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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtnzNXCZpe
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On leaving my room, a guard outside looked at me in astonishment before composing his face into a neutral expression.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzalGHIJRJ8
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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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEYotY41cD
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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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7YZ7VlZoB3
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'Just two poached eggs please and an apple and an orange.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QI6RfyBoy
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'We have apples, sire. Not the other.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZhhtRtho5
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSLN1VSdFv
'Ahh right. Two apples then. And if you can press a few more to get juice out of them, I'll drink that.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeH974k336Z
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqwpsaYgP6
'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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRj2Aa6mGhL
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'No.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0z4dOiAKD
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'Er… forgive me, but just to avoid error, sire, no beef slices in horseradish sauce?'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjdaARcEN4
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVr96V1Hgw
'No.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrqkPekHWa
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWPAarryVL
'Nor the chicken breast in garlic? The bread-and-butter pudding? The…'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1d8wZwhro
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJpMd8KS2i
I caught the servant's eye and with a gulp she stopped speaking.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxumWEEvB0S
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacrSq72p9o
'Nothing,' I said firmly, 'other than the eggs, apples and the juice.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6d0ewUnBdW
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'Certainly sire,' the woman backed away with an anxious bow.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBhtSigsJC
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozpjt6oZ9N
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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9z5Y913No
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdHzeyBJ5g
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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwccI37i657
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboVyRrFAIk
After breakfast, with the help of a servant, I changed into tunic and trousers and good boots, then sent for my trainer.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiYOXtzw6E
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8omKLYyG4E
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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNAIWStnOE
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6VqSxvbLM
'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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshPvRHgz7T
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw2LrYwt06
'Fifty?' How hard could it be to walk fifty laps of a square whose sides were only about a hundred metres?532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhieXPAXcI
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBBwvN44eK
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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqikmsQ1Fo
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtJW50mBAS
'Are you sure?' Carradock looked sceptical.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvX8MI8axaO
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'Of course. I can do this.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACrCWotKrD
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEw4u7mqxI
'No, I mean, your left hand.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGIxoEweGG
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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.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxd29MhfGT
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMz3fhRvLT
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?532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2XP1oJ3Me
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wY7k3KTEd
'Carry it as often as you can. It will make your sword arm stronger.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHuQBnKDJs
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvuEloPo3g
'Now?'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKx6BR25SaW
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Carradock nodded, perhaps with a hint of a smile on his narrow, fox-like face.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPw5a7ToEU
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnI2gcldugS
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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEEbuZEeJn
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt58QMuCVO7
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.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTRvT6jz5g
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0wcT2LHLJ
'Yes, sire.' She curtsied, but I could tell from her body language she didn't like the duty.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOoi44Vd3O
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tBD3nqIZC
'And the rest of you, get along with your business.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAweCU7YNJ
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRxqd37SAB
No one spoke, but they all immediately hurried away.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQHf5kqMHr
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJo1ywEM83
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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTluJmk0Fq
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNsFy8gc3l
The ambassador drew up close, took in a breath and then bowed. 'Sire?'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjc3dJMyjnO
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUG9PmAMQh
This was a welcome excuse for a break, though I was aware that Carradok was watching and probably disapproved.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4dM5ULLGK
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7j8FCwN2K
'We need to trade ore for food, what's the best way to go about it?'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGRMLoxqRm
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7GsPqiiqv
Figus looked up with some surprise on his face. 'You are seeking my advice?'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrbXSPGnoD
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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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2VPJtnoEH
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuEniAsAGl
'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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgP8ANY2NlR
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MxoCGsDT0
'Your majesty has no scruples dealing with a Necromancer?'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3Asa6hRGb
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGH6dmTiIx
'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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmLgctOW7a
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ411Df7dPc8
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.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMarqG5QRN
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPKLKo5u6U
'Right so, off you go and make that arrangement.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ58TIEwLa1
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUclMZGa2a
'Now sire?'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4NG36BVXT
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I nodded.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTZyEoDBxm
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He hesitated. 'How much ore and of what kind and quality will we be offering?'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHPjLYQSWx
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQst0fGneN
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.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUofXFfwEv
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG20PWSnCD3
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?'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiAsqRlyGm
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDYUlKMhVA
'Yes?'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1dYLERVTh
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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.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEG2BD4FokV
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqjOzwwz76
'I'll make that a priority.'532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTY4boCLCK
532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ddR1rSx6n
'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.532Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXQWkTzQhM
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