Motif · from book 2
The stuffed figures
Miss Quill's collection in book 2: some three hundred tagged, stuffed monsters on the magistrate's shelves, and a stuffed demon on a horse named Kimaris, in a glass case, that is the most valuable thing Carl owns. In book 3 Bautista explains them: products of Jaxbrin Amusements, and pulling the tag summons the real monster for fifteen seconds to two hours. Carl's Kimaris is Unique, and he has not pulled the tag.
First appears: Book 2 · Seen for what it is: Book 3
Series arc
In hindsight, after book 3
Read after book 3, the shelves of tagged toys in Miss Quill's office are an armoury. Book 2 sees them as set dressing — three hundred 'Beanie Babies', a few in glass cases — hides dynamite behind them, and salvages one, Kimaris, whose case catches Carl's eye in the rubble; a chapter later it is the top item when he sorts his inventory by value. Book 3 has Carl notice it is Unique, and then Bautista, whose whole method on the floor has been pulling the tags: Jaxbrin Amusements make them, the common ones summon a real monster for fifteen to thirty seconds, the rarer ones longer — a legendary one lasted him two hours — and five more legendary ones sit in cases he dares not open. The Trace has the lines. Carl has not pulled Kimaris's tag; the card describes only its scowl, and Carl calls it a demon.
As of book 3. Miss Quill's tagged collection in book 2, from which one survived — Kimaris, in an enchanted case, the top of Carl's inventory by value. Book 3: Jaxbrin Amusements make them; pull the tag and the monster is real for seconds or hours; Bautista has used forty. Carl's is Unique and unpulled.
Open threads
Status is open or resolved; the chapter after it is the last one that moved the thread.
| Thread | Opened | Status |
|---|---|---|
| What Carl's Unique Kimaris figure summons | B3 ch. 29 | open — Jaxbrin's tags summon the real monster; Kimaris is a demon, Unique, and the tag is unpulled. |
All threads: Open threads.
Through book 2
Miss Quill's collection — three hundred tagged 'Beanie Babies' on the magistrate's shelves, a few in glass cases (B2 ch. 18) — hides Carl's dynamite (B2 ch. 21) and is buried with the office (B2 ch. 22), except for one charred, unbroken case holding a plush armoured man on a black horse, tagged Kimaris (B2 ch. 23), which sorts to the top of Carl's inventory by value (B2 ch. 24).
Through book 3
Bautista's secret and his sponsor's product: Jaxbrin Amusements make Miss Quill's 'beanie babies', and pulling the tag summons the real monster for fifteen seconds to two hours; he has used forty of her thousand and keeps five legendary ones in Sheol Glass Reaper Cases he dares not open (B3 ch. 29). Carl's Kimaris figure is Unique (B3 ch. 7); he and Mordecai have not yet discussed it (B3 ch. 30).
Trace
The thread line by line, in reading order: its presence before anyone could see it, and the lines that made it legible. Each line is verbatim from the cited book.
| Where | The line | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Book 2, Ch. 18 | These things were the dungeon version of Beanie Babies, I realized. There had to be 300 of them lined up on the shelves. | Miss Quill's collection, seen as set dressing. |
| Book 2, Ch. 18 | Most, if not all, of them still had tags. A few from the top shelf were protected by individual glass cases. | Tags and cases: the two details book 3 turns into a mechanic. |
| Book 2, Ch. 23 | The plush creature within was an armored man atop a black horse. I peered at the tag, which said “Kimaris.” I pulled it all into my inventory. | One survives the explosion in an enchanted case whose sparkle catches Carl's eye. |
| Book 2, Ch. 24 | Kimaris, the stuffed horse-riding soldier was the very top item when I sorted my current inventory by value. | Carl notices and does not ask why. |
| Book 3, Ch. 7 | The only unique item was that odd, stuffed Kimaris figure on the horse. I knew it was valuable, but I hadn’t realized it was one of a kind. | Filtering his inventory before the Prize Carousel. |
| Book 3, Ch. 29 | “Jaxbrin Amusements, Limited. The same folks who make my babies.” | Bautista's sponsor makes them; pull the tag and the monster is real. |
| Book 3, Ch. 29 | Miss Quill had more than 1,000 different stuffed monsters in her apartment. So far, I’ve used about 40 of them. | What the collection was. |
Where they appear
| Book | Chapters they are in (of the book's) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 2 — Carl's Doomsday Scenario | 3/26 | Ch. 18, Ch. 21, Ch. 22 · the book's own page |
| 3 — The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook | 4/35 | Ch. 7, Ch. 13, Ch. 29, Ch. 30 · the book's own page |
By book
The stuffed figures in book 2 — Carl's Doomsday Scenario
Miss Quill's collection: a colourful line of small stuffed animals on the magistrate's desk and three hundred more on the shelves behind it, most with their tags, a few on the top shelf in individual glass cases — 'the dungeon version of Beanie Babies' (ch. 18). Carl hides his dynamite in the hollow shelves that hold them (ch. 21), and they are buried with the office (ch. 22). One survives: a charred, unbroken glass case in the rubble, with a plush armoured man on a black horse inside and a tag that says Kimaris (ch. 23). Sorted by value, Kimaris is the top item in Carl's inventory, and he does not know why (ch. 24).