Motif · Book 8, A Parade of Horribles

The Scavenger's Daughter

A divine back patch from a celestial box on the eighth floor: a bar of captured soul essence that fills with kills and empties into a single melee blow — the Daughter's Kiss — doubled when the souls are one species; her eyes open in the presence of gods and demons and fill her with their power. A Climb benefit, and a 'mysterious bone key benefit' that opens any lock in the dungeon at the cost of a bone and the jacket, which Carl keeps as a last resort and in the end does not need. Donut sees it glow at the end: a centipede crawling through the skulls. 'I need you reasonably sane. We have so much work to do.'

Segment appearances

• Chapter 32 — The skull of Tem; three vehicles over the line
• Chapter 35 — Eris and the five-sided coin
• Chapter 36 — Jacobus, the reverse tooth fairy
• Chapter 37 — Chicken and Waffles and Upgrades; Elle and the war mage
• Chapter 38 — Akuma's account: Herot, Menerva and the Pineapple Cabaret
• Chapter 51 — The Scavenger's Daughter blinks; Azra; heat four results
• Chapter 53 — The key to One Fine Pig's garage
• Chapter 66 — Grull; Dong tilts a giant
• Chapter 67 — Half a prayer, half a song; one flower
• Chapter 69 — The stables: who may leave; the Scavenger myth
• Chapter 70 — The memorial crystal; the Midnight Epicure
• Chapter 95 — Inside Scolopendra; Club Scolopendra; 'I killed him'
• Chapter 97 — Eris; the wrong biscuit; the gods leave
• Chapter 98 — W-W-W-Winner; Mark of the Damned; the wrong biscuit

Progression

'It was all connected somehow' (ch. 24). The patch opens for Eris and makes Imani's card permanent (ch. 35, ch. 36); it is 'fed' at the skull of Tem (ch. 32); Akuma: 'She’s crucial, as is her father' (ch. 38). It blinks at Lucia and does not know what it sees, and itches near gods (ch. 51, ch. 53, ch. 55). Rosetta's myth makes her an entity with Apito's power to erase the pantheon, and more — she can take gods' powers (ch. 69); the AI admits it built her and no longer knows what she is doing (ch. 67). She opens for Grull, Taranis, Emberus and Eris and grants their effects (ch. 66, ch. 95, ch. 97); 'has closed her eyes' and 'she weeps' (ch. 98). Samantha names what she bore: a monster that will destroy all of creation (epilogue).