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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMngfqbDUvl
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWux2Exh3QK
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3BzhnP1QZ
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwlV8NKazx
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDz3YuqWUh
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszEJGmbkJP
Sean de Courcy, king of Greyland326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuP9UClptJw
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsR7qd9HPQw
Str 7326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdABO3hMhC2
Dex 4326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hIEpgrfKP
Con 8326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZT213Q7PA
Int 16326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZTSWUO4Sn
Wis 16326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsn2z3F2yMJ
Cha 4326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDiJ7ixB38
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyU5ikpm45
Please choose a character archetype:326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndAQDpXd0v
Fighter; Wizard; Healer; Scout326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSe1yuczZJG
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNHcyeHyfx
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlvbxjRoNM
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgDYwyYgjJ
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQsK68ap43
Then I noticed the final attribute, Charisma. It had gone from 3 to 4. Yes! Yes! And again Yes!326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyoGkJQegk
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxnkkSoheI
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 8.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZtbtRXurf
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjT9Knze2IG
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5rc98CIm4
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzCR4wfcVy
I selected Fighter and got a message:326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkLY9JApvW
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4LZnugrwN
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfuRJLnQeh
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡID7qKx6rY8
You will also unlock new skills by discovering them through action. For now, you have 10 skill points to assign among the following:326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8W3k7DIeZ
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTc7dWFnC9
Bash: action, shield users only, additional attack with shield326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XWe9xCMxB
Block: passive, shield users only, wards melee attacks if successful326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnF0VFRnWn
Deflect: passive, shield users only, wards missile attacks if successful326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZO8Mbbhegf
Defensive Stance: passive, reduces damage of hits received if successful326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaoi4wrZYgg
Dodge: passive, avoid an opponent's attack326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3D5B7IybB
Grapple: action, unarmed attack that restricts opponent if successful326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauGLe6bBlK
Lunge: action, pointed weapons only, additional attack at up to +1m range326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHwKYBAemR
Parry: passive, intercept your opponent's attack with your main hand weapon326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88pCLcHjQs
Quick draw: action, produce hidden or sheathed weapon326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqABY5Tg1cf
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqy8wWsa7b2
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRolJOwgSTL
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwmGwA0OD8
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmE9xhB8B2
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVf4A7nc6j
Skills are capped at Level x 5326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGkUQ3Dm4i
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzPkQYuDu4
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg91SlCE94W
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsKDdETa3m
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Xy4qhnNuV
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Sean de Courcy, king of Greyland326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYc1Fh3SB8
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssJO6sRRky
Fighter, Level 1 HP 8 AC 0326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvT6IifhNPX
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9P0DRvK82
Str 7326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnAz7wDixv
Dex 4326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNULS3xKmo
Con 8326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgcQ4bV2Kw
Int 16326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyk8fp5OtBN
Wis 16326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UiafIkweG
Cha 4326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEg0133pYo4
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDrEdi1uic
Lunge 5326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fZMp6IwCZ
Parry 5326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqkxKiNIhg
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBgvRTmD5f
Exp 5/100326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ya95zo56B
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With the help of the PCs in Greyland, I should be able to level up fast.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBbRUa1UV0
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9K888zKyq
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwtV2CMLEo
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJ9C3Sexml
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAa79rkIFoE
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbtgPS78zl
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJqKlrOpmp
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcouidvI6Z
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfE9SakCt5
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhBcwearBd
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH94B8KAgII
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cIUrUHmgx
'How are you today sire? Able to continue?'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikkbqlqDSB
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'Stiff, but yes.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOET39w16Xe
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0zQjgctRZ
'I suggest another march then. Sixty circuits.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGqrXJSmAL
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokMHuPb5gz
'Right so. Before I set off, I've a question you might know the answer to.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEkvu7qfJk
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡragJqkFX15
He looked at me expectantly.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5PejpNmSQ
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3n539jNVSv
'I just learned the Lunge skill. Do you know how I utilise it?'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6n40Od3zv
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCl41LpzpPH
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.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOBJ3Byu18
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwW7giu3Pes
'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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9T6Pzp5FrI
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzEa8LBkFf
On lap six, Lord Arval fell in step. 'Sire?'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrm8zpvIQB
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7y26pcC8a
'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?'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBa94uaK3II
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCT4dC9bWyA
'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.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPA39tCOuc4
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPMEocvVya
I nodded, hands swinging like pendulum weights as I strode determinedly around the square.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuL2g9N6m91
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4wuCKbpgO
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.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkpslYLfMU
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡINGAAvHmCT
'Good. I'll be done here by midday, come with me this afternoon and show me these quests.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjbidsfM1E
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAsrEnx3ER
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?'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnIOiCB2OX
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrxiJ2xdbX
I caught his – grey – eyes and gave the slightest of nods.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntkbyzcz5j
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zO947iyPa
'Very good sire,' Lord Arval spoke loudly and deferentially. 'As you ask, so it will be.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9HtsCRbDE
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyelaXKuv1T
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIoJJfc45Tv
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGV5fHBlg1
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVqMFr0HYZ
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtv8TX7STx7
'You wanted me to help with quests?'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeqr8yAl2G
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIXZfUxELZ
'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.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DCFsDe6ts
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIadLC2hAJZ
'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.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrmi53zKyx
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDtd3xsuYE
'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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPiqWswINW
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZnorcNZld
'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.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOg8aE6J7X
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCPkgMeipO
'He was a thug, right?'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DgKTLwjMy
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRIjvBe4B1
'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.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOYVq78cam
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSxk2i6MKR
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFnFUrKqO5
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRJXNSmPcJ
'In there is a female baker who needs a large rat killed.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YBlWfzsQj
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5dA9UMMPl
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmN2G7y2Pev
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVlPuUqDvA
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!'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJ3w1EkdH2
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFuoRm2227
'I believe you have a problem with a rat?'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLanEDB9bH
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No one moved or spoke, until the boy dropped his brush and ran. Then the woman did the same.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYXkUxE8Ey
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQfK2pSyi0
'Guards!' yelled Carlena. When two soldiers came running, she instructed them to bring the baker back.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLhIndGvSy
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHmfU2K6mt
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?326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuuFSv5qoe
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhGk2dV7fU
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.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKn8umNRwzX
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClhypPf26O
'You have a task?' I asked.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUVQZ2gPuH
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'But…' she was looking at the floor. 'But… you've already done it.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Vwzw0knkq
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDCaBE0ce5
I shot a glance of alarm at Carlena who remained perfectly impassive. No doubt for the benefit of the guards.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WnYDBSrZf
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'Give it to me again.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAr0Rc5cRe
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAD3WZLd3Sh
'I can't sire, I really can't. Please don't kill me, I have three children.'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTD2e8whRXd
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchOf05E58D
'Just try. Just say the words. I'm sure it will work. Go ahead!'326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFpM53cBAU
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But she couldn't. Her mouth opened and closed without a sound coming out. Tears ran down her face.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRb0P64Xlxz
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NrD9Nzt0I
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.
