You are Noel Tiberius, queen of Hazaran and formerly ranked number seven in the Organization which used to slay monsters for money. That all seems so long ago these days, where your royal duties have taken the most of your time - even missions to try and track down yōma to cut up seem like they tend to get sidetracked by political or strategic matters. This time it happened when you took the time to visit Braehoulland, an out-of-the-way mountain village in a saddle pass between the slopes of what has historically been the impenetrable mountain wall of northern Hazaran.

What you found there is somewhat concerning.

The problem is that Braehoulland is woefully under-protected due to its low strategic value and the strength of its natural defenses. The invaders from the mainland would have to leave their gun carrier vehicles behind to get to the pass through miles of rugged terrain. But their reward for doing so would be a fortress with a handful of trained soldiers, a couple of cannons, and a quick sweep down into the rest of Hazaran.

Your resolution as queen, and as the party responsible for Hazaran’s defense, is to make that ‘sweep’ a slow and painful process, should the invaders choose to go this route. The best way you can do that is to make taking this pass by force… well, slow and painful in the literal sense. Blackthorn hedges lining shallow, mud-filled trenches are as near to a waking nightmare as you have ever devised, and slate roof tiles will be stuck into those slopes in the interim, to give some additional protection while the blackthorn grows. Which thankfully shouldn’t be too long - blackthorn essentially being considered a useful weed in Hazari tradition.

“You don’t have to do that, ma’am,” one of the soldiers insists as you thrust the point of your blade into an embankment.

“This sword exists for one purpose,” you counter, gesturing for an old local lady to start coming through behind you to stick slate tiles into the holes you’ve been punching for her - like sowing a crop of future pain. “There is no higher calling.”

After ensuring that the locals and soldiers alike understand the plan, and that they know what to do in the event of an attack from the north, you move south.

…

Northwest of Scaithness, your base of operations, there is a reasonably large garrison of the Hazari army. This is where you can find some assistance.

“You are the ranking officer?” you ask a man whose uniform suggests he should be the garrison commander - don’t ask a question unless you at least suspect you know the answer. “I trust I don’t need to explain to you who I am?”

“I am,” he replies, “and I do. To what do we owe this pleasure?”

>I need your help to secure the northern passes. Get ready to temporarily redeploy your troops.
>I’m going to spread your command out to a few garrisons in the north that need the extra help.
>I want you to send a few people to Braehoulland. I’ll send reinforcements to act as a reserve.
>Other?