queue empty and I crunched on one of the hastily delivered apples as I eyed my options, there were hundreds of possibilities, grouped into three core categories: economic, cultural and military. Currently, the food crisis was my biggest concern and my plan to solve it was via exporting ores. Assuming all my neighbours were hostile (and even if they weren't, I wouldn't want any of them to have extra iron supplies), I needed to get my ores further afield. And that meant… Navigation. A six-day research project.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyw1uMGOF5
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGc35o1hMIn
After breakfast, with the help of a servant, I changed into tunic and trousers and good boots, then sent for my trainer.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Nu7vlItrx
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuv0oMjDovk
Carradock Goblinbane was missing an arm at the elbow. I didn't ask; maybe the king knew his story already. On the short walk from the castle to the barracks training ground, I briefed him. I needed strength training as rapidly as possible. I didn't voice it aloud, but I knew that I just could not risk progressing my character until I understood the issue of stats better and, in particular, whether I could push them up through training.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqmFncdp9d
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwlibnQe4i
'Strength it is, sire, and all-round fitness.' He looked at me longer than most people did. In fact, most people here didn't look me in the eyes at all. 'It will take a while. We must not rush. You're too big and too – excuse me – soft. You'll hurt yourself. For the first day, I just want to you walk around this ground fifty times.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNy9zEcAGa
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'Fifty?' How hard could it be to walk fifty laps of a square whose sides were only about a hundred metres?847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRtv17tJNes
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It was very hard. After one lap I was sweating. After the second my thighs began to ache and I found myself slowing down from my fast initial pace. After the third, I was panting and my huge body was complaining pretty much everywhere. On ten, Carradock handed me a tankard with cool water in it and I gulped it down. Then he offered me a sword hilt. It was a practice weapon, a rod of iron with no sharp edges. I reached out for it.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmpS19FcF5
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68XfTecIQZ
'Are you sure?' Carradock looked sceptical.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZatYxgH1A
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'Of course. I can do this.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMk3PmAavg
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'No, I mean, your left hand.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yQEmsXPrI
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I had grasped the sword and raised it in my left hand. I tried it then with my right, shook my head, and shifted it back. 'This is better.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz41n0dK2S4
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDE9DuNKDXg
Back on Earth, I was left-handed. Had the king been right-handed? Was this a sign to everyone I wasn't their old ruler?847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDpnRIIndH
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'Carry it as often as you can. It will make your sword arm stronger.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCGDm1lWLt
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'Now?'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzY56xj8rDV
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Carradock nodded, perhaps with a hint of a smile on his narrow, fox-like face.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSo5d8PANK
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlCjSOcuBw
Then off I went again, with a new source of pain slowly moving up from my left wrist, my arm and along my left shoulder. At twenty I took another breather. One side of the barracks square was a two-story, grey stone building. The other three were enclosed by a low, wooden fence. And at the fence were gathered a dozen people, looking in at me. On their faces were expressions of dislike but also astonishment.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGNi56NoUT
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All this walking had been good for my thinking. 'You,' I pointed to a woman with dressed in a tunic whose design matched that of the other castle servants. 'Get me the ambassador, Figus.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLlVFYTHyg
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBW9T4GXOB
'Yes, sire.' She curtsied, but I could tell from her body language she didn't like the duty.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dcCXIEV7o
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'And the rest of you, get along with your business.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKHKEMR3aw
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No one spoke, but they all immediately hurried away.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSqEeNiFej
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It was another two laps before my ambassador came to the square around which I was walking. No doubt I was red-faced and quite a sight, but that didn't excuse the smirk on his face. Figus was quite the rock star. Unlike everyone else here, his hair was not a natural colour, rather it was bleached somehow and stood up in clusters of spikes. With a grace in his walk and a cynical smile in his bright blue eyes, I could see his Charisma of 15 was definitely in play. What was mine again, 3? I suddenly felt very conscious of my frown lines and a posture that was sagging at every point, including my face.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTwjH3GITD
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The ambassador drew up close, took in a breath and then bowed. 'Sire?'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzf5P6mgdso
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This was a welcome excuse for a break, though I was aware that Carradok was watching and probably disapproved.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxL6LzfcTf
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWo0INlGq39
'We need to trade ore for food, what's the best way to go about it?'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3UxefSAJv
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhbYTkE86L2
Figus looked up with some surprise on his face. 'You are seeking my advice?'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbdiqhaoij
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'Uh huh,' I was still catching my breath or I'd have pointed out that he was our ambassador after all.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hcbugOZtz
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9AkhVMUGK
'Well, as you know, we are at war with Southway and Trolland, our nearest neighbours. So they are out. That also blocks the inland routes. By sea, we could trade with Cantreth, the Kingdom of Lost Souls and Rockguard…' he paused in thought. I paused in tiredness.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pjrL4nglw
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'Your majesty has no scruples dealing with a Necromancer?'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRID2D9AVmt
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDN0HVQJAmo
'Not at all, some of my best friends are Necromancers.' I was thinking of Storm Wars of course, but the look of consternation on the face of Figus made me feel like laughing.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjA6CPB0Pcp
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDPKvGkj5z
To be fair to him, the ambassador recovered his poise quickly, 'in that case, I think the best deal we could make would be with the Kingdom of Lost Souls.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmIyGqmKAh
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMe0Bx3xZJN
'Right so, off you go and make that arrangement.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWESOunbP4
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'Now sire?'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgm6i2DQzz
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I nodded.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMjRVtY3ct
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He hesitated. 'How much ore and of what kind and quality will we be offering?'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMB2g65tjx
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NLLzt4lKR
I didn't have to call down the menu for the mines, we were currently producing 2 ingots of standard iron ore per day. Assuming that would rise with the new pickaxes… 'Fifteen standard iron ingots a week.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tLW47BE1k
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeMXo7xZLb
Figus nodded and then with a temerity that was unusual in the people around me caught my eye. 'One more question, sire, if I may?'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VTcVjgmhN
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'Yes?'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMaapFjgS7
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'We don't have a trading vessel, but we would get much better terms if this exchange happened in our ship.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhp4M9mXhUH
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnx1RF2HQE
'I'll make that a priority.'847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPL9T04A4n
847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTBDEt0cZD
'Right so, I'll be off then.' There was a jauntiness to the man's step as he left me to my circuits. Had he deliberately just parrodied my turn of phrase? If so, I rather admired him for it.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVMCuqVw7i
and then Add to home screen.