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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwhfcVu8NL
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfc9tFgprck
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'Wha'?' I wheezed out.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9jqh7Gsnz
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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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7N3DaEQGye
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'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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Yzg4OduHx
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I wasn't really hungry just now, my body was too stressed, but no doubt my appetite would revive later.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HHSb8deks
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'Ahh…'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmvx3wI0g7
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'What?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIpQq61klty
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'Chef won't be pleased.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqH5cKXuluW
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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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBG1CqlM97
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRj7oYrg8m
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2Ho7CMpYW
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'King Carlos?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZgSdTtg1t
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Either I looked dumb, having forgotten my name here, or else the new arrival was dismayed by my appearance.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TWmpdjhx0
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'King Carlos?' he tried again.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt36QAe5TY7
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'Yes?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAaj6j1uV2
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3VgZIZyYj
450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwWQjGOlR4
'Lord Oseso, ambassador to his majesty King Wace of Southway.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRFMia0ndh
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'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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg38rw3Maqx
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A crowd was gathering as soldiers and civilians moved closer to hear the ambassador's words.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkcbu4nVcr
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'Perhaps we can take some refreshment in private?' Lord Oseso suggested.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4qEOhAGlN
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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?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJxTB3Cvam
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'Are you sure?' There was a knowing sneer in his gaze, inviting some kind of complicity from me.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29hg2meQJs
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'Get on with it. I'm busy.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7B0hPKadw
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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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6HPWDo8hV
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtyJ1sqlPsD
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'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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhh5ZvdOzz
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Lord Oseso shook his head. 'Careful what you say next, this offer won't come again.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCW1vz85ez
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'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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83ciJWOtRP
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'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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrOChsEKyn
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'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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxmcwUT7Hh
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UWIUDo5Co
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'Blindfold him and lead his horse. Don't let him look around as he leaves.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTi8txLp4c
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'Yes sir.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaKzU71NGD
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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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpaHNZntIv
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡko74S4urWK
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'Now, Carradock. I was on lap forty-four, was I not?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCSQj4K9kP
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'Forty-three sire.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMxp20siAc
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'Damn pedant.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaO5cINiISF
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkXJSOhvVE
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It was the military menu that got me thinking again.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOZ5YjtVXX
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Military450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlwaMQraWt
Light infantry: 32450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmnDRuFjVi
Heavy infantry: 12450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmogCFx8ZHm
Archers: 18450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zabbmzO0W
Light cavalry: 24450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FZejPDuHL
Heavy cavalry: 4450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVSz7JeEEV
Ballista: 1450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0ow3fqxOv
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Hospital: 17450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJB61y4TBNv
Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTj2sMSLC0e
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Currently training: 1 heavy cavalry450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvE0p6l1oU
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNJ6JeiTbQ
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pAkV83FIe
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOEfVJPTsA
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Shipbuilding450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHpIFzOoAO
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Unknown.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡif8nljpsp4
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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb3roZrmWyo
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'Sire?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpr3oPBuQAx
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'Get the Chief Carpenter for me.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMj8i17wkg
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'Yes, sire.' The lad got up without any urgency and strolled down a shadow-filled street.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08KmFN8kos
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHfKidMcr1
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'Walk with me,' I grunted.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiaWmtuILL
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'Sire.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQrILmkfRe
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'Can you make us a trading ship?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhZGI4RAmz
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The question came as a surprise but he took it well, hardly faltering in his step. 'No sire.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlb5yzeHTbw
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'What if I researched Shipbuilding One?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GBCsjvlHW
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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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy64KLDKRbE
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'And I can then assign someone to it?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOEdKhkwyF
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'If it becomes an option sire.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87oBcXCoEd
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'Would you like to do it?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZQUZRVKr2
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'Me? It's up to you sire.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBl9jYVAu92
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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?450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyHDMVR0pY
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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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rpQCCq77T
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'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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMkAtKUfSm
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'Thank you sire.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSHussCasi
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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?'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4vnrRk6tT
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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.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyUCBi2JBQ
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPsxXYx10z
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Forty-seven.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgY36gAJkJ9
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Forty-eight.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7baj6yAQb
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Forty-nine.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRu9xrPzHL8
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Fifty.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfHk80ubPK
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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.450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyNGAGWUoS
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'Well done Sire.'450Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiIWxtkWoc
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That acknowledgement lifted me all the way back to the keep.
