A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor
Chapter 1800 - 1800: Favour - Part 2

Hod listened to them all without looking at them, and he continued to govern the battlefield atop the walls, keeping Tavar's men at bay. He built up the idea of the battlefield that was happening below him, though he could not see it.

"The cavalry are defeated, are they?" Hod said. "Though Patrick has allowed a hundred men through, and lost four hundred of his own."

The messengers all replied to the affirmative. Hod squinted, daring to pull his eyes from the battlefield in front of him just for a second, knowing full well that Tavar was likely to do the same.

He had to wonder whether Patrick had seen through the trap that Tavar had no doubt set for him. He liked to think that he had. After all, he was the same man that had declared that Oliver should trust in himself, for Hod trusted in him already. Apparently, there was something by the west gate that had caught Oliver's attention enough to see it opened – and that something had allowed him to deal with what was no doubt a strong force of cavalry with a speed that otherwise would have defied comprehension.

Yet, there was a problem already afoot from it. Patrick had let those cavalrymen into the city, and no doubt, he was sat wondering how he might see them dealt with, and at the same time, he was wondering how he might deal with the men in front of him, five thousand strong as they were.

Hod thought on it. He had great difficulty playing to support another man, for he always had difficulty understanding them. For Oliver Patrick, however, he thought he could make an exception. Indeed, he already had, in giving him the position in the interior, and telling him that he would stall Tavar, and it was for Oliver Patrick to find the route to victory.

He knew not what the end goal of Oliver Patrick's efforts were, and he wasn't entirely sure that if he did move, he wouldn't be getting in the way of what Oliver aimed to achieve. He pulled his fingers behind his back, the only evidence of his internal struggle, as he sought to make the decision.

He closed his eyes, and though he was the Minister of Logic, it was hardly logic that he relied on then. It was the sole belief that he had in himself. 'This is a Time of Tigers,' he told himself. 'Let me assume this boy is grander than even he supposes he is. Let me assume, that this strategy goes further, that he has seen something neither Tavar or I could risk… And then… And then… All that's left is to…'

"Move exactly as I normally might," Hod said aloud, his face hardening. There was no more guessing to be had. The rigid certainty that everyone seemed to expect from him was present instead. He needed only be exactly that which he already was. The Minister of Logic that everyone so feared and praised – that to the entirety of the degree that he could manage it. For the first time since he had arrived at Ernest, he felt as if he could do that to his fullest degree. As if his mind was clear, and there was no more doubting to be had, there was only the flexing of the fullest of the might that he was capable of administering.

"Find Nila Felder. Separate her from Lady Yoreholder, put a hundred men under her command, and give her the task of hunting down these renegade cavalrymen," Hod said, with iron certainty.

A messenger gave a salute, and then went dashing off, to do exactly that.

"You two – you'll need your compatriots to deliver out these orders. They must be delivered with haste, do you understand? You reduce the efficacy of my command by your sloth. Do I have your understanding?"

"Yes, Minister!" The two saluted, looking by all accounts, quite frightened, despite the fact that they were Blackthorn soldiers. When Minister Hod was at his best, the piercing intelligence of his gaze was an unnerving thing indeed.

"Find Commander Firyr, and put under his command a hundred men. Find Verdant Idris, and give him three hundred. Find Commander Blackthorn, and give her a hundred good Blackthorn soldiers. Find Commander Jorah, and give him a hundred men. Find Sergeant-Major Karesh, and Sergeant-Major Kaya, send another hundred men between them. And you find every veteran Patrick soldier that this wall has to offer, and you send them in aid to their General Patrick. Make up the rest of their number with their new peasant recruits, and you be sure that there are a thousand soldiers marching to General Patrick's aid with all due haste. Do I have your understanding?"

"Yes, Minister!"

"Then go – and be hastey. The outcome of this siege depends on the speed of your message delivering. You wouldn't want the defeat of this city to be resting squarely on your shoulders."

Harshly, Hod left them with that line, noting the way the colour drained from their faces as they went dashing off. He nodded his satisfaction, seeing how fast they went, and then he picked another soldier from beside him, one that was a part of the regular infantry, rather than the communications corps. "Find General Blackthorn, and tell him what you were just listening in on."

"U-uhhh…"

"If you were listening, you might as well be useful," Hod said. "Go now, before I have you whipped."

"Apologies, Minister!" The man said, before dashing off to carry out the command that he was given.

Then Hod was left by his lonesome, with the same battlefield that he'd had in front of him as before, with the same enemy. He fancied that Tavar was studying the battlefield in the same way as him, and noticing the excitement that was happening by the western gate. No doubt he would be sending men that way to take advantage of it in some form as well, but Hod wasn't inclined to let that happen unpunished. He threaded his hands together, and gave a small smile, as he looked into the battlefield once more, and picked the point atop the walls where he might hurt Tavar most.