This article contains unmarked spoilers for Book 5.
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The following is a list of chapter summaries in The Butcher's Masquerade (Book).
Book 5 - The Butcher's Masquerade
| Chapter | Summary |
|---|---|
| I. The Hunt | |
| 1 | The team enters the sixth floor, "the Hunting Grounds." Carl meets with Orren, who tells him that Borant wants him to voluntarily give up the Gate of the Feral Gods until level 9. Carl asks for a lawyer. Donut's new class on this floor is Legendary Diva. Carl picks the Agent Provocateur class upgrade. |
| 2 | Carl joins Donut and Katia in a dryad settlement. Mordecai is now an adorable pocket kuma. |
| 3 | Carl's new lawyer, Quasar, arrives. Quasar bargains for Carl to give up the Gate temporarily in exchange for four free mercenaries (Bomo, the Sledge, Clay-ton, and Very Sullen) and two spells given to Bomo and the Sledge to replicate two of the gate's abilities: teleport to stairwell and zerzura. |
| 4 | Donut is a terrible singer, so her spells are useless. The team prepares for the release of the hunters. Bomo teleports Carl and Donut to the stairwell in Zockau. |
| 5 | Carl attacks the hunters in Zockau and uses his Ring of Divine Suffering to mark hunters, kill them, and gain stats. His explosives cause massive destruction and trap many hunters in the Desperado Club. Carl is injured as the party escapes, and is rescued by Miriam Dom and Prepotente. |
| 6 | Miriam Dom is a vampire now. Mordecai warns against using the Ring of Divine Suffering, saying it is addictive. Zev reminds Carl that his contract with the Vengeance of the Daughter program is still in effect. |
| 7 | The team reaches a small bugbear settlement and says goodbye to Miriam and Prepotente. Mordecai reprimands Carl for blowing up Zockau. |
| 8 | Carl opens his boxes and receives a claw from each hunter killed, which can be exchanged for prizes later. He also receives a new tattoo: The Night Wyrm's Nasty Little Web of Suffering. The team watches the recap episode and learns that the guild system will be going live, allowing them to form larger alliances without being in the same party. There will be a party at the end of this floor called the Butcher's Masquerade, with invites for the top 50 crawlers. |
| 9 | The team heads south, away from Zockau, and Carl asks Katia to organize knocking down various bridges. Carl plans to have Bomo carry a large bomb out of the safe room into Zockau to cause further destruction. Donut convinces him to let her try to use a clockwork Bomo instead. |
| 10 | Carl and Donut continue traveling towards the river and approach a settlement across a bridge. The settlement has many rules and won't let Mongo in, so Donut kills the mayor and becomes Mayor herself. Carl tries to send Bomo into Zockau with the bomb, but stops when he finds a note on the door from Vrah which tells him that the hunters in Zockau are now protected from explosives and that the Hive is hunting him. The hunters are released. |
| 11 | Katia and Carl discuss starting a guild. The team receives the Recital quest to look into the dinosaur attacks on the town, newly named Point Mongo by Donut. Mongo suddenly runs off with Donut on his back and finds a pack of dinosaurs. He mates with Kiwi, the head of the all-female mongoliensis pack. |
| 12 | Carl confronts Donut about her risky behavior (following Mongo into danger) and she reveals that she is afraid everyone will leave her. Zev interrupts their conversation and gives them a schedule update for their next appearance on Odette's show. Carl promises Donut that he will include her in his plans in the future and that nothing is going to break up their team. |
| 13 | Quasar continues negotiations with Borant for two additional items in the exchange for Carl giving up the Gate, one of which is to extend a secondary program license to Vengeance of the Daughter. Tsarina Signet and her team show up, including some were-kin allies led by Clint Smashgrab. |
| 14 | Donut notices that Signet repels water. Signet says it is not a spell but a curse. Carl and Donut follow Signet to meet up with additional allies including Miss Nadine, a bearded sage Caterpillar. Signet explains to the group that her father, the high elf king, is dead and her half-sister Queen Imogen rules the high elves now, and that her Naiad mother was killed by the Confederacy, a group of Naiad dissenters. She has gathered allies together to defeat the Confederacy and the High Elves. |
