The Games of Saberhaven
Saint Dranthur Lionscrest vs. Lord Blix
        The sun beats down on the Arena and the crowds in the stands for this, one of the most anticipated fights of the Tournament. The combatants today are Saint Dranthur Lionscrest of Lostow, favored son of Mystra, and Lord Blix, one of the Dukes of Hell on Earth. Dranthur, the reigning champion, is a feared and respected mage, and also has considerable fighting ability. Blix has always been a contender for the Championship, but his lack of serious spellcasting ability has so far stymied his hopes.
       As the crowd roars, the doors open and the announcer proclaims the fight's beginning. Dranthur, wearing his customary cloak and robes, and carrying his staff of power, finishes a spell as he leaps into flight. At the other end of the Arena, Blix steps confidently onto the field, but the aura of blue flames wink out with the completion of Dranthur's spell.
       Blix looks disgruntled for a moment, and gestures upwards at the flying Dranthur. As he does so, a series of glowing missiles stream towards him from just in front of Dranthur's entrance. The missiles deflect harmlessly off Blix, but his expression changes to fury as he realizes that he has been tricked - the flying Dranthur is merely an illusion, the real Dranthur is invisible near the door somewhere, and he has just wasted a spell on the mirage.
       Blix turns invisible himself, and a few seconds later a bolt of foaming liquid zooms by his former location, to splat against the stone wall with a hiss. There are a few moments where nothing occurs on the battleground, but even the audience, usually quick to deride invisible combatants, only waits silently in suspense. The illusory Dranthur floats near the roof of the Arena, idly twirling his staff.
       Without warning, Blix reappears, slashing out with his two shortswords. Both strike the invisible Dranthur with the scraping sound of steel on stone. Blix is just about to bring his right-hand sword around to bear again when he stops as if stunned. Lowering his swords, Blix stands gape-mouthed, fidgeting slightly but apparently having lost his wits. After about half a minute, the ground below Blix turns to soft, wet mud, and he begins to sink quite rapidly. A few feet away, the invisible form of Dranthur is also sinking, as is evidenced by a hole widening in the puddle - but Dranthur must be huge, as the hole is easily five feet across.
        Both continue to sink, though after Blix is vanished below the surface, it appears that Dranthur still has at least his head in the air. The front-row audience can hear Dranthur utter a few mystic syllables, and then the mud caves in with a gulping noise, and the mud-covered form of an eleven-foot robed man appears a few yards away, standing on solid ground. With a wave, Dranthur turns the mud puddle back to stone, trapping Blix within.
       To the cheers of the crowd, Saint Dranthur is once again proclaimed the victor. In a few moments, he has cleaned himself of mud and regained visibility and his normal size. He strides out of the Arena to the adoration of his fans, though he is no doubt thinking about the fight with Bellow ahead of him.

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