Eliin grinned and tugged her earlobe. “Of course, of course.” She patted my arm affectionately and turned away. I felt an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach. Eliin’s easy manner was a stark departure from the forced smiles of Hope Renewed. I wanted to get away from her as quickly as possible, but a strange part of me was reluctant to leave. And more than anything, I felt guilty for deceiving her.

She led us down another long corridor. In the distance, I could hear movement and the lowing of animals. The cool cavern air was heavy with the scent of dried grass and gurza dung, and sure enough, before long we had come upon a crudely-constructed pen. Six gurzas milled around inside it.

Isaak watched Eliin with wide eyes as she opened the gate and shuffled into the pen, talking to the animals in a low voice. “Wow,” he said under his breath, and I remembered his reaction when I’d shown him the image of one on the visual indicator. They were large reptiles, with strong back legs that made them ideal for bearing loads. Their scales were multicolored, usually blue or green with thick stripes of orange and yellow. One of the animals saw Isaak staring at it, and ambled slowly up to the fence. He reached out his hand slowly. The gurza sniffed him, then placed its muzzle in his palm. He grinned and stroked the creature’s snout gently.

“Looks like Tuupa has taken a liking to you,” Eliin said to Isaak as she led another gurza out of the pen. She handed me the reins. “And this is Thork. He’s a gelding, so he should be easy to handle if you’re not an experienced rider.”

I smiled. “Thank you, Eliin.”

Eliin helped us get the gurzas’ packs loaded with supplies. It would be about a week’s journey—eight days—mostly through the caves, but there were sections of the trail that went aboveground. “The breathing apparatuses in your packs should have more than enough oxygen for those parts.” She sighed. “It wasn’t long ago that we didn’t need to pack oxygen. The revivification process has done much to help the areas around the mountains, but it seems for every step Elytherios takes forward, the geroi drag us three steps back.”

“What about the gurzas, Eliin?” Isaak asked. “Will they need oxygen?”

“No, alos, at least not yet. They’re hardier than we are.” She glanced at me. “Oh, I nearly forgot. I can take your dummy earpiece for you.” She stretched out her hand and I stared at her blankly.

The smile wavered, fading slightly from her face.

“Your earpiece, Nadin,” Isaak said, glaring at me over the top of Eliin’s head.