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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhhzk9pZ1U
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoktXKJDP3
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'Wha'?' I wheezed out.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQn6aI7zfyw
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCLrUN5LYQ
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfO1muGA2d
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I wasn't really hungry just now, my body was too stressed, but no doubt my appetite would revive later.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzl2ITinQRm
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'Ahh…'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnMCkVQ3Uq
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'What?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRE0lios2FU
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'Chef won't be pleased.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqur15uzcN
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCLieu3mJM
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2dasNhffc
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKRWlNmePB
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'King Carlos?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iOL69Dy5P
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Either I looked dumb, having forgotten my name here, or else the new arrival was dismayed by my appearance.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18HFnECJrC
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'King Carlos?' he tried again.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThuwAXVHSh
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'Yes?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEZZJ1NyBc
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiY7uRH8uK
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'Lord Oseso, ambassador to his majesty King Wace of Southway.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxHjfmYpSZ
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCufy8TC75
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A crowd was gathering as soldiers and civilians moved closer to hear the ambassador's words.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnDu78OtpI
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'Perhaps we can take some refreshment in private?' Lord Oseso suggested.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckZcJhlpIM
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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?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPWOkcTmkY
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'Are you sure?' There was a knowing sneer in his gaze, inviting some kind of complicity from me.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkb8ygN5az
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'Get on with it. I'm busy.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVfJqCb8dF
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEl8O7jTn5
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPTRRCgyxD
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLsQoXudhK
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Lord Oseso shook his head. 'Careful what you say next, this offer won't come again.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTHhlyOhbt
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMhw0QEZLy
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzVAb5fvvQ
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOJANFsEzg
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3zKNMDr6C
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'Blindfold him and lead his horse. Don't let him look around as he leaves.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAaWtSUh8Q
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'Yes sir.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEVSJMN60N
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEH4eG5MCv
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxuBVLTIfr
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'Now, Carradock. I was on lap forty-four, was I not?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6psMijCd5w
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'Forty-three sire.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDo9bUqCgTX
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'Damn pedant.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEP9ncUq2p
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7lDWFFmAi
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It was the military menu that got me thinking again.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfABkbJ09Z
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Military425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3ivag9wmI
Light infantry: 32425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaDi4lMCgo
Heavy infantry: 12425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV37n5swX0E
Archers: 18425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6xpEibsG9
Light cavalry: 24425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNiwm5ZkHg
Heavy cavalry: 4425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cL2OX8fBK
Ballista: 1425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69R0Tt9uIu
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Hospital: 17425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGM4zdwpwNC
Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HmMJ3BpSO
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Currently training: 1 heavy cavalry425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2PKXEawLa
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2AgXH2max
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtPzU6UmSK
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKcDH5lVvF
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Shipbuilding425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvaT4DjAei
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Unknown.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiy4Ly96iSq
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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9uPczMUAl
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'Sire?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnwoP78AUJ
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'Get the Chief Carpenter for me.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzBR3B2T6s
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'Yes, sire.' The lad got up without any urgency and strolled down a shadow-filled street.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGbTCmMh9a
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdT5NaoW1d
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'Walk with me,' I grunted.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjCJ1jNDen
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'Sire.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmoMWDbXYO
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'Can you make us a trading ship?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lo9hJ3UxW
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The question came as a surprise but he took it well, hardly faltering in his step. 'No sire.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eyNVGSA1o
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'What if I researched Shipbuilding One?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrU7xOwjEbO
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ucp42esOS
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'And I can then assign someone to it?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnt73QWDFQa
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'If it becomes an option sire.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00W8oWZHen
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'Would you like to do it?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTO9bmu60Jv
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'Me? It's up to you sire.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinhlPfCmGB
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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?425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSKI9Z0Vfk
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCtrtpp8sq
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqLf1pN2vD
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'Thank you sire.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdQaSBTqgM
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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?'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWGjnPvQEo
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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.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Vi90lrEio
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuKHM4ZN9r
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Forty-seven.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmVMrSaGXb
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Forty-eight.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjTNgC4fwf
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Forty-nine.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0wqWjNFoC
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Fifty.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAOcdbkDX9
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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.425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbLHDKPJZk
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'Well done Sire.'425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEu262q8pR
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That acknowledgement lifted me all the way back to the keep.
