550 (0): A Zulu swordsman dies attacking Ergili (1-0).
We get a palace expansion.
530 (1): I merge a worker into River Hills, as suggested.
We dispose of the Impi landed near Tyre (2-0).
I turn off research on Horseback Riding. I'll re-start it in the unlikely event that we don't get the Great Library.
We defeat an Impi and a Zulu warrior near Ergili, and a Dutch archer outside Samaria (5-0).
We refuse a Zulu request for an audience.
Samaria walls --> barracks.
The Celts found Curovernum in the hills west of Samaria. We should be able to raze it soon.
510 (2): On the Ergili-Samaria front we destroy two Impis and a Dutch warrior (8-0).
We narrowly defeat one Celtic spearman in Curovernum, but the town is still garrisoned (9-0).
490 (3): We raze Umtata (north of the ivory), held by two Impis, and gain a worker (11-0).
We defeat the final spearman in Curovernum and auto-raze the town, destroying a galley in port, but we lose an Immortal (13-1).
On the Ergili-Samaria front we overrun an Impi and a Zulu AC (15-1).
The Dutch are building Knights Templar.
470 (4): OK, the direct route it is, and damn the torpedoes (well, Ottomans
).
We trample a Zulu Impi/settler team near the ruins of Umtata (16-1). Our eastern army is herding five slaves now.
We cut down two Zulu archers and an Impi around Ergili (19-1).
450 (5): We overrun an Impi, a Zulu swordsman, and a Zulu archer on the approach to Isandhlwana (22-1).
We destroy a Dutch archer outside Samaria (23-1).
A Dutch archer surprises me by attacking an Immortal while depleted, but fails (24-1).
We complete the Great Library, seemingly by a safe margin.
I produce a settler out of Arbela, since the town's food box is almost full (at size six) and we're essentially getting it for one pop point.
430 (6): We lose an Immortal attacking a Dutch spear/settler team (24-2).
We raze Isandhlwana, held by two Impis, and gain two workers (26-2).
We spot an Ottoman spear/settler team, which would obviously have brought us into contact with them regardless of the direction of our advance, and declare war. They've got thirteen cities.
We hunt down an Impi between Samaria and Hamadan, and a Zulu archer in the northeastern wilderness (28-2).
The GL gives us all the remaining AA techs, and also Monotheism. We get Feudalism as our free mediaeval tech.
Gordium builds our first galley.
410 (7): We destroy an Impi and a Zulu archer near Ergili (30-2).
390 (8): We found Isfahan next to the ivory tile.
Assuming the Zulus are our first priority, I'm not sure where to send our armies. There's only one short stretch of black border showing, to the northeast, and it might well belong to a useless hill town. Most Zulu units--including their AC, which we know are coming from Zimbabwe--seem to be approaching from directly north, implying that the Zulu core is behind a band of Ottoman territory. What makes this decision more difficult is that we appear to be in a valley entirely surrounded by hills and mountains, so wherever we direct our armies, they'll move slowly. In the end, I move our fully healed army towards the north. It defeats a Dutch spearman and a Dutch swordsman on the way (32-2).
We defeat a Zulu swordsman outside Ergili, and another two to the northeast (35-2).
370 (9): Dealing with a Dutch MDI landed in the hills next to Tyre (though mountains were available
) costs us an Immortal (36-3).
We push a little farther north with our army, establishing that the Zulus are indeed behind the Ottomans and destroying two Ottoman units (warrior and archer) on the way (38-3). The ring of hills and mountains around our valley seems to be at least four squares thick.
350 (10): A seemingly well-prepared attack against Dutch Middelburg (three cats managing two hits) fails, one Immortal succeeding against a spearman but another losing, leaving at least a spearman and an archer in the town (39-4). Elsewhere in the region we defeat a Dutch archer (40-4).
Our workers hook up Isfahan's ivory.
In confused fighting north of Ergili we destroy a Zulu AC, a Zulu swordsman, two Dutch swordsmen, and a Dutch archer (45-4).
Nine elite victories this round didn't produce a Great Leader.
Great kill ratio and a wonderful write up.
