My first thought on waking, was that I was happy. Not so much because I was living the life of a king (although I wasn't complaining about that), but because I had a reason for living: a mission. It was such a different feeling, having a purpose in life, to waiting around for the COVID restrictions to end. While Greyland was starting in a very difficult situation, I believed I could turn it around.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGXexeWQZz
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For a start, I had to ramp up iron production and correct my earlier mistake. As my first action, I assigned the realm's three iron ingots to the Smithy for more steel pickaxes.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSkSqiqJsK
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzEBkyczff
Crucial to my success in this world would be my personal character progression. With some anxiety I called up my character sheet to see if I'd managed to improve it by my efforts of the previous day.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BSELnAcCG
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWb5et5XzhG
Sean de Courcy, king of Greyland469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1KB1rUDEP
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2b8bNEGSkx
Str 7469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIEjGIRkCT
Dex 4469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDpTMuw0vy
Con 8469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpNvyc2JKp
Int 16469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaj179glxi7
Wis 16469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoQpFB7PIU
Cha 4469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQELW1gbBh
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPEWCapLAM
Please choose a character archetype:469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Q4U43sn1b
Fighter; Wizard; Healer; Scout469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhBtgPQ3Ey
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2K7qKtqXN
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRgBJaToks
Of course, neither my Strength of Constitution had shifted. I sighed to myself. How many more days of exercise would it take to test whether those stats would rise? Should I give it a week and then give in and choose a Wizard or Healer path? The people who had summoned me here wanted a battlefield leader and my own desire led me to want to be a martial class of some sort. But it would be idiotic to aim for that if I was stuck with these stats.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhNfOaGubE
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Then I noticed the final attribute, Charisma. It had gone from 3 to 4. Yes! Yes! And again Yes!469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAIpvT9zhQ
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3OLva6omY
Stats could be worked on. A glow of pleasure rushed through me. Okay, so it wasn't a Fighter stat that had moved, but really, after one day, even if I had focused on Strength, I could hardly have expected to see progress. I had a hunch that the reason I'd seen Charisma move was that it was a lot easier to raise a 3 to a 4 than a 7 to an 8.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHAg7g5nkT
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQg80f3reqj
Following that last thought, I had to admit to myself that it might take months to move Strength to something useful in battle, but even so I decided to take the risk and commit to Fighter. It was time to get going. I missed being the most bad-ass warrior in Storm Wars and couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to be on top of the game be like in a world where it really mattered? Still, it was pointless, counterproductive even, to daydream. There was a mountain to climb. And I hadn't even taken one step yet towards the summit.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixQ5C3x9lQ
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LIqyHNshx
I selected Fighter and got a message:469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSe4bHKL1T6
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkQJ7HPwbC
Welcome Sean de Courcy, to the path of the Fighter. You have chosen to stand toe to toe with your foes, dealing blows to them and evading their own attempts to harm you. It is a path for the brave and for the resolute. If you are fortunate and progress, in due course you will unlock specialisations within the Fighter class.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwIZ6aATQ5
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JtX1uYScD
You will also unlock new skills by discovering them through action. For now, you have 10 skill points to assign among the following:469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVqugfj0tb
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Bash: action, shield users only, additional attack with shield469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTlwboj2gt
Block: passive, shield users only, wards melee attacks if successful469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAXo8SUQ5A
Deflect: passive, shield users only, wards missile attacks if successful469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNlD3VqtFG
Defensive Stance: passive, reduces damage of hits received if successful469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dpmP7TWX4
Dodge: passive, avoid an opponent's attack469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFOHHpWoaP
Grapple: action, unarmed attack that restricts opponent if successful469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEe81U1WfB
Lunge: action, pointed weapons only, additional attack at up to +1m range469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Y2hQ0zo84
Parry: passive, intercept your opponent's attack with your main hand weapon469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDY7YxoC7O4
Quick draw: action, produce hidden or sheathed weapon469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tNw6WDf3G
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5rXBHiVZr
Quite a lot to think about there. And I had to make my choice right away, as the screen couldn't be flicked away in the usual fashion. Generally, I preferred a min-max approach to RPG gaming. It was usually better to be really good at one skill and adapt your strategy to that skill than to have no particular specialism and be somewhat competent at everything. Ideally, I would have had a taste of fighting before make my choice, so as to get a feel for what would be the best skill to invest in. Here, though, there was going to be a lot of guesswork.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLEEKWsFSS
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1uQYxCl40
On the assumption I'd have the support of the high level people who had summoned me, I decided I should focus on attack rather than defence. Back in Storm Wars defence was crucial but here, at the low levels at least, I felt it best to try to rack up experience fast through killing mobs. Lunge appealed most, surely an extra attack and a bit more range on an attack was going to prove useful? When I tried to put my ten points into the skill, however, I got a message.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbDBSoS8AN
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzK2uc3V9BD
Skills are capped at Level x 5469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvxrhKBubg
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Adding 5 points to Lunge worked. So for my other choice? Was I going to use a shield? Probably but not necessarily. I didn't know what weapons were going to be available to me here. Parry then. While Quick draw had its appeal, it was very situational. Whereas pretty much every fight I was in would involve the opportunity to parry.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYq4BtsvCsv
