Inherited turn (1760 AD): The Emperor was woken at 3 am, shaken by a terrified aide.
Hannibals gruff voice filled the room as he demanded "What is it?" His hands rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He strained to get the trembling man's face into focus while he waited for a response.
"Sire!" the shaking servant was finally able to exclaim. "An emissary from Rome has arrived at the palace gates just moments ago. He claims the unified Russian devils have captured Antium and are reinforcing it with a large army!" The servant's eyes widened as he watched Hannibal reach for the dagger lying on the small chest beside the bed. "I was right to dread bringing him this news," was the thought on his mind as the blade plunged into his chest.
The gurgled gasp that escaped the dying servant's lips caused a stirring in one of the concubines lying beside him but the young girl did not awake. Hannibal laid back on the bed to draw the girls closer to him. Laying here in warmth, the walls of his palace at Utica somehow didnt give him the usual sense of security that they once did. As he began to use an ostrich feather to tease his sleeping companions to awareness, he thought to himself: "Damn. There goes the neighborhood."
--------- (doncha hate it when old men repeat their jokes?)
I didn't see anything to change during my obligatory micro-managing tour. Kudos to pholkhero on finding a good blend between hammers and commerce.
IBT: A barbarian spearman approached Athens from the west. Its amazing how the barbs send spears when youre using chariots for fog busting. Hannibal has 2 Catapults northwest of Antium, one adjacent to the city but theres no road on the tile.
And we probably knew this already before picking up the book:
Ill wait for the movie to come out.
Turn 1 (1166 AD): Moscow constructed a Market, started a catapult(12). Novgorod trained a War Elephant, started a Catapult(5).
Meet our new super-medic:
His friends call him Georgy, but you can call him General Zhukov (War Elephant), Sir!
IBT: A Barbarian Axeman suicided himself on our ghost busting Chariot in the central jungle. Meanwhile, the Barbarian Spear suicided himself on the Axeman I had sent out to welcome him to Athens. A Carthaginian Catapult died storming Antium while the second one moved onto the same tile. Stupid Georgy did the defending and he took moderate injuries. A Roman Horse Archer slipped out of the fog and onto the Cottage north of Antium.
Turn 2 (1172 AD): Georgy is tending to the wounded at Antium but there are no fully healthy defenders to take out the intruders. I picked the healthiest elephant to kill the Horse Archer and then covered him with a 2nd wounded elephant. They were followed by a worker who started roading a defensive network to preserve the land improvements so generously provided by the former tenants. I admit also that I was dangling a little bait in front of the remaining catapult. I wanted to give Georgy a chance to work his healing magic on the garrison inside of the city. Everyone else turtled up for the IBT.
I whipped the Market at Ruffsville for 3 populations (it was still size 7) and Georgy took a Leadership promotion.
Our fogbusting elephant guarding the ruins of Ulundi began a dance with an incoming German Longbowman who had been wisely sticking to covering terrain.
IBT: The gambit worked, sorta:
Hannibals Chariot attacked our wounded elephants killing one of them.
Turn 3 (1178 AD): Yarolavl constructed a Lighthouse. I toyed with the notion of building Chichen Itza there in hopes of growing a Great Prophet. But we could have pumped out 5 triremes by then. So I started a Trireme instead. Bismark had dispatched a trireme from his northern capital, Cologne heading toward our northern port. Ruffsville comleted its Market, started a Barracks(15).
Georgy killed the badly wounded Catapult. I covered him with two other War Elephants.
Turn 4 (1184 AD): Jumbo trained an Archer, started an Axeman(9). Antium came out of revolt and had enough happiness to not need any whipping. Its defensive walls would be done in 9 turns.
This was our first look at Utica.
Its on a hill. Needs a little paint ... a little wall paper ... but its not impossible.
IBT: A Roman Longbowman/Horse Archer team pllaged the pasture west of Antium but the road was left intact.
An English mini-stack bypassed our recon-in-force stack at Utica:
Turn 5 (1190 AD): Novgorod trained a Catapult, started a War Elephant(6). Masihero trained a War Elephant, started an Archer(3).
I sacrificed a Catapult at Utica to bloody the English stack. The escorting Elephant killed one their Catapults. Meanwhile, reinforcements arrived via brand new roads completed by combat engineers. Heres a scene taken after the first round of bloodshed inside Carthage.
Turn 6 (1196 AD): We discovered Metal Casting. I went with this:
...for lots of good reasons, but primarily because I had glimpsed this in the IBT:
Besides the killing of an English Catapult by one of our Elephants, we pretty much turtled-up and healed in a stand-off north of Atrium. Our best odds on the Bezerker was 80% by our Combat II/Shock Elephant and I didnt risk it. This force was in Indian territory where things turn ugly real fast. So we killed the Cat instead. Yeah, when things look bad, just kick the cat.
IBT: 
Wouldnt you think I would cover combat engineers working 2 tiles away from an enemy horse archer? But NOOOOOOOOooooooo! We lost 3 workers just outside Antiums northwest border to an English Horse Archer. A Roman Horse Archer landed on the pigs west of Antium. The Vikings disappeared back into the fog.
Turn 7 (1202 AD): Both Horse Archer intruders were dispatched, one by Georgy who grew his experience to 30/37. At that point we were
Turn 8 (1208 AD): Masihero trained an Archer, started a Forge(12).
I moved another stack into Carthage to link up with the recon force.
Turn 9 (1214 AD): I whipped the Market at Athens for 2 population (it was at size 6). Itll grow back to size 5 in 2 turns.
Turn 10 (1220 AD): Moscow trained a Catapult, started a Forge(20). Athens constructed a Market, started a Galley(10). We need to ferry workers across the channel at Athens to build sugar plantations.
Our forces began the bombardment of Utica. Itll fall in a few turns. Dont let that escorted Settler from Carthage get to Pig hill near the ruins of Ulundi.
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His lovemaking was interrupted by the sounds of massive stones slamming into his palace walls. As a frightened servant burst into the room, Hannibal sighed and reached for his dagger ...
Here's The Save:
Queen_Mother_AD-1220.CivWarlordsSave Have fun!
Nooooooo! Alas, poor Gus. I knew him, Frankcor.
), or otherwise tomorrow.
