A Parade of Horribles
by Matt Dinniman
Contents
Chapter 54
Overview
At the Lollipop, Carl tries to keep several overlapping plans moving while concealing crucial details from Donut until their prize is secure. The chapter’s real crisis is Zhang’s decision to die trying to stop Li Na, whose grief-driven violence has made her dangerous to everyone around her.
Carl rejects Zhang’s suicide plan and realizes there may be a way to remove Li Na from the dungeon instead. That insight gives the group a possible path to save both Zhang and others in the next heat, while tying the Corcunda quest more directly to survival.
Summary
Carl and Donut enter the Lollipop karaoke bar and join their allies. Carl notes the awkward presence of Grigori the Placid, the high-level fleshmancer hired by Elle and Imani, because Carl wants Grigori available for the coming Corcunda plan. Donut presses Carl for the full strategy, especially because the prize for the current quest can bring two chosen people to the eleventh floor, but Carl refuses to explain until it cannot be taken away, insisting that the pig, the quest, and the war mage plan are all necessary for everyone’s survival.
As Carl takes in the room and the karaoke performance around them, he is reminded of the floor’s cruelty and then turns to a more immediate crisis. Tran, Imani, and Elle have been trying to talk Zhang out of a desperate plan. Zhang, grieving the deaths around Li Na and ashamed that he could not protect Jun’s sister, says Li Na has become uncontrollable and that he cannot endure another race with her.
Zhang reveals that Li Na is in the lead saddle for the next heat and that he intends to kill their mount, Torpedo, when Li Na is not looking, which he believes will trigger the system to kill them both. Carl explains that this would no longer stop Li Na, because losing containment would only leave Zhang vulnerable while Li Na is strong enough to reach the finish line without a mount. Zhang breaks down further, recounting Li Na’s disturbing behavior after Jun’s death and concluding that they may have no choice but to kill her before she hurts more people.
The group debates Li Na’s condition. Tran argues that Li Na is not acting out of malice so much as losing her humanity, while Donut insists they must stop Li Na without letting Zhang sacrifice himself. Remembering what Zhang and Jun had done for them, Carl searches for another option. Then Carl realizes that Li Na’s lack of a deity may make her eligible to leave the dungeon through the quest prize, and he decides to move quickly on that idea by messaging Bodi to see if he has already committed to the next race, because Zhang will need a new jockey if Li Na is removed.
Who Appears
- CarlKeeps his larger plan secret, rejects Zhang's suicide attempt, and devises a way to remove Li Na.
- ZhangOverwhelmed by guilt and grief, he wants to kill Torpedo and himself to stop Li Na.
- DonutPushes Carl for honesty, comforts Zhang, and insists they save Li Na without sacrificing him.
- Li NaAbsent but central; her escalating violence and instability drive the group's crisis and Carl's new plan.
- TranTries to calm Zhang and argues Li Na is lost rather than deliberately evil.
- ImaniHelps gather the team and works with others to brainstorm ways to stop Li Na.
- ElleBrings the hired fleshmancer and bluntly reports that Li Na seems beyond reasoning.
- Grigori the PlacidLevel 93 fleshmancer hired by Team Meadow Lark for Carl's coming Corcunda-related plan.
- BodiContacted at the end because Carl may need him to replace Zhang in the next race.
- LouisSits beside Grigori, obliviously covering him with cookie crumbs.
- LinusElle's admirer, present with the group in the karaoke bar.