DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 11/14/2005 Duedate: 11/26/2005 VALAMANTIS ARENA DM-62 TURN-370 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS RELENTLESS THE BEARS (268) (62-4148) [13-7-2,107] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader RELENTLESS POSITION IS EMPTY THE BEARS (268) (62-4148) [13-7-2,107] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite RELENTLESS BALI DARRAS THE BEARS (268) MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) (62-4148) [13-7-2,107] (62-4221) [3-3-0,26] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. THE BEARS (268) 26 2. MIKE'S INK (380) 15 THE BEARS (268) 3. FINAL FANSTASY III (414) 0 Unchartered Team 4. DIAMONDS IN THE RUFF (386) 0 5. MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) -5 THE SAPPER SQUAD (317) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1- 1*DIAMONDS IN THE RU (386) 2 0 0 100 1/ 1 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) 9 6 0 2/ 2 THE BEARS (268) 309 263 24 54.0 2/ 2 THE BEARS (268) 6 1 0 3/ 0 MIKE'S INK (380) 32 28 1 53.3 3/ 0 MIKE'S INK (380) 1 0 0 4/ 3 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) 112 126 4 47.1 4- 4*DIAMONDS IN THE RU (386) 1 0 0 5- 4*FINAL FANSTASY III (414) 2 6 0 25.0 5- 3*FINAL FANSTASY III (414) 0 4 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[ Nightfall #8 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + On the south coast of the Ardivent Peninsula: Two men stood on the roof of the manor house and stared out at the bay. A black tower rose from the water near the string of rocky islands that narrowed the channel between Ardivent and Kaltos. Near the islands, but not on them. "I can't make out what it's standing on," Harbad Kore said. The Guard was Ambitious, but his inclinations had not led him to study charts of the bay. He felt there was more scope for him on land. "Not an island, not a charted rock," Ternas d'Aleen said. D'Aleen had shipping interests, or maybe just was interested in ships and boats, but at least he was likely to know about the waters here. You'd never take him for an Assassin, and now that the Assassins' Guild had been outlawed again, he didn't practice. At least, he said he didn't practice assassination any more. Although how he supported himself based on occasional appearances in the arena as a standby... maybe he really was a shipper. Kore shrugged that off. It wasn't his business, anyway. "Okay, then what IS it standing on?" D'Aleen raised an eyebrow. "How should I know? But it arrived courtesy of magic, so maybe it has a magical foundation, as well." "Magic." The guard considered that for several minutes. "And it's threatening Ardivent's shipping, right? Probably the Transelites did it." "An unfounded assumption," the assassin said. "No it isn't! Transel's got loads of magicians, and the whole island lives off piracy. Seems reasonable to me that they're doing this." His hand went to his sword. "We should Take Steps. Those pirates can't be allowed to get away with this!" "We all know you're a bit of a fool, Kore," the assassin said coldly. "But you don't need to keep demonstrating it. And fortunately for us all, you are not the one who must make the decision. That is the Baron's prerogative. We are merely here to observe and report." Kore twitched his shoulder. The comment about him being a fool he decided to ignore; practicing or not, D'Aleen WAS an assassin. "Okay, fine, I know I'm not the diplomatic type, but mark my words, we'll end up going to war with Transel over this. I just wish...." He glanced down at the building beneath them uneasily. "Oh, I agree," D'Aleen said. "I would much have preferred almost any other vantage point, but this IS the best place for observing the black tower." "That statue in the front hall--" The guard shivered. "I believe it isn't actually a statue," D'Aleen said after a moment. "I seem to have heard that it is actually a living person, preserved in amber. A Lady Protector...Stepharoo, or something like that." "It isn't decent," Harbad Kore said. "She should be, I don't know, put