Shyla ducked inside and retrieved the torque she’d hidden, then rejoined Hanif and Rendor. In case of a cave-in, each room was in a different section of the monastery. The Fourth Room had been built in the southeast corner on level seventeen!

“How deep does the monastery go?” she asked Hanif. She’d explored as much as possible when she was a child, but had always been stopped from going further than level twelve.

“I can’t tell you all our secrets, Shyla.”

“At least twenty-five levels,” Rendor said.

Hanif skidded to a stop and rounded on him. “How… When… There are guards.”

“Yes, there are. And I may have led you to believe it took longer for me to heal than it did.”

“I should have put a tail on you sooner,” Hanif muttered.

“Do you think it would have made a difference?”

“Let’s keep going,” Shyla said before Hanif could respond. “I’ll feel safer once the torques are secure.”

Hanif didn’t take long to hide the torques in the Fourth Room and soon they were climbing up to level six. The cool air disappeared, replaced by dry hotness. Level six was deep enough to be safe during the killing heat and, unlike the upper levels, which cooled quickly, it held the warmth during the darkness. With mirror pipes installed in the ceiling, level six was the perfect level for growing plants.

Like Hanif had said, the cavern was small compared to the ones in Zirdai. Rows of green plants lined the long narrow space. The ceiling arched high overhead with the ends of at least a dozen mirror pipes poking through, piping sunlight down from the surface. As they followed the caretaker’s path through the greenery, Shyla noted there was quite a variety of vegetables, with short bushy plants growing next to ones with tall stalks and thin leaves. Moisture thickened the air. It smelled unlike anything she’d encountered before—a heavy vibrant odor.

The amount of work needed to build and maintain something on this scale was beyond their small organization. Plus they’d need someone who was knowledgeable. “I don’t suppose any of your caretakers want to become an Invisible Sword?” she asked Hanif.

“They’re all sworn monks, but if you decide to build a growing cavern, let me know and we can work something out.”

“Work something out? As in…?”

“Your people have certain skills that mine lack. There might be a future situation where I need you to do something in exchange for me loaning you one of our gardeners.”

That was fair. After all, the monks had supplied the Invisible Swords with food, water, and shelter without charging a single coin. And she couldn’t expect to keep getting everything for free. “It will depend on what you need us to do—I’m not risking my people unnecessarily—but I’m certainly open to working with you in the future.”

“Diplomatic,” Rendor said.