The Butcher of Gadobhra

After their latest adventures in the Pit of the Butcher, the group split up. Rolly and Squirmie were off to play Shepherd to the growing flocks around Sedgewick, making sure the wyverns and sedge beasts weren't ganging up on the goats again. Ozzy was heading to the Butcher's Guild, he needed to show Gristle the book and have a talk about things. Suzette had work to do at her tavern, and when that was done, she had a dozen pieces of loot from the blossom lair. It was all decent loot that would sell well, once she got the dirt, soot, and other debris off of them. Four of the items stood out, with the rest having more mundane effects. Magical items generally shined up well with a little polish and a lot of work. Since they were unique items, she listed them for sale within the game only.

Elven Longsword of the Morning Mist: Increased Damage +50, Healing Mist spell 3x daily.
Bonk Club: Great for Bonking! Hits to an enemy's head have a 30% chance of stunning them for three rounds.
Orcish Boots of the Hunter: Heavy Leather Armor +20 mitigation. When stalking prey, Orcs make no sound and leave no tracks. Other races sound like a herd of elephants.
Dagger of Heartstabbing: All Critical Hits will do 3x normal damage, and inflict the curse of Minor Heart Attack on the victim for 5 minutes.

Ben was escorting Ricardo to Hungrytown for coffee and pecan pie. The Courier was curious about the Rogue's group and their tactics in the pit. Learning about the different dangers and bosses went a long way toward not dying horribly, as Ben had so recently found out. The promise of pie and a good cup of coffee steadied Ricardo as they walked casually through the graveyard. One time, Ben turned suddenly, and shouted, "Boo!" at the three ghouls sneaking up on them. The nervous undead turned and fled. Existence had been tough for them lately. Billy still held his grudge and hunted them whenever he had a free moment.

Ricardo was impressed. "What skill was that?"

"Oh, nothing. They're just cautious now. They've been hunted nearly to extinction, and most of the survivors were forced into the dungeon. Been a rough few months since they pissed off the Baron."

"Wait? What? What happened?"

"One of the ghoul bosses tried to intimidate the Baron, and told him he didn't matter, and that the ghouls were taking over." Ben held the gate for Ricardo and waved to the ghouls once they were in Hungrytown. "Baron William has a lot of pride and doesn't take well to threats. And he'll hold a grudge forever. He's not going to stop his crusade until the last ghoul is gone. He even cut a deal and sold a wagonload of them to the ruler of another city that collects the undead. Turned a good profit."

Ricardo filed away the information while trying to deal with the prospect of what would happen if he upset Billy. And sheer admiration at the idea of selling monsters to turn a profit. He decided those were concerns for other days and concentrated on the coffee and pie, thankful that he wasn't a sausage hanging in a larder.

Ozzy only had a small walk to the Butcher's Guild and a visit with Gristle. To his surprise, the Guild Master was waiting for him, with what counted as a smile on his scarred face.
"Congratulations on your victory! I saw your icon on the challenge board overlap with Grinder and then take his position. How exciting! I'm happy you are taking a traditional approach to becoming a Butcher in the Pit. But take your time. You have decades to fight them all and then pick out which piece of real estate you prefer to make your lair in."

"I agree with you on that. I'll be taking a long time to pick out a spot. No hurry as far as I'm concerned. I met another Butcher while I was in there. Molniqog said hi and gave this to me to take to you." He set the large journal on the counter."

"Oh my! Did they find it? I thought it was lost long ago." Taking out a tarnished key, he unlocked the clasp and opened the large book on the counter, carefully turning the pages one by one, "Oh, this takes me back, yes it does. The names of so many junior Butchers are here, along with how they died. Who knew that the exploding Fire-Sheep would claim so many lives? Or the Ripper Geese? That was a great summer if you wanted to advance fast and could be one of the lucky survivors." He kept reading through it until Ozzy coughed and asked a question.

"There wouldn't happen to be a list of abilities or perks in that book? Things appropriate for a Tier Four Butcher?"

Gristle looked up, "Oh, yes, that would be of interest to you. Let me just find the page." He turned the book to the last page and began reading as if he hadn't seen it before. "This is new! I'm excited, we haven't had an update in a millennia!"

The Guild Master flipped the book around for Ozzy to read.

Big Boy Rules: You want a new perk? Go fight for it! Expand the Dungeon or Create a Lair!

Beating Another Butcher in a Fight
Taking a Butcher's Brigade into Battle against something worth fighting
Building Your Lair
Slay 100 Tier 4 or higher players who come to visit.
Kill something worth killing and bring me a piece to chew on.

Perks:
Armored Apron 4: Sometimes the meat fights back, and you need some protection. A reinforced Butcher's Apron or Belt now gives you +100 physical mitigation

Bug Stomper: If your hands are busy, use your feet. Bugs take triple the normal damage from your kicks and stomps.

Finishing Blow: The Fat Lady is singing. When a creature is more than half dead, your critical hits do four times the normal damage instead of double.

Meat Shield: Grab someone and use them as a shield. They take all the attacks aimed at you until they're dead.

We Were Soldiers: We are monsters now, but once we were soldiers. Remind yourself of that by training with real soldiers and sharpening your skills.

Not Just a Trophy: You kicked their ass and stole their toy. It's yours, so you might as well use it. You gain the skills needed to wield your trophy.

Everything is Meat: If it lived and moved, you call it meat. Butcher it up and toss it in the cooking pot. Slimes, elves, talking trees... It's all meat to you.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Terror: Beyond fear, beyond intimidation...there is Terror. Remind them we are monsters.

Minion Master: No one likes to share, and why should you? Your minions work for you alone and won't heed the call of another Master. When you win a fight with another Butcher, you can't take a few of theirs.

