DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 09/08/2005    Duedate: 09/21/2005

ROCANIS ARENA

DM-56    TURN-385

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

KID QUICK
PUNCH-OUT! (411)
(56-3846) [15-5-2,127]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

KID QUICK                      POSITION IS EMPTY
PUNCH-OUT! (411)               
(56-3846) [15-5-2,127]         

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

GLASS JOE                      PRIVET
PUNCH-OUT! (411)               BAD APPLES (187)
(56-3847) [13-6-0,95]          (56-3867) [12-6-0,58]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

REDHORSE (207)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. PUNCH-OUT! (411)            31
2. BAD APPLES (187)            25      PUNCH-OUT! (411)
3. REDHORSE (207)               7      Unchartered Team
4. TOOLS OF TORMENT (407)       0
5. YIELD (405)                  0      GRIM ALIENATION (135)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1 PUNCH-OUT! (411)          50  22  5 69.4   1/ 2 REDHORSE (207)            7  5 0
 2- 2 TOOLS OF TORMENT (407)    31  19  1 62.0   2/ 3 BAD APPLES (187)          7  6 0
 3- 3*BLACKENED PRIDE (409)      4   4  0 50.0   3/ 1 PUNCH-OUT! (411)          5  1 0
 4- 4 YIELD (405)               19  21  3 47.5   4- 4 TOOLS OF TORMENT (407)    1  0 0
 5/ 5 REDHORSE (207)           435 483 15 47.4   5- 5 YIELD (405)               0  2 0
 6/ 6 BAD APPLES (187)         366 506 14 42.0   6- 6*BLACKENED PRIDE (409)     0  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[ The Black Sword #2 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +

Jhans:

     Barudai the Rirorni moved sideways until he could put one shoulder against all
that remained of his shelter.  From here he could watch the tunnel that had appeared
in the hillside behind him and the wall of water that fell from the sky in front.
The tunnel beckoned with dryness and warmth, but he was not such a fool as trust
himself to a magical passage.  It was bound to be a trap.  Better to run out into the
storm than to venture into the depths of the hill.
     A disturbance in the glassy smoothness of the falling rain claimed his full
attention.  A man stepped through it, gaunt, clad in a few rain-soaked ribbons and
draggled feathers, clutching a deeply carved staff.  His face and body were tattooed
with the symbols that marked him as a dark shaman, a follower of Mytori.  The priests
of Mytori had spells that could overpower the most accomplished swordsman, but
Barudai raised his sword anyway, prepared to sell his life as dearly as he could.
     The shaman never looked at him.  The burning eyes were fixed on the tunnel, the
thin-lipped mouth stretched wide in the smile of a man who sees his dearest wish made
real in front of him.  The shaman prostrated himself at the entrance to the tunnel,
began to chant, rose and entered it.
     Which meant that Barudai could escape his pursuer, but he was not as happy about
that as he had expected to be.  Whatever the shaman thought to find down there could
not be good news for the ordinary people of the plains.
     The tunnel closed behind the shaman, and Barudai the Rirorni was glad to see
that, even though his horse had vanished with it.  Better to be on foot, better to be
caught in the heart of the storm, than to have stepped into that trap.  And far
better to survive to take the warning to Rocanis where the shamans were gathered than
that the renegade fall upon the tribes and the cities of southern Alastari without
warning.

Rocanis:

