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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MOFiHpwng
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmc8bfNIal
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'Wha'?' I wheezed out.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHtrGuduUg
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqQNHkB556
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVigrekiAs
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I wasn't really hungry just now, my body was too stressed, but no doubt my appetite would revive later.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IiGtsrDyM
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'Ahh…'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkVkj3bCv8
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'What?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbZ1OYdKpf
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'Chef won't be pleased.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5pP9Eo5aH
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSG1eVjcXnk
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fAVm3abHc
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8KlWVlw3k
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'King Carlos?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4WKZOUww5
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Either I looked dumb, having forgotten my name here, or else the new arrival was dismayed by my appearance.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcoaEC09Mj
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'King Carlos?' he tried again.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2pJm3yCHv
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'Yes?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAN9jbWxNVs
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7H45c6BbZ
452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAbO28aZtR
'Lord Oseso, ambassador to his majesty King Wace of Southway.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GWHQWFKVy
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiKwmX6fBm
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A crowd was gathering as soldiers and civilians moved closer to hear the ambassador's words.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaoRXvFITYB
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'Perhaps we can take some refreshment in private?' Lord Oseso suggested.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzt7QN6PsV
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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?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKIEXWPIQD
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'Are you sure?' There was a knowing sneer in his gaze, inviting some kind of complicity from me.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQHgiILm6k
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'Get on with it. I'm busy.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMEr8TLnBf
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLyYqNMq23
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRc8dypEX7
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fsg3WpFm5
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Lord Oseso shook his head. 'Careful what you say next, this offer won't come again.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XVH3doi2l
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIgQXY7xCp
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriMAiZ4HtS
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxlmpp3vR8
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xvGKCPPaC
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'Blindfold him and lead his horse. Don't let him look around as he leaves.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwEJB18aSO
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'Yes sir.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUdFzMuld5
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRuslDY1Xl
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdM2TjOm6u
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'Now, Carradock. I was on lap forty-four, was I not?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcZQ32YjKn
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'Forty-three sire.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYtmkGeoC5
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'Damn pedant.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9YBBZrEBI
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbGhF6qewC
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It was the military menu that got me thinking again.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSQmSkhWZ0
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Military452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYaHpsFpKe
Light infantry: 32452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILWVoCUHpI
Heavy infantry: 12452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKM8vQOLYT
Archers: 18452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XVF98ne2h
Light cavalry: 24452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pu7F0nfEe
Heavy cavalry: 4452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeU6Ut2BHQa
Ballista: 1452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4tAPlevY1
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Hospital: 17452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwWAWMNE8p
Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwgIYcZnfe
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Currently training: 1 heavy cavalry452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FwDH2ql1W
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8stuIKjkF
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbx285MNB3
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXQbhIBBuU
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Shipbuilding452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEt9FqymORQ
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Unknown.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Sh2x8x5hv
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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMJlPD0OkB
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'Sire?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RJAIQ6XAo
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'Get the Chief Carpenter for me.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyOaolUd0w
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'Yes, sire.' The lad got up without any urgency and strolled down a shadow-filled street.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZ4UrMqR26
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkXss75qqQ
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'Walk with me,' I grunted.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAl7goTlsg
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'Sire.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTbjKrld9f
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'Can you make us a trading ship?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBO8hrfEa3
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The question came as a surprise but he took it well, hardly faltering in his step. 'No sire.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfEpkUYNqb
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'What if I researched Shipbuilding One?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCY9o69q9u
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJj2kisJPo
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'And I can then assign someone to it?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCqLNu509u
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'If it becomes an option sire.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeMZmK9l6a
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'Would you like to do it?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqOmNomQJB
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'Me? It's up to you sire.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Nvtrdk3e8
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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?452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4YZZC9Cnu
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQpjO95kgb
452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSF6ntlDNGR
'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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEONYEmm2VL
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'Thank you sire.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sqqA1un4n
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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?'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiksFeD0Opv
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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.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0NU9yFVQq
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAQ08Oh7Vh
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Forty-seven.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTR05DQGAp
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Forty-eight.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDzronSC7z
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Forty-nine.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBJhUjI22b
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Fifty.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWiGfCUaNW
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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.452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGfJBsESBg
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'Well done Sire.'452Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mpJcVhb5p
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That acknowledgement lifted me all the way back to the keep.
and then Add to home screen.