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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68aJTnmdTC
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qK3qw8wnf
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'Wha'?' I wheezed out.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfZu59LIWv
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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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjNrn4mzaK
426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhH29mj2Lab
'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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCXT5mgXgx
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I wasn't really hungry just now, my body was too stressed, but no doubt my appetite would revive later.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zMmY2ED4H
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'Ahh…'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICMiyjITsD
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'What?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3Q8SplWz9
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'Chef won't be pleased.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7Syd6EQ97
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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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeXxYXeXhe
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DOAkW684L
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvCeN92Bd5
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'King Carlos?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TKJDQKRcY
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Either I looked dumb, having forgotten my name here, or else the new arrival was dismayed by my appearance.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyV2tbg5LW
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'King Carlos?' he tried again.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1W1Gwv9fT
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'Yes?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9wAYv7iQD
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgcWvmBGgB
426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvLNywMyeX
'Lord Oseso, ambassador to his majesty King Wace of Southway.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLLcAy8qHg
426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jSm5fxIcV
'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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoi0b6QBw7U
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A crowd was gathering as soldiers and civilians moved closer to hear the ambassador's words.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsyOQauUdY
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'Perhaps we can take some refreshment in private?' Lord Oseso suggested.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8hlh8MiLX
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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?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pmZm0AXWt
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'Are you sure?' There was a knowing sneer in his gaze, inviting some kind of complicity from me.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdoNpzDWMo
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'Get on with it. I'm busy.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUVy40Lo4x
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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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnreCA4czFM
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyUk8ebX2I
426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJQbFjeiML
'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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgj7aTxlPZD
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Lord Oseso shook his head. 'Careful what you say next, this offer won't come again.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa05m7D6UCe
426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYHIlfDmLT
'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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpDDooLCfj
426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHni69nqtHD
'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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QpnYfknC4
426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTvK49AOFH
'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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduMsq9AHXe
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YTsi04eGc
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'Blindfold him and lead his horse. Don't let him look around as he leaves.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCOrAXqbF5
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'Yes sir.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4T5mjl7Ua
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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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrzoMy2vcI
426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4T4IrRdEk
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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzEGwFV1eS
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'Now, Carradock. I was on lap forty-four, was I not?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMYI306gel
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'Forty-three sire.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQph9UZBFo
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'Damn pedant.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqH7Op3Ro2
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ZeYgGLi40
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It was the military menu that got me thinking again.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g76d5OggB
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Military426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdW3YT1KMMe
Light infantry: 32426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLfn2I5cz0
Heavy infantry: 12426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmXu8axi40
Archers: 18426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiZijqGl5C
Light cavalry: 24426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrrjI0sBx9
Heavy cavalry: 4426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfle7bUj46
Ballista: 1426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUm9XesAWY
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Hospital: 17426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqvrMut2lx
Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgG0vEZt190
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Currently training: 1 heavy cavalry426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVBnBhlEoe
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHSeYwXmvF
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡca6jME0D5Q
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4tpVEveWe
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Shipbuilding426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbutIqvhph
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Unknown.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfrphXRVI6
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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPuHJ2YDK9
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'Sire?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9or0TqaISw
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'Get the Chief Carpenter for me.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXq3ZzY0clH
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'Yes, sire.' The lad got up without any urgency and strolled down a shadow-filled street.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuDMn7LHKn
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1t9oDdoOA
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'Walk with me,' I grunted.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2ii1cZjIR
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'Sire.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00d8DGeQl9
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'Can you make us a trading ship?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtp0tOu3tu
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The question came as a surprise but he took it well, hardly faltering in his step. 'No sire.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsroMRXz47
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'What if I researched Shipbuilding One?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3zLyD2rpc
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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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0h8dTK8U9
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'And I can then assign someone to it?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXTQZOgkSn
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'If it becomes an option sire.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYtjDdcjFd
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'Would you like to do it?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSSMnN4JSy
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'Me? It's up to you sire.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwICFhGrQi
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'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?426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OdyY2o6vo
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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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31HqmQliYW
426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvv3QAsbEE3
'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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMiLaXjW8P
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'Thank you sire.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGI4yklgWt
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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?'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8VeZpcWXs
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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.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWIHJLy5Nz
426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMY6hIpRxce
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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeaOHotbsj
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Forty-seven.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TACyv37MI
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Forty-eight.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0235xDspgY
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Forty-nine.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGrgAHIJrU
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Fifty.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqT0AWj2VCn
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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.426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5y5mvS03C9
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'Well done Sire.'426Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlhFxfSVLE
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That acknowledgement lifted me all the way back to the keep.
