"{What do you mean he can't bring that in?}" Ngralh had dealt with his fair share of bureaucratic idiocy, but this religious nonsense was on a whole new level.

His little pack mate was well into his 'adorable but dim' routine. [Oscar] smiled widely and gestured with one hand at what he held in the other. This was his gift from Bgrarh, what the giant Dorarizin called a 'magnifying glass'.

"[Yeah, why not?]" asked the tiny-chomper. "[There's no moving parts, it's just metal and glass. We primitives had these hundreds of years before we had space travel.]"

The Matriarch gave an apologetic duck of her head. "[And yet it is made by machines, not by hand. Ta'irrl'qc's Sutras are quite clear on that matter.]"

Ngralh looked behind him at the rest of his team, all of whom were in the process of hauling their equipment into the room containing the huge Ledger. The tome's Keeper, Ti'krrh, looked simultaneously pleased and terrified at all of the unusual visitors. He stood next to the Ledger's plinth and darted his head back and forth between the Dorarizins and his superior.

Ck'Trrk'Ka pointed a wing-arm at the team's cases. "[Our sensors show that all of that has also been nanofabricated, and thus we cannot permit it into the Sanctum.]"

Ngralh felt a wave of weariness. "{We thought at least we'd be allowed automatic recording tools. I hope you understand the need to establish a proper chain of custody. Every bit of evidence we find within the Sanctum must be tracked for use in any eventual trial.}"

The Matriarch gave her crest another apologetic bob. "[We are willing to allow you your clothing and to allow more than two to be present in the Sanctum. Apart from that we must insist that our customs are followed.]"

There was something else that the Matriarch hadn't mentioned in that 'allowed items' list. "{Wait. What about our implants?}"

"[Custom dictates that...]"

As she prattled on Ngralh took in a deep breath to calm himself. First, he'd give this infuriating [Karnakian] a diplomatically polite tirade about how she was interfering in an investigation intended to help her out. Then he'd get the Captain in here to lean on Ck'Trrk'Ka by doing her 'looming' thing.

Instead, Oscar stepped forward and put a hand on Ngralh's forearm. "[Hey, no problem! We'll deal with it. I'm used to doing this stuff by hand anyway. Guess there are some advantages to being primitive, eh?]" He gave Ck'Trrk'Ka a human wink. "[So can you [rustle] us up some paper and pens?]"

The Karnakian tilted her head. "[What does [rustle] mean? Oh, you mean procure? Yes, we can do that!]" She gave an imperious snap of her fangs at the two disciples who'd been guarding the [Human] and Jornissians. "[Find them some paper and writing tools, now!]"

The two guards looked at each other. "[Honored Matriarch, I'm not sure where we keep such items,]" one of them said. His crest was flattened so much against his head that it conformed to his skull.

Ck'Trrk'Ka threw up her wings. "[Honestly!]" She was clearly getting ready to launch into more invective when [Oscar] held up his small hand.

"[It's cool, we'll figure it out. I bet Mr. Keeper over there knows where that kind of stuff is stored.]" He turned to Ti'krrh. "[You strike me like someone who's [on the ball].]"

Ti'krrh stirred and puffed himself up at the [Human's] praise. "[Why yes! I can certainly help in that regard.]"

The Matriarch stalked past the team and began waving her arms. "[Then why are we still standing around! The Claw holds the Last Sutra of Ta'irrl'qc, and I want it back now!]"

"[Oh, if you have anything like home-made glue that would be great too!]" added [Oscar]. The Matriarch bobbed her head and continued yelling at the other three Karnakians.

"{What's the glue for?}" asked Ngralh.

"[I want to see if we can pick up any DNA from the altar itself,]" replied [Oscar]. "[There was one disciple in there the day before Hrathra'sstah's group arrived, and nobody's been in there since. So the theft was only about five days ago. There might still be some skin cells or other such stuff around.]"

