Sandora and I had spent nearly a whole day at the edge of the galaxy, and we had also delayed for a while aboard the Empire Admiral earlier, so we had basically been "missing" for an entire day. Fortunately, we had given Sailin a little warning before we left, so she had not been suspicious about where we had gone. That was rare, and it fully demonstrated this Battle Sister's trust in Sandora and me—after all, these were extraordinary times. The matter of the heretics had all the Apprentice Priests in town on edge, and the entire town was practically about to forbid people from entering or leaving.
After Sandora and I returned, we quickly received good news: a papal decree from the Holy City had arrived. Sailin had been granted an audience with the Pope, and just as she had expected, Sandora and I were to go along as well.
Actually, it would not have mattered whether we received this invitation or not. Sandora and I could have simply dropped into the Holy City from the sky to find whoever we needed, but that would inevitably have caused some confusion and trouble, so we had waited until today. And the wait had proved worthwhile: if we had not waited patiently, we would never have learned from the female leader of the Technology Revival Faction that the Pope changed every century and that the real secrets might lie in the hands of the Cardinal Archbishops. If we had looked for the wrong person, we might have wasted a great deal of effort. Now there was nothing left to think about. The invitation to the Holy City had been delivered right to us, so Sandora and I only had to wait calmly until departure.
At dinner, Sailin announced the news of