DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 11/29/2005 Duedate: 12/12/2005 KALTOS ARENA DM-5 TURN-536 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS ZAKAU JOHNS (379) (5-4623) [28-16-0,129] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader ZAKAU SHANNO JOHNS (379) I HEART BALLS (498) (5-4623) [28-16-0,129] (5-4725) [1-0-0,13] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite ZAKAU LHOTSE JOHNS (379) EVEREST LLP (490) (5-4623) [28-16-0,129] (5-4683) [10-5-0,85] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. JOHNS (379) 27 2. THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) 16 EVEREST LLP (490) 3. I HEART BALLS (498) 14 Unchartered Team 4. STEP TO IT, PUNK! (449) 6 5. EVEREST LLP (490) -15 STEP TO IT, PUNK! (449) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 0*STEP TO IT, PUNK! (449) 1 0 0 100 1/ 2 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) 9 6 1 2/ 2*I HEART BALLS (498) 2 1 0 66.7 2/ 1 EVEREST LLP (490) 8 7 1 3/ 3 EVEREST LLP (490) 47 28 3 62.7 3/ 3 JOHNS (379) 5 4 0 4/ 4 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) 245 247 12 49.8 4/ 0*STEP TO IT, PUNK! (449) 1 0 0 5/ 5 JOHNS (379) 250 389 8 39.1 5/ 5*I HEART BALLS (498) 1 1 0 '*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn (###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank TEAM SPOTLIGHT + ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ Nightfall #9 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + Valamantis: "I don't consider the loss of so many ships and men a 'good development', mage," Lord Shanmarrik said. His dark eyes glittered, and his slit of a mouth was set like a blade. Tensekai shrugged and shook his head. "It is not the death and destruction, in itself, that was good, lord. The 'good' part is that the Tower was not able to destroy all the ships. It was not able to strike without a build-up of power. The power is not quite like any I am familiar with, but having observed it once, I shall be able to detect it when it begins again. Soon enough, I hope, to prevent another such destructive discharge. And I think, though I am not certain yet, that I have discovered the fatal flaw in this invasion--for invasion it is." "So you say." Shanmarrik pursed his lips and stared hard at nothing, then he also shrugged. "So it is still in your hands. So be it." He paused, then said, "The invasion...is it...?" The Silver Mage nodded. "Tarot mimes." Arenamistress Sitalva twitched. "Okay, by forces from the Fifteenth Dimension, called by people of Alastari 'tarot mimes', and we don't know what they call themselves." Tensekai turned and squinted out across the bay where the Black Tower had lately been. His expression was almost wistful. "What a chance it would be to study...if we didn't have to fight them for our lives and our sanity. We could learn so much...." "It's in your hands," Shanmarrik said again. The old man fixed him with a hard stare. "I expect results, Tensekai. Soon." Sitalva listened to Shanmarrik stomping down the stairs of the Silver Mage's tower, listened to the door slam, saw the ruler of Valamantis stalk across the narrow strip of grass to his official boat tied up at Tensekai's dock. When the old man was definitely out of earshot, she turned to her friend. "What is this nonsense about 'tarot mimes'?" she demanded. "The Stronghold Academy on the Isle says--" "Says there are no such beings as tarot mimes," Tensekai finished. For a moment, he looked as old as rumor called him, instead of the young, vigorous man that Valamantis knew. "I know, I read the proclamation. I don't know whether they lied or were simply mistaken. They exist. Calling them 'tarot mimes' trivializes the risk they present, though. It is a very great risk." "Granting the danger that Tower represents to shipping, I still wouldn't call it a 'very great risk'," Sitalva objected. "A very great nuisance, but--" "The tarot mimes work by manipulating archetypes," Tensekai said. "In this case, crowned heads falling, citadels and the governments they represent falling. There are a lot of crowned heads in and around Valamantis Bay, and all are at