"{No incriminating feathers this time?}" asked Ngralh with a smile.

[Oscar} gave his strange, yipping version of a laugh and strolled off. The Karnakians were still bustling around gathering supplies, but Ngralh ignored them and instead kept a close eye on his den-mate as [Oscar] made his way over to one of the team's cases. The [human] made a big show of opening the case and placing within it his magnifying glass. He used that big, obvious motion to obscure several smaller, less obvious motions as he plucked a few small items out of the case and stowed them around his person. He then made another big show of closing the case.

Ngralh caught [Oscar's] slight-of-hand, of course. And the Karnakians would have caught it too...if [Oscar] hadn't gotten them all running around and focused on other things. It wasn't a matter of speed, but of distraction.

The XO wondered once again just what would have happened if the [Karnakians] had tried to occupy [Earth]. The [OIH] was mostly successful in its embargo of the nastier moments of [human] history, but Ngralh had heard enough whispers to know that [humans] had built up lots of painful experience with each other in how to fight a larger and more powerful occupying force.

He thought about trying to fight an insurgency composed of small, stealthy sapient beings who instinctively triggered a protection response in the average person. Yes, they were fragile and slow compared to everyone else. But if they'd gotten ahold of more of the Karnakian's military technology, and then turned that tech around on their oppressors...

Ngralh gave a little shudder. All in all, it was good that the Senate races had never found out how that particular fight would have gone. As cute as the [humans] were, they could be devious in ways that he still hadn't quite grasped.

The Karnakians finished their rushing about and proudly presented the team with some paper, pens, and a pot of glue. Oscar then made another big show of plucking out his earpiece and presenting it to the Matriarch with a winning smile.

"[Keep an eye on this, okay?]"

The Matriarch cooed and bobbed her crest in assent. That was the last coherent sentence that Ngralh heard from his pack-mate for a while, since her next action was to produce a small wand that he recognized as an implant deactivator.

"{I can't believe they had a whole bowl of Green just sitting there,}" said Egwreh.

Ngralh gave his pack-mate and sometimes lover an amused snort. "{It's not a big deal to [Karnakians]. To them it just smells nice.}"

"{Nice?}" Egwreh growled. "{I'd like to show them a Dorarizin who's wasted away after a lifetime of Green abuse and then see how nice they think it smells. Why can't they use something else?}"

"{For the same reason we're unable to talk to our [Human] den-mate right now,}" Ngralh replied. "{Religion.}"

They both turned and regarded the newest member of their team. [Oscar] puttered around the perimeter of the Sanctum, looking at the carved runes on the walls while Myyreh kept close by and watched him with clear affection.

"{At least they allowed us in here with our clothes on.}" Egwreh shook her head. "{Feh. Religion. I mean, I'm the first to swear by The First Pack, but that's just...tradition, you know? I don't believe in them.}"

Ngralh let forth another chuckle. "{If there's one thing [Karnakians] are good at, it's belief.}" He pointed his snout at [Oscar]. "{You should read up on [human] history. It's full of many examples of the same thing. Sometimes I think they're like miniature [Karnakians] what with their willingness to believe.}"

The source of their conversation came bumbling over, and out of various pockets of his uniform he produced a couple of scanners and a camera drone. [Oscar] handed them to the two Dorarizin with a little bow that made Ngralh chuckle.

"{You know we can't use any of the data recorded by these as evidence,}" said Egwreh.

"{True, but it will help verify our written notes. I suppose we should get started.}"

For a while the team went through a period of note-taking that Ngralh found very strange. The Dorarizin could easily discuss their observations among themselves, while their [human] colleague just went off and did his own thing. [Oscar] took a couple of their paper sheets and spread a thin layer of the glue on each, then set them aside.

The Sanctum appeared to be meticulously cleaned; Ngralh couldn't find any dust anywhere, even in the corners. His sniffing told him nothing, all he got was an overwhelming Karnakian scent that blanketed everything in the room.

