DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 05/16/2007 Duedate: 05/29/2007 IAYE ARENA DM-30 TURN-549 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS CARDINAL ARIZPE LENPROS (145) (30-4645) [12-5-2,123] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader CARDINAL ARIZPE KESTRINA LENPROS (145) FIRE AND RUIN (453) (30-4645) [12-5-2,123] (30-4696) [1-1-0,16] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite QUEEN CHINEE DR TRINAIRE THE WARLOCKS (430) RED DOG GANG (356) (30-4588) [23-18-1,91] (30-4606) [16-16-0,80] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM LENPROS (145) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. LENPROS (145) 52 2. RED DOG GANG (356) 21 THE WARLOCKS (430) 3. THE A'S -- LOSERS II (431) 17 Unchartered Team 4. GAMEHENDGE (299) 3 5. RESCUE RANGERS II (385) 1 FIRE AND RUIN (453) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1- 2*RAGGED EDGE (454) 9 5 0 64.3 1/ 1 LENPROS (145) 11 3 1 2/ 3 THE WARLOCKS (430) 146 90 8 61.9 2/ 2 RED DOG GANG (356) 6 9 1 3/ 4 LENPROS (145) 947 609 27 60.9 3- 3*RAGGED EDGE (454) 5 3 0 4/ 6 THE A'S -- LOSERS (431) 185 160 6 53.6 4/ 5 GAMEHENDGE (299) 4 2 0 5/ 5 RESCUE RANGERS II (385) 16 14 2 53.3 5/ 6 THE A'S -- LOSERS (431) 4 2 0 6/ 8 GAMEHENDGE (299) 169 151 10 52.8 6/ 4 WORLDLY DECLINE (445) 4 5 0 7/ 7 WORLDLY DECLINE (445) 42 40 2 51.2 7/ 8*FIRE AND RUIN (453) 1 1 0 8/ 1*FIRE AND RUIN (453) 1 1 0 50.0 8/ 7 THE WARLOCKS (430) 1 2 0 9/11 RED DOG GANG (356) 490 666 11 42.4 9/ 9 RESCUE RANGERS II (385) 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[ Cities by the Shore #15 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + Between Point and Aruak City: Captain Tollisker kept them moving at a steady walk-trot-walk which chaffed Adie's nerves even as she recognized that it was going to give them the most distance covered in the least time. If they'd been able to count on changing horses, things would have been different, but since they couldn't.... They were arguably on the King's Business, cleaning up the mess Khaldren had made of the Clanholds, and they should be able to get spare horses from the royal posting stations. If there had been any horses to get. They passed two such stations between Point and Aruak City; one had been completely deserted and showing signs of vandalous attack, the other was doing duty as a farmhouse-and-fortress, and there were only two heavy plowhorses in the corral. Adie watched the countryside flow past as they rode and wondered how things had gotten so bad so quickly. Except, some of the damage done to buildings, bridges, roads, fields didn't look like quick work. Some had plainly been done the year before, or even longer ago, and never repaired. Even if he could not reach into the heart of the Clanholds at this time, the King should be doing something! What was he thinking to let things go like this? He was playing right into Khaldren's hands. "We'll have to talk to him," she muttered, glaring at another abandoned farmstead. "There are lots of people we'll have to talk to," Fandil answered. The old man sounded weary and grim. "It's figuring out what to do first that'll be the problem. The king, the clanlords...Lady Sheila? Other magicians and priests? Do we start working on the effects of the shapeshifter plague first, or tackle the political and governmental mess first, or--" "Or square off against Khaldren first," Adie said. "He's the root of the problem." When the old magician didn't answer immediately, she sighed. "I know Cho said we shouldn't act rashly against Khaldren, but we have to DO something and fast. And...Fandil, can we trust Cho?" "Trust his judgment in the matter of attacking Khaldren? Yes, no question about it." Another of those silences that she had come to know meant he was figuring out how to say something she might not want to hear. "Khaldren is the root of our current problems," he said finally. "But the real, deepest, original root is Lady Sheila, Adie." The sun priestess had several different reactions to that statement, and they whirled through her so quickly she couldn't decide which to pick first. Finally, she just said, "How is she a problem?" "How many days have we got to list the ways?" he asked. Then he