World Conquest Online

After a long morning and afternoon of meetings, Dom headed towards the Sabre Tooth Tavern with Crassus and Xun Yu, for a much needed drink and some food. Shang Yang, Lucius and Subutai had all dispersed after the meeting with long lists of things to do. However Dom wanted to eat before he continued to explore the growing Riverside. Crassus had stated he was joining Dom as he had things he wanted to show him, where as Xun Yu appreciated the short respite from work.

Once again they were eating prime cuts of steak from the Ox Animal Husbandry, Lucius had requested the Tavern save the best pieces for Dom’s return and he was enjoying it whilst Crassus spoke about his recent travels. Whilst they chatted, other guests of the Tavern watched on with surprise as their Lord sat and ate where they did. The only difference between Dom’s Table and the others, was that the two Tables next to Dom’s were full of his Guards, with Gregorios, Hector, Trojan and Homer on one table, where as Chen Ping and three other lightly armoured Forbidden Guard sat at the other. They all ate and drank non alcoholic drinks, as Dom had ordered them to enjoy themselves as well.

"So there has been two small Auctions whilst you have been gone, I was able to purchase lots of slaves as you are aware. With some of them joining the Military, Farming or Building Districts. I was also able to hire a large quantity of experts such as Blacksmiths, all of which have declared their wish to live here permanently, most now bringing their families." Crassus explained between filling his mouth. "I also purchased some crafted Weapons which I have gifted to many of the Generals and Centurions. One of them was a long curved sword that Subutai seems to be a huge fan off."

"I expect he is, the best way to that man’s heart is through battle." Dom laughed as he also ate the food. Xun Yu sat silently beside them, enjoying the peaceful change to his busy schedule.

"I have made sure to also purchase a lot of female slaves, only the best ones I could get. I went for those that were healthy and had life in their eyes." Crassus grinned, "They were fearful at first, why is this strong muscular man buying so many women."

"Or that is what you hoped they thought." Xun Yu laughed, causing Dom to join in.

"They definitely did." Crassus laughed along, "Anyway, when they got here and Meritamen freed them per your instructions, they were no longer fearful. I promised that if they married any of the Warriors they would be granted a financial reward and housing priority. Shang Yang keeps pushing for us to grow our population in a natural way."

"We set up some date nights." Xun Yu replied, rolling his eyes as he said so. "Well Meritamen and her group did anyway. They all are now dating a Warrior, some marrying already!"

"That is quick." Dom replied with a raised eyebrow, laughing as he did so.

"Yes it is, unlike a lot of the older Hoplite who have wives they are waiting to join us in Riverside, many of the young Hoplite, Legionaries, Slingers and even some of the Batavi, are single." Crassus explained, "That is two hundred new relationships, which could lead to hundreds of new citizens!"

"How are we managing it so that the Warriors have time to spend with their new partners?" Dom asked seriously.

"We are doing what we can with rotation. Most on the Southern Campaign haven’t had the chance, but most in the North have been rotated regularly whilst we are not on a war footing. Our next housing district is planned for Military Families, so they will get priority there. Hua Tao has been working with Sostratus and Hatshepsut on Clinic Schematics so we can open more small clinics across the City with Junior Doctors." Crassus replied.

"Our new Doctor Agnodice has been specifying certain things as well, we are really hopeful for a baby boom in eight to nine months." Xun Yu added. "We have also received some Mail through our trading, it seems some of the Hoplite’s families are joining us. I am not sure how or when, but it has definitely brought a morale boost."

"A lot of the Hoplite before they came here were landowners or men of means." Crassus continued, "The idea to sell Land to those that earn it will also increase morale, as they will be able to return to that lifestyle again."

"So what else did you buy?" Dom asked, moving the conversation on.

"Lot’s of knew animals!" He grinned, "My private Zoo is expanding, I intend to also build a large public Gardens between the Mausoleum, the Palace and the Arena. It will bring a natural beauty as we become a large city and reduce the enclosed feeling that will come in the future."

"I look forward to seeing it!" Dom replied honestly, lots of the creatures he had seen in World Conquest Online were extinct in the real world or on other continents.

"I have also bought seeds, books and some Schematics which Hatshepsut now has. Not for anything special, but buildings that can help us grow. We now have schematics for basic mines and lumberyards. We can also now build more Workshops, Blacksmiths, Docks and Taverns." Crassus continued happily, "They all need the resources to build, but are staple buildings in all of our Towns."

"Sostratus was relieved when he received them." Xun Yu laughed loudly, "The relief on his face, honestly Hatshepsut works him hard."

"He seems passionate about his work, he definitely deserves a reward." Crassus added, causing Dom to want to check the stats of Hua Tou, Sostratus and Ou Yezi. They continued chatting for a while longer, Crassus mentioning some other minor things he had bought, but the priority had been the Slaves. He also mentioned there was opportunities to hire other Mercenary groups but he hadn’t done so until Dom’s return. Dom replied saying he would look in to them when he travelled North with Crassus in a couple of weeks.

After eating, Crassus and Xun Yu departed, allowing Dom to head north towards the Heroes Hall where he intended to use his two free roll’s if capacity allowed. As he walked, his four Hoplite and four Forbidden Guard walked around him in a loose formation. Dom knew that soon he would have Batavi Emperor’s Guard as well, followed by Stephen and Rosie if he allowed it.

