DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 04/21/2008 Duedate: 05/03/2008 ARDIVENT ARENA DM-46 TURN-525 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS CUTTER DEATHTONGUE (89) (46-3847) [13-7-0,112] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader CUTTER POSITION IS EMPTY DEATHTONGUE (89) (46-3847) [13-7-0,112] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite BERNICE MEMNOCK FANDILS (75) INFERNAL LORDS (8) (46-3996) [13-11-0,55] (46-3982) [14-14-1,66] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (74) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. FANDILS (75) 23 2. BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (74) 22 DEATHTONGUE (89) 3. DEATHTONGUE (89) 22 Unchartered Team 4. THE BEARS II (355) 13 5. THE ZEN ZONE (362) 8 CAMERAS:ACTION! (187) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 1 DEATHTONGUE (89) %1122 797 55 58.5 1/ 2 BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (74) 10 5 0 2/ 2 FANDILS (75) 910 672 31 57.5 2/ 3 INFERNAL LORDS (8) 8 1 0 3/ 3 INFERNAL LORDS (8) 236 200 14 54.1 3/ 5 DEATHTONGUE (89) 6 4 0 4/ 4 THE BEARS II (355) 37 40 4 48.1 4/ 1 THE BEARS II (355) 6 5 0 5/ 5 BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (74) 465 722 14 39.2 5/ 6 FANDILS (75) 3 5 0 6/ 6 THE ZEN ZONE (362) 28 58 2 32.6 6/ 4 THE ZEN ZONE (362) 3 10 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 #3 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + They walked down the street as though nothing bad was expected. It was hard to do, not to peer too closely into alleys and doorways, not to draw his sword and hold it at the ready. Not the hardest thing Sedalia had ever done, there had been-- Well, this wasn't the time to delve into the past. But not easy. It seemed to him that the White Tower had eyes that were boring into the back of his head, also. He wanted to turn and look, but did not. Again, not an easy thing. He huffed a laugh at his thoughts. When had things worth doing ever been easy? Gissanniah jabbed an elbow at him and hissed. Sedalia nodded slightly and moved his hand, casually, as though he wasn't thinking about it, to rest on the hilt of his sword. Without turning his head, he cataloged all the obstacles he could see. Trash cans and indistinct debris--the mist had thickened and might be hiding anything--an old couch with someone sleeping on it, something that might have been ancestral to a junkyard dog, lurking in an alley and breathing... flame? And, abruptly, half a dozen armed men. "Dacoits," Gissanniah said. She sounded disgusted. "Either of us could handle them alone, but why waste the time? You take the ones on the right, I'll get the ones on the left." "Works for me," the senator murmured. A sudden thrust, a sidestep and kick to the knee, slash and recover. "Nothing but daggers and clubs! Pointless--" "Then they must be meant to distract us from something worse," his companion countered, dealing with her own dacoits as easily. "A thrilling prospect I would be willing to forego." Sedalia wiped his sword blade clean on the shirt of one of his opponents and squinted into the fog. "What will it be, I wonder? Lord Protectors driven by their oath?" Gissanniah shrugged, inspected her own sword to make sure it was clean, and sheathed it. "It could be monsters," she said. "This whole place is rotten with magic, so I assume getting some monsters here would be easy." Reminded of the maybe-dog he'd seen earlier, Sedalia looked around. No sign of it now. Or of what he had thought was a body on the discarded couch. "Wasn't there someone on that--?" "Maybe, I don't remember, but if there was, well, I'm not surprised he left. Let's go down this side street. It doesn't look so obvious." "Certainly it would be the course of decision and good sense to leave," Sedalia said, "but I thought him dead. He looked dead." "Appearances can be deceiving, especially in a fog like this. Directions, too." Gissanniah hesitated, turning in place in search of landmarks at what had become an intersection of two streets. Sedalia motioned her to silence and pointed down one leg of the