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqn0Cim1EId
My character sheet now had my class and skills, also, an EXP bar, showing that I needed 100 to get to Level 2 and HP. I had hit points! Not many though. And an armour class that at 0 probably reflected the fact that I had no armour on at all. Even if I did, that poor Dexterity score probably carried a penalty.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZFXuNchq8
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLVTzO9KDb
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Sean de Courcy, king of Greyland469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZdPgOZu88
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQStBqsk0m
Fighter, Level 1 HP 8 AC 0469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKx6JtqWSp
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡws9goofbiI
Str 7469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUowHqLd9Sy
Dex 4469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIXY0zRtUv
Con 8469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5d7dDloNfI
Int 16469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Tmy7xNho9
Wis 16469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoQFuO86wn
Cha 4469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtB6VE3RkQY
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozVAQg0qdE
Lunge 5469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsMUC2mr9T
Parry 5469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8R81YlaYf
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Exp 5/100469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KmeYWchWW
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469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtIDp6AYRG
With the help of the PCs in Greyland, I should be able to level up fast.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2zGJTVOUA
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedOb8yyXSD
If it wasn't for my heavy body, I'd have leapt out of bed with a spring in my step and an eager desire to get going. As it was, I had to lever myself up and then struggle with every single garment before managing to get dressed. It didn't help that I ached all over from yesterday's marching around the barracks square. At last, I was presentable and down I went to breakfast.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVjJJYjoTQ
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5vtCbPMJA
Today, the castle servants were ready for me and along with a glass of apple juice was a bowl with more apples and a plate with two poached eggs. I felt desperately hungry and was tempted, when a new servant tentatively approached, to ask for more. But I had to get down to a size where armour could fit me and a horse could carry me. So I had to diet. End of. Back home, I had sometimes tried to cut out unhealthy snacks, and managed for a while, before invariably returning to them and sometimes bingeing while hooked up to Storm Wars. Here, I felt differently. Here, getting the king's body into shape was just as important as levelling up and sorting out Greyland's food supply. There was no 'Will I? Won't I?' discussion to be had with myself. It had to be done.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxfOydUZ4s
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKTkr1uq3m
After breakfast, I left the keep and walked slowly in the direction of the barracks. The citizens of the town hurried away from me or redoubled their efforts if they were working. For the first time, I noticed that stored away in the shadowy corner of a large cobbled square was a gibbet and a chopping block. Had my predecessor really executed people by hanging and beheadings? It was not a question I could ask anyone except one of the three who had been there at the summoning.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2i7TuhcRNk
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3n3TolvAiB
The soldiers were already drilling when I got to the barracks and I was pleased to see archers firing at straw scarecrows. Thirteen, fourteen… yet fifteen. Those were my new recruits. It might have been a dumb move using up all my iron before the steel pickaxes were completed but I was glad to see the archers all the same.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoD3TGig0I3
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6iZBUxxbHI
Carradock was there, marching some foot soldiers back and forth. He passed the duty to one of the men and came over at a brisk walk on seeing me.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtTWHfZ1hi
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHEjlNHcaE
'How are you today sire? Able to continue?'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNG0SEJiJh
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'Stiff, but yes.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfD8GPHXYV
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOA8VWHkTxE
'I suggest another march then. Sixty circuits.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2vH2vrJ0t
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAujjarGCt
'Right so. Before I set off, I've a question you might know the answer to.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfMWbtgFNw
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7K7n5e2n0H
He looked at me expectantly.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8CqULALba
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'I just learned the Lunge skill. Do you know how I utilise it?'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuHk6cqX8AT
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yaXmWYQtf
Surprise, then caution crossed the trainer's face. 'Not I sire. Skills like what you're talking about are special. You need to talk to someone like Lord Arval.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4W5tD2FcB
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Em6uPbBku
'Good idea. Send someone to fetch him will you.' As was my nature, I almost added 'please', but no doubt that would be taking my change in character too far.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99T58qeVIc
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1oCmr7Wq1
On lap six, Lord Arval fell in step. 'Sire?'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMQTP4aFcz
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4mfnZ9qMQ
'Two questions.' I already felt the need to be economical with my breath. 'Active skills like Lunge, how do I use them? And what's the quickest way for me to level up? Got some giant bats I can kill?'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡio8rzN9swP
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzZqucCKS9
'Skills? You'll see them as selectable icons when the right conditions are met. I mean when timers are ready; or the right weapon is in hand; or you've moved yourself into the right position. Skills are very experiential. You get to discover them and advance them mostly by practice.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WOLoWFywN
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I nodded, hands swinging like pendulum weights as I strode determinedly around the square.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlZccUJL17
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sXWWOQzGR
Lord Arval kept pace effortlessly. 'For levelling up, I think quests. Without access to the menus I can't be exact, but I felt that just by performing chores for the townspeople I became significantly stronger. Perhaps reaching level three or four.' He gave me a sharp look. 'It helps with your reputation with them too.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ru0KjLMhX
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡATdtlmbIzc
'Good. I'll be done here by midday, come with me this afternoon and show me these quests.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4B2yPztDT
