DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 12/26/2005 Duedate: 01/07/2006 VALAMANTIS ARENA DM-62 TURN-373 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS DIO MIDGETS (356) (62-3336) [12-8-0,106] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader DIO POSITION IS EMPTY MIDGETS (356) (62-3336) [12-8-0,106] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite RELENTLESS RELENTLESS THE BEARS (268) THE BEARS (268) (62-4148) [14-8-3,80] (62-4148) [14-8-3,80] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM THE BEARS (268) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. MIDGETS (356) 24 2. THE BEARS (268) 15 THE BEARS (268) 3. MIKE'S INK (380) 0 Unchartered Team 4. MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) -28 THE FUDRUCKERS (237) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 2 THE BEARS (268) 314 264 25 54.3 1/ 2 THE BEARS (268) 5 1 1 2- 1 MIKE'S INK (380) 33 28 1 54.1 2/ 1 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) 5 10 0 3/ 3 MIDGETS (356) 60 57 2 51.3 3/ 3 MIDGETS (356) 4 1 0 4/ 4 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) 117 136 4 46.2 4- 4 MIKE'S INK (380) 1 0 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 #11 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + On the south coast of the Ardivent Peninsula: 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?" His hand flashed to the dagger at his waist. "Gods! The amber--it's cracking!" "I researched her," D'Aleen whispered. The assassin was keeping his distance, circling as far away from the amber as he could and still get around it. "Everybody said she was a good person. Friendly." "Then why are you acting like you're scared of her?" Kore was edging away from the amber in the other direction. "Because it's weird. The whole thing is weird, and I don't like weird things. They're unpredictable, and that makes them dangerous." The guard opened his mouth to reply, but anything he might have said was drowned out by the crack and crash of amber shattering. D'Aleen stumbled back, cursing. Kore froze. What emerged from the rough block of amber was not the naked woman they'd seen but an armored woman warrior. Armored in amber, armed with a sword of amber, bearing a shield that shone with its own golden light. "Tarot mimes!" the assassin whispered. "She doesn't look like--" "Ace of Lamps in the oldest Wizard's Deck." He spread his hands wide to show they were empty. "Don't even THINK about touching a weapon." The amber warrior stood poised, helmet turning back and forth, sword moving gently. "What does she want?" Kore asked. "How should I--" "Hello?" A fist beat on the half-open door, and the cheerful hail was repeated. "Hello? Anybody here? I've come to help!" A gladiator stepped into the manor, and his shadow, improbably long and dark, swept down the length of the hall and fell blackly across the amber light. Both standbys recognized him, Eclipse, recently graduated from Ardivent arena. DUELMASTER'S COLUMN Notes from the arena champ. Well, well, M. Chardinee for an opponent, and Duel2Dude for me as a result. Of course, with only seven active warriors, this comes as no surprise. I suppose we're by way of fading out again. May the new year be better for Valamantis arena. Eb Gollu SPY REPORT Greetings, warriors of VALAMANTIS! Once again I've been called out of retirement for my abilities and insights into Spyreporting. Woof! MIDDLE WAY 10 were a bunch of dogs after THE BEARS got through with 'em! 2nd ain't so sweet as 1st! What's with TYRION? He actually beat MIDDLE WAY 10's BALI DARRAS, and walked away with 16 more points from the fight. Laughs were big at MIDGETS while they watched TYRION clobber BALI DARRAS. She lost 15 points and got bruised from objects thrown from the stands. Apparently VALAMANTIS isn't filled with as many gutless wonders as I thought. The Dreaded Duelmaster got 2 challenges this turn! MIDGETS' hatred of MIDDLE WAY 10 surfaced again as DIO challenged VALAMANTIS' top dog. I can barely restrain my enthusiam for MIDGETS' outstanding member, Duelmaster DIO. Wouldn't it be nice to have live subjects to practice on? I hear some team is looking into the uses of convicted prisoners. No matter the time or place, men will always duel. The most avoided team was MIDDLE WAY 10. The bums at MIDGETS couldn't face the challenges from MIDDLE WAY 10! No excuse for that! There have been some calls to lengthen the time limit. Do you want the fighters to walk away, or not? Who will dare fight RELENTLESS, after she returned from the Dark Arena? (For the record 14-8-3 is 80, and has she points) Yeah, yeah, KHALHUMS DWARF killed BILBO, who was "too young to die." Well, he was a fighter, and that's what you have to face. How long have I been here? I got people to see, places to go... Who knows what the future holds for a warrior. More fights, there's no doubt. All work and no play makes Olaf a dull fighter. Work and play no fighter dull Olaf. Olaffighterwork and no play. Time for my medication, so I'll leave now. Practice, practice, practice!