บท 104: I'll Move In

Dom sat on a comfortable arm chair in front of the fireplace on the second floor. Before him sat all of his heroes, who were all ready for their feast to celebrate the success of the Battle of Kadesh. Gan Ning was sat with Tomyris as usual, but this time he had Uriah and Abubakar sat with him as well. He had taken the two of them on a tour and they had instantly began to like the charismatic ex-pirate and the Warriors that followed him.

Meritamen was surprisingly sat with Tomoe beside the fire, Tomoe's usual samurai armour replaced with the a light dress that showed her more feminine side, rather than the ferocious one. Meritamen was sat wearing a similar dress, and both of them seemed quite relaxed in each others company, which Dom wasn't sure was a good sign or not.

Crassus was sat relaxing on a chaise lounge, beside him was a reclining Lucius as they discussed the geography of ancient Rome. Crassus was explaining how the city looked in his time, which had Lucius mesmerised as he listened intently to his words. Shang Yang sat near them but was looking at Dom and awaiting him to speak.

Subutai was also sat beside the fire, poking it with a metal pole that he had, moving the wood around so that the wood would burn better and give them more warmth in the room.

"Thank you for all joining me." Dom started, "I doubt we'll have another opportunity like this for a while, so I though it best we have a chat now before we join the guests for the feast."

He stood up from his seat and stood in front of the fire, looking around the room at all of the faces.

"Firstly, as the day has gone on we have made some developments. Crassus has joined us and has brought in some great ideas on how we can implement a currency, which we will do over the next week. You will all therefore receive a salary based on your positions within Riverside. In regards to positions, Military wise, everyone will receive promotions based on how we expect the next stages of growth to go. So Subutai is now the rank of General. Gan Ning, Tomyris and Tomoe are now all at the rank of colonel. Uriah and Abubakar, firstly, welcome to the Riverside, you will be joining our military at the rank of Major." Dom started.

"That's great news!" Tomyris said.

"Thanks Lord!" Gan Ning added, "how much do we get as a salary then?"

"Crassus is going to sort that, but it will be one of the highest in Riverside. As we grow, as will your ranks and the wealth that comes with that." Dom continued. "The pre-agreed units will stay the same, with Tomyris exploring to the west, Tomoe the north, Gan Ning the south and Subutai protecting and exploring the east towards Tongpai Town. Uriah, you will be working alongside Lucius and Crassus to manage the defence of the town, we will be putting all of our town guards through training with the Legionnaires and they will be under your management. Abubakar, you will be joining Subutai in the east as that is a key front."

There were nods in agreement as Dom then turned to look at the other four heroes of Riverside.

"Lucius will continue as Mayor of Riverside and I have no plans to change that. Shang Yang will continue as the Chief Advisor, as well as our head of Legal. Crassus, as discussed you will be head of finance, I would also like to have you as an Advisor." Dom continued. "Sorry for not speaking with you earlier Meritamen, I would like you to take the place as our Head Diplomat, in charge of all senior relationships both inside and out."

"That role suits me perfectly Husband." Meritamen replied with a smile. Dom rolled his eyes before continuing.

"I have spoken with Sostratus, Lucius and Shang Yang. We have decided to build a city wall around our current stage one area as planned originally. However we will now start to construct houses for villagers outside of this, we will start construction across the River as we build the permanent Bridge, we will also start building to the west of Riverside. We will order Lars to have some of his units clear the forest in the direction of the mountain. We will also build towards the east around the farmland for any farming families so they do not have to travel miles daily." Dom stated. "The current housing area will be converted in to a nobles area, where nobles can purchase small plots to build a Villa. Sostratus has been working on these as a side project for upgraded housing."

"How much will the land cost?" Tomyris asked, excited at the opportunity to move out of the Heroes Hall.

"Once we have reorganised the housing over the next week or so, we will draw out some plots and make them available for purchase. As the leaders of Riverside, you will all receive a plot for free, however any extensions will need to be purchased." Dom replied to her, which caused lots of smiles on everyone's faces. "I also want to promote to the Warriors to bring their families to Riverside, therefore after we have resolved the current housing issues with the Hittite's, I want to create a housing district near the Warriors Halls and outwards towards the forest and the east, for their families."

"I think that will go down very well." Gan Ning commented, "I know that Cleon and Dion would both like to bring their wives and sons to Riverside, but were waiting for the right moment."

"This could cause a huge influx of new Villagers." Lucius agreed, "So we definitely need to prepare for this in advance first. Wang Shu and Lars will need a lot of additional resource. I'll also speak with Kento and Minato as they will need to plan out educational activities."

"Why not speak with the Merchants on the market? See if we can purchase some slaves and materials to help us build up and grow?" Crassus stated, before looking over at Dom and continuing. "I know you do not agree with slavery, and I am not saying we should enforce it, but purchase them, have them earn their cost back through their work and grant them freedom and the same rights as the rest."

Dom stood and stared at Crassus in deep thought at what he said, wondering how he should respond.

"I think that's a great idea." Shang Yang agreed. "We could purchase additional labour, as well as any key missing skills we have, additional shipbuilders, builders, lumberjacks, farmers."

"Even craftsmen as well, we may not have the buildings yet, but those schematics we can buy." Lucius said, "Such as Potters, clothe makers and many others."

"I'll say I am open to the idea, let's have a look in it." Dom replied. "The final thing is the temporary sleeping arrangements, the Heroes Hall does not currently have enough space for everyone, and as you can see I have four bedrooms here. In the next couple of days we also have a new person due to join us from the Heroes Hall."

"I'm sleeping here." Meritamen commented straight away, leaving no room for negotiation. "I understand your position on things, however I am having that room there."

She pointed directly to the room next to the stairs up to Dom's room, and he felt like he couldn't argue with her about this. He then turned to Lucius for help, hoping that his longest serving Hero would help him.

"I am staying at the Heroes Hall." Lucius replied, "I plan to take the land and build a small Villa, preferably near the farming section, I'm also planning on brining my family."

"I will stay at the Heroes Hall." Crassus agreed, "I have been here for less than a day, but have similar thought to Lucius."

This continued one by one as each person declared that the offer of land was great and that they would prefer to stay at the Heroes Hall for now rather than moving twice. Uriah and Abubakar declared that they were not of a high enough rank to stay at the Home of the Lord.

"I'll move in." Tomoe said suddenly, interrupting everyone who was politely declining. "I am have no family to bring, and you need at least one spare bedroom for the next Hero. It can be a temporary thing for now though."

Abubakar was about to say something, but suddenly felt that death was rapidly approaching him as he looked towards Tomoe who had her eyes trained on him. Meritamen on the other hand just nodded in acceptance of the samurai moving in to the Lords manor, the two already starting a strange friendship.

"Fine, you can both stay here for now then." Dom replied, thinking that he had just caused himself a world full of problems. "That was all I had to discuss for now, we have delayed our plans a day which is not ideal, so tomorrow I expect full movement on our exploration plans."

"Will you be joining anyone?" Subutai asked seriously.

"I want to explore the Ancient Underground City now that it has almost been cleared." Dom replied, "But I will make a decision in the morning. For now let's head downstairs and feast!"

There were cheers of agreement that the official meeting was over and that a much needed evening of relaxation was about to happen. One by one the Heroes headed down the stairs from the living area to the great hall, where the sound of movement and laughter could already be heard.

Meritamen held back as the others walked down, grabbing Dom's arm and looping her own in it as she guided him down the stairs. He reluctantly agreed and walked down them with her. As he did he looked around and saw that most of the planned seats were now full with all of the invited guests having arrived and the Heroes now taking their seats. Dom's raised seat at the front was empty and he headed straight to that, followed by Meritamen who sat on the slightly lower seat beside him.

He saw that Himilco was sat with Helena and hadn't brought a plus one, whilst she had brought Ophelia who was looking at Dom and Meritamen with a large grin on her face. Hua Tou was sat with his wife, beside Sostratus who had brought a woman from Riverside that had arrived in an earlier batch of arrivals. Aristarchus was sat with Gu Kaizhi and they seemed to be in a deep conversation, which made most of the others happy to not be involved in.

Dom also noticed that Wang Shu and his wife were sat with Lars and his wife, jovially laughing. Dom was grateful to the two of them, and felt they were probably the hardest workers within the whole of Riverside.

As he took his seat, he clapped his hands loudly so that everyone knew that he wanted to speak. Silence passed the room as the sixty plus people all turned and looked at him expectantly, as other than Shang Yang and Lucius, and the now briefed heroes, no one knew what was going to be said.