Whisper steps into the arena, his face hidden beneath his dark hood. Playfully, he waves one small hand and is enveloped briefly by a nimbus of protective magic. His opponent, the dwarven paladin, enters a moment later. He raises one of his now-familiar pistols, delivering his customary challenge: "I, Dis Loveth Of the Jarnack, have accepted your challenge. . ." A few in the audience listen in appreciative silence as he speaks; most of the other patrons spend the moment whispering about their bets. He finishes grandly, ". . . know that my honor will safeguard this battle." With that, Ivan Zagad nods to the combatants, and the battle begins.

Dis Loveth springs quickly into action. He rushes toward Whisper, aims his pistol and fires. The resulting bullet scarcely grazes Whisper's side, flying past him to embed itself in the wall behind him. Unfazed, the child-mage pulls a brown pouch from beneath his cloak and hurls it at the charging dwarf-- Dis Loveth sees it coming and ducks, and the pouch explodes into green slime as it hits the floor behind him. Dis Loveth slows momentarily and draws his second pistol, firing at Whisper and casting both weapons aside. This time he hits Whisper in the chest, practically blowing the mage's small body backward. Only Whisper's magical armor saves him from taking the full force of the weapon. Desperately, he hurls another pouch at his advancing enemy. This one reaches its target, and the goo that erupts from the pouch instantly sticks Dis Loveth to the floor.

Eagerly, Whisper raises a hand toward Dis Loveth. A ray of cold blue streaks from his fingers towards the entrapped paladin, who barely manages to put up his sword to deflect it. Quickly, Dis Loveth lowers the sword and begins to hack at the tanglefoot slime that holds him fast. As he does so, Whisper gestures and shrieks an incantation, and a gigantic, hairy rat appears. The huge vermin snarls and leaps at Dis Loveth, scratching at his armor. Dis Loveth lashes out, and the greatsword cuts into the rats neck. The rat shrieks and, as it dies, fades away. The dwarf lifts his feet relievedly from the slime and looks up-- to face Whisper charging viciously forward with his quarterstaff raised. The mage swings his staff at Dis Loveth and connects with his opponent's chest.Dis Loveth totters for a moment, then steps back to regain his balance and slashes at Whisper; the blow finishes what his pistols started, and Whisper falls.