text: You don't know if this is actually going to do any good, but if the captain ever decides to suddenly secede from the Felkan Kingdom, you want someone to know that you weren't part of it from the beginning. The problem there isn't a higher-ranking officer at the fort and you don't really know anybody that you could report this to. You suppose you write a letter to Major Samuels at Fort Smoke. He's in charge of the whole Ibim province, but then you think what if he feels the same way as the captain? If that's the case, then you'd probably become hated not just at your fort, but in other circles as well. You'd possibly even be demoted or worse. You've managed to make a life here with minimal friction, and you'd hate to just throw that all away, but you have to do something. For good or ill your duty is to the kingdom now and you need to defend against all potential threats, external and internal, and from your experience the internal ones are the worst.
  
  That's when you come up with the idea that you'll write to Warrick about this. He might not be able to do anything about it considering he's in another province, but he's about the only one you can trust and maybe he knows something and can at least give you advice.
  
  You write a letter to Warrick that night and hand it to a professional courier in Blossumdale the next day. Not having anything else to do, you return to your duties. Days pass into weeks and weeks pass into months. Just when you're starting to wonder if your letter got intercepted and someone having sinister plans for you, you get a letter back from Warrick.
  
  You're anxious to see his reply and you find a quiet place to open it up and read it private. You're expecting a long letter, but instead you get a short one that's to the point.
  
  Things are already in motion to remedy the situation soon and your duty to the kingdom has been noted.
  
  Warrick
  
  You can only guess that Captain Eckers will soon be gone with wording like that. You didn't expect anything to be done either, just advice. Warrick must have better connections than you thought.
  
  Another week passes since you received Warrick's reply and Fort Green is visited by a general with his personal assistants, a couple of royals and a well-dressed gnome. The visit is unexpected by everyone, especially Captain Eckers since he'd know first if anyone was scheduled to visit.
  
  Captain Eckers and several others are taken into rooms and questioned separately. The rest of you are ordered to go about your business and to not interfere. Later you are called in as well. You find yourself face to face with one of the generals. General Benson. He's probably about the same age as Eckers, though obviously more successful.
  
  "Sergeant, I'm going to make this quick. You are the one who wrote the letter to Captain Warrick are you not?" General Benson asks.
  "Yes, sir."
  "And why did you write to Captain Warrick about your concerns? Why not write to Major Samuels? He is the superior officer in charge of this province."
  "Well, I wasn't sure if I should sir. For all I knew he might've had sympathies with Captain Eckers and if that had been the case, my situation would not have been a good one."
  "Hold on sergeant, are you telling me Major Samuels is also part of this?"
  "No, I don't even know the Major sir, I was just being cautious on my part. I wrote to Warrick because... well he's the only person I felt I could absolutely trust."
  
  The general is silent for a moment while he looks you up and down.
  
  "Tell me, have you had any conflict while being here?"
  "Conflict with the other soldiers? No sir, can't say that I have, I tend to just do my job and keep to myself as far as social matters are concerned."
  "What about your relationship with Captain Eckers?"
  "It's a respectful one sir, I feel no malice towards him nor perceive any towards me."
  "Yet you felt the need to report him."
  "Well sir, I thought it was something that might be needed to be brought to the attention of those in a higher position than me. Dissension in the ranks is no good sir. These sorts of things need to be taken care of before they spread. I know from direct experience, sir."
  "Hmmm, yes I suppose you would... "
  
  General Benson continues to study you as if he's trying to read your mind, after a minute of this, he backs off and starts to pack up some papers on a nearby desk.
  
  "I think we have everything we need to know. We weren't exactly sure about you for a long time, and quite frankly some of us still aren't. Your lack of trust among your fellow soldiers is concerning, but considering what we've found here, possibly understandable. As of now, I'm promoting you to captain and putting you in charge of Fort Green until further notice. You'll be receiving some new soldiers soon to replace the men that will be leaving here. And hopefully this reward for your dedication to the Kingdom alleviates some of your trust issues."
  "It will sir. It will. Thanks you sir."
  "Very good, you're dismissed."
  
