b"Nice to meet you all." Dom replied, before looking over the seven people who had been introduced to him with a small bit of confusion.
"They are all other Players." Kai said as Andrew grinned at him, "There are a few others in the group, but these seven are our Lieutenants."
"Sebastian and Virgil are both brothers from the Combined States and we found them on our journey down." Andrew explained, before nodding to the two brothers to step forwards. Sebastian leaned on his large battle hammer, whilst Virgil rolled his neck as he stood up."
"We are Blacksmiths in reality, but decided to play as Warriors." Sebastian introduced, "Adventuring with Andrew and Kai has been fun and they said their friend had a Town that we could be involved with."
"It was an exciting opportunity, we could adventure and help something grow, like the weapons we make at home." Virgil continued, almost continuing his brothers introduction. "Kai said that you had a small Town, and after hearing his brothers woe's, we felt we could help upgrade your equipment and fight alongside your men."
"It seems that those skills will not be needed, but we still would like to get involved." Sebastian explained, as Andrew and Kai rolled their eyes, used to the two brothers way of communicating.
"Skilled Blacksmiths are a key thing that is missing from any growing Kingdom, we have a whole district that is dedicated to upgrading the weapons and armour for our Warriors." Dom explained, "You would have seen a lot of Legionaries, but we are currently converting and training other warriors that have joined us in to them. They need Swords, Pilum and Armour to match."
"We have a small group of NPC and some other Players here who are from a similar profession that we have gathered on our journey." Andrew explained, "Sebastian and Virgil are experts, where as the others are either new to it or from the game."
"What do you think of my sword?" Dom asked with a slight grin, as he drew his Zhan Lu blade and showed it to the two Brothers.
"Dom, that is an amazing sword!" Kai exclaimed at the sight of it, whilst the two Brothers and Andrew also looked on with impressed eyes.
"That is excellent craftmanship. The handle alone is intricately designed, whilst the blade itself has been crafted by a master." Sebastian stated whilst intently looking at it. "I do not know how to recreate a weapon like this."
"Have you ever heard of Ou Yezi?" Dom asked the two brothers, who seemed to think for a second before Virgil replied.
"The Ancient Chinese Swordsmith?" Virgil asked after some thought.
"That is the one, he is our head Blacksmith." Dom replied, seeing both Virgil and Sebastian's eye go wide in surprise.
"It would be an honour to learn from a man of his calibre, techniques such as his have been lost to time. It is actually a dream to be in the presence of a blade like this, they just do not exist anymore." Sebastian explained with keen interest. "We are more than happy to help, but we also want to fight."
"There are definitely opportunities for both, we have multiple directions of growth and Warriors who can fight, repair and maintain weapons and armour are much needed." Dom replied as the two of them nodded their heads in appreciation and stepped back.
"These three, Hugo, Jade and Sabine are all Adventurers who are specialised in different weapons. They are my Lieutenants who lead the different part of our small Military of NPC's and other Players." Andrew introduced as the three stood forwards.
"I am a model in the Western Kingdom's." Hugo introduced himself, a good looking man that would catch anyone eyes. He won a leopard skin vest and had a sword strapped to his side. He looked to be in his late twenties and had a welcoming smile. "I fight with a sword and was one of the first to join the Mercenary Group."
"He says he fights, he's normally trying to flirt. He doesn't care who it is either." The smaller of the two women with the sword on her waist explained.
"It's a distracting tactic!" Hugo laughed, before hearing groans of disagreement from the small crowd who were stood listening in behind them.
"I am Sabine, a baker from the Eastern Empire." Sabine the smaller woman introduced. She looked to be in her mid twenties and was also attractive with pale skin. "I know you are mostly from the Western Kingdom's and may not trust me, but it is a game and I just like to make bread. I am a warrior on this game, to take my anger out that I can't at home"
"I am also from the Eastern Empire." The taller woman said, she had long blonde hair and intimidating blue eyes. She seemed the oldest in the group and Dom could feel a similar feel that he got from some of his Military Heroes. "I am an Archer in the game and I am an Archer in the real world. I have fought on the front lines and this game keeps my skills up. Do not worry, I was based on our Southern Border against the Royal Tang and not your Western Kingdom."
"Jade and Sabine joined us on our journey south, Sabine has kept us fed and is a great Warrior, whilst Jade has saved our backsides on multiple occasions." Andrew explained, before turning to Hugo. "Especially his."
"And it is a great backside to protect." Hugo winked, whilst Jade rolled her eyes in response.
"I have some excellent Military Archer Heroes here, Subutai, Genghis Khan's General as well another General called Huang Zhong. There is also the archer Hua Rong who has excellent skill." Dom explained to her, before turning to Sabine. "I am sure you will also find lots of things to do here."
"Subutai is a Hero I have read about since my youth and to hear that he is here has proven that meeting these two young men was fate." Jade replied seriously, whilst Sabine nodded in agreement.
"The last two are Arvin and Fritz!" Andrew introduced the other two men, both who bowed their heads slightly.