| 15 | The group kills a hunter from The Dream and Carl loots an Arrow of Enthusiastic Double Gonorrhea from his body, as well as a crude map of the hunting grounds with territories claimed by each hunting group. Carl and Donut had been claimed by The Hive and Skull Empire. |
| II. The Vengeance of the Daughter | |
| 16 | Clint tells Carl and Donut about Scolopendra's attack and says the high elves were protected by something they had stolen. The group heads back to Point Mongo. Carl and Donut receive their third and final sponsor, The Apothecary. |
| 17 | Carl and Donut return to the saferoom. Samantha is screaming because she wants to be taken to Signet, who she claims can help her get her body back. Carl tells her they will bring her if she shuts up. Carl and Donut are transferred for their appearance on Odette's show. Before the show, Zev and Odette reveal that Bea is alive. |
| 18 | Odette explains that Bea survived the initial collection and that Odette had her taken away to prevent Borant from using her in the crawl as a country boss. She wasn't going to tell Carl and Donut, but another program found out and planned to ambush them with the information. She says that Carl might understand her motivation better if he asks Mordecai for the story about what Odette did to him. Carl and Donut agree to talk to Bea on Odette's show. |
| 19 | Odette shares the cover story that pirates tried to sell Bea to Borant and they turned the pirates over to the authorities. Bea answers some questions but has clearly been drugged and is confused. Donut confronts Bea about her plan to abandon Donut, and shares additional choice words with Bea once they are off the air. Suddenly, a planet-wide message plays, stating that the Borant Corporation has been declared an independent entity from the Borant government, and that the Valtay Corporation was granted 51% ownership of the Borant Corporation. Donut, Zev, and Odette seem to have had a hand in this turn of events, but Carl is out of the loop. |
| 20 | Carl starts to ask Donut about her involvement, but stops because it is too risky to discuss. Lexis, speaking for Odette, tells Carl and Donut that Queen Imogen will likely be a repurposed human, but she is not sure who now that Bea is out of the picture, and that she will be a country boss meant to zero out the top crawlers at the Butcher's Masquerade. Donut mentions that she "smuggled all those Valtay secret agent guys to Zev and the Borant Emancipation Front." Carl and Donut are transferred back to the personal space. Imani agrees to be the guildmaster for the group. |
| 21 | An announcement says that hunters can no longer communicate with the outside. Carl finds out he has received a fan booth at CrawlCon. Katia finally leaves the party. The party joins the Safehome Yolanda guild. |
| 22 | Elves attack. Carl uses Samantha to deliver missiles. Carl gives a bad guy soliloquy and kills another hunter from The Dream. |
| 23 | Carl's ring levels up. Donut gets a bracelet that gives her the fireball spell. Samantha is getting stronger and more capable. |
| 24 | Carl, Donut and Samantha head out to meet Signet to attack Fort Freedom, the former naiad palace. |
| 25 | Samantha asks Signet to give her her body. Signet declines but offers to help Samantha recover her body after the naiads and elves are dealt with. Signet's forces gather on both shores around the submerged castle. Katia messages the team to say that Langley's team has fallen to Vrah. Carl sends Samantha into the castle as a distraction to draw all the guards to the front door. |
| 26 | With Samantha distracting the guards, Signet and her team enter through the backdoor via the river to attack the Confederacy in the throne room. Carl and Donut wait on the shore. They learn from Areson that Signet's dispel-water curse was cast on her by the high elves who helped dissenters kill the Naiad Tsar. Naiad bodies start to float up in the river and Carl asks Samantha what is going on in the throne room. He calls Samantha back right as she says "I've almost got him." |
| 27 | Claude the river monster (borough boss!) appears in front of Carl and Donut, having just swallowed Samantha. He had taken over the throne room from the Confederacy. Fighting ensues, and the team kills Claude. Miss Nadine is killed in the battle. |
