Dawn found Flindra creeping stealthily through the dense grass of the swamp south of Ladh. The grass was taller than she was so Flindra had a hard time seeing what was ahead. This swamp grass was like nothing she had ever encountered. It was as sharp as a knife along the edges, which made for difficult travel. The ground beneath the grass was soggy with stagnant water and the area reeked of rotting vegetation.
Flindra had examined the area with her crystal orb before she had left her cot this morning. She knew that before them, a mile into the swamp, was a higher area that was free of the swampy waters. Along this ridge, the swamp grass gave way to a dense growth of briar bushes and small trees. The higher area might provide a place to quarter troops. What she couldn't understand was why anyone would want to hide troops in this awful place.
Sergeant Leitho was following a few paces behind her. She could hear the sucking sound that came whenever he pulled a foot out of the muck. Lieutenant Kalmyk generally assigned him to accompany her whenever she was sent ahead to scout. She suspected it was his way of providing an element of protection for her.
Flindra saw several birds take to flight and instinctively dropped to the ground. She heard Leitho doing the same. As she lay in the mud, he slowly crawled up to her.
"See anything?" he whispered.
"Birds," Flindra replied in a whisper and pointed to the area where the birds had left.
They lay still for several more minutes and heard nothing more. Flindra was about to get up when she felt a warning pulse from the crystal orb, which was tucked beneath her tunic. This was a new occurrence for her. The only time she had experienced anything remotely similar was the time she had triggered the Ansu trap when she was seeking Kewero.
The crystal orb was obviously sensing some danger. If Leitho hadn't been there, she would have pulled the sphere from her tunic to see if she could project her mind to the danger. Since she didn't have that option, she instead concentrated on directing Rigga's power shield in front of her, being careful not to overlap her sergeant in the aura. She needed to find out who or what was out there.
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