"I am glad to have you here." Dom replied honestly to Ptolemy, his time counting down and another Hero Roll to do.
"Come take a seat Ptolemy and tell me about yourself." Shang Yang offered the new Hero, pointing towards a Chaise Lounge by the side of the fire as he smiled towards Dom to let him know to carry on.
"Happily." Ptolemy replied, nodding his head, before looking around. "Will my family join me?"
"Eventually, hopefully." Shang Yang replied honestly as Ptolemy laughed, the seriousness dropping from his face finally and showing the real man behind the mask.
"Great, I have needed a break from my wives and children for a while!" He laughed as he sat down.
"System, please roll for a Civilian Hero!" Dom asked, also laughing at the response of Ptolemy, his mind still in shock that he had gained another S grade Hero and one who is everything that he currently needed. He was also Macedonian and used Hoplite, so Dom wondered if he could potentially be another upgrade for the Hoplite Complex.
[Fire, Water or Air]
Dom had no idea what these could refer to, he could only think they may link to some form of area they were from or some form of technology that they were involved in. He thought that Fire could potentially lead to Blacksmiths, but he wasn't sure on Air and Water.
"Water." Dom decided, as his Kingdom was surrounded by Water and therefore had the closest links to him.
[Rolling for Hero.....Li Bing]
Another door opened, as Shang Yang and Ptolemy both looked towards the newcomers as he stepped out from the door. The man was dressed similarly to Shang Yang, but his face was much kinder with a gentle smile and a warmth to his cheeks. He looked around the room, and noticed Shang Yang, his eyes opening wide as he fell to his knees.
"Li Bing meets Master Shang Yang." He greeted as Shang Yang looked in surprise at the man in his late forties who knelt before him. He didn't know or recognise him, but Li Bing continued. "Master Shang Yang may not know, but your reforms were key to the growth of our Kingdom. You are mine and many others Hero."
[Li Bing
Hero Grade - S
Hero Strength -
Li Bing was a Chinese Politician and Engineer from the state of Qin in the Warring States era of China. He was an Administrator and then Governor, eventually becoming the Governor of the Shu province.
The Shu province was a complicated province, where many of the prisoners and exiles of the Qin Monarchy were sent. The state of Shu was poor and was prone to flooding and famine. He used his resources to develop one of the greatest and largest public works projects to have ever happened, creating a system to control and manage the Min River, expanding the surrounding Cities and allowing for more farmable lands with much less flooding. His project is still in use thousands of years later.
He also took in to consideration other people's beliefs and when local Bureaucrats and Priests were offering daughters as brides to the local River God in a way to control the Populace, he offered his own two daughters as Brides instead in an elaborate celebration. When the River God did not show up to drink his wine, he stormed off in anger with his drawn sword. Two Bulls that he had prepared were then seen fighting, representing him and the River God, with the bull representing the god being killed and the populace believing he had defeated the River God and freed them.]
"Li Bing?" Shang Yang replied as he thought for a second, his mind working through the many names that had been mentioned to him. "I have heard of you from Xun Yu, you created the Dujiangyan and changed Shu from a land of the damned to a fertile plain that would be the lifeblood of China when it was eventually one Dynasty once again. I am surprised you recognised me as we never met."
"I think you are over selling my work! I also did not do any of it alone, I had a great team of engineers and architects. There are statues of you that have been built, I recognised you from those." Li Bing replied as Dom looked at the sky and mouthed his thanks for a second Grade S Hero roll in a row. He had gained not only one potential Governor but two. Ptolemy could Governor one of the front and take over Military Command if needed, where as Li Bing could pull together people of different backgrounds and help maximise the land that they had.
"I had a great Architect, he was called Sostratus." Ptolemy commented, as a wide smile appeared on Shang Yang's face. Li Bing nodded in agreement understanding the benefits of a good team.
"It is important to allow people to flourish in their roles, and finding the right people is one of the hardest tasks." Li Bing replied as Shang Yang looked towards Dom, Li Bing realised and quickly bowed. "Li Bing greets his new Lord."
"Welcome Li Bing, it is great to have you with us." Dom replied honestly, as he turned to Ptolemy, "Are you referring to Sostratus, the Architect who built your Lighthouse?"
"I am, it seems he is famous for his work." Ptolemy replied with a tinge of real pride as Shang Yang began to stand up.
"He's currently in the Town Centre working on a schematic for an improved mill for all of the wheat that we are producing, our Blacksmiths and Woodworkers are looking at improved wheels that we can use the force of the water to rotate and with mechanisms ground the wheat easier." Shang Yang stated, seeing Ptolemy look at him in surprise at the mention of his friend already being here. "Come, I'll take you both and introduce you to some of your colleagues, we have a few busy days ahead."
