We made our way into Raksuu, and honestly? The place hit different than I expected. It’s way up north, and there’s this severe wealth inequality everywhere you look - sprawling mansions with gold-tipped roofs right next to beaten-down tents in the middle of winter. The river’s frozen almost all year round, so there aren’t even any docks. Despite all that, there’s clearly money flowing through here somehow.
I wanted to find somewhere middle-of-the-road to stay - nothing too bougie, but nothing that looked like we’d get our kidneys stolen at night either. We found a decent tavern with well-furnished rooms. Two gold pieces for a stay, which is pricey but the accommodations were actually significantly better than what we’ve got back at the Cedar Combe Monster Bashers headquarters.
But the real attraction was the food. The menu was incredible - braised beholder, baked hydra, cockatrice soup, blackened yeti, breaded grell, grick livers. I ordered the braised beholder and washed it down with a Frothing Waves lager. The beholder was surprisingly tender and sweet, not gamey at all like you’d expect from a creature that’s mostly eyes and slimy tentacles. Paired perfectly with okra and cheese. Quite frankly some of the best food I’ve ever had, and the lager had this strong salty taste at the start that mellowed out like a wave receding. Perfect complement.
I asked the waitress how they get such a regular supply of monster meat. Turns out there’s a shop called the Adorable Fire up in Nystad that sells all sorts of monster parts. We’d been there before, actually. They buy up any beholder meat that comes through - adventurers don’t usually keep the meat since the eyes and stalks are worth more, but the meat’s cheap and good if you prepare it right. Only a couple silver pieces per pound for fresh stuff, and you get about a hundred pounds off a beholder.
The waitress confirmed we were just in time for the Derby - happening on Moonday, so we had just enough time to check out the town and talk to folks before placing our bets. She started telling me about the favorites. Eclipse is the top pick, with Secretariat being a hot pick for show - a huge red frost salamander that apparently you should run from if you see it sprinting, though it’ll probably catch you anyway.
The names are all pretty theatrical. TM Opera O wanted something big and flashy. Eclipse speaks for itself - if you see them, you’ll know. All the racers had these elaborate names picked for maximum impact.
Seeking out a tavern in a more rundown part of town, I got some further information about Eclipse. Apparently an absolutely horrifying creature, most folks never go to see it race a second time. It has an “aura” that drains the life force out of creatures near it, which hardly feels fair in a race… I also got the solid advice to sit a minimum of 30 feet away from the track to not fall victim to this myself. Every once in a while, it’s gotten into a bad mood and simply pointed at a spectator who drops dead - NOT a pleasant thing to hear the day before we see this thing in person. When not racing, it’s restrained by a small army of undead creatures with glowing magical shackles. I headed back to Momen and Tittlin and relayed all of this info. Between Momen’s smarts and Tittlin tapping the knowledge of his “friends” in town, we put together the fact that this is a Nightwalker from the Negative Plane, and it’s owned by Count Theodor Berggren, the nobleman in charge of Raksuu. Quite the wild display of power to be able to not just restrain, but have some level of control over a Nightwalker. Momen seemed incredibly curious about this whole situation - I was just hoping it wouldn’t get him (or us) into trouble. I agreed to go with him to the Count’s extravagant mansion to see if we could ask about Eclipse, but the butler turned us away almost immediately without providing any information.
On the day of the Derby, I found an old halfling woman named Donna Knotwise who had been attending the races for most of her life. She gave me the rundown on various racers and their strengths. Really helpful perspective for placing bets.
Eventually I settled on my strategy: 100 platinum on TM Opera O to win, 100 on Sweep Tosho to place, and 100 on Secretariat to show. Momen went with 100 on TM to win and 100 on Sweep to place, and Tittlin matched my bets as well as 10 platinum on Secretariat to place.
Before the race, I found a seat up near Donna and introduced myself properly. She informed me that she’d decided to swing big and go for a Quinnella bet - TM Opera O, El Condor Pasa, Ogari Cap, Maruzensky, then Sweep Tosho, in that exact order. Pretty ambitious, but she figured she’d put some skin in the game.
While we were sitting there watching the pre-race activities, TM Opera O was parading around the track doing glamour shots and posing for the crowd. Then she looked right at me sitting beside Donna and gave me a wink.
That’s when it clicked. TM Opera O is a silver dragon. Momen confirmed it - silver dragons enjoy culture and cities, often disguising themselves to travel among people and enjoy urban delights. I wondered if she could smell something on me, maybe recognized me as someone who knows about dragons or has dealt with them before. We’ve certainly met more than the average joe.
The announcer called last call for bets, then closed the betting. The race would begin in 30 minutes - time for refreshments and the washroom. The racers started lining up at the gates: TM Opera O, El Condor Pasa, Eclipse, Sweep Tosho, Nishinoflower, Secretariat, Maruzensky, and Ogari Cap.
The fanfare signaled the race was about to begin. Eight hundred platinum on the line for the CCMB. This should be interesting.