Yvanna, now officially Dame Yvanna Rochelot, sat there in that small room, thinking back to a time when she had to do almost nothing except lie in bed and be served by servants.
'Now that I think about it, that was probably when I awakened my memory.'
The awakening of her memory had been a rather shaky one for the entire Rochelot household. Out of the blue, someone tried to assassinate their heiress, and even though she survived, she went into a deep coma with almost no chance of ever waking up, finally, when she did manage to wake up, her personality did a one-eighty.
She chuckled, thinking about all those mischiefs she managed to do once she recovered her memory...
'Not good.'
Yvanna was... well... a pervert, for the lack of a better word. In her last life, she was homosexual with a particular attraction to tall, lean, and wild-looking women. But the problem was that almost all the Polar Bear folks were tall, lean, and slightly wild-looking, admittedly they sometimes did get a bit chubby just before winter to withstand the cold, but it only made them look even cuter.
Now imagine what a thirty-year-old virgin would do.
Of course, she wasn't a deviant who would try to force herself on any of the maids, but she did flirt with them, a lot. Sometimes even peeked at them in the servants' bathhouse. The maids were, quite obviously, aware of her antics but they didn't complain to the lord Baron and instead tried to set her straight.
Big mistake, it only made her cockier and she didn't notice how uncomfortable the maids felt from her action. It wasn't until her nurse, the head maid, came to her and cried, did Yvanna realized the full extent of her mistakes. Under the guilt, she didn't interact with anyone for over a week and afterward, she became the lazy slob that she is now. Except for one thing, she still flirted with the maids.
Yvanna sighed, the memories of her past actions weighing heavily on her mind. She wondered if her current predicament was some sort of karmic retribution for her past behavior.
'I wonder, how they will treat me now?'
Suddenly, she grasped her forehead,
'Fuck! I gotta focus. There's more important stuff to do than regret how promiscuous I was trying to be."
She shook her head in an attempt to clear her head of perverted thoughts and focus on the problem at hand. Her responsibility was to take care of Frostspear Stronghold and the mountain pass that lies a mile from it.
With the grant of soldiers and additional provisions, she had a somewhat decent foundation to begin planning upon. But she still needed more information regarding the current state of the stronghold, its surroundings, and what exactly was it that she had to defend against.
"Ursus! You there?"
The door opened and the one who came in was not Ursus but his sister, Martha, a Spirit Bear-kin. Standing head-to-head with Yvanna, Martha was a tall, lean, white-haired woman with deep yellow eyes and a wild appearance.
"Oh, it's you, Aunt Martha."
The woman nodded,
"I hope you have been well Yvanna, or should I call you Dame Rochelot now?"
Yvanna chuckled.
Martha always was the more likable one of the two. Not to mention she was only about 29 and already a Knight while Ursus was almost 60 now and he was only a Knight-Captain.
"What did you want to ask from that oaf of a brother of mine?"
Yvanna pondered over the question, maybe she ought to ask from the very basics.
"Tell me everything there is to know about the Frostspear Stronghold, its current condition, the reason why it was made, the terrain, and the danger it possesses."
The armored woman nodded, her demeanor shifting to a more serious one.
"The Frostspear Stronghold is located to the far north of the Rochelot Barony and is the place where Etobearis Kingdom's border meets with the frozen wastelands. It is mostly surrounded by a dense forest except for the road leading there and one leading further north. The stronghold itself is a standard four-tower fortress, the only reason it's still standing is the material used to make it."
Intrigued, Yvanna nodded for her to continue,
"While the fortress is made from the common Bastion Rock, its inside is lined with Flarestone, so it is relatively warmer inside. Although the fortress is formidable, especially in an Arctic battlefield, it has been neglected for quite some time now. The last report was from two months ago, according to the scouts, its structures are sound but some repairs are still needed, my lady."
Yvanna frowned, there were indeed some sweet perks to having a heater as a fortress, but that only made the place more dangerous.
"Potential threats? What about the neighboring factions? Is there any 'nest' nearby? Anything else that can pose a potential threat?"
Martha pondered for a moment before responding,
"Well, the stronghold is located on the very border of the kingdom, and there have been a couple of skirmishes there when neighboring forces attempted to invade from the frozen wasteland. Additionally, the dense forest is occupied by magical beasts, and sometimes the demon species such as goblins, ogres, orcs, and kobolds are found dead from frostbite and other natural barriers. The last time we had any need of that place was almost two decades ago when the foxes tried to bypass us and invade our allies."
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Yvanna nodded, lost in her thoughts.
"We need to take one issue at a time. The priority should be to repair the stronghold and fortification of the surrounding area. I guess there goes half our craftsman quota."
Martha chuckled before nodding along with her,
"That is correct, my lady. A fortified stronghold is crucial to establish a foothold at any given place, not to mention the Frostspear Stronghold's historical importance. Anyway, once the repairs are underway, we can focus on recruiting civilians and training additional personnel. I heard Lord Rochelot signed a 'grant of soldiers,' I'll admit having a platoon is more than enough for a place like that but you should still gather a militia."
Yvanna leaned back in the cushioned chair, thinking about Martha's suggestions,
"And the magical beasts in the forest? We can't just leave them be so they can pose a constant threat to us during the rest of the year. Not to mention the demon corpses, it's unsettling how many of them have been found in the last few years."
Martha promptly answered the question, just like a competent retainer should do and she was one.
"We might need to consider making space for hunters in our quota, or we can always spend a couple of gold fangs and hire a team of first-class beast tamers from the 'Tamers' Guild.' But it would be wiser to get our men familiar with the terrain so that later on, they can establish a network of scouts to monitor any unusual movements."
Yvanna nodded, at present that was the most effective course of action with their current resources.