swept the question away with a gesture. "Doesn't matter right now. Root or no, it's like the old saying, you know the one. How it's hard to remember, when you're up to your, ah, hips in alligators, that your initial objective was to drain the swamp. First things first, and we have to get to Aruak City and start killing alligators. Later for draining the swamp." "But not too much later," Adie said. *** ***** *** ***** *** They had stopped at sunset, still fifteen miles short of Aruak City. A farmhouse with hex signs painted over every door and window, a wary family, a watch kept through the night, on the way again at sunrise. Two more hours to the city. A wary city. The main gates were closed, with travelers being admitted one at a time through secondary gates after a careful scrutiny. Name, occupation, residence, reason for traveling, and do you have any local references? And when they got in, the mood of the city was...odd. Unexpected. Some wariness, yes, they'd expected that. But there was a bright, almost eager heedlessness, a hunger for violence near the surface, that was as shocking as the blood-splashes on the walls. "I wish Tollisker had come in with us, him and his twenty good men, instead of heading back to Point right away," Fandil muttered. "This is Aruak City," Adie protested. "The heart and soul of Andoria!" She flinched as an argument over the price of onions at a market booth erupted into blows, escalated to the use of clubs and daggers, spread like fire in dry grass across the market square, then faded out. Faded, except for half a dozen men and women limping and a body being dragged away down an alley. "What is WRONG with these people?" "Alligators," Fandil answered grimly. Point: The chosen tunnel descended steadily. Gissanniah could tell that from the way her legs ached, but she found it hard to judge the angle of the slope. Steeper than the fall of land between Point and Krael, she thought. Had they come far enough to actually be under the ruined city? She touched one wall. Wet stone. The other wall. She could touch them both at once. Even with Doc Circ's elixir she felt confined. Trapped. But the elixir prevented a full-blown attack of claustrophobia, so it was probably good. Another hundred-foot-marker knot slipped through her hands. The eighteenth one since they'd tied the rope near the entrance. Eighteen hundred feet...they hadn't gotten far, then. More than a quarter of a mile, less than a half, she didn't try to do the math in her head. The men in front of her came to a stop and bent over the map again. Why? There was no junction here. No sudden change in direction. When they stood close together, most of the light was blocked, leaving her in darkness. In darkness, the walls moved closer. She couldn't prove that they actually did squeeze in, but...she wasn't at all sure that they did not. There was all that weight of land overhead. Maybe the ceiling of the tunnel was being forced down. She breathed in and breathed out, filling her lungs and emptying them at a steady pace, counting, fighting the urge to hold her breath and listen for the walls coming closer, which she would not be able to hear, it would come silently when it did. Resisting the urge to breathe too fast as though in preparation for running. Running wouldn't help, anyway, there was nowhere to run to. What were they DOING that was taking so long? Why didn't they get moving again? Master Cho was feeling along the left-hand wall. The left side was sinister, wasn't it? Hadn't she heard it called the Lefthand Path when people did things the dark way? And Cho was strange, maybe even sinister, anyway: he was Adantri, and yet a magician. Everyone said there were no true Adantri magicians. Of course, he LOOKED Adantri, but-- The wall faded away under his hands, showing the tunnel angling off to the left and down more steeply. "This way," he said, his voice echoing. DUELMASTER'S COLUMN Notes from the arena champ. I'm so glad it's you, Lady! My favorite dancing partner, you know? The last waltz with you kind of thing. Me, I'm off to retirement, think I'll open a dancing school somewhere. Maybe in Lirith Kai. Bigfoots SPY REPORT Well, what are you looking at, IAYE? Ain't you never seen Snide