[Oscar] let out a little chirp of speech, and Ngralh turned. Myyreh had hoisted the [human] up with her paws around his legs. He was trying to reach what looked like the room's only ventilation duct. Its grate was set into the apex of the ceiling, and Myyreh wasn't quite tall enough. [Oscar] had his arms stretched over his head but he still couldn't reach the grate.

"{Need a hand there, Myyreh?}" Egwreh asked with more than a little glee in her voice.

The specialist snorted. "{Yeah, yeah, I'm short. Um, sweetie? I'm gonna hand you to Egwreh, okay?}"

The [human] dropped his arms and looked down at Myyreh. Ngralh was still learning [human] facial expressions, but he could smell [Oscar's] embarrassment from here. Myyreh held his eyes while she motioned with her head towards Egwreh. [Oscar] gave a sigh and nodded his assent.

Egwreh took hold of [Oscar] with obvious delight. The [human] warbled something at her that was probably something along the lines of 'take care'.

"{Don't you worry, cutie, I've got you,}" the engineer purred as she held him up towards the grate.

This time he was able to reach his goal. The grate sat on a lip of metal around the edge, so [Oscar] was able to simply push the grate up and angle it to remove it.

Egwreh held [Oscar] up up higher, and he was able to get his little head into the duct. The human let forth another stream of warbling speech, and pulled out a contraband flashlight to get a better look down the duct.

The engineer's eyes gleamed with happiness as she held him aloft. "{This is a prime opportunity for gossip. He can't understand us, right?}"

"{Not unless he's learned spoken Dorarizin in the last few days.}" Myyreh shook her head. "{Which I wouldn't put past him. Why do you ask?}"

Egwreh cleared her throat. "{You and he...I mean, it's working out?}"

The normally reserved close-quarters-combat specialist smiled. "{It is indeed, we're working out very well.}"

Around the three of the Dorarizin wove a cloud of scents and body language that spoke louder than words. Ngralh picked up on what was coming off of Myyreh and relaxed. The latter was happy for the first time in a long time. If nothing else, [Oscar] deserved credit for that.

"{I'm very glad,}" he replied, and both his wagging tail and general happy smell got across his true emotions louder than mere words could convey.

Myyreh wilted a bit. "{I just hope...}" she started, then trailed off.

"{Come on, sister,}" said Egwreh. "{What is it?}"

"{Now he's met another [human], a woman at that. You don't think he'd leave me for her, do you?}"

"{What?}" Egwreh sounded shocked at the notion. "{First off, she's not going to be around forever. Not to mention she's also suspect. And you know he's nuts about you. By the Pale Moon, can't you hear his heart rate whenever he sees you?}"

Myrreh's ears lay back. "{I know, but maybe I'm just something exotic to him. Now he'll be around one of his own.}"

"{I've seen you take down [ten] slavers in an eyeblink,}" said Ngralh. "{It isn't like you to be so uncertain.}"

Before Myyreh could reply, [Oscar] let out another warbling comment and motioned for Egrweh to lower him. After he replaced the grate she set him down on the floor.

By now the glue-sheets had dried to a tacky consistency, and the Dorarizin cut them into strips using their claws. The team applied the improvised tacky-strips with a will onto the empty altar and onto the floor around it, then pulled each up in turn after making sure to note its location.

They reconvened in the Ledger room, and Ngralh was relieved to get his implant reactivated. [Oscar] looked equally happy to get his earpiece back. Now that they were allowed their usual tech, the team used their camera drones to scan and document both their notes and the glue-strips.

"{Not ideal for a proper chain of evidence,}" muttered Egwreh. "{But it'll have to do.}"

"{What did that duct look like?}" asked Ngralh.

"[It was a mess,]" said Oscar. "[Probably hasn't been cleaned in a few [decades]. But something was moved through there, based on how the cobwebs and dust were disturbed.]"

