A bent figure exits a tent on a lagoon to stand over an armoured man lying unconscious in the surf. The bent one is the Chained God and he awakens Skinner, who finds himself healed. The God says he has been watching Skinner and wonders what the man can do for him. Skinner claims the title of King of High House Chains and offers the service of forty Avowed. The God says it is about time somebody claimed it.