Some time had passed and the Map Room was now full of all of the senior commanders of Riverside who were available. Abubakar was not present as he was looking after the easter Watchtower growth and the Horse Archers that were stationed there, where as Uriah was left in charge of the defences with the Centurions; Octavian, Pullo, Septimius and the Hoplite Alexander.
Dom was stood beside Gan Ning at the centre of the room, the large map panels of Riverside behind him, whilst in front of him was laid out the Map that himself and Gan Ning had been looking over, that Gan Ning had brought back from the Type 3 Human's cave. Surrounding the map were Subutai, Shang Yang, Tomyris, Tomoe, Meritamen and the now awoken Lucius who had a small nap in the mean time.
"As you can see from this map, we believe that they have not travelled as south as Riverside yet." Dom started as he announced his and Gan Ning's findings to the group. "These markings look like they are clearly based substantially north of us, and that they seem to have destroyed a couple of smaller towns around the Silver Forest. These two squares we believe signify larger settlements, one to the north west and the other to the north east. We believe Tongpai Town is the one to the north east."
There was silence at this announcement, as everyone looked at each other. Some showed signs of relief, where as others showed signs of confusion. Subutai leaned forwards and looked at the map intently for a few seconds before speaking.
"As great news at that is, they could still travel south and we need to continue on the defensive footing." Subutai stated, "We also need to clear as much forest as possible, eventually even clearing the whole forest if needs be and removing this threat permanently."
"I agree." Shang Yang agreed, "We also now have a map to scout our own routes, we know their are two large settlements near us, as well as an enemy that is in a northern direction."
"I understand." Dom replied, "We do need to work on our long term plans, and an attack would be great once we have got ourselves a stronger force. But it isn't the priority right now."
Meritamen then stepped forwards, her confidence as a leader within the group now at an all time high after managing the daily affairs of the Town over the last couple of days.
"Are we confident that they are not a threat in the short term?" She asked seriously.
"I believe that this enemy was alone." Gan Ning replied from beside Dom. "All signs show that it is an outlier scout of the enemy force, but we do not know their full numbers."
"Hua Tou has completed an autopsy on the enemy that Tomoe defeated." Dom continued, nodding his head at Tomoe as he mentioned her. A sad smile on her face at his acknowledgement. "They seem to be a distant cousin of ours, with better hearing and sigh, as well as more agile. They are however more fragile than us and therefore on an open ground we should have the advantage, where as in the forest we do not."
"A distant cousin?" Tomyris asked, "I haven't seen this creature yet, but that is not something I can easily believe."
"That is what Doctor Hua Tou has said." Dom replied, "And I have to trust in his knowledge."
"I have seen what he has shown me." Lucius interrupted, "It's organs are what I would expect in the body of a man, I am not a doctor but I have felled many a foe on the battlefield over the years."
"Then we need to re-asses the world we are in." Tomyris continued, "The stories I have heard about the Ancient Underground City are strange enough, but to think that we could have other species of humans, that is a worrisome development."
"Worrisome maybe." Subutai replied, "But we will defeat any threat regardless if they are human or not."
Tomyris loudly tapped her chest with her fist at this comment, which was soon followed by the other Military Commanders, an acknowledgement that they would fight what ever for came at them.
"Do we still need the mercenaries that Crassus is gathering?" Meritamen asked, changing the conversation away from the species. "That is potentially a lot of resource spent unnecessarily."
"That is one of the main reasons you are all gathered." Dom replied, before looking around the room and pointing at the square on the map that represented what he believed was Tongpai Town. "We have to decide our next step, the decisions we make here will dictate our future direction. We believe that the enemy is headed in the direction of Tongpai Town, another enemy of ours, but they are human."
"So what are our options then?" Meritamen asked back, whilst everyone else waited for Dom to continue.
"Option one is the safe option. We use this opportunity to cement our defences, build them strong and train our warriors. Bring in Mercenaries and prepare for a possible defensive engagement eventuality. We can prioritise our southern expeditions whilst maintaining a strong force in Riverside." Dom started. "Option two is that if the enemy is attacking Tongpai Town, we use the incoming Mercenaries as well as our crack troops, to head north through the forest and attack the enemy base. We are using Tongpai Town as bait whilst we strike at their heartland, this should destroy two enemies at once, but their is risk that we are announcing ourselves to an angry foe who we do not know much about."
