[SPOILER] Victoria of Babylon - Greens - seifer_md

[seifer_md]

Turn 31. I'll probably end up jinxing us, but everyone is doing really well to play their turns on time and we're getting through one a day now! Maybe it could be due to having little to do in-game lately as this was another mostly uneventful turn.

EDIT:

Just wanting to let the greens know that I might have MAJOR problems, I think the graphics card has blown in my PC, with great effort I can just about get my pc to turn on but even thats not guaranteed, took me well over 30 minutes just to get it to boot this morning.

~Whoops!





Here's a nice shot of my territory. In terms of population and cities I'm back up with the pack now. Pottery comes in next turn and I'll have my third worker out too. I don't know how many other teams would have 3 workers by now, probably not many.

Someone will be quite relieved this turn as our first religion falls. It is difficult to say for sure who got Hinduism but it was between Kyan and Strike since it appears they both got tech points this turn. I'm leaning towards Strike though (just from looking at the gaps between tech discoveries).

Cull also adopted Bronze Working last turn as I thought he may. I'll expect to see some whipping from him soon. Cull was also nice enough to provide me with some demographics as my EP points against him finally hit that threshold.





Cull and Malakai are the leaders in Soldier points for my rivals. Since I have 10K more than anyone I shouldn't look like an easy target despite both my cities being undefended. I'll have bowmen sitting in both cities in the next 5 turns. I'll also put up some granaries next so I can start making use of the whip. EPs will now be shifted to Jowy, but he'll be a tougher one to crack since I'm the only one he's met so far and he already has several turns worth of spending against me.

[seifer_md]

Turn 32. Pottery came in this turn and research goes into Writing (4t). Vault 13 also finishes it's worker and starts on a granary.





My newest recruit, Tom Haverford, begins his long and poorly acknowledged career by putting up a cottage east of the capital. Additionally Leslie Knope stops roading the horse to put down a cottage for Shady Sands to grow onto. Leslie was roading the horse because I'll need to connect the corn by road eventually, and she didn't have anything else too useful to be doing anyway. Once I have the ability to build libraries she will be chopping away!

[seifer_md]

Turn 33 and a very quick turn.





Shady Sand produces my first Bowman (Storm) which should guarantee it's safety for awhile. My other warriors continue to scout but haven't revealed anything worth mentioning. I'm hoping I'll run into Kyan and Strike soon as well as spot Jowy's capital.

Malakai put down a 3rd city (Machu Picchu) this turn. We agreed to discuss any city planting that would fall between our territories so I'm a little curious where he's putting all these cities... I have a warrior moving towards his land so I guess I'll find out soon enough.

[seifer_md]

Turn 34 and finally some scouting pays off:





Cyclops is making his way along the western edge of the inland sea, and by the looks of it, was spotted by one of Strike's warriors this turn. I was a little surprised to find Strike before Kyan (since his land is further away) but I'm sure I'll meet the last player I haven't met soon enough. Interestingly Strike named his capital Alpha, but his second city is Beijing.

Also this turn Beast moved such that I gain visibility of Jowy's capital's territory. Within a few turns I'll have seen Anima in the flesh and got a good idea how Jowy must have played his opener. I'll send a hello message to Strike later when I get a chance but that's all for now.

[seifer_md]

Turn 35. It's sure been awhile since I last posted or played a turn. If it wasn't for an excessive number of soccer games for me to watch, I may have been slightly annoyed.





This turn we have some exciting information coming from abroad. Firstly, Stonehenge has been completed. I had no intentions of going after this wonder since I though those with Mysticism would already have a leg up on me. The top 5 cities screen identified the builder as Strike. I wonder whether Strike was alone in chasing this wonder?

Secondly, our second religion was also founded, but this was actually last turn. That means is was either founded by Jowy or Cull as they play after me. Since Jowy was the only one of the two with a score increase I'll place the religion under his doings. Since he is my direct neighbour I might bring up the idea of religion spreading soon.





