"Push!" Centurion Octavian yelled loudly, as a large number of Hoplite pushed the Bellona in to the sea, she has been beached for the last couple of days, but the tide was still relatively high as the moon descended and the first signs of light would soon be seen on the horizon. "I said push, get your back in to it!"
Similar calls could be heard up and down the beach and crews began pushing their ships from the shores of Delos back in to the Aegean Sea for their journey towards Samos. Dom himself was stood further back, watching as his small fleet of Player Ships was pushed in to the water, with only skeleton crews currently on the ships to keep them in place when they finally were deep enough to lower their oars.
"I'm quite excited for this!" GiantWrangler said, the Trireme Player Captain that would cover Dom's left flank.
"It should be fun!" Agreed Wine Wind, another of the Player Captain's. "I just hope that we are able to catch some ships."
"The experience along has been worth it, but I do agree, especially if we can capture some crews." Steven McSteven added. "What about you Chung?"
"I just want to see Lazarus take down GeneralSlaughter, that will be fun to watch." He laughed, with the others smiling in response.
"I think it is time we boarded our ships, remember the plan and we'll end up victorious." Dom commanded as he noticed both the Sibylla and Bellona were now in the shallows, with some of the Hoplite beginning to climb up the sides of the ships to board them. He turned to them all with a large grin appearing on his face, "Let's meet on the other side!"
.....
Ling Tong was camped a mile west of the main battle lines of the Greek forces and their Persian Counterparts. The sun was starting to rise in the distance whilst one of their new members was passing around some basic food that had been prepared. The new freed Hoplite's had mainly come from the City of Megara to the south of them. They had explained a lot to Ling Tong about the situation in Greece, of multiple city states that constantly changed allegiance with each other over the last thousand years. They saw Ling Tong as a Hero, a man with a strange skin colour and features that had rescued them from a coming death.
Alpheus had reported success in his mission, sending a Helot from Pausanias's camp to inform them of his success. A Helot was from the lower classes in the Spartan Civilisation and worked more as auxiliary troops in the time of war. His message was written, explaining that they had arrived masked and Pausanias had been surprised by their arrival but had kept it quiet so far. The delivered armour had arrived and was to be paraded in front of the camp, with some of it sent to the Persian Camp as a gift, to draw them out. The Helot had soon returned with a message from Ling Tong warning them to be careful and good luck with the rest of their mission, he would be waiting for them at the agreed time.
Centurion Phillip had also left a note that he had pushed on forwards towards the enemy lines as planned. Ling Tong hoped that they had some success, but regardless they had already achieved more than enough with their encounters with Megabyzus and freeing the captured Hoplite.
"Are you ready General?" Myron the Hoplite asked him, sat on a rock and eating some dried meat that he had brought with him from Riverside.
"I am, are our men?" Ling Tong asked in response, having pushed Myron to be his second in command whilst the rest had all dispersed.
"They are, our Hoplite are ready to infiltrate and find old allies." Myron replied as he looked towards the rising sun in the distance. "Our new recruits will fight with us as fast ambush force to watch the enemy flank. Lord Lazarus said that is where the new enemies will most likely attack from."
"Hopefully we can get some good rewards from it, but we need to make sure that we don't suffer many losses, I know we will be fine based on what Lord Lazarus said, and I trust him with my life fully. But there is no guarantee for our new recruits." Ling Tong stated as he also looked towards the sun. "I would rather we took home what we have gained than risk loosing more."
"I am sure that Lord Lazarus would agree." Myron agreed, before he turned to Ling Tong. "I just wonder where General Andrew, Leonidas and their crew are?"
"I was thinking the same, they should have arrived last night." Ling Tong replied as he stood up and stretched his shoulders. "Regardless, we need to get ourselves ready, with or without them."
...
"Ship on the horizon!" A Hoplite shouted from the front of the Bellona. The Bellona was currently leading the right flank as they approached the south west of Samos, the straight of water between the islands south of Ikaros and itself. Leotychides had the majority of the fleet on the left flank, positioned in a several small triangles so that the enemy couldn't see how many ships they had. Xanthippus led the centre, his line long and thinner, with the intention to curve backwards on itself so the flanks could move forwards and surround the Persian fleet.
