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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGZdSg7IOa
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiUnb6bjPy
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCd4Org45w
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWeYOogXTa
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'I heard about your training today sire. It gave encouragement to the troops.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUfPKzAsxl
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'There's a long way to go.' I glanced at my fleshy arms, so different to my previous body.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SQOhUMmIf
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'I also heard that you scorned the ambassador of Southway.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYrc53wAp3
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'Oh did you? What did your sources say, exactly?'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw48kryoZwn
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjkJEcpL8l
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenkdyuZE6k
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8weTOCDYDg
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5QipvvUNI
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgL3ccQmOPW
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ262jvQVTZx
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'Spoken like the old Carlos,' said Parrin with a smile when we had the room to ourselves.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwDvu12iye
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04v4pqR2CY
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3NzSRynyo
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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?'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNavvTZL8yz
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqRYmRn8it
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR481FEOLAs
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'How goes your personal progress?' asked Parrin.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvF2MdFsn3v
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLFw5BHD52
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Carlena frowned. 'What level Fighter are you?'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7mgbk12Lk
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFLVd3G5O2
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All three of them turned pale faces towards me, eyes glistening in the candlelight.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tGSD834sz
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCPyJcSFAJ
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'I believe King Wace is level twelve,' muttered the Chancellor pointedly. 'And Queen Rorgesta of Trolland is eleven at least.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5Lll1lTAX
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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?'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrtFT4wruZ
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgA9SFiNXv4
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1EJUaby4n
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That sounded promising and exactly like the RPGs I was used to.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslKFxxqPmW
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaaSau3Hka
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'True.' Lord Arval nodded. 'Don't push so hard you damage yourself.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lTkThKlut
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'We need time. Time to fix the kingdom's economy and time for me to level up.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9loHWbYGfA
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEjdDk8NuH
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8uO8XU87A
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpDgIaht5c
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRC3v5T2wl
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMm8UVszo7m
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnARrL74rH
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvNgVkN5JW
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Everyone greeted my proposal with approval.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2M2dK1MOtM
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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?'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJNDNtj3VS
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'Perhaps,' the Chancellor nodded. 'It would be a mission for Figus.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfdLKw6zzB
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'When he gets back,' I said.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQvnsig0HV
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'When he gets back,' Parrin repeated.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3bSY7ARFg
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBFJabnUCR
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'Me?' Parrin looked surprised. 'We have scouts, of course.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BDXx7mbki
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'Yes, but they are all level zero, right? Whereas you are level nine.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfa0pzZeys
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJldM586g0W
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'Just don't take any risks.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKajHJKXfj
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxLqv3K2Wm
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'Can the king ask for a massage?' I leaned in towards the General.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcQ31xlgpg
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'Of course. I'll send someone.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElMzadrPfu
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'Good, I'll go on up to my bed.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuT5QJahyX
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEf1FgIv8N
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'Massage sire?' he asked gruffly.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJw3SNu41za
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'Please.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1dsrCXe8H
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'Saw you walking today sire. You'll want the legs looked at.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcK0iFFiJfO
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'Left shoulder too, from carrying that sword.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKlgprzI9A
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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.'508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuh54OrO2Mo
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FHMKXm5er
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGrl9R6dGN
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiX7wbnInE1
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Greyland508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43sVoAbwiw
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Economy508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGkjSWyQ7j
Currently building:508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Cd3Qujshs
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Monthly trade income: 0508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkz50DQMs5W
Monthly tax income: 54 gold508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYUP593IP6
Treasury: 2 gold508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3tPtA6f2q
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Daily food consumption: 13 units508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPxn1MqInA
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3Wwt79YsB
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 20 days508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxt729oSkz
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 33 days508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94nZx4xjHi
Meat yield: 5 units daily508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlD1iytG26N
Timber yield: 17 planks daily508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhx36RVCs9
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmZEFvcFMQ
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fmUTcSuSr
Smithy yield: steel pickaxes on hold. Awaiting iron.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8id3AUnR4
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjoNxfZFmv
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Research: Shipbuilding One508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuz2uTVaS5
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Resources:508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLhj1HdBnU
Wheat: 14 food units508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVwvUnHuWQ
Vegetables: 25 food units508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeMNbHQh2E
Meat: 8 food units508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlyDH1oLKV
Wool: 7 bales508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKatfzU8Eqn
Timber: 150 planks508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9gSceb2Un
Iron: 0 ingots508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpXQR9vZNe
Stone: 39 blocks508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMxw8k6wsX
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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuVLQQyuFS
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjxQ8r7esR
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8q4TNnrG23
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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.508Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ487tIoMEB8
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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.
