Chapter XV, Reading 1

Flindra sponged off the swamp mud in the privacy of her tent. After she was clean and dry, she put on a fresh tunic and trousers. She would wait to clean the mud from her leather jerkin until after she met with the lieutenant. The tone of his voice hinted that it would be best if she didn't keep him waiting and cleaning up had already taken enough time.
As she dressed, she decided on a plan of action for dealing with Kalmyk and his questions. She had an instinctive feeling that he was going to delve into her history and that worried her for she still needed to keep her identity safe. She wouldn't lie to him; a lie would serve no purpose and quite likely would make the situation worse. Flindra knew her lieutenant was an intelligent and observant man. It wouldn't be easy to lie to him. It probably would be best if she'd admit to withholding the whole truth. She'd just refuse to tell him why. If he didn't accept that, she'd just have to face the consequences. Flindra hoped that he wouldn't be adamant in demanding a complete explanation.
She bowed her head briefly. "Beloved Spirit," she whispered reverently. "You have been with me all along. Help me to keep my identity safe. I don't wish to lie to the lieutenant." She paused and sighed. "Guide me," she finished and left her tent.

Chapter XIV, Reading 11

"It might just work," Kalmyk said excitedly as he slapped Leitho on the shoulder.
"We should probably wait until dark to move out. We can't chance being seen until we have the proof we need to take before the High Command," the sergeant advised.
Kalmyk nodded his head in agreement. "We'll be ready to leave at dusk." He smiled wolfishly. "We'll trip up the Duke's men yet."
Kalmyk turned toward Flindra. "Astute reasoning on your part, Flindra. You have my gratitude." A slightly irritated frown briefly crossed his features, which caused her stomach to sink. "Go get cleaned up. When you are through, come see me. I have a few more questions for you."
"Yes, sir."
"Kalmyk," Leitho interrupted.
The lieutenant shifted his glance back to him. "Yes."
"I'd like to lead a burial detail back to that dead scout. I think I can retrieve his body without too much risk. I hate seeing one of our own feeding scavengers."
"Make it so. Just be careful."
"Will do."
Leitho gave Flindra a quick smile before he left to organize the burial detail.
She was comforted by the friendship the glance evidenced, but she wasn't looking forward to seeing Kalmyk.

Chapter XIV, Reading 10

Kalmyk was still puzzling over the map. "Why would the Duke put troops here?" he muttered to himself.
"To hide their movements," answered Flindra.
Kalmyk looked up with a slightly irritated expression. "They can't move them anywhere from here without the world knowing, so why bother?"
"They can't move them on land without the world knowing. But, what if, there is access to the sea and a hidden place to load men and horses. What if they plan on moving troops on ships. No one would know would they? No one would know until they landed."
Flindra had wanted his attention and she had it. "Go on," he commanded.
"The map shows that the river ends at the swamp. Suppose that isn't the way it really is. Suppose that at least one channel makes it through the swamp to the sea. Couldn't they hide their troops here in the swamp until everything was ready and then make sail? Sail to Kazat?"
"Sail to Kazat and bite us on the rear before we even knew they were there. Of course! It's so obvious! It also explains their traps in the swamp. The Duke can't have us snooping around in there. His strategy will only work if it's a complete surprise. But, I have to have proof. How?"
"If they are planning to move by sea then they've got to have ships," Leitho replied to the open question. "I'd wager that they can't get sea faring vessels too far into the swamp. The ships, or at least their masts, would probably be visible from the coastline south of the swamp." He traced his finger on the map as he talked. "If we skirted the swamp here and then moved back along the coast we might be able to gather some proof."