Both Leotychides and Xanthippus had given Dom five Trireme each to increase his top level power, as Dom had the dangerous task of being closest to the Samos coast when they approached, easier to ambush from any small inlets that may have been prepared on the island. He intended for his smaller ships to cover the coastal line themselves, heavily laid with Archers to dissuade any enemies from approaching.
Dom turned his head towards the direction the Hoplite was pointing at, coming from the south of Samos and from the direction that Astrid should have her own fleet in waiting. He looked across to the Sibylla beside him, to see if Artemisia had noticed it as well. The news that the approaching ship brought would hopefully be positive.
"It's one of ours!" The Hoplite shouted back, the ship with a small purple flag on the top of it that had been given to all of the Player Ships that had joined Dom in this battle. He turned behind him, looking at the other Player Trireme that followed his ship, hopeful that they would perform well in the Battle and they would all get the rewards that they wanted. He enjoyed playing with other players finally and part of him hoped he could work with some of them again after this battle.
"Let them approach!" Gan Ning shouted from nearby, "Get a signal sent to them to approach us!"
"They already are General!" The Hoplite shouted in response, as Centurion Cato began sending signals further up the fleet that it was one of theirs approaching. They had agreed some basic signals with Leotychides and Xanthippus, with Dom hoping that they would be useful in the Battle. Xanthippus himself already had signals he had trained in his own fleet, and was happy to see that Dom was doing something similar.
After around five minutes the Bireme slowed itself down in the water and began attempting to turn itself so that it could come alongside the Bellona and join up with the rest of the fleet. Dom watched as the oars dropped on both sides, with each side rowing in different directions to spin the ship in the calm water of the Aegean Sea. The Sun was higher now and Dom could see that it was slowly approaching lunch time.
"What news?" Gan Ning shouted down to the crew, one of the other Players that had joined them on the Campaign who was overly excited to be involved.
"Captain Astrid has returned with an additional five Trireme from Halicarnassus!" The Player Captain shouted back with a laugh, "They began moving as I departed and will hopefully be in position to ambush the enemies rear once we hit them!"
"That is great news!" Gan Ning exclaimed in excitement as a big grin appeared on Dom's face. Dom turned to the Sibylla again, looking at the smile that had also appeared on Artemisia's distant face. "Signal to the fleet, we are sticking to Plan One!"
.....
"You want me to come to your new home?" Thalia questioned Alexander again, he had spent the day yesterday in conversations with different senior Athenian's as well as the families of the Hoplite he was aware of in Riverside. One of the key things that worried him, was that there would be new Hoplite joining Riverside in the future from the Warrior Hall, however this would possibly be his only opportunity to bring their widows or families.
"Yes, I want you and Nicias, as well as all of our servants to join me in Riverside." Alexander replied to her patiently. They had this conversation yesterday, but he knew that time would be limited.
"We can't just leave everything, you have been gone for a decade." She stated in a serious tone, looking at a manor that she had kept going in his absence and a business that she had built.
"A decade for you, but a few months for me!" He argued back in frustration, "we can start the business again, my Lord will help fund it and we can get a new manor, with better crops!"
"I can't believe that my Alexander, a man of democracy, would fight for a Lord or a King!" She stated angrily, "That just isn't the man that I fell in love with."
"It's different, trust that I want the best for you." He replied, whilst rubbing the back of his head. He turned and looked down from the hill that their manor rested on, towards the bay below where his ships were waiting for him.
"He seems like a leacher, like the kings of old!" She laughed, looking at the lines of women that were getting on to Alexander's ships. There were women, young children and adolescents, as well as a small number of men and older people. "He seems to have a thing for Widows."
"Their husbands are alive, they will be reunited with them. If their husbands aren't there yet, they may be eventually." He said seriously, with conviction in his voice. He had spoken to the senior statesmen and exchanged what gold Crassus had given him, to allow him to take and care for the war widows. The other Hoplite that had come with him had been busy tracking down their own families, as well as that of those on the lists they had been given. Each Hoplite had a list of current Warriors in Riverside with the mission to find their families. "After this war, there will be more war, but with our neighbours next time. I want Nicias to grow up as a Warrior with me, not here fighting against other Greeks."
"Alexander, I am only teasing you. I thought I had lost you to the River Styx, we will come with you to this Riverside, but you better be making the right decision." She said to him, hugging his side. "It's strange to see my once serious husband have such a different goal in life now."
"I am still a Warrior, but I have come to understand that there are other things more important in my life." He replied honestly as he put his arm around her.