The Butcher’s Masquerade
Floor 6: The Hunting Preserve & Butcher's Ball
Authored by Matt Dinniman • Narrated by Jeff Hays / Soundbooth Theater
On Floor 6, wealthy alien aristocrats, corporate CEOs, and Syndicate warlords enter the dungeon personally as sponsored hunters to slaughter crawlers for interstellar entertainment. Carl, Donut, and the crawler alliance turn the tables during the grand Butcher's Ball, igniting an unprecedented rebellion before sprinting through the stairwell in a desperate push downward.
- • Aristocratic Decadence Overthrown
- • Cursed Succession Duels
- • Interstellar Resistance
- • Sepsis Whore Curse
- • Off-World Sponsored Hunters
- • The Butcher's Ball Executioners
- • Crown of the Sepsis Whore Curse
- • Syndicate Vault Wardens
Canonical Milestone Timeline 10 Checkpoints
Major convergence events and narrative beats mapped across Book 5.
Surrendering the Gate & Mercenary Contract
Quasar negotiates terms with Borant; Carl surrenders the Gate of the Feral Gods temporarily in exchange for 4 mercenaries (Bomo, Sledge, Clay-ton, Very Sullen) and spells (Bomo's Teleport, Sledge's Zerzura), with return guaranteed on Floor 9.
The Early Zockau Raid & Vrah's Infection
Teleporting to hunter capital Zockau within 30 hours; barrel bombs slaughter 34 hunters; Carl shoots top mantis hunter Vrah with the arrow of Enthusiastic Double Gonorrhea, crippling her royal succession.
Donut's Legendary Diva Upgrade & Point Mongo
Donut unlocks Legendary Diva (Bard) class, gaining vocal Entourage spells; takes over as mayor of "Point Mongo", recruiting pack leader Kiwi and 36 velociraptor backup dancers.
Strength 100 "Swole" & Quarter Fall Piercing
Base strength exceeds 100, triggering the "Swole" passive (doubling future strength gains); Carl pierces his left nipple with a golden ring granting "Quarter Fall" velocity reduction.
Miriam Dom's Sacrifice & The Creeping Apocalypse
Carl guards Miriam Dom as sunrise burns her vampire curse to dust; failed world quest leaves 2 creepers alive; AI unleashes Gehenna Brambles advancing at 4.5 km/h, eradicating safe rooms.
Live Broadcast: Confronting Beatrice
Tunneled onto Odette's show; Beatrice revealed as rescued with Syndicate citizenship; Donut formally renounces her ("You are not my person anymore"), choosing Carl.
The Bloodbath at the Butcher's Masquerade
Samantha eats security room soul crystals, dropping anti-violence wards; Vrah marked and killed; Gwen, Firas, and Horton die; Osvaldo loots Apito's Memorial Crystal before Prepotente can claim it.
The Popov Brothers' Rebirth & Escape
Two-headed Nodling brothers Dmitri and Maxim die in battle, reverting to toddler Yearlings; system child-exemption evacuates them permanently to a surface kinder facility.
The Sepsis Crown Trap on Katia
Dying player-killer Eva Sigrid forces the Crown of the Sepsis Whore onto Katia's head; binds Katia into the Blood Sultanate line of succession against Donut, mandating a fight to the death on Floor 9.
Co-Warlords of the Princess Posse & Floor 7 Rupture
Carl and Donut incorporate as a non-profit, securing a 9th-floor Faction Wars slot as Co-Warlords; transition into Floor 7 where Prepotente instantly shatters the Prince Rupert drop level, dropping crawlers directly toward Floor 8.
Pivotal Crawlers & Entities 9 Profiles
Key crawlers, corporate sponsors, and floor bestiary entities active throughout Book 5.
Carl
Human
Princess Donut
Grand Champion Persian Cat (Hyper-Intelligent Awakened)
Katia Grim
Human / Doppelgänger
Prepotente Lorenzo De La Rosa
character
Samantha (Psamathe's Vessel)
companion
Imani
character
Vrah
Mantis
Tsarina Signet
Half Naiad, Half High-Elf
Skull Empire
Galactic Syndicate Entity
System AI Achievements Earned17 Accolades
Canonical World Dungeon AI announcements, reprimands, and loot box rewards unlocked throughout Book 5.
I Wanna Go Home!
