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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTs5MIUCIY
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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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC4g2jPCB9M
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Greyland411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGy0QabqGQ
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Economy Military People411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsf3fF4QMyU
Currently building: granary level 2411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXuaVyx5L1
Monthly trade income: 0411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqMpEi5WaV
Monthly tax income: 54 gold411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpiuavAGCr
Daily food consumption: 13 units411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQZh1Mv5ux
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6n3z5NQsup
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0MmlocV7x
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuq2wP9zmft
Meat yield: 4 units daily411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuR1g3PNdgR
Timber yield: 17 planks daily411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2glNKyyEV
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXskCpphIXc
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5u0TQqNFw
Smithy yield: no production set411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwKOaKnsXu
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCBHheuV8j
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Research: steel pickaxes411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAECuxX2MI
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Resources:411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1GFJLm6DZ
Wheat: 19 food units411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj689aYK0mo
Vegetables: 32 food units411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJjHgxMT46
Meat: 5 food units411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizd8vbRaFi
Wool: 7 bales411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSBZHuQR1y
Timber: 134 planks411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyNkEOtfyg
Iron: 11 ingots411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbyAAiZiG0
Stone: 33 blocks411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9N2IAaMyu
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 2.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURmsWGyfAg
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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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA46AnDb4Xp
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Military411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT54yuPTEnt
Light infantry: 32411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSneINfdnT
Heavy infantry: 12411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtbaohE5fB
Archers: 18411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VhHw6uLY6
Light cavalry: 24411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2deAK1u3D
Heavy cavalry: 3411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEnWdm2Jrq
Ballista: 1411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jOssmXlLE
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Hospital: 17411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebaWVTWahq
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGnBAJiuay
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfy0zwWOwve
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrcXyTygrm
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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?411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFBu4jwUYK
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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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7P58hkoTJ
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People411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYhN4HSmA8
Citizens: 485411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoxcMEbCPP
Happiness: 14411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aPQAcnhyE
Tax Level: High411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcavnCBq02
Health: 89411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWHHJizo1Z
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Specialist roles411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjN54xWCve
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6F42oPV0Fj
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6U17fH54Zp
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVUCbaRRYs
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?411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KJcCHOAx0
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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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsMOG5zITu
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAAOKk4EFt
HP 64411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGlmGUafh5
AC 18411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkM7zI9BAS
XP 19,663 (28,800)411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZbnAhKmyw
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMVcQidkZk
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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTvW3i4O9r
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Time to check the others.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFG4Wr7e4DC
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Carlena, Sorceress Level 9411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2ij0TN8cu
HP 34411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOORCIYiMqK
AC 5411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9qxodQneL
XP 72,102 (86,400)411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgGSeFCEt8
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RFBtzkgdJ
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCJv8swjKk
HP 53411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfX2TZpLQc
AC 12411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDIEcNd7lP
XP 71,043 (86,400)411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNQNW5ZO1Q
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfO515QUAQ
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bkOToFTyP
HP 17411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uyUOYKMEp
AC 14411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCGr2Svd44
XP 684 (800)411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40SFdstrWr
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdFNVuAAil
Scroll of Charm411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhndglhOh3r
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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzIt1wpuLn
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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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvCcz2yshW
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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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3mB8C4TKB
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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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pgQm4z1fx
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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?411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cACEDSR13
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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.411Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WkEKVKZFN
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My head filling again with images of the town planning interface, I was asleep before I knew it.
