DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 09/06/2005 Duedate: 09/19/2005
ZUKAL ARENA
DM-9 TURN-524
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
DEATH
DEATH SQUAD (20)
(9-3500) [19-13-4,88]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
DEATH HOMESTAR
DEATH SQUAD (20) HOMESTAR & CO (474)
(9-3500) [19-13-4,88] (9-5143) [6-1-1,51]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
DEATH COPY CAT
DEATH SQUAD (20) ARENA FELINES (433)
(9-3500) [19-13-4,88] (9-5151) [11-4-0,67]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
ARENA FELINES (433)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. DEATH SQUAD (20) 42
2. BLUE MOON (381) 33 ARENA FELINES (433)
3. HOMESTAR & CO (474) 16 Unchartered Team
4. ARENA FELINES (433) 13
5. KARNHORN KARNAGE (382) 13 HOMESTAR & CO (474)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1- 1*WOLF OF ANGBAND (478) 1 0 0 100 1/ 1 ARENA FELINES (433) 11 4 0
2/ 2*HOMESTAR & CO (474) 9 4 2 69.2 2/ 4 DEATH SQUAD (20) 5 1 2
3/ 3 ARENA FELINES (433) 168 105 12 61.5 3/ 7 BLUE MOON (381) 4 8 0
4/ 4 DEATH SQUAD (20) 634 525 68 54.7 4/ 2*HOMESTAR & CO (474) 3 1 1
5- 5 LETTER BOMBS (436) 105 100 8 51.2 5/ 6*KARNHORN KARNAGE (382) 2 4 0
6- 6 PHILANTHROPISTS II (446) 89 116 4 43.4 6- 3*WOLF OF ANGBAND (478) 1 0 0
7/ 7 BLUE MOON (381) 383 511 9 42.8 7- 5 LETTER BOMBS (436) 1 1 0
8/ 8*KARNHORN KARNAGE (382) 2 12 0 14.3 8- 8 PHILANTHROPISTS II (446) 0 2 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[ Old Secrets #3 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
The meeting had disintegrated after Karolvingar's melodramatic announcement, and
most of the Bandit Princes had gone home, or at least, had gone elsewhere. The demon
looked after them mournfully. "They don't believe me."
"No," Doreg said. He poured wine into the glasses of himself and Zrof, the only
two humans remaining, and offered the bottle to Karolvingar. "I don't know if you
drink wine?"
The demon accepted the bottle. "I have developed a taste for it," he admitted.
Examining the label, his long ears twitched. "An excellent vintage, I see!" He
selected an unused glass and poured it full of wine.
"I don't see how we can have a Chaos War," Doreg said as the demon drank.
"Neither do the others, and probably for the same reason. This is what the Grey
Witch is all about: preventing one. That's what the arena system is for, besides,
and we have an arena here, so--?" His tone invited Zrof to speak in his role as
arenamaster. "Is the decline in arena activity a sign of weakness on the part of the
Grey Witch?"
Zrof shrugged. "About the Witch, who knows? She's been keeping to Herself
lately. As to the decline in activity, who knows? Some people claim it's a sign of
Her strength, that she has all the Lord Protectors she needs."
"There are thousands of them," Doreg admitted.
"But not thousands she can call on. They're an independent lot, gladiators,
though you wouldn't think it when they meekly accept orders to step out onto the
sands and fight for their lives. But once they get to the Isle--or get INVITED to
the Isle, since many don't go--they get large notions of their own importance. They
have their own agendas, and they don't give much thought to Hers."
"She is very strong," Doreg said. "She broke Castle Midnight, after all."
Zrof smiled slightly. "Did she?"
"It's in the Chronicles--!"
"And if it's written down, it must be truth? There are other records than the
official chronicles," Zrof said, "and they tell the story from other angles--and with
other heroes and villains." The arenamaster transferred his one-eyed gaze to
Karolvingar, who had kept silence. "And it may be Castle Midnight that we need now?"
The demon nodded. "We need the true Bandit Prince of Zukal, the first and
greatest one. Not the one the Grey Witch holds prisoner, who is insane, or are both
insane, if he--they--are still split, but his father. The Demon Prince. If he still
lives and can be reached."
