World Conquest Online

The Column soon left the Military Camp and were on the long route back to Riverside. They had brought back the majority of the force, leaving only a mixed unit of volunteers to keep the Camp defended, with enough scouts who could travel to Riverside if any reinforcements were needed. The scouts had been out and when Subutai had returned, he had stated that there had been no sign of any other enemy forces within the vicinity of remains of Tongpai Town, but they would need to wait for Gan Ning to give them a final update when they returned.

Dom led from the front, with Meritamen beside him, and the rest of the Commanders were behind him. Crassus rode alongside Xun Yu and Subutai as they discussed different strategies and idea for growth in the military, and from Crassus’ perspective how they could make money from it. Behind them was Tomyris, Tomoe and Lu Fang who were discussing the different fights they had been in during the conquest of Tongpai Town and the later ambush, it was a loud and excitable conversation with the occasional re-enactment on their horseback.

Behind them the units marched, a lot more relaxed than usual. There was loud chatter all the way down the column as the Warriors of Riverside happily chatted amongst themselves. The positive emotions spread up the column to where Dom rode, a smile on his face as he heard it.

"It’s not very professional to march so loudly, we are too relaxed and could easily be ambushed in this state." Dom heard Crassus complaining to Subutai and Xun Yu.

"I would normally agree, but Banas has the Horse Archers out in a wide circle, we are well covered. If an enemy somehow is this close to Riverside and gets the jump on us, then we have no chance anyway." Subutai replied honestly, as their conversation went back to discussing some other purchases Crassus could make on his next trip to the major hub to the north of them.

"Are you looking forward to returning?" Meritamen asked Dom as she rode beside him at the front.

"I am, I want to see what chaos you have all created back at Riverside in by absence." Dom joked.

"Nothing to worry about, Hatshepsut has been a huge asset since she arrived." Meritamen answered, "She has started enacting some new plans and Wang Shu, Lars and all the rest involved in building have been very busy. The new Library is also beautiful, she has placed it near the Docks, so that when people arrive in to Riverside from the River, they can see a beautiful and educated place, rather than a miss match of buildings that were randomly located."

Dom looked hurt at those words, he had put a lot of thought in to the placement of the buildings.

"Before you respond, those are her words and not mine. But I do agree a little bit." Meritamen laughed. "Riverside is bustling, it is busy and it is growing. You will see as we get closer, our farmlands extend further and further to the east, Lucius has happily been pushing that. As the Tongpai Residents have arrived they have been registered, with their key skills checked, so they have been allocated housing and roles in the areas that suit them best."

"Is it still the same Riverside I left?" Dom asked, happy that his City was growing, but worried that all of his work had been replaced.

"It is still Riverside." Meritamen smiled. "Not much has changed in how it looks, but it has a clear growth path now. You will be happy."

...

Hours passed as they finally started to see more and more farm lands that were now being prepared. Some jotted wooden houses had been set up, more like simple single room wooden buildings for storage than a house, but a starting place for the workers that were further away from Riverside. The colours of the land were bountiful, with different parts of the grasslands marked off for different crops of food and other items.

They had passed a couple of guard posts, manned by young residents of Riverside who ran ahead on horseback to pass messages across Riversides land. The most recent guard post had gave way to a partial road that had been built from Riverside to the Military Camp, that was now starting to become clearer and more traversable as they got closer to Riverside, the hard work from the Legionaries in building it becoming obvious, hopefully they would have time to finish it and create more as Riverside continued to grow.

They soon saw the outside of Riverside, a mass of tents and semi permanent buildings set up on the border between the farmlands that Lucius had declared and the land that would be used for Riverside’s main city expansion. The sun was lowering in the sky and sunset would only be a couple hours away.

Beyond the tents and semi permanent buildings, Dom could see the Military Area, the home to the different Warriors Halls, the Barracks and the Heroes Hall. Further from that he could see the towering Inner Wall that had been built in record time and was completed, a much more imposing structure to the wall at Tongpai Town, with Guard Towers at regular intervals atop the wall. Forbidden Guard Archers were clearly situated in the Towers, their armour shining in the setting sun.

Before they reached the housing area, they were greeted by a serious looking Warrior in armour, mounted on a proud looking Red Hare Horse. The Warrior was surrounded by a contingent of Tiger mounted Forbidden Guard, all holding spears to keep anyone who approached at bay.

"Welcome home Lord Lazarus!" Xun Yan exclaimed, the general in charge of the defence of Riverside. He was the brother of Xun Yu and the cousin of Xun You. His skill was defence and he had been given the important role of defending Riverside from any external foe.

"Thank you Xun Yan." Dom said loudly as he looked around, noticing how the minimal Military left in Riverside was doing a great job of keeping order. With all of the key areas, especially the camp that the Tongpai residents were based at, well covered. There was a large food station set up where the temporary structures had been placed and there were queues in and out as Tongpai and Riverside residents were given filling meals, happy conversations taking place between both groups.

