Luxuriating in a – necessarily large – wooden bath, I got a good view of my enormous body. Well, at least as far as the vast stomach. From there, my lower half was completely out of view. Maybe Carlos felt at home like this and I wasn't judging him from the point of beauty or shame. My dismay at the body I was in was a practical one. As it was, I couldn't possibly help these people in battle. And I was so used to my own, fairly fit shape that for me, this was like being an imprisoning shell. I had an idea of who I was that was at odds with this person. It would take some serious work but I was determined to get in shape, not least for the sake of the battles to come. At least he was tall, taller than me, at about 6' 4" I'd guess. That was promising for the long term, if I could get the body into fighting condition.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYMzMANDyw
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While I didn't want to make any important decisions about my character sheet until I had tested if I could improve my stats, I took some time to properly study the kingdom menus.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRciVTgqApp
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Greyland413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnR9JW2VU7
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Economy Military People413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DDqANhZkL
Currently building: granary level 2413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8qTNJpZhQ
Monthly trade income: 0413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoV1jPfzNk
Monthly tax income: 54 gold413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLv6zAUDki
Daily food consumption: 13 units413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYSt1ja8SV
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeHp27TRqz
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsRJtReqvE
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAucUuCIlG
Meat yield: 4 units daily413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IeoaIFDnn
Timber yield: 17 planks daily413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOmwAs5Tl2
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMvm86iZun
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhxqfo9HKY
Smithy yield: no production set413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2PBJ6JRZB
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMju3I4s8u
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Research: steel pickaxes413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijwXv8cLKP
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Resources:413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNC9pGTgYr
Wheat: 19 food units413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQuFlnnkF3
Vegetables: 32 food units413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWh54eovsw
Meat: 5 food units413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrd1lo3nTvN
Wool: 7 bales413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpsBMFRokR1
Timber: 134 planks413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEy0LS8unr
Iron: 11 ingots413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGRqr5Xj80
Stone: 33 blocks413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDF8nsd1MU7
Cloth: 0 bolts
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All of these points of information could be opened for more detail, so I focused on the 'currently building' tab. There, I could see a graphic of a partly constructed wooden tower. The granary, presumably. In a timer that was counting down, there were two days and several hours left on a bar that was about half filled with green. I had other options, currently greyed out: farm buildings, level 2; hunting lodge, level 2; sawmill level 2; watermill; mine level 3; quarry level 2; smithy level 2; library level 2.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uLoOsn8Pg
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There was an obvious contradiction between the fact the kingdom was working on a new granary and there was no grain yield. Presumably, this was a legacy of losing the recent battle and the farmland. I should almost certainly swap the construction project to something else. Long term, it was often a good idea in strategy games to invest in research, which might be what the library was good for. But I had a real worry about the food situation. So without making any changes, and after shifting my hulky figure to swirl some warm water around, I looked at the Military sub-menu.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayWRyq0DEW
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Military413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzkPgMpi8b
Light infantry: 32413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxeDpUmBzv
Heavy infantry: 12413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdg4koUVR1
Archers: 18413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0kV73eAtS
Light cavalry: 24413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUshPm8VGr
Heavy cavalry: 3413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbWMAi14GE
Ballista: 1413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6bDPQQoUW
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Hospital: 17413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnD2XQp2kG
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDZJT1PVhn
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Tu51DKEDg
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQzPsOZkRO
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Currently building: tower machicolations, 3 days
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I had no idea how big the armies in this world were, but with just a hundred troops the situation here was certainly dire. I suddenly had a dark thought. What if we were overrun? Slaughtered. What would happen to me? Would I get home? Respawn? Or just die, forever?413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRPQ1qOX04
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Although they were fundamentally important questions, there was nothing I could do to find answers to them, so I returned my focus to the menus. Each of these entries had options to drill down into more specific information, such as about the stats on the troops, but I just skimmed through them, wanting to understand the big picture items first.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡti7cD42L3S
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People413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZwAhjvKjw
Citizens: 485413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvxGU7PS8a
Happiness: 14413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQm0maTRZFC
Tax Level: High413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIJOFFeFtz
Health: 89413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2zDCgA8HY
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Specialist roles413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtckVHXJMV
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuswX6JoxM9
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5e8gmGpNX
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2oUbG0jZz
Ambassador: Figus, Bard Level 3
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Looking at the Citizens menu I saw a more detailed breakdown: Soldiers 110; Farmers 38; Builders 40; Shepherds 34; Hunters 48; Miners 84; Clothmakers 23; Bakers 23; Brewers 16; Carpenters 21; Stonemasons 14; Smiths 4; Researchers 4; Idle 26. It was strange how few were the numbers here. Was this because I had found myself at an early stage of whatever game-like system this world was based on? Or was there some other explanation?413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCNhlIRNy2
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This was interesting. For a start, the king had been lying to Chancellor Parrin for some reason. Far from being a Level 5 Scout, the thin man was 9. Then I found I could open up their character sheets and I did so for Lord Arval.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFGhnSrEJB
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0c5FVtP8V
HP 64413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyR8oHFWKAR
AC 18413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbU7aUzAjWG
XP 19,663 (28,800)413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFexrjnEKHB
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFydm86zW3b
Shield of Defence +1, Trueblade +2, Ring of Strength +1, Potion of Haste, Potion of Healing.