Myyreh perked her ears up. "{Could the Claw's case fit through there?"}

[Oscar] held his hands out in front of him about [thirty centimeters] apart. He stared into space as he pictured the duct. "[It could. Not much else would get through, though. Even [Maria] would find that too much of a squeeze.]"

Myyreh flicked one ear at the mention of the other [human]. "{Perhaps they used a drone to drag or push the case through.}"

"[That's my guess for now,]" said [Oscar]. "[But we should check and see what Bgrarh and the Captain found out.]"

The temple had a walled garden in its rear where the team had set up a temporary base of operations. The 'base' consisted of a collapsible canopy to keep the perpetual rain off of the Dorarizin and their gear. As expected from the tropical climate, the garden itself was a profusion of odd-looking plant life. Much of the forms looked the same, but the colorations hurt Oscar's brain. They were just plain off, hues that tended to reds and blacks instead of the green he was used to.

Bgrarh hunched over a control screen which sat atop a stack of cases. He nodded in satisfaction as Ngralh and the others reached them.

Just walking from the temple to the awning was enough to get the Dorarizins' fur soaked. The Captain was waiting with towels for them all.

Myyreh grumbled in wordless protest as she dried herself off. "[It's not fair that you don't have any fur to get wet.]"

Oscar chuckled. "And it's also not fair that y'all can crush my ribs just by hugging too hard. Why don't I trade ya?"

His lover rolled her eyes but didn't respond.

"[What did you find?]" asked the Captain.

Ngralh straightened up as he also finished toweling off. "[There's no exits or entrances other than through the bathing room. They have one ventilation duct high in the ceiling, which [Oscar] examined. Something may have been moved through there recently.]"

"We also took samples from around the altar, just in case we can recover any DNA," added Oscar. "Though we had to improvise the sample-taking itself, so there's organic glues all mixed up in it. It'll be a bit of a mess to sort through. Sorry about that, Benny."

The 'mustachioed' Dorarizin didn't look up from his display. "[Zat is all right, mon ami. I will, how you say, make do.]" He pointed at the screen in front of him. "[Ze initial seismic scanning is complete, Madame Cap-tin.]"

With a touch of a control, the display shot out a beam of light that resolved itself in a holographic display of the ground underneath the temple. Rgrarshok brought her massive head close to the display and pointed. "[Is this a sewer tunnel?]"

"[Zat is my thinking, Madame. You can see where zhe temple's own output ees directed to it here, using zis pipe. But I see no evidence of any disturbed earth or secret tunnels apart from zhat.]"

"Could someone have flushed the Claw down that pipe?" asked Oscar. "They could have had a drone waiting in the main sewer there to catch it."

"[Eet would be difficult. Zhere iz a waste pre-processing facility just here under zhe temple which would certainly trap zhe Claw.}"

The Captain stood up again. "[So it's most likely the perpetrator used the ventilation duct. Bgrarh, have a closer look at the sewer connection from the Temple. I want to make absolutely sure we're not chasing a false trail. The rest of us need to examine every [inch] of the temple's ducting. I'm assuming there's some sort of centralized ventilation system. Do we have any floor plans?]"

"[Not in electronic form]," replied Ngralh. "[I think it's all on paper. This place is pretty old.]"

"[That figures]," sighed the Captain. "[Very well, it looks like we're going [old-school] for this one.]"

Maria was feeling as steady as she could in her current situation. She'd been allowed to retrieve her terminal from the Überduffel and now sat on Oscar's bed in his quarters. She spent a pleasant few hours laughing herself sick while onscreen a group of Jornissian Marines fought with brave tenacity against a much larger force of invading pirates. She'd muted it so that all she could see was goofy text popping out of their mouths, whether that be 'oof' as they died or 'heckin' good!' upon pulling off some heroic feat.

She knew the historical context, of course. The defense of Malshak-V was a particular point of pride among Jornissians, an indication of just how fierce and altruistic they could be when required to Do The Right Thing. It was one of the few long movies that the aliens had gifted to the OIH, and thus was a natural target for meme-ing.

