The attack on the death gods
Some time ago, the 'Drunken Philosopher', along with the one "death god" who has remained 'fully awake' this entire time, managed to convince a select group of mortal magic-users that if they could trap those they considered the rulers of death, they could eliminate Death itself, becoming immortal. The philosopher was careful to prey on greed and ambition rather than terrified desperation: the type of betrayal the Goddess of Treachery would genuinely consider justified.
They were, in essence, lulled to sleep: something made possible through sending what remained awake to Earth, where they remembered nothing of the past. Some resisted the draw there, at first.
At this point, they -- often considered the most incomprehensible or "alien" of the gods, even amongst their own worshippers -- have all been out of action for a time. The other gods may know where they are, perhaps just choosing not to act yet. They have their own concerns, after all, and to them, those years or centuries don't mean much.
Most living mortals are unaware of the fact that the ritual even took place, let alone that it worked. Some know the death gods have been quiet lately, but they're not the type of entities most people call out to expecting a direct answer in the first place.
((And due to a policy some of them have that I can write about in more detail later if people want to know, it wouldn't even be considered odd if someone else keeps answering instead.))
The one or two sapient species who may strongly suspect/know something is wrong aren't likely to spread that idea. Instead, they continue to call, and sing, and diligently search for signs.
As far as someone like Patrick can tell (or will be able to tell once he hears the whole story), the drunken philosopher's true objective was to teach them a lesson not to casually fuck with people's lives.
The fact that it wasn't an outright betrayal in his eyes, if anything, will only make the idea seem even more likely.
If that's true, though? Patrick will be touched and a little humbled by the philosopher's belief that this gamble could pay off, and will do his best to ensure no one retaliates.
As for why one of the death gods enabled the drunken philosopher to do that to begin with, well. Their motives really depend on which of them it was.
[[I do need to add the significant caveat that, in this particular case, when I mention the death gods, it only includes those the drunken philosopher would, at the time, have seen as major gods in the pantheon.]]