Chapter 55 of 78 · Book 5, The Butcher's Masquerade

Chapter 55 — Save the toraline

Book: The Butcher's Masquerade · Part: The Unhinged Child · Previous: Chapter 54 — The blood bar · Next: Chapter 56 — Zerzura · Floor: Floor 6 — The Hunting Grounds · Series: the series

Opening

As we approached the large settlement with the stairwell, I caught sight of a few NPCs wai

Summary

Signet, Areson and Holger wait at the stairwell town — child-Clint and Nadine waving from her skin; Edgar is 'making big spell outside elf castle […] Gonna make a map.' Signet on the raptors: the hierarchy is fragile, kill the alpha and they all turn at once, 'never rely on a single point of failure.' She came to warn: the trees are in pain and the dryads are casting for help, and the help is Diwata, the forest protector, unforgiving of apostates — stay away from all-trees, which will whisper his location to the deity. The nipple rings: +5 Drink Mixing (to sell), a ring that shows an item's resale value (to sell), Quarter Fall — a quarter falling speed, a gold half-dollar Carl must wear — and +10 constitution and five per cent, a nickel, for Donut. 'One doesn't pierce the nipples of cats. That's how one gets a visit from the ASPCA!' The Creeper boss box: satchel bombs worth three sticks of dynamite each. The pacifists' box: Pawna's Cries, +3 to any spell or skill, limited shelf life, and a note — 'Save the toraline' — that Escape Plan expands into a second, hidden message: 'Circe sponsored Diwata. Give potion Donut. Need 15, but make it a secret. Use temp boost.' It names Prepotente, Imani and Samantha together as the boost, and adds: 'Or use other Pawna potion if have to. Will replace. ~ P. Hu.' Vrah's mother has bought the god the dryads are summoning, and had before the quest failed. Imani confirms an aura, Smart Juice, that adds a level to a spell. Randy and Todd kick Samantha around the room like a football ('Not the nose sweetie or I will kill Prudence'). Carl trades his sponsor potion for the nipple ring — 'You need it more than I do. You're almost at 12 in Magic Missile' — with a slight no nod to stop Mordecai from saying something. He pierces himself first: Sex Pervert! — 'Whores don't get rewards.' 'I don't think I can respect you anymore, Carl.' 'Don't tell Katia.' Top right, on three.

Characters

• Carl — Reads a hidden note: Circe bought Diwata; Donut's Laundry Day must reach fifteen in secret.
• Princess Donut — A nipple ring for a potion; 'Don't tell Katia.'
• Tsarina Signet — Warns of Diwata and of single points of failure; Edgar at the castle.
• Circe Took — Sponsored Diwata before the quest failed.
• Imani — Smart Juice: +1 level, a longer cooldown.
• Samantha — A football for two cubs.
• Mordecai — About to say something; stopped by Carl's slight no nod.
• Holger — Back in humanoid form, beaming.

Locations

• The stairwell town — A large dryad settlement with stairs; the raptors kept outside.

Motifs

• The gods — Diwata summoned by the dryads and bought by Circe Took.
• The Open Intellect Pacifist Action Network — A cryptic, expensive note; 'Will replace.'
• Pawna's Tears — Pawna's Cries: +3, limited; the +5 held back.
• Race and class — Laundry Day to fifteen: strip multiple targets; Quarter Fall.
• Achievements — Sex Pervert!
• The all-tree — Whispers apostates to the deity.