The room went silent for a few seconds as Elder Kabbo and Chieftain Kung contemplated the situation and the options put forwards to them. They had suspected both would come up, however the offer of joining them had been more generous than they had expected. They weren't loyal to the land they currently lived on, a piece of land that was new to them themselves, whilst the advancements within the Capital of Riverside had shown them some great opportunities to grow their own people.
They were reluctant to change from their nomadic lifestyle, but they had been offered a good level of freedom within it, especially when they had seen how Banas's tribe had merged in to the Kingdom in it's early days and were now one of the main warrior forces. What surprised them even more about Banas and her fellow Horse Archers, was that they were all female and treated equally, something that they themselves did in their tribe. Female's within the San were often Leaders and Elders themselves.
"Both offers include our support against Papaver, as well as the Type 3 Humans that we have spoken about." Subutai stated, ending the silence that had entered the room. Some would see it as a reassuring move, however Dom knew that Subutai had done it as a wider warning of the other hidden dangers that surrounded them.
"A scary thought." Chieftain Kung replied honestly, unlike his fellow tribesmen, he was more well dressed with furs that had been provided through the trades with Liao Hua and his men, making him look an imposing figure in the room.
"Even worse to fight against." Sun Ce agreed from the side, "Fast and fearless, something from the depths of the underworld. An enemy that you can not prepare for."
"We have defeated them multiple times, and we will defeat them again if they so much as appear near our borders." Subutai confirmed, whilst Huang Zhong and Xun You nodded from beside them. The conversations had moved away slightly from the impending decision that had been thrust upon the two San, however the it was a deliberate move by Subutai.
"We can not expect your decision immediately, but within the week we will be planning our borders and our defence lines. It would be good to know if you are within them or if we are stretching them further to support an ally." Shang Yang put forwards to them both, his wording emphasising stretching. Dom knew that he wasn't wrong though, they needed the current Red Hare Valley as a border to the Infinity Plains and could not stretch further south from that with their current forces. The planned expansion was already much larger than what they could both defend and manage.
"We will need to speak with the other Elders and we will come back to you as soon as possible, you have saved our people and treated us well since the beginning. We know that you have given much more than you have received." Elder Kabbo replied, whilst the Chieftain seemed to be looking at the high ceiling above him.
"Do you not get hot in these buildings in the summer?" Chieftain Kung asked, the subject changing and catching most people in the room off guard.
"In Summer, the materials used to build them help cool the inhabitants within them, whilst in the winter the thin layer of insulation keeps the heat inside so that our people do not freeze. Not that we know what the weather will be like here in the winter." Xun Yu explained, "We have Builders and Construction families that bring in the resources we need and construct these buildings based on Lady Hatshepsut and her teams plans. Some are made from the wood of the Red Woods to the south and the Silver Forest to the north, whilst others are made from the stones mined from the Calm River Mountain."
"The summer can become unbearably hot at times, whilst the colder months are normally warm enough, we do occasionally have extremely cold days where we have lost people in the past." Chieftain Kung replied, "How quickly could you have buildings like this built?"
"The Palace is a one of a kind, the home of Lord Lazarus. But the larger Manor's and houses we could have built within a couple of weeks." Lucius added, a smile on his face as he joined in with Xun Yu's conversation. "We could even have some of your people learn from our experts so they can build their own."
"We live off the land, from the animals that we hunt to the large varieties of food that we can gather. We have never farmed before, but it seems to bring in a much more stable source of food." Chieftain Kung asked, moving on to something else in his mind, whilst Elder Kabbo sat silently beside him as he watched a different side of his Warrior Chieftain.
"The Infinity Plains is very fertile, it will take us many years to fully grow it in to a fully functional part of a Kingdom. There is a lot of opportunity for different crops, as well as live stock such as sheep and oxen." Lucius explained, "If you manage your hunts effectively, there should be enough wild life to not lose that part of your culture whilst you look at other ways of acquiring food."
"And what of us? Centurion Banas is no longer the leader of her people. She is a Warrior who leads from the front, but her people have lost some of their identity." Chieftain Kung put forwards, whilst politely nodding his head at the Centurion to show he meant no offence with his words.
"Their Warriors are still warriors, their other tribesmen are either involved with our Horses or our Live stock. Our head Shepherd is Zanug, a relative of Banas who is in a very important role within our Farming District." Lucius replied politely, "Those that wished to do new things have moved on to that, but they continue to have their own identity within our Kingdom."
