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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FPjEgZZbP
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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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadjixoQJIv
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Greyland503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbTSPS4ExM
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Economy Military People503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7P8sChIe2b
Currently building: granary level 2503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMovYyFVHoX
Monthly trade income: 0503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEP2WM9dw2W
Monthly tax income: 54 gold503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39ypyqfb1s
Daily food consumption: 13 units503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXXsJr7LBV
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHzwK2GJRJ
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEdPvyIj9n
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeA8YtLZGAJ
Meat yield: 4 units daily503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7J9ZQj1GJ
Timber yield: 17 planks daily503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpP6fvkzqBQ
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjLiSznnUN
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQtXLSKUs2
Smithy yield: no production set503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5on2wDLGPW
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMeTcUycvC
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Research: steel pickaxes503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysBn6FekyN
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Resources:503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5dqCCruRj
Wheat: 19 food units503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5zf1Kcb8V
Vegetables: 32 food units503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKLnnECWza
Meat: 5 food units503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlGdk97Mr6
Wool: 7 bales503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wwdOdOpRT
Timber: 134 planks503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkYJFXyVlc
Iron: 11 ingots503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHaqoPOVEoO
Stone: 33 blocks503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyffInzRx1i
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 2.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sHV6aRVQ4
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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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhCKiXgS7I
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Military503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOApuMsVu0U
Light infantry: 32503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiGDe3iS3m
Heavy infantry: 12503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrZ2ADGqen
Archers: 18503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4i06x7UQN
Light cavalry: 24503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXRnmQFhxu
Heavy cavalry: 3503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5n1d0rjgwR
Ballista: 1503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvPegpUvCS
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Hospital: 17503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VkVP7aamg
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GvqS5UHNC
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4x09gcAQe
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3omjjdk0pL
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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?503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCUwL2ij6O
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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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zruUyWNHz
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People503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNbJ4mIQuo
Citizens: 485503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrMD95y70T
Happiness: 14503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjdw69gN8B
Tax Level: High503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrZN9MPkHE
Health: 89503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXs7sE3wVl
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Specialist roles503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfrFTfHgCd
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcfYIklTe3
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmJTvygxy2
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLe9rLiDes
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?503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuB8CE1THl4
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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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNEQbn29xt
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KVFXg710Z
HP 64503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xB5Nv92RB
AC 18503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqLryeHMC5
XP 19,663 (28,800)503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1WeKHz3z5
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqaGCQcYvX
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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuv5GZksE9
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Time to check the others.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2j4Iy0KGM2
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Carlena, Sorceress Level 9503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzh3ZWjyjOd
HP 34503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3QUzutuSv
AC 5503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aMSd6rruf
XP 72,102 (86,400)503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHu8G07tc0
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpzD8DEkUf
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFH8kJmfGMH
HP 53503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJA1Z5GVoo
AC 12503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jQZc1oNOh
XP 71,043 (86,400)503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3u1rDk9ks
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivakogEQRP
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLOGT2bh5N
HP 17503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31y24cT1fp
AC 14503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9mfwoHByY
XP 684 (800)503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0ZaIYGZte
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1moKxCfxBM
Scroll of Charm503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QFG9oZN1L
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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXsfviOhhw
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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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCmAaWBYdx
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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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WNrNd5xBy
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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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6FRIDiMu3
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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?503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8kINK0OJI
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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.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XFNjg1Ar4
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My head filling again with images of the town planning interface, I was asleep before I knew it.
