The Bellona and Sibylla rowed through the golden portals that slowly closed behind them, the sight of Riverside disappearing was a new experience for some of the newer crews, especially Andrew and Kai who hadn't joined a quest yet. The Sea surrounding them was a deep and clear turquoise, with the sun reflecting off it's surface. Their was a gentle warm breeze that did little to alleviate the scorching heat from the summer sun.
"Land behind us!" A Legionary shouted from the rear, pointing towards the cliff edge of a nearby island, with others visible in the distance.
"More to the left!" Another shouted, both pieces of land clearly visible to the eye.
"I would say we are in a straight between two Islands." Gan Ning commented as he looked around in thought.
"More Ships arriving!" Another shouted, pointing to their right where other portals appeared, a variety of ships rowing or sailing through them.
"Raise Flags!" Centurion Cato bellowed loudly, as two crew quickly attached a Sabre Tooth Tiger flag to the ships mast, with the Sibylla beside them following suit. He then turned to some of the Hoplite's onboard "Where are we, show me on our map!"
A few Hoplite ran towards him, where a table had been laid out with a hand drawn map on it. Zhou Yu headed towards them as well, as he looked around at the ships that appeared.
"I see three Bireme!" Gan Ning commented as he looked around, "At least six transport ships."
"Their bows are big, but they won't be overly useful in a fight." Sun Ce commented as he looked as well. "That's an interesting ship."
"That looks like a type of Longship, used by the Vikings. Not that that one looks overly impressive." Dom replied to Sun Ce, before turning to Gan Ning, "Could those Transport Ships be used are Archer Platforms?"
"Potentially, but I see them as potential purchases." Gan Ning stated as the three of them headed towards the map where Centurion Cato continued to shout orders to his crew.
"Six small Liburna, pre our era at least!" A Legionary shouted, one of Cato's original crew. "I also see three modern Liburna, they will be faster than a lot of the Trireme but not as powerful."
"As fast as the Bellona and Sibylla?" Zhou Yu asked the Legionary as the three of them joined the conversation.
"I doubt it General, they haven't had Master Himilco and Master Ou Yezi's upgrades." The Legionary replied as he continued to look at other portals that appeared.
"Another four Bireme and I can also see two Trireme!" Another Legionary shouted who was looking to their left. The sea around them now slowly filling with more and more ships, all spaced well apart from one another.
"Is that a Mengchong? they are brave taking that to a sea battle." Gan Ning laughed as he saw the familiar ship in the water.
"They fight well enough on the wider Rivers back home, if the fighting is between Islands then they may be convenient due to their smaller size." Zhou Yu stated. "Also, if they have researched like we have, then they'll know that the water is calm during the battle and could risk taking the Mengchong. If anything I would be interested to see who would bring a ship like that."
"How many ships are we looking at?" Dom asked one of the Legionaries who had been taking note.
"Ten Bireme, four Trireme, twelve Liburna, two Longships, one Mengchong and around twenty Transport ships and other ships, including Dhows and Corbita." The Legionary counted as Dom looked across and saw a variety of ships.
"Forty Nine others have joined, either Lords or Guild Leaders." Zhou Yu commented, "We have the two largest and post powerful ships here. Lord Lazarus, should we deploy the Titanaconda's and set up a meeting with their Leaders before we move on?"
Dom stood there with the eyes on him as he thought for a second, did he want to unleash one of his hidden units to the wider world already. Once other Players head about Lord Lazarus, his Bellona and his Titanaconda's, it would be hard to keep himself hidden much longer.
"That's a great idea Zhou Yu. Centurion Cato, signal for the Sibylla to do the same and then move us to a central location where we can move from quickly if anyone has any thoughts on trying to take our ships." Dom stated, after realising that he must look like an interesting prey for a lot of these other players.
"I would like to see them try." Gan Ning laughed as he looked down at the Rowers that were all Warriors, rather than normal ship crew.
"The Sibylla has responded that they are doing the same, Centurion Hector has departed." Centurion Cato announced soon afterwards, as the rest of them looked over the map. One of the Hoplite, Deimos, had recognised the nearby terrain.
"That island is Mykonos as it over there, and the other is the smaller Island of Delos." Deimos commented, "The Island of the gods."
"The Island of the Gods?" Sun Ce asked him as he looked at the distant Island.
"The Birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Home of the Gods Dionysus and Leto." Deimos explained, "A Sacred place and a positive omen."
"It is also where the fleets of Leotychides and Xanthippus meet before they travel to Samos." Zhou Yu commented as he read some notes he had taken when listening to the stories from Thucydides and the others. "They meet here after both hearing stories from the other Islands, eventually a delegation from Samos will appear and persuade them to attack the Persians there."
"I do not see two large fleets of Ships." Sun Ce commented out loud.
"Then we have arrived before the Greeks, Spartans and Samians." Zhou Yu stated, "This means we are at least a couple of days ahead of the Naval clash at Samos. The Spartans under Leotychides and their allies should arrive first, followed by Xanthippus and the Athenians, then the Samians. They will discuss things for a few days and then depart to Mycale. This is all based on the limited information we have gathered. I think we should be able to push ahead with our Original Plan."