"You teleported to a stairwell station within the first thirty hours of the floor being open. What, you’re running away early? I hope for your sake you don’t actually go down the stairs. You know it doesn’t get easier."
Context: Awarded when Carl and party utilize an emergency teleport gate to reach a stairwell safe station shortly after Floor 6 opens.
Your reward is advice. Fatherly advice. Don’t be a little bitch. There’s your reward.
You Crossed a Line You Didn’t Even Know Was There.
"You used an artifact of Divine Suffering for the first time. Hopefully there aren’t any unintended and unadvertised side effects of using such a powerful and evil magical item."
Context: Awarded in Book 5, Ch. 6 the first time Carl uses an artifact of Divine Suffering.
You’ve received a Gold Junkie’s box.
Temporary active curse synergy imbuing +1 to Dexterity, scaling by +2 for subsequent marked kills.
The Hand that Claws the Master (x35)
"You have permanently killed a non-crawler biological. They ain’t just dead. They dead dead. Their children are now orphans. Their mothers are gnashing their teeth and cursing your name. And you’re just sitting there all alive and shit, and girlfriend, I am all in. We all know you should have received this achievement, uh, a little earlier, but I figured it’d be in your best interest not to reward you this one just yet. But you sure deserved it, so I may have slipped an extra one in there. Shhh. Don’t tell the mudskippers."
Context: Awarded 35 times retroactively for permanently slaying 34 hunter mercenaries on the Hunting Grounds of Floor 6.
You’ve received a Gold Hunter-Killer Box (x34). Note: This achievement may be awarded more than once, but Hunter-Killer Boxes are only awarded on the sixth floor.
35,000 gold coins awarded as direct bounty restitution for hunter elimination.
Mottled gray severed hand of slain hunter JayGee, kept as proof of contract kill.
Mass Casualty Event.
"Okay. Calm your man-tiddies. Did your mother not love you? Is your god promising you unlimited handjobs in heaven or something? You planted and then detonated an improvised explosive device within an urban population center that resulted in more than 250 non-mob casualties. You’ve done this a few times now, but this was a big one. And on purpose. You really know how to paint the town red."
Context: Awarded when Carl’s explosive trap array detonates in an urban settlement, causing over 250 casualties among non-mob NPCs and opposing hunter contingents.
You’ve received a Platinum Asshole’s Box.
Insurgent.
"You left an explosive device along a well-traveled path, and it detonated and killed an intended target. It was really cool. Too bad you didn’t get to see it because you’re a trap-leaving bitch!"
Context: Awarded when an ambush trap laid along the bugbear settlement transit trail successfully detonates against incoming enemy vehicles.
You’ve received a Gold Trapmaster Box!
Double-Billed!
"You are featured on two separate live priority broadcasts at the same time. You’re like an episode of M*A*S*H, except less depressing and you don’t know what that means. This is similar to switch-overs, but this time it’s on purpose. I bet that didn’t help at all."
Context: Awarded when Carl and Donut simultaneously capture dual headline viewer broadcast feeds during the Hunting Grounds climax.
You have received a Platinum Fan Box!
PREMATURE QUESTJACULATION!
"You beat a quest before I could even give it to you! Anticipating what’s going to happen is one thing, but this is just ridiculous. It’s like arriving in your pants before your date can even untie their shoelaces. Pathetic."
Context: Awarded when Carl proactively assassinates a target and secures a territory boss map before the System AI could officially broadcast the mission objective.
You get nothing! And you would’ve received a good quest box, too!
Uprooted.
"You caused a Rooted-in-Place boss monster to move. That’s no easy feat. You then killed that monster. Pretty impressive. Hope you remember how you did it."
Context: Awarded after Carl uses Protective Shell repulsion mechanics to launch the immotile Eryops boss into the air and finish it off.
You already got a boss box. This achievement is the reward.
Bisected!
"You teleported into a solid object. Congratulations. You’ve lost your... Oh, wait! You were teleported due to an administrative action. That means your privileged ass was saved. Again. No missing arm or leg. No dungeon-style circumcision. Nothing. Boy, you must really bring in the cheddar for them to keep coddling you like this. Teleport mishaps are funny as shit. You ever see The Fly? Anyway, you don’t have to worry about it. This time."
Context: Awarded when administrative recall intervention teleports Carl directly into an architectural doorway obstacle without dismembering him.
