A long bath helped, but afterwards, as I made my way down to dinner, every step was a painful one. My muscles were already stiffening. It would be even worse in the morning. Still, I was determined. And that encounter with the ambassador of Southway just made me even more so.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvroF0givAV
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A long, polished wooden table had been laid out with what looked like a banquet to me, despite my instructions. Silver candelabra held our source of light, light which glittered off a wide array of polished trays and bowls. There were grapes; cherries, apples and peaches stacked high; there were at least four kinds of fish, filleted and laid out with herbs and lemon on trays decorated with fishing net designs; bowls of peas, green beans, tomatoes and carrots were full to the brim, at least four different kinds of bread had been prepared, with slices and rolls displayed on yet more silver trays; while goblets of cut glass sparkled, ready to receive wine from a choice of six decanters.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhHguKOTiz
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The table was laid for four people but the placings were spaced so far apart that it was like a socially distanced event during the COVID pandemic back home. Much to the consternation of a servant who was standing by the wall and hurriedly came over to help, I started re-arranging the plates and cutlery, bringing all the places up to the top end.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNsXJJjhKD
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No sooner than I'd taken my own seat, than Lord Arval, my Paladin General came in with a brisk march. Even for dinner, it seemed, he wore his chainmail and carried his sword. With a gesture that was nearly a smile, he took the seat to my right after I pointed to it.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwrVoQXOqh
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'I heard about your training today sire. It gave encouragement to the troops.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmNCH4l5GI
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'There's a long way to go.' I glanced at my fleshy arms, so different to my previous body.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoA89ybu4ky
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'I also heard that you scorned the ambassador of Southway.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfZyofe0nv
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'Oh did you? What did your sources say, exactly?'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ts7IxHtPr
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'That you were offered wine and women for the rest of your life if you'd do the bidding of their king and you refused, telling him that it was him who would be grovelling in chains before you.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzHVke0Q3l
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'Did I though?' I laughed. 'The story has grown. Good. They have the spirit right at least. That guy was so smug, I wanted to punch him in the face.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMZwGcZxa0
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We were interrupted by the arrival of Chancellor Parrin and the sorceress Carlena. Although they were not arm in arm, there was something about them that suggested to me they might be a couple. They were the right ages – she with silver hair and he with the grey and sliver of his beard – and they moved towards me with an ease in each other's company.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6VCvz0ebB
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'Another innovation I see,' said the Chancellor with a glance at the place settings and then at the servants. I got the message: careful, go easy on the changes.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFyELH5pb1
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I repeated my story of meeting the ambassador of Southway, to the approval of Parrin and Carlena but they were surprisingly taciturn. Only when we had eaten did Carlena lean towards me, so that I caught the full intensity of her stunning purple eyes, and whisper, 'send the servants away please, so we can talk properly.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8JYunGEV2
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I nodded. And after the next time my glass was refilled, I slapped the table with my heavy palm (it was effective for that at least). 'Out! Servants out and don't disturb us until you are called for.' I spoke with unnecessary volume as they jumped to respond.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlVPjbmxQc
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'Spoken like the old Carlos,' said Parrin with a smile when we had the room to ourselves.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtGyyA44h5
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The two of them then began an interrogation that would have never have been allowed by the previous king. What was I researching? What was I building? How would we cope with the loss of our grain-generating lands? What other information was in the menus? On the whole they were cautiously positive about my decisions and plans. At least, they didn't propose I make any changes to it. I was warned that my popularity, already very low, would drop further if we did start trading iron to the necromancer king, but they could see the necessity of this.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ116GFuQEoL
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By the end of their questions, I was totally clear about one thing. Carlena, Parrin and (to a lesser extent) Lord Arval saw me as their instrument. I was accountable to them and had to take their instruction. In business terms, this was a board meeting and I was the CEO, not a king with absolute power. This didn't upset me. I could totally see their point of view: the kingdom was on the ropes and everything they owned, including their lives, was in jeopardy. They couldn't afford any mistakes from me. Also, while I quite enjoyed the authority of being king and the way all the people were quick to obey me, I didn't like the barrier that the role created. At least here, with these three, I could be myself.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaKGgXtHez
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'I have a question about the menus,' I looked from one to the other. 'How is it there are so few people on them compared to the size of Carrick?'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmr5uFvmCOT
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It was Carlena who answered. 'I believe the numbers allowed on the menu are capped in some way by the overall happiness of the realm. Most of our citizens would join the menus if allowed, wanting Miya to triumph and not wishing to be conquered. You should try to facilitate them.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IRJdc3D2T
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That made sense and exporing how to raise happiness was yet another goal for me to add to the 'to do' list.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1To4Kd7wk5
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'How goes your personal progress?' asked Parrin.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRrvNgbQ7A
