Dungeon Crawler Carl
by Matt Dinniman
Contents
Chapter 42
Overview
Carl and Donut are forced into a chaotic two-deckmaster fight in the turkey barn as Tom (Deckmaster Eight) and Sharp-Elbows (Deckmaster Nine) weaponize the environment and the turkeys themselves. Tom’s Idolized and anti-magic “Ralphie” effects flip the flock hostile and shut down spellcasting, while Sharp-Elbows raises zombie turkeys with the Worm Fulcrum.
Carl kills Tom with Daughter’s Kiss amid the barn sliding off a cliff, but Sharp-Elbows nearly kills and blinds Carl before Raul breaks the necro staff and decapitates her. Donut Puddle Jumps them to safety seconds before the entire barn collapses into the sea, leaving Carl badly injured and rattled by Sharp-Elbows’ ominous plea.
Summary
Carl and Donut scramble to pull the unconscious Mongo out of a trap in the turkey barn as thousands of turkeys stare silently. Carl learns his Extinction Sigil’s usual charm effect is negated by a boss event, and his bombs start detonating early because heat lamps are deliberately rigged to trigger explosives. Tom, a level-75 turkey shaman and Deckmaster Eight, and Sharp-Elbows, a level-80 ogre necromancer and Deckmaster Nine, hold opposite corners of the fight as the turkeys begin pecking at Carl and Donut.
Donut summons Skylar Spinach and uses The Thief to steal a card from Sharp-Elbows, then buffs Skylar with Greased Lightning. Tom summons a Wakinyan Temple Guard, and both Donut and Sharp-Elbows summon matching Unk Tehi Temple Guards that immediately turn on each other. Tom then plays a persistent mystic card, Idolized!, flipping every turkey dot to hostile red and restarting the swarm.
Carl casts Fear to scatter the turkeys, but Tom immediately answers with another persistent mystic card (the “Ralphie” effect), dispelling all active magic and muting Carl and Donut’s team from spellcasting—while also revealing Carl counts as a “minion” in card battles. With Donut stuck defending Mongo and no longer able to rely on spells, the fight turns desperate as the barn itself begins to collapse and slide toward a cliff edge.
Donut tries to summon Shi Maria, but Sharp-Elbows plays a snare that unsummons the spider instantly. Sharp-Elbows then produces the Worm Fulcrum, a combined necromantic staff/to-tem that raises dead turkeys into slow zombie turkeys. Seeing the field spiraling out of control, Carl rushes Tom and triggers the Scavenger’s Daughter ability, Daughter’s Kiss, obliterating Tom and ending Deckmaster Eight; the turkey guard and the anti-magic effect vanish, and the living turkeys revert to non-hostile NPCs—leaving only zombies and Sharp-Elbows as active threats.
As the entire barn slides like a waterfall of dirt, feed, and birds, Donut summons Lazarus-A-Bang-Bang, but the RPG projectile also detonates prematurely, dislodging Mongo toward the edge. Carl saves Mongo long enough for Mongo to awaken and leap away, but Sharp-Elbows then slams into Carl on the slope, impaling him and blinding him as he fights to stay alive with healing potions. Sharp-Elbows whispers that “they starve us” and implies Carl could end that hunger, but Raul the crab snaps the Worm Fulcrum in half and decapitates Sharp-Elbows, completing combat and resetting the deck. Donut reaches Carl at the cliff’s edge and Puddle Jumps them away as the barn finally collapses into the ocean below.
Who Appears
- CarlFights to protect Mongo; kills Tom with Daughter’s Kiss; nearly dies and is blinded by Sharp-Elbows.
- Princess DonutPlays key cards, steals a totem with The Thief, defends Mongo, and Puddle Jumps them to safety.
- MongoKnocked unconscious by the trap; nearly slides off the cliff; awakens and escapes into the rafters.
- TomDeckmaster Eight; turkey shaman who plays Idolized and the anti-magic Ralphie effect before being killed.
- Sharp-ElbowsDeckmaster Nine; ogre necromancer who raises zombie turkeys and impales Carl before being decapitated.
- RaulCrab totem who snaps the Worm Fulcrum and decapitates Sharp-Elbows, ending the battle.
- Skylar SpinachDonut’s donkey-headed snake ghost; fights the turkey guard before timing out.
- Shi MariaSpider totem briefly summoned, then immediately unsummoned by Sharp-Elbows’ snare card.
- Lazarus-A-Bang-BangTotem summoned with an RPG; its shot detonates early, contributing to the chaos and sliding collapse.
- Wakinyan Temple GuardTom’s totem; clubs Skylar Spinach and disappears when Tom is defeated.
- Unk Tehi Temple GuardPaired lizard-headed temple guards summoned by Donut and Sharp-Elbows; brawl until both time out.