out of sight at the least, or buried, or something. Just having a naked woman standing there in the hall...." "Not buried," D'Aleen said. "If she's a Lady Protector, which is what I remember, then even if she's dead she isn't really dead. To be buried alive..." he shuddered. "But if we have to use this place again, I would agree that we can move her into a closet or something." Weeks had passed. The Black Tower had come and gone and come again, sometimes interfering with shipping, other times ignoring it. No one ever appeared on the roof of the tower to demand toll or make any explanation. No ship was searched, no cargo seized. But some ships disappeared, and some were destroyed despite all efforts to protect them physically or magically. "Magic," Ternas d'Aleen said bitterly. "I hate cases where magic is an important factor. There is so very little that an ordinary person can do against it." "Very little?" Harbad Kore stared at his companion. "I thought there was NOTHING we could do. Except get caught by it ourselves," he added. "And I still don't see why WE have to be the ones watching for the tower." The assassin shrugged. "We didn't get out of sight fast enough when the Baron asked for volunteers." He looked at the manor house they'd used as an observation post before and grimaced. "We're going to put that...chunk of amber out of sight this time." The Ambitious Guard nodded agreement. The Lady Protector preserved in amber gave him the creeps. He couldn't regard her as being truly alive, but neither did she seem to be completely dead, and anyway, it was indecent. Not just because she was nude, either, it was...an insult to HER that she should be displayed like that. He wondered uneasily what magician she had offended, and how, to have drawn such a fate. More to change the subject than for information, d'Aleen said, "What's the news around the court about the Black Tower? Any word from the other Bay Ports?" "How should I know?" "You're a guard in the Baron's palace. You must hear things." "I'm not supposed to repeat what I hear," Harbad Kore said primly. "Bull." "Well...I guess this is a 'need to know' situation, isn't it?" The Guard glanced over his shoulder. There was no one behind them, nothing but the forest and the lane, both drifted deeply with fallen leaves. "Everyone denies having anything to do with it. Transel, too. Word is that some magician in Valamantis thinks he's got a clue but can't make it work. Figures. Magicians!" "So," the assassin mused, "no information and no plan. Not good." Kore shrugged and pulled the heavy wrought-iron key to the old manor from his pocket. He scanned up the front wall. "This place was built to last," he said, "but it won't, not unless it gets a tenant who cares about it. A Lady in amber can't keep it in good condition." D'Aleen shrugged again. "So long as it doesn't fall down while we're in it, I don't care," he said indifferently. "It's just a building." "Listen, this is a classic of the Early Medjal era," Kore said. "It's HISTORIC." He slipped the key into the lock and turned it, not without difficulty and a lot of noise. "It's just a building," the assassin said. He helped his companion push open the door. The hinges squealed, and the door scraped heavily on the stone floor of the hall. "Where's that light coming from?" "Gods! The amber--it's cracking!" * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * ---===DELARQUAN REGIONAL NEWS===--- Duelmasters ----------- DM 1 MORDANT (turn 531): FLAIR of WIND STORM (Lord Xiang, mgr.) DM 2 NIANIA (turn 416): SCARDY CAT of ARENA FELINES (Garfield, mgr.) DM 3 OSKSI (turn 539): POSITION IS EMPTY DM 4 JHELUM (turn 535): VANGUARD of ORCCON THUGS (DMobster, mgr.) DM 5 KALTOS (turn 534): HOFFA of JOHNS (Dear, mgr.) DM 6 TRANSEL (turn 538): JUSTIN of THE LADY'S LIST (A-Sop, mgr.) DM 7 BONSUR (turn 535): SWEATY of BRAIN (LHI, mgr.) DM 10 KOLACT (turn 530): SIR DA of SIR AGLIO (Sultan, mgr.) DM 18 TALCAMA (turn 521): BOOKIE of ARROGANCE (A-Sop, mgr.) DM 21 SUNSET (turn 520): ASHANDAR of AGE OF EMPIRE (Doc Steele, mgr.) DM 36 JHANS (turn 