Motif · Book 1, Dungeon Crawler Carl

The Skull Empire

One of the oldest and largest Syndicate governments, orcish, mawkish, and — through Prince Maestro's show and his boast that his family's Skull Clan has won six of the last ten Faction Wars — the first outside power to take a personal dislike to Carl. King Rust is in Earth orbit by the end of the book.

Segment appearances

• Chapter 43 — The Maestro explains himself
• Chapter 44 — What Donut overheard
• Chapter 47 — 124.8 trillion
• Epilogue — Epilogue: Odette's couch

Progression

Introduced through its least impressive member (ch. 42–ch. 43): Prince Maestro, whose family were 'there when the Syndicate created the crawl,' whose Skull Clan has won six of the last ten Faction Wars, and who will lead them on the ninth floor. Zev sizes the thing (ch. 44): the Orcish Supremacy is a lemonade stand and the Skull Empire is Wal-Mart, one of the oldest Syndicate governments, not known for measured responses. By the epilogue King Rust is in Earth orbit and his spokesman is asking the galaxy to stop calling his son Carl's Naughty Little Piggie.