| 28 | The team experiences premature questjaculation. Carl sends Samantha to the opposite shore to do some recon. She reports that the team from that side is all dead, having been killed by Big Tina. The Recital quest is updated, revealing that Big Tina the dinosaur is responsible for the attacks on Point Mongo. Signet and team return. Carl and Donut achieve completion of the Vengeance of the Daughter Part 1 and receive Part 2: kill Signet's half-sister, Queen Imogen of the high elves. She will be present at the Butcher's Masquerade party at the end of this floor. The reward allows the party to loot the high elf castle, which may contain an item that can protect one from Scolopendra's attacks. |
| 29 | Edgar the tortoise gives Signet a new tattoo of Miss Nadine using her dead body. Miss Nadine's connection to Clint causes her to bring him with her and he also appears as a tattoo. Carl and team split from Signet and travel to the next village, Alucarda, grinding along the way, aiming to reach the safe room before his appointment at CrawlCon. Zev sends them a few messages urging them to reach the saferoom quickly. As they arrive in the village, they learn that the mayor is none other than Lucia Mar, who appears behind them just outside the safe room as Carl is transported away. |
| III. The Unhinged Child | |
| 30 | Carl talks to Zev in the production trailer and finds out he won't be sent back to Donut until after his second event. Zev tells him that others may be waiting for him when he is transferred back. |
| 31 | Carl judges a children's drawing contest. He finds out his panel discussion will be moderated by the mother of one of the hunters he killed. |
| 32 | Zev tells Carl about Circe Took, a mantis and mother of Xindy (killed by Carl) and Vrah. Zev says Donut is ok but can't give any more details. Carl gets access to the Ultimate Training Room for the next four hours. Carl is taken to the panel discussion. |
| 33 | Carl meets Uptown Hal, Sydnee, and Drick. Carl and Circe argue, and Carl gets more and more aggressive. Circe tries to cut Carl off, but a mysterious cloaked woman in the back corner stops her. Carl realizes he has been drugged by his guards, making him lose his inhibitions. The robed woman reveals that she is one of Carl's sponsors and leaves. Circe storms out. Carl crowd sources a plan to kill Vrah. |
| 34 | Carl prepares to be transported. The team tells him that Lucia Mar is waiting in the safe room with teleport traps, Donut is in the guild hall, a bunch of hunters are waiting outside, and Samantha was taken by Vrah and attached to her back with her collection of heads. |
| 35 | Fighting ensues. Carl reveals that he had his own plan, and the one discussed at the panel was a decoy since he knew some hunters were still communicating with the outside. The team avoids Lucia's teleportation traps and Carl kills a bunch of hunters, gaining stats via his ring. Carl and Vrah face off, and Carl gives Vrah double gonorreah before escaping into the saferoom. |
| 36 | Back in the saferoom, Carl and Donut are joined by Katia and her crew. Katia and Bautista appear to be in a relationship. Donut gets a vocal coach. Carl gets a new Enemy of the Church tattoo for defiling the shrine of Diwata and is advised to steer clear of driads and Diwata herself. Carl also gets new patches and discovers that Donut's Earth hobby skill is knowledge about patches. Carl gets the "swole" upgrade. |
| 37 | The team watches the recap episode, which shows Donut's battle with Lucia Mar. Mid-fight, Lucia Mar calls it a draw. She appears to be talking to someone who isn't there, who she says is named Alexandro and is her youth assistant, and rapidly changes between personalities. One of Lucia's dogs, Cici, returns and attacks Donut, but Donut escapes and kills Cici. Back in real time, Bomo arrives with the male mantis Carl had offered to protect from Vrah, who likely sought to pass the gonorrhea on to him as the only remaining mantis. |
| 38 | The male mantis is named Edict, and he explains that he is screwed no matter what, then attacks inside the saferoom, getting himself teleported to the nearest mob nest and killed. |
| 39 | Carl and Donut grind and take control of two additional towns. They arrive at a third town, Prepotente Town #4, to find it ravaged by Big Tina and head into the saferoom for Carl's final CrawlCon event. |
| 40 | Carl joins the Popov brothers at the production facility before the autograph event. Zev tells Carl that his replacement sponsor (Valtay sponsor lost when they gained 51% ownership of Borant Corp.) will be revealed during the event. |