Dom left with them, the sun lowering in the sky as the day was coming to an end, he looked towards the busy camp that was being set up for those that were still waiting, whilst the ships were all being tied to the southern shore of the Calm River, ready for inspection by Himilco and his team.
He reflected on the immense growth over the last couple of weeks, a collection of Towns on the northern shore, with Jia the only one in the south, to more than doubling the number of Settlements. Soon the small Town of Riverside that was now a growing City, would become the Capital of a small Kingdom. They had defeated the Type 3's at Tongpai Town, Helped Sun Ce's family, fought against the Papaver and had completed the World Conquest Online Battle Map.
He soon arrived back at the Palace, heading upstairs past the Hall that still had some noises coming from inside, most of his Heroes would have headed to the Town Hall, their own homes or to do different tasks, but it seemed some had stayed behind to discuss things. On the second floor, he found Sun Shangxiang and Meritamen, the two of them talking about something as he appeared.
"So two days?" Meritamen asked Dom as he headed towards the two of them, expecting a time warning from the System at any point.
"At a minimum, but it may be longer." Dom replied, tomorrow classes would start at Central University and it would be the start of a new Chapter in Dom's life.
"Three days at a maximum." Sun Shangxiang told him, as she put her hand up to ask Meritamen to stay silent for a moment as she wanted to speak. "We have a Kingdom to found and a schedule to plan. We will have guests arriving from afar and will need to also plan our next steps. I understand you have other things that you do away from here, but you are important here, you are important to us."
Dom was taken aback by Sun Shangxiang's passionate speech, but nodded in response. She was an important character in his game and he could understand from her perspective what she meant. Meritamen put her arm on Sun Shangxiang's shoulder, the warrior princess seemingly holding back some frustration as she spoke.
"Go and find your brother whilst he is in town, I am sure he will have to return to his family and then the North soon." Meritamen said to her, as Sun Shangxiang smiled at her in response, before nodding. She walked towards Dom and grabbed him, pulling him close and kissing him on the lips.
"Promise me you will be back before then." She said to him.
"I promise." Dom replied, knowing that any potential plans he may have had in the evening after his first day of classes would have to be postponed. There was often events for Students to meet each other and his promise to a character in a game had over taken that as a priority.
"Good." She laughed, before turning back to Meritamen and smiling. She then headed down the stairs leaving Dom alone with his first wife. The Egyptian Princess in front of him tilted her head slightly as she looked him up and down, a different attitude to usual as she seemed to step more and more in to her role in Riverside.
"I don't know where you go, I don't know why you go. I know that you need to go, and that you will always return." Meritamen explained to him, looking in to her eyes as she spoke. "But, I see it in your eyes at times, how you view this world as a giant game, as if you had the power of the gods within it. You lack the fear of death, or not waking up the next morning. I am grateful that you are a good man, with a good heart, we have seen what happens when the rulers aren't. This might feel like a game to you, but for us it is our life. If I die, I die. I now carry your child, I am a woman, this is a battle of my body against the world and we don't always win."
She paused for a second and Dom could see the fire in her eyes, he wasn't sure if he should embrace her or leave her.
"Meritamen." He replied, not knowing what to say, but she continued.
"You are to be a King, this isn't a small task. Thousands of lives will depend on you. You are young, as am I and Sun Shangxiang. You have good experts around you to help you lead, but you are young, we are all young." She continued after releasing a big exhale. "I am one of my father's many daughters, I wasn't bred to rule, nor was Sun Shangxiang whose task was to be used as a dowry for an alliance. Instead, we are buy your sides, the founders of a Kingdom, wives of a future King. A Kingdom growing faster than any of our Experts has ever seen happen. I think this is the last time we will talk properly before we are King and Queen and not Lord and Lady, and I just wanted to highlight the importance of the next step."
Dom stood there, his mouth open at everything that Meritamen had just said. Compared to all of the other characters that he played with, she was the one who seemed to have the most intelligence and understanding of the game world, almost like she had the tutorial mode switched on. He could tell she meant everything she said, there was genuine feelings between the two of them, a feeling that did scare Dom at times. He couldn't call it Love, but if she was real it would definitely be progressing towards it. He went to respond, but she beat him to it.
"Come, hold me in bed until we sleep and return as you have promised to me and Sun Shangxiang." She ordered, before taking his hand and leading him upstairs to his room.