Maria felt a little guilty about watching this particular flick, given that one of her comrades was a former member of the military. In other circumstances she'd turn to some of the less-insensitive memed Jornissian media hidden in her terminal, but after many days without she knew that she needed a good dose of watching giant snake-aliens acting silly.

Oscar must have a corresponding set of Dorarizin memes. She wondered idly if she'd be cooped up on this ship long enough to need them as well. Maria gave a curious look at the room around her. There wasn't much of the man in evidence. Apart from an acoustic guitar set up on a nearby stand, the only other bit of 'Oscar' that she could see was a framed photo of two people she assumed were his parents. She picked up the photo and looked closer.

It wasn't a posed shot; the pair were laughing together over some private joke at a barbeque. His father was taller and as big across as Oscar while his mother was shorter and more willowy, with darker skin and black hair that reached down past her shoulders. Her mouth was open in a delighted laugh as she clutched a bottle of beer.

"You got his size, that's for sure," she said. "And it looks like you got her color." She set the photo back on the night table and turned back to her memed-up movie. She had about half an hour left of her mandated alone time, and she should be able to watch up to the point of the final confrontation with the would-be pirate queen.

There was a discreet knock at the door. From the height of the knock it sounded like one of her 'hosts'. She closed her terminal with a slight pang of unease. "Come in?"

The door slid open, and Ngralh stepped through. It might have been Maria's imagination, but he looked a lot more downcast than when she'd first met him. But then again she didn't have a lot of experience with Dorarizin body language.

"[I apologize for interrupting, but you need to come with me right now.]"

Oh, shit. That didn't sound good.

Maria grabbed her terminal and hustled out the door after Ngralh. Without another word, he led her down the hallway to what appeared to be the ship's rec lounge. The Dorarizin Captain stood next to the room's main display with an ominous set to her shoulders. On the other side of the display stood the medic, Kgrashak.

Hrathra and Resh'skk were also there, both coiled up in tight piles that indicated distress. Neither of them would meet her eyes. Ngralh planted himself in the doorway behind her as if he expected her to bolt out of the room.

It took quite a bit of her remaining courage to speak up. "Guys? This is starting to worry me."

"[I have a few questions]," said Rgarshok. "[Please answer them honestly. At any time in the Sanctum, did you approach the altar or the ventilation duct overhead?]"

"Was there a duct? I never saw one. And no, I didn't go near the altar. I was in that room for maybe two minutes tops before Ter'yeik yanked us out of there, I didn't have the time or the inclination to stroll around."

Rgarshok gave a thoughtful click. "[I see. Kgrashak, you examined [Maria] after she came on board, correct?]"

The medic nodded. "[She was uninjured save for a minor scrape on one elbow.]"

"[And this scrape was bandaged?]"

"[Yes.]"

"[Did you find any other hint of scrapes or wounds on her?]"

"[None other than some slight dehydration, but I put that down to the circumstances of her incarceration.]"

Rgrarshok turned back to Maria. "[One final question. Have you ever been in this temple before this visit by you and your colleagues?"

Maria felt her heart try to climb up her throat. "Of course not. I've never even been to this planet before now! Please, just tell me what is this all about."

The captain glanced towards the display, which upon her implant's command promptly showed an image of the crystal block in the Sanctum center.

"[We took samples from around the altar. The collection method was crude, but we were still able to retrieve several [human] skin cells with DNA that matches [Maria's].]"

Maria's heart beat faster. "Yeah, so? I was in the Sanctum long enough to shed some skin cells. They could have drifted over to the altar before you guys did your sampling."

Rgarshok didn't turn around. She gestured, and now the display held an image of a single sliver of clear crystal lying on a metal surface.

