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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiV70vFrWhX
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8py7sAA0r
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'Wha'?' I wheezed out.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbzMN3Nckx
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUe6slpjoE
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfl70puELvs
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I wasn't really hungry just now, my body was too stressed, but no doubt my appetite would revive later.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGwxwEN5fe
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'Ahh…'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvz4n9OGpM
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'What?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRYlypX7q2
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'Chef won't be pleased.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJXEWbD7Wb
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWrX7J5t97
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD30hLgA87M
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GQI78p53s
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'King Carlos?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFo41lOp9QX
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Either I looked dumb, having forgotten my name here, or else the new arrival was dismayed by my appearance.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFjZMh46ZQ
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'King Carlos?' he tried again.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsvlMglENW
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'Yes?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqlfzgIlUo
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYMIdlvSp8
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'Lord Oseso, ambassador to his majesty King Wace of Southway.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCrY6cxToY
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPuKlXrE9Q
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A crowd was gathering as soldiers and civilians moved closer to hear the ambassador's words.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8AxLTuYjGb
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'Perhaps we can take some refreshment in private?' Lord Oseso suggested.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57wht3gFYR
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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?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmYPTkIBiN
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'Are you sure?' There was a knowing sneer in his gaze, inviting some kind of complicity from me.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2jyQbtp6s
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'Get on with it. I'm busy.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJ2xbCwpPf
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGcviD2NUT
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzL1M5ONrol
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHldIenASD
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Lord Oseso shook his head. 'Careful what you say next, this offer won't come again.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzd7jClnBs7
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1fI7tGu4J
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXnGbBW9Fn
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZULHh8KV1r
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb240oXFLNg
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'Blindfold him and lead his horse. Don't let him look around as he leaves.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GCsJ734RL
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'Yes sir.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKF3WrHqbY
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JV4XhJPaw
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWBu3SxGgy
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'Now, Carradock. I was on lap forty-four, was I not?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6UqGkDjP4
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'Forty-three sire.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8FMvRJyDY
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'Damn pedant.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9hCowXdlI
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCtNeJxzRF
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It was the military menu that got me thinking again.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVO7BLtU3jS
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Military419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8lqalElTX
Light infantry: 32419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8c7ooNcTsY
Heavy infantry: 12419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfX8hoFBNb
Archers: 18419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cpcV8IbE0
Light cavalry: 24419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSaWD2IjQkh
Heavy cavalry: 4419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20NUUztmqY
Ballista: 1419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpD4FFpbpb
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Hospital: 17419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOkdfir93A
Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmXoUMU5Wg
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Currently training: 1 heavy cavalry419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YxoFMcRyM
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOfibLiqHh
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhe9tjL35O
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtP2QTSRcvU
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Shipbuilding419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiuNuG49yT
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Unknown.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6JbN6RzJw
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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjw2CHBRzq7
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'Sire?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9J4u2pXWxM
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'Get the Chief Carpenter for me.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JHTs2Y0Wo
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'Yes, sire.' The lad got up without any urgency and strolled down a shadow-filled street.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL827xWSakt
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjma7FW30B
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'Walk with me,' I grunted.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsMIIBmYQf
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'Sire.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAKBtnlgM2
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'Can you make us a trading ship?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYuwYLa43u
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The question came as a surprise but he took it well, hardly faltering in his step. 'No sire.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRePVEfAhUu
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'What if I researched Shipbuilding One?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgs9lJb0Po
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8aaJA0oVn
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'And I can then assign someone to it?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszMRm9C1a3
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'If it becomes an option sire.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVK8arcf3BY
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'Would you like to do it?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhHXelZCRv
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'Me? It's up to you sire.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUKrIjeo9i
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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?419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJCn7GMKDf
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1tm5L2FdT
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSedYjmLxsl
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'Thank you sire.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8Df6SL6ld
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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?'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZIfTvZacr
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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.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3ybC790VG
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkI0r1YbW6W
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Forty-seven.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojkqRBURYG
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Forty-eight.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESeQre2Ter
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Forty-nine.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjDUIDcfz9
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Fifty.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDviJSGA2W
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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.419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftrJa3RgRI
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'Well done Sire.'419Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfA7BibWKKF
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That acknowledgement lifted me all the way back to the keep.
然後按「加至主畫面」