“Regardless of the ordinance we have available, there are no guarantees it would be faster. And we may accidentally collapse it ourselves with the explosives. If the cave does not end up bringing us close enough to the other side, it may be slower to blast through it than to just go around. With the information we have, staying outside is our best choice.” Rareth reasoned. 

This time, it was actually Nirann that spoke up with an objection. “Well…we could go about it in a way that would make sure we don’t collapse it ourselves, at least. I know the echolocation hardware you Datius have is top-notch. If you’re pinging the surroundings while we’re going through, not only could you map out the cave system, but I could analyze that data to get a pretty good picture of the structural integrity of any part of the cave. That is something we could work with.”

Surprisingly, there was something of a long delay from Rareth as she weighed the pros and cons of each option. One path would certainly be safter than the other, but they were in a hurry. If it was just herself and the other soldiers, the choice would be clear, but they had the civilians and their equipment to worry about, and all of it was essential.

“I can scout ahead myself.” Rareth finally continued. “I can move [i]far[/i] more quickly alone than we can together. I can go into the caves and seek out an exit on the other side, mapping the cave system as I go. Based on the size of this mountain, it should not take me long to get through, unless the caves are [i]particularly[/i] difficult to traverse. And if that is the case, we certainly should not use them. Whether I find a path or not, I can be back within an hour. You can use that time to rest, recover, and continue your work.”