Motif · Book 5, The Butcher's Masquerade

Player-killer skulls

The marks the AI hangs beside a crawler's name for each crawler killed — 'Crawler Killer X 3' on Frank Q, five skulls on Maggie My, one big skull and two small ones for Imani's twelve — and shown on the recap forming over Yolanda's head when she shoots Jack. The one achievement Carl wants to avoid: 'everyone else we meet won't know' it was deserved, so be wary of anyone who wears one.

Segment appearances

• Chapter 6 — Miriam, Pony and Bianca
• Chapter 25 — Fort Freedom
• Chapter 61 — Marked for death
• Chapter 67 — Slate Butterflies
• Chapter 77 — The mask
• Epilogue — Epilogue

Progression

A red dagger spins beside Donut's skull and her boss-kill stars (ch. 6); Bogdon Ro had a bunch of them (ch. 25); a Cookbook author earns a first in a second slaughter over a map of gear (ch. 61); Eva's dozen or so from the train are over fifty (ch. 67); she ends the floor with fifty-one (epilogue); Katia marches past with a second, golden one, nothing like the scared woman from the third floor (ch. 77).