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Very interesting. I had to close my eyes for a moment, ducking down to soak my hair, but the character sheet was still there when I came back up out of the water. Firstly, I noted that Lord Arval had an XP bar. He could level up. That was encouraging for me, because it suggested that stats might evolve too. Secondly: magic items. Everybody loves magic items, but again I was particularly excited to see they could be used to change stats, as in Lord Arval's Strength.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnRWHpZwK9
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Time to check the others.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmHQVSPaah
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Carlena, Sorceress Level 9413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8H1BrDgE6e
HP 34413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiny2ZgUfO
AC 5413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauNiSPcMlw
XP 72,102 (86,400)413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2fSspGjaR
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcAQJQJsqG
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnIMPu2mWQ
HP 53413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhLGKyX1Qn
AC 12413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyBltTcXfW
XP 71,043 (86,400)413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqpFST3l6c
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8S1uMwcYi
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRnm7nNsXf
HP 17413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23gwZCIJmr
AC 14413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPe0Px6d41J
XP 684 (800)413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9XiIMabT8
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJQJhogsn0
Scroll of Charm413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJFP8g8qbS
Ambassador feats: Speak Language; Swift Travel
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Pretty decent, or so it seemed. But everything was relative. What special roles did our opponents have? Maybe Chancellor Parrin would know.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXmyEpHalf
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By this time my bath was only lukewarm and so, with some difficulty, I stood up. Water dripping from me, I took a towel and when as dry as I could manage, a robe that a servant had brought me that looked clean enough. Outside the door of the bathroom was a young servant, who ducked his head when I left rather than make eye contact. After I was past him, he ran into the bathroom, to tidy up perhaps.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfjWZrU3KF
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Lying in a comfortable four-poster bed, in clean sheets, I considered that I was blessed. Almost certainly, there were gods in this world. And if one of them had played a role in bringing me here, well, fair dues to him, her, or it. I sent a silent prayer of gratitude. This is what I needed. Not the trappings of being a king but the challenge. A kingdom under threat and an RPG system to wield to the best of my ability. I really wanted to get stuck into my own character sheet, but most of my decisions would have to wait until I had more information. And I was too tired to explore the menus much further.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyQM7OHwRc
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There were two tasks, however, that shouldn't wait until morning. I called up Greyland/Economy/Currently Building. There I switched the granary out and from the other options, dragged in hunting lodge, level 2. We were losing about 7 food units a day, with reserves of just 56. Obviously, I needed to resolve that, before planning on building something more strategic.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡap8IWChM3p
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The other assignment I wanted to make was for the Smithy, which was not producing anything. The sub-menu, however, was complex, full of possible items like horse shoes, swords, shields and arrow heads that all looked extremely useful. There were tools I could create too, including hoes, which I was tempted by, as these would surely help my food output. Or were they limited to use in the kind of fields we had recently lost?413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZqqxeohIv
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Wondering why my predecessor had left such an important building idle, I had a thought and checked the research queue. There was only four hours left on the countdown for steel pickaxes. Maybe he had planned on completing that research and then getting the smith to work on producing them. If so, it wasn't a bad idea, all we really had going for us were the mountains around the town. If we could use sources of iron to build up tradeable reserves of iron and steel, that might be another way to solve the food crisis. So that decision could also wait until morning.413Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BYne2wUr0
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My head filling again with images of the town planning interface, I was asleep before I knew it.