fork. Leaning close, he murmured directly into her ear, "I think the ferry is that way, but be as quiet as you can. I want to discover whether we're being followed." They walked quickly for what felt like half an hour, no sound but their footsteps disturbing the fog. No footsteps behind them. Sounds that might be the wind, except that there was no wind. A distant, anonymous murmur of city life. A bell tolling the hour. Somewhere ahead of them, the mournful foghorn whistle of the ferry. "Dagnabit. We're going to miss today's boat," Sedalia said. He was still speaking softly, but the absence of footsteps behind them was reassuring. "Would they even let us on it?" Gissanniah asked. "I seem to recall some kind of security measures--guards checking people on and off." "Blast it, you're right. I'd forgotten." Sedalia hesistated. It hadn't been age that made him forget. No, it couldn't have been. "I've had a lot on my mind," he said. "I suppose we might be able to bluff-- No, of course not. If they're looking for us, they'll have magic to help. But there are other boats on the Isle. I've seen them. An excursion barge, I remember taking a ride on that years ago. Fishing boats. We'll just have to--" "I was down on the waterfront yesterday afternoon, after we talked to that Master," Gissanniah said. "I did see a couple of boats, little ones, but they were tied to the dock, and people were talking about some kind of monsters being active in the lake." She paused as the narrow street they were on joined a wider one and looked carefully both ways. Jerked back, hissing. "Guards--some kind of City Watch, poking around into every doorway." "They may not be looking for us. Were I the Master of the White Tower, I would not want the situation--loyal Andorians not premitted to see the king!--made public." "He could've lied to them about why we're to be stopped," Gissanniah argued, looking back along their route for some alternate path. "And even if they aren't looking for us particularly, so what? There doesn't seem to be much of anybody else out right now, maybe us being here would be suspicious in itself." "Just a fountain of good cheer this morning, aren't you?" Sedalia muttered. "And guards or watchmen or whatever deemed capable of handling the populace of Talahya--such a high proportion of lord protectors... I wouldn't want to figght them if it could be avoided. Even if we won, there'd be delay. Publicity. Rumors." He shuddered. "If we do meet guards, can't avoid them," the senator said, "remember this--give me a chance to talk to them and I can tie them in knots." Gissanniah laughed. "I believe it! Look, this alley seems like it might go through." "Excellent! Lead me to it!" The two gladiators stopped in another alley, leaning on the wall and panting. Behind them, well behind, dogs barked. But other than dogs and City Guards, there had been no signs of life. "This is eerie," Gissanniah muttered. "I've always heard that Talahya is packed like fish in a tin, but we haven't seen ANYONE in the past couple of hours." "True. Many possibilities occur to me," Sedalia said. "All the way from 'Everyone's gone to the tourney' up to 'We've been shunted into a pocket universe without other inhabitants'. I could use some lunch," he added, "and a beer or two." He straightened away from the wall and dusted off his suit, which was the worse for fences climbed and alleys negotiated with more haste than care. "This is ridiculous." "Which part?" "Being trapped on the Isle. We can't get anywhere near the waterfront, much less the ferry dock. When did Talahya become a cage?" "Maybe it's been one all along and nobody noticed." The senator grunted skeptically. "Somebody would have noticed. This has to be recent." He straightened his tie. "We should keep moving. We might get lucky." "As if!" Gissanniah started to brush back her hair, then froze. "That might be it!" "What? Surely you don't think Debby Tonte can help us? A charming young lady, true, but not a practical person--" "Lirin Kiv--" "The arena has been closed." "Yes, I know, Free Blades is using it now. But I remember hearing