The Raksuu Derby was about to start. Momen and Spesof went to grab drinks - dwarven stouts, one silver piece each - while I stayed back watching the gates. The only really suspicious thing was Eclipse with that big runic collar, radiating his foreboding aura even before the race began.
The fanfare sounded. Everyone turned to look at the track. Well, several people turned to look at me first, but whatever - I got the message and paid attention.
The gates flew open.
Secretariat made the first move, him and El Condor Pasa rushing straight to the front. Eclipse and TM Opera O followed close behind. Then something weird happened - Sweep Tosho cast some sort of magical tether to the back of TM Opera O and just started catching a ride. The announcer seemed baffled. I’d never seen that strategy before either, but hey, if it works.
Ogari Cap, Maruzensky, and Nishinoflower brought up the rear.
Then Eclipse made his move, pulling right up in front of Secretariat. TM Opera O and her hitchhiker moved to the outside, trying to get around. Eclipse took the lead, and that’s when it happened - the infamous aura kicked in. Secretariat got a big mouthful of it and just floundered, dropping way back. El Condor Pasa backed off to give Eclipse some room.
But TM Opera O and Sweep Tosho? Completely undisturbed. They maintained position and started gaining on Eclipse. That old halfling lady Spesof had talked to was right - silver dragon, immune to Eclipse’s necrotic aura.
Past the halfway mark, Eclipse was still in the lead. TM Opera O and Sweep Tosho couldn’t quite maintain their speed, falling back neck and neck with El Condor Pasa. Ogari Cap kept advancing along the outside. Secretariat had fallen all the way to the back, completely wrecked by that aura hit.
Final corner. That’s when Sweep Tosho broke off from TM Opera O. The magical light connecting them disintegrated, and Sweep Tosho - this magical girl with a wand and frilly outfit - turned to look at Eclipse and hit him with a massive beam of light. Stopped him dead in his tracks.
Eclipse started falling back. All the way back. The other racers moved around him as he dropped.
TM Opera O pulled into the lead. El Condor Pasa behind, then Ogari Cap, Maruzensky, Sweep Tosho, Secretariat, Nishinoflower, and in a shocking twist - Eclipse coming in last. For the first time ever, Eclipse didn’t just lose. He was disqualified for not finishing.
Come on, Sweep! I was thinking. Damn, no - she came in fifth. We lost money on that one.
TM Opera O crossed the finish line to some cheers, then stopped dead and turned around to stare at Eclipse. The other racers kept going - El Condor Pasa, Ogari Cap, Maruzensky, Sweep Tosho, Secretariat, Nishinoflower. Eclipse just sat there on the track, bound by beams of light from Sweep Tosho.
Then TM Opera O did something I absolutely did not expect.
She raised her hands, spread her wings, took flight, and flew directly into the VIP box. Grabbed Count Theodor Berggren - you know, the guy who owned Eclipse, the one controlling a nightwalker with magical collars and an army of undead - pulled him out of the window, and ripped his head right off.
The golden glowing laurel that had been on his head fell and was briefly lost in the chaos.
People started fleeing. Panicking. The announcer was completely confused. “What - what the - did that just happen? Where are the guards? What the hell’s going on? Did TM Opera O just lose their mind?”
I’m thinking: are we still gonna get our payout?
But things escalated fast. Guards started swarming. There was a necromancer with them - seems like he was employed by the Count, probably the one who helped restrain Eclipse in the first place with all those magical collars and undead skeletons we’d heard about.
The laurel became this insane game of hot potato. The necromancer tried to grab it, but Spesof ripped it right out of his hand and threw it to me. The necromancer countered with a mage hand, intercepting it mid-air. Spesof wasn’t having that - he shot the mage hand with his Diadem of Meteors, destroying the spell and freeing the laurel.
I grabbed it with sleight of hand and stashed it in a spot in the stands, trying to lure the guards and necromancer away from us. Clever plan, right? Except Eclipse gestured toward where I’d hidden it, basically pointing it out to the necromancer like a helpful assistant.
The necromancer grabbed the laurel and put it on, probably thinking he could control Eclipse the same way the Count had. Instead, he started screaming in pain as dark flames erupted from it. The laurel wasn’t working the way he thought it would - and worse, when he died, Eclipse got healed from it. Great. Just great.
Meanwhile, Secretariat - remember, the frost salamander who got wrecked by Eclipse’s aura during the race? - completely freaked out and barged into the VIP room, killing a bunch of people and guards in his panic. Total chaos.
TM Opera O wasn’t tearing through guards though - she was exclusively focused on fighting Eclipse now that the Count was dead. Sweep Tosho joined in helping battle the nightwalker too. The whole racetrack was a war zone.
Eclipse kept pointing at people and they’d just drop dead. That finger of death thing everyone warned us about. Momen got caught in Eclipse’s enervation aura - this necrotic field that doesn’t just hurt you, it drains your actual life force. Really nasty stuff. He was getting drained badly, but still managed to deal some serious damage to Eclipse. Actually did the most damage out of any of us in the Cedar Combe Monster Bashers.
Spesof immediately got up to his feet but kept his distance, shouting to Momen and me about the danger. I called my carpet over to pick me up - stayed exactly thirty feet away from Eclipse because I’m not an idiot. Poked around the corner, took a shot at Eclipse with my bow - seventeen hit, twelve damage - then popped my head back behind cover.
I asked Spesof what the plan was. He yelled back: “Don’t worry about the laurel, but kill Eclipse!”
Momen finally unleashed everything he had - some massive spell, probably disintegrate or something equally devastating. Placed it carefully to avoid hitting anyone on our side.
That’s where we left it - mid-combat, Eclipse still up and now healed from the necromancer’s death, TM Opera O and Sweep Tosho battling the nightwalker, Secretariat rampaging through the VIP box, and us trying not to get our souls destroyed.
What a day at the Derby.