     For a bunch of shamans who would be needing all the help they could get to deal
with a major menace, Ghost Dancer thought they looked truculent.  Even hostile.
Nobody actually said out loud that the problem was all Uncle Wolf's fault, but you
could tell they were thinking it.
     Bluesnake, chief shaman of the Saargedai tribe, scowled at Wolf.  His
combination of body-paint and tattoos made this an alarming sight.  "You made good
time.  We just sent the message to Morya."  His look of annoyance deepened to
suspicion.  "And the word we're getting is that everyone ELSE is finding the Spirit
Land closed to travel."
     Wolf looked back at him calmly.  You couldn't tell from his expression that he
distrusted the Saarda.  "Your message must have missed me," he said.  "I was already
coming here for other reasons."
     Bluesnake smiled, baring incisors that had been filed to points and abnormally
long canines.  "Then we won't keep you from your other business--"
     "The good of the Maengedai will always be my first business," Wolf assured him.
He glanced at the other shamans.  "What is the news, Windrider?"
     The young shaman of the Vonsogedai shrugged, causing the feathers on his
bandolier to flutter.  "What you warned us of," he said.  "Everyone has been dreaming
of the Black Sword lately.  I have dreamed it myself, and it is...bad."
     "Mind you, we're not SURE yet," another shaman said.  Rain Caller was his name,
of the Haimgedai, an old man in an embroidered cape sewn with rows of tiny steel
chimes.  "We've sent scouts--"
     "Very wise," Wolf said, cutting across the beginning of Bluesnake's derisive
laugh.
     "What's the use of holding meetings?" another man asked.  He was wearing an
incongruous robe of silk, and his complexion was more golden than typical Rirorni
bronze.  Probably from one of the semi-civilized tribes of the Rithakar area.
"Mytori is a GOD.  No mortal can overcome a god's will."
     "This is true," Wolf said, cutting off the comment Bluesnake was about to utter.
"And no group of a hundred shamans, however united in purpose they might be, could
overcome a god--save by the aid of another god, and at the cost of their own lives.
But Mytori must work through a human tool, and THAT we can fight and destroy."
     Bluesnake made an abrupt gesture, cutting off the buzz of comment that followed
Wolf's statement.  "We can fight it, if we're fools," he said.  "The Black Sword is a
tool?  Well and good.  WE can seize the tool and use it for the good of all Rirorni!
After all, was it not YOU, Wolf, who said that a tool is just a tool, and it is the
intent of the wielder that decides whether it is good or ill?"
     "I may be a fool, Bluesnake, or perhaps not," Wolf answered.  "But I know full
well--as you do--that only one man may wield a Black Sword.  It is not the tool for a
committee.  And even a tool, if consecrated to a god, will have a bias in it to bend
the wielder to the god's will.  Mytori is not concerned with 'the good of all
Rirorni' any more than you are."
     "Words!  Just words--meant to mislead!  You will take the Sword into your own
hand, will you?  Wield it for YOUR ends?  Who are you to judge the interests of the
Saargedai, the Vonsogedai, or any other tribe?  I say we seize the Sword and use it
to make the Rirorni great, to cast down those who have spurned us and warred on us
for generations!"  He turned to the assembled shamans.  "Will you listen to this fool
who wants to DESTROY the most powerful tool that has come into Rirorni hands in
centuries?  Or to me, who says that power comes to those who will use it?  One who
says that WE should use this Sword?"
     Comment and argument erupted among the shamans, who broke down into clusters,
becoming more heated by the moment.
     "That's torn it," Wolf said quietly.

                                      SPY REPORT

     If you were disturbed from your beauty rest only to have to watch a bunch of 
ROCANIS brutes like you, you'd be grouchy, too.  Later days, PUNCH-OUT!, since 
REDHORSE took top team from you this turn, you guys are old news.  Of course, we're 
all terribly impressed to see GLASS JOE win a fight and gain 19 points, terribly.  
Tsk, tsk, GLASS JOE beat BITTER VETCH and BITTER VETCH lost 5 points.  You're 
breakin' my heart.  And if variety is the spice of life, ROCANIS may be getting 
bland, as KID QUICK stays top dog in the city.  Kickbacks and bribes, kickbacks and 
bribes, how else do you think some of these guys win their fights?  Skill?  Ha!   
     My mother always told me, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, start 
talking.' I loved that woman.   
     Death and Taxes.  The less death I see, the more it taxes my patience.  Let's 
see if anyone's dead or dying.  Titanium shields and bamboo daggers, guess what brave 
team is developing these kinds of weapons?   
     I was about to buy a new quill pen the other day, but some fighter took it for 
an epee.  Forgive me for writing with a dagger.  Just wait 'till next time I show up 
here, I won't be so nice!  So nyaaah!  Paste this one in your scrapbooks, you'll need 
the kindling come this winter-- Snide Clemens  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 KID QUICK 3846               15   5  2   127       PUNCH-OUT! (411)

CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 GLASS JOE 3847               13   6  0    95       PUNCH-OUT! (411)
 PRONGHRON 3852               14   8  1    94       REDHORSE (207)
 SHANKS PONY 3854             11  11  0    93       REDHORSE (207)

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 BITTER VETCH 3762            19  29  0    86       BAD APPLES (187)
-WISHLIST 3816                 7   6  0    77       YIELD (405)

CHALLENGER ADEPTS              W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-BALD BULL 3843                9   2  1    61       PUNCH-OUT! (411)
 PRIVET 3867                  12   6  0    58       BAD APPLES (187)
-CONTRABAND 3827               7   1  3    57       YIELD (405)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 PIEFACE 3875                  7   8  0    54       BAD APPLES (187)
-MR. SANDMAN 3844              6   5  1    51       PUNCH-OUT! (411)
 YUL 3868                      9   8  0    47       REDHORSE (207)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 EATS GRASS 3853              11  11  0    44       REDHORSE (207)

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 LARGE DOG 3848                4  21  0    33       BAD APPLES (187)
-CAUTION 3821                  3   2  0    33       YIELD (405)
-KING HIPPO 3845               7   4  1    28       PUNCH-OUT! (411)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 JONNA THANE 3903              1   0  0    13       BAD APPLES (187)
-CIRITH UNGOL 3842             3   3  0    12       BLACKENED PRIDE (409)
-DIRTY FRANK 3780              1   3  0    10       YIELD (405)

'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.

