Underdog

The room is filled with a scent of tobacco. You see three men sitting on one side of an oval table and an empty seat on the other side. You sit there. You recall that there are 10 High Ministers, which is the third highest grade in the bureaucracy. Above them are the 3 Great Ministers and the Two Chancellors who only take orders from the King who is not considered part of the bureaucracy as the supreme ruler of the kingdom.

In front of you, the three men smoking tobacco are each more fat than the other. Seeing them run must be a sight to behold, you certainly could get gallons of butter out of their sweat.

"I'll be straightforward with you. We don't think you can make it alone. Which is why we decided that on top of the two thousand soldiers we will give you to take the city, we will officially assign Sir Tarkebell as second in command of this operation but in fact he will lead everything and you'll just need to watch him take Rusitis' head."

"I understand where you're coming from but with all due respect, I intend to fulfill His Majesty's mission on my own." Even if the King did not know of this and considered this as your success, the words would run that did not accomplish anything. You know too well how bad reputation can become the worst of poisons.

But the ministers did not like your boldness. The one on the left strikes the table with his big hairy fist and looked at you with incendiary gaze "Don't get ahead of yourself kid. Rusitis is an experienced veteran and his city being near the frontiers of our kingdom has bred strong veterans from the battles against the northern state of Bosco. He purposefully gave up much of his lands to concentrate his defence on his fortress and make it virtually impregnable."

"Which is why you're worried he's made an alliance with Bosco to invade our lands." All the ministers were dumbfounded by your deduction. That's a good sign, if you can manage to show them your wits they might consider to let you lead the campaign alone. "Now I get why we only have three months to claim back Rusitis castle. We have to get it back before Bosco manages to make it its foothold in our territory. I understand what is at stake clearly sirs. I am not getting ahead of myself, I guarantee you I have what it takes to lead this campaign."

The notables look at each other and ponder the question for a moment, then the one right in front of you leans on the table to rest his two elbows there. "We cannot afford to mess this up. We do not know the extent of your capacities but I am willing to give you a chance. We will give you three thousand soldiers to defeat Rusitis before Bosco's offensive but you will have to to do it in one month. Passed that deadline we will send Takerbell to lead the operation."