129 Big Kittens

Dom Arrived at the Military District, the Orange and Blue Cubes in hand. He was had sobered up now from the small amount of Wine he had drank earlier and was accompanied by Gregorios and Trojan who had began their shifts as guards for the day. He was stood outside the Hoplite Heroes Hall, where he decided he would use the next Blue Cube.

He had decided this based on the fact that their next military excursion would most likely be in Tongpai Town and then hopefully the forest afterwards, a strong infantry would be ideal in this scenario, and he currently had a reasonable Legionary presence with the arrival of the Century of Praetorians and the trainee Legionaries from the Hittites, Egyptians and Shang Troops that they had gained. If they received a Blue Cube in the future, he would definitely use that to expand his Cavalry, as most of the ground to the east and the south was open plains and a strong Cavalry presence would be ideal for both offence and defence.

Dom suspected that as with his previously used cubes, he would get an Elite Unit of Spartans, as with the Legionary Warriors Hall he had got Praetorians and with the Forbidden Guards he had received more Forbidden Guards. As the Spartans were one of Dom's highest ranked units he was excited to receive more, who could fit in to the Elite Unit they were trying to build.

"System, please use the Blue Cube." Dom requested.

The doors to the Hoplite Warriors Hall opened, and around sixty men appeared, walking in a line two abreast, an older man on the left and a younger on the right. They were armoured like the other Hoplite that were in Riverside, however the quality of their weapons seemed of a higher level and their breast plates were more detailed. Their shields shinned in the sun and when they stopped marching, they stood ten men wide and six men deep.

"Oh no!" Gregorios commented, his face paling.

"Please tell me no." Trojan said in shock.

"What?" Dom asked, as an older Hoplite stood forwards and clasped his fist on his chest.

"Thebans." Gregorios replied as he took a step back, "And not just any type."

"Captain Phillip at your service my Lord." The Older Man said politely, "We are a squad from the Sacred Band of Thebes and have come for a fresh start away from the chaos that is the states of Greece."

"We are glad to have you!" Dom replied kindly, "Please follow Trojan here to the School where we can get you registered."

"Thank you for the kindness." Philip bowed. "It is nice to feel welcomed."

He then turned to his unit and ordered them to follow him. They held their spears high as they marched, following the reluctant Trojan who did not seem comfortable at all heading towards the Merchant District. Eventually when they were out of ear shot, Dom turned to Gregorios for more information.

"We often joke about the Thebans because of their Elite Unit the Sacred Band of Thebes." Gregorios said, watching them disappear in the distance. "The Thebans themselves are just like any other Hoplite Unit, but the Sacred Band can even defeat Spartans, and have done. They have a constant force of 300 Elite Hoplites whose entire life is for the battlefield."

"So is the fear from how good they are?" Dom asked, impressed by what he was hearing.

"No, it's their personal lives." Gregorios said, exhaling heavily. "I do not disagree or hold anything against them, but the Sacred Band partner up an older trained warrior, with a younger warrior, a lover and a beloved. They train and do everything together, living and dying by each others side. When I say everything, I mean they do everything together."

"Everything?" Dom asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Everything." Gregorios replied, "Again, I have nothing against it, but I just think it's wrong to partner up a young man with an old warrior. Where is the choice, they are forcing them in a life."

"Some cultures have arranged marriages, I suppose it is a bit like that." Dom replied with a shrug.

"I suppose." Gregorios lamented. "But at least we have an Elite force, that even Leonidas and Cleombrotus will be nervous around."

"That will be a fun thing to see." Dom said as he patted Gregorios on the shoulder and smiled.

Dom was relieved to have another sixty Elite Warriors in Riverside, who he could immediately position within his force. He would discuss with Subutai later, but ideally he would want to have them remain as a unit within one of his commanders forces, most likely Tomoe's or Gan Ning's as they were his more attacking forces.

Dom now looked down and held the Orange Cube in his hand as he stood in the middle of the Military District, with just Gregorios by his side. He understood it would be slightly different than usual due to the extra information that had been provided.

"System, please show stats." Dom asked, wanting to look at the Orange Cube again.

[Orange Cube - Special Hero Spawner - Will give you an opportunity to Spawn an Hero, via a minor special quest]

"System, please can you explain?" Dom asked again, wanting some clarity.

[Similar to a Golden Token, a special quest map will appear, however this will be for a shorter period of time within limited boundaries. Please prepare for the scenario roll before using the Cube.]

"Is this due to it being a special reward or a game change?" Dom asked.

[This is a Special Reward Orange Cube, rather than a standard Orange Cube. You are guaranteed a Hero from this quest, however who and what depends on your performance.]

"Damn!" Dom mumbled, realising he needed to pull everyone together and prepare a unit for what ever the quest would be. "Gregorios, I am going to head back to the Town Centre and get my new Armour on, please can you gather any available Commander and a selection of our Warriors."

"Yes Lord." Gregorios said, before turning and running off towards the Warriors Halls so he could see who was available, as most of the Warriors had already been dispatched for their different missions and expeditions.

Dom turned and headed towards the Town Centre, where he would get his shiny new armour on and prepare himself for a short trip.

Some time passed and Dom was stood back in the Military District, his black armour standing out amongst all of those present. Beside him stood Subutai, Tomoe and Uriah. As Gan Ning and Tomyris had been dispatched and would not return in time, which was a shame as he had promised them they could join him on the next special quest. Whilst his over Commander, Abubakar, was permanently stationed at an outpost to the East, where a small force of Cavalry were permanently stationed. He also had Lucius, Shang Yang and Meritamen stood with him, in case he was in need of any non Military support on the quest.

In front of him stood a selection of the best of his available forces, Chen Lu, the Captain of the Forbidden Guards, Philip and the Sacred Band, Leonidas and a couple of uncomfortable Spartans, ten Horse Archers, four Lancers and Pullo and some Legionaries.

Dom felt that as the quest was a small scale he wouldn't need an excessive amount of his force, which were currently busy with important defensive or explorative tasks.

"System, please use the Special Reward Orange Cube." Dom asked.

[Using Special Reward Orange Cube....Rolling for Special Quest Map]

[Randomly selecting choices]

[Please Choose from the following Commanders: Gan Ning, Abubakar or Tomyris]

Dom was taken aback that the three options he had to choose from, where the three commanders he currently didn't have with him. He wondered what this meant and thought through his options quickly. Abubakar was a relative unknown but Dom wanted to avoid anything in relation to Ancient Egyptians for now, where as Tomyris was one of his best commanders but he didn't know much from her time other than her vicious revenge and fighting against the Persians.

"Gan Ning." Dom decided, knowing that his Commander had fought through one of the key times in ancient history for talented people, he felt it was a shame that Crassus hadn't been an option as that was a similar situation.

[Gan Ning selected]

[Alternative Scenario selected....Journey to Jizhou]

[Due to the Chaos of the realm, the Xun family of Yingchuan have decided to leave their home and move to live near their uncle Xun Chen, who is under the service of the mighty Warlord Yuan Shao. The roads are fraught with danger and the talented Xun family are in need of rescue.]

[This is an Alternative Scenario, normal historical references may not apply.]

[Quest 1 - Rescue the Xun family from the Bandits

The more of the Xun family rescued, the more opportunities for recruitment]

[Quest 2 - Persuasion

The Xun family have a selection of Heroes within their ranks, persuade them to join you.]

"A rescue mission?" Dom exclaimed, trying to think his mind back to history and remember who the Xun family were, not recognising the name Xun Chen.

[You will be arriving near by to the Xun family, arrive in time and rescue them. Once rescued, escort them to the next checkpoint to complete the Quest. You may take up to twelve companions with you. You have five minutes, please confirm once ready.]

Dom turned to his Commanders and quickly explained the quest.

"There is a family in Ancient China, during the end of the Han period, that are traveling and we need to rescue them from Bandits." Dom started, "I can take twelve companions, however not only do we fight, but we also need to persuade. I believe time is of the essence with this quest."

"Ten Warriors, 2 Commanders." Subutai replied, "Cavalry and myself and Tomyris."

Dom was about to agree, but was interrupted by Shang Yang.

"This is not a pure Military mission." Shang Yang replied, "Yes, we need warriors to rescue them, but the final part of the quest is persuasion."

"Meritamen then should go and we will take nine Warriors." Subutai replied in acceptance.

"No, she is a woman and they would not accept her." Shang Yang said, "There is stubbornness and persecution against women in some parts of history. I will go, I am from the same culture."

Meritamen frowned at this comment, feeling like her talent was being wasted and she would have a much better chance of persuading someone that Shang Yang, who was more of a scholar who would avoid a fight. Lucius patted her on the shoulder in support, letting her know that it was ok and she would get her opportunity to prove herself soon enough.

"Very well, what Warriors do we take?" Dom asked, looking at the people in front of him.

"The Horse Archers are also all women." Shang Yang replied, "You should take the Forbidden Guard."

Dom wanted to disagree, as the Horse Archers were some of his best, and the Lancers were even better. A Battle like this would need speed and superior strength to repel Bandits, and his Cavalry were the best for that.

"Gregorios." Subutai ordered, "Get enough Red Hare for all those going. Chen Lu, select your best men who can ride, I want six Halberds and two Archers. Leonidas, you are also coming."

The men all saluted, whilst those that hadn't been chosen quickly dispersed and went back to their previously assigned tasks, be that training or continuing with their registration in Riverside. Everyone looked let down by not being chosen and Dom was impressed by the eagerness of his men and women.

"Very well, Shang Yang and Tomoe, you are also coming then." Dom agreed as everyone started moving. Dom turned to Subutai and spoke to him quietly. "Why Leonidas and not another Forbidden Guard?"

"Because the Forbidden Guard are our attack force, and Leonidas is your guard." Subutai replied, "You like to play hero but we are growing and can not risk you not having someone who can pull you out at last minute if needed."

"I can do that?" Tomoe said as she stood beside them and listened in.

"You could, but I want you to be at the front striking fear in to the enemy." Subutai replied, to which Tomoe shrugged her shoulders in agreement, already excited at the opportunity to behead some bandits. "I will protect Shang Yang, Leonidas will stand by Lord Lazarus, whilst you and the Forbidden Guard save the day."

Gregorios soon reappeared, followed by those who had been selected who were now on horse back, except for two of them who were riding large Sabre Tooth Tigers.

"We are taking big Kittens?" Tomoe asked excitedly.

"It seems like we are." Dom replied reluctantly.