In domestic news Shady Sands grew to size 2 this turn. I had 3 choices for the new tile to be worked depending on how much I wanted to emphasise growth or production. In the end I chose the middle option (spice tile) since the extra hammer will help get the library out sooner without affecting growth. I lose out on the cottage's commerce here but hopefully with the library's bonus to science and my borders expanding sooner I'll come out on top. =) Writing completes next turn and both my cities will begin on their libraries. Vault 13 will finish a bowman this turn for a much needed military presence before this however.

I am towards the bottom of the score pack but things are looking alright to me. I received an email from Jowy the other day before I played my turn:

Hey Seifer,

I'm back from England so the game continues I noticed your scouting warrior reaching my borders. Good job! I'm not sure if it's visible yet, so thought I'd let you know that I have a worker 2S-1W of your warriors location. I'd have no chance but to take it as a sign of hostility if you were to approach any closer to this said worker. I'm aware of our NAP, but one can never be too careful with this kind of stuff

~ Jowy

Jowy is obviously just trying to play things cautiously here, but as far as I'm concerned our NAP actually means something. I'll try to reassure him:

Hi Jowy,

Welcome back and I hope you had a good trip away. Thank you for voicing your concerns regarding your worker. I understand there is no in-game mechanic preventing me from stealing your worker, however the NAP agreement we have in order I take very seriously in this case. The main reason for this NAP I figured was not because we were afraid of sending armies at each other (a tad early for that), but rather to prevent any temptation to steal workers. Again I can only give you my word, but I would like you to know I honour our agreement and while it is in place I wish you could rest assured that I would not consider performing such an act. That said, I have moved my warrior away from the position of your worker.

The next thing I would like to discuss is the terms of our Open Borders. As you are almost upon my borders as well, I wanted to know if we were going to include scouting each other's land in this agreement, or whether it was purely for trade route bonuses further down the road. I am happy either way but I wanted us to have a solid understand of what is acceptable so that no lines are crossed and people offended.

Lastly I would like to congratulate you on landing Buddhism. Perhaps further down the line we can discuss spreading your religion through my lands - I'm sure this would be mutually beneficial. In case you weren't already aware, Kyan was the discoverer of Hinduism and as of this turn Strike has built Stonehenge. Look forward to hearing from you,

seifer_md
Babylonian Empire

Hope that helps him feel a little better about the situation as well as making him feel majorly guilty if he were to try steal one of my workers instead. I'll need to sort out the scouting clause to our Open Borders agreement but that should be wrapped up shortly. Finally a little hello message to Strike since he hasn't contacted me yet (despite him initiating contact):

Greetings Strike of China!

As of Turn 34 our warriors have bumped into one another which now opens the door to diplomacy between our people. While it appears there are civilisations between us that separate our lands, we look forward to peace and prosperity in the future we share together. If you would like to discuss NAP deals or anything else, please do not hesitate. Other than that, congratulations on finishing Stonehenge and all the best in the future!

seifer_md
Babylonian Empire

That'll do for this turn. Hopefully I'll have replies to follow next time. =)

[seifer_md]

Turn 36 and 37. Well it looks like we're back up and running again. It almost felt surreal playing two turns in under 24 hours but let's hope this is a sign of things to come.





The biggest news for the last two turns was the discovery of Writing. This turn production was changed in both Vault 13 and Shady Sands to begin some much need libraries. I next set our research focus on Mysticism. With a 3rd settler not far off now I've been thinking about some of my options, and at this point I'm leaning towards settling a site near the stone, sheep and furs. The happiness from the furs (followed by silver after borders pop) is in much need if I hope to increase my capital's population above 5. Also the stone opens up some wonder building avenues. Stonehenge is gone, but there still is the Pyramids and Hanging Gardens which aren't far out of reach tech-wise. I realise the Pyramids are a very expensive wonder, but it would allow me to convert to Representation for those extra beakers from specialists. Anything to improve my research rate in this no tech trading game would surely be twice as useful. Additionally the Pyramids also could supply me with a Great Engineer later down the track (probably at least 20 turns, and more if I want a guaranteed engineer). Ideally this GE would help me snag the Great Library as well but I don't think that wonder will be around for long enough to achieve this. My main concern is that Strike built Stonehenge very quickly, and after scouting Jowy's capital and finding marble there, I do risk a bit of competition for the wonder. That said, Strike can't just go building every stone wonder available otherwise he's going to fall behind in expansion and worker production. Ultimately I think I will intend to go down this path but I'll see how things look after I've settled that third city and have stone hooked up.