"System, please can you tell me if any of my Elite Villagers have been promoted to Hero Status?" Dom asked, thinking this was the easiest way to do so.

[Your guess is correct

Ou Yezi is now an D Grade Civilian Hero, with the skill Master Swordsmith

Hua Tou is now an D Grade Civilian Hero, with the skill Master Healer

Sostratus is now an E Grade Civilian Hero, with the skill Historical Architect

All three have opportunities to increase their grade]

Dom was impressed and relieved, the change from Elite Villager hadn’t shown any changes to the person so far when he looked at Gu Kaizhi, instead it was more of a change to the way he approached things. Gu Kaizhi had originally been keen to study his Art and learn about History, where as now he wanted to Teach and be more personally involved with the growth of the Kingdom. Dom felt that the three upgraded Elite Villagers were all key members to Riverside who would be hard to replace, so maybe they felt the same way which is why they had been promoted.

He was surprised that Ou Yezi and Hua Tou had both jumped straight to D Grade, but he wondered why Sostratus hadn’t done the same thing. He wondered if it was the freedom in the role they did that allowed it, or the fact that Ou Yezi and Hua Tou were known in History as the forefront of their craft, where as Sostratus was also well known, but for less things. It must be the freedom, Dom decided. Sostratus was heavily involved with the creation of the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria, in Dom’s opinion he should have the capability to be a D grade as well.

He soon arrived at the Heroes Hall and headed inside, the room felt colder than usual as all of the Heroes had now moved out to their own Manors or alternate housing. Most were on campaign currently, but their Houses had been the priority for the Manor district. Some, such as the Qiao family, all lived together in the Town Hall of Tranquillity. Dom hoped that because everyone had moved out, he would be able to use his two draws. Last time the System had told him that the Heroes Hall needed an upgrade as the Heroes Hall was full.

"System, am I able to roll for a Hero." Dom asked as he took a seat on one of the comfortable chairs, whilst Gregorios who had followed him in with Trojan, lit the fire to warm the room up. Outside was hot as usual, but the Heroes Hall hadn’t been used much in the last week. According to Xun Yu, it had been cleaned regularly by the large team of Maids that now worked across Riverside. He felt a little nostalgic as he sat there, remembering his first days in Riverside with his original Heroes and a handful of Hoplite, a huge difference to what was taking place outside of Riverside now.

[The Heroes Hall needs to be upgraded to use an additional Roll. You currently have two Rolls available and these will continue to be stacked until the Heroes Hall has been upgraded. Please upgrade your Heroes Hall to use your Hero Rolls]

"System, my Heroes have all moved out of the Heroes Hall and the building is now empty?" Dom asked politely, frustrated by the situation. He wasn’t desperate for Heroes right now, but he wasn’t sure when he would get the opportunity to upgrade the Heroes Hall next. With the intention for them to launch more Towns soon, it was becoming key for him to increase his Domestic Heroes.

[Player is still able to use Cubes and other ways to spawn Heroes whilst awaiting an upgrade to the Heroes Hall. Player can also use Wooden Tokens to upgrade the Heroes Hall]

"I don’t have any of those things currently." Dom replied frustrated, hoping that he would be able to receive some from some of his upcoming Golden Tokens or Town conquests.

[Please check your Personal Chest]

Dom was surprised by the answer, believing he was aware of all of the items that he had left in his chest, he knew that he had the Invitation Letter, Two Golden Token Missions, The General Order Token where he could claim a related Unit if they found one during a quest and that was everything.

Standing up, he left the Heroes Hall and headed quickly towards his Palace, the confused Guards following him quickly as he headed there. He politely smiled at Civilians and Warriors that passed, whilst trying to understand what rewards he could have and what they would be.

Arriving at the Palace, he dismissed his guards as usual and headed up the two sets of stairs to the top floor, where his room and Personal Chest were. He grasped the rim of the chest and lifted the lid, looking at the insides. Inside there was what he expected, the Two Golden Tokens, General Order Token and the White Invitation Letter. However, beside them was two Wooden Upgrade Tokens, two Black Villager Spawner Tokens and a White Resource Cube.

The Resource Cube and Villager Spawners he would hand to Lucius to deal with, but the Wooden Upgrade Token’s he had plenty of uses for them. First though, he wanted to know where they came from.

"System, where did these items come from?" Dom asked, confused but grateful.

[These are a reward for discovering Ten undiscovered or unnamed areas.]

Dom tried to think what these where, he had discovered the Silver Forest, the Red Woods, the Calm River, the Yellow Plains that travelled south of the Calm River to the Red Woods and finally the Shimmering Sea. The other areas such as Tongpai Lake or even the Mountain to the East of that had been discovered and named already, even if they were by the games characters and not Players such as himself.

[Player’s forces during your absence have discovered the Mountain to the North West of Riverside, The Cave System to the North West of Riverside, the Valley to the South West of the Calm River, the Wetlands North of Serenity and the Plains South of the Red Woods.]

"Do I need to name these then?" Dom asked surprised, "And is this reward for each find, or for finding Ten in total?"

[Your Generals have named them, but you can rename them if you so wish. They are named:

’Annoyingly Tall Mountain’

’Dark Cold Caves’

’Red Hare Valley’

’Where is my Shoe?’

"So Much Grass!" ]

"I think I will rename them." Dom replied, wanting to facepalm.