494): FRANKENSLOSH of HELTER SKELTER (Cosmo, mgr.) DM 38 CLIFFHOME (turn 484): SIR LICKSALOT of ARENA FELINES (Garfield, mgr.) DM 39 XOCHITHLAN (turn 214): OUTLAW STAR of DARQUE ANGELS (Master Darque, mgr.) DM 42 RODEKI (turn 472): OSTMAN of WAY OF THE SWORD A3 (Vhagar, mgr.) DM 51 TRICORUS (turn 420): DELANGE of DARK HORSEMEN (Nick, mgr.) DM 54 TROCAR (turn 200): VIRET of TRADERS OF TROCAR (Jinda, mgr.) DM 59 ILLIS (turn 188): DUFF of ISLANDERS (Nick, mgr.) DM 62 VALAMANTIS (turn 369): POSITION IS EMPTY DM 72 DRAGONHEAD (turn 165): KOOL AID of LIQUIDS (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.) ADM 104 DARKHOLM (turn 413): WIGGLER of THUNDR + LITENING from TALCAMA (Doc Steele) Top Teams --------- DM 1 MORDANT (turn 531): none DM 2 NIANIA (turn 416): THE GOLDEN FISH (Nick, mgr.) DM 3 OSKSI (turn 539): SORCERY COVENANT (Visionist, mgr.) DM 4 JHELUM (turn 535): HARMONY (?, mgr.) DM 5 KALTOS (turn 534): EVEREST LLP (?, mgr.) DM 6 TRANSEL (turn 538): THE LADY'S LIST (A-Sop, mgr.) DM 7 BONSUR (turn 535): WASTELAND II (The Muffin Man, mgr.) DM 10 KOLACT (turn 530): SIR AGLIO (Sultan, mgr.) DM 18 TALCAMA (turn 521): WASTELAND (The Muffin Man, mgr.) DM 21 SUNSET (turn 520): AGE OF EMPIRE (Doc Steele, mgr.) DM 36 JHANS (turn 494): none DM 38 CLIFFHOME (turn 484): JINDA-BAN (Nick, mgr.) DM 39 XOCHITHLAN (turn 214): CRIMINAL ELEMENT (Fizban, mgr.) DM 42 RODEKI (turn 472): COLOR ME SUAVE (Suave, mgr.) DM 51 TRICORUS (turn 420): DARK HORSEMEN (Nick, mgr.) DM 54 TROCAR (turn 200): CARESS OF STEEL (Maximillian, mgr.) DM 59 ILLIS (turn 188): CHAPEL ROCK (Crip, mgr.) DM 62 VALAMANTIS (turn 369): MIDDLE WAY 10 (Nick, mgr.) DM 72 DRAGONHEAD (turn 165): TWISTED SISTERS (Savant, mgr.) ADM 104 DARKHOLM (turn 413): BLACK PRIMERS, etc. (Doc Steele, mgr.) Recent Graduates ----------------- DM 1 MORDANT (turn 531): FLAIR of WIND STORM (Lord Xiang, mgr.) DM 3 OSKSI (turn 538): NOTTHUR of SORCERY COVENANT (Visionist, mgr.) DM 6 TRANSEL (turn 537): COOKIE FOR THE SOUL of HOLE IN THE WALL (The Muffin Man) DM 10 KOLACT (turn 529): SIR REALISTIC of SIR AGLIO (Sultan, mgr.) DM 36 JHANS (turn 494): SHADOW STARR of SUICIDAL DREAMS (Talon Darkhart, mgr.) DM 51 TRICORUS (turn 419): HARZOGH of DARK HORSEMEN (Nick, mgr.) DM 59 ILLIS (turn 187): EVANGELION of IMPROVED ILLUSION (Phantasm, mgr.) DM 62 VALAMANTIS (turn 369): DOC FELLE of MIDDLE WAY 10 (Nick, mgr.) SPY REPORT Busy, busy, busy, lots of things happening in VALAMANTIS this turn, and let's start with a look at some of the teams. And let's see, BLUE BUTTERFLY fought EB GOLLU and gained 15 points and contributed to MIKE'S INK's 1-0-0. EB GOLLU has lost to BLUE BUTTERFLY, falling 13 points, while helping make MIDDLE WAY 10 a 2-3-0 turn. We should ask RELENTLESS about the thrill of victory, and what being the new Duelmaster does for a warrior, she's now the one to ask. Tell me, is nothing sacred? I have heard from unimpeachable sources that Doom's Dome uses trolls in their stew. Talk about gristle! He who challenges well, fights well. He who avoids without cause, shall lose for good reasons. My mama told me that one. We only live a short time in this world, so why not take a sharp blade, and shave it close? Is it really true that VALAMANTIS has more dishwashers per capita that fighters? Just thought I'd ask... Remember, blood on the purple robe does not change it from a purple robe. Dare to fight bravely. Always good to rest in VALAMANTIS, but never good to wear out my welcome. Look for me in future turns. Until the sun next rises and my pen sets to paper-- Alarond the Scribe DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME RELENTLESS 4148 13 7 2 107 THE BEARS (268) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME BLUE BUTTERFLY 3642 4 0 0 102 MIKE'S INK (380) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME EB GOLLU 4138 13 35 0 81 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME GOOD BEAR 4200 4 1 0 43 THE BEARS (268) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME CHIA EDEL 4219 5 1 0 27 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME BALI DARRAS 4221 