that Lirin Kiv, the town, had its own ferry. Maybe it still does. Of course, it might be watched, too." "It won't hurt to look. We're accomplishing nothing here," Senator Sedalia said. * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * ---===ANDORIAN REGIONAL NEWS===--- Duelmasters ----------- DM 8 ARKERS (turn 294): LORD BYRON of SMITHSONIAN (Curator, mgr.) DM 11 ARUAK CITY (turn 591): CHIEF SITTING BULL of BULLDOGS (Kennelworth, mgr.) DM 14 TOBIR (turn 590): MOLYNEUX of OTAGO HIGHLANDERS (The Mun, mgr.) DM 22 SOLVEN (turn 583): 365 GTB4 of HOT WHEELS (Apex, mgr.) DM 24 ZORPUNT (turn 580): MITCHELL PAIGE of MEDAL OF HONOR A3 (The Anarchist, mgr.) DM 25 LYRATILAN (turn 579): KEG STAND of BARHOPPERS (Apex, mgr.) DM 26 CALEAM (turn 576): CAYLON MCCANN of STEEL CRUSADE (Cassius Calvata, mgr.) DM 30 IAYE (turn 572): WINDSONG of RED DOG GANG (Jorja, mgr.) DM 40 ZENSU (turn 542): ELDA MAINZ of BEYOND THE PALE (Jorja, mgr.) DM 41 KATI-TEI (turn 533): RAMBLING OX of WANDERERS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 46 ARDIVENT (turn 524): CUTTER of DEATHTONGUE (Technogeek, mgr.) DM 52 FRATSFA (turn 242): BYRON of SITTEES (Barnabas, mgr.) DM 63 AMEN-TEI (turn 426): ATRION of THE EXILED ONES (Darklock, mgr.) DM 71 KYR'TERR (turn 196): AYE OF THE NEEDLE of HAZAARDS OF CLONGING (Crip, mgr.) ADM 105 ANDORAK (turn 476): AXLY HIMSELF of GERFEL'S FRIENDS (Generalissimo Puerco) Top Teams --------- DM 8 ARKERS (turn 294): SMITHSONIAN (Curator, mgr.) DM 11 ARUAK CITY (turn 591): BULLDOGS (Kennelworth, mgr.) DM 14 TOBIR (turn 590): OTAGO HIGHLANDERS (The Mun, mgr.) DM 22 SOLVEN (turn 583): KELLUMBO'S KIDS (Detective Kellumbo, mgr.) DM 24 ZORPUNT (turn 580): KRILL CAVALRY (Jorja, mgr.) DM 25 LYRATILAN (turn 579): THE MIDDLE WAY 4 (Jorja, mgr.) DM 26 CALEAM (turn 576): ULTRA-VIOLENT (Deep Thought, mgr.) DM 30 IAYE (turn 572): RED DOG GANG (Jorja, mgr.) DM 40 ZENSU (turn 542): BEYOND THE PALE (Jorja, mgr.) DM 41 KATI-TEI (turn 533): TEMPLARZ HAMMERZ (Hammer, mgr.) DM 46 ARDIVENT (turn 524): THE BEARS II (Papa Bear, mgr.) DM 52 FRATSFA (turn 242): FLOWER GIRLS (Lady Fern, mgr.) DM 63 AMEN-TEI (turn 426): THE EXILED ONES (Darklock, mgr.) DM 71 KYR'TERR (turn 196): THE ZOO (Jorja, mgr.) ADM 105 ANDORAK (turn 476): SUPERIOR FORCES (Manager, mgr.) Recent Graduates ---------------- DM 11 ARUAK CITY (turn 591): SLEDGE of NEVERWAKE (Doc Steeke, mgr.) (turn 590): SELIA STORM of KRILL CAVALRY (Jorja, mgr.) SAFFRON SKUNK of ANIMAL FARM (Mino, mgr.) DM 14 TOBIR (turn 590): ABBOTT of OTAGO HIGHLANDERS (The Mun, mgr.) DM 24 ZORPUNT (turn 580): MITCHELL PAIGE of MEDAL OF HONOR A3 (The Anarchist, mgr.) DM 26 CALEAM (turn 576): UP-CHUCKY of STEEL CRUSADE (Cassius Calvata, mgr.) DM 24 ZORPUNT (turn 578): MANUEL PEREZ of MEDAL OF HONOR A3 (The Anarchist, mgr.) DM 30 IAYE (turn 571): DON FRANCIS of LENPROS (Lenpro, mgr.) JACK STRAW of THE WARLOCKS (Malaquar, mgr.) DM 46 ARDIVENT (turn 524): CADDO SCOT of BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (Jorja, mgr.) (turn 523): NIVIX of INFERNAL LORDS (DeGotti, mgr.) DM 52 FRATSFA (turn 242): PAS DE QUARTIER of BLOOD AND GUTS! (Le Pentarque, mgr.) DM 71 KYR'TERR (turn 196): I OF THE KNEE DOLL of HAZAARDS OF CLONGING (Crip, mgr.) DUELMASTER'S COLUMN Notes from the arena champ. Well, here I am, back in my good old home of Ardivent. Thanks all for letting Cutter be DM. :D Not much to say other than I'm glad to be back. Technogeek SPY REPORT Greetings warriors! It is I, Zontani Sharp Eyes, here to bring report of the clash and bustle of the weekly ARDIVENT games. Former top team THE BEARS II was unseated this week as BLUVALLEY WARRIORS moved up from 2nd ranking to take the top spot with a 4-1-0 record for the round. Did only my eyes note the 3-1-0 record which FANDILS managed to post this round? I don't doubt that such a record will draw challengers! BIG DAVE DIODE caught the eye of many in the gladiatorial commission as it skillfully bested JACINTHE and was awarded 18 points in recognition. In one of the week's more notable duels, HUGH KANT WYNN put down H.P., causing him to lose 11 points of recognition in the