Motif · Book 5, The Butcher's Masquerade

Signet's tattoos

Every fallen companion or worthy enemy, inked on Signet's skin by Edgar's silver stick from their remains and her memory — a three-headed ogre, a hammerhead, a dragon, a squid, young Clint in a puddle, Miss Nadine with a child behind her skirt, her mother on her wrist. Ink Marauder needs a caster, a sacrifice and a killer; one person can be all three. Loosed in the ballroom, they come out the wrong size, shatter Scolopendra's mosaic, and — some of them — stay alive forever.

Segment appearances

Chapter 6 — Miriam, Pony and Bianca
Chapter 8 — The Night Wyrm's web
Chapter 13 — Elites in the trees
Chapter 14 — Were-castors
Chapter 15 — The kids' menu
Chapter 16 — Clint and Holger
Chapter 19 — Miss Beatrice
Chapter 25 — Fort Freedom
Chapter 28 — Premature Questjaculation
Chapter 29 — Blood and ink
Chapter 36 — Swole
Chapter 43 — The Midnight Epicure
Chapter 47 — My beautiful boy
Chapter 55 — Save the toraline
Chapter 63 — Enchanted Hammer of Fast Forward
Chapter 67 — Slate Butterflies
Chapter 68 — Off-worlders
Chapter 73 — Wonderwall, again
Chapter 74 — All Eyes on Me
Chapter 75 — Sic 'em
Chapter 76 — Cage Fight Extreme

Progression

A three-headed ogre waving from her breast (ch. 13); a Jesus pose and paper monsters (ch. 25); a teacher inked with a child behind her (ch. 29); Clint's splash in a puddle (ch. 63); free will (ch. 74); golems the wrong size, and two who live (ch. 75).