"A DEMON Prince of Zukal?" Doreg set down his wineglass as though it had become
a serpent that might bite him. "I never heard of--"
"Most people never heard of him," Zrof agreed. "It's very OLD history, dating
back before the most recent Chaos War, to the time at the end of the Chaos War before
that, before Alastari existed. Back when the Grey Witch was a young woman with a
dream." He paused, and his gaze weighed Doreg. "It isn't a story that should be
repeated. It isn't safe to know it."
The younger man drew himself up proudly. "I don't ask for what you don't want
to tell," he said. "Your word is enough for me to act on. But if you choose to tell
me this, know that I am a Bandit Prince of Zukal, and I can keep secrets."
Zrof One-Eye looked at him for a moment, then shrugged. "The first and greatest
Prince of Midnight is said to be, to have been, half-demon, half human," Zrof One-Eye
said. "I don't know the truth of that--he looked human, but even some full demons
do. Or it might have been an illusion."
"Or he might have BEEN fully human," Doreg said.
Zrof nodded and poured more wine into his glass. "He could have been human,
simply distinguished by his ability to control demons. About that ability, there is
no doubt, and we are all grateful that the later Bandit Prince, the one Greywand
holds in her prison, does not have it. He--or the demons under his command, I
suppose--built Castle Midnight here when Zukal was nothing but rubble and refugees at
the end of that earlier Chaos War--"
"Which would be what, three thousand years ago? Three thousand five hundred?"
"Longer, Doreg. I'm...I believe it was longer than that." The arenamaster
frowned into his wine, then shrugged. "I don't suppose it matters."
"So this...Demon Prince was the 'Father of Zukal', so to speak?"
"Yes. Literally, too--he was a very active man."
"And a demon-master," Karolvingar said. Doreg twitched at his comment, having
almost forgotten the Roving Demon's presence. "I do not necessarily like the idea of
calling on a demon-master, you understand, but sometimes one must do unpleasant
things in the interests of survival."
It was Doreg's turn to frown. "You actually think we can get this Demon Prince,
himself, after thousands of years, to come to the aid of Zukal?" He looked at
Karolvingar uneasily. "Are demons immortal? I, uh, never thought to ask...."
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
Death shook his head and then rotated his neck until the crackling stopped. A
full stretch along his back turned out much the same way, with a gyration of
shoulders, hips, and torso that elicited a louder series of popping joints than had
his neck.
He hated hibernation. Grave Mistake called it something else, but sleeping for
a dozen years felt more like death. The other death, not him. He felt sick and
ravenous all at the same time. Cold skin and stiff muscles made him rather
miserable. He hated Grave Mistake for putting him in hibernation and he hated
Epitaph for ordering it. In fact, he hated everyone. Since he normally felt that
way he decided that he must be all right.
A couple minutes of stretching exercises worked out a good deal of the
stiffness. Grave Mistake came by and gave him a potion. It tasted like mint candy
mixed with dirt. A few minutes later the nausea subsided.
Death decided to eat first and then he would work out before his match this
afternoon. The food tasted like dirty mint. The water tasted like muddy mint. Even
the air smelled faintly of mint. He hated mint.
Rather than focus on the minty-ness of all things he brooded over his Lord
Mistress's decision to mothball the team for so long. Apparently there had been a
flare up of clan conflicts back home. The original Death Squad had returned to
Faerhso to quell the opposition and secure their holdings once more.
What Death didn't understand is why they hadn't take him. He was an assassin.
He would have liked to have slid a blade between a few ribs and feel the warm blood
of his victims pump out. They must have their reasons for leaving him behind.
Few hours later the call came. It was time for his match. He grabbed his
dueling equipment and headed out on the sands.
His opponent came out equipped similar to him. Good, this would be an
interesting match; fast and deadly. As the official readied the warriors, he noticed
his opponent held his weapon oddly. If the warrior hoped to get the jump on him or
lay him out with a vicious attack his stance was wrong.
It took three minutes, but Death beat the unorthodox warrior. He kicked sand on
his inert body and walked to the victory stand.
