Dungeon Crawler Carl, #6
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
by Matt Dinniman
Contents
Chapter 27
Overview
Carl’s group begins moving back toward the Desperado Club while treating Shi Maria as a dangerous but potentially necessary asset. Their grinding yields powerful card tools and new knowledge about Carl’s Scavenger Daughter patch, but Katia’s unexplained condition inside the club creates a new immediate worry.
The daily update reveals phase two and phase three rules, turning the floor’s endgame into a forced race for keys followed by possible ambushes from desperate keyless squads. Donut fears fighting other crawlers, while Carl prepares for the possibility and quietly considers using a mysterious bone key advantage if necessary.
Summary
After capturing Shi Maria as a card, Carl privately warns Donut not to trust her or mention that Larracos has flooded, because Shi Maria may not know that the pulpmancer who could help Samantha is likely dead. Carl wants Shi Maria useful long enough to leave the floor, while Donut remains uneasy about relying on a giant spider.
Carl, Donut, Mongo, and Samantha head north toward a saferoom near the Desperado Club, grinding monsters along the way. Samantha sniffs out a hidden Legendary creature, La Ciguapa, but Mongo kills it before Carl can flag it for the deck. The wasted chance is partly offset when La Ciguapa drops Damnation, a snare card that discards an enemy totem after its timer ends, and Glow-Up, a one-use mythic card that can permanently preserve a buffed card’s enhanced state.
During the journey, Carl experiments with the Scavenger Daughter patch and learns that its Daughter’s Kiss attack becomes much stronger when filled with souls from the same species. He also notes that their deck is technically full but risky: Shi Maria may be treacherous, Asojano and Uzi Jesus may be difficult to control, and combining Geraldo the Monk Seal with Raul the Crab could be unpredictable. Because of that, Carl refuses to let Donut use the deck in real combat until they can practice in a simulation room.
The group stops at a roadside saferoom run by a friendly bopca named Pahzi to watch the daily update. While Donut eats crab and Samantha bothers a jukebox, Carl worries because Katia has stopped answering messages. Bautista says Katia is asleep and “out of sorts” after finding a secret merchant in the Desperado Club, but his evasiveness makes Carl more alarmed, especially because Carl and Katia need to complete an operation before phase two begins.
Cascadia announces the rules for phase two: all squads will be teleported to a selection room, choose a new memory simulation, lose any unused totems, and have forty-eight hours to retrieve a key. Phase three will teleport keyholders back near their original exit, while keyless squads will be sent to block keyholders and try to steal their keys. Donut is distressed by the likelihood of crawler-on-crawler violence, and Carl admits they may have to fight, though he considers that his bone key benefit might offer a way around it.
Who Appears
- CarlLeads the group north, distrusts Shi Maria, tests powers, and analyzes phase two’s deadly rules.
- DonutShares Carl’s concerns, dislikes Shi Maria, wants deck practice, and fears fighting other crawlers.
- SamanthaTravels with the group, seeks excitement, and unknowingly remains sensitive to Larracos’s flooded fate.
- MongoKills La Ciguapa before Carl can flag it and continues acting as Donut’s fierce companion.
- Shi MariaCaptured as a card; Carl views her as useful but manipulative and dangerous.
- KatiaAbsent but central to Carl’s concern after becoming unresponsive inside the Desperado Club.
- BautistaReports Katia is asleep and evasively discourages Carl from intervening.
- CascadiaAnnounces phase two and phase three rules, revealing the floor’s key-based endgame.
- PahziFriendly bopca running the roadside saferoom where the group watches the daily update.
- La CiguapaHidden Legendary monster killed by Mongo, dropping the Damnation and Glow-Up cards.