You’ve received a Silver Lucky Bastard box!
Desecrated!
"You have found a desecrated temple! That means all the temple’s attendants have been murdered. The temple’s treasury has been looted. The sacred wine has probably been all lapped up, too. And this used to be a nice town. It hasn’t been the same since you guys moved in. If you are an adherent of this temple, you may no longer worship here. You’ve also probably just received a quest to hunt down and kill the heathen who did this. If you don’t worship this god, just scram. Remember that time you walked in on mommy and daddy playing leapfrog? It’s just like that. Back away. Don’t touch anything. Never talk about it again."
Context: Awarded upon stepping into a ransacked and slaughter-tainted religious shrine on Floor 6.
You entered a building. You don’t get a reward for that.
Temple Defiler!
"You’ve defiled a temple’s sacred shrine by breaking it with your own flesh! Wow. I dunno, man. That’s pretty ballsy. In case you didn’t know, the shrine of a temple is pretty much indestructible. When a temple is desecrated, the shrine’s protection fades over several hours. Eventually, it’s able to be destroyed, but only with a direct attack. You’re supposed to find desecrated temples and destroy the shrines. But you can’t just do it willy-nilly when you’re not a member of that congregation. Gods don’t like it when some punk walks into their house and kicks them when they’re already down."
Context: Awarded after Carl inadvertently crashes through the roof of a desecrated shrine and pulverizes the divine altar with his bare body.
You’ve received a Gold Apostate Box!
That’s not how you use arrows, dumbass.
"You took an arrow, and you physically stabbed someone with it. That’s something a kid who eats glue would do. You know I’m pretty sure you have a bow in your inventory."
Context: Awarded in melee combat when Carl stabs an enemy combatant point-blank with an enchanted arrow rather than using an archery rig.
You’ve received a Gold Ranged Weapon Box.
It itches when I pee!
"You infected another combatant with a venereal disease. Good job there, Derek Jeter. I hope you bought them dinner first."
Context: Awarded when Carl strikes a hunter using an arrow coated in magical venereal disease.
You’ve received a Bronze condom. Use it next time.
Unenchanted packaged novelty condom with sketches of Bea Arthur on one side and a sheep on the other.
This little piggy made a boom boom!
"You deployed a bomb with the supple, curved sole of your foot. You took your perfectly-perfect, 30.004861 centimeter-long right foot and compressed it against an explosive device—a device named after me no less—and you gave it a naughty little shove before you pushed it out the door and detonated it. You killed them. You killed them all for your daddy."
Context: Awarded in the AI’s deep, breathless voice after Carl uses his bare right foot to roll a primed doomsday bomb through a doorway.
You’ve received a Gold Spicy Box.
White rectangular canvas patch featuring an intricate hand-stitched pencil-style bomb; slots into Anarchist’s Battle Rattle.
What big muscles you have!
"Your base strength is now over 100. Rawr! Get thee to Chippendales!"
Context: Awarded upon Carl naturally crossing the 100 Base Strength attribute threshold.
You’ve received an upgrade! Admin Message: Permanent upgrade choices: Swole, Prison Bitch, or Stepson.
Doubles Strength scaling from level-up attribute allocations (each 1 allocated point grants +2 Strength).
B’sieging!
"You’ve used siege equipment to zero in and attack a boss monster from afar. That’s cheating! It’s like trying to kill someone with a bomb. What a bitch move!"
Context: Awarded to Carl and Donut when using long-range artillery siege gear to bombard an Odious Creeper from afar.
You’ve received a Silver Siege Master Box!
Sex Pervert!
"A nipple ring? Really? The next thing you know, you’ll be waxing your perineum and attending those parties where you have to put your keys in a bowl. You’ll have to grow out your sideburns, buy a Trans Am, and you’ll no longer be able to make eye contact with your child’s orthodontist."
Context: Awarded when Carl prepares to pierce Donut’s nipple with a magical ring to save her from a lethal blood bar depletion.
Whores don’t get rewards.
Interstellar Broadcast Log
"Tonight, we are not the game. Tonight, we are the hunters." — Carl [Book 5, Ch. 5]
"Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk will not bow to off-world garbage!" — Princess Donut [Book 5, Ch. 19]
"They paid millions of credits to hunt us. Make sure they don't get a refund." — Carl [Book 5, Ch. 60]