DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 05/14/2008 Duedate: 05/27/2008 SOLVEN ARENA DM-22 TURN-586 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS JEROME KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) (22-6675) [18-2-0,137] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader JEROME POSITION IS EMPTY KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) (22-6675) [18-2-0,137] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite JEROME JEROME KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) (22-6675) [18-2-0,137] (22-6675) [18-2-0,137] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) 19 2. MIDDLE WAY 15 (747) 13 KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) 3. HOT WHEELS (686) 0 Unchartered Team MEDICAL BIOHAZARD 2 (658) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 1 KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) 456 220 17 67.5 1/ 1 KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) 10 5 1 2- 2 HOT WHEELS (686) 11 8 0 57.9 2/ 2 MIDDLE WAY 15 (747) 6 9 0 3/ 3 MIDDLE WAY 15 (747) 121 138 3 46.7 3- 3 HOT WHEELS (686) 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[ The Andorian Succession #5 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + Zorpunt: Lenpro watched the last of the gladiators leave, clearing the common room of the Krill Cavalry guildhouse for his conference with Fandil. They were probably decent people, but he didn't know them, and the situation did not incline him to trust any stranger. "It will be fine," Fandil said. "They won't go blabbing about our presence, and they won't hear anything that matters, anyway." He gestured, and a faint shimmer sprang up, form a hemisphere in the room, enclosing the two of them. "This will ensure that there are no eavesdroppers." After a moment, Lenpro shrugged. "Okay, it's what we've got to work with, anyway. Where do we start, then?" "With the king, I think. No one's heard seen him in... two or three years, at least, I think?" Lenpro nodded. "At least." "Nor heard anything that constitutes persuasive evidence that he is still alive, still functional, and concerned with his job." Lenpro nodded again, imapatiently. "I know all that. You know all that--" "Just making sure we both know that we both know," Fandil said. "Assumptions are the shifting sands under faulty planning. All the information we can gather indicates that the king has spent the past several years on the Isle, never leaving it. Anything official coming out of Andor is signed by Herlas d'Arenju, styling himself 'First Minister to the King'. He is said to be Fratsfan, but he isn't listed in the Fratsfan Register of Noble Houses and Scions." "Does that matter? That he isn't a nobleman?" "I don't suppose so, in itself. But I would like to find some indication of his background, somewhere. At this point," Fandil said, suddenly exasperated, "I can't even prove that he's Frastfan!" "Or that he's ill-intentioned," Lenpro added, scowling. "He could just be really stupid when it comes to running a government." "Or the front man for a committee," Fandil agreed. Lenpro nodded but brushed the issue aside. "Same thing. That isn't one of the core questions. Later, it might be important, but first," he paused to make sure he had Fandil's full attention, "the first question is, Do we believe that the true and proper king of Andoria is doing his proper job?" The two managers locked eyes over the scarred table. "No," they said simultaneously. "Okay, second question, is there anything we can do to bring the king back to the point of doing that job?" He waved one hand casually. "Setting aside the matter of whether or not we can get at the king. IF we can reach the king, do we believe he can be gotten back on the job?" A silence. A long silence. The clock against the guildhouse wall ticked, chimed, struck the hour, ticked on. Finally Fandil sighed. "No," he said again. "Not according to the little I've heard." Lenpro nodded again. "Third question: Does the king have recognized heirs?" "No. No one that any person has seen or heard of in years. The rumors..." the old mage shrugged, "they're said to have vanished from the Isle, probably into some other dimension. Regardless, they're gone." "Right, so we're talking about establishing a new royal line, or trying for some other form of government, but at the least, we're talking a rebellion." "If there's effectively no king--" "There's a bureaucracy, inefficient and corrupt as it is, which is the acknowledged legal channel of government," Lenpro said. "You think they're going to smile and say, 'Oh, what a good idea, we're behind you all the way!'