| 41 | Carl and the Popov brothers sign autographs and take photos with fans. Carl meets a chapter president of the Princess Posse who advocates for eradication of cocker spaniels and has a head tentacle named Maggie. Carl's new sponsor is The Plenty. Nihit confronts Carl about Odette doing the Bea reveal before he could, and Carl stabs him with a sharpie. |
| 42 | Zev informs Carl that Nihit wants to press charges, and that if he survives the crawl he could receive a warrant, which would allow him to be sold as a pseudo-slave. |
| 43 | The Plenty and The Apothecary send Carl and Donut items that protect them from vampirism. Miriam Dom messages Carl saying she is trapped and needs help. |
| 44 | Miriam is trapped in the aftermath of an elite quest, with Prepotente paralyzed and fragile with his arm around her waist. The party sets out to save her, but finds that Big Tina has returned to the town. They learn that the dinosaurs were originally ursine who were transformed by Scolopendra's attack, and that Big Tina wants to dance at a recital since she never got her chance. Big Tina has also become a vampire and is creating undead minions. |
| 45 | Miriam confirms that she spread vampirism to Big Tina and the other dinosaurs. Carl and Donut reach the next town, and Donut draws Mongo's blood for the charm animal potion. |
| 46 | Donut kills the mayor and takes the town. They approach Miriam's location only to encounter a boss battle with Sierra, the now-vampiric mount of the elite Viscount Fog. They defeat her and move onward. |
| 47 | Carl and Donut find Miriam, and she reveals that in the chaos of their last battle, Prepotente's Ring of Divine Suffering had marked her, meaning he cannot heal while she lives. She also reveals that killing the head vampire (herself) will cure everyone afflicted with vampirism. She asks Carl to kill her before Prepotente's paralysis wears off, and he refuses but waits with her for sunrise instead. |
| 48 | Miriam dies and everyone is cured of vampirism. The Creeping Apocalypse world quest is announced. Carl and Donut wake Prepotente and he is distraught, and also eats his Ring of Divine Suffering. |
| 49 | Kiwi and her dinosaur posse arrive, and Donut charms her using a potion. Carl realizes that The Plenty set up this chain of events and likely wanted Miriam to die. Prepotente sets out to kill odious creepers and Carl, Donut, and the dino squad head back to the saferoom. |
| 50 | Odious creepers start to fall to crawlers. The party catches up with Mordecai and Katia's team, and then heads out to hunt creepers themselves. |
| 51 | Donut gets credit for a creeper kill. The party encounters the high elves and the familiar of Queen Imogen, who turns out to be Ferdinand. He attacks Mongo and Donut leaps in front of the blast, only surviving because of her cockroach ability. |
| 52 | Carl wants to go down the stairs early to protect Donut, but she convinces him she is okay. Katia tells Carl she needs to talk to him about something important in person. The dinosaur squad returns to Carl and Donut with Big Tina in tow, but Kiwi stops Tina from attacking. The AI announces that they failed the world quest and now all saferoom access is limited by a blood bar which is filled by killing enemies, and the spell Gehenna Bramble will spread outward from the location of the remaining creepers. A hunter with blood bar at zero is immediately teleported to the party's location. |
| 53 | Carl talks to hunter Iota, who tells them that the AI is starting to go primal, disobeying court orders. He says it is rumored that the Mantises sold Borant a used AI for this crawl under the table. Carl kills him. |
| 54 | Carl and Katia chat and determine that the brambles will cover the entire floor by the last day, ending at the high elf castle. Both parties move in that direction. |
| 55 | Signet warns Carl that the dryads may summon Diwata to fight the spreading brambles. Carl gets a potion and cryptic note in his benefactor box from The Open Intellect Pacifist Action Network telling him that Circe had sponsored Diwata and instructing him to give Donut the potion. Carl and Donut get nipple piercings. |
| IV. The Butchering | |
| 56 | A flashback reveals that Carl and Quasar planned for him to use the Zerzura spell to transport a full city containing the changelings down to the ninth floor. Back in current events, the countdown to the Butcher's Masquerade begins. Donut's applications for the pet beauty contest and the talent show are accepted. The team goes over the map of the high elf castle together. Prepotente says he want to bring something to Donut. |