THE DEAD               W  L K TEAM NAME             SLAIN BY             TURN Revenge?

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Glass Joe -- I don't know how I helped you learn three skills by lying on the sand
getting cut to doll rags. -- Shanks Pony

Hey, the Rocani Turncoat is a Convincian.  Aren't Convincians those peaceful Andorian
farmers from up north?  Is she a real prisoner of war, or what? -- Pronghorn

Privet -- It all boiled down to who could take more punishment.  You are a tough
warrior. -- Yul

Large Dog -- Why do we keep getting matched up?  People just can't resist making
jokes about how our warrior names make a headline. -- Eats Grass

Scribe -- Your story is a good beginning.  I look forward to seeing more of it. --
manager of Redhorse

Contraband -- One could work out an amusing folk etymology for your name, but I think
not tonight.  Tonight I need to keep my mind on other things.  What other things, I
don't know, there may have been a few too many beers already.  But it'll come to me.
-- Bitter Vetch

Yul -- Your life really IS worthless, you know!  Totally without redeeming qualities.
-- Privet
P.S.  Because of your hair and MOCK those who have trouble growing it.

Eats Grass -- It'll give you the runs. -- Large Dog

A pie in the face for THAT Rirorni Thug! -- Pieface
P.S.  He isn't even Rirorni!  I've heard that many arenas are running out of dwarves
and having to substitute members of other races, but to run out of Rirorni is a
surprise.

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

KID QUICK devastated SHANKS PONY in a 1 minute mismatched Title fight.
BITTER VETCH was vanquished by GLASS JOE in a exciting 1 minute uneven battle.
PRONGHRON overpowered ROCANI TURNCOAT in a crowd pleasing 1 minute mismatched duel.
PIEFACE overpowered RIRORNI THUG in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
PRIVET bested EATS GRASS in a action packed 5 minute brawl.
YUL overpowered LARGE DOG in a 1 minute one-sided struggle.
JONNA THANE devastated RIRORNI ARCHER in a 1 minute one-sided competition.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|LUNGING ATTACK                   4         WALL OF STEEL      1 -   0 -  0     100  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     1         TOTAL PARRY       14 -   5 -  1      74  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   1         LUNGING ATTACK    36 -  19 -  2      65  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    1         PARRY-STRIKE       6 -   4 -  0      60  |
|AIMED BLOW                       1         PARRY-RIPOSTE      3 -   2 -  0      60  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      1         SLASHING ATTACK    3 -   2 -  0      60  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  1         STRIKING ATTACK    7 -   7 -  0      50  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      1         BASHING ATTACK     5 -   5 -  0      50  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    0         AIMED BLOW         1 -   9 -  0      10  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  0         PARRY-LUNGE        1 -  12 -  0       8  |

Turn 385 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-STRIKE       1 -  0     AIMED BLOW         0 -  1         4  LUNGING ATTACK 
LUNGING ATTACK     4 -  0     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  1         3  SLASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK     1 -  0     PARRY-RIPOSTE      0 -  0         1  STRIKING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL      1 -  0     SLASHING ATTACK    0 -  0         1  AIMED BLOW     
                              STRIKING ATTACK    0 -  1         1  PARRY-STRIKE   
                              TOTAL PARRY        0 -  1         1  BASHING ATTACK 

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
LUNGING ATTACK   KID QUICK 3846             15   5  2  127 PUNCH-OUT! (411)
PARRY-STRIKE     PRIVET 3867                12   6  0   58 BAD APPLES (187)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is GLASS JOE 3847.  The most popular warrior this turn 
was PRIVET 3867.  The ten other most popular fighters were GLASS JOE 3847, KID QUICK 
3846, PRONGHRON 3852, PIEFACE 3875, YUL 3868, EATS GRASS 3853, JONNA THANE 3903, 
SHANKS PONY 3854, BITTER VETCH 3762, and LARGE DOG 3848.

The least popular fighter this week was LARGE DOG 3848.  The other ten least popular 
fighters were BITTER VETCH 3762, SHANKS PONY 3854, JONNA THANE 3903, EATS GRASS 3853, 
YUL 3868, PIEFACE 3875, PRONGHRON 3852, KID QUICK 3846, GLASS JOE 3847, and PRIVET 
3867.

The following warriors will travel to AD after next turn:

KID QUICK (56-3846) PUNCH-OUT! (411)