After forty-two laps, I was beyond exhausted, my large body drenched in sweat, my left arm on fire. Every time a citizen came through they stopped in complete astonishment, sometimes gathering in groups to stare, until a frown sent them scurrying about their work. I lived for the nod of approval from Carradock each time I arrived back at the gate against which he leaned, often in conversation with other soldiers. Also, for the thought of a long, long warm bath.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IJHarnhWG
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A castle servant, the one from breakfast, was ahead of me, twisting her apron in her hands and looking everywhere but into my face.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04XYDNzQG4
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'Wha'?' I wheezed out.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGxwGZoCO5
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'Chef–' she flung her hand out in a gesture towards the keep, where a short man in what looked like a grey baker's outfit '–wants to know what to prepare for dinner.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8xZfwuimA
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'Dear lord.' I came to a stop, worried my aching legs would not want to resume. 'It's not important. But keep it simple.' My predecessor had obviously enjoyed eating extensive meals with several courses. 'Just a couple of slices of roast meat and …' What would an athlete eat? Food with plenty of protein and vitamins. 'Wait. Grilled fish. Nuts. Fresh vegetables, like tomatoes and carrot, that don't need much, if any, cooking.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqG0lIxsA5
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I wasn't really hungry just now, my body was too stressed, but no doubt my appetite would revive later.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrtUSos7Xh
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'Ahh…'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvts3tiU60X
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'What?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1P0WDL1dy
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'Chef won't be pleased.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRkm8H4dmm
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I stared at her. 'Hands up if you are king.' I put my own hand up. 'That puts me in charge.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtwWqTA6w4
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Once she had turned away, alarmed, I returned my focus back into my final few laps. Although it was distracting I when I turned a corner and was facing the keep: there I could see the chef remonstrating with the servant. He kept looking over at me, as though in appeal, but I wasn't having any of it and focused on moving one leg, then the next, and on keeping hold of that enormously heavy sword.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKZPPPlAR7
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I wasn't allowed to settle into my rhythm again though, for with a clatter of metal-hooves on cobblestone, a small group of riders came into the barracks yard. Some were soldiers of mine but one was carrying a green pennant (deep green, with a golden wolf's head) and dressed in expensive-looking clothes.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXQnuWevhW
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'King Carlos?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWh4My4kzS
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Either I looked dumb, having forgotten my name here, or else the new arrival was dismayed by my appearance.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuaj0KYcweT
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'King Carlos?' he tried again.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDrUMxkNSW
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'Yes?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrF4SwkIlt
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My impression that this was a man who was attentive to his looks was reinforced as he dismounted and made his bow. No one had a beard as neat his without some effort.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHokXb4Dgrc
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'Lord Oseso, ambassador to his majesty King Wace of Southway.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hdYD8SESR
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'Pleased to meet you.' My politeness was automatic. I felt no warmth towards this man. Quite apart from the fact his rich, fur-lined cloak and black, oiled hair alienated me, this was the enemy.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAyaNETnK2
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A crowd was gathering as soldiers and civilians moved closer to hear the ambassador's words.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FsvIV3cJC
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'Perhaps we can take some refreshment in private?' Lord Oseso suggested.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvwsYDFCQ0
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I shook my head. 'There's nothing you can say that I would hide from my people. Why are you here?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVYa9WJHYb
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'Are you sure?' There was a knowing sneer in his gaze, inviting some kind of complicity from me.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vP6Fox7dd
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'Get on with it. I'm busy.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03Tz9IlTCL
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Supressing a smile, the ambassador from Southland shrugged, as if to pass off any blame. 'King Wace, in his generosity, offers to make Greyland a dependency of Southway. You,' he gestured to everyone, 'are spared conquest. And you personally, sire, will be given a comfortable retirement, dining on the finest food of our realm in the company of delightful personal companionship, in return for implementing the decisions of his highness on your interface.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8w23cvVmsa
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A silence fell over the square and even the crows stilled their caws, as if to listen to my answer. I let my heart and breath settle.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6Gb5wb99b
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'Firstly, we are not conquered yet. Secondly, we all know what it would mean for our kingdom to be run by an invader…' I raised my voice for all to hear. 'People dragged off to work wherever your ruler wanted; our soldiers used up in his battles to spare his own troops; our wealth drained into your coffers; starvation and ruin here.' I knew what I was talking about, it's what I intended to do to them.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAoK5QcI7V
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Lord Oseso shook his head. 'Careful what you say next, this offer won't come again.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gvaFniOF5
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'Good. If we see you again, you'll be executed as a spy. Greyland will never surrender and you can tell King Wace that unless he withdraws from our territory, it is he who will suffer conquest.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSsKywiTtZ5
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'I'll tell him of your empty threat and he will laugh. And he will remind you of it when you are in chains at his feet.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WBZhYgOsk
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'That is disrespectful.' I was furious and at least a part my anger was drawn from the uncomfortable feeling, fear even, that he was going to be proven right. I walked over to him, using my height and bulk to lean down and snarl. 'Vincit qui patitur, he who endures conquers. And Greyland will endure.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDm21TRSDg6
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Perhaps he saw the determination in my eyes. Perhaps he understood how close I was to striking him with the sword in my left hand, which no longer felt heavy. In any case, the ambassador's head dropped and he stepped back, then turned away to find his horse and remount.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZYHFMUQzY
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'Blindfold him and lead his horse. Don't let him look around as he leaves.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kO8jm6h7w
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'Yes sir.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMhRSolyAJ
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'Right, then everyone, back to work. We're going to have to work extremely hard, myself included, to endure and escape conquest.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxts8b37aR
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Muttering broke out among the people and it was hard to judge the tone. Certainly, it was not the cheering enthusiasm of a people rallying to their king. But among the soldiers especially there were several faces that looked brighter and more supportive than they had.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZHSyARK9C
