A Step Back

Father paced the floor of the hidden parish with his hands clasped behind his back.  His knuckles were squeezed so tightly that his normally stone colored skin was now a pale white.  Brother watched him pace.  As a Ravager, the easy-come-easy-go ideology made him somewhat more receptive to large shifts in the currents of fate than the much older and stubborn Geodite.  

Unable to maintain the awkward silence any longer, Brother raised his voice.  

“She should have been back by now.”

“I know.”

Further silence

“Any word from Mother?”

“None.”

Father continued to pace. 

“I could go and…”

“NO!”  Father’s powerful voice reverberated off of the walls of the parish, and Brother’s mouth snapped shut.  Father took a shaky breath and sighed.  “Not yet.  They are still on high alert and will be watching for you.  We have sown the seeds ,but they have not yet borne fruit.  They require more cultivation before we can set them into motion.”  Father stopped at the table in the center of the room where a map on Sunfire Valley rested.  “The Ravager Moot will cause an amble distraction, and give us an opportunity to maneuver where they will not be expecting us.  With the failure of the ritual, the Demon Engine has returned to its slumber, but it remains ready for the opportune moment.  I will have Child protect the labyrinth until we are ready, in the meantime you will return to the Godswoods and ensure that our crop is growing properly.  I will remain here and see what influence I can impose.”

Brother nodded and started to leave, but Father held up a hand.  “If you see Mother, bring her to me.  I believe there is something that needs to be addressed.”

Brother nodded and left the Parish.