| 57 | Carl tells Bautista he approves of his relationship with Katia and he seems relieved. Prepotente arrives and gives Donut an "I Take It All Back" potion from his benefactor box. |
| 58 | Carl and Donut go to the Desperado Club to try to make contact with the changelings. They blackmail their way onto the hunter floor of the club and tell the changelings that they need to get to the high elf palace during the party for their plan to succeed. |
| 59 | Carl and Donut are taken to Orren following their trespassing incident. Orren tells them that he is leaving after the collapse of this floor and won't return until the ninth floor. Donut realizes that Orren is trying to warn them of something. Quasar joins the group along with the woman from Donut's fan club. |
| 60 | Back in the saferoom, Carl starts planning to kill as many hunters as possible to reduce their numbers before the party. Zev tells the party that the Syndicate Council ruled that no more lawsuits could be filed naming the AI as defendant, showing its deterioration. The party and their guild allies head out to kill hunters. |
| 61 | As the group executes a raid on a church, Carl gets a notification that Diwata has entered the realm, and that he has been marked for death. |
| 62 | Diwata runs out of the church and away from the group, surprising them. Samantha tells the group that Diwata is known to give birth to new forest creatures and that the other gods don't like it. They realize she is likely heading to Vrah to cure her of her gonorrhea and potentially give birth to her own grandchildren. |
| 63 | The group heads to the next town and find Signet there. Carl speaks to her privately and tells her that her plan to kill Queen Imogen won't work because it is the climax of the main story and that he has an alternative plan. No one in the group can figure out what all the items given to Donut from various other Crawlers' benefactor boxes are for. The team heads out to the party. |
| 64 | Carl documents his plan in the cookbook. We see a few pages from the secret bathroom notepad the team has been using to communicate. Their primary goal is to survive the Butcher's Masquerade, with secondary goals to complete the Tina quest, kill Eva, save the changelings, take the castle, kill Lucia Mar, and kill every hunter. Carl, Donut and crew are escorted to the party. They have Britney with them, as well as a changeling disguised as Signet. Suddenly, Queen Imogen appears in their carriage. |
| 65 | Queen Imogen is revealed to be Ifechi's twin sister. She confronts Carl about bringing Signet along, and tells him that as host, it is her duty to ensure there is no violence this evening and if she succeeds, she receives a boon from Apito. She says that the party is under a celestial peace seal, and anyone who breaks the peace will be fed into the Nothing. |
| 66 | Carl messages the group with a new plan, saying that they can't be the ones to make the first move. A guard tells the changeling Signet that she is unwelcome, and she leaves, presumably as part of the plan. The rest of the party goes through security and enters Ballroom A. Chaco is manning the prize counter, and Princess (now Empress) D'Nadia is judging the talent show and pet contest. Donut heads backstage to prepare, and D'Nadia tells Carl that he and his attorney almost ruined her buy-in bid. Vrah enters the party. |
| 67 | Vrah tells Carl that she has a present for him. Lucia Mar and Eva arrive, and various crawlers have to be held back from attacking them. Florin and Carl agree that something is off with Lucia. Prepotente tells Carl he needs to join their party for the remainder of this floor so that they travel together to the next floor but Carl is hesitant. The official party activities begin, and Carl's allies outside the castle start to move. Signet enters the room, which was not a part of the plan. |
| 68 | Apito invited Signet to the party to test Imogen. Signet says no one has ever gotten the boon from Apito. |
| 69 | Carl asks Chaco why Mordecai hates him, but he isn't allowed to say what happened. Carl browses the prizes and talks to Mordecai about them via the chat. Mordecai asks about the memorial crystal, which costs 100 hands, and Chaco says it is the Queen's most prized possession. Carl picks his prizes: a shrink wand, the 8th floor lore book, a music sheet of skedaddle, featherfall potions, and healing potions. |
