Dom disembarked the Bellona as they pulled alongside a small dock on the edge of the Isle of Samos. The water was calm, but the flotilla of ships that arrived were for from it. The majority of the Greek fleet was in a good condition, they had the numbers and had won a relatively easy victory with Dom and Leotychides winning on both of their flanks, before supporting the important centre held by the Athenians. If the Persians hadn’t split their forces, with some retreating to Mycale in advance, it would have been a very different situation.

Leotychides Quinquereme was opposite Dom’s, currently being tied to the dock, which the Trireme of Xanthippus and the other Delegation leaders either moored nearby or beached themselves on the soft sand on the nearby shore. The rest of the fleet mainly stayed out at sea, conducting repairs and checking through their own battle damage.

In the centre of the fleet were the captures, over a hundred ships, either managed by a skeleton crew or a surrendered force of Persians. Some of these ships had surrendered on the right flank where Dom had been based originally and had surrendered at the command of Mardontes, and were in a much better condition than the rest. Dom could see the sight of the Quinquereme of GeneralSlaughter, tied to two other Trireme so that it didn’t take on any more water through the large amount of damage that was clear to be seen. Lots of the ships from the centre battle were in heavily damaged states, towed by other ships as; oars and masts were snapped, or large holes appeared in their sides. The left flank under Leotychides had provided much less captures, having charged through quick and caused maximum damage, their captures were either the most damaged or in the best condition after a quick surrender.

In the distance, Dom could see the smaller new fleet towing in a collection of it’s own. He recognised some of the ships towing as those he had dispatched with Astrid earlier in the campaign, but he didn’t see her Longship amongst those that were approaching. They had five Trireme on their left flank, whilst the larger transport ships were towing their own captives.

"That is quite a successful haul." Gan Ning commented from beside him as they stood on the solid ground, behind them was Actumerus, Centurion Septimius and a handful of guards that shadowed them. At the rear between the guards stood one of the captured enemies Admirals Mardontes.

"We can lay claim to a good few of them." Dom replied in agreement as he looked out at the mass of masts. He noticed the arrival of Artemisia, whom was having the Sibylla beached near to Xanthippus. He paused his step and turned to one of the guards, "Have a message sent to her, as we’ll need her and Zhou Yu at the next meeting. Also pass a message to Crassus to calculate our captures and work with our allies on the split."

"Do you need me at the meeting?" Gan Ning asked as he looked at some of the tanned women that stood and watched as the foreign fleet docked, unafraid but there was some clear tension in the air. Hegesistratos of the Samos Delegation had been the first to dock, running to the town to inform them that the Greeks were here to free them. There were no Persians left on the land, having all departed to Mycale with the Persians that didn’t join the fleet battle.

"No, once Artemisia and Zhou Yu arrives you can go and prepare everything for tomorrow." Dom replied with a grin, "I expect you and Sun Ce will be eager to fight at Mycale."

"I know our aim was to win a Naval Victory and claim some new ships so we can defend against Papaver to our south. But there could be more gains to be claimed in the land battle." Gan Ning put forwards, a grin also on his face as he caught the eyes of one of the women. His rank as a Leader clear by the guards that flanked him and Dom.

"We’ll work on a plan with Zhou Yu later, but we can keep the fleet behind to guard and repair our new captured ships. We will also need them to keep an eye on our new recruits." Dom agreed with a nod of his head. "Artemisia and Crassus will have little interest in Mycale so they can defend the back, whilst the rest of us can get involved."

"I think it is going to be tough, but I’m looking forward to it." Gan Ning smiled as he replied, before their conversation was interrupted by a beaming Spartan King. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Admiral Lazarus, The Vanquisher!" Leotychides laughed as he approached, followed by a guard of his own Spartans. "The Persians are defeated, their remaining ships fleeing in the wind. Tomorrow we will crush the rest of them and rid our lands of the Persians for good!"

"It was a good victory!" Dom agreed as the Spartan King approached and gripped him by the arm welcomingly. Gan Ning stood back slightly out of politeness, whilst the Spartan King looked up at the towering Actumerus with an impressed look in his eyes.

"We Spartans have few allies we can rely on, the Athenian’s are always plotting amongst themselves, discussing and disagreeing with themselves. The Thebian’s are an easy traitor, whilst those in Argos refuse to kneel." Leotychides said to Dom, his voice a bit quieter now. "Let’s discuss how we can work closer together in the future once we have destroyed the Spartans and reclaimed the Aegean Sea."

"I would like that." Dom replied, knowing the words were meaningless but having a genuine growing like for the eccentric Spartan. Leotychides laughed in response, his Warriors behind him stood straight and emotionless.

"Who is the bedraggled looking man behind you?" Leotychides asked, looking towards Mardontes who didn’t seem that bedraggled to Dom, just slightly worn from his defeat and watching his own Navy be sunk or captured.

"Mardontes, an Admiral of Xerxes." Dom replied honestly, before continuing, "He has been quite helpful since his capture and I believe he can help us plan ahead for tomorrow."

