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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ruxjQhVCx
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcONyMOR6X7
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9pgHF0Qgb
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwtwjgn8U0
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'I heard about your training today sire. It gave encouragement to the troops.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAlf3r5DVM
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'There's a long way to go.' I glanced at my fleshy arms, so different to my previous body.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rnKaZ7uX2
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'I also heard that you scorned the ambassador of Southway.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0delaGYwB
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'Oh did you? What did your sources say, exactly?'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eefBbRcfs
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhPxo3Y4IR
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6meRklvJd
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfWemteNkM
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqcbEoqgxm
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1hcpqN84L
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRdYqWgpPi
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'Spoken like the old Carlos,' said Parrin with a smile when we had the room to ourselves.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡus7Q38vvDg
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPizAGuT3rD
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡky1olCgkSb
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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?'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzoWcn9egh
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlW75a0ALtv
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MHuRSRJBw
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'How goes your personal progress?' asked Parrin.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxj8bGTOmYP
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMM0iyLkOH
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Carlena frowned. 'What level Fighter are you?'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1M2ZtfjzW
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLEAncaL9R
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All three of them turned pale faces towards me, eyes glistening in the candlelight.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vT5gWUXWQ
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSn8sffKwer
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'I believe King Wace is level twelve,' muttered the Chancellor pointedly. 'And Queen Rorgesta of Trolland is eleven at least.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALWTDUHb4d
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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?'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ25TdrA5Lq
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUJnPfs3mA
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfNHqKhNKd
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That sounded promising and exactly like the RPGs I was used to.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw63SJZEBb
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqSea7deCD
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'True.' Lord Arval nodded. 'Don't push so hard you damage yourself.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeBPleijGr
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'We need time. Time to fix the kingdom's economy and time for me to level up.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlG4w3iJ7Wu
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcMHbeqVai
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28iaysZWGq
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0Rx0OmkkD
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3Ib875hEo
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZN38lQM4v
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qhc52YuQi
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsk13v7qVYU
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Everyone greeted my proposal with approval.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5d3E0QnquQ
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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?'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynkDqsOCjD
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'Perhaps,' the Chancellor nodded. 'It would be a mission for Figus.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe25SnYI9gG
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'When he gets back,' I said.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouxZnfsb7Z
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'When he gets back,' Parrin repeated.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMN6mJgMTc
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgIoFKFBIr
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'Me?' Parrin looked surprised. 'We have scouts, of course.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9cRi6K4Eq
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'Yes, but they are all level zero, right? Whereas you are level nine.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeR2sPsVcxV
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhA6iwb4tEo
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'Just don't take any risks.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcuLiSWCm8
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnP8NcpzD7
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'Can the king ask for a massage?' I leaned in towards the General.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwb1Ge7n2Rk
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'Of course. I'll send someone.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9T1KmUm6H
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'Good, I'll go on up to my bed.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh060oY0B7C
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmi8GAzAye
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'Massage sire?' he asked gruffly.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡms2RoJi7nm
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'Please.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIItVdf6c04
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'Saw you walking today sire. You'll want the legs looked at.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLikBItFQSF
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'Left shoulder too, from carrying that sword.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUWIm5ub0j
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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.'422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9tff6gUur
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvgnfMFv3q
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iu63L5ZHh
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XdvILTKcm
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Greyland422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqmr8hVLpJ
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Economy422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcOTvlZEBa
Currently building:422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvRIxukrht
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Monthly trade income: 0422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyUXFWCI9O
Monthly tax income: 54 gold422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpFcN7G6g9
Treasury: 2 gold422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIW80DZDQn
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Daily food consumption: 13 units422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKd7PEqIxj
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BAjAY1IFZ
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 20 days422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCj6hKLMAQB
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 33 days422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZ99VccAXe
Meat yield: 5 units daily422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrO4fmtSD9h
Timber yield: 17 planks daily422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjtAzvU8Rn
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPqxcb4ppg
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNkAEpdFQs
Smithy yield: steel pickaxes on hold. Awaiting iron.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDGAuJdcoi
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRe85HuYgmi
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Research: Shipbuilding One422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICYWZ1Yqkx
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Resources:422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVl0tFM1pqm
Wheat: 14 food units422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbsM5xbpZt
Vegetables: 25 food units422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5R5wQd0Lp
Meat: 8 food units422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3iJEVNS4M
Wool: 7 bales422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QCjoSLloJ
Timber: 150 planks422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WIRN7JjAm
Iron: 0 ingots422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYwBeiPith
Stone: 39 blocks422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dvZ7dpaxv
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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIvtSDeZzV
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZff32qGtwA
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4wNfDUFRq
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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.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76fVOMR3GN
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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.
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