process. This time out MIKE MILLER made his bid for the throne as he challenged CUTTER in an all out contest of skill for possession of the title! Although MIKE MILLER made a valiant effort, it did not suffice to topple the reign of victorious CUTTER. Informants "close" to the city champion have told me that he never fights without pantyhose on beneath his armor. Watch out! I have been in deep conclave with my spies who watched all that has recently transpired. Indeed there is much I would report. I saw one fighter that warriors avoided when this week's challenge seeking began. DEATHTONGUE is feared. This much I can say. Apparently the stalwarts of THE BEARS II are catching the bulk of jests down at the challenging board for their large share of the avoids. Mighty fighters cannot but expect competition from those below. H.P. take warning! You have more than a few enemies in ARDIVENT. What warrior does not hone his years, impatiently waiting for the moment of his foe's mortality? Some say a warrior is judged by the way he bears arms. One thing is sure, better a dagger in hand then a sword on the belt! If it were not for my skills as a spy I would have been mugged three times already in ARDIVENT. Nice atmosphere you have here! More than a sharp eye must I keep, indeed a stout pair of legs must I keep as well! The endless paths of Alastari await me! Till next we meet remember - the pen is mightier than the sword, but a maul is a different story!-- Zontani Sharp Eyes DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME CUTTER 3847 13 7 0 112 DEATHTONGUE (89) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME BANNIR PARK 3981 20 14 0 92 BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (74) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DECKER COBB 3992 14 14 0 88 BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (74) MIKE MILLER 4006 13 10 0 86 FANDILS (75) -GODZILLA 3969 7 5 1 85 THE BEARS II (355) BIG DAVE DIODE 3821 18 14 0 83 DEATHTONGUE (89) JACINTHE 3892 11 49 0 82 BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (74) TEMPTATION 3314 10 9 1 73 INFERNAL LORDS (8) CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME MEMNOCK 3982 14 14 1 66 INFERNAL LORDS (8) -SHELLEY 4030 10 7 2 63 FANDILS (75) -EUROQ 3901 9 10 1 59 INFERNAL LORDS (8) TANK 4054 5 2 1 57 FANDILS (75) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME BERNICE 3996 13 11 0 55 FANDILS (75) DECEPTIVE DELILA 4021 7 10 0 50 THE ZEN ZONE (362) -IRONWOLF 274 5 1 0 42 BARBARIAN HORDE (47) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME BUNKER BETTY 4020 8 9 0 33 THE ZEN ZONE (362) HUGH KANT WYNN 4082 3 1 0 33 THE BEARS II (355) BIG DOPE 4074 2 0 0 28 DEATHTONGUE (89) SADIE 4062 3 0 1 25 FANDILS (75) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME ABBOL 4080 3 1 0 23 INFERNAL LORDS (8) -UG 271 4 2 1 19 BARBARIAN HORDE (47) SANDERSCOT 4061 4 5 0 19 BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (74) -KROKUS 272 4 2 0 19 BARBARIAN HORDE (47) -TARAMON 270 3 3 0 18 BARBARIAN HORDE (47) -WEASEL 273 4 2 0 15 BARBARIAN HORDE (47) PIG IRON 4088 1 0 0 12 THE ZEN ZONE (362) H.P. 4073 1 1 0 11 DEATHTONGUE (89) TWO JACKS 4077 2 2 1 10 THE ZEN ZONE (362) THE BLESSED 4083 2 2 0 8 THE BEARS II (355) SNARK 4066 1 2 0 5 DEATHTONGUE (89) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? TERROR BEAR 4055 5 4 1 THE BEARS II 355 STONE GOLEM 525 NONE CRAFTY 4085 1 2 0 THE ZEN ZONE 362 SPYMASTER 525 NONE PERSONAL ADS Nivix -- You showed me why you are a Champ, a DM, and a Lord Protector. Salute. -- Mike Miller Godzilla -- Where was Mothra when I needed her? -- Shelley Yeah, Jacinthe, I've met those Flower Girls over in Fratsfa. They surely do seem to enjoy life! -- Shelley Senator Sedalia -- Call on me any time for assistance. I've always enjoyed a good adventure. -- Fandil The Wise Uh, I cannot catch up with Deathtongue's w/l percentage with an "opher"! Nope. Humility is clearly at work! -- WOF Welcome back, Technogeek. Do you always create such a stir? -- Fandil The Wise Health. Humility. Honor. And luck in The Mailer. Bring home some honors to The Red