risk. Shanmarrik, for a start. Talissen, since she is the ruler of the alliance to which Valamantis belongs. The rulers of the island kingdoms. Osksi's Council of Rule. The Baron of Ardivent. And what if the tower moves inland?" "Can it?" "I have no idea." The arenamistress was silent for a few minutes, turning over facts and speculations in her mind. It was an unpleasant mess. "What do we do?" Tensekai paced across the rooftop, then back, across and back, frowning. Finally he said, "We could invoke the tarot powers ourselves." Elsewhere: Rossanarth, the Ambitious Guard of Valamantis, stood in knee-deep water and stared at the impossible landscape in front of him. He KNEW Valamantis Bay, and there was no such land anywhere around it. He glanced around at his companion and fellow standby, M. Kargaed Chardinee. "What the HECK is going on here?" The Rirorni came up beside him. "We'd better find out," he said. "Since we seem to have lost the Black Tower, and Valamantis, too--" The throne which floated on the waters of what was not Valamantis Bay drifted closer. Or perhaps it was pushed closer by the dolphins that surrounded it. There was a pause. Finally the blonde queen on the throne dragged her gaze away from the ornate cup she held. Saw the two Alastarians and blinked. Even now, her eyes were dreamy and not quite focused. "Where did you come from?" Rossanarth was stunned, equally by the beauty of her voice and by the fact that her lips had not moved. The Chardinee mastered himself more quickly. "We were drawn here by the Tower," he said. And his voice seemed to his companion as harsh as the squawk of a crow. A faint frown touched her pale forehead and she looked into her cup again. "The Council did not authorize this. Who defies the Council?" "My lady, we do not know," Chardinee said. "It must be discovered." A gesture signaled them forward. "Sit on the step of my throne, so that you may be borne to the Court to give testimony." + ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ Nightfall #10 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + Kaltos: The Golden Ship Inn stood on a headland and overlooked the main harbor on Kaltos. From the turret on top of the inn, Ironhand, the owner, could look across to Lord Lindharrow's castle on the opposite horn of the little bay. He could see all the shipping sheltered within. And he could see the dark tower that had come from nowhere to loom over them all. Ironhand didn't like it. He said as much. His companion, Neshkar, the Dark Arena's Black Orc, shrugged and turned his back on the tower deliberately. "Nothing we can do about it," he said. "And so long as it doesn't do anything to us, why should we? It just stands there looking gloomy. Well, fine. I don't mind." "The Black Tower at Valamantis destroyed a lot of ships." "I heard about that." The Black Orc shrugged again. "They attacked it." "So you think we should leave it alone? Ignore it?" "Yeah, why not?" Ironhand seemed to expand with the force of his annoyance. But he kept his voice level. "Because we're on an island, you blockhead. If the tower should choose to interrupt our shipping, we could starve here. Or get awfully tired of fish." Neshkar twitched his massive shoulders. "It still isn't our business, Ironhand. If something has to be done about it, let Lindharrow figure out what." "He isn't DOING anything, Nesh." The innkeeper shook the steel hook that had replaced his right hand after a bloody engagement between his ship and another ten years ago. "The damned fool isn't DOING anything!" He exhaled through clenched teeth, then turned and slammed open the door to the building's interior. "He's waiting for some gladiator to get a rush of stupidity to the brain and volunteer to 'save' the island from this arcane menace," he snarled over his shoulder. Neshkar followed him down the corkscrew stair. "Gladiators don't do that anymore," he said. "All the ones with delusions of heroism have died or gone away. The current crop is just..." he groped for words, "they're just focused on getting to the Isle, and they don't care about anything else. Why should they save Kaltos? They aren't going to be here." DUELMASTER'S COLUMN Notes from the arena champ. Hoffa (4348), this is what happens when you go laughing in collective faces. The collective gladiatorial community picks a champion and whacks you down. Erloi Gill P.S. Yep, I was laughing at you. SPY REPORT Thankyouthankyou. It's great for me, The Unknown Spymaster to be back in KALTOS. Hope you enjoy the show. Oh, who am I kidding? I already got paid! Say good-bye to EVEREST LLP, as they are pushed from the coveted top team spot by the THE MIDDLE WAY 5 stable. Hey everybody, watch out for CHESTER EGG, who flew up 24 points in the rankings after mashing GRIMM like a melon. Keep your eye on this guy. Ya know, some days it doesn't pay to walk out on the sands. GRIMM was overcame by CHESTER EGG and drops 20 points. Well, everybody's pal ERLOI GILL moved his record to 21-24-0 by defeating HOFFA in the Duelmaster's Title Bout and gaining 11 recognition points. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but an onion a day keeps T.P.s at bay. Let's dig a little deeper into what's happening in the KALTOS arena. Being a spy is great--other people die and you spend the rest of the day drinking to their memory. Better tanked than dead! Ask not the elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no. Silly buggers, eh? Well, that wasn't too bad; Alarond told me that the people in KALTOS have no sense of humor. Or maybe that they were senseless. Well, there goes another Spy Report. Good luck in next week's fights. See ya next time I'm on this circuit!-- The Unknown Spymaster DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME ZAKAU 4623 28 16 0 129 JOHNS (379) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME HOFFA 4348 10 88 0 118 JOHNS (379) HOFFA 4622 20 24 0 97 JOHNS (379) NORLE PARTH 4658 16 20 2 93 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME ANGUS 4680 9 6 0 87 EVEREST LLP (490) LHOTSE 4683 10 5 0 85 EVEREST LLP (490) CHESTER EGG 4662 15 16 0 83 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) BLABB 4684 9 6 1 74 EVEREST LLP (490) INGOLD KERR 4652 17 20 2 73 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME HILDE 4697 9 5 2 60 EVEREST LLP (490) GRIMM 4681 10 5 0 59 EVEREST LLP (490) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME GLORIA IMBRO 4718 4 3 1 30 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -IAN 4737 1 0 0 23 I HEART BALLS (498) SHANNO 4725 1 0 0 13 I HEART BALLS (498) ICE T OG 4336 1 0 0 6 STEP TO IT, PUNK! (449) JILES 4746 0 1 0 1 I HEART BALLS (498) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? PERSONAL ADS Hoffa (4622) -- You dwarves are just as bad as the orcs. Bah. -- Norle Parth Grimm -- I knew a couple of brothers by that name, they were into folklore in a big way. You any kin? If so, well, we can always use a storyteller here! -- Chester Egg Hilde -- Listen, little lady, this is not the best place for you to be. Come out to...ah, to some quiet place and let me buy you dinner. -- Ingold Kerr A Cult Member? I guess that explains why he kept making these weird grimaces. Cultic special signals. Too bad for him I didn't have a CLUE what they meant. -- Gloria Imbro Lord Protector Erloi Gill -- Well...we could offer you a half share in the fishing boat _Dorabis_, if you'll go out with Armal Kuro to look at the Black Tower that's been such a nuisance. Kuro gets the other half, of course. -- Zelagan of Sestegos, Lands Agent for Kaltos Arena P.S. The boat is available because its former owner, a certified pill and non-payer of taxes by the name of Julio Hoff, has, shall we say, vanished without a trace. Very sad. And mysterious. 5 November 2005 It is with a proud heart that I announce the newest member of the Desolate Empire alliance. Dok Sik will be known from here forth as Dark Knight Dok Sik, of the Desolate Empire. May he be blessed with victory and courage. May his enemies' blood flow freely! -- The Dark Knights Wasby and Toker LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS ERLOI GILL devastated HOFFA in a 1 minute mismatched fight. NORLE PARTH was vanquished by ZAKAU in a 1 minute uneven Title battle. LHOTSE was luckily beaten by HOFFA in a action packed 3 minute fight. ANGUS devastated INGOLD KERR in a 1 minute one-sided contest. GRIMM was overpowered by CHESTER EGG in a crowd pleasing 1 minute mismatched match. BLABB lost to M. CHARDINEE in a 2 minute fight. HILDE devastated GLORIA IMBRO in a 1 minute mismatched match. ICE T OG unbelievably bested JILES in a action packed 5 minute beginner's fight. SHANNO vanquished MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute one-sided duel. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |STRIKING ATTACK 4 BASHING ATTACK 13 - 6 - 0 68 | |WALL OF STEEL 4 LUNGING ATTACK 13 - 6 - 0 68 | |AIMED BLOW 3 STRIKING ATTACK 22 - 16 - 4 58 | |BASHING ATTACK 2 AIMED BLOW 15 - 12 - 0 56 | |LUNGING ATTACK 1 SLASHING ATTACK 6 - 5 - 0 55 | |TOTAL PARRY 1 WALL OF STEEL 15 - 14 - 1 52 | |SLASHING ATTACK 1 TOTAL PARRY 5 - 10 - 0 33 | |PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 - 0 0 | |PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 - 0 0 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 | Turn 536 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are: LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 0 AIMED BLOW 1 - 2 3 STRIKING ATTACK BASHING ATTACK 2 - 0 WALL OF STEEL 1 - 3 2 WALL OF STEEL TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 AIMED BLOW STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 2 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 1 LUNGING ATTACK PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 1 TOTAL PARRY SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 BASHING ATTACK 1 SLASHING ATTACK TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME LUNGING ATTACK ZAKAU 4623 28 16 0 129 JOHNS (379) BASHING ATTACK ANGUS 4680 9 6 0 87 EVEREST LLP (490) SLASHING ATTACK LHOTSE 4683 10 5 0 85 EVEREST LLP (490) STRIKING ATTACK BLABB 4684 9 6 1 74 EVEREST LLP (490) AIMED BLOW GRIMM 4681 10 5 0 59 EVEREST LLP (490) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is ZAKAU 4623. The most popular warrior this turn was LHOTSE 4683. The ten other most popular fighters were JILES 4746, CHESTER EGG 4662, ICE T OG 4336, ZAKAU 4623, HOFFA 4622, ANGUS 4680, HILDE 4697, BLABB 4684, SHANNO 4725, and HOFFA 4348. The least popular fighter this week was GLORIA IMBRO 4718. The other ten least popular fighters were GRIMM 4681, INGOLD KERR 4652, NORLE PARTH 4658, HOFFA 4348, SHANNO 4725, BLABB 4684, HILDE 4697, ANGUS 4680, HOFFA 4622, and ZAKAU 4623. The following warriors will travel to AD after next turn: ZAKAU (5-4623) JOHNS (379) The following warriors have traveled to AD after fighting this turn: ERLOI GILL (5-4620) THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) MAIL-IN TOURNEY XL ADM TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME CAPTAIN CRUNCH 4330 (26-18-1) 5 3 0 TECHNOLOGY SPOTTED PONY 3536 (0-0-0) 3 3 0 INDIANS FRESHMEN TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME MANUTE BOL 4233 (22-16-0) 15 1 0 LARGE LOSERS FRIED TWINKIE 4562 (34-23-0) 8 3 0 MORE NEW TEAMS 2 JOHN TYLER 4420 (22-4-0) 5 3 0 I'M HISTORY THE IMPECCABLE PIG 3818 (17-7-0) 0 2 0 JUST DON'T CARE APPRENTICES TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME PPUFFINGTON 4798 (0-0-0) 10 3 0 TONS OF CHEESE IAN 4737 (1-0-0) 8 3 0 I HEART BALLS CAT TOAD 4703 (0-0-0) 2 1 0 DEAD ARENA FELINES MUFFINGTON 4794 (1-0-0) 0 2 0 TONS OF CHEESE ROOKIES TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME LEIGHANN NICOLE 3605 (0-0-0) 1 3 0 JGW&TANGBABYNAMES BIZ... 4339 (0-0-0) 0 2 0 STEP TO IT, PUNK! DEAD CHALLENGERS TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME DOLPHIN LUNDGREN 3408 (10-10-0) 7 3 0 PARTY ANIMALS DEAD CHAMPIONS TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME BURNT OCHER 4322 (13-5-0) 0 2 0 CRAYOLA KILLERS DEAD ADEPTS TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME INSANITY 4625 (3-1-0) 6 3 0 MORE NEW TEAMS 2 DEAD INITIATES TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME BEER GEYSER 4563 (3-2-1) 2 3 0 MORE NEW TEAMS 2 DEAD APPRENTICES TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME FLUFFINGTON 4796 (0-0-0) 4 3 0 TONS OF CHEESE