Clemens before? Ah, shaddup and listen to my news. Of course, we're all terribly impressed to see EARTHQUAKE EXCUSE win a fight and gain 15 points, terribly. Tsk, tsk, EARTHQUAKE EXCUSE beat DR TRINAIRE and DR TRINAIRE lost 10 points. You're breakin' my heart. Looks like IAYE has some guts at least, BIGFOOTS the Duelmaster was this turn's most-challenged warrior. And if variety is the spice of life, IAYE may be getting bland, as BIGFOOTS stays top dog in the city. I'm not in a very good mood today, but why am I telling you this? You want to know what's new, don't you, IAYE? He who fights and runs away will live to fight another day, the coward. What's the big D? WORLDLY DECLINE was the most avoided team? Bunch of lily livered... grumble... mumble... curse... And who led the way in this mass act of cowardice? Let's see, well, whatcha know? It was LENPROS. Ha ha ha ha! I suspect either a 21 will or a 21 ego on this one, but DON FRANCIS has challenged up by 36 in an attempt against THE BOY KING. And The Dragon's Blood Inn has banned THE BOY KING from service until next turn for losing to DON FRANCIS and giving him 28 points in the process! Ha! Ah, now we come to my favorite part, where we see all the guys who are dead and gone, and get to see if their team cared. Titanium shields and bamboo daggers, guess what brave team is developing these kinds of weapons? What does the IAYE arena have in common with the inns? It's just as comfortable to sleep in either place. Ha ha ha ha! Just wait 'till next time I show up here, I won't be so nice! So nyaaah! I see the crowds are getting restless, I must leave now-- Snide Clemens DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME CARDINAL ARIZPE 4645 12 5 2 123 LENPROS (145) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME LADY HUNTSMAN 4579 26 10 0 104 LENPROS (145) DON FRANCIS 4619 6 3 0 100 LENPROS (145) GADGET 4528 10 9 1 96 RESCUE RANGERS II (385) POP IDOL 4617 13 10 0 93 WORLDLY DECLINE (445) QUEEN CHINEE 4588 23 18 1 91 THE WARLOCKS (430) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME EARTHQUAKE EXCUSE 4584 18 23 1 90 THE A'S -- LOSERS II (431) DR TRINAIRE 4606 16 16 0 80 RED DOG GANG (356) THE BOY KING 4615 14 9 1 77 WORLDLY DECLINE (445) CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME FENCE POST 4604 13 21 0 65 RED DOG GANG (356) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME SLEEPS ALL DAY 4603 9 9 1 56 GAMEHENDGE (299) OUT OF TIME 4681 9 3 0 55 GAMEHENDGE (299) KLINK 4647 10 8 0 53 THE A'S -- LOSERS II (431) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME IRISH CREAM 4654 6 9 0 33 RED DOG GANG (356) DUKE OF WHIRLPOOL 4704 3 1 0 26 LENPROS (145) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -CHELYE 4699 1 0 0 21 RAGGED EDGE (454) -CELL BLABBER 4616 3 3 0 19 WORLDLY DECLINE (445) WINDSONG 4702 1 4 1 16 RED DOG GANG (356) -DALE II 4025 1 0 1 16 RESCUE RANGERS II (385) KESTRINA 4696 1 1 0 16 FIRE AND RUIN (453) -SERRIS 4697 3 1 0 15 RAGGED EDGE (454) -QORK ORKKIN 4698 1 0 0 13 RAGGED EDGE (454) PRIVATE PERNA 4690 3 2 0 12 LENPROS (145) -FRENCH VETO 4618 1 6 0 9 WORLDLY DECLINE (445) -MODBLYE 4700 2 2 0 8 RAGGED EDGE (454) -WARG 4701 2 2 0 8 RAGGED EDGE (454) KID MEDICATION 4713 0 1 0 1 WORLDLY DECLINE (445) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? SHIFTYEYED VOLUNT 360 0 1 0 1 WINDSONG 4702 549 NONE ECK 4649 9 6 1 THE A'S -- LOSERS 431 CARDINAL ARIZPE 4645 546 LORD WALTON 4612 9 9 0 LENPROS 145 GADGET 4528 545 JUST REV PRINCESS DIANA 4614 11 11 1 WORLDLY DECLINE 445 CARDINAL ARIZPE 4645 548 PERSONAL ADS Oh, my! Not princess Diana?! I am so sorry for causing her death. Mea Culpa. I apologize to all The Worldly Decline team. -- Cardinal Arizpe (heading to confession/ reconciliation) Bigfoots -- What did you do? You don't love me any more? I am so hurt. -- Lady Huntsman (being rather melodramatic) Warg -- It took effort, but victory was mine, Big Guy. -- Duke Of Whirlpool Chelye -- You proved to be my better. Salute. -- Private Perna Congratulations to Lord Protector Bigfoots. -- Lenpro Fencepost -- It is true I am light of foot. One must be in my Family and my profession. -- Don Francis A fishing pole? Lord Walton would have relished that donation. Thank you Red Dog