Chapter XIV, Reading 9

To avoid working herself up to a state of panic, Flindra started to look at the chart. She wasn't looking at anything in particular, just the overall appearance. The colors were pretty, especially the blue of the sea. She hadn't realized that they were this close to it. By looking at the chart, she understood why the swamp was here - the river flowing from Ladh had slowed down enough that it didn't make it to the sea. It was just slowly strangled in the swamp.
It made her sad to think of the river dying in the strangle hold of the swamp. She hated to see anything trapped. Maybe, the map was wrong. Maybe, the river could fight back and there were channels through the swamp, channels that made it to the sea. It gave her an element of pleasure to think about the river making it to the sea in spite of the choking vegetation and mud of the swamp.
"I wonder if you could sail a boat on them," she thought to herself. "Boats like the ones I used to see on Lake Eghero." Her idle speculation struck an uneasy chord in the back of her mind. Instinct, or perhaps the Spirit, was cueing her to delve deeper into this thought.
"Boats, where could you go on boats?" She looked at the nearness to the sea and felt another warning pulse of intuition. "Not boats but ships," she thought to herself, "ships to sail the sea - to sail to Kazat."
As soon as she had voiced that thought in her mind, she realized she had stumbled onto the truth. That was it. The Duke's attack wouldn't come overland where his troops could be discovered long before he reached Deodar. If he moved his troops by ship he could land his men close enough to Storos's stronghold to win a surprise attack.

Chapter XIV, Reading 8

Flindra shook her head slightly. "I don't know. Things just didn't feel right. It's hard to explain."
"I see. Just a gut feeling?"
"More like a premonition."
"Any good soldier gets those feelings from time to time. It helps keep us alive."
Kalmyk could sense that there was more to the story. Flindra wasn't lying, she just wasn't telling everything. He didn't want to accuse her of anything in front of the men. He would save it for a later time. Besides, he had more important things to worry about.
"At least we know that Bhrag is up to something in this swamp and I intend to find out what it is. I can't imagine that this place has any strategic value," Kalmyk said as he pulled on his mustache. "Leitho, let's take another look at those charts."
The maps were quickly produced. Kalmyk and Leitho bent over to study them.
While they looked at the maps, Flindra had time to reflect on what had just happened. Even without Rigga's help, she had sensed Kalmyk's disbelief in her story. He had perceived that she was concealing information about the orb and she guessed that he had merely postponed his interrogation until later. Flindra was deeply concerned since she knew she couldn't tell him the truth without revealing her identity. What was she to do?
Her thoughts were interrupted by one of the Rangers who handed her a cup of wine. "Drink this, it will make you feel better," he whispered.
She looked at him and smiled. "Thanks Ilgen," she whispered back.
He winked at her and walked away. Ilgen was reassuring her. Flindra remembered Leitho's words about how they were all in this together. She just hoped she could stay with the Rangers and that Kalmyk wouldn't send her away.

Chapter XIV, Reading 7

Leitho smiled briefly. "No need for thanks, Flindra. It took all of us time to be able to look at senseless death without reacting. Remember that we're all in this together. Comrades."
"Thank you."
"Now, let's get going. We have to report to the lieutenant." They then walked back to the area where the rest of the Rangers were hiding.
When Kalmyk saw them approach he laughed and jokingly asked, "Did you two decide to take a bath in the mud?" Then he saw the look in Leitho's eyes and the humor fled his own. "What's out there?" he demanded.
"Those low-life-scum-eaters have crossed the entire area with thin threads dangling poisoned fish hooks!" Leitho blurted in anger. "A man could die in there before he even knew he was in trouble." He paused and took a deep breath. "We found one of the scouts, lying out there in the sun being buzzard bait! Whatever the poison is, it's strong enough to be killing the carrion feeders. I'd wager good money that the rest of our missing scouts are lying out there in that wicked web. If it hadn't of been for Flindra's sharp eyes we'd have joined 'em."
Kalmyk had given Flindra a concerned glance when his sergeant had mentioned the dead Ranger. He now spared her the pain of recalling the story. "How did it happen?" he asked as he looked back at Leitho.
"We were working our way through that abominable grass when some birds flew up somewhere in front of us. We both dropped to the ground. We didn't see or hear anything else. Just as I was about to kid Flindra for falling asleep, I could sense that something had really spooked her. I couldn't see anything but I've worked with her long enough to trust her instincts."
Leitho gave Flindra a quick glance of approval before he continued.
"She slowly started forward at a crawl. She'd pause to listen or see something, I don't know, and then she'd continue. Finally, she just stopped dead in her tracks. When I worked my way up to her she pointed out the traps and the dead body."
Lieutenant Kalmyk looked at Flindra and noticed the tight rein she was using to keep control of her emotions. "How did you know?"

