"You are going to be the lure?" Dom questioned Gu Kaizhi, surprised by the sudden announcement from both his now upgraded Villager and the system.
"That's correct." Gu Kaizhi replied with a smile. "I can play the Lute well enough myself, and Crassus had acquired some instruments as part of his recent expedition."
"I don't remember that being on the list." Dom chuckled, whilst looking at Crassus.
"I bought some treats as well, I thought they may come in handy." Crassus replied with a shoulder shrug. "Who knows when we may want some actual entertainment in the evenings."
"OK, so let's say you stay, what's the rest of the plan?" Dom asked, ignoring Crassus's reply.
"That's it, we'll need to redirect the resource, gather the required materials and get a move on with it." Crassus replied, "Ideally we need to make Tongpai Town as flammable as possible, we want the fire to spread, quick and fast. From the outside to the centre."
"We'll place Gan Ning and the navy at the Lakes edge and they can shoot any that may try to escape in that direction." Subutai added, "We'll also need to have our ranged units spaced around the wall and groups of infantry near any key escape points."
"The walls aren't very high, so we need to make sure they are amongst the fire first, as they may be able to escape over them in parts." Xun You added.
"There is also a risk the plan may not work, if they have a capable commander." Crassus confirmed, "but we suspect they'll be confident as they are 'unknown' to us and we are the ones who are supposed to be surprised, not them."
"One key question." Dom asked, "How does Gu Kaizhi escape if he is in the centre?"
"That's something I am hoping you all have a plan for." Gu Kaizhi confirmed, "otherwise I will need a fast horse and some luck that I can get to the docks before they get to me, or the fire does."
"We had a prisoner escape, and we don't know how." Dom replied, "If we can find out how, then maybe this plan will work."
"Then let's get moving." Subutai replied as he stood up, "I'll move the Warrior resource around and have Pullo inform the residents that some pace is needed or they'll be stuck in a fire."
"I'll work out how Bagoas escaped." Xun You replied, Dom's S grade strategist, who hadn't been involved in the search as of yet.
....
The group all separated, leaving Dom alone in the Tongpai Town, Town Centre. He was sat behind the desk and wondering where he would be best placed next, but first he wanted to check his upgraded Villagers stats.
"System, please show Gu Kaizhi's stats." Dom asked.
[Gu Kaizhi
Hero - Grade D
Hero Skill - Artistic Talent
Gu Kaizhi is a famous painter, poet and calligrapher from around the times of the Eastern Jin Dynasty of Ancient China. He was renowned for his paintings, as well as his calligraphy and poetry. He held several positions with the court but was most known for his artistic skills. Some of his artwork survived the test of time, which documented some key moments from the Jin, Wei and Han Dynasties that preceded him.
He raised to the rank of Royal Officer and was renowned for his art skills, with the Emperor Huan Xuan having 'misplaced' some of them, to which Gu Kaizhi declared that they must have become divine works and ascended to join the immortals.]
Dom was interested to understand how the grading were calculated as he had expected if someone did get a promotion in Grade that it would be to an E or F level Hero, not a D. However Dom did wonder if that was because in Gu Kaizhi's original profile it did mention that he could have been a Hero Class originally, but had chosen to live a different life. He wondered what the practical difference would be between Gu Kaizhi the Elite Villager and Gu Kaizhi the Civilian Hero. Gu Kaizhi's profile had also grown from when he was an Elite Villager in actual information, which surprised him.
Whilst he was thinking, Xun You appeared in the room with two Forbidden Guard, a prideful smile on his face.
"I have discovered how he escaped!" Xun You proudly announced as he saw Dom sat deep in thought.
...
Dom followed Xun You back to the room that Bagoas had been stored in over night and had escaped from. The injured Hoplite from earlier had awoken and had explained how he had been lured in by Bagoas on the understanding that Bagoas was feeling unwell. Dom had left it with Centurion Alexander to deal with his Hoplite, rather than micro manage himself.
Dom looked and saw that a desk at the back of the room had now been moved, beside it a large tile from the flooring. In their original space was a small hole that would have been uncomfortable to squeeze through that led to an unknown space below.
"I assume that he escaped through that hole then?" Dom asked as he saw it.
"That is what we believe, He must have been very careful when he placed the tile back above his head to not create any obvious disturbance." Xun You replied, "We've sent one of the men down the tunnel, and it does widen once you have got past the entry point, it then leads in to a network of crawl spaces and tunnels that are all around the Town Centre. I am sure that Bagoas and his team would have been able to see and hear everything that took place in the building."
"I can't believe we didn't find it earlier." Dom complained, as now the tile had been moved, it seemed almost obvious.
"There are many similar escape routes or entry points in other rooms as well. The tunnel leads straight to the basement." Xun You replied with a smile.
"So if we hadn't have found him in the basement, he may have escaped in to these tunnels and waited on a better opportunity." Dom asked.
