Character · Book 8, A Parade of Horribles

Scolopendra

The monster at the bottom of the volcano in the Over City's founding story, whose nine-tier poison cloud transformed ninety per cent of the kingdom; named, never seen. Every mold lion, clown and city-elf superstition on the third floor traces back to the cataclysm.

Segment appearances

• Chapter 1 — Chandra; the garage
• Chapter 4 — Miss Talulah; Team Free Love
• Chapter 28 — The interlocution; the question Orren wanted asked
• Chapter 69 — The stables: who may leave; the Scavenger myth
• Chapter 70 — The memorial crystal; the Midnight Epicure
• Chapter 81 — Scolopendra's first attack: the Beast of Burden Sin
• Chapter 82 — Karl the dachshund; Team Sparkles ends
• Chapter 93 — The arena: 'I choose Scolopendra'
• Chapter 94 — Dungeon Boss; the pig in the harness
• Chapter 95 — Inside Scolopendra; Club Scolopendra; 'I killed him'
• Chapter 96 — Emberus explodes
• Chapter 97 — Eris; the wrong biscuit; the gods leave
• Chapter 98 — W-W-W-Winner; Mark of the Damned; the wrong biscuit
• Epilogue — Epilogue: Sydnee Iglacia, Prime Minister Victory, Louis Santiago 2

Arc

Awake and only moving, with a club of tourists and loose gods inside her (ch. 1). Her nine-tier attack begins when the AI loses its temper: a wheel of nine sins, Transformation and Consumption (ch. 81, ch. 95). Carl's first arena pick summons her — level 500, the Dungeon boss, an aircraft carrier coiling up the white tree (ch. 93, ch. 94) — and Carl phases into her guts to reach the club (ch. 95). A pet biscuit in a banger sphere splatters her into goo (ch. 97); the wrong biscuit makes her a level-1 crawler, #12,953,456, Sexy Scolopendra, a human-faced centipede with a red bow: 'Boop' (ch. 98). Sydnee Iglacia: 'this story is a tragedy' (epilogue).