DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 09/13/2005 Duedate: 09/26/2005 AMEN-TEI ARENA DM-63 TURN-362 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS MALICHAI WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) (63-2396) [11-2-0,139] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader MALICHAI POSITION IS EMPTY WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) (63-2396) [11-2-0,139] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite MALICHAI AVALANCH LILY WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) WAYFARERS (248) (63-2396) [11-2-0,139] (63-2636) [1-2-0,12] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM WAYFARERS (248) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. WAYFARERS (248) 40 2. EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) 10 EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) 3. WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) 10 Unchartered Team 4. SUPERIOR FORCES 5405 (302) 4 SWITHC-A-RU (280) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 1 EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) 41 28 2 59.4 1/ 1 WAYFARERS (248) 11 4 0 2/ 2 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) 37 32 7 53.6 2/ 2 EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) 4 11 0 3/ 3 WAYFARERS (248) 454 511 10 47.0 3/ 3 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) 2 0 0 4/ 4 SUPERIOR FORCES 54 (302) 5 10 0 33.3 4/ 4 SUPERIOR FORCES 54 (302) 2 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[ Storm Season #3 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + Off the coast of Convincia: "Ships aren't supposed to BURN!" Kurilo Deschan said. "They're on the water. We're on the water--" "Ships burn. They're wood. And this one is definitely burning," Hodag said. He put one hand on the rail, unfastening his armor with the other and jerking off his helmet. "If I was you, I'd get out of that armor and jump over the side before it burns out from under us." "But we may have to fight," the Mercenary protested. "You WILL have to swim, Ziffrin," Hodag assured him. "And for that, armor is contra-indicated. Trust me on this." Ziffrin Sheel glanced over his shoulder at the ship's crew. They were jumping off the far side of the vessel, all except three who were attempting to lower a smaller boat to the water. "We'll burn, too, if we get down into that," he said. Hodag glanced at the black lace on the waves and nodded. "We might, but it's still our best chance." His armor clattered onto the deck, and the Black Orc jumped, twisting in mid-air to turn it into a dive. The two standbys followed him into the water. When they cut through the surface of the lake, the filigree of black foam clung to them like cobwebs, pulling against them like the meshes of a net. It was, Hodag was sure, a trap of some kind, but still better than burning with the ship. He spared a moment to hope the crew had been able to jump free of the ship, too. And then the net of magic and foam tightened against him and dragged him through the depths faster than any orc might swim. As always in a tight place, Hodag's brain worked quickly. (This was how he'd moved from Captured Orc up to Black Orc in the arena system.) Their bodies were being retrieved, presumably by the demon which had destroyed the ship, presumably for no good end. Were their lives being preserved, or would they drown in a minute or two? He managed to turn his head to look at his companions. Ziffrin Sheel was struggling uselessly but strongly. He was, after all, Aruaki: essentially a cat. Being in the water would not be something that appealed to him. But the important thing from Hodag's point of view was that the Veteran was gasping for breath and not sucking in a flood of water in the process. So. Someone wanted them alive. Hodag grimaced. He could make a guess as to why. For use in blood magic. Because of their privileged position in the arena system, frequently dosed with magical healing potions and sometimes resurrected, the standbys, and especially himself, were embued with a low level of magic. This would probably increase their value as blood-magic victims. What to do about it? Nothing for now, but when they were taken out of the water...see what opportunities offered, and seize them with both hands. Amen-Tei: "It's a storm," Maurice Karn said. He had said this before, and he was getting tired of repeating himself. "Gladiators can't do a damned thing against the weather." Being an Ambitious Guard did not mean that he was a patient one. Dame Mingia pressed her lips together. Karn wondered idly what comments she was suppressing and decided he would rather not know. Finally she said, "This is not normal weather, as you are doubtless aware, having lived here for years. The seers in the employ of the High Thane tell us that it is a Sending, born of magical operations somewhere out in the lake to the north and west." Krego Dehann, the Veteran Mercenary, rubbed his nose. "Or...from Skaithvarn, maybe?" Mingia spread her hands and shrugged. "The seers were not exact." Her tone was acid. "They claim that exactness is impossible...under these circumstances. Something in the nature of the spell, or possibly in the decline of the Arcanum, or just POSSIBLY in the inadequacy of their arts prevents them from saying more than 'north and west'. Make of that what you will. Bonner Kay is prepared to make a ship available to 'pursue' the storms to their lair." Karn and Dehann exchanged glances. Bonner Kay was the arena's Honest Merchant this season. And he WAS honest, but he was also not at all careless with his property. So