Chapter 66 of 78 · Book 5, The Butcher's Masquerade

Chapter 66 — The Sugar Cube

Book: The Butcher's Masquerade · Part: The Butchering · Previous: Chapter 65 — The Oak Mother's sacrament · Next: Chapter 67 — Slate Butterflies · Floor: Floor 6 — The Hunting Grounds · Series: the series

Opening

<Note added by Crawler Carl, 25th edition>

Summary

Page seven: the castle is a Borg-cube hotel, seven public storeys plus periphery floors; attendant ballrooms on the first floor, ballroom A (crawlers) on the fourth, B (hunters) on the second, the queen's ballroom and quarters on the seventh, the grand stair stopping at five — she must be made to come to them, and 'We do not fight the queen while we're in our ballroom no matter what.' Stage quirks from Samantha and the entertainer notice: on stage Donut can handle items placed on the attendant stage below (like the Crawl Con autograph pens) but not drink; tables and doors and the warning light exist in every iteration, food is colour-coded; only illusionary evocations (Torch) allowed on stage. Louis: 'I'm getting Iron Tangle flashbacks.' Then, after Imogen: 'Plan won't work. New plan.' 'Goddamnit, Carl.' They will party and not make the first move; everything outside goes ahead. Elle names the castle the Sugar Cube. A gold Level 40 Castle Guard: the queen drained the moat because it smelled. The whole castle is white wood carved with fingernail acorns, warm, like the USS Constitution, as if it breathes; four pencil towers entered from the third floor; troll caves under the bluff with a secret entrance where Signet, against the warning Zev keeps giving ('Don't fuck with the main event'), is meant to be hiding. A level-70 soldier expels 'Signet' — Pearson runs for the cave. Kibben, a short-haired Level 50 High Elf Stablemancer, cages the animals; Donut, fully in character, gets the dinosaurs moved to the hunters' empty attendant ballroom, where the only other thing is Simoom; the cretins and the 'reanimated head' stay. Her charm upgrade is working, Carl tells her — he thinks her ex, Ferdinand, has soured the elves on her. Ballroom A: muted, peace-bonded, the glow globe flashing as the system arms; any violence means the Nothing; guests may not leave until the party ends or the seal breaks; once the host arrives the chambers are fully sealed — which kills the distraction, so escape plan C: Donut's Hole down to the third floor (plan D is plummeting). Security is soft under the charm: weapons stored, Carl's bracer patted, Ren's flamethrower-shirt removed to reveal furry dog breasts, a snail sniffing for explosives. The boudoir counter covered in dinosaur repellant and half-splat potions with a note. Fifteen in the first group: a mushroom man afraid of Elle, a badger-headed Swashbuckler. The ballroom: a red-curtained stage, gold and black buffet trays, a string trio really playing downstairs, and on the dome a moving mosaic of Scolopendra — a black centipede dreaming in a golden geode, 'when she finally awakens, she will destroy everything and free us all' — twisting around a white tree hanging from the ceiling. Chaco at the Prize Counter under a blanket: 'Is that the guy Mordecai hates?' Judges teleport in: a soother, a blob, and Princess D'Nadia, now Empress — her father retired — 'very cross' that Carl's attorney and corporation nearly ruined her buy-in bid; in orbit, landing after tonight; judging is a loophole that makes her part of the production. Carl touches her dress and his fingers sink in. Prepotente arrives; Katia reports Eva and Lucia Mar in the security line, Eva stealing the potions from the boudoir. Vrah scurries in, crotch no longer on fire, and beelines for Carl; the light flashes, both rooms armed. 'Bomo, Sledge. It's time […] Britney, do your thing.' D'Nadia, watching Vrah charge: 'Oh, I'm looking forward to this.'

Characters

• Carl — Rewrites the plan again; feels bad using Signet; contempt hidden from D'Nadia.
• Princess Donut — Moves the dinosaurs next to Simoom; 'Hi Prepotente!'
• Princess D'nadia — Empress now; judging as a loophole; cross about the buy-in bid.
• Vrah — Cured and charging.
• Chaco — Behind the prize counter.
• Kibben — Stablemancer in overalls.
• Pearson — Expelled; sent to the cave.
• Tsarina Signet — Hidden in the troll caves, if she made it.
• Zev — 'Don't fuck with the main event.'
• Britney Proskurina — Carl, in chat: 'Britney, do your thing.'
• Tserendolgor — Flamethrower shirt, Imani's robe.
• Katia Grim — Equipment locker; reports Eva and Lucia Mar.
• Eva Sigrid — Steals the potions, then gloats.
• Prepotente — Eyes meet across the room.
• Bomo — Carl, in chat: 'Bomo, Sledge. It’s time.'
• The Sledge — Tells the changelings to move.
• Elle McGibbons — Names the Sugar Cube.
• Imani — Spreads the word on plan C.

Locations

• The high elf castle — White wood carved with acorns; a drained moat; four towers; troll caves; Ballroom A under Scolopendra's mosaic.

Motifs

• The Butcher's Masquerade — Sealed rooms, colour-coded plates, a stage where the overlay thins.
• Scolopendra — Dreaming on the dome, strangling the white tree.
• Sponsorship — D'Nadia's buy-in bid; the charm tiara.
• The System AI — 'I hope you went potty before you got here.'
• The hunters — Enter hesitant behind Vrah.
• The Desperado Club cretins — Kept in the servant ballroom.