"[It appears something was moved through the duct leading from the Sanctum]," said Rgarshok. "[We traced that duct back to a room which contains the temple's main air conditioning unit. It's situated in the rear of the building near the loading dock. In the AC unit we found this piece of crystal. Its type corresponds to that used in the case containing the Claw of [Ta'irrl'qc]."

Her purple eyes bored into Maria. "Preliminary testing showed there were also a few skin cells on this crystal sliver. We've just completed a more detailed analysis. The skin cells are also human. And those cells also match your DNA.]"

The words thundered in Maria's ears, and she was surprised that her first coherent feeling was not fear, but red-hot anger. "That's fucking impossible! I never..." She spun to Hrathra. "Boss, please say you don't believe this bullshit. I was with you the entire time! For cryin' out loud, we've been living on top of each other for the last six months!"

The Jornissian gave a regretful twitch of her hood. "[I know you are innocent, but sadly this evidence makes us appear as suspects too.]"

"What? Why...why would I steal the Claw?" Maria pointed at Hrathra. "Why should she steal it? Money? She's already rich and famous!"

"[There are religious considerations as well,]" replied the Captain. "[The [Thirty-Fourth] Path has always claimed ownership of the Claw as well. Perhaps they offered [Hrathra'sstah] access to other artifacts of theirs, provided she procure the Claw for them. For the record, I do not accuse anyone of anything yet. I am merely speculating.]"

Somehow her mild tone sounded more ominous than any roar.

Maria's eyes narrowed as a thought struck her. "So why tell us? Why not just wait until you've got your case together?" She pointed again, this time at the Captain. "You're trying to get us to work against each other, aren't you? I bet you'll pull us aside one by one and say that whoever talks first will get the better deal."

The Captain just gave a Dorarizin shrug and a half-grin.

Hrathra's tightly-wound body loosened and she drew herself up to the Rgarshok's own height. "[I've cooperated with this investigation so far, Captain, but only with the understanding that we were not considered true suspects. If that is no longer the case, I must respectfully ask to be allowed to contact my advocate. And we will not be answering any more of your questions until they are present and recording.]"

Maria half-expected Rgrarshok to respond with a snarl, but instead the huge Dorarizin just nodded. "[That is a quite reasonable request. I'll have you escorted to the Claw's communication suite. After that, I'm afraid I'll have to ask the three of you to be confined to quarters.]"

Oscar looked up from the screen next to his workstation as the Captain entered the bridge. He'd gone to fetch his guitar after Maria had been summoned by Ngralh, and he was in the middle of noodling on a song. He smiled and gave a few welcoming strums of his guitar. "I saw the whole thing. What's your take on it?"

Rgarshok waved at him. "[You first, you're the [human] expert.]"

"Oh, she got properly pissed. That's the kind of anger you get when you're wrongly accused of something. At the very least I don't think she's in on it."

"[I concur. There was plenty of fear-smell coming off of her when she entered the lounge, but I believe was due to a fear of the unknown. After informing her of our evidence t,hat fear scent changed very quickly to anger. My smell-sense of [Jornissians] is a little out of practice, but their behavioral and scent patterns were the same.]"

The Captain's ear twitched. "[And if it turns out they are not innocent, then my theatrics may convince one of them to turn on the others. I confess, I didn't expect [Maria] to figure out that particular angle so quickly.]"

Oscar chuckled. "Yeah, she's a pretty smart cookie. So it's another damn frame-job?"

"[At the moment, that theory makes the most sense. [Hrathra'sstah] is a renowned figure in her field. She would not risk her reputation thusly, no matter what the [Thirty-Fourth] Path offered her. ]"

"Right. Then we need to figure out how somebody planted Maria's skin cells. Once we figure out the how that should tell us the who."

The Captain grinned. "[I sense a certain cute little alien is about to make himself well-known to many of the Thirty-Third Path.]"

Ti'krrh preened himself with one claw as he gestured towards the open Ledger with the other. "[I have been Keeper of this for well over [three centuries], so please be free with your questions.]"