Strike adopts Slavery on Turn 36 and Beast begins to scout Jowy's territory.





Jowy moved his settler on Turn 0 to get to this site so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. An irrigated corn, sheep and river, together with a few plains hills thrown in make a pretty nice site for a capital. Also throw in some marble and I can see why he was attracted to this spot. There probably are some other resources out of view too. With marble hooked up I have no doubts that Jowy is after the Oracle and I don't see any good reason why he shouldn't get it. There's also the Great Library there for him too. Jowy's done quite well here even though he's overlooked expansion and trying to meet the other players. I still remain the only one he has met and I received this message from him:

Hey Seifer,

First off, sorry for taking quite a while to answer. When the game's on pause, I like to simply take it off my mind completely. That way I get less irritated with it Anyway, you can trust me to be fast and reliable on diplomacy when something urgent comes up.

Thanks for avoiding my worker. I hope you didn't take it personally, it's just part of my playstyle to cover all my bases. As a sign of good will and trust, I'm willing to agree to let eachother scout our lands in peace if you wish so. This valuable information would of course be kept confidential between us

Thank you for the congratulations! Buddhism wasn't my priority, but I thought I might as well grab it since it was still unfounded. It's quite fitting actually since I, too, am fat, golden, shiny and always just sitting on my ass in front of a computer screen. Anyways, I'll have my slaves spread it over there after I've done some must needed early expansion.

I knew of Hinduism, but must have missed Stonehenge being built. Very interesting decision from Strike.. You'd think he feared competition since my unique building is a monument. Perhaps it's worth speculating that he might have stone available.

I have a humble request to make. Since you've already met some other teams, would you be interested in letting me know a little on their diplomacy and especially the tone of it? It'd help me see the big picture better as I meet them. However, I don't really have anything to offer back for that information since I haven't met the others yet. All I can offer is my gratitude. Anyway, it's not a big deal and NP if you don't feel like sharing

~ Jowy

Nothing too exciting, just Jowy giving me the go-ahead to begin scouting his land.

Dear Jowy,

Consider the Babylonian Empire in agreement in the clause to scout each other's territory for personal benefit only. I will reiterate that my warrior is purely scouting and not in the mind to commit any funny business.

As for diplomacy amongst those I have met, it is still early days, and as such there is little more than a friendly tone between everyone. That said, you have been by far the most welcoming to us, and I hope a strong positive relationship will continue to grow between our two civilisations. If there is anything else on your mind please let me know, otherwise until next time!

seifer_md
Babylonian Empire

Ok I might have exaggerated a little there but I thought it would do good towards our relationship, and make it seem that if a choice needed to be made, we would be the easier neighbour to side with. Interestingly I still haven't heard from Strike but that can wait until next time.

[seifer_md]

Turn 38. With the exception of discovering Mysticism, nothing really happened this turn. I chose to pursue Mathematics next since this puts me in the direction of a few things I would like. Aside from forest chops yielding more and being able to construct the Hanging Gardens, it also pushes me towards Construction (catapults and my UB, Gardens). Masonry only takes two turns to put away so I can swap to that anytime.





