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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYiTyofFSKo
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwA50lhJbd
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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuniFPv1WW
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Greyland399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48s6ib5sJd
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Economy Military People399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXd6dQaCWPK
Currently building: granary level 2399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDMJE1kmEl
Monthly trade income: 0399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqg1x7MSOh
Monthly tax income: 54 gold399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAPG8Zb2BT
Daily food consumption: 13 units399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2J2dXoYKLv
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnjfsZ8SSE
Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqZtJIt8VO
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBxV1UL34I
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgYJwXYan6
Meat yield: 4 units daily399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88c811vHGf
Timber yield: 17 planks daily399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOC8OCxhrH
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYp90536VoZ
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEgddsuHaF
Smithy yield: no production set399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmYDKT6VXs
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9R7HGrKBCk
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Research: steel pickaxes399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7p8TH66dkl
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Resources:399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaKNIQuZqk
Wheat: 19 food units399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZM97nC6A4F
Vegetables: 32 food units399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrwh4Dm3wF
Meat: 5 food units399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzo1pCLchtq
Wool: 7 bales399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOwiagbrPz
Timber: 134 planks399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9I3rkzHAS
Iron: 11 ingots399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51o4P80qiD
Stone: 33 blocks399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYtljIP0nk
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 2.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMIvWf6rZd
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oCm7LL3DS
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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dQ739F0wC
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Military399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCp7BbHnSNi
Light infantry: 32399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn45iYMEEM7
Heavy infantry: 12399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkVvP7oMHK
Archers: 18399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNukzKu4Y7
Light cavalry: 24399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9tuAE0VpF
Heavy cavalry: 3399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLHbk8Z3Df
Ballista: 1399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaWdaL0NMm
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Hospital: 17399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GKMKJzIuq
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELdCzyL7hE
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2SHTiSAoV
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRG9sqoUt4
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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?399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWj8jH5kOi
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrGuKOKkkK
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People399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5k55Nrcz7b
Citizens: 485399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpv8ymoCqbc
Happiness: 14399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7ZAfQC3bX
Tax Level: High399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5MXftaivc
Health: 89399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfxrw5AT09
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Specialist roles399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNmAEqh0lL
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUYT2ZBFcT
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbRj8SxEHy
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUO5HgbHee1
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?399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzJFDgWeYd
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuO5gPwmPP
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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVVZD0XxAS
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xT2ith7FY
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHDov5hxql
HP 64399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHw1TNmc0Y
AC 18399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZeSzu1a5n
XP 19,663 (28,800)399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWx8LcjIXu
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBXDOA3UMe
Shield of Defence +1, Trueblade +2, Ring of Strength +1, Potion of Haste, Potion of Healing.
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399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRaZrgwhaNR
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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYJNRo86D5
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Time to check the others.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7Ev6DvJgD
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399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumrFnUWfNP
Carlena, Sorceress Level 9399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVy4QiF5uE
HP 34399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3N8DQbDZVW
AC 5399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKg39ypj14
XP 72,102 (86,400)399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJ71XZKgPc
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfrUC8xK9l
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9w0jUApNYO
HP 53399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCGpfgIOZt
AC 12399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CQNEr78Hi
XP 71,043 (86,400)399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpV0CGYkTzL
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuz0IhNQkOB
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFbZ2emxzk
HP 17399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOd78klWix
AC 14399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllJKgJG6el
XP 684 (800)399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YWCO792HJ
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEb8l2eY5mq
Scroll of Charm399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKimSnNrPW
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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlM6nkX8xUk
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDqCYmd5wU
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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAwY3gDlC1
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6G70eaq8cY
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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1S7zPLKN74
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BqJAR3P3T
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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17BoBRscTR
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY78VKvj8hc
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?399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzpD6CYOXj
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kR1R20OGN
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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLm7cnGOcMg
399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7wZGle3FT
My head filling again with images of the town planning interface, I was asleep before I knew it.
