Half a Prayer, Half a Song
Completed: Corcunda's halves were merged before Dong died — earning Carl the right to summon two beings to the eleventh-floor arena.
Story so far
'Half a prayer, half a song' is completed against long odds. Carl's crew finds the singer-half Porky, hires the fleshmancer Grigori, and fuses Corcunda's two halves during the Gasworks Screw Factory race — crucially before Dong Quixote succumbs to his curse, the condition that would have failed the quest. The AI, its 'flabbers gasted' that Carl pulled off a quest it deliberately made near-impossible, delivers the promised reward: Carl may choose two creatures, people, or 'whatever' within the AI's sphere of influence to be brought to the eleventh-floor Arena that appears at the end of the Parade of Horribles — the choice deferred, for drama, until Carl is already inside the arena.
The victory is bittersweet: both Corcunda and Dong die completing it, smited alongside the war-god's departure. The AI's congratulations curdle into an uneasy confession that it is losing control of its own dungeon and a warning to 'beware exits that seem too good to be true' — and a reminder that Carl's Emberus quest must still be finished before the eleventh floor ends.
Appearance
A completed conditional quest, its prize a pair of arena summons deferred to the eleventh floor.
Role
The completed Corcunda-reunion quest, rewarding two arena stand-ins and freighted with the AI's ominous warnings.
Relationships
Sources — 2 recorded facts, by chapter
- Part two of the Corcunda reunion quest: merge his two halves via a fleshmancer to free him from the Lady Dominators.
- Completed: Corcunda's halves were merged before Dong died — earning Carl the right to summon two beings to the eleventh-floor arena.