"That sounds risky." Shang Yang stated.
"Yes, it is." Dom agreed, "Option three, is that we head to Tongpai Town in force and reinforce them, if they are under attack then we can become heroes and change an enemy to an ally. If they are not under attack however, we may end up going to war with them accidently, allowing the Type 3 humans to take advantage of the situation."
"We are not ready for a war against Tongpai Town." Subutai stated, "Our forces are growing strong and if we took everyone we could win based on the information we have been provided, but if they have grown or we are counter attacked then Riverside is exposed. We need to double our current forces before we can do that."
"We will have the mercenaries." Dom argued back.
"True, but they can not be trusted as much as those from Riverside, nor can we guarantee their quality." Subutai countered.
"Are their any further options?" Lucius asked.
"Yes." Dom exhaled, "Option 4 is that we keep on the defensive and scout for now, when Crassus returns we try and send a diplomatic envoy to the kingdom that he is visiting, explaining the situation and attempting to have them fight alongside us against a non human foe."
"To risky." Shang Yang stated. "Riverside is not established enough yet to be entering these conversations, we do not have the diplomatic clout to come out with a strong bargain in our favour."
"I think you are doubting my skills." Meritamen threw back at him.
"Quite the contrary." Shang Yang replied, "I had taken in your skills before coming to that conclusion, If anyone else went I would expect a much worse outcome than if you went, but even then I doubt we would come out strong."
"So they are my ideas, what do people think?" Dom replied, watching as Meritamen acknowledged the back handed compliment from Shang Yang.
"Option two or Option three." Tomoe said, her first words of the meeting. "I want to kill them and keep Riverside safe and avenge my fallen men."
"Option one." Shang Yang stated, "We need to look after our home."
"I agree with Advisor Shang Yang." Lucius said.
"I believe we should go for option two." Tomyris stated seriously. "Then return and continue with Option one."
Dom turned to Meritamen, Subutai and Gan Ning who hadn't announced their thoughts yet. All three of them looked deep in thought and Dom was currently at a tie between attacking or defending.
"Option four." Meritamen stated, "We need to attack, but we need allies."
"I am torn." Subutai stated, "I think Option three is the best idea, whilst also the riskiest. I want to wait a while longer before enacting it, but by that time Tongpai Town may have fallen. For now we should defend and wait for Crassus to return and see what his Mercenaries are like. He may also have made some other substantial purchases that could help."
"He is a clever man." Lucius agreed, "I am sure that he would have over achieved with the task."
"What about you Gan Ning?" Dom asked, turning to his trusted general that had found the map in the first place.
"How did the same enemy that destroyed the Ancient Underground City appear in the north of us, but not have any of the area between them and the Ancient Underground City on the map." Gan Ning said. Causing everyone to realise they had missed this key bit of information. "We are assuming that they are the same enemy that destroyed that kingdom, but the bones and the buildings are old, where as this enemy is fresh. We need to finish our exploration and understand that situation before we can make a decision on what we do. I am for Option three, but only after we have all of the information."
"That's a good point." Dom replied, "We need to finish the excavation of the Ancient Underground City immediately. Wait for Crassus to return and then decide if we strike or defend."
"Ok, Subutai please rearrange the forces so that we have a scout network within the out reach of the forest and to the east, stand down most of the army, but we will reduce those that are on previous exploration duty. I want the Elite Spartan Unit fully organised upon my return, as well as Pullo to continue his intense training of the Shang and Hittites. Tomyris, please take Mayor Lucius with you to the west and continue with a gentle exploration of the mountain. Lucius please place the Mine and set up a defence force with Tomyris to defend it." Dom ordered, a decision now made in his mind on what they needed to do. "Shang Yang and Meritamen, please continue with the construction of the wall and the development of the inner city. Lucius when you return, please continue with the farmlands and prioritise crops with a quick growth. Gan Ning and Tomoe, you are with me, we are going to the Ancient Underground City."
"What about the Praetorians?" Lucius asked, rubbing his eyes as he realised he had a lot of work to do.
"Organise them as Generals guards, we have discussed it previously and now we will enact it now we have the ideal force for it. When we decide to attack, they are our strongest warriors and we need to incorporate them correctly." Dom replied.
"I'll see to that." Subutai agreed, "We have a lot to do, so we best get started."
"Then what are we waiting for." Tomoe grumbled, interrupting the conversation before it continued going. "Let's go!"