Dom headed to Xun Yan and patted him on the shoulder in greeting and as a sign of gratitude for his work. No one had attacked Riverside, but Xun Yan didn’t know that was the situation and had kept the whole place on alert throughout. He had also kept calm from a military perspective and that was the most important thing when so many new people had been moved and most likely had a lot of fear at the changes happening in their lives.

"Come, the leadership is waiting for you." Xun Yan smiled and beckoned towards the gates as he led Dom and the commanders around the temporary camp and through to the main gate of the inner wall.

"It’s a busy city isn’t it." Meritamen said beside Dom with pride, "The Wall is a huge start, and Sostratus and Hatshepsut have been discussing using the schematics to build an outer wall, there are some really great things they have been working on. I’ll show you the Library and the rest of the things we have done later."

Subutai dismissed the marching units back to the Warriors Halls and Barracks, explaining that they should support where needed and if they were not needed they should get some rest. He had ordered mandatory leave for the units for tomorrow and the following day, in a rotation pattern. The Centurions of each unit quickly dismissed their troops, with the expectation they would be meeting Subutai for a celebrity drink in the Sabre Tooth Bar the following evening as ordered.

Dom’s group of Heroes quickly approached the gate, that was swiftly opened with little noise as those inside pulled open the newly installed gate. Dom entered on his Red Hare Horse, followed by his victorious leaders and soon noticed the difference of the interior. The Town Centre in the middle was well lit, with the remaining Heroes of Riverside stood around the central fountain waiting for his arrival. Lucius was stood at the front, with Shang Yang, Hatshepsut and even Da Qiao who was not one of the Heroes behind him. Beside that group stood Gan Ning, Liao Hua, Hua Rong, Gu Kaizhi, Qin Ming and Uriah.

Beside them was the lead Villagers of Riverside, including all of the Grade S Villagers that had been influential in the Cities growth, such as Hua Tao, Aristarchus, Himilco and Sostratus. There was also the key Villagers that had made Riverside what it was, such as Lars, Wang Shu, Helena, Phoebe and Cassius. Beside them were some new faces, some Dom recognised such a Thucydides, he expected this group was from Tongpai Town.

In front of them Chanda and the other Ashoka Concubines that had been purchased in the recent auction performed an elegant dance, whilst Ban Jieyu the Head Maid brought a tray of drinks towards Dom and the others.

"Welcome home!" Lucius beamed, as he stepped forwards and helped Dom dismount his Red Hare Horse. "Let’s go inside and celebrate, as we have a lot of busy days ahead of us."

"Thanks." Dom said as he climbed down, grabbing the drink and taking a sip, his throat dry from the long ride. "Is this one of Peruda’s?"

"It is, we have taken it from the Sabre Tooth Tavern’s supplies, so I expect there will be some disappointed guests over the next few days." Lucius replied with a grin.

"I won’t mention it to the Centurions." Subutai laughed as he climbed of his horse and clasped hands with Lucius. Dom’s two most senior members in Riverside had made a strange friendship across both time and geography in Riverside, and Dom was happy to see it.

"Come, let’s get inside." Lucius said cheerfully as the dancers stopped and stepped aside, a slight bow from all of those waiting as Dom and his group walked past them all. Dom felt uncomfortable until he saw the grin on Gan Ning’s face and the uncomfortableness disappeared.

The doors opened to the Great Hall in the Town Centre, and Dom stepped in, smiling at the sight of the two bandage twins who were sat together. The two injured Heroes, Guo Sheng and Huang Xin were on a bench waiting for the others and it was true that Huang Xin and Guo Sheng were wrapped up in a lot of bandages making them almost mummified.

"Where that many bandages needed?" Dom asked as he approached them, a pleading look on Guo Sheng’s face.

"Probably not, but it was better to be overly cautious." Dom heard from behind him as Hua Tou the lead Doctor walked towards him. The other guests spreading out across different seats near the large central chair that Dom normally sat on. He noticed that Subutai was talking to one of the guards as the rest of them sat in. "Gan Ning has brought me some bodies to look at, it seems that the tactics employed worked. I am confident it is the same species of humans as the previous ones. I am not an expert, but some weapons were brought back and Ou Yezi has been looking at them. They have varying ages and are varying in style, he doesn’t believe they were made recently and are most likely scavenged from other locations."

"That is worrying, as it means they have potentially had many other targets before us." Dom replied, "Hopefully we have rid the world of the majority of them now."

"I would like to hope so." Hua Tou replied, before bidding farewell as Subutai approached.

"If I knew we were having a celebration and inviting the key villagers, I wouldn’t have dismissed the Centurions!" He groaned, "I have just sent message to them all, so much for a quick conversation and an early night!"

"It’s not like you to moan." Gan Ning said from behind him, a smile on his face as he pulled out a small package from a bag he had on his waist and gave it towards Dom. "I think you want this."