  You step out of the room feeling a sense of accomplishment. This is truly the first time since you pledged loyalty to the Felkan Kingdom that you feel appreciated. With this new command you actually feel like you're back to where you're supposed to be again, which is something you haven't felt since you were taken off of your command in Rask. Granted Fort Green is no Fort Destiny, but it's better than where you were.
  
  As for Captain Eckers, he and several other soldiers are escorted out of the fort as the rest of you stand by and watch. On his way out Eckers glares at you, he doesn't say anything, but you can feel as if his stare is burning a hole in you. He knows someone said something, and he knows that someone was you. It's too bad it had to be this way, but what's done is done and it's time to move on.
  
  Over the next few months you begin running the fort a lot more efficiently, the soldiers aren't particularly thrilled about it since they've gotten used to not doing as much under Captain Eckers, which is another good reason why he needed to leave. Instead of whining, he should've been thinking up stuff to keep everyone's mind's occupied.
  
  After a few more months of extra training, you pick the soldier who has shown the most promise and pull them aside in your office for a talk.
  
  "Let's see...  Sergeant Dawn Young... easy name to remember. You're one of the newer transfers here. Says that before you came here, you served on the Kilania Plains. Not exactly familiar with that area, but I hear it's infested with centaurs. Half man half horse or something like that?"
  "Yes sir, they are little more than wild beast. They get drunk, breed, start fights and from what I can tell that's about it."
  "Hmm, bet they were a joy to fight. Well from your record it says you successfully lead several attacks on them. I'm guessing they are no longer a problem anymore?"
  "Well they are less of a problem than they were. I was told to hold back, by my commanding officer at the time. I know if we had pressed against them though we could've wiped them out completely though." She remark with a slightly annoyed tone.
  
  Sounds like typical Felkan policy. You have to admit, Eckers did have a point about certain things. While you're not going to support possible rebellion like he did, you are going to change some things.
  
  "Okay you sound like the kind of soldier I need. Consider yourself promoted to lieutenant and you're my new second."
  "... wow... thank you sir!"
  "Don't go thanking me just yet, you still have live to enjoy it. I want you to take two platoons of soldiers, march over to those hills a few miles away and I want you to wipe out ALL of the gnolls that you see."
  "All of them sir?"
  "All of them. Their warriors, their citizens, their women, their children. If there are little baby gnolls sucking on marrowbones in their cribs, I want you to kill them too."
  
  Your orders are a little shocking to Dawn. She's probably never heard anyone commanding the murder of infants before let alone the total war doctrine you're following, even if it is against a bunch of barbaric monsters.
  
  "Lieutenant, am I going to have to find someone else to do this?" you ask.
  "... Um no sir. I just... well... the other soldiers sir. I'm not sure if they'll follow such orders."
  "Oh yes they will. Because it's going to be YOUR job to make sure they follow them. Besides I've noticed guns tend to take away a lot of the emotional impact of killing. Not even like you have to look someone in the eye and take away their life. You can sit back comfortably from a few feet away and pull the trigger. They'll be able to kill baby gnolls a lot easier than you think, and after this first time, it's only going to get easier. I'm sure you'll do fine, I have faith that you're up to this task. I wouldn't have picked you if I didn't. You're dismissed."
  
  Looking a little overwhelmed, Dawn nods and leaves your office.
  
  Now all you have to concern yourself about is whether your changes get you thrown out of the fort like Captain Eckers.
  > dawn Young (Personnel File)
  Dawn grew up in a poor neighborhood with a mother that barely wanted her to begin with. Despite this disadvantage and her humble upbringing she was determined to not stay stuck with her lot in life and turn to a life of crime like so many of her peers. Instead she decided to make something of herself by joining up with the Felkan military at sixteen; a younger age than most in the Felkan army, which is usually at least eighteen.
  
  She's about twenty now and from what you can tell she's served pretty commendably wherever she was stationed. You can also respect the fact she overcame the obstacles that life placed in front of her and it's probably what made you choose her over a couple of the other potential candidates. She also transferred here shortly after you replaced Eckers, which might explain why she doesn't have the bad habits that a lot of the other troops have which also made her the best candidate.
  
  She seems capable, and you're confident you've made a good choice in picking a second.