Ian
The rakes are a little different, but fundamentally, detectives and journalists rake the same muck. It makes it easy to pose as press when I need to get in somewhere a detective wouldn't be welcome. I loitered in the teams' concourse near Tenebrae's stable, keeping my head down. The regular Imperial League press pack all knew each other. I could pass as a local Rindburg guy on the sports beat, following the city's new rising star, but not for long.
This trip was expensive, but Ike's money covered it, and there was only one dragon racing team he could possibly have meant. Nine of the active IL teams were multimillion-Royal companies with beautiful, high-tech stabling facilities. If Phoebe Tenryuu's tiny Tenebrae outfit wasn't a mob effort, they were getting their backing from somewhere equally unsavoury.
By the same token, they were the hardest team to spot. I'd seen Tenryuu herself a couple of times, but if there was a mob link, the young star was probably being kept ignorant of it, and she'd made it clear she wasn't speaking to reporters today. The tiny pink-haired girl in the red dress who'd come out to speak to the press pack before the second practice session started barely looked old enough to be out of school, but there was a ferocity to her that made her a bad bet for a casual enquiry.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
I'd been waiting hours by the time I saw my chance. Another tiny young lady – was everyone on this team like that? – emerged from the Tenebrae stable, wearing overalls in their black livery, and scuttled towards the toilets. Her dark hair had blonde highlights and a high cowlick at the back that reminded me of nothing so much as the sorcerer from Pure Darkness.
When she re-emerged, heading back to the stable, I separated myself from the wall and intercepted her as gently as I could. I'm hardly the tallest man in the world, but I towered over her enough to give me vertigo, and the way her eyes widened as she realised I was trying to get her attention suggested she felt it too.
I ducked my head and kept my voice soft. "Sorry to bother you, miss, you're from Tenebrae, right?" I didn't give her a chance to answer. "Do you know where Mr. Castelloro is? I was hoping to catch him this afternoon."
"I don't know who that is, I'm sorry." I watched her face closely, but the name didn't provoke even the slightest flinch. She just wanted to get back to work.
"Sorry, my mistake." I bobbed my head again and backed out of the conversation. If the name of the most notorious mob family in Rindburg didn't ring even the slightest bell for a member of this understaffed team, then whatever the link was had to be much subtler than just Angelo Castelloro or one of his rivals having a new hobby. That made the job harder, but maybe a little safer, at least for now.
Friday: Phoebe - supplement (250 words)
Sunday: Race (7111 words); Phoebe - supplement (189 words)
articles from a sports website covering dragon racing, if you want a broader perspective on the lore, the world and the sport.
Fifth race: Buildup starts July 8th, race day July 20th
Sixth race: Buildup starts July 22nd, race day 4th August
Seventh race: Buildup starts 5th August, race day 12th August
Eighth race: Buildup starts 13th August, race day 18th August
Ninth race: Buildup starts 19th August, race day 25th August
Tenth race: Buildup starts 26th August, race day 1st September
Mid-season break: 4th-8th September
Eleventh race: Buildup starts 9th September, race day 15th September
Twelfth race: Buildup starts 16th September, race day 22nd September
Thirteenth race: Buildup starts 23rd September, race day 6th October
Fourteenth race: Buildup starts 7th October, race day 13th October
Fifteenth race: Buildup starts 14th October, race day 20th October
Sixteenth race: Buildup starts 23rd October, race day 27th October
Seventeenth race: Buildup starts 30th October, race day 10th November
Final race: Buildup starts 11th November, race day tbd (likely 1st week in December)
