The group reached the campsite by early evening, having made a fast pace in line with the speed of the Ox compared to the scouts who had travelled originally at a slower pace to conserve their energy. When they arrived they noted that the Spartan Leonidas was waiting for them atop of a grey horse. He looked relaxed and his spear was resting gently on his side.
"You have brought a small army." Leonidas commented, looked at the group approaching in relief. The group had discussed earlier to keep the numbers of the second group a secret to themselves, with only the commanders knowing in advance. This was to reduce the risk of alerting the Nomadic Tribe in case it was a trap. Knowledge was a key part of winning any battle, be it physical or not.
"How has it been?" Gan Ning asked from the cart, his legs resting against the wooden railings on the side. Gan Ning had full trust in Leonidas so was happy to see it was him waiting for them.
"It's bad." He replied seriously. "There is a stench and the majority of the tribe seem frail and weak. Hua Xiu has been looking over them and said that she is struggling to see what the sickness is, as it doesn't seem natural. We have been wearing strips of cloth over our mouths and noses whilst we have been inside to reduce any risk. Commander Tomyris has stated that we shouldn't eat, drink or share anything of theirs until we have worked out the cause of the illness. We will need to keep our supplies separate."
"I think that is a good idea." Hua Tou confirmed from the back of his Donkey, "Myself and Lady Phoebe can support my daughter when we arrive and try to work out the cause and a possible solution. But it sounds desperate."
"It will be interesting to see what the cause is, and come up with counter measures to protect Riverside." Phoebe said from her own Donkey.
"I do not believe it is a trap." Leonidas confirmed, "They are desperate and they do need our help. They were surprised when we arrived, and a little intimidated I would say. It was good that we had Hua Xiu and Tomyris there to keep them calm at our presence."
"Has anything of note happened?" Dom asked
"Octavian and the Legionnaires have started separating the sick from the healthy. Segmenting the small settlement in to different locations. The Scouting party and the Spartans have been taking over the key tasks within the camp, such as looking after the food source or protecting the herd. Allowing the Nomadic people themselves to support with the medical effort or rest." Leonidas replied.
"How far is it?" Gan Ning asked.
"From here, around an hour and a half to the north. I would advice we depart now and get there before the sun sets, we can hopefully then be in a good position to have a camp set up before nightfall." Leonidas reported.
"Then let's go!" Dom ordered. Cassius who was leading the cart cracked the reins and moved the cart to the northern direction, whilst the rest of the group fell in to formation around him. Leonidas rode to the front and directed their way.
Within the hour they arrived at the settlement, at the foot of a hill on some fertile grass lands. Dom wondered why he hadn't been given the option to name them, but suspected that they must have been named by a player or they were not an area designated for naming rights.
The settlement had many large and small huts, arranged in a circular motion with the larger ones at the centre and the smaller ones surrounding it. Their horses were tied up to posts to the left of the settlement and there were around forty of the grey horses there.
They noticed that Tomyris was stood waiting for them with two of her Hoplite from the scouting party at the edge of the site. She looked tired and her usual happy self was gone.
"Welcome Lord Lazarus and Gan Ning," She smiled forcefully. "It's great that you are here."
"It's good to see you to Tomyris." Dom replied, "Gives us an update and then get yourself some rest. We are here to help."
"It's appreciated." She replied, "I am exhausted, we all are. We have moved the bodies to the edge of the settlement, whilst putting those showing sickness to the right side. Octavian and the Tribe Leader Banas are currently working on securing the provisions within the village and separating them from the sick."
"That is great." Hua Tou commented, "The food should be managed well when there is sickness. We shall take control of that straight away and start to give them some of our fresher food for now."
"We should set up camp the the left of the Settlement, near the horses." Tomyris commented, "It's the furthest from the sickness and also the place with the least risk of attack from the hill or the flatlands."
"Very well." Dom replied, "Cassius, please lead the cart to that direction with the majority of the troops. Hua Tou, Phoebe, Gan Ning and my guards shall follow me to meet with the Tribal Chief Banas."
Dom's group headed towards the largest hut that was in the centre of the settlement, whilst Cassius the Merchant lead the rest towards the west to create the small campsite. The Legionnaires has brought equipment for setting up tents and would show the Hoplite how to do so for future excursions.