"I would have had him killed, but he is your captive." Leotychides commented, a clear difference from how his previous counterpart Leonidas, who would have dealt with it slightly different. "The people of Samos seem quite calm, normally when a Town or City is conquered, the people don’t have the best outcome. Rape, Murder, Pillaging, the usual."

"I would say that Samos has been liberated, rather than conquered." Dom replied evenly, testing Leotychides slightly, a bit of worry in the back of his mind that he had switched personalities again slightly.

"I shall head up and make sure that Hegesistratos sticks to his agreements." Leotychides stated, the conversation changing as his tone becoming more serious. "Then when Xanthippus decides to finally join us again, we can discuss the plans for the Battle tomorrow. Artemisia’s plan worked well, but tomorrow is for the planning of men."

Leotychides then turned and walked away, his Spartan Guards behind him as they walked at a brisk pace. Gan Ning appeared beside Dom again, as they walked slightly slower so that they could meet with Xanthippus and Artemisia before they reached the location where they were now being guided by some of the Hoplite from Hegesistratos’ ship.

"I know he’s supposed to be untrustworthy and in general a terrible person, but I’m starting to like him. Maybe Thucydides was wrong." Gan Ning said, his tone with a sense of humour in it.

"I can’t disagree, Thucydides’s opinion would have been given to him by his parents and allies. They have a real dislike of the Spartans as they thought against each other for a very long time." Dom replied, however he didn’t fully disagree. Leotychides personality seemed to constantly shift, with a dangerous tone constantly underlining everything that he said.

"It’s funny in a way, if they had aligned earlier, then they wouldn’t have been defeated in later generations by the Macedonians." Gan Ning commented, having learnt more about the history of this part of the world from the other Heroes and Educators that were joining Riverside and the wider Lazarus Kingdom on a daily basis.

"Hopefully Ling Tong and Andrew are doing well against the Macedonian’s now." Dom replied, thinking to the Battle of Plataea which should be happening either now or the coming days, if it hadn’t happened already. The Macedonian’s were one of the key Hellenistic Allies of the Persian’s during the Battle of Plataea, alongside those from Thrace and Thessaly.

"Ling Tong has a lot of potential, he’ll make the right moves at the right time. As long as he doesn’t turn out like me and Sun Ce, then he should be an excellent General in the future." Gan Ning replied as they reached a cross road, where some Samos Hoplite were directing them towards a direction where a small Villa was placed.

"What do you mean, not like you or Sun Ce?" A recognisable voice commented from around the corner of the cross road. Dom turned and saw the sight of Sun Ce, Artemisia and Crassus approaching, the three of them seemingly in good moods.

"I was saying that he will become a good General one day if he doesn’t turn out like me or you." Gan Ning repeated, a grin on his face.

"I can’t disagree with that!" Sun Ce laughed, before turning to Dom. "Brother in Law, are we fighting on the ground tomorrow? I’m looking forward to getting my sword bloodied."

"Your sister and your wife will not be happy with me if you get yourself injured." Dom stated, whilst the rest of them rolled their eyes. Mardontes listened in from the rear with the guards on either side of him, intrigued by the open conversations that were taking place, whilst there was also a clear hierarchy in the structure.

"It’s fine, they may be unhappy but you are the Lord so what can they do?" Sun Ce laughed in response, whilst Crassus shook his head in pity.

"Well I am sure that your darling sister can make life quite difficult for Lord Lazarus if she so decided." Artemisia commented, taking over the conversation whilst Sun Ce decided to keep his mouth shut. Gan Ning behind Dom however struggled to do the same, having to cover his mouth as he laughed. Even Mardontes and the guards did the same. "I believe I saw my old fleet arrive at the end!"

"If they have, then Kai has succeeded, hopefully you can be reunited with some old friends." Dom replied caringly, whilst Crassus seemed to raise his hand and rub Artemisia’s back like it was a natural response. She didn’t seem to react and it was telling for the rest of them how their relationship was developing.

"Hopefully my uncle is there and he can tell me news of my son, he would have been my deputy of choice." She stated seriously as she looked behind her to see that Zhou Yu, Xanthippus and his men were beginning to approach them.

"Tomorrow will be a land battle, maybe it is a good time for you to catch up with them. Hopefully tonight they can give us some news of the terrain of Mycale as it’s north of your Halicarnassus." Crassus commented, his mind seemingly following the same path as Dom’s.

"That would be nice." She agreed, it felt strange for Dom to see this side of Artemisia, who scared him slightly the rest of the time. She was an excellent Mayor and seemingly an excellent Naval Admiral as well from what he had been told.

"Let’s get this meeting finished then and plan for tomorrow." Dom replied, before turning to Crassus. "I’m going to have to ask you to count our winnings so far."

"I have already done our side, that’s why I have come here. I want to get involved with any negotiations and make sure no one has their eyes on the Quinquereme I saw you take." Crassus grinned in response.