"I officially announce the return of the Death Squad. I hope you all die."
SPY REPORT
I was going on vacation, see? Surf, sun... But what do those bums say? "Hit
the road, Debby Tonte. ZUKAL needs a spyreport." Oh, well. The guys at BLUE MOON
like really pulled together to get a 4-1-0 this turn, moving up by 4. What was the
name of that team who got 4-1-2 this turn for a total 634-525-68 you ask? (Sure)
DEATH SQUAD's their name, and fighting's their game! MVP award for CAT-FU? ARENA
FELINES' proud of him after beating DANGEROUS CRIMINAL and getting 18 points. Talk
about yer big time losers! MAINE COON got smashed by BLOOD SUGAR BABY, and lost 2
points! This Duelmaster is like something else! DEATH stopped KUNG-FU MASTER dead
in his tracks! Who was the wiseguy that said ZUKAL's Duelmaster was paying for
drinks at The Blue Boar Inn? Don't look at me!
Look, you guys stick to fighting, all right? ARENA FELINES was ZUKAL's most
avoided team. Is there some award for that? I don't know what DEATH SQUAD's been
doing. They certainly haven't been accepting many fights from ARENA FELINES, that's
fer sher. Can BLUE MOON's BLUE HAVEN be more popular than me? He was challenged the
most, but is that really the same?
Man, all these warriors dying and killing each other! Don't you guys ever give
it a break? D'ya think HOMESTAR is feeling guilty for killing ARENA FELINES' TUNA
BREATH, a mere boy? Naah, I doubt it. Hey you guys, don't you think your families
would like to hear from you? Write! (Or have someone write for you.)
I really didn't, you know, study when I was a kid. Who would've guessed I'd be
a famous Spyreporter? I gotta leave. ZUKAL is like such a dump, and you guys smell
too much! I had a fun time, see you later-- Debby Tonte
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DEATH 3500 19 13 4 88 DEATH SQUAD (20)
CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BLUE HAVEN 5087 19 16 0 81 BLUE MOON (381)
COPY CAT 5151 11 4 0 67 ARENA FELINES (433)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
PUSS 5184 7 0 1 64 ARENA FELINES (433)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-FEBLES 4821 8 5 0 55 PHILANTHROPISTS II (446)
CAT-FU 5180 6 1 0 55 ARENA FELINES (433)
HOMESTAR 5143 6 1 1 51 HOMESTAR & CO (474)
-E. LECTER 5158 3 0 0 44 LETTER BOMBS (436)
AZURITA 5124 9 11 0 38 BLUE MOON (381)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
STEELE 5171 5 5 0 23 BLUE MOON (381)
BLOOD SUGAR BABY 4605 1 1 0 17 KARNHORN KARNAGE (382)
STRONG BAD 5140 1 1 0 16 HOMESTAR & CO (474)
RETRIBUTION 5206 1 0 1 14 DEATH SQUAD (20)
-DRAUGLUIN 5190 1 0 0 13 WOLF OF ANGBAND (478)
SLAUGHTER HOUSE 5205 1 0 0 13 DEATH SQUAD (20)
FATALITY 5207 1 0 1 12 DEATH SQUAD (20)
-COACH Z 5141 1 1 1 10 HOMESTAR & CO (474)
BLUETTE 5211 1 0 0 10 BLUE MOON (381)
-EXPENDABLE YOUTH 4200 1 0 0 9 KARNHORN KARNAGE (382)
TRUE BLUE 5203 1 1 0 8 BLUE MOON (381)
-TROGDOR 5142 1 1 0 8 HOMESTAR & CO (474)
PREMATURE BURIAL 4206 0 2 0 6 KARNHORN KARNAGE (382)
MAINE COON 5202 1 1 0 4 ARENA FELINES (433)
GUILLOTINE 5204 0 1 0 1 DEATH SQUAD (20)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
CONVICTED THIEF 604 0 1 0 1 RETRIBUTION 5206 524 NONE
PERSISTENT BEGGAR 607 0 1 0 1 FATALITY 5207 524 NONE
TUNA BREATH 5169 4 3 0 ARENA FELINES 433 HOMESTAR 5143 524
PERSONAL ADS
Death -- Yes, well, I'm glad you didn't live up to your name! -- Blue Haven
P.S. Somehow, I thought you'd be taller.