? I don't. They'll fight." "No army to speak of." "Plenty of assassins, though." "I don't think one of the, ah, non-royal types of government would work in Andoria at this time," Fandil said. "I've seen them elsewhere, and people have to be prepared before they can accept such an order and make it work. But king-making... that's tricky." Lenpro smiled, for the first time since the meeting had begun. "We've got a perfect candidate ready to hand," he said. "The Fratsfan Emperor Alonj." The Isle of the Eye: "I will never eat fish again," Senator Sedalia muttered from under the cover of the tarp. "You won't need to," Gissanniah whispered back. "You're going to have as much trouble getting that smell out of your mustache as I will getting it of my hair." Sedalia's hand went automatically to his mustache, and he sighed. It was limp and untidy, in need of a wash, a trim, and fresh waxing. "It's a sacrifice," he agreed, "but a senator does what he must for his constituents." He sighed theatrically, teasing a smile out of his companion. It was part of his duty, after all, to keep her spirits up. "How much longer will we have to lie here waiting, I wonder?" Gissanniah raised her head just enough to peer through a crack in the side of the cart. "I don't see our driver anywhere," she said after a moment. "At least, he isn't on this side of the cart." Both gladiators listened for a moment to the sound of voices. Too far away for them to make out the words, their driver was talking to... someone. Not guards, this was no checkpoint, but someone. Stung by a sudden surmise, Sedalia glanced across at his companion. Gissanniah was looking toward him, eyes widening with the same thought. "He's betraying us," Sedalia said, certainty crystalizing as he said the words. "He promised he wouldn't tell any of the guards--" "He said nothing about not telling other people... who might carry word to the guards. Out, of here, now! Your side is probably the less observed." "Right." Gissanniah twitched up the tarp, peered out, then slid through the smallest possible opening. "Clear right now," she said. The senator followed. Good so far. The sides of the cart were so high that whoever was talking on the other side could not see them, and it was only thirty feet to the edge of the woods. Sedalia didn't know why Lady Sheila had decreed that most of the Isle was to be left wooded, but he was glad of it now. The two of them walked quietly on a straight line from the cart to the trees. No one tried to stop them, called out, no one appeared at all. Once they were under cover, Sedalia stopped and looked back. "That was too easy," he said. Zorpunt: "Alonj?" Fandil's eyebrows rose. "I have always undestood that he is simple- minded at best, possibly unstable." "You're out of touch," Lenpro said. "Lady Fern has been back in Fratsfa for some time now, and she's observed the government there closely. She says that he's 'sane, steady, decent, and of at least normal intelligence'--her theory is that he was manipulated by his regents and advisors to give the impression of incompetence." "And what's to stop them from being no better than the bureaucracy in Andor?" "His wife. According to Lady Fern, the Empress Kitiara is... very firm, very competent, very loyal, rather dangerous in her own right, and she's given Alonj three children already--two sons and a daughter." Andor: Herlas d'Arenju frowned at the Chief Scribe. "I don't know what you're playing at, Hesselbod, but I don't like what I'm seeing and hearing. A semblance of normality--you said this yourself--is essential to maintaining order. An increase in taxes and an edict of conscription to double the size of the standing army is not normality." The bureaucrat shrugged minimally, his face remaining blank. "There are increasing reports of trouble in the Karnhorn area," he said. "That makes an increase in the army and the taxes proper. If we later end up using them for other things, that's later." "Not very much later!" "The Aruaki have always been troublemakers," the scribe said. "Allowing them to settle here in the first place was the mistake. I merely propose that it's time to take corrective measures. This five-step program should do what is needful. First, close the border of the Clanholds--" "Easy to say, hard to do," Herlas countered. "Land and water both? And what of--" "You have described yourself as a magician," Hesselbod said. "Prove it now. Cage the beast-people as the first step in our campaign to exterminate them." SPY REPORT I was going on vacation, see? Surf, sun... But what do those bums say? "Hit the road, Debby Tonte. SOLVEN needs a spyreport." Oh, well. MVP award for JILIAN NORMAN? MIDDLE WAY 15's proud of her after beating TRUSTWORTHY SCRIBE and getting 21 points. Talk about yer major upsets! HOTL MUSCHEL's match with AMBITIOUS GUARD cost him a loss of 12 points! This Duelmaster is like something else! JEROME stopped DOLBY JOSSEL dead in his tracks! I hear the top team insists all their warriors get nine hours sleep. They want photogenic fighters for PR photos. Look, you guys stick to fighting, all right? HOT WHEELS was SOLVEN's most avoided team. Is there some award for that? Hhmph! What kind of warriors are KELLUMBO'S KIDS? HOT WHEELS, an easy