Patriarch's Design

Patriarch's Design is the thirty-fourth chapter of Tales of Sheol'gotha:  Shadow of the Abaddon.

Synopsis
In his room in the temple, Valon is finding it very hard to sleep, but at the same time can't work his way up to escaping. Without a plan to get out, he feels he is forced to wait for an opportunity, but at the same time can see a storm on the horizon which is moving in. On its arrival it will be just another barrier. His thoughts are interrupted by a demon at the door who asks to enter, introducing himself as Brother Mauxin. Standing almost as tall as the ceiling, Valon takes the food he offers but also notices he is blind with a cloth covering the eyes. The shifter reveals scarred marks, blaming them on Fall-un'tir, and seems distant in memory as Valon asks about the meat, giving only a vague answer that it comes from the Ebonmire.

While initially reserved, Valon soon eats it up as he savours the taste, and after finishing asks Mauxin about the Heralds and the Footsteps. Mauxin confirms that there was a village, supposedly stricken by plague. He explains that the shifters were the ones responsible for hanging the bodies from the trees and in cages, and states that the Footsteps came some time afterward. Valon finds it curious, remembering that Patriarch said the Footsteps came before, and demands clarification that Mauxin refuses. He blames it on his exhaustion but Valon pushes the issue even as the shifter leaves. In the corridor he hears the voice of one of the gods telling him that they lie, but as he tries to focus on what is being said he finds himself unable to concentrate, dizzy from a growing headache, then bleeding, and ultimately unconscious.

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