Oscar smiled at him. "Thanks!" He made his voice as chipper as he could. There were advantages to being thought of as cute and harmless, and he was going to exploit those for all he was worth. He turned and gave another smile to Ter'yeik, who loomed nearby with fidgeting claws.

Myyreh slouched near the entrance, and if you didn't know her you might think she wasn't paying attention. Oscar still had no doubt she could pound the Second Claw into a wobbly mass of pudding in less than a second if the Karnakian so much as breathed wrong.

The human tilted his head as he read Maria's signature, the only bit of human writing in a sea of unfamiliar chicken scratches. Above that were two looping lines of non-Karnakian script that he assumed came from her Jornissian colleagues. "So everyone who goes into the Sanctum signs in, right?"

"[That is correct.]"

"Wow, that's gotta be a lot of signatures.]"

"[Not as many as one might think,]" replied the Keeper. He hooked his clawed hands into the lapels of his vest and puffed out the feathers around his throat. Oscar was reminded of a professor getting ready to launch into an overly-detailed explanation of a beloved topic. "[On average, only [ten] disciples are allowed every [thirty] days. One must demonstrate enough piety and knowledge of our dogma to view the Claw.]"

"Ah, I see. Forgive me for asking, but have you ever been in there?"

Ti'krrh's feathers floofed out a little more. "[Why, yes! Here's my signature.]" With the dexterity of a Las Vegas cardsharp he reached out and riffled through the giant tome's pages, coming to a dead stop on the correct one. He pointed at one particular vertical set of sigils. "[This is my signature, here! It was over [a century] ago.]"

"Wow, that's amazing! So what was it like, seeing the Claw? I mean, if you're allowed to tell a filthy heathen like little ol' me."

Ter'yeik gave a little grumble at the question, but Ti'krrh just beamed. "[Oh, it was a truly transcendent experience! I remember it like yesterday. It wasn't just seeing the Claw itself that made such an impression. You see, the Claw contains the only scribed record of the Final Sutra of Ta'irrl'qc, our sacred founder.]"

Oscar's brain went through a little mental lurch at that news, and he almost dropped the 'cute' act. "Huh, I woulda thought you guys would write that Sutra down in more places. What with it bein' his last words and all."

Ter'yeik leaned forward, which caused Myyreh to twitch her head over in his direction. "[We keep the Final Sutra a closely-guarded secret. It requires full knowledge and acceptance of Ta'irrl'qc's other Sutras to properly understand our founder's final teaching.]"

The Keeper nodded with his snout split in a happy grin. "[Indeed! One must swear not to reveal the Sutra before one is allowed to enter the Sanctum.]"

Oscar's brain went through another bobble. "Wait. I thought whatsername...er, Hrathra? Hrathra was here to make copies of the message on the Claw."

Ter'yeik's fidgeting hands clutched together. "[She was only to take rubbings of the other sacred writing in the Sanctum. As for the Final Sutra, she agreed to make one copy for her own research purposes and refrain from publishing it.]" His scaly lip twitched up in an almost-sneer. "[It took much negotiation on the [Jornissian's] part, and we held a very...spirited discussion within our Path before we allowed it.]"

"Gotcha. Mind if I look at the newest page again?"

Ti'krrh did another expert riffle-shuffle maneuver, and the Ledger was back to the page containing the three stand-out signatures. Oscar reached for the page edge, then hesitated.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir. Is it all right if I touch it, or are you the only one who's allowed?"

"[Please, feel free! It's thick parchment; I doubt you'd be able to rip it.]" Ti'krrh gave a trilling little laugh.

Oscar smiled and gripped the page with one hand. It was as big as a bedsheet and more than a little awkward for him to flip to the next one. He did another scan of the revealed waterfall of signatures and noted one particular pattern that repeated. "Who's this signature?"

"[That's the Reverend Matriarch,]" said Ter'yeik.

