Motif · Book 3, The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook

The clock

The countdown in the corner of every crawler's vision: 'Time to Level Collapse', five days on the first floor, read out by the system at the head of chapters and by Carl whenever he has to choose. On the second floor a second timer appears beneath it, counting down to the closing of the safe rooms an hour before collapse, and Carl waits for the level timer to reach six hours before he takes the stairs.

Segment appearances

• Chapter 1 — I'm on a train
• Chapter 3 — Messages from deceased Crawlers
• Chapter 7 — The Prize Carousel
• Chapter 13 — The Ugly-Ass Backpack
• Chapter 14 — Stealing the Nightmare Express
• Chapter 19 — Frank Q at the bar
• Chapter 21 — Brynhild's Daughters
• Chapter 25 — Seven hundred hats
• Chapter 27 — Physical
• Chapter 29 — The Bolt of Ophiotaurus
• Chapter 32 — Prepotente
• Chapter 34 — Tizquick and Brandy

Progression

Ten days for the fourth floor (ch. 1) and a rule for this level only: 'You may not go down early this level. The stairwells will open six hours prior to collapse, and that's it' (ch. 3). Brandon's last message is timed against it — 'The floor timer is down to ten minutes, and that stairwell is twenty minutes away' (ch. 3). The readings run 8 days and 18 hours (ch. 7) to 3 days, 3 hours (ch. 25) to 17 hours, with a second timer, 'Time to the Opening of the Stairwells: 11 Hours', below it (ch. 32), and Five Hours as the party runs (ch. 34).