Sands. -- WOF Mike Miller -- Valiant effort on your behalf! I wouldn't have wanted to fight anyone other then a Fandil on me last turn in Ardivent! Salute! -- Nivix Technogeek -- A hearty welcome back to you sir! -- DeGotti Wow a 3-0 turn with wins over Deathtongue & Fandil! I know I just jinxed myself but I couldn't help it! -- DeGotti Jacinthe -- I am just not too sure what you are going on about with this person or golem thingie! -- Nivix Memnock -- A devastating take-down, and "Herr Glare" is once again "Glaring." You know, I've noticed from my alley-suite that our alley gets particularly good gar-bage service, as...just when the trundlers are coming through, the troxies across the way are calling it a day. And, being in friendly spirits and casual grace/dress, teasingly inspire said comestible custodians to do their duty with such alacrity and vigor that as they leave it's obvious their good-natured what-the-heck demeanors show they'll be "inspired" for the balance of the morning. -- Deceptive Delila P.S. Thanks for asking. Hugh Kant Wynn -- You are misnamed. -- Sanderscot Oh, joy, the Kung-Fu Master. -- Caddo Scot Cutter -- (sulking) You could have taught me something! -- Jacinthe Big Dave Diode -- Think of me as, hmm, ah, something disruptive, anyway. -- Decker Cobb Khalhums Dwarf? I have nothing against a dwarf, if he's prepared to both lose and teach. -- Bannir Park Jondeaux -- 13 13 12 13 15 7 11 BS low/vlow. -- Caddo Scot P.S. But I have a massive charisma and trustworthiness. DeGotti -- If you think this arena is looking thin, take a glance at Zorpunt. -- Jorja LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS TERROR BEAR was barely slain by STONE GOLEM in a 4 minute bloody Dark Arena fight. CRAFTY was slaughtered by SPYMASTER in a 1 minute gruesome Dark Arena battle. MIKE MILLER was demolished by CUTTER in a 1 minute uneven Challenge Title fight. BIG DAVE DIODE devastated JACINTHE in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge contest. DECEPTIVE DELILA was defeated by MEMNOCK in a crowd pleasing 1 minute Challenge match. TWO JACKS was unbelievably bested by ABBOL in a 12 minute novice's Challenge duel. THE BLESSED was beaten by SANDERSCOT in a crowd pleasing 1 minute Challenge brawl. HUGH KANT WYNN overpowered H.P. in a 1 minute uneven Challenge melee. CADDO SCOT vanquished KHALHUMS DWARF in a 3 minute gory uneven duel. TEMPTATION lost to DECKER COBB in a popular 1 minute veteran's duel. BANNIR PARK beat VIRGINAL CONCUBINE in a popular 4 minute veteran's melee. BERNICE demolished BUNKER BETTY in a 1 minute mismatched match. TANK handily defeated RUTHLESS JAYWALKER in a 1 minute brutal one-sided contest. SADIE devastated SHIFTYEYED VOLUNTEER in a 1 minute mismatched bout. SNARK was overcome by PIG IRON in a popular 1 minute beginner's fight. BIG DOPE devastated TRUSTWORTHY SCRIBE in a 1 minute uneven duel. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |LUNGING ATTACK 5 TOTAL PARRY 15 - 6 - 1 71 | |SLASHING ATTACK 4 STRIKING ATTACK 24 - 12 - 1 67 | |BASHING ATTACK 4 BASHING ATTACK 22 - 17 - 3 56 | |WALL OF STEEL 4 SLASHING ATTACK 15 - 15 - 0 50 | |STRIKING ATTACK 3 LUNGING ATTACK 21 - 22 - 0 49 | |TOTAL PARRY 2 WALL OF STEEL 13 - 21 - 1 38 | |PARRY-STRIKE 2 PARRY-STRIKE 5 - 9 - 0 36 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 - 8 - 0 27 | |AIMED BLOW 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 1 - 0 0 | |PARRY-LUNGE 0 AIMED BLOW 0 - 6 - 0 0 | Turn 525 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: TOTAL PARRY 2 - 0 AIMED BLOW 0 - 0 3 LUNGING ATTACK SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 STRIKING ATTACK BASHING ATTACK 3 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 2 BASHING ATTACK STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 1 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 4 2 SLASHING ATTACK LUNGING ATTACK 3 - 2 1 TOTAL PARRY PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 1 1 WALL OF STEEL TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME STRIKING ATTACK CUTTER 3847 13 7 0 112 DEATHTONGUE (89) TOTAL PARRY BANNIR PARK 3981 20 