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'Now, Carradock. I was on lap forty-four, was I not?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQLVXs0pFF
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'Forty-three sire.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSctJv7xjDz
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'Damn pedant.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDR83HBbwyI
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The last few laps were painful. It did help, however, that I could study the town menus and take my mind from the constant complaints of my body. That gave me one measure of the effect of my responses to the ambassador from Southway, which was that the score for Happiness under the people menu had risen from 14 to 16. At least it hadn't gone down, so on the whole, they seemed to approve of resistance rather than surrender.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnQsb7n2Sh
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It was the military menu that got me thinking again.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOL5CIFKQeZ
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Military757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7mIQ4lsze
Light infantry: 32757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cHixVRLaq
Heavy infantry: 12757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNFrU22kRa
Archers: 18757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYPSeBjmWZ
Light cavalry: 24757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEHNs80uu8
Heavy cavalry: 4757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMjVdPHWUf
Ballista: 1757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HBLxXrZK8
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Hospital: 17757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbrt3IqDNb
Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXw9jtO2Kk9
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Currently training: 1 heavy cavalry757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZq7LR7icdB
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl80bpRGQPa
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Currently building: tower machicolations, 3 days
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Why was I training heavy cavalry? They were costly in terms of iron and tactically useless. We would be holding defensive positions for the foreseeable future and while I hoped the day would come when I rode at the head of a line of formidable heavy cavalry, that was a long way off. Although it meant losing whatever raw materials my predecessor had invested in the project, I cancelled the heavy cavalry from the training queue and instead added fifteen archers to it, at a cost of 10 iron ingots and 15 gold and 15 of the unassigned townspeople.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTHeetuVt1
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That left me 12 unassigned townspeople to think about. Before setting them to various tasks, I needed to know about building a trading vessel. When I tried to call up information about ships, I got a frustrating message.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzGjZO9eF8
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Shipbuilding757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOSMxgn4lk
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Unknown.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlekNQB9rvj
Create a Shipwright to unlock this option.
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'Hey, you!' I called out to a skinny youth, who was hanging around near the steps of the keep watching me with earnest eyes as though I was last man in for a cricket team that was over a hundred runs behind. And I couldn't tell if he wanted me to fail or succeed.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgIwBNklAk
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'Sire?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqoRDW4c4D
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'Get the Chief Carpenter for me.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0oVd6Yu4r
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'Yes, sire.' The lad got up without any urgency and strolled down a shadow-filled street.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsW77kiEIKG
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I was on lap forty-six when the carpenter arrived, he was a bald, confident looking man, with intelligent brown eyes.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1Nbv3VCfM
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'Walk with me,' I grunted.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqR9qtW5Bvi
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'Sire.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEokOQjVHnJ
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'Can you make us a trading ship?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqi7OC04fP8
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The question came as a surprise but he took it well, hardly faltering in his step. 'No sire.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8WHRimRgy
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'What if I researched Shipbuilding One?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnc0Bh7NxQw
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The man looked at me, surprised, then down at the ground. 'As you know, sire, I only have access to a limited menu in order that I can view my tasks... I couldn't be sure about research, but Shipbuilding does sound like it will make the role of Shipbuilder available to you.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvisCJCZIq6
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'And I can then assign someone to it?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7bh6zo6hq
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'If it becomes an option sire.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH58XuiVjrB
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'Would you like to do it?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWBqlIL6la
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'Me? It's up to you sire.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iQaVVEcMj
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'Yes,' I said, a little impatiently. 'I know that. But I'd rather people enjoyed their work than hated it.' This wasn't just coming from my innate sense of politeness, it was practical too. I wanted that town happiness score to rise and surely by assigning the right people to the right jobs, at least when it came to specialist roles, that was going to help?757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGubjgd8cq8
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We walked the entire length of the barracks square and turned back towards Carradock before the carpenter answered. 'I think I would like that sire.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbpigf2BYp
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'Right so, find someone in your workshop who wants to be the Chief Carpenter and I'll make you Shipbuilder in…' I checked the research menu, dropped Navigation (there was no penalty, but I risked having to restart it again from the beginning), as it still had five days to go, and swapped to Shipbuilding 1, 'four days.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFW9gD4NLx
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'Thank you sire.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAsq21cPJ4
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'Now tell me this. I see a lot of people in the town. But not very many on the menus. Why is that?'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvi4MzrMCOi
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Again, the carpenter looked astonished. Then a little wary, as if I'd set a trap. 'People want to join the menu, sire, to serve the goddess... and you. But it's limited, isn't it? They can't get on unless you've been able to make room.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjy7C0smHHq
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That wasn't an answer that clarified very much, but I gave him a grunt to signal he could go back to work. It was as much as I could manage. As for the twelve unassigned people in the town, I decided to leave them for now. Soon I'd want shipbuilders and sailors.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xTQlifwRK
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Forty-seven.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27dql619u2
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Forty-eight.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40dsMApv99
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Forty-nine.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VxxM1MHfs
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Fifty.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduT5NSbjIX
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'That's me done for the day.' I spoke to Carradock with as much nonchalance as I could muster. As if I could do another fifty, although every muscle was groaning.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbc9ApyO7x
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'Well done Sire.'757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHXqfKTtMW
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That acknowledgement lifted me all the way back to the keep.
and then Add to home screen.