Chapter XIV, Reading 6

A slight breeze picked up. Then she smelled it, the sickening smell of rotting flesh. She looked around trying to locate the source of the smell. Obscured in the grass far to her right, lay a man dressed in the garb of the King's Rangers. There were struggle marks around his body and she guessed that the poison brought a painful death. Dead bodies of a few carrion eaters, mostly ravens, lay around the man. The poison had been so deadly that it was even killing the birds. Flindra forced down the vomit which had rushed to her throat.
Leitho had again slipped up next to her. One look at her face told him that there was something horribly wrong. She pointed out the trap in front of them. Then she pointed in the direction of the dead Ranger. Anger reflected in his eyes as he looked at the delicate webbing, which had been the death of the scout. He abruptly motioned Flindra to retreat.
They crawled out of the area on their bellies, being careful to retrace their steps. Leitho finally judged it safe to stand and reached a helping hand down to his scout. She stood up and shook her head to clear the sight of the dead man from her thoughts.
He moved close and held her by the shoulders, looking at the horror in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Flindra. I'm sorry you had to see that."
"You've nothing to be sorry about," she answered in a voice thick with emotion. "I knew what I was getting myself into when I became your scout. It's just that...just that...no one deserves to die like that." She quickly looked down at the ground to hide her tears.
Leitho gently cupped her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. "Don't be ashamed to cry, Flindra. It shows that you still are alive enough to feel empathy with another's pain. Only be ashamed if you reach the point where you get too hard to feel. That is your, our, greatest risk."
"I know," she replied in a tiny voice. "Thanks for not ridiculing my sorrow."

Chapter XIV, Reading 5

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.
Rigga's aura didn't encounter anything but a few small animals hiding in the grass. Flindra still couldn't explain the warning. There must be something out there she simply wasn't picking up with the power shield.
Flindra started to move, inching forward on her stomach. The short hair on her back stood up with a wave of nervous fear that passed through her. She breathed deeply to calm herself and she was using every ounce of awareness she could muster.
The early morning sun was just high enough in the sky to start shining in the grass. Flindra saw a momentary reflection off something shiny. She froze again and forced her eyes to see - to see something, anything. A ray of sun broke through the grass and the object reflected again.
Before her, were strands of nearly invisible threads tied to the grass. Fishhooks were suspended from the lines at an interval of every few inches. The sunlight was reflecting off a drop of liquid on the tip of every hook. She guessed the hooks had been poisoned. This human spider web was everywhere - at different heights in the grass. Some lines were tied at knee level, others at eye level, and still others hung diagonally across the grass.

Chapter XIV, Reading 4

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.

Chapter XIV, Reading 3

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.
Flindra had learned that she could see the land ahead by projecting her mind through the crystal. In her mind, she familiarized herself to the surroundings. She could discover things without risking her safety or that of her comrades.
The ability of the crystal sphere was greatly augmented by her extended memories. The memories gave her valuable clues to the land and to the nature of the enemies they sought. The wisdom of those who had passed before her added greatly to her innate skills.
These tools and abilities Flindra kept secret for she remembered Kewero's warning that she should not reveal her true identity. Only in the deepest recesses of her heart did she admit to their existence. Flindra trained her thoughts to react to situations as if she was only a simple maid who just happened to be one with the forest. She created the image of a skilled woodsman's daughter - nothing more.
Lieutenant Kalmyk and his Rangers had been ordered to penetrate deep into Bhrag's territory to gather information on the movement and strength of the Duke's troops. There had been increasingly frequent rumors hinting that the Duke was massing his troops and the High Command wanted details. None of the scouting parties sent out to confirm this information had returned.
The High Command had decided that Kalmyk's collection of Rangers stood the best chance of getting the required information and surviving to pass it on. They were depending on the skill and wisdom Kalmyk had demonstrated so well during the spring and early summer. It was a dangerous assignment.
Kalmyk was under orders to capture and detain any of Bhrag's people they encountered during this action. The captives would be questioned and holding them would prevent the flow of information back to the Duke.