he must be really worried about this weather to risk a ship in it. And he must believe that this expedition had a chance of solving the problem. "I don't think I like having the prosperity of Amen-Tei's shipping resting on my shoulders," Dehann muttered. "It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it," Karn answered. SPY REPORT Good day, friends and fiends, welcome to your friendly neighborhood spyreport. I doubt AMEN-TEI will ever be the same. And let's see, BOUNCING BEA fought VISITING ORC and gained 17 points and contributed to WAYFARERS' 3-2-0. HAYABUSA has lost to HITCH HIKER, falling 3 points, while helping make EMPIRE OF THE SUN a 2-3-0 turn. The attempts to dethrone the Duelmaster have failed, and MALICHAI remains AMEN-TEI's top warrior for another turn. Tell me, is nothing sacred? I have heard from unimpeachable sources that The Dripping Blade uses trolls in their stew. Talk about gristle! The crowd's roar, the smell of iron and leather, mixed with sweat, what more could a warrior ask of life? Well, besides that. A coward dies a thousand deaths, a brave man only once. Wise men know this to be true. A brave warrior does not carry a red shield, he has nothing to cover or hide when the fight is over. Consider well. Remember, blood on the purple robe does not change it from a purple robe. Dare to fight bravely. It's been nice chatting with you, until we meet again, keep your swords sharp and your hammers heavy. Until the sun next rises and my pen sets to paper-- Alarond the Scribe DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME MALICHAI 2396 11 2 0 139 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME SABURO SAKAI 2605 10 4 0 92 EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME SHINDEN-KAI 2601 8 6 1 80 EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) HITCH HIKER 2592 9 7 0 74 WAYFARERS (248) -SEVERIN 2394 7 5 1 68 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME BOUNCING BEA 2635 3 0 0 46 WAYFARERS (248) RAIDEN 2602 9 5 1 45 EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) HAYABUSA 2603 9 5 0 38 EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -UG 2615 2 0 1 33 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) TOM-TOM TORA 2634 3 0 0 29 WAYFARERS (248) ROADBLOCK 2611 5 5 0 28 WAYFARERS (248) FURTIVE RETURNS II 2556 5 7 0 25 SUPERIOR FORCES 5405 (302) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME TORYU 2604 5 8 0 23 EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) AVALANCH LILY 2636 1 2 0 12 WAYFARERS (248) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? PERSONAL ADS Hayabusa -- Have you tried the hunting out on Bee Ridge? Turkeys every way you turn. Stupid birds, but fat. Very fat. -- Hitch Hiker P.S. Which means they'll roast up a little greasy, but that's better than dry. But think of the gravy! -- Ed. Raiden -- Why NOT with nuts? -- Roadblock Furtive Returns II -- (burp) I knew those onion rings would prove to be a mistake, but they were so good going down.... -- Avalanch Lily Toryu -- Catching turkeys with a NET? Isn't that...unsporting? -- Bouncing Bea The Shiftyeyed Volunteer was poaching, and I CAUGHT him! I KNEW he was up to no good. -- Tom-Tom Tora P.S. Besides, that was a COW, not a deer. What a turkey. Tom-Tom -- If he's a turkey, how about we get out the sage-and-onion stuffing and give him a try? -- Hitch Hiker LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS MALICHAI bested SABURO SAKAI in a crowd pleasing 2 minute Title fight. SHINDEN-KAI won victory over M. CHARDINEE in a action packed 1 minute battle. HITCH HIKER demolished HAYABUSA in a crowd pleasing 1 minute uneven fight. RAIDEN viciously subdued ROADBLOCK in a 4 minute gory fight. BOUNCING BEA demolished VISITING ORC in a 2 minute gruesome mismatched competition. TORYU was overpowered by TOM-TOM TORA in a 2 minute one-sided struggle. FURTIVE RETURNS II unbelievably bested AVALANCH LILY in a 4 minute competition. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |LUNGING ATTACK 3 TOTAL PARRY 3 - 1 - 1 75 | |AIMED BLOW 2 PARRY-LUNGE 7 - 3 - 1 70 | |STRIKING ATTACK 2 STRIKING ATTACK 9 - 6 - 0 60 | |PARRY-LUNGE 1 LUNGING ATTACK 22 - 16 - 1 58 | |PARRY-STRIKE 1 PARRY-STRIKE 5 - 5 - 1 50 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 WALL OF STEEL 5 - 5 - 0 50 | |SLASHING ATTACK 1 AIMED BLOW 7 - 8 - 0 47 | |WALL OF STEEL 1 SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 2 - 0 33 | |BASHING ATTACK 0 BASHING ATTACK 1 - 3 - 1 25 | |TOTAL PARRY 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 - 7 - 0 22 | Turn 362 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 2 - 0 LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 2 4 LUNGING ATTACK PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 2 STRIKING ATTACK PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 0 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 PARRY-STRIKE STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 PARRY-LUNGE TOTAL PARRY 0 - 0 1 TOTAL PARRY WALL OF STEEL 0 - 1 1 AIMED BLOW 1 WALL OF STEEL TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME LUNGING ATTACK MALICHAI 2396 11 2 0 139 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) PARRY-STRIKE SHINDEN-KAI 2601 8 6 1 80 EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) STRIKING ATTACK HITCH HIKER 2592 9 7 0 74 WAYFARERS (248) PARRY-LUNGE RAIDEN 2602 9 5 1 45 EMPIRE OF THE SUN (307) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is MALICHAI 2396. The most popular warrior this turn was AVALANCH LILY 2636. The ten other most popular fighters were MALICHAI 2396, SHINDEN-KAI 2601, HITCH HIKER 2592, ROADