Rondax, Scorpion, and Jean-Luc, imprisoned in the imperial arena of Talagran, were forced to participate in a series of gladiatorial matches. On their second night as active fighters, Rondax fought a difficult battle with a powerful lizardman warrior, nearly killing him and barely escaping with his own life. When presented with a gold medal of courage by the emperor, Rondax defaced the award by smearing it with the blood of his fallen opponent, angering the emperor and the crowd. Scorpion was faced with an opponent against whom most of his esper powers were useless: a dire wolf, which was nonsentient and thus not subject to his control. After futilely trying to fight off the beast with fencing weapons, he resorted to opening up the dark power buried in his subconscious. The savage attack killed the wolf, but thrust Scorpion into a coma. Jean-Luc Stormslayer was pitted against an appropriate opponent for his profession: the alu-fiend Ulashi. The battle went to ))Jean-Luc((, but the paladin's holy abilities barely prevailed.

Fearful that the next day would bring a lethal battle for Rondax in the wake of his heresy against the god-emperor, the free members of the party moved swiftly to evacuate him. Prentice established a safehouse at a church of Britigit sympathetic to the group's cause. The party cased the arena by posing as tourists, and Bono passed himself off as an employee to gain entry. That night, the party infiltrated the arena. Tyke, invisible, slipped into the gladiators' cells to alert his friends of the escape plan. He was detected by only one, Wo, but fortunately the Kawanese mystic saw no reason to betray the group. Meanwhile, Rondax, who did not realize that Ulashi was dangerous, was charmed by the fiend. The time for the arena performances drew nigh, and the gladiators, Tyke secretly following, went above. Rondax was called forth first, and his opponent, chosen to avenge the insult to the emperor, was Saracen Windreaver– a paladin of the emperor and his personal champion.