Chapter XIV, Reading 2

During the next few months, the success of Kalmyk's troop of Rangers caught the attention of the High Command. They needed to rely on skilled and competent commanders so he and his troop were given increasingly important and critical assignments. Flindra was a part of his success but she never tried to steal the credit from her officers and comrades. She was a silent member of the team and needed no praise to continue with her job.

In all of his communications with the High Command, Kalmyk had never mentioned Flindra by name. He had given a short report that he had recruited a new scout but he was careful to avoid any reference to her gender. He had done this to both protect her reputation and to avoid potential problems with the High Command. It had been an unorthodox decision on his part to make her his scout. He appreciated her talents too much to take the risk of losing her because of some bureaucratic decision in Deodar.

Flindra's knowledge of the land was invaluable and Kalmyk drew upon her experience frequently. She knew the surrounding areas intimately. She also had an unnerving sense of knowing where the enemy was moving. In addition to helping complete their assigned missions, she had managed to save the troop from several potentially fatal ambushes.

Kalmyk once questioned her on her ability to perceive what was around them. She explained that it was a simple case of observing what nature had to tell. The movements of birds and animals could yield much information if one knew what to look for. A creature seen out of its normal habitat was a good sign that it had been disturbed. The absence of the bird songs could mean an enemy was about. It was the nature of the forest to record the movements of all those in its midst. A broken twig, a torn leaf spoke volumes of information.

What Flindra didn't tell him was that she also used the tools, which were available only to the Heir of King Meldh. She used the heightened awareness of Rigga's power shield to feel and probe around herself. She found that in her heightened awareness, she was even capable of sensing the presence of those who had recently passed through the area. It was almost like seeing their trails, the imprints of their footprints, left on the fabric of life.