team to beat if I ever saw one, can't get them to accept an invitation! What does a fighter fight for? I mean, the crowds don't give a hoot if someone gets killed. Not after four more fights. Like was that some Bloodfeud, or what? (CHUCKER ISTTA vs. LIPSTICK, that is.) What if they had a fight and nobody showed up? I'd be out of a job, that's what!!! I really didn't, you know, study when I was a kid. Who would've guessed I'd be a famous Spyreporter? I know how much you like reading this stuff, but I really should stop. I had a fun time, see you later-- Debby Tonte DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME JEROME 6675 18 2 0 137 KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DONDRIC 6694 11 3 1 100 KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) CHUCKER ISTTA 6619 19 33 0 97 MIDDLE WAY 15 (747) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DOLBY JOSSEL 6614 18 27 0 90 MIDDLE WAY 15 (747) -365 GTB4 6054 11 8 0 90 HOT WHEELS (686) LIPSTICK 6686 10 6 3 86 KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME CHAWLIE ISTTA 6688 9 8 1 40 MIDDLE WAY 15 (747) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME HOTL MUSCHEL 6707 5 2 0 32 MIDDLE WAY 15 (747) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME JILIAN NORMAN 6711 1 0 0 21 MIDDLE WAY 15 (747) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? BEAR 6709 0 1 0 KELLUMBO'S KIDS 676 SPYMASTER 586 NONE D RICH 6710 0 1 0 KELLUMBO'S KIDS 676 STONE GOLEM 586 NONE IO OLDEND 6673 11 10 1 MIDDLE WAY 15 747 LIPSTICK 6686 585 JUST REVENGED PERSONAL ADS Jackson -- I wave you farewell and turn quickly to fend off the jealous attacks of my teammate Chucker. Ouch! Enjoy the Isle. -- Dolby Jossel Dondric -- I just couldn't give you proper attention, what with being so bummed that Jackson is leaving. Why couldn't YOU leave, instead of her? -- Chucker Istta Lipstick -- That was a surprise, though I'm not sure why. You are a bloodthirsty cat. -- Ghost of Io Oldend A Visiting Orc? I didn't invite him. -- Hotl Muschel The Ambitious Guard's a joke. (puffing up with pride) Nowhere near as good as me. -- Chawlie Istta LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS D RICH was dealt death by STONE GOLEM in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight. BEAR was slaughtered by SPYMASTER in a 1 minute gruesome Dark Arena battle. JEROME savagely defeated DOLBY JOSSEL in a 2 minute expert's Title fight. DONDRIC overpowered KUNG-FU MASTER in a crowd pleasing 1 minute one-sided fight. CHUCKER ISTTA unbelievably bested LIPSTICK in a exciting 3 minute mismatched fight. CHAWLIE ISTTA was unbelievably bested by VISITING ORC in a 1 minute fight. HOTL MUSCHEL was vanquished by AMBITIOUS GUARD in a 1 minute uneven fight. JILIAN NORMAN vanquished TRUSTWORTHY SCRIBE in a 1 minute one-sided fight. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |BASHING ATTACK 3 WALL OF STEEL 1 - 0 - 0 100 | |LUNGING ATTACK 2 AIMED BLOW 3 - 0 - 0 100 | |TOTAL PARRY 2 LUNGING ATTACK 17 - 8 - 0 68 | |WALL OF STEEL 1 BASHING ATTACK 17 - 15 - 0 53 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 SLASHING ATTACK 10 - 10 - 2 50 | |SLASHING ATTACK 1 STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 3 - 1 40 | |AIMED BLOW 0 TOTAL PARRY 7 - 13 - 0 35 | |PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 - 0 0 | |PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 - 0 0 | |STRIKING ATTACK 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 | Turn 586 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: WALL OF STEEL 1 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 1 - 2 3 LUNGING ATTACK LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 1 AIMED BLOW 0 - 0 2 BASHING ATTACK TOTAL PARRY 1 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 TOTAL PARRY PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 1 SLASHING ATTACK PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 1 WALL OF STEEL SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 0 TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME BASHING ATTACK JEROME 6675 18 2 0 137 KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) LUNGING ATTACK DONDRIC 6694 11 3 1 100 KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) SLASHING ATTACK LIPSTICK 6686 10 6 3 86 KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is JEROME 6675. The most popular warrior this turn was JEROME 6675. The ten other most popular fighters were LIPSTICK 6686, CHAWLIE ISTTA 6688, DOLBY JOSSEL 6614, DONDRIC 6694, CHUCKER ISTTA 6619, JILIAN NORMAN 6711, D RICH 6710, BEAR 6709, HOTL MUSCHEL 6707, and 0. The least popular fighter this week was HOTL MUSCHEL 6707. The other ten least popular fighters were BEAR 6709, D RICH 6710, JILIAN NORMAN 6711, CHUCKER ISTTA 6619, DONDRIC 6694, DOLBY JOSSEL 6614, CHAWLIE ISTTA 6688, LIPSTICK 6686, JEROME 6675, and 0. The following warriors will travel to AD after next turn: JEROME (22-6675) KELLUMBO'S KIDS (676)