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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5RyJ37YaA
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzGZaRJ3bY
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'Wha'?' I wheezed out.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvo4fVlltr
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3Jg3vudLb
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNk2tqkgjw
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I wasn't really hungry just now, my body was too stressed, but no doubt my appetite would revive later.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2ptuK8LK8
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'Ahh…'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAfz48POFh
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'What?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ51XqAMRNd
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'Chef won't be pleased.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMQdqzqBNg
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4IQYujNcU
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBr3NGQWviy
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3rfTefXVJ
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'King Carlos?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAiyZFW0kn
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Either I looked dumb, having forgotten my name here, or else the new arrival was dismayed by my appearance.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFnl0xWsRm
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'King Carlos?' he tried again.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwPjO9x5b2
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'Yes?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTRvQDA7d4
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pNio9ymmc
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'Lord Oseso, ambassador to his majesty King Wace of Southway.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrTiP44RiI
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokuivRBVEv
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A crowd was gathering as soldiers and civilians moved closer to hear the ambassador's words.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzXdij98XF
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'Perhaps we can take some refreshment in private?' Lord Oseso suggested.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4nrD1hlJU
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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?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0n4AFdMENa
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'Are you sure?' There was a knowing sneer in his gaze, inviting some kind of complicity from me.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJJ2gd4cKP
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'Get on with it. I'm busy.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQMur24EGJ
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwGx51FiMA
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDg983CRxH5
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyclO3jtxM
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Lord Oseso shook his head. 'Careful what you say next, this offer won't come again.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXde3juGoR
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBvHnKJjj7
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJupeeuoXo
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPaGpAb22G
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0Tp2k01mK
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'Blindfold him and lead his horse. Don't let him look around as he leaves.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4MuTTshpg
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'Yes sir.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPFWL9Qqrg
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmzS7XkoVE
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuV0mLaUJg
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'Now, Carradock. I was on lap forty-four, was I not?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqHuzeVmWs
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'Forty-three sire.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7KBBdTYxNf
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'Damn pedant.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nUHcysDJ1
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6f1PeChhVL
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It was the military menu that got me thinking again.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRphjP5qKQ
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Military412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYfrxardmI
Light infantry: 32412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0OMQKJXnR
Heavy infantry: 12412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoW8N9719sw
Archers: 18412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvq5EL6NmHf
Light cavalry: 24412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0iHFQHTfh
Heavy cavalry: 4412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oIYPnoyuc
Ballista: 1412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxjgf03CG6
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Hospital: 17412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkXIIgDDho
Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2Fp6Zavx5
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Currently training: 1 heavy cavalry412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2CzIFlqGw
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6ngtJml4B
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYXe6Kc4zz
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQDQkxkJpi
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Shipbuilding412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3wpEHnz3k
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Unknown.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUakhJq2eS0
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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Kz8HJbnhu
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'Sire?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV06q4LM4oj
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'Get the Chief Carpenter for me.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe38PFF47Q4
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'Yes, sire.' The lad got up without any urgency and strolled down a shadow-filled street.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jdRFI4gbW
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKClVpfwzE
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'Walk with me,' I grunted.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YvCdNiWTi
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'Sire.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BDJAcqQs4
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'Can you make us a trading ship?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOKOtI2mRA
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The question came as a surprise but he took it well, hardly faltering in his step. 'No sire.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSeXqXHn0X
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'What if I researched Shipbuilding One?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5v4beEEOj
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAPhEhcUFP
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'And I can then assign someone to it?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgCwkYs3j8
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'If it becomes an option sire.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwr5itPr5JX
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'Would you like to do it?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0Lm2vAzmJ
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'Me? It's up to you sire.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hOVOAaPY4
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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?412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBkfbnLRNf
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oZweHwv67
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3dpFVKCbC
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'Thank you sire.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvhO3XfdCa
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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?'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2633UWR1rj
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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.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmY6DCWODk
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6Vh24K6n1
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Forty-seven.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5PM2YSPSl
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Forty-eight.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdUOzvK274
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Forty-nine.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZSVruPtqD
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Fifty.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDrnzGy9FW
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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.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjSYxpbyG6
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'Well done Sire.'412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ilv64PEcS
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That acknowledgement lifted me all the way back to the keep.
