Chapter XIII, Reading 4

They trotted down the road for half a league before she veered to the left on a barely noticeable path.  The path twisted through the forest, obviously made by men who wished to avoid pursuit or detection.  The trail would have been difficult to follow if one did not know it, but she knew it well thanks to the gift of her extended memories.

Eventually the path intercepted another.  Flindra stopped here, dismounted, and examined the ground.

"What is it?" the lieutenant demanded.

"There are tracks here.  Seven, no eight, horses passed this way within the last few hours.  One of the horses has a worn shoe.  It looks like he is about to lose it.  The horse will turn up lame before his rider makes it to the caves."

"I see you are a skilled tracker," the lieutenant said respectfully.  His own skills where rather rudimentary but he knew enough to recognize her expertise.

"Thank you.  I had a good teacher."

Flindra led the Rangers to the base of the rocky hills to the west where she stopped again.  "Sir," she whispered as she addressed the lieutenant.  "The tracks lead to the base of the cliff.  Just behind those rocks is the entrance to a cave."

"Good work, Maid Flindra," he replied with a slight nod of his head.  "Now stay back here with the horses.  I don't want you in harms way."

"Yes, sir"

He gave a few sharp but whispered commands, which sent the Rangers sliding from their saddles and then slipping through the trees like shadows.  They were fairly quiet, but Flindra thought to herself they couldn't compete with Leudh for quick, silent movement through the forest.

Within the span of a few moments, the Rangers had positioned themselves around the cave opening.  From her place with the horses, Flindra could see the lieutenant give a quick gesture with his hand.  As soon as he dropped it, the Rangers stormed the cave.  Flindra could hear the sounds of struggle emanating from the entrance.  There were groans from wounded men and shouts of those still fighting.  Then it was over.

Six men were led from the cave with their hands tied behind their backs.  A few were bleeding but she could see that no man had suffered a mortal wound from the encounter.  She then looked closely at the Rangers to see if any of them had been wounded.  It seemed that they had been lucky for she could see no blood on any of them.

The prisoners were placed on their horses, which were in turn tied together.  One of the prisoners was mounted on one of the pack mules - his horse was lame.  Flindra felt a moment of pride at this last detail.  Her tracking skills were still sharp.  She knew that her father would have been proud of her.

The Rangers returned to their horses and the lieutenant gave her a brief nod after he mounted.  "Thank you."  He turned his attention to the sergeant.  "Leitho, fall in behind the prisoners and see we don't have any stragglers."

"Yes sir."