"Then we need to purchase some ships." Dom agreed after listening to what Zhou Yu stated.
"Then once the other Captains are gathered, we will hold a Conclave and see what can be done." Zhou Yu replied, before sending more orders to the Sibylla. Dom was finally seeing the S Class Strategist begin to flourish without being in the shadow of Subutai and Xun You.
.....
One by one, the other ships slowly moved closer to each other in the shadow of the cliffs off the Isle of Delos. Some came by small boat, whilst others had to be collected. but eventually, each Leader and a guard, from each ship, arrived on the deck of the Bellona.
Dom sat in a chair with the map of the Aegean Sea beside him, Crassus had come aboard and was stood behind him, whilst a masked Zhou Yu was stood at the other side of him. Zhou Yu had proposed that all of Dom's Heroes that hadn't been discovered by Prince Li Shang should be covered so to not give away all of his secrets. Crassus however proposed that his face should be shown, as he was going to start negotiations with some of these Leaders and it would be ideal if they knew his reputation.
Dom sat silently as more and more Leaders arrived, some seemed to be Lord Class Players such as himself, whilst others were Warriors and Guild Leaders like Andrew. Andrew also sat at the top near Dom, with a masked Gan Ning behind him. His seat was the closest to Dom and on the right side, whilst Captains were given seats based on when they arrived at his ship. The four Players who had Trireme were the ones Zhou Yu was keeping an eye on the most, as they would have the biggest impact in the Battle and he had plans for them all.
"He's just sat there silently watching us." One of the Captains said to another about Dom, both Captains having come from nearby Transport Ships. Whilst Dom ignored them, not even having looked in their direction yet.
"He's probably worried, did your read what GeneralSlaughter said?" The other Captain replied, the two of them seemingly not worried about what other Players thought of them.
"Have you seen all of the armoured Warriors below, I am scared they will try and kill us!" Another Captain mentioned nearby to those beside him.
"I am sure the Game would penalise anyone that did team kills." Another replied in confidence.
"I am a Lord Player and I have nothing like this!" A Liburna Lord Player mentioned to another, "Have you seen that the Trireme next to us has the same flag!"
"How did they bring two ships?" Another replied in surprise, as he looked around at other Players that seemed to share a similar look.
"Probably a loop hole." A Transport Ship Captain replied, a slight jealous undertone.
"Or a Guild linked to a Kingdom." A Trireme Captain stated seriously, his own ship of good quality that he was proud of until he saw Dom's.
"Has everyone arrived?" Zhou Yu shouted as a final Captain sat down, looking slightly ashamed that they were the last one in the fifty one seats, his Guard seemingly also a Player and looking a bit embarrassed.
"All on board General!" Centurion Cato responded from the top of the ship. The Titanaconda unit was currently slowly circling the Bellona and Sibylla's respectively, keeping the other ships slightly intimidated and distanced whilst Dom conducted business.
"Very well Centurion, over to you Lord." Zhou Yu stated as he took a step back and Dom looked up, having kept his black helmeted head down as they all arrived, with Andrew having down the same in his own armour that had been given to him, a spare set of Armoured Hoplite armour that fit him. As Dom looked up, his young face showed, but as he said his first words, everyone stayed silent.
"Thank you for joining my on my ship, I am Lazarus." Dom introduced himself, letting his name settle for a few seconds. A few looked at each other with shock in their eyes, whilst others had light smiles at the sudden realisation they were with the current top Lord Class Player. "This ship and the one next to us are both mine. I have called this Conclave, so that we can be one united front and have a higher negotiation power with our Greek Allies when they arrive."
"When are they due to arrive?" One of the Trireme Captain's asked, his question showed the anticipation and excitement in his voice.
"We do not know, but we need to be organised before they do." Dom replied seriously as he stood up and looked at them all. "We need a leader of this Conclave, I am going to be that leader."
"Shouldn't we vote?" Someone argued, before Dom's crew that had been kept away made some noise downstairs.
"Do you have the two most powerful ships full of armoured Warriors?" A Trireme Captain said to the Player that had argued with a raised eyebrow. "I am happy to follow, as long as there is fair reward for me."
"And the rest of us." Another Trireme Captain replied, a clear narrative being set silently by the Trireme Captains that the power of their ship was a direct correlation to their position in the alliance.
"We have my Quinquereme and five Trireme, of which one is also mine. Then there is ten Bireme and twelve Liburna, followed by a variety of other ships. There are fifty one ships in total, a sizeable force if we work as one." Dom stated as he looked at them all, specifically the four Trireme Captains. "Before we begin this Conclave, do you all intent to fight or is there anyone with other purposes?"
"I just need resources." One Captain stated seriously, a Transport Ship owner. "I think this could also be a good opportunity to trade."
"I am the same." Another Transport Ship owner replied, whilst the majority of them said they were here to fight, either to test their own strength or to see what rewards they could gather.
"I am here to fight GeneralSlaughter." A Trireme Captain stated seriously, causing a lot to look at him and then back at Dom.