My workers complete the road joining Vault 13 to Shady Sands which would allow me to shuffle units much quicker between the two. I now have to start thinking about connecting up the food resources that are going to become available once Shady Sands pops it's borders. I will also think about improving the efficiency of getting my 3rd city site up and running. Fortunately I have three workers out so this is somewhat manageable. =)

Now that I have seen Jowy's capital I can do some extra C&D work and get a better understanding of his production. God bless T-Hawk and the others (MH?) that provided us with some of the mechanisms behind the espionage system. All you have to do is sub-in for T-Hawk's convenient equations (http://apolyton.net/forums/showpost.php?...tcount=200) and I've pinned Jowy's capital for having 63 hammers stocked up last turn, and an undefinable amount this turn. Despite Jowy already mentioning he needed to focus on some much needed expansion (he still only has one city), I'm going to put this down as him building a settler (65 hammers).

Lastly I just wanted to include Jowy's response to my last email which, on the whole, was pretty positive. =)

Hey Seifer,

I'm glad but sorry to hear that you haven't clicked as well with your other contacts. Might be just beginner's anxiety from their part since this is the first RB game for some players. Anyways, if things start getting unfriendly around there, I got your back.

Not much news to discuss, but I'll get back to you when something comes up. Hopefully we'll get some smooth turns in now that Kyan and Cull are back in business.

~ Jowy

Just about what I wanted to hear from him. I also sent that follow up message to Strike. Expect to hear more from me next turn!

[seifer_md]

Turn 39.





I'm officially the first player to have met everyone else! Not that it's some in-game achievement like Magellan's... To me, it wasn't exactly difficult bumping into all the other players. I know I had a pretty heavy warrior production start but I'm still a little surprised most of the other players haven't been anywhere near as explorative *looks at Jowy*. I realise it wasn't a priority for most players (not that it was high on my list either) but I guess I should try and use this to an advantage, so I'll have a think how it might aid me.





Kyan was the last to be found after Cyclops uncovered his borders. Mercenary hey? Does that mean I pay them to fight for me? Kyan is also quite the city boomer with 4 cities established already! I get the Marshall and Twinkletoes reference, but Orennai? Probably just easier to ask him, so I'll send my usual greetings message.





Just confirmation that Jowy did in fact produce a settler. He's moving it with a warrior escort (probably because my warrior is right there too), so I'll see if I can follow and watch where he plants it. He's currently heading southwest towards a horse resource (would open war chariots for him) and some rivers, and also in the general direction of Strike. I'm starting to think that Strike might find himself getting a tad squished from either side (what with Kyan planting 4 cities and all). I wonder if Strike will be forced to declare war on one of his neighbours in the not-too-distant future? One can only hope. =)

[seifer_md]

Turn 40 and 41. That's right folks, TWO turns in short succession! And things are starting to get a LITTLE bit more interesting...





My capital finished the library on Turn 40 and now begins on that 3rd settler. I just realised this turn that I wasn't working the optimal tile arrangement to get the most out of my imperialistic settlers but that's sorted now (if I fall one hammer short on something in the future, remind me to hit myself). The library itself increased my research from 19 to 23 beakers. It doesn't sound like much but that's a 20% increase to me. =)

I finally heard back from Strike (I guess with the temporary delay he lost track of our contact) and Jowy converted to Buddhism, but by far the most exciting news of the past two turns came from an email I received from Malakai.

Hi Seifer, I hope you are well

I know this is our first communication in some time, but I bring to you matters of grave importance.

As you know we previously agreed that we would let each other know before founding any cities in each others direction, and in keeping with this agreements and the good nature of our relationship, all my cities have so far been to the west of my capital in culls direction, however from the information given to me by Cull re distances between us, they have all been on my half of the land between him and me.

Cull has just founded a city merely 2 squares from the cultural border of my 3rd city (which was founded a good number of turns ago), this is obviously in an attempt to steal resources from me and/or to try and absorb my city through culture. The location he has given it means its first ring is the second ring of my city, and its second ring is the FIRST ring of my city.

This is an act of war and therefore breaches the non agression pact I had previously made with him and I am therefore going to be going to war with Cull, his town is currently undefended and I currently have three military units within my third city, I therefore feel that my first victory against Cull will be a swift one.

