At dawn, Sera stood before the scout examiner with a route map and a compass that had lost its painted north mark.
The examiner pointed to a narrow passage on the map. “Your team is behind schedule. This is the shortest route. What do you tell them?”
“I can’t tell them it’s safe from the map alone.”
“You have one minute.”
Sera checked the scale, the marked slope, and the notes supplied with the exercise. A drainage symbol appeared beside the passage but did not appear on the route key. She asked whether the symbol represented water on the ground or a pipe above it. The examiner refused to answer.
“Then I tell the team we have an unverified obstruction and send a scout to the junction before committing everyone,” she said. “If we can’t check it in time, we take the longer route.”
The examiner made a note. “Your team loses time.”
“Potentially. A blocked carry route costs more if we’ve already put the injured person in it.”
