Sovereign Tower Kutnar Derby and the Grand Derby

The Kutnar derby is Act 2’s loudest sporting arc: nomad audiences, mountain races, a summit that cares about mount type, and a 250-fund hire named Zolta. Steam also ships the achievement The Grand Derby. Wild Wits wired unexpected outcomes into the first Kutnar card; Curve Games’ patch 1.0.10 (20 August 2026) then repaired NG+ dialogue conflicts on this line and on Elmor, so second-reign players no longer hear first-reign gossip as if it were new.

This walkthrough is the long form of How to Get Zolta. For the county sequence, trophy, and NG+ caution in one place, open Kutnar Derby — that page sits past the first eight Guides/Walkthrough dropdown rows. Act 2 spoilers throughout. Pair with Act 2, Get Tarcus, and Get The Wolf.

When Kutnar shows up

Kutnar Nomad audiences land after the Act 1 climax and the eight-seat table. Do not stack this chain on the same three cycles as Ligia’s lamp or the Act 2 murder rewind. The Demon is powerful; your calendar is not infinite. Grest pirates also steal evening slots after the +1 cycle from Patch 1.0.8.

Keep Treasury ready for the 250-fund ask. Treasury is a faction lane, not a purse — Treasury.

Method A — Tarcus cheat (fastest trophy route)

Community-verified order since launch week, still valid after 1.0.10:

1. Recruit Tarcus first (Gavault investigations, swear you will stop Brunhilda).
2. Send only Tarcus on Rush in Laik Vallée, Kutnar’s opening quest. You want his dedicated unexpected outcome, not a boring standard success.
3. At the second Kutnar audience, pick a cheating line. Builds show either “(Lie) We’ll participate… in due form” or “I know a shortcut. We’ll be delighted to join you.” Both open Cheat through treacherous mountains.
4. Complete that cheat quest.
5. Send Tarcus on a mountain race (honest or cheating) and win. His outcome can divert into the Count asking whether collapsing rivals look strange.
6. Run a summit with a non-horse mount (beast, griffin, or other annex prize — horse fails the flag).
7. The next day Zolta arrives at the tower. Pay 250 funds and leave an Act 2 seat free (cap 8).

If Rush does not fork, rewind that assignment rather than the whole act — Time Rewind. Use Quest Matcher so Tarcus is not dying on a Strength card the same evening.

Method B — win clean with The Wolf

Guides also clear the sporting path by winning outright with The Wolf (Angelica’s werewolf tame). This suits Groveshire-leaning saves that skipped Tarcus. Expect fair races, higher variance, and no shortcut scandal. You can still hire Zolta afterward if the county invites her; keep the 250-fund buffer.

What Zolta is for

Community line: Strength 4, Agility 5, Charisma 2, Magic 9, Wits 2, Luck 11 — a Luck / Magic specialist. She eats into your eight chairs, so do not buy her if you still need Ligia, Gideon, and a murder-week spare. Favourite meals and liked tags live on Cooking and Roster after she sits.

The Grand Derby achievement

Steam’s highlighted list includes The Grand Derby. Treat it as the sporting-arc trophy, not a hidden pixel. Finish the county races and the invitation chain; do not hunt a separate secret menu. If the toast does not pop, finish the summit flag and the Zolta audience before assuming a bug — then check Achievements.

Patch 1.0.10 and New Game Plus

1.0.10 did not retune race stats. It fixed NG+ dialogue conflicts for Elmor and the Kutnar Derby, alongside Gideon story softlocks and Ligia / Gothild quest clashes. If run two talks as if you never cheated (or never met Zolta) after you did, update the client, then rewind the first Kutnar audience rather than editing saves. See New Game Plus and Patch 1.0.10.

There are still no official console commands to force the unexpected outcome — Codes FAQ.

Failures that waste three cycles

• Standard success on Rush, then wondering why the cheat line never appears.
• Honesty at the second audience when you meant the shortcut.
• Horse on the summit.
• Empty Treasury when Zolta quotes 250.
• No free seat because you already filled eight with secrets from Act 1.
• Running Kutnar during the murder investigation week.

Related pages

• Get Zolta — hire checklist.
• Get Tarcus — cheat prerequisite.
• Kingdom Map — Kutnar / Volga geography.
• Walkthrough Hub — PC dropdown truncates after eight rows; this page lives under View all.

The derby is a scandal you schedule. Send Tarcus, take the mountain lie, bring the wrong mount on purpose, and pay the mercenary who already knew the pass.