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'I don't know yet.' I patted the rolls of stomach fat that were resting on the table top. 'I've made a start on shedding these. But I haven't seen any change to my character sheet yet.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSVor95GXO
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Carlena frowned. 'What level Fighter are you?'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5GLP69mzZ
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'I'm not even a Fighter yet,' I confessed. 'In fact I was thinking my character sheet meant I should be a Sorcerer or Cleric.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8OK1wm1QXv
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All three of them turned pale faces towards me, eyes glistening in the candlelight.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYB0ifAhbuv
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'Oh no,' said Carlena. 'Not a Sorcerer. You won't have any spells. To obtain spells you have to build a scriptorium of the spell level and then research them, getting a random result It would take you forever. And it's not what we need on the battlefield.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHlCDlct0l
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'I believe King Wace is level twelve,' muttered the Chancellor pointedly. 'And Queen Rorgesta of Trolland is eleven at least.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8xDkArJNe
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I caught the Scout's eyes and said, 'I'll start levelling up soon. But with my current stats, I'd be a hopeless warrior of any sort. I have to find out can I improve my Strength before starting my personal progression as a fighter. Really, I should be a caster: a mage or cleric. And I also need to know how to level. Do I fight monsters? Complete quests?'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡho8ko6ZG51
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'I suppose you are right to wait,' Lord Arval spoke after a short interval. 'But every day that you are not progressing is a day more for them to get ahead. You could easily reach level two or even three by performing task quests in the town itself.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8b6Bg9a7W
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'And we can bring you to areas nearby where there are monsters you can fight and kill for experience,' offered Lord Parrin.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvw5WbS5dKF
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That sounded promising and exactly like the RPGs I was used to.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6s6u5V9B9
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I took a deep breath. 'I will progress soon then. For now though, my body is a mass of aches and pain. I can barely lift this fork with my left hand, my shoulder is so sore. There's nothing more I could have done today to advance this body towards where it should be.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡij5z2NFIdp
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'True.' Lord Arval nodded. 'Don't push so hard you damage yourself.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNYM4t76ul
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'We need time. Time to fix the kingdom's economy and time for me to level up.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKBMIKRNNE
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'Indeed. And in that light, provoking the king of Southway might not have been wise.' Carlena spoke tentatively, as if exploring the idea.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRftZPmKNt
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'Sean was right to refute him so publicly and so firmly,' Arval came in, 'the message to the soldiers and people was clear. We will endure.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPawCRHmvd
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Chancellor Parrin nodded. 'I think so too. But still, there is a real danger of the two armies continuing their advance together and overcoming our defences.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WWTFQRNuE
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'Speaking of which, I'd like to see them. We have a fort at the head of the valley that leads here, right? I might be able to upgrade it.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEC9EsWOUzc
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'You can't get there, it is thirty miles away and no horse can carry you.' It was Arval who made this depressing, if practical, point.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsht7KXe2n
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'I can show you on the map at least,' offering Parrin, 'and you should be able to find a menu for it. It's called Three-Ways Fort.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaierWh5pOh
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'I'll check later. And if it's all right with you, I'll move any remaining troops from here down to it, including the new archers.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4yY2XGGMR
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Everyone greeted my proposal with approval.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeMqqOMPa2
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I had been thinking about Carlena's point about unnecessarily provoking King Wace. 'Could we maybe divide them? By talking with Queen Rorg… whatever … the Trolland queen. By suggesting that we might be willing to be a protectorate under her?'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUfLQSXOeY
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'Perhaps,' the Chancellor nodded. 'It would be a mission for Figus.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMd6eDVFcV
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'When he gets back,' I said.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Bqzht145f
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'When he gets back,' Parrin repeated.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqMpwT8p78
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'In the meantime, I think you need to go down to the lowlands and monitor the enemy's movements, to give us notice if they are advancing.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSvmV1TSOh
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'Me?' Parrin looked surprised. 'We have scouts, of course.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJM4FnifT08
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'Yes, but they are all level zero, right? Whereas you are level nine.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOiGoel6VBD
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'It's been a while since I dusted off my scout skills, but you know what, I'll do it!' Parrin rubbed his beard around his mouth, where a smile was forming. 'I'll set out in the morning.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGeB1DOk7z
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'Just don't take any risks.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5tA5fWmeJ
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When our strategizing was at an end, Lord Arval called the servants back in and we resumed a more formal tone, until I was ready for my bed. Well, not quite ready.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxrS6cPW3K
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'Can the king ask for a massage?' I leaned in towards the General.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIqvAjvjAb
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'Of course. I'll send someone.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA97YKrTd0Q
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'Good, I'll go on up to my bed.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqPPkB8myr
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It was an effort, I was almost tempted to ask for help and a push, but my groaning legs carried me up two flights of stairs until I collapsed on the bed. Not long after I did so, a heavy knock came on the door and after I called for the person to come in. It was the masseur I was expecting. Well, not quite. A tall, muscular man in a soldier's tunic came in.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOwNhwvaDy
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'Massage sire?' he asked gruffly.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIoseaugdm
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'Please.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpSCKCJu34
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'Saw you walking today sire. You'll want the legs looked at.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FSdEixz5O
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'Left shoulder too, from carrying that sword.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNTCVGT6r7
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He nodded. 'Too right. You know they make the dummy out of lead, deliberate like? So when you pick up your first real blade, it feels light.'854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8u5jyE3SK
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I didn't reply and soon I felt his hands on the backs of my thighs, through my clothes. I wasn't going to remove them, even if that limited his access.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Yp9Gw4cUd
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Before long, I was getting some serious work done, loosening my cramped and tight muscles and while it was borderline painful, it was effective. What with the wine and the exercise, I'd sleep well. There was one thought still nagging me though, arising from the questions that the sorceress and the chancellor had raised with me. Oh yes. The hunting lodge, level 2 had been due for completion earlier this evening.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1ct6foasx
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I paused the massage long enough to call down the town menu, then got back into position while I studied it.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3QutErLtN
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Greyland854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmHqVlNCw4
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Economy854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NI1NhTmhG
Currently building:854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZur6ZPCuV
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Monthly trade income: 0854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEx9kTAld5u
Monthly tax income: 54 gold854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWLPz6bsHg
Treasury: 2 gold854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb53MzK1tyw
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Daily food consumption: 13 units854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGHoVsU9Vy
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQybebvTRFS
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 20 days854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ133XcXQG39
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 33 days854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgsEzobh0l
Meat yield: 5 units daily854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97vqDFjPOl
Timber yield: 17 planks daily854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAw5MdCgPTk
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7F785JOL4v
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eLwaEf1g6
Smithy yield: steel pickaxes on hold. Awaiting iron.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8w2Siw8fQ
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncL2jDjN9R
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Research: Shipbuilding One854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3y0t0YELB
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Resources:854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rwWk8acNI
Wheat: 14 food units854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3afixWzrB
Vegetables: 25 food units854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCmk3VBG8f
Meat: 8 food units854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUGhEzj4iw
Wool: 7 bales854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlD8xMy2VFJ
Timber: 150 planks854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwoCgEHGgl
Iron: 0 ingots854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PeaJbbZXq
Stone: 39 blocks854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOnaDrWqTK
Cloth: 4 bolts
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The meat yield had gone up by one. I had hoped for two but I couldn't argue with a 25% increase. That still left us losing about 6 food units a day, with reserves of 47. I winced, and not from the pain of the knuckles digging into my shoulder. I had to set a new town building project and the attractive options were hunting lodge level 3 or mine level 3. Both would take two days to upgrade.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyXqHGGdJc
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In trying to figure out which of the two would work best for solving the food crisis, I realised that something was wrong. The smithy should have made me eighty-four steel pickaxes. If they significantly improved iron output, I would build the next level of hunting lodge. Yet the smithy was on hold.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq1gJVKvXN
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The problem was iron. I had made a mistake. I blushed at the thought of talking about this with the others. If I had waited to create the new archers, I would have had plenty of iron for the pickaxes. Scrolling deeper into the menus, I could see that the Smithy had built a stock of 12 pickaxes before I had assigned the remaining iron to training the archers. Then it had come to a halt.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteMoxR6qbP
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Oh well, I allocated the twelve new pickaxes to the miners and given that at least two iron would come in tomorrow, the Smithy would be able to make 24 steel pickaxes, which would surely improve the daily output of iron? Three days would see me with a mining workforce fully equipped with the new pickaxes. Three days though. When I should have been using those days in building up a surplus ready to trade for food if Figus came back from the Necromancer with a decent deal.854Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3cC3T8w9E
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This was discouraging, but more positive was the discovery that the hunting lodge level 2 had the capacity for four more workers. That was a must. I assigned the new hunters from the reserves of workers (now only 8 strong) and went for the hunting lodge level 3 as the next build. While iron was vital, food was even more so and there was no guaranteeing that my ambassador would even return, let alone with a trade agreement.
and then Add to home screen.