Elvira had seen recordings of the White Temple, but none of them did justice to its sheer size or beauty. The architecture was unlike anything else on Esper. Giant columns of polished marble held aloft great stone ceilings. Sunlight diffused through narrow openings into the cool interior courtyards.

The walls and pillars were decorated with elaborate scenes, although to her surprise they were unrelated to Paladin history. She vaguely remembered reading this used to be a center of Northern culture before the Fading, spared from destruction when the Paladins chose it as their base. The theory was supported by what she saw, in any case.

Gordon parked their rented truck in a shaded area off to the side of the temple. Hitori wanted to head straight inside and start looking for answers, but Elvira, Protius, and even Gordon were distracted by sightseeing, so Hitori allowed them to play tourist.

Chandra, meanwhile, was doing her very best to shrink out of sight completely. For the most part she went unnoticed, but the occasional group of Paladins would erupt into whisper as she passed. Elvira resisted the urge to spin kick them into a wall.

Eventually they finished the tour and Hitori sent Protius, Chandra, and Gordon off to the Temple library. He took Elvira along to speak with the High Chaplain.

“Are we really going to walk up to the leader of the White Temple and ask if she has… um, the thing?” Elvira said once the two of them were alone.

“Not quite,” Hitori replied. “I’m certain that ‘Super Paladin’ from last night is connected to the White Temple, given how quickly she popped in and grabbed the stone. Someone must have tipped her off.”

“Do you think Pandora had something to do with it?”

“Like she sold us out?” Hitori hummed. “I don’t know I would put it past her, but she strikes me as the ‘desert ambush’ type. This felt like a crime of opportunity.”

“I see,” Elvira said. “Oh! Wait, does that mean we were being watched?”

“Most likely. Though I didn’t see any trace of her before she dropped in front of me.”

“I wasn’t even looking for something like that.”

“You’ll find a nice baseline level of paranoia will serve you well,” Hitori said with a sly grin.

“Doesn’t sound stressful at all, really,” Elvira said.

“On the subject, looks like we’re at the chaplain’s office. How’s the Masquerade Sigil holding up?”

“Uh, wh— Oh! Yeah,” Elvira remembered he was talking about the sigil Nova made to disguise her modified Vital Net from any curious Paladins. Her face pinched in concentration as she checked. “Vinni says she hasn’t stopped running it since I got it, not that she’s happy about it.”

“That’s good, but you should make a habit of checking. VNs can make funny decisions sometimes.”

“Right, yes, I’ll work on it.”

Hitori smiled, then knocked on the door as they walked up. A few seconds later a small, mousey woman opened it. She appeared to be Mairtalan, with much fairer skin than a typical Paladin and no shortage of freckles. Her hair was naturally curly and pure white, somewhat like a cloud.

“Ah, yes, you must be the… mercenaries who insisted on a meeting with Her Grace,” she said quietly. She was wearing the most Elvira had ever seen on a Paladin, a long-sleeved blouse under the mesh shirt, and a skirt that ran to the floor. “Please take a seat while I inform her of your arrival.”

She shuffled to the far door while Hitori and Elvira sat down. The woman returned to her desk without speaking, and the pair were left waiting in silence for an uncomfortably long time. Hitori didn’t seem to mind, taking a quick look around the office before reading something on his WebComm. It looked like article on new sword designs.

Finally, the receptionist stood up and said, “Her Grace will see you now.” Elvira couldn’t guess what signal conveyed that information. She joined Hitori as he walked into the next room, where they found themselves in a well decorated office. Sitting at the desk on the far side was a Bachijan woman, who stood as they approached.

Elvira stared a moment in wonder when she saw the woman towered above her. Even Hitori barely came up to her chin. She was wearing typical Paladin attire, that is, relatively little, though more ornate than usual. Several gold and silver bands decorated her body.

“Chaplain Talitha,” Hitori said. “Well met.” He bowed and made a gesture Elvira recognized from Duroterra, normally used in religious ceremonies. It was odd to see it so far from home, but it pleased the giant woman.

“You are more well mannered than agent Kalindi suggested,” Talitha said.

“I’m sure she meant only with respect to herself,” Hitori said.

The chaplain laughed. “And very generous too. In any case, I hope you aren’t here merely to make excuses. I must say, I thought rather higher of Nova’s ability. Certainly at least above delivering a package without fail.”

“Yes, indeed. By all rights it should have been a very easy mission.” Hitori gave Talitha a serious glance. “Unless there were, you might say, complications.”

“Complications… such as?”

“Such as the possibility certain details were divulged outside their necessary scope.”

“Are you suggesting there’s traitor in the White Temple?” Talitha looked less than pleased. “I suppose that explains why you decided to come straight to me.”

“Yes, of course, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say a traitor,” Hitori said. “Merely that someone may have spoken carelessly. We can’t be sure the leak even came from inside the Temple, as there’s reason to suspect the lab was compromised as well.”

“So Nova’s usual abundance of caution.”

“No, not quite,” Hitori said. Talitha looked at him curiously. “What do you know about what happened last night.”

“Kalindi’s report was somewhat… sparse.”

“The woman who stole the Ex Stone was similar to a Paladin in both appearance and natural strength, and we believe she may have been working for someone known as Reaper.”

“Reaper?” Talitha said. “Ah, I see the connection, but no one has gone by that name here in the last four centuries.”

“True, but no one’s gone by it anywhere else either. Farming’s not the most glamorous profession.”

“It was a rather unusual title,” she said mostly to herself, then turned back to Hitori. “I see your concern, though I know very little myself. If you are looking for a more modern connection you can try the library.” She hummed. “Brother Manetho may also be of some use. He has a passion for early Paladin history, Reaper in particular, so if someone is using that name he is likely to know.”

“Thank you very much,” Hitori said.

“Of course,” Talitha said. “I’ll have Sister Fáelán give you a pass to the Archive. You should find the chaplain there at this hour.”