Gang. -- Lenpro Earthquake Excuse -- That never seems to work for me, so I just have to try harder. And you're helping, thanks for my now-winning record! -- Dr Trinaire P.S. I've probably jinxed it by noticing, but what the hey, I'll enjoy it while I can. Klink -- You're just too cold and metallic for me. -- Irish Cream Out of Time -- Story of my life, and then everything gets skimped together at the last minute, and people never see my BEST work at all. -- Fence Post P.S. I can TOO kill houseplants. EASILY. Serris -- Ouch! You ripped my shirt and caused runs in my stockings and just EVERYTHING torn. You're a menace. -- Windsong Don Francis -- It's what I do best. -- Fence Post 20 April 2007 All -- I've been...out of circulation for the last couple of months, and my lists are not up to date. If you've announced a manager name, a new alliance, or changed a manager name or alliance since the middle of February, let me know in the ads, via diplo, or in an e-mail (Sue (at) solberg-mathews (dot) com). For that matter, if you just want to make sure I've got things right, you can always do the same. -- The Saint, keeper of lists LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS LADY HUNTSMAN bested GADGET in a 2 minute master's Bloodfeud fight. POP IDOL lost to CARDINAL ARIZPE in a action packed 1 minute Bloodfeud Title battle. DON FRANCIS demolished THE BOY KING in a 1 minute uneven Challenge fight. BIGFOOTS bested QUEEN CHINEE in a exciting 1 minute veteran's fight. DR TRINAIRE was bested by EARTHQUAKE EXCUSE in a popular 3 minute expert's brawl. SLEEPS ALL DAY was luckily beaten by FENCE POST in a crowd pleasing 2 minute brawl. KLINK defeated IRISH CREAM in a action packed 2 minute melee. OUT OF TIME won victory over RUTHLESS JAYWALKER in a action packed 3 minute duel. KESTRINA was luckily beaten by DUKE OF WHIRLPOOL in a 2 minute gruesome duel. PRIVATE PERNA defeated KID MEDICATION in a action packed 1 minute novice's fight. WINDSONG executed SHIFTYEYED VOLUNTEER 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| |AIMED BLOW 4 PARRY-STRIKE 7 - 3 - 1 70 | |LUNGING ATTACK 4 BASHING ATTACK 13 - 7 - 3 65 | |TOTAL PARRY 3 TOTAL PARRY 24 - 14 - 0 63 | |WALL OF STEEL 3 SLASHING ATTACK 15 - 13 - 1 54 | |PARRY-LUNGE 2 STRIKING ATTACK 8 - 7 - 0 53 | |STRIKING ATTACK 1 PARRY-LUNGE 19 - 17 - 0 53 | |BASHING ATTACK 1 WALL OF STEEL 12 - 11 - 2 52 | |PARRY-STRIKE 1 AIMED BLOW 18 - 17 - 0 51 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 7 - 8 - 0 47 | |SLASHING ATTACK 0 LUNGING ATTACK 24 - 32 - 0 43 | Turn 549 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: PARRY-LUNGE 2 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 1 3 LUNGING ATTACK STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 2 TOTAL PARRY BASHING ATTACK 1 - 0 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 4 2 AIMED BLOW TOTAL PARRY 3 - 0 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 BASHING ATTACK WALL OF STEEL 2 - 1 1 WALL OF STEEL AIMED BLOW 2 - 2 1 PARRY-STRIKE 1 PARRY-LUNGE TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME BASHING ATTACK CARDINAL ARIZPE 4645 12 5 2 123 LENPROS (145) TOTAL PARRY LADY HUNTSMAN 4579 26 10 0 104 LENPROS (145) AIMED BLOW DON FRANCIS 4619 6 3 0 100 LENPROS (145) WALL OF STEEL GADGET 4528 10 9 1 96 RESCUE RANGERS II (385) LUNGING ATTACK POP IDOL 4617 13 10 0 93 WORLDLY DECLINE (445) PARRY-STRIKE QUEEN CHINEE 4588 23 18 1 91 THE WARLOCKS (430) PARRY-LUNGE KLINK 4647 10 8 0 53 THE A'S -- LOSERS II (431) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is QUEEN CHINEE 4588. The most popular warrior this turn was DR TRINAIRE 4606. The ten other most popular fighters were SLEEPS ALL DAY 4603, IRISH CREAM 4654, GADGET 4528, CARDINAL ARIZPE 4645, OUT OF TIME 4681, PRIVATE PERNA 4690, DON FRANCIS 4619, EARTHQUAKE EXCUSE 4584, KESTRINA 4696, and LADY HUNTSMAN 4579. The least popular fighter this week was KID MEDICATION 4713. The other ten least popular fighters were POP IDOL 4617, FENCE POST 4604, THE BOY KING 4615, WINDSONG 4702, DUKE OF WHIRLPOOL 4704, KLINK 4647, QUEEN CHINEE 4588, LADY HUNTSMAN 4579, KESTRINA 4696, and EARTHQUAKE EXCUSE 4584. The following warriors have traveled to AD after fighting this turn: BIGFOOTS (30-4512) RED DOG GANG (356)