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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvs0H0gYHC
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRIxzrHIRV
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'Wha'?' I wheezed out.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv055kTNVH3
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYduLeLzIJn
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbT80ptbp39
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I wasn't really hungry just now, my body was too stressed, but no doubt my appetite would revive later.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIf6qCghlN
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'Ahh…'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUquGz2O60
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'What?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNeKlEhVVf
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'Chef won't be pleased.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvRVlByhGV
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsT5SUtlNt
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJF9VwUE7tm
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFLt2Nb5I7
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'King Carlos?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPixxDO6xCn
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Either I looked dumb, having forgotten my name here, or else the new arrival was dismayed by my appearance.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtnLsPEpyc
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'King Carlos?' he tried again.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNA9JGULiBI
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'Yes?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxoPcYNGTn
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkvH5Sp3XW
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'Lord Oseso, ambassador to his majesty King Wace of Southway.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WxH2ckjoK
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡINYqL5MY2u
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A crowd was gathering as soldiers and civilians moved closer to hear the ambassador's words.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbJFVjoCvx
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'Perhaps we can take some refreshment in private?' Lord Oseso suggested.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDLxvtpoj0
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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?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FuoC4t73i
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'Are you sure?' There was a knowing sneer in his gaze, inviting some kind of complicity from me.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hBF6cJXKo
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'Get on with it. I'm busy.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uPrTGxPMg
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYiOOKm6XAU
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadcCMBWcms
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxa64iGzlln
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Lord Oseso shook his head. 'Careful what you say next, this offer won't come again.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wLz5W7ULU
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFASLzEsiUi
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHdwzojOc9
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN53jGs797J
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NhP8WAeD8
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'Blindfold him and lead his horse. Don't let him look around as he leaves.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWt4KZe9EJ
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'Yes sir.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEn4ZQJFMn
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WpAKoQORm
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbJaiZiiUZ
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'Now, Carradock. I was on lap forty-four, was I not?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHA2EodDXzz
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'Forty-three sire.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3ntQFWwNu
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'Damn pedant.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxP8MvGgkk9
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFBjhHdOFI
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It was the military menu that got me thinking again.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKN6F3rhwZ
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Military403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMa5ppeUno
Light infantry: 32403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwCACweurE
Heavy infantry: 12403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUsppHn9fF
Archers: 18403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPHZbyc7Hh
Light cavalry: 24403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwQ8KAUmVQ
Heavy cavalry: 4403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7pgROpfcY
Ballista: 1403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyQYt8orUE
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Hospital: 17403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkvLlzON5q
Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMDqXNs5gh
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Currently training: 1 heavy cavalry403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVB1ucf6VN
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG78HG8NMVM
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8N5xOdqLI
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1sKulNsWH
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Shipbuilding403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKNZyWwJGE
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Unknown.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvBo9XEzbD
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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrN8yv2mNrT
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'Sire?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUKWDKik3p
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'Get the Chief Carpenter for me.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeG3UIKHZOx
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'Yes, sire.' The lad got up without any urgency and strolled down a shadow-filled street.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEKANYfaSH
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBco0TjfBX
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'Walk with me,' I grunted.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumNF9IzZln
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'Sire.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdwZQ6Waby
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'Can you make us a trading ship?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvwljEgezm
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The question came as a surprise but he took it well, hardly faltering in his step. 'No sire.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hjQcXj1bx
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'What if I researched Shipbuilding One?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPaGsKVTbc
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgza9iJQku
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'And I can then assign someone to it?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbWqJKUCIT
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'If it becomes an option sire.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3sjOxYYpC
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'Would you like to do it?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4N0QSNKup
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'Me? It's up to you sire.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDlHLHaZw2
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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?403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGidfNLUuD
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBxOCP4cjD
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJb1vspnCX
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'Thank you sire.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9x2B9KuA5a
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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?'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPob5UN1lX
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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.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mtpal8nuo
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGEOxDJln0
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Forty-seven.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkIc2rpQ4b
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Forty-eight.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUvp7kbALm
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Forty-nine.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtZ1hgd0Wj
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Fifty.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gC2AbyP6G
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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.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5RgV0Y0MO
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'Well done Sire.'403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGjDUNK1WB
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That acknowledgement lifted me all the way back to the keep.