"[Huh, so she needs to sign in too?]"

"[Of course she signs it!]" replied Ti'krrh. "[The Reverend always follows proper procedure.]"

Ter'yeik clicked his fangs a little at that statement but otherwise said nothing.

With a theatrical grunt Oscar flipped back to the latest page. "Getting back on topic, it looks like the Matriarch goes in a lot. Since she was last in there about ten disciples have gone through...so that was a couple of months ago, roughly?"

Ti'krrh peered at the page. Having a concrete question to answer perked his crest back up. "[I believe you're correct.]"

The other notable item on the newest page was a thick black line struck through one of the signatures. Oscar pointed at it. "Oh dear. Did someone die?"

Ti'krrh's manner became a lot less cheerful. "[No, It's not that. You see, that is the signature of Tk'rii'na.]"

When the Keeper didn't offer any more information, Oscar cleared his throat. "And, uh, what happened to him?"

"[That information has no bearing on this investigation!]" snapped Ter'yeik.

Oscar held up a hand. "Please, sir, I've got to ask just in case it does. You can trust my discretion."

Ti'krrh made a waving motion with his wing-arms. "[He left our Path and joined another.]"

"Oh. I can see how that's embarrassing. Was it the, what're they called, the Thirty-Four Path guys?"

The Keeper gave a gloomy nod, his crest flat against his head.

"Aw, that's too bad, sir. Sorry I brought it up."

"[What is the point of all this questioning?]" Ter'yeik's tone became more strident, causing Myyreh to push off of the wall and get ready to move.

"We're just double-checking all of your temple's protocols, sir," replied Oscar. "We need to look at every possible way somebody could get in there. I'm the new guy, so I've been stuck with going through the obvious stuff like this."

The Second Claw snorted. "A waste of time. It's very clear who stole the Claw, even if the Matriarch refuses to acknowledge it." He leaned down and peered at Oscar. "Are you looking for evidence to clear your fellow [human's] name?"

Oscar spread his arms in a who can say? gesture. "Hey, I'm just doing what they tell me to do." He turned to the Keeper. "Thanks so much for your time."

Ti'krrh gave a deep bow as his crest rose further. The dual action caused him to inadvertently boop Oscar in the nose with his crest-feathers. "[You are very welcome. It was a pleasure.]"

"Likewise. Come on, Myra, let's head out."

He could feel Ter'yeik's eyes boring into him as he walked for the door. Oscar waited until he was almost out the door, at the point where the Second Claw would start to relax. The human spun back, with one finger raised and his other hand pressed to his forehead in absent-minded thought.

"Oh, just one more thing, sir..."

Ter'yeik stiffened, and his fangs visibly clenched. "[Yesss?]"

"I saw the Matriarch's signature in there a bunch. That was the only signature I saw repeated, over and over."

"[Yeeeessss, and what is your point?]" By now Oscar could hear the Second Claw's teeth grinding together.

"Well, it's just weird. Maybe I'm bein' a dummy, but...you're in the room beyond this one nearly every day, right? Gettin' the disciples all cleaned up and bathed and ready to go in so's they can read the Last Sutra."

Ter'yeik's visible irritation vanished as his lower two eyes widened. His jaw dropped as if he was going to speak, but no words came out.

"And yet in spite of that, I didn't see any other repeating name in the Ledger. Seems to me if you signed in every day I'd see your signature in there a lot more than even the Matriarch's."

Ter'yeik was still dumb-struck as Ti'krrh chirped up. "[Oh, that's easy to explain! You see, the Second Claw doesn't enter the Sanctum. Only those going into the final chamber are required to sign.]"

Oscar grinned and gently smacked his palm against his forehead in mock irritation. "There, you see? I knew I was bein' a big dummy. Sorry to trouble y'all."

He turned, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode out of the room while whistling a jaunty tune. Myyreh let forth a triumphant smirk in Ter'yeik's general direction before following the human.