"Very well then. let's start drafting a plan. Since we are to prioritize repairs and fortifications, can you find five craftsmen who focus on such work before we depart?"
Martha nodded.
"Good, we are to secure the stronghold, then we will think about the remaining problems. And the conjurer that Father's grant mentioned, do we have any details about her abilities and specialties?"
Martha thought for a moment before smiling,
"She's an old friend. Eldora Frostwind. Her specialty is ice manipulation and snow magic, but she can use spells from other elements too. That's one of the reasons why she's still a Tier 2. That fool, instead of focusing on her natural attributes, she went ahead and learned spells of all the elements."
Yvanna raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the conjurer, however, she started nodding approvingly.
'Too bad for the mage, but she's just what we need!'
A mage specializing in ice and snow magic, plus spells from other elements as well. She might just be an all-in-one package waiting to be taken.
"Alright, Aunt Martha. Can you coordinate with Ursus and find old reports about the fortress and calculate exactly how much material would we need to repair it? Also, make a list of all the craftsmen we would need, I will try to recruit them tomorrow."
*sigh*
What a day!
Being assigned an assistant only made her workload heavier. Now she had to check out the craftsmen too. Not to mention, she still needed to fill out the number of soldiers she would be taking with her and then check up on the armory to get enough weapons to arm the soldiers with.
"Don't worry Aunt Martha I'll handle the recruitment and then the purchasing of all the items as well."
Martha slapped her hand to her chest, a form of salute often used by Polar Bear-kins, her serious expression morphed into a proud one as she declared,
"As is your command Dame Rochelot. I'll get the work done immediately."
.*
.*.
.*.*.
The days that followed were a whirlwind of activities as Yvanna rammed headfirst into the list of tasks waiting for her. The fourth day before departure was spent intervening with soldiers, craftsmen, and Apprentice knights.
After a whole day of listening to people talk about their past and their problems, Yvanna finally managed to find four capable Apprentice Knights who would be willing be follow her. In addition to them, she also managed to find sixty-one soldiers to round off the 'hundred soldiers' quota.
Finding craftsmen was a pain, especially when they started to ask for a personalized workshop at the fortress. But the Rochelot Army had a few to spare and some of the Builders' Guild members were interested in studying the Frostspear Stronghold and agreed to join under her.
So far, her list of members was looking quite complete.
[Members
Infantry:
- Tier 1: Light Infantry(15), Archer(15), Heavy Infantry(10), Assassin(3), Scouts(7), Hunters(10).
- Tier 2: Light Infantry(10), Archer(10), Heavy Infantry(5), Assassin(2), Scouts(8), Hunters(5).
Cavalry:
- Tier 2: Apprentice Knights(4)
- Tier 3: Knight(Martha){Temporary, 1 Year}
Craftsmen:
- Tier 2: Blacksmiths(2), Carpenter(3), Architect(1), Stonemason(3), Siege-weapon Specialist(1).
Mage:
- Tier 2: Conjurer(Elara)]
Except for the servants, Yvanna simply couldn't muster up the courage to confront any of her household's servants, after all, she had annoyed them all quite a bit.
Then she spent another day in the Rochelot Barony's Armory, checking up on the weapons issued to her soldiers. Fortunately, her household had to eliminate monsters and bandits on a monthly basis, and as such the armory was properly maintained.
[Equipment
Weapons:
- Tier 1: Steel Sword(100 Pieces), Steel Tipped Spear(100 Pieces), Steel Dagger(150 Pieces), Bow(50 Pieces), Steel Tipped Arrow(10,000 Pieces), Steel Warhammer(5 Pieces), Battle Axe(10 Pieces).
- Tier 2: Glacial-Iron Greatsword(10 Pieces), Glacial-Iron Lance(10 Pieces), Frost Bow(5 Pieces), Ice Tipped Arrow(1,000 Pieces).
Armors: (Chest piece, Pants, Helmet, wristbands, shin guards, and boots)
- Tier 1: Leather-Padded Fur-Armor Set(100 Pieces), Chainmail Armor Set(50 Pieces), Icicle-Timer Tower Shield(50 Pieces), Icicle-Timber Buckler(80 Pieces).
- Tier 2: Plate and Mail Heavy Armor(10 Pieces), Glacial-Iron Tower Shield(10 Pieces).
Tools:
- Tier 1: Black Smith's Equipment(2 Sets), Carpenter's Equipment(3 Sets), Architects Equipment(1 Set).
- Tier 2: Stone Mason Equipment(3 Sets), Siege Engineer Equipment(1 Set).]
It took her hours and a sleepless night, just to go through each and every item on the list of equipment. However, she couldn't help but feel slightly more confident knowing that her family had an armory far exceeding the standards of even the wealthiest Viscounts.
Take the Glacial-Iron weapons for an example, these were high-end weapons. Once a blade, made of this metal, pierces into the skin, it causes a tremendous amount of damage in the form of Frostbite and Hypothermia. Not to mention the almost ten times higher durability and ease of maintenance.
Even with all the additional equipment, Yvanna knew that she had to procure additional supplies to meet the demands of the Stronghold. The weapons and armor were sufficient to arm her troops, but there was still a demand for food, repair material, and other essentials.
On the day before her departure, Yvanna gathered the sub-leaders of her newly assembled army in a meeting room. In the same room, in which she held the interviews, but it had been upgraded slightly.
The room had been renovated and now featured a fireplace, a long table that could seat seven people, and the Rochelot family crest. The crest consisted of a polar bear standing on its hind legs, wielding a sword and a shield. The bear's mouth was open in a fierce roar, and the horn on its forehead glinted beneath the light of the lamp.
Seven people were sitting at the table...