-- Olaf Modeen DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DIO 3336 12 8 0 106 MIDGETS (356) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -BLUE BUTTERFLY 3642 5 0 0 108 MIKE'S INK (380) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME RELENTLESS 4148 14 8 3 80 THE BEARS (268) EB GOLLU 4138 14 37 0 79 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) -JOE C 3331 12 10 0 74 MIDGETS (356) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME GOOD BEAR 4200 6 1 0 52 THE BEARS (268) TYRION 3764 3 0 0 47 MIDGETS (356) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -TATTOO 3334 9 11 1 39 MIDGETS (356) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME RUNAWAY 4229 3 0 0 32 THE BEARS (268) BALI DARRAS 4221 4 5 0 28 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) DANA FRISS 4230 2 1 0 24 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME ERFIN GORAM 4220 3 6 0 23 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) CHIA EDEL 4219 5 4 0 19 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) -COOPER 3850 1 2 0 5 MIKE'S INK (380) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? BANDIT PRINCE 25 0 1 0 DARK ARENA 0 RELENTLESS 4148 373 NONE BILBO 3763 6 1 0 MIDGETS 356 KHALHUMS DWARF 16 373 NONE PERSONAL ADS Bilbo -- You wretch! How can you be a midget at more than a foot taller than me? -- Bali Darras P.S. Of course, it wouldn't have surprised me if the Commission had taken it into its empty head to call you a dwarf, seeing that you're more than six feet tall. Tyrion -- And a spry little fellow you are, too. -- Chia Edel Cult Member? Since when? What cult? LEAVE him in the sand, I buried him there because he deserved it. Talk about RUDE. -- Erfin Goram Let this be a lesson to you all that embezzlement does not pay. -- Dana Friss LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS RELENTLESS viciously butchered BANDIT PRINCE in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight. DIO demolished EB GOLLU in a 1 minute gory one-sided Challenge Title melee. TYRION vanquished BALI DARRAS in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge brawl. BILBO was narrowly killed by KHALHUMS DWARF in a exciting 2 minute bloody fight. GOOD BEAR devastated ERFIN GORAM in a 1 minute one-sided duel. RUNAWAY bested CHIA EDEL in a 1 minute bloody match. DANA FRISS was handily defeated by AMBITIOUS GUARD in a 1 minute uneven fight. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |SLASHING ATTACK 3 LUNGING ATTACK 12 - 2 - 3 86 | |STRIKING ATTACK 3 SLASHING ATTACK 12 - 3 - 0 80 | |LUNGING ATTACK 1 AIMED BLOW 5 - 4 - 0 56 | |AIMED BLOW 1 WALL OF STEEL 5 - 6 - 0 45 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 TOTAL PARRY 4 - 5 - 0 44 | |BASHING ATTACK 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 - 5 - 0 44 | |WALL OF STEEL 1 STRIKING ATTACK 6 - 8 - 0 43 | |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 373 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: LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 2 4 SLASHING ATTACK SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 0 AIMED BLOW 0 - 1 2 LUNGING ATTACK PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 1 BASHING ATTACK PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 1 PARRY-STRIKE PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 1 STRIKING ATTACK BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE TOTAL PARRY 0 - 0 1 WALL OF STEEL WALL OF STEEL 0 - 1 TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME SLASHING ATTACK DIO 3336 12 8 0 106 MIDGETS (356) LUNGING ATTACK RELENTLESS 4148 14 8 3 80 THE BEARS (268) STRIKING ATTACK TYRION 3764 3 0 0 47 MIDGETS (356) 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 BILBO 3763. The ten other most popular fighters were RELENTLESS 4148, DIO 3336, RUNAWAY 4229, TYRION 3764, GOOD BEAR 4200, EB GOLLU 4138, BALI DARRAS 4221, ERFIN GORAM 4220, CHIA EDEL 4219, and DANA FRISS 4230. The least popular fighter this week was DANA FRISS 4230. The other ten least popular fighters were CHIA EDEL 4219, ERFIN GORAM 4220, BALI DARRAS 4221, EB GOLLU 4138, GOOD BEAR 4200, TYRION 3764, RUNAWAY 4229, DIO 3336, RELENTLESS 4148, and BILBO 3763. The following warriors will travel to AD after next turn: RELENTLESS (62-4148) THE BEARS (268)