3 3 0 26 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -THE BIG 'OH' 3734 2 0 0 20 DIAMONDS IN THE RUFF (386) ERFIN GORAM 4220 2 4 0 19 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) RUNAWAY 4229 1 0 0 15 THE BEARS (268) -BLACK MAGE #631 4039 1 1 0 8 FINAL FANSTASY III (414) -COOPER 3850 1 2 0 5 MIKE'S INK (380) -BLACK MAGE #717 4042 1 1 0 4 FINAL FANSTASY III (414) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? TAR PIT 4217 1 1 0 THE BEARS 268 WURM KIN 27 370 NONE PERSONAL ADS We didn't fight a single managed warrior. Bah. -- Nick and the Middle Way Lord Protector Doc Felle -- Everyone knows doctors are rich, so there isn't any need to provide you with "lands," is there? Of course not. Though Lord Shanmarrik DID say that if you wished to dispossess the unknown but hostile person currently residing in the Black Tower, you could attempt to claim it. He does not undertake to support you in this claim, but he won't oppose you in it, either. What say you, Doc Felle? Will you be bold and patriotic and assault the Black Tower, or flee to the Isle like the ungrateful craven that so many show themselves to be in such a situation? -- Memsettis the Downtrodden, General Manager of Valamantis Arena 5 November 2005 It is with a proud heart that I announce the newest member of the Desolate Empire alliance. Dok Sik will be known from here forth as Dark Knight Dok Sik, of the Desolate Empire. May he be blessed with victory and courage. May his enemies' blood flow freely! -- The Dark Knights Wasby and Toker LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS TAR PIT was butchered by WURM KIN in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight. EB GOLLU was devastated by BLUE BUTTERFLY in a action packed 1 minute one-sided duel. RELENTLESS defeated DOC FELLE in a 1 minute bloody master's Title duel. GOOD BEAR overpowered ERFIN GORAM in a 1 minute one-sided fight. CHIA EDEL devastated PERSISTENT BEGGAR in a 1 minute uneven brawl. BALI DARRAS overpowered OSKSI NOBLE in a 2 minute one-sided struggle. RUNAWAY devastated PERSISTENT BEGGAR 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| |SLASHING ATTACK 3 AIMED BLOW 5 - 1 - 0 83 | |LUNGING ATTACK 2 LUNGING ATTACK 18 - 6 - 2 75 | |AIMED BLOW 1 SLASHING ATTACK 9 - 5 - 0 64 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 TOTAL PARRY 6 - 6 - 0 50 | |STRIKING ATTACK 1 STRIKING ATTACK 3 - 5 - 0 38 | |BASHING ATTACK 1 WALL OF STEEL 4 - 7 - 0 36 | |WALL OF STEEL 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 - 6 - 0 33 | |PARRY-LUNGE 0 BASHING ATTACK 3 - 8 - 0 27 | |PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 - 0 0 | |TOTAL PARRY 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 1 - 0 0 | Turn 370 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: AIMED BLOW 1 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 3 SLASHING ATTACK PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 LUNGING ATTACK SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 1 2 TOTAL PARRY LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 1 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 BASHING ATTACK TOTAL PARRY 0 - 0 1 AIMED BLOW WALL OF STEEL 0 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 STRIKING ATTACK TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME LUNGING ATTACK RELENTLESS 4148 13 7 2 107 THE BEARS (268) SLASHING ATTACK BLUE BUTTERFLY 3642 4 0 0 102 MIKE'S INK (380) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is RELENTLESS 4148. The most popular warrior this turn was BALI DARRAS 4221. The ten other most popular fighters were BLUE BUTTERFLY 3642, RELENTLESS 4148, GOOD BEAR 4200, CHIA EDEL 4219, RUNAWAY 4229, EB GOLLU 4138, TAR PIT 4217, ERFIN GORAM 4220, 0, and 0. The least popular fighter this week was ERFIN GORAM 4220. The other ten least popular fighters were TAR PIT 4217, EB GOLLU 4138, RUNAWAY 4229, CHIA EDEL 4219, GOOD BEAR 4200, RELENTLESS 4148, BLUE BUTTERFLY 3642, BALI DARRAS 4221, 0, and 0. The following warriors have traveled to AD after fighting this turn: DOC FELLE (62-4139) MIDDLE WAY 10 (420)