Rider Approaching

Dom recognised the items straight away. Inside the sack were three green cubes and a golden token. The three green cubes Dom recognised as building spawners, but the golden token was new to him. The green cubes were slightly cracked in places, but they were obviously the same type of cubes that they had seen before.

"The Green Cubes we receive as rewards." Lucius replied to Shang Yang. "We can normally use them to spawn specific buildings, or random ones in some cases. Some of our key buildings have come from them. I am unsure on the Golden Token."

"Amazing," Shang Yang responded, "This world is full of interesting new things. It would be interesting to see if there is a way to control the arrival of the Green Cubes and what they hold, but alas we can look at that later. For now I am sure that your Architect will be grateful as well at this change."

"As will Wang Shu and the builders, one less thing to add to their list." Lucius added, "However I am unsure on the Golden Token, what is it Lord Lazarus?"

"As am I." Dom commented, "Game Support, please show stats."

[The Golden Token is a one time item, it is used to launch a Special Quest Map. These are random quests in random map zones, similar to the tutorial mission. They have different rules and rewards, as well as different difficulty levels]

"The Golden Token launches a special quest for us." Dom replied to the group after hearing Game Supports explanation. "It will take me to a separate location to complete a quest."

"Well let's not use that for now." Lucius commented. "We need to complete the quests we already have first, so as to not stretch our priorities."

"I would agree." Shang Yang added. "If it is as special as a Token dedicated for it, then preparation is needed."

"Very well, I'll take your advice and wait." Dom agreed, not wanting to do to much at once.

"You are the Lord and the final decision is yours." Shang Yang added.

"This was a great find Alexander." Dom said, moving the conversation on, "I'll come with you tomorrow to see the Throne Room, but tonight I think it's important that we rest and recuperate."

The group agreed and Dom, Shang Yang, Lucius, Subutai and Gan Ning headed towards the Town Centre whilst the rest continued with the unloading and preparation. Dom's guards obviously followed as well.

By the time they reached the Town Centre the sun was starting to set and night was approaching. They headed inside and saw that the Family of Cooks and the Family of Bakers were chatting in the kitchen and preparing some food for the Village.

"We really need a building made specifically for cooking." Dom stated. "We can't expect everyone to come to the Town Centre for food."

"Or have the Villagers prepare their own meals." Shang Yang replied. "I believe they have simple set ups already in their houses, we could distribute ingredients or look at upgrading the housing levels."

"We should." Lucius agreed, "However everyone is so committed to having Riverside grow that they are working more hours than necessary and wouldn't have time to cook."

"We need to find a way to reward them." Dom commented. "And also give them the time to be able to do necessary things like cook."

"A salary would be a start." Shang Yang replied, "Once we are confident we have the reserves, a salary would give them a monetary reward. We should also, when Riverside reaches a certain level of occupancy, introduce shift systems and working hours."

"I agree with both ideas, but I expect the implementation would be complicated with a salary so that we don't run out of money!" Dom replied, he was intelligent but creating a currency wasn't something the standard military student was aware of.

"That is something both I and Lucius are aware off, let us work on the finer details." Shang Yang continued, "However we will need the treasury and somewhere to create currency, so we may need to bide our time."

They all sat down and were soon served some food from the cooks, it was a simple stew made with grain, some vegetables and some fresh fish from the River. Even though it was simple, it tasted fresh and they all enjoyed it.

"Are you going to let us know what buildings they are?" Gan Ning asked excitedly. Subutai, Shang Yang and Lucius all looked at him awaiting a response. "Hopefully there is another Warriors Hall!"

Dom took the green cubes from the pouch he had been carrying them in since Alexander had given them to him.

"System, show stats" Dom said.

[Damaged Green Cube - Unknown Ancient School]

[Damaged Green Cube - Unknown Ancient Stables]

[Damaged Green Cube - Unknown Ancient Clinic]

"What does the Damaged signify?" Dom asked, worried that they were unusable.

[It means that they are no longer at their original level, and may not work properly. With these being of an Unknown Ancient design, it is possible that they can not be fully recreated, causing unworking buildings to arrive.]

"Is there a way to repair them?" Dom questioned.

[No, however they can be re-rolled in to a more relevant version, however the level of the original may drop a grade]

"Please re-roll them." Dom asked, preferring to have something than works than take the risk. Whilst it looked like Dom was talking to himself, the others ignored this and looked around so he didn't feel uncomfortable. Shang Yang looked confused and had to be updated by Lucius that Dom was talking to some higher power that managed the magical things that happened around them. Dom was unaware of this and would have laughed at it if he paid attention.