Intermediary Form: Start as a Butcher and end as a Boss.

Final Form: You don't use it often, but when you do, it's Epic!

Down at the bottom, written in big, blocky letters, was a further sentence:

"Gristle, tell the new kid he gets four points for beating Mignik's head soft, grinding up Grinder, taking the Brigade on the road, and making that smoking chain daemon. His Butcher's Brigade all get a point. Butcher fights are usually one-on-one, but Grinder pulled out all the stops. And tell him to get meaner. Things are about to get bloody."

Ozzy read the last bit and rolled his eyes. "Well, wasn't it sweet of him to send a personal note along with the book? Although I'm a little worried about that last line and don't want to see what the big guy considers bloody."

Gristle nodded, seeing the implication, and remembering the old days when they marched through fields of war with blood ankle-deep. Granted, a lot of it wasn't red. "Yes, you should be worried. All of us should be."

Ozzy was looking at the list. "You said this was new?"

"Oh, yes, more the method than the rewards, although I don't remember some of these. Then again, I often forget my own name. Early methods of competition did reward killing visitors; after all, dungeons are meant to be a challenge to winnow out the weak and reward the strong. But this also emphasizes competition between the Butchers of the Pit."

Ozzy said, "As if he wants to challenge them and winnow out the weak and reward the strong?"

"Oh, I see the point! Yes, stronger Butchers mean a stronger challenge. I'm sure that's his goal."

Ozzy wasn't convinced. "Well, let's assume that for now. Give me your advice on some of these. Does Not Just a Trophy apply to this hunk of metal? I was going to hang it in front of the Sedgewick Butcher Shop as a sign. It's big enough to be one. But, if I can use it? That might be fun." He pulled out Grinder's Hogsplitter and set the heavy weapon on the counter.

"Oh my missing gizzards, I recognize that one, I do. I think I remember him separating my skull in two with this. Thankfully, someone put me back together correctly. He hates to lose at cards. Hmm, no, he hates to lose, period. But as to that weapon, yes. If you aren't skilled with it, you will be once you acquire that ability and swing it around for a short time. Especially if you're swinging it at something you can toss into the dungeon. We can't forget our duty to keep it filled up. I got a notice that someone was stealing meat from the carcasses."

Ozzy gave Gristle his best poker face, not that the Guild Master would notice an anvil landing on his head, "Yeah, some people are simply rude that way. Don't worry, I'll clear out some pens before I go home. But for now, you can put me down for Armored Apron and Not Just a Trophy. I'll think about my other two points and how I want to spend them."

"Splendid. I've noted your choices in the book.

Further discussion was put off as three minions knocked politely on the door of the Guild Hall. Gristle smiled, "Oh, excellent! Is this another surprise for me? A trio of hard-working minions to help me here in my busy Guild Hall? I've missed Runt terribly and have so many small tasks to get done."

The three looked at Gristle, and one said, "Nope, we could never replace Runt, and we're not going to tarnish his memory by trying and failing. You deserve better," and then walked over in front of Ozzy. "We hear you might be hiring. Things are a little slow over in Grinderland. Shut down until he pulls himself together. By guild rules, we can transfer to you and stick around as long as you keep us busy."

"Refugee minions? Three of you? I'm not sure about that. I heard the Big Boss was ticked when I pulled Runt out of the dungeon."

One was cleaning his ear with a finger, the other elbowed him in the stomach. The one who was talking ignored them and kept going. "We've heard some good things and bad things about that deal. Plentiful muffins sound great, but sinking so low as to owe allegiance to a mere Baron is a raw deal. Good for Runt, but we're shooting higher, and you seem to be going places. Shaking things up. You should grab a few high-quality minions to do your scut work." He stuck his chest out proudly.

Ozzy cocked his head in the direction of the other two minions who were fighting on the floor over who got to eat a roach they'd caught. "Yeah, and where might I find those?"

The third minion slapped his hand to his forehead and grimaced, "I see your point, but trust me, I'll keep them working. They're only acting out because no one is cracking the whip on them. Idle minions are a recipe for disaster."

Ozzy considered them. He did have a big sausage factory to get running, and at the very least, they could sweep up scraps and scrub floors if he had to keep them busy. It was a better job than in the dungeon, and he would do what he could to make things more comfortable for them. But not much, and not too fast. He remembered how suspicious Runt had been at first. He spat a ball of fire at the two on the floor to get their attention. It worked wonderfully. They scrambled to attention, sketching salutes.

"Ok, this is the deal for now. Every night, people come here and Butcher. Your job is to help get the parts that go in the dungeon chucked down the hole, and the rest of it gets carted to my sausage factory. Screw that up, and you go down the hole. You'll help out in the factory, and when you don't have anything else to do, you'll help the Guild Master with jobs. Gristle gets you for an hour a day each, regardless. I'll make sure you're fed and supply the muffins and other food. You live in the factory, and I'll make a room for you. Some place to put your beds and keep your stuff."

That was a better deal than the minions had in the dungeon. They were hazy on what he meant by beds, but weren't going to argue. They smiled, said, "Yes, Sir", and started groveling to show their appreciation.

Ozzy rolled his eyes. "Get up. I don't need your pitiful groveling. I want to get some work out of you. Follow me. We're going to clear out the pens. I kill, you drag. What do you three go by?"

The one without his finger in his ear spoke up, "I'm Inky, that's Blinky. We're the smart and handsome ones. And that's Nod; he talks the most and thinks he's in charge."

"Sounds good. Nod, you're in charge of those two. Now, be careful. I'm going to start with the Fire Sheep."