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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMm2UC3tG4
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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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zVx0MuI0l
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'Wha'?' I wheezed out.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47qi1uc75j
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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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrO62ZsyYys
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtE39MZ2m3h
'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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9H0rfRqUhx
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I wasn't really hungry just now, my body was too stressed, but no doubt my appetite would revive later.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBs47A6Xhx
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'Ahh…'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ezxxuVqtT
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'What?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYD7pZEvKR
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'Chef won't be pleased.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmvrA5vQvS
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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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wiu2mzt2K
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8a3s9BCROJ
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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQo5WutWNWe
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKOD3dYZ51
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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1idyhdzHrs
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'King Carlos?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NEXne4cxV
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Either I looked dumb, having forgotten my name here, or else the new arrival was dismayed by my appearance.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdsZuhnRqf
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'King Carlos?' he tried again.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zJxIzU4aU
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'Yes?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKH7mASR3L
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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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrhVkpurCz
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx801y8hIcw
'Lord Oseso, ambassador to his majesty King Wace of Southway.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjIxo46Bj4F
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJqNbraZqf
'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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8OICGTILy
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A crowd was gathering as soldiers and civilians moved closer to hear the ambassador's words.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUg7a51MNde
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'Perhaps we can take some refreshment in private?' Lord Oseso suggested.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBf9Cyb8Sfo
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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?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Yg6C7Z7gF
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'Are you sure?' There was a knowing sneer in his gaze, inviting some kind of complicity from me.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNbwf84w0q
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'Get on with it. I'm busy.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZse5Eyptn
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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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhGgwaBCnh
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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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRkWE4TPMH
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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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7cMevr5yx
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Lord Oseso shook his head. 'Careful what you say next, this offer won't come again.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JlJIsFdfy
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8sa6Gm6oz
'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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxeCICurwqW
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbnb2ivQlf
'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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVTxaq10zi
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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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQIP7hwi5P
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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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHoXZdqc4Q
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'Blindfold him and lead his horse. Don't let him look around as he leaves.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7N7aKQdjW
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'Yes sir.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9BbgBejW6
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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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5haeseddxU
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXq6Zij9ERU
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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLucETNBHoq
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'Now, Carradock. I was on lap forty-four, was I not?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwIxRJt8e9
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'Forty-three sire.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bHpeVxjFs
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'Damn pedant.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb89HTUan2S
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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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTjx4d7tqJ
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It was the military menu that got me thinking again.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuopjlj5Ej
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Military391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8BFliLujo
Light infantry: 32391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpnnH5iCHK
Heavy infantry: 12391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTZ20D08cZ
Archers: 18391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG27nwtKaNw
Light cavalry: 24391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyoqpxzfa2
Heavy cavalry: 4391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHtcQVIh2D
Ballista: 1391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEWHfhSqTK
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpw1EvaOGfL
Hospital: 17391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUTJCk4trM
Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhIrf45JJh
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Currently training: 1 heavy cavalry391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjQW3EPjUN
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkG573gQ2V8
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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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nZlgP9owZ
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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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtVyvhsZ1l
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Shipbuilding391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJSj9TUCv3
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Unknown.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmKxEO3bjo
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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLXfqwNfJL
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'Sire?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKSChpbI3B
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'Get the Chief Carpenter for me.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWUeHEe2ho
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'Yes, sire.' The lad got up without any urgency and strolled down a shadow-filled street.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rhtxqNA6c
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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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uBw6UEvz9
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'Walk with me,' I grunted.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO87i6k0bgs
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'Sire.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqqNGFQ85k
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'Can you make us a trading ship?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtlgykbk4D
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The question came as a surprise but he took it well, hardly faltering in his step. 'No sire.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkpqQ5iYKed
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'What if I researched Shipbuilding One?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4EgmHGwk0
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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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JF0iREPkx
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'And I can then assign someone to it?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLppKCOCnlh
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'If it becomes an option sire.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTHLOQg5EU
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'Would you like to do it?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcFjLCpeWa
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'Me? It's up to you sire.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvTbSB2h6t
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGxBQiKKFl
'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?391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwJkhkkZs5
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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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKadXqasKvT
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRxlYgLHWR
'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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMm3VuzAs20
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'Thank you sire.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQix9bnshd
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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?'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmzujRcJw6
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoO9eJPFbX
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.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwd9P0d9Q3C
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3lumZeSwZ
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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKnTNC5Uny
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Forty-seven.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHagFHtxWR
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Forty-eight.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9BgjShAyP
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Forty-nine.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHYUEFuic4
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Fifty.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7RZ8ZFj8Q
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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.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7pcQqXpAL
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'Well done Sire.'391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzp6i7gRAw8
391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDT64sErjK
That acknowledgement lifted me all the way back to the keep.
and then Add to home screen.