[Rerolling Damaged Green Cubes....]

[Green Cube - School Building]

[Green Cube - Stables Building]

[Green Cube - Doctors Clinic Building]

"Any news?" Lucius asked Dom who looked deep in thought.

"Yes, we have a Stables and a Doctors Clinic. Both I am sure will come in handy." Dom replied, "However, we also have a school."

"A school?" Gan Ning queried, "But the Village has no Children?"

"Maybe because there is no School." Subutai replied seriously, "One day there may be."

"That's a good possibility." Dom agreed.

"We also have no teachers or a district planned for it." Lucius added. "However, Hua Tou will be happy with the Clinic, and a stables will come in handy."

"It's getting dark, should we do them now or tomorrow?" Dom asked the group, wanting their opinion.

"Tomorrow." Shang Yang replied, "We can sleep and think on the educational side of things. I personally think a school is a great addition, even adults can use additional learnings."

Dom accepted Shang Yang's opinion, understanding that the Grade S Hero was probably the most intelligent when it came to Civil matters amongst them.

They soon finished eating and talking, and decided to all get some rest as tomorrow would be a very busy day.

As Dom reached his room, he took out the Golden Ticket and Green Cubes again and looked at them in deep thought. He wondered if these were his mission rewards or hidden loot within the World Conquest Online map, if he could find them, then so could other players. If that was the case then scouting and exploring were very important tasks that he should take seriously. If a non Lord player found them, would they be sellable items or would they receive something else.

Dom out the Green Cubes in his personal chest, before holding the Golden Ticket and looking at it intently, excited about the challenge.

"Game Support, can you tell me anything about the mission or difficulty level of the secret mission?" He asked.

[I can not, as it will be random, based on when the Golden Token is used and the different options that are available]

"What type of options could there be?" He queried.

[Civil or Military challenges are the normal options for Lords, however you could receive an Arena or Adventure related quest. The list is long and will be randomly selected]

"Are there other types of Tokens?" Dom asked.

[There are, from Red being the rarest, to Gold, Purple, Silver, Bronze, Black and White. Similar to the rankings of S through F. The lower grades are more numerous found and are often rewards for Adventure classes, whilst the higher grades are hidden or rewards for more challenging missions or Lords]

"Wow, so a Golden Token is similar to Grade A, which will be very challenging." Dom exclaimed.

[Correct, but similar to the tutorial mission, they can also be simple if played correctly]

"And how will I know how many people I can take with me, or will it be solo?" Dom asked, almost ready for sleep.

[Once triggered, a brief outline will be given. The player will then be given one hour to assemble and prepare for the missions. Only people within the vicinity can join you, you can not choose someone who is outside of Riverside or your current location, numbers are limited per mission outlines and can be either Players or World Conquest Online characters]

"Thanks Game Support!" Dom exclaimed, before putting the Golden Token away and lying down on his bed.

He closed his eyes and went a deep sleep, at some point during the night he was awoken by the shouts of the Riverside Guards who were on night patrol. He looked outside and saw the first glimpses of red as the sun was starting to rise.

"Rider Approaching!" He heard one shout, which he believed was Paul.

Dom quickly jumped out of bed and started to put his armour on. Once he had, he grabbed the Slaying Spear that was lay against the wall and made his way downstairs.

There wasn't any sign of Villagers, who hopefully continued to sleep through the disturbance, but he did notice some Hoplite and Gan Ning stood in the direction of the Farmlands.

Dom headed over towards them, soon flanked by Trojan and Gregorios who he didn't know where they came from.

"Heard the Alarm." Gregorios said tiredly, "We knew you'd check it out, so we came before you had chance to go alone!"

"We need to get another pair of guards so you can do shifts then." Dom shook his head, accepting he was stuck with having guards now.

"That would be appreciated " Trojan agreed sleepily, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

They soon reached Gan Ning who was stood with his hand on his sword hilt. The Hoplite stood in uniform behind him whilst Paul and one of the new Guards from Crixus's group stood slightly ahead awaiting the guest.

"Anything interesting?" Dom asked Gan Ning.

"Lone rider." He replied, his eyes peaking in to dark, "Doesn't look like an attack, I like a night attack and this isn't the way I would do it."

Dom wondered what a night attack with Gan Ning would look like, and was sure that he would find out soon enough.

Soon the guest came in to sight, and Gan Ning and Dom recognised him immediately.

"Lord!" Cleombrotus the Spartan shouted from atop a large grey horse, "We need A Doctor!"