When they approached the tent, Dom noticed two tall women with swords at their waste stood by the doors. They wore the thin leather armour that Cleombrotus had described, with sheep fur garments covering it. Dom was expecting a show of force but was surprised when they bowed and stepped aside.
"Welcome back Lady Tomyris." They said politely." The Chief is waiting for you within."
They pulled the curtains to the large hut open and beckoned for the group to walk in. The inside was surprisingly well lit by a central fire pit and some candles in cages that hung along the walls. The room was spacious with fur cushions jotted around the floor. At the far end Hua Xiu was sat above a lady who was lay down, covered in furs. Another warrior was stood beside the woman, placing a wet cloth on the laying ladies head.
"Welcome Lord!" Hua Xiu quickly said, before getting up to bow.
"You don't need to bow Hua Xiu." Dom stated, "I have brought your father and Lady Phoebe, another Doctor of Riverside, with me. This must be the chief?"
The Lady who was lay down struggled to prop herself up, she had very pale skin and long ragged black hair that was starting to grey at the tips. She didn't look old at all, most likely in her mid thirties, but her skin was gaunt and she looked close to her death bed. She would have been beautiful normally, and had emerald green eyes.
"You must be Lord Lazarus." She coughed, "I thank you for coming to our aid. I fear that is this sickness is not cured, our little nomadic settlement will fade from history."
"I am here to be of help." Dom commented, shocked at the state of Chief. He looked at Gan Ning who had put forwards the option of conquering the tribe in it's weakened state, but even noticed that he was in shock.
"How could someone so beautiful, be in such a dire state." Dom heard Gan Ning mumble. It seemed that he had mumbled a bit too loud though as everyone in the hut was staring at him, causing him to cough and look away innocently.
"Please meet our Lord, Lord Lazarus." Tomyris introduced, "As well as my fellow commander Gan Ning. We also have our Doctors Hua Tou, who is Hua Xiu's father we mentioned and Lady Phoebe. The others are our Lords Guards and an wait outside if you wish."
"They are all welcome within my home." Chief Banas replied, "I am Chief Banas, and I have no fear, for if you wished you could wipe us out with the wave of your hand."
"Senior Hua, I will leave this to you." Dom commented, before taking a step back as Hua Tou took a step towards the Chief.
He placed his hand on her head, removing the wet cloth the Nomadic Warrior was holding on to it first. He then felt her wrist, and then her neck, holding his hand on both for a few seconds before moving on.
"Lady Phoebe, please can you do the next checks." Senior Hua commented, as Lady Phoebe nodded and stepped forwards.
"Please may the men turn around or leave." Phoebe commented, not caring that Dom or Gan Ning who were more senior in Riverside where there. Dom nodded and he and the rest of the men left the room, confident in the Doctor's safety with Tomyris in the room. Hua Tou stayed in the room as he was a doctor, however the rest of the men left to give the Chief some privacy.
Several minutes passed before they were called back in to the room. The Chief was more sat up than before, but she looked like she could collapse at any second.
"The Chief's health is poor, her heart is feeble and she is unable to keep either food or drink within." Phoebe began, "it is a dire situation if more than half of the people are in the same state."
"My personal opinion is that it is in an infection of the insides, caused by an illness of the stomach which is both inflamed and hard." Hua Tou added. "There are several possible causes of this."
"What can we do to help?" Dom asked seriously.
"We need to make sure that the sick are drinking as many fluids as possible. I believe that we should stop using the current food supplies in case those are the cause, I'll inspect those shortly." Hua Tou replied, "Secondly we need to interview members that are both sick and well and see where and what they have been doing over the last few days before the sickness arose. Then we can hopefully see why not everyone is sick. I believe if it was an illness that spread easily, everyone would be infected."
"Ok." Dom started, "Chief Banas, I am going to take control of your Settlement whilst we try to help. This is just temporary until the issue has been resolved, it will allow us to deal with it quicker and smoother, I hope you can agree."
"That is fine." Chief Banas replied, "If you wanted to take control you could regardless, I am grateful you have asked."