14 0 92 BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (74) BASHING ATTACK MIKE MILLER 4006 13 10 0 86 FANDILS (75) SLASHING ATTACK BIG DAVE DIODE 3821 18 14 0 83 DEATHTONGUE (89) LUNGING ATTACK TEMPTATION 3314 10 9 1 73 INFERNAL LORDS (8) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is BERNICE 3996. The most popular warrior this turn was MEMNOCK 3982. The ten other most popular fighters were SANDERSCOT 4061, DECKER COBB 3992, HUGH KANT WYNN 4082, BERNICE 3996, PIG IRON 4088, CUTTER 3847, BIG DAVE DIODE 3821, TANK 4054, SADIE 4062, and BIG DOPE 4074. The least popular fighter this week was ABBOL 4080. The other ten least popular fighters were TWO JACKS 4077, BUNKER BETTY 4020, TEMPTATION 3314, H.P. 4073, DECEPTIVE DELILA 4021, JACINTHE 3892, MIKE MILLER 4006, CRAFTY 4085, SNARK 4066, and BANNIR PARK 3981. The following warriors have traveled to AD after fighting this turn: CADDO SCOT (46-3975) BLUVALLEY WARRIORS (74) THE STOMPING GROUNDS The new all-basher arena will be in Seam, DM 20. Only new teams (0FE) may participate. The only rule is that all of your warriors must be bashers. The first turn of the contest will be due on Monday, April 28. It will be a slow turn-around arena. If you wish to enter a team, please submit your new team and first turn strategies before then. Only one team per manager, please. This arena will stay open indefinitely, providing there is interest (i.e., this is not a contest that runs a set number of turns, although there are prizes scheduled after the first 15 rounds). For more information, see details in the first newsletter or on the forums. -- RSI Zeb Karan looked around the table at the rest of Dwes Eg's staff. Arenamasters, standby and Dark Arena warriors, stewards and infirmarians, even the maintenance crew. There was wine and beer on the side-table, even sandwiches, but no one was partaking. "Stop looking like your dog died," Lew Voth said. He had once been the arenamaster of Sentern and had taken his turns overseeing the fights in Dwes Eg. "We all knew this day would come. When are they closing us down?" "Immediately after the tourney, according to the information I was given." "Short notice," Jame Rinvar, another arenamaster commented. "No offense intended, these things just creep up on people. Tourneys make it worse, I suppose, all the new teams being entered." Zeb grimaced. "Some of the file cabinets have exploded from over-stuffing, you know, and it takes so long to run through all the registered gladiators to find those who are planning to fight on any given day that the day is OVER by the time we're ready to start." "Which is why they closed down Sentern, Cimmeriac, and Firehold," Lew pointed out. "This is the same thing all over again." "Cycles," Jame said. "Things happen, and then later they happen again. We live with it. And Dwes Eg did last for, what, eight and a half years before it reached the explosion point. That isn't bad. That's forever, speaking practically." "Eight or nine years is not forever--" "The only thing that's real is today, and maybe, up to a point, tomorrow. I don't see a problem with this. What are the new parameters, Zeb?" "Dwes Eg remains open, existing teams can run and can recruit new members. BUT, no new teams will be accepted. New teams will go into a new arena, DM 84, running its first turn on the seventh of May. A regular two-week cycle." "So Dwes Eg isn't actually being closed, just closed to new teams. Okay. This works," Jame said again. "Number 84... does this mean it'll be out at that Blackstone place? Rotten weather half the year, but I suppose you could say that about any site. What about regional allegiance?" "None specified in the data I received. Probably a personal-choice situation," Zeb said. "Transfers?" Lew asked. "I don't know about transfers IN," Zeb said, "but I'd guess yes, they would be allowed. No transfers OUT, though. None out of DM 82, for that matter. Once you're in 82 or 84, the only way out is death or graduation." "That fairly describes most arenas," Jame said. "Anyone who takes up the gladiatorial life has already accepted that."