P.P.S. But maybe you're only taller when you actually come for someone?
E. Lecter -- I didn't get a vote on that! -- Azurita
Homestar -- That didn't like very welcoming and homelike to me. I think you're doing
something wrong. You should probably come out wearing an apron instead of armor,
carrying a cup of coffee and a pair of fleece-lined slippers. -- Steele
Expendable Youth -- Wow, they told me dwarves have been getting mean lately, but I
had no idea! -- True Blue
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
COPY CAT was bested by BLUE HAVEN in a crowd pleasing 4 minute Challenge fight.
STRONG BAD lost to STEELE in a 2 minute gruesome Challenge battle.
PREMATURE BURIAL was luckily beaten by TRUE BLUE in a 2 minute Challenge fight.
DEATH viciously subdued KUNG-FU MASTER in a 2 minute brutal one-sided Title fight.
PUSS devastated AZURITA in a 1 minute uneven brawl.
HOMESTAR assassinated TUNA BREATH in a 2 minute bloody one-sided struggle.
CAT-FU handily defeated DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a action packed 1 minute uneven fight.
BLOOD SUGAR BABY vanquished MAINE COON in a 2 minute uneven duel.
GUILLOTINE was overpowered by BLUETTE in a 1 minute uneven duel.
SLAUGHTER HOUSE overpowered CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
RETRIBUTION easily killed CONVICTED THIEF in a 2 minute one-sided bout.
FATALITY killed PERSISTENT BEGGAR in a 3 minute amateur's match.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|WALL OF STEEL 3 WALL OF STEEL 6 - 4 - 0 60 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 3 STRIKING ATTACK 18 - 12 - 2 60 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 3 LUNGING ATTACK 13 - 9 - 2 59 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE 11 - 9 - 1 55 |
|AIMED BLOW 2 AIMED BLOW 10 - 9 - 0 53 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 2 TOTAL PARRY 7 - 7 - 0 50 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 PARRY-LUNGE 6 - 7 - 1 46 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 SLASHING ATTACK 10 - 15 - 0 40 |
|BASHING ATTACK 1 BASHING ATTACK 3 - 7 - 0 30 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 524 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:
SLASHING ATTACK 2 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 2 3 LUNGING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 AIMED BLOW
WALL OF STEEL 3 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 TOTAL PARRY
LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 1 STRIKING ATTACK
PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 1 1 PARRY-LUNGE
PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 1 1 SLASHING ATTACK
1 WALL OF STEEL
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
LUNGING ATTACK DEATH 3500 19 13 4 88 DEATH SQUAD (20)
TOTAL PARRY BLUE HAVEN 5087 19 16 0 81 BLUE MOON (381)
PARRY-RIPOSTE COPY CAT 5151 11 4 0 67 ARENA FELINES (433)
STRIKING ATTACK PUSS 5184 7 0 1 64 ARENA FELINES (433)
AIMED BLOW CAT-FU 5180 6 1 0 55 ARENA FELINES (433)
PARRY-LUNGE HOMESTAR 5143 6 1 1 51 HOMESTAR & CO (474)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is DEATH 3500. The most popular warrior this turn was
COPY CAT 5151. The ten other most popular fighters were DEATH 3500, BLUE HAVEN 5087,
STRONG BAD 5140, STEELE 5171, MAINE COON 5202, FATALITY 5207, HOMESTAR 5143, CAT-FU
5180, PREMATURE BURIAL 4206, and TRUE BLUE 5203.
The least popular fighter this week was AZURITA 5124. The other ten least popular
fighters were RETRIBUTION 5206, SLAUGHTER HOUSE 5205, GUILLOTINE 5204, TUNA BREATH
5169, BLUETTE 5211, BLOOD SUGAR BABY 4605, PUSS 5184, TRUE BLUE 5203, PREMATURE
BURIAL 4206, and CAT-FU 5180.