Chapter 70 of 78 · Book 5, The Butcher's Masquerade

Chapter 70 — Anaconda

Book: The Butcher's Masquerade · Part: The Butchering · Previous: Chapter 69 — The prize counter · Next: Chapter 71 — Jill · Floor: Floor 6 — The Hunting Grounds · Series: the series

Opening

Colored lights started to bounce back and forth on stage.

Summary

'Topping out at number two on September 6th, 2014, it's "Anaconda!"' Louis, backstage on a boombox built from Carl's trap modules, in monster-truck-rally distortion; two signal-flare smoke bombs; Mongo through the smoke (the attendant ballroom below filling with it), 'Earthquake!' and pyrotechnics; a level-34 alpha predator with 'a slight insinuation of youthful pink'; three lady Mongos with a construction-paper heart, 'Sorry, ladies […] He’s taken'; and the moonwalk — 'He goddamn moonwalked' — sunglasses on, heads bopping. Elle: 'Holy shit.' Some hunters clap. 'I distinctly remember saying "low-key."' 'THAT WAS LOW KEY, CARL […] NOTHING COMPARED TO MY KE$HA ACT MISS BEATRICE AND I PERFORMED IN CLEVELAND.' Garret the tummy acher closes the pet show; winners after the talent portion. Imani near a breakdown. Bomo reports 'Lots of stuff left behind': the hunters who stayed in Zockau's saferoom through the brambles — garden duty filling the blood bar, no XP — all teleported to the party, leaving sorted mounds of gear that became fair game once they left the room; armour, swords, race-restricted guns and power armour. The Sledge, headed for the troll tunnels with half the changelings and Signet's crew: 'Lots of mantises. Everywhere.' — level-20 nymphs hitting the stairwells too; the airship will take the changelings in over the towers instead, Skarn to moor it. 'So much for subtle.' Vrah across the room staring at the dead warning light. Diwata is still here: she became a male mantis, cured Vrah, became a female and is birthing nymphs that are Vrah's children and siblings ('Disgusting! You should be ashamed!'). Samantha, bored, with the potion ball still shoved up inside her: 'HER BABY SPRINKLER WILL SHOOT THEM OUT UNTIL THE VERY END OF TIME.' Elle's report from the Crest: the Dark Hive tricked his brother into the temple as Diwata's birthing vessel, murdering a hunter to cure a venereal disease. Mordecai's loophole: a god stays while a cast spell continues, and the spell is the birthing — she is stuck as a gonorrhoeic female mantis without her strength, immortal, in pain, 'I hope.' 'MONGO IS APPALLED.' Firas: 'Weren't we supposed to keep Florin away from Lucia?'

Characters

• Princess Donut — Anaconda, Earthquake, the moonwalk; 'THAT WAS LOW KEY.'
• Mongo — Moonwalks.
• Louis and Firas — Announcer and boombox builder.
• Bomo — Loots Zockau's abandoned saferoom hoard.
• The Sledge — Swarmed by mantis nymphs; rerouted to the airship.
• Diwata — A birthing female mantis, stuck on the floor by her own spell.
• Vrah — Stares at the dead light.
• Samantha — 'HER BABY SPRINKLER' lore; the potion ball.
• Elle McGibbons — The Crest's brother was the vessel.
• Mordecai — Explains the loophole.
• Imani — Held together by chat.
• Tserendolgor — Garret's turn.
• Skarn — Must moor the Twister.

Locations

• The high elf castle — Smoke in two ballrooms; the towers to be taken from above.
• Zockau — A ghost town of abandoned gear.

Motifs

• Donut's show business — Cleveland, Ke$ha, a moonwalk; Nicki Minaj and Sir Mix-a-Lot at an elf sacrament.
• The gods — Diwata's loophole; a hunter murdered as a birthing vessel.
• The blood bar — Garden duty against the brambles.
• The hunters — Kin to the nymphs; some clap for Mongo.