As previously agreed I am putting all my espionage points against Cull and have been for some time, and demographics for Cull became available a couple turns ago, from these I can clearly see that both you and I are superior to him on every single thing shown on the graphs including power.

Just so your aware one of his warriors is currently between my capital and yours (i have been tracking it as it moved along the southern border of my culture and only last turn did it move into the mists between us), although from what you have told me he has made contact with many of the others on the map therefore I feel it is likely that he sent troops far and wide from his lands and if this is the case it is possible that this is the ONLY warrior close to my lands currently.

It would be seen as an act of goodwill between our nations if you could deal with this warrior if you happen across him or if he ventures to close to your own lands or troops, either way I will soon crushed him and deal with his troops if you are unable to provide this assistance. (Let me know either way).

I do not know what your current relations are with Cull, but as you know the loss of even one of his cities at this early a stage will be devestating to any plans he has and will dramatically stunt his growth, if I can secure a complete victory against him, this will mean less competition for us at the top of the map and keep our enemies far from us indeed.

Of course I request that you keep all communications about this matter between us and if you do recieve any relevant communications from your other contacts I request that you pass these onto me.

As always I remain your closest ally and neighbour.

Kind Regards

Lord Malakai the 1st

Well that pretty much came out of nowhere! I would prefer to know the whole story before I jumped to any conclusions, but having already explored a great deal of the map I know there really isn't too much room between each player from an east to west perspective. I get the impression Malakai doesn't realise this, and although I'm yet to see where he put his two cities, I wouldn't be surprised if he was encroaching on what Cull considers his rightful land. Malakai seemed pretty quick to draw his sword here, but I guess he sees an opportunity to take advantage of Cull's aggressive decision.

Let's be honest, a war between these two is certainly a good thing for me. I think Cull has played MP Civ to reasonable level before, so I doubt he'll be by any means a pushover. Without hopefully committing to this war I'll do my best to prop Malakai up since he's been a nice guy to me so far this game. Now, to craft a response.

Dear Malakai,

It was good to hear from you again, but a pity it is under such poor circumstances. The first thing I would like to do is ensure you that you have an ally in us and any endeavours you choose to pursue, you have our backing. Settling a city so close to an already established city is definitely an act of aggression. It is particularly risky since it would be difficult for him to defend. However if you say that this site is currently undefended, and looking at his demographics we can see he is no military monster, perhaps you are right in saying now is the best opportunity to strike back. I don't know if Cull was under the impression that our relative 'green-ness' would mean that such a city plant would not lead to war, but obviously any degree of surprise would certainly aid you here. As you requested we are intent on sharing any relevant information we can with you, and with two warriors currently moving back towards your territory, we will be keeping an eye out for his wandering scout. Best wishes and do keep us informed of both updates and anything we might be able to do to assist.

Kind regards,

seifer_md
Babylonian Empire

P.S: We have scouted a fair bit of the land between Cull and yourself. To give us a better understanding of the situation, can you describe where your cities (and Cull's) are located relative to resources on the map?

I hope that was neither too pushy or too committal. Next up we heard from Kyan:

Greetings,

Welcome to the mighty Mercenary Empire. I hope you find your trip pleasant. I was unable to locate the correct diplomatic channels to contact yourself so i hope, for now this will suffice.

If you could enlighten me as to where i can send my messengers for future reference, this would be most appreciated. (your email pal. Mine is kyanrbpb3@gmail.com).

I have contact with a couple of other civilizations already but i have been informed of your impending arrival and i am glad to find you well. My contacts thus far are with the Chinese and the Ottomans. Both of which you have met.

If there is anything i can do to assist you, please don't hesitate to ask. Maybe directions? Unfortunately, the land under my dominion appears to be expanding fairly rapidly so i am happy to provide you with the best course around. Perhaps you would like directions towards the Chinese?

Yours,

Kyan

Kyan and I are diagonally opposite each other with at least two other Civs, or a huge body of water between us. I don't see much hostility between us for quite some time if at all. He'll likely have good information about Cull and Strike so through being friendly with Kyan I'll see what I can get.

