A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"Sword. Take it," the Minister said firmly. He almost had a General's authority to him, but not quite. His intimidatingness came from another source. His face was like a wolf's snarl. They were reminded, once again, just who the quiet man that they'd brought with them on this expedition was.

It was Oliver in particular that that reminder served. The very pinnacle of the Academy's leadership, dragged along on a student's foray. No doubt it must have been irritating for the man. He felt a sudden pang of guilt at what he'd done.

But there was no time to reflect on such things. With the command from the Minister of Blades, Karesh was all but compelled to obey. He pulled the sword from the snow, and tested its weight in its hand. Indeed, it was an oddity. Even the handle was longer than a longsword. Its weight demanded a two-handed grip.

It was the sort of odd monstrosity that had to be forged by personal request. They weren't made in bulk.

They could already hear the squeals of the next approaching mob of goblins. Verdant had already set off in the other direction to try and bring in even more from the next clearing. From the sounds of things, he was doing a decent job of that.

The first lot burst through the trees. Eight of them. Blackthorn readied her sword, and Jorah and the boys stiffened. Karesh seemed to be standing more comfortably now that he had a blade by his side, rather than a spear, but with it, they all but gave up their group fighting tactics, of a spear wall charge.

"My Lord!" Verdant burst through the trees. "Nine of them, by my count!" He shouted. He was well ahead of them, but the squeals were close.

Amelia and Pauline squeaked, when they realized that their previously safe position had been sabotaged, as the goblins burst from the trees just a few feet away from where they were. They took a hasty step back, but one of the angry goblins had already eyed them. Pauline's cry rang out as the monster lunged towards her.

Oliver grabbed it by the back of the neck like a naughty puppy before it could land. "Off you go," he tossed it to the centre of the clearing to wrestle with the rest. What had at first been a game of combat had somehow devolved into an attempt at the appropriate parties grabbing the goblins' attention.

He briefly watched Verdant as he attempted to extradite himself from the crowd, leaving the goblins to the combat party.

"Well, you two, we'd better find a safer spot," Oliver said with a reassuring smile. Both of them nodded a little too readily. It was one of the few times that he'd seen Amelia quiet. But in her defence, she was terrified. She almost seemed ready to cry.

He guided them to a safe patch of the clearing, standing in the front of them. Gavlin hovered with a watchful eye nearby. Oliver could help but think that even if he failed, the Minister of Blades would be unlikely to allow any harm to come to the girls. Not that he was in a hurry to test that theory.

A breathless Verdant soon came jogging over, having completed his job, and managed to get the goblins transfixed on their proper opponents. "Allow me to stand guard of them," Verdant said, freeing up Oliver so he could react more quickly should things grow particularly dangerous in the clearing.

He nodded. "I'm leaving you two to Verdant, then," he said. Neither of them protested, but whether it was because they were too scared to was hard to tell.

Oliver parted from them, and moved as close as he could to the combat without disturbing it, his hand resting on his sword, and his eyes watchful. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen so many goblins in such a small space. Of course, there was the battle with Francis, when there'd been plenty of monsters… But they weren't lesser goblins.

Lesser goblins had an erraticness to them that the more intelligent Horned-Goblins didn't quite match. They rushed around the clearing in all directions, as though on fire. It was easy to get overwhelmed.

Blackthorn cast the first strike of the contest. The goblins had been herded into something approaching a single mass, with Verdant's assistance. They were easier to deal with like that. But like a bubble, that pack was about to break, casting hell down upon whatever was near it.

"Karesh!" Jorah shouted. Karesh seemed to know what the youth wanted from him, for he stepped up, and unleashed a wide slash of his blade. It wasn't an accurate strike, but with so many enemies in front of him, he was bound to catch one.

He did – he split one straight through. He seemed just as surprised as the rest of them. The Minister of Blades had given him a well-tended sword.

As well as just killing a goblin, his broad swipe had been warding as well, temporarily claiming the space to the front of him. Whether Jorah noticed that, or whether he was simply acting on instinct, it was hard to tell.
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"Kaya!" He shouted. Next, Kaya moved, stepping away from the other two. He thrust out, and where he thrust, there was a goblin waiting – a goblin that had jumped to the right in order to evade Karesh's slash, only to find that there was another foe waiting for him.

Blackthorn watched their resistance with calculating eyes. She was away from the rest. Oliver wondered whether she'd insist on that, so she could properly test her own skill… But with a visible sigh, she moved to join them, gracefully stepping out of reach of a lunging goblin, and punching it through with her sword instead.

Jorah noted her approach. By now, the goblins were fanning out even more, making each strike and each attempt to gain space less effective than the last. Finally, Jorah himself stepped up.

He rushed the goblins from the left. A reckless manoeuvre. With his spear flinging out wildly, used more like a staff than a spear, he looked rather amateurish in his actions. But they had their effect. The goblins that had been approaching from the left scuttled back towards the right as he herded them back up again. They were left with no choice but to run straight into Blackthorn.