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQfzUqunmZ
First checking no one was close enough to overhear us, Lord Arval leaned closer and dropped his voice. 'I'd never disagree with a command of yours, but I was intending to take the new archers down to Three-Ways Fort and check on our defences. I could ask Carlena to show you the easiest town quests?'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWRzdcxWBd
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7KGqwSOHY
I caught his – grey – eyes and gave the slightest of nods.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBG1mEdAcJh
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡheZA8rxfIe
'Very good sire,' Lord Arval spoke loudly and deferentially. 'As you ask, so it will be.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRauEvkW28
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJAKZo7pmd
The laps today were a little easier and even a soft rain didn't deter me. Walking was good for studying the menus too and I drilled down into the kingdom's various options, reading up on descriptions of buildings and balancing their various benefits against the immediate need to solve our food problem and be able to resist an attack if Southway and Trolland continued their alliance.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9FowblJdO
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67YhPwPNPe
After I finally completed my sixty laps, I took a salute from Carradock and went back to the keep for a bath and change of clothes. Then I sat in the very large throne in the large hall on the second floor, the solar they called it. Outside, beyond the lead crosses that contained the window glass, the day was still grey. I could have rested there, alone, for some time, but Carlena arrived and waving away the servants who had brought her to me, came over.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSYbm0pxUX
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY84UWTzE5E
'You wanted me to help with quests?'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeC0s2DzytA
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oyHgxZwxb
'Yes please. I've started as a Fighter but, honestly, I'm not in the shape to hit things yet. So quests are perfect. And Lord Arval said they would level me fast.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhEwVbd4eg
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljLNV1OtTx
'Yes, they will. At least, they got me to my third spell. After that, you'll need to battle monsters. Also, your combat skills won't increase unless you do.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8AjPUHi08
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1BNrSMrsw
'Right so, let's go and do some quests.' It was painful, moving again after being seated for a while. But pain meant gain, right? And I had the incentive of levelling up to encourage me.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3OHDLdgpz
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'It's been a while since I did these…' She looked thoughtful, long, silver hair tied back so I could see her severe face clearly. 'And try to be more like King Carlos. Everyone is talking about you. About how you've changed.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSR8UtNG5d3
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'He was a thug, right?'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTN2T3JQgP
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'More of a sly creature, like a fox. Watching and waiting … then punishing. Never trusting anyone. You didn't know where you were with him. Not even me, who – forgive the lack of modesty – is the most important person in the kingdom. There was a time when I thought he was going to hang me for treason. Even though that would mean no sorcerer for our battles.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1nOXbLUpA
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLWiVrlOmH
Having reached the large, double doors Carlena went silent and waited for me to lead her out. From just behind my right shoulder, she muttered directions as we walked down narrow cobbled streets until we came to a bakery.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbasmAzi6sA
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItoSnJCcrD
'In there is a female baker who needs a large rat killed.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjNVAakGON
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3nRwCXMGl
I barged in, under the swinging sign of a loaf of bread. My bulky body made a small room feel even smaller: counter with several loaves; bare planks for floors; whitewashed walls; back room with an aroma of newly baked bread that made my mouth water.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgE1AT8bFw6
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnD6ShjMIHL
A boy, about ten years old, was sweeping dust. His mouth dropped open. A thin woman behind the counter looked at me with pure horror, then said quietly, 'Miya bless me!'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡap6Rs9OCkv
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'I believe you have a problem with a rat?'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CFxyfgSXN
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No one moved or spoke, until the boy dropped his brush and ran. Then the woman did the same.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VHF2OSoEd
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'Guards!' yelled Carlena. When two soldiers came running, she instructed them to bring the baker back.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPACvADohb
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgUbRzQUn2
Feeling impatient, I tried to strum my thick fingers on the wooden counter top, but couldn't, they just thumped down in a group. My crappy Dexterity? Or simply lack of practice with this body?469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QyEgqhta7
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNSOtgHJGe
At last the guards returned, holding the woman between them. She was clearly terrified and I would have said something comforting, except that Carlena wanted me to stay in character.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2twHdq9W51
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'You have a task?' I asked.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWCOaGSvFz
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'But…' she was looking at the floor. 'But… you've already done it.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuENoT4KF6T
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZlpuLXWYT
I shot a glance of alarm at Carlena who remained perfectly impassive. No doubt for the benefit of the guards.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GgWkesx3w
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'Give it to me again.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdo1KHnXsIJ
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxL9KGxWuN
'I can't sire, I really can't. Please don't kill me, I have three children.'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJGNrsWS1U
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcR1LDySNc
'Just try. Just say the words. I'm sure it will work. Go ahead!'469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gna190rHy
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But she couldn't. Her mouth opened and closed without a sound coming out. Tears ran down her face.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRhXGCE40Z
469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBlkMf9Noy
Exasperated and not wanting to cause the baker to suffer any further, I strode back outside, took a second to orientate myself, and set off back toward the keep. Levelling up was going to require a rethink.