"I am an accountant." Arvin explained with a smile, "I work alongside Kai and have been managing our finances as we travel from port to port. I am from the Combined States as well as the two brothers, but our homes distance is so far that I doubt we would ever have met otherwise."
"Arvin has been a great help to us, it is one of the reasons that we have secured as much supplies as we have gained." Kai stated, "He'll be a big help for your Government, as will a lot of the people in his team."
"I will do what I can. After meeting Mr Crassus, I am very excited to be here!" Arvin exclaimed, whilst Fritz began speaking.
"I am a Sailor, I may not look it, but I am from the Reef Islands, north of Australia." Fritz explained. "I have sailed on my families fishing boats throughout my life, mapping our journeys with the stars. I also Captain our one Trireme, which I am very proud off."
"We found Fritz in a Tavern in the early days, he has got us through some difficult situations." Andrew laughed, before Fritz continued. Fritz seemed only slightly older than Dom, Andrew and Kai, but seemed to have a lot more life experience.
"The most difficult thing has been mapping the stars here, there are some key stars that are usable. The Sirius star of Canis Major is still the brightest in the sky, or I assume that is the star. The game has mapped the stars similarly to what I expect at home, but there are some key discrepancies from home. Rigel and Regulus can also be seen in the sky, which has given me some direction to map." Fritz explained as excitement was heard in his voice. "The sky is much clearer and the sea air fresher. It's a beautiful game."
"There are other Players and Characters that I want to introduce, but now I have seen how big your world is, it may be best to register them with Xun Yu and for him to find them places!" Andrew smiled, "Everyone has promised to keep everything they see as a secret, so they can be involved in something exciting. I just wasn't expecting this!"
"There were others in our group that we have politely moved on." Hugo explained with a grin.
"What he means is, those that we couldn't trust have been respawned." Sabine added.
"Dead." Jade stated bluntly, her eyes scanning the room behind her threateningly.
"It is great to have you all here!" Dom exclaimed, his own back sweating slightly at Jade's eyes. He knew that Subutai would want to recruit her quickly.
"We have brought you seeds and plants from across the lands we have travelled, as well as maps that Fritz and his team have drawn on our journey down. Beyond Helike there are other cities and Kingdoms. Some of the areas could be trade opportunities, where as others potential dangers in the long future." Kai stated as he began to list out some of the items they had brought. "We have also brought a wide selection of experts, both Players and Characters, from Cooks and Blacksmiths, to Farmers, Scholars and Mathematicians."
"We also brought Warriors, maybe not Elites like yours, but those willing to get dirty." Andrew explained as he took over, "We also bought some materials and other hard to find items. But after shopping with Crassus, I feel we haven't brought enough gifts."
"I am in need of Warriors who will fight dirty, especially in the North West." Dom explained as he looked towards Hugo, Sabine, Jade and the two Brothers Virgil and Sebastian. "It is our hidden direction where we probably need the most support. We'll plan it on next log in. Are any of you wanting to join the upcoming Battle of Mycale? I will need to ask our strategists to look at our numbers."
"We will definitely take a few, some can come on our secret mission." Andrew replied after some thought, "It would be worth taking Jade as well, she can target enemy Captains and cause chaos. Especially against other players."
After talking for a while longer to Andrew, Kai and the seven new Lieutenants, he headed outside to where Xun Yu and Crassus had been waiting for him. Kai and Andrew joined him, whilst their Lieutenants began organising their teams. Xun Yu had arranged some accommodation for them for the evening, whilst Dom thought about how much these Players arriving would impact the way his game was now played.
.....
Crassus led them to a small camp that had been set up around another Warehouse that had been built recently. Outside, some of Xun Yu's staff were registering a large number of people, whilst beside them was a food station that was supplying food.
"We have brought one thousand Slaves, they are currently being given the same offer that was given to our others. They will be given their freedom, but they must pay back their purchase price through their hard work." Crassus explained to Dom as he looked at the large number of people. "Eighty Percent are Females bought specifically as they are young and healthy as agreed. They have been told what is expected of them. Most are from poor families or those that have arrived and been put in a difficult situation. Others are Slaves through war. I have spoken with the Slave Master at Helike and he has been putting the best aside for me, as we pay the best."
"What about the others?" Dom asked as he looked at the poorly dressed young women that queued, most seemingly in good spirits as they looked at the large city beyond them, some hope back in the eyes of those that thought they had a terrible future ahead of them. He hoped they would find themselves a partner through the dating networks that had been set up by the former Concubine Chandra, one of Meritamen's team.
"Craftsmen, Tradesman and skilled Farmers." Crassus explained, "Most of these are men, whilst their are some interesting women amongst them. One is extremely intelligent and I will be taking as an apprentice, it surprised me as well that I have chosen a women apprentice, but I have learnt a lot about myself whilst I have been here."
"This is great news for our long term growth." Dom replied, as Andrew and Kai listened in with interest.
"I'll keep Hugo away from them then." Andrew joked, whilst Crassus and Xun Yu looked at him with confused eyebrows.