Wish you were closer, RugBug, planks are a shortage in my neighborhood. But I am getting the hang of buying and trading to keep stock level high enough. Khebeln has been pointing me in the right direction lately and it's going a lot better with my city. All my goods are 241% boosted at last and I am proud to say I win many more battles of late, so I can save some on my goods. It took plenty reading to understand th battle thing, but it was worth it. Khebeln also recommends that you trade when you can't fight, and THAT to me was the key. I will try and see where you are on the map, maybe we are lucky and we are getting close.
(crossed fingers) (in my culture that means you are blessing your hopes