"Potentially, but we have found something interesting in the basement." Xun You replied, "There is a similar hidden passage in the room with the Wine and Cheese. We have discovered that it is a path that splits and have sent a small team down each route. Hopefully they return soon with an update on where these paths lead to."
"Are you thinking that this is our escape plan for the Empty Town Strategy?" Dom asked as his mind thought of the possibility, firstly of how Bagoas had control of the situation the entire time, and secondly how by him escaping, the Empty Town Strategy could work with less risk.
"Exactly that." Xun You agreed, "The key issue on the strategy has been how those that are used as a Lure can escape. Now we have a route, it is still risky, and if they don't move fast enough they could be cut off or followed."
"It's the best option we have, we just need to hope that these routes lead outside of Tongpai Town and not to another location within." Dom replied, "Otherwise we'll need to create a secondary plan."
"We'll need to block off any incorrect routes so that those who use it as an escape do not get lost, in what I suspect may be a bit maze like." Xun You added, "I do want to know who built this though, as it's an interesting architectural skill."
"Something for Lucius to manage when we are registering the Tongpai Town people in to the growing Riverside." Dom agreed, also wanting to know who had built it, and potentially recruit them. "Let me know when we have news from the scouts you have sent, we can bring all our senior leadership together and get a better idea of what we are doing. Hopefully we have time."
"Gan Ning has sent one of the small merchant ships up and around the edges of the lake, with a reduced crew, within sight of it is one of the Bireme's that can come to it's rescue but will be out of Arrow range. He is hoping to track their movements based on that." Xun You replied, "We have also dispatched a mixed volunteer scout network in to the woods. We are managing it similar to last time, where each person is within sight of the next. We have some fast Spartans, Balearic Slingers and a couple of the Forbidden Guard on Sabre Tooth Tiger back, the hope being their noses will pick up on the scent."
"I feel that we need Meritamen's White Wolves for this task." Dom lamented, thinking that his wives recent purchase would have been helpful.
"Unfortunately they are not here." Xun You agreed.
Dom soon departed and left Xun You to continue with his plan, he looked down to the garden in the centre of the Town Centre and saw that Gu Kaizhi was setting up a small stage, with large metal sheets being curved between the pillars of the lower floor. Dom understood that they were setting up an area where the noise could be amplified, making sure that the sound travelled the distance they wanted it to.
With Gu Kaizhi were some Tongpai residents that were strong and had been asked to support with the work. They had decided it would be beneficial to include some of the residents, so that word would spread across the civilians about what the Riverside forces where doing, proving that what had been said was the truth.
Dom left the Town Centre and headed back towards the main Gate of Tongpai Town, his eyes looking up towards the sun in the sky. The time left of this log in was shrinking and he knew that he couldn't afford to log out in the current situation. He hoped the scouts returned with good news, news that the enemy had not yet been sighted and they both had time to clear Tongpai Town, and time to make it a death trap.
He soon arrived at the Gate, surrounded by his guards as usual. As he entered the area, the large crowds that were leaving, with bags on shoulder or on carts, all stopped to look at him. The silence was deafening, with some sights of that of loss, leaving their homes they had built in this world, where as others were of anger that they had been conquered. The majority however looked grateful, that these strangers had come to rescue them from a corrupt leader and from terrifying enemies that were coming.
The area was extremely busy, with carts laden with goods, be that food or materials, as well as children and elderly that sat in and around them. Floods of people left through the gate and headed towards the distance, the route to the Riverside Military Camp flagged by the outer scouts that had been sent in advance. Dom was impressed to see a variety of horses and oxen had been found somewhere within Tongpai Town and they were attached to the largest of the carts, the rest being pushed by civilians themselves. Crassus could be seen near the gate and was shouting at some of the Shang Century that were currently assisting, their familiar look reassuring the civilians.
"I don't care if they want to take them or not. There is no space!" Crassus shouted at the Shang Legionary that looked terrified of the ex Roman Consul.
"I know sir, but they said it's important to their family!" He replied sheepishly, "They have already left all of their other belongings. They even own some of these carts."
Dom walked towards them, and they both stopped talking for a second as he appeared. He was hard to miss as the Crowd had announced his presence with their silence.
"What are they trying to take?" Dom asked the Legionary.
"Erm, it's a chest Lord Lazarus, full of personal belongings that have passed down through their family. They are reluctant to leave it behind." The Legionary responded. Dom looked at Crassus, who nodded in response.
"It's not a priority item, and it will take the place of key resources or someone who needs a seat to make it to Riverside." Crassus explained.
"I understand Sir." The Legionary stated dejectedly, "I'll say no."
"Leave it with us, we'll go and talk with them. We should at least say thanks and reimburse them for their Carts." Dom said to the Legionary, then turning to Crassus who smiled back at him as the two of them headed towards the family in question.