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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCEM5nojIS
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlCepaS7eW
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'Wha'?' I wheezed out.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡah4gNwOwSH
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95JErfcXky
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhNiQraJRN
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I wasn't really hungry just now, my body was too stressed, but no doubt my appetite would revive later.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tdRzm6sNU
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'Ahh…'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1dA2QoMmI
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'What?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnTvYUKZ1B
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'Chef won't be pleased.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uNCuenQmH
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqoKA8J4DL
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMwUYgN7wa
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQi8mRnxh4
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'King Carlos?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApjUPAjVmK
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Either I looked dumb, having forgotten my name here, or else the new arrival was dismayed by my appearance.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouh82xfu8r
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'King Carlos?' he tried again.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSnwx8pzAP
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'Yes?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoqiIiKKUI
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2a0AtxefV
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'Lord Oseso, ambassador to his majesty King Wace of Southway.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrfCILVTMe
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PYXNPuB8K
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A crowd was gathering as soldiers and civilians moved closer to hear the ambassador's words.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoHUpA9Kgv
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'Perhaps we can take some refreshment in private?' Lord Oseso suggested.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2rdoG1KSR
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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?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5u24rFDmk
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'Are you sure?' There was a knowing sneer in his gaze, inviting some kind of complicity from me.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXq9xvOeJ0
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'Get on with it. I'm busy.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmuGFGZHwa
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqXVA3GaLb
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90grdiqFT0
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFP6DsTYdGT
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Lord Oseso shook his head. 'Careful what you say next, this offer won't come again.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHKDj6aTWY
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSx9GIpR6T
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllGF2yZpXD
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6g3KsIR5s
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrsQX5n83W
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'Blindfold him and lead his horse. Don't let him look around as he leaves.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYjfTtAEpl
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'Yes sir.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03iJaYcUko
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRt1bVAkwml
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1BR7osDtU
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'Now, Carradock. I was on lap forty-four, was I not?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxJDeRYKSp
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'Forty-three sire.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyMwBn7Fz2
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'Damn pedant.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyklkEcteO
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ITwl2OVRG
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It was the military menu that got me thinking again.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTpZed88j9
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Military350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0bIfidYXk
Light infantry: 32350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUgocy4VYK
Heavy infantry: 12350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9jGS3nJeK
Archers: 18350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYqM352GG9
Light cavalry: 24350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPB5bGltrf
Heavy cavalry: 4350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkaycxYxec
Ballista: 1350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiQgWyLOuF
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Hospital: 17350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFgDKiogOy
Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQNPPE6ahP
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Currently training: 1 heavy cavalry350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQk7uii5lv1
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDrwUnusHV
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSECUEAJ0He
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdEB7PF2Iy
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Shipbuilding350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZgi0VjMxO
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Unknown.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmvhLHFNC5
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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8MLi24Uir
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'Sire?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYREAxRk47
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'Get the Chief Carpenter for me.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmszk3WpzOW
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'Yes, sire.' The lad got up without any urgency and strolled down a shadow-filled street.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACZd2tahjm
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGvQlAxcSn
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'Walk with me,' I grunted.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoAevDiNsg
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'Sire.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4Au5RjnV6
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'Can you make us a trading ship?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5NLn3fyty
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The question came as a surprise but he took it well, hardly faltering in his step. 'No sire.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkrp9amme5o
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'What if I researched Shipbuilding One?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuBhPYQ88s
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUa0I0SL5E
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'And I can then assign someone to it?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7leddufx2
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'If it becomes an option sire.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISW9sujdYg
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'Would you like to do it?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPPHZ9LI6U
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'Me? It's up to you sire.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncvK3Sn7m9
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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?350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlYgI5SYhc
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkHbd3CwD4
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7b4zbeIQOz
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'Thank you sire.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrR9loNBSNE
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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?'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96aPwKWtJC
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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.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nViWpuwpG
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jISwAG48S
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Forty-seven.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBcMpOiSxW
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Forty-eight.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeNDFNXzxp
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Forty-nine.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerGj7zNm0X
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Fifty.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDoox1Q4rA
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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.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡongNr45OLn
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'Well done Sire.'350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8YTDrnR0d
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That acknowledgement lifted me all the way back to the keep.