"Our people are proud, our lives are different here than they were elsewhere, we have adapted and become a key part of something much bigger." Centurion Banas explained honestly, "My Warriors are one of the most important parts of our forces."
"The most important part." Subutai countered, "Every unit has it's strength and purpose, our Horse Archers are an elite unit that can dominate any battlefield. Their only weakness is against walls."
"And my Warriors?" Chieftain Kung asked seriously, a proud warrior himself.
"A fast and light skirmish force that can act as scouts or a flanking force." Xun You replied in thought. "Or they can become a professional force and join our Legionaries. Our Legionaries are now from all across our Kingdom's people, with some from Sun Ce's forces or those of Huang Zhong's. We have former Bandits and Swordsmen who wielded simple weapons, now trained as an powerful unit."
"And what about me, what about our Elders?" Chieftain Kung asked, seeing that Elder Kabbo was listening with interest as the quick answers the different Heroes replied with.
"If you have a Town Centre that you move with, we can make that in to one City with another being created for you." Shang Yang replied, "A City on the border that will be the closest to your old lands and a centre of our Military operation against the south, whilst another would be further along the coast, but within travel distance of each other. The second location would be at the Battle that took place between our other General Zhao Yun during the Battle of the Infinity Plains."
"You would become the Mayor's of those cities, and your Elders can take up key roles in your administrations. If you so wish, you could also become junior commanders within our army structure." Dom added as he watched the Chieftain listening on intently.
"What are these Cities going to be called?" Elder Kabbo asked, the Elder now also listening with some passion behind his eyes.
"The Border City will be called Vindicta, a place to start our revenge on our new southern foe, whilst the second will be Futurus, a town that looks towards the future of the San and all of the growth and prosperity that it contains." Dom replied poetically.
"I'll take Vindicta, you take Futurus." Chieftain Kung said to Elder Kabbo, catching everyone off guard.
"So are you agreeing to the second option?" Dom asked politely, the surprise hidden in his voice.
"Not yet, but I am in support of the idea if our people agree." Chieftain Kung answered honestly.
...
The San and their escort under Centurion Banas had soon departed from Riverside on their long journey south towards their own lands. Chieftain Kung had left the meeting with a promise to discuss it with his Elders, whilst Elder Kabbo smiled to himself at the thought of being the leader of a town that could eventually rival Riverside, or so he thought in his mind at least.
The Heroes soon departed the Palace, leaving Dom alone for a while in his thoughts until Sun Shangxiang returned home in the early evening. The two sat and ate together whilst they waited for the arrival of Meritamen. When she did arrive she was exhausted from her long journey back from Jia and was feeling nauseas from a combination of both the journey by ship and that also what was growing within her belly.
They continued talking late in to the night, with Dom finally putting his head down and falling asleep as the sky outside was a never ending picture of darkness, with the occasional illuminating star in the sky. Dom tried to place the location that World Conquest Online resided in, but his limited knowledge of astronomy showed. Eventually he headed to bed, with Meritamen beside him and Sun Shangxiang heading away to her own part of the Palace for the night.
Sun Shangxiang had decided that she would track down the Head Maid Ban Jieyu to tease for a while, but the well established Head Maid had once been a concubine of an Emperor and didn't easily fall for any of Sun Shangxiang's attempts to get a reaction from her.
.....
"Lord Lazarus, please wake up." A voice said from nearby, catching Dom off guard as he opened his eyes. Meritamen was still asleep beside him, a rare sight as his first Wife was often dressed and away at meetings before he had awoken. Dom turned his head to see where the voice was coming from, with the sight of Gregorios' large head appearing above the stairs that headed to Dom's private room.
Dom could see that the light hadn't fully raised yet outside, with speckles of the sun appearing over the Worlds edge. Dom knew that others would also watching the same view and partially felt jealous that he had to share this wonderful sight.
"What has happened Gregorios?" Dom asked him, as Meritamen began to stir beside him.
"Ships have been spotted travelling down the Calm River towards us. General Gan Ning has requested permission to take the Bellona out in to the River to check them, with two of the Bireme that were based in Riverside and the Trireme that intended to go to his Southern Fleet." Gregorios explained, "The Sibylla is still being worked on and the other ships are being made ready in case."
"I expect he took the Bellona without waiting on permission?" Dom asked with a grin, knowing what his General was like, however the guilt would stay with Dom's character.
"I believe the words were along the lines of, act first and ask for forgiveness later." Gregorios replied, holding back a grin at the Generals words.