| 70 | The group watches Mongo's performance in the pet show. Bomo and the Sledge report that baby mantises are everywhere outside the castle. Mordecai says that Diwata's birthing is a spell, and she will stay on the floor until it is done casting regardless of the 5 minute limit. |
| 71 | Florin comforts Lucia and tells the group that there are multiple in Lucia's head, including other children, and that the dog is key to whatever is going on. Ferdinand shows up. |
| 72 | Donut uses her enhanced charisma to charm Ferdinand, and he decides to go through the ducts to be physically in the crawlers' ballroom. Samantha also travels the ducts to reach the control room and finds that the guards are already dead. Queen Imogen appears in the ballroom, sealing everyone in the party inside. |
| 73 | Imogen was previously outside fighting, and killed some of Carl's allies. She confronts Carl and Signet, but cannot do anything to harm them. The talent show proceeds. A group of hunters including Vrah has surrounded Lucia and it looks like they are trying to get her to break the seal of nonviolence. Samantha turns off the limitations (no spells, no inventory access) on the crawlers, and turns them back on for the hunters. Carl realizes that Vrah and her mother are filling the castle with mantises and tells Samantha that Diwata will likely be heading her way. Carl's plan is falling apart and the groups outside the castle are struggling, and he decides that he needs to break the seal himself to give his friends a chance to survive. Signet tells Carl that she now understands what he was trying to tell her - that they are part of a show with outside forces calling the shots. She also says that what Tina wants isn't to dance, she wants her mother back. The Sledge and the changelings miraculously make it into the castle. |
| 74 | Donut begins her talent performance. She uses a charm potion to make Ferdinand her minion, and Tina dances on stage. Signet uses herself as the blood sacrifice to bring her tattoos to life, breaking the seal and being pulled into the Nothing. The seal is broken and the protections around the castle cease. |
| 75 | All out battle ensues. Mongo and Kiwi kill Vrah. Signet's tattoos have been given life permanently, and an incomplete flesh golem of her mother was also created. Carl takes it into his inventory to use later to give Samantha a body. Donut uses the "I take it all back" potion on Kiwi to turn her back into an Ursine, and Tina realizes it is her mother, completing the Recital quest. The Sledge finishes casting Zerzura and the castle and NPCs are teleported away. |
| 76 | The AI announces a boss battle between crawlers, hunters, Queen Imogen, and Diwata. Chaos ensues. Donut uses Carl's potion to get her Laundry Day spell to level 15, allowing her to remove the god-armor from Circe Took, who is killed by her own mantis children. The final hunter is eliminated, as are the high elves. Gwendolyn Duet and Cleiton are both killed, and Tran loses his legs. Imogen's spell causes an explosion and Carl passes out as Prepotente attacks Imogen. Imogen is defeated and the Vengeance of the Daughter quest is completed. |
| 77 | Donut wakes Carl and tells him that Firas and the Popovs are dead, and that Britney's face is badly burned. Someone named Osvaldo took the memorial crystal off of Imogen, and Prepotente tries to get it from him. Katia kills Eva. Carl finds the Popovs reborn as babies and they are transported to safety since children aren't allowed in the crawl. Carl and Donut are notified that their team, The Princess Posse, is officially part of Faction Wars, and it is revealed that they worked with Donut's fans and Princess D'Nadia to secure two spots. Carl speaks to the audience, telling them that the teams can vote to turn off the safety protocols on the 9th floor and encouraging those who can vote on their government's actions to do so. The feed is cut off. |
| Epilogue | Carl, Donut and Prepotente arrive on the 7th floor. Donut chooses the Viper Queen class. Prepotente uses the mysterious items from their sponsors to break the 7th floor level, and everyone proceeds to the 8th floor. It is revealed that in her last moments, Eva placed the Crown of the Sepsis Whore on Katia's head and that only one of her and Donut will be able to proceed past the 9th floor. |