Dear Kyan,

Thanks for getting in contact with us. I meant to email you first but just didn't find the time since I've been busy recently. Greetings to the Mercenary Empire! I have to say I quite liked the naming of your cities and commend you for managing to get four down already! With the cultural trait as well, you're going to be quite a pain in the butt for your neighbours I can tell. =D

Speaking of neighbours, how are your relations there? I have met everybody in this game already, and with the exception of just meeting you, Cull and Strike have been somewhat quiet and elusive. Thanks for the offer to guide my scouting too! At this stage I'm just wandering around a bit. As my warrior does move around I guess I'll soon get a better idea of your impressive expansion. I'll just let you know that our civilisation has worked out the deal with Writing so Open Borders are an option (particularly for those foreign trade routes down the road) and I would be only too happy to discuss NAPs and the like with you if you wish. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,

seifer_md
Babylonian Empire

Well I guess we'll wait for some replies. =)

[seifer_md]

Turn 42. Things are starting to heat up. It was a pretty quiet turn for me, but not for others. =)





It's official. This turn Malakai declared war on Cull. I'm glad he didn't reconsider and I think a bit of that had to do with all the emails floating around. I woke up this morning and I had three from Malakai alone! He wrote a fair bit so I'll try and summarise the content.

Similar to myself and Malakai, those two had talked about a border agreement for settling their most forward cities. However Malakai has done no exploring what-so-ever, and with the need to expand, he has placed two cities in Cull's general direction with zero idea of their position globally (the last being right on the halfway point between the two, based on my explorations so far). So Malakai is claiming that his city is technically on his 'half' and that any disagreement is the fault of Cull for not providing a map or detailed explanation of where each could settle. It's kind of playing the ignorance card here, and Cull sure has reacted to it. =)





This is the image emailed to me by Malakai, and it shows Cull's city planted right up against Machu Picchu. There is no questioning Cull's intentions here since my knowledge indicates no other resources in the BFC other than those clams and potentially gold if Cull was somehow able to prise it away. The city was also placed on a hill behind a river for as much defensive cover as Cull could get his hands on. For me this seems like a poor decision since the city is by no means great, and it can only lead to terrible relations with Malakai. So unsurprisingly this has led to war. From this screenshot we can also see two Quechuas, and another soon to follow, heading in the direction of the currently undefended Ankara.

Here was the last message to come from Malakai:

Heya mate just to let you know me and cull have been exchanging messages this morning, initially he was begging me for peace (he has already indicated his city is completely undefended and i get the impression he has no troops to back it up in the vacinity...he is begging as he does not want to lose his work on the settler)....

I have said to him once i have raised his city to the ground, I am willing to discuss peace...his reply was that he is whipping out axemen and more or less if you want a war you have got it, so I expecting axemen to be at my doorstep soon after I destroy his city, a strange move at this stage of the game as archers beat axemen? (makes me wonder if he thinks I have not got archers?, which is another mistake of his, as I have one which has been on its way to that third city for some time and will be arriving very soon). I will be installing archers in all of my cities and we shall see what his little gambit will bring.

(keep it under your hat that I have archers, I am curious to see what he can do with his little axemen)

Also by whipping out these axemen he is effectively destroying his own economy, so this will stunt his growth quite considerably.

So it sounds like a war of spite is what we're going to get. Both sides have already begun the whipping (Mal 3 pop, Cull 2 pop) but it will likely be days before any real blood is spilt. Other than the fact that Ankara was a silly move, I don't think Cull is making a very good decision here. If I found myself in his position I would likely concede Ankara and look to expand elsewhere rather than fight.

The nice thing about the above picture from Malakai is that it also provides me with a lot of information about his Civ (more than he probably intended). I know his research rate is significantly inferior and he's going after Fishing which seems like a strange move to say the least. I can also see where his other cities are located (on the mini map) and just how little exploring he has done.

I heard back from Kyan also, he seems to really be playing a character here =)

Dear Seifer,

It is quite alright. Time is one resource that even the Mercenaries hold no sway over. Perhaps i should introduce us more appropriately:

I am Kyan, current leader of Bregan D'aerthe. I am the most loyal ally you could ever hope to find, provided you are giving the biggest incentive to be so. Fortunately, due to our proximity for one another, i see no reason for conflict between us and maybe some sharing of information could be mutually beneficial. Please note, such an arrangement would NOT be usual trading practice for the Mercenaries but your gain is not necessarily my loss. Therefore i would be open to such ideas.

I would be happy to write up confidential information dossiers of my two neighbours and provide these free of charge. I would treat a breaking of this confidentiality very unfavourably so if you are not comfortable with such an arrangement, that is understandable. I will tell you this now though, you are correct in your observation that neither Cull or Strike are particularly communicative.

I don't view this as a negative trait though. In fact, quite the opposite, it helps prevent any personal ties later on when the Mercenaries run out of expansion room. Judging by the current plans set forth by our economic specialists, we deem this to certainly be in the foreseeable future. In time, perhaps our civs could develop bonds that transcend above simple paid contracts, perhaps friendship could emerge. Perhaps. It is likely too early for such specualtive suggestions but floating the idea cannot hurt.

You have met all other civilisations? That is impressive. Your scouting network appears to be significantly more advanced than my own. I acknowledge and appreciate the compliment regarding Mercenary expansion. The slave races have mostly been responsible for this but then, they would never have come up with the idea if i hadn't told them and dished out a few whippings. Whips are certainly fun, aren't they?

Open Borders are definitely something for us to look at in the future and i can see such a deal becoming a given state for us. However, for now, i am disinclined to acquiesce to your request. A non-aggression pact does not currently interest me although i would point to the distance between us as a sign that one is not needed. Whilst you will be skirting around my territory, i hold no fear that you would be silly enough to consider an offensive maneuver.

Kyan
Bregan D'aerthe

I'm not too sure what he means by supplying dossiers of his neighbours for free, but he certainly wasn't interested in any of the more traditional agreements. At least for awhile I can't see our relationship being any more than neutral since we'll have very little to do with each other.

Lastly, I better send a response to Malakai since he has been so communicative of late.

Hi Malakai,

It's good to see that you are the one really holding the reins in this war. Ok it hasn't really started yet, but Cull isn't looking too much of a threat right now.

After seeing your image of the situation, Ankara to me seems like a serious error on Cull's behalf. I have explored that area and there is literally no other resource for him to gain other than that clams, and it would be next to impossible for him to steal away that gold from you. As you mentioned, Macchu Picchu is directly on the halfway point between your capitals so this is such a silly dispute for Cull to make, and ultimately it has led to him being declared on.

He's going to lose Ankara and then be left with two cities, one more or less undeveloped (3 pop). Last turn he whipped his capital 2 pop to size 4 (maybe to produce an axeman) and he will have stunted his growth and production capabilities in the hope of achieving the impossible. He certainly is at your mercy. Assuming he is even able to get an army of axemen, archers or promoted axemen are likely your best bet (don't know if you have horses). Axeman obviously lose their bonus against non-melee units but they still are a stronger unit than archers (5v3). With the appropriate promotions and being placed in a city on a hill however, my guess is they will hold up. Cull might realise this and turn to pillaging your land instead, so keep this in mind too.

Ultimately I think you are in no dire situation and Cull's fate is currently in your hands. I'm almost envious of you! =D

Good luck!

seifer_md
Babylonian Empire

P.S: There are 14 tile between the third ring on yours' and Cull's capitals. To put it in comparison, there are only 8 tiles between ours (hence why I ran into you so quickly). As always I am intent on discussing any settling between us since it is so cramped, but I'm currently not looking to settle in your direction so you can solely concentrate on your war with Cull instead.

That should boost his ego a little bit!