[center][h3][u]Baeshri Pass, Caravan Centaurus[/u]
[sub]3rd of Summer - 10:23 PM[/sub][/h3][/center]

	"As much as I don't like to admit it, scouring the pass for a single girl is more dangerous than staying put," Neal cut in. Zay nodded to himself silently while letting out a slow, reverberating burp. Neal glanced at him in disgust for a split second and sighed. "But I agree that there should be some form of reconnaissance. Whether we decide to hunker down, or leave in search of aid, remaining ignorant of our surroundings is liable to get us all killed."

	"Easy for you to say," Zay croaked, "They've got archers, and they're [i]Myti.[/i] If they're still around, we'll be walking right into another ambush. And that [i]one[/i] woman..." Zay stopped and clutched his forehead. "If we stay put, at the very least, we retain a defensive advantage." He lowered his hand and stared at the table in front of him. "Besides, if Marilyn had survived, she would return to the Caravan right away, wouldn't she? I doubt they'd let her scurry off if she were injured. Any way you look at it, that's enough proof to avoid an intensive search."

	"She couldn't be far, whether she's alive or not," Noru added while tending to Pyra's injuries, "Simple reconnaissance is enough to confirm Marilyn's fate. That explosion couldn't have launched her far, even if she was closer to the explosion than any of us."

	"There's truth in those words, Captain," Neal affirmed.

	"I don't like it," Zay objected, "Not in this darkness." The Captain suddenly stood up and placed a hand on the mana-lantern embedded in the ceiling, brightening the room significantly. He sat right back down afterwards. "At the very least, we shouldn't be wandering around in the middle of the night." Neal closed his eyes and leaned against the side of the Caravan's inner wall. Then he peered down at the unconscious Myti at their feet.

	"Can we dispose of these corpses? Both this one, and the one outside? It may not be possible to move the [i]Venbu,[/i] but I'm not fond of speaking casually around [i]dead bodies.[/i]" Noru, finished with Pyra's treatment, looked down at the woman. Her chest moved, [i]ever so slowly, [/i]and the edges of her eyes began to twitch despite the indent in her skull caused of Neal's earlier [i]stomp[/i]. Captain Geroldus straightened himself immediately. He recalled that she'd survived, but to still be alive even now without medical treatment? Any normal Myti would have been [i]killed outright.[/i] Noru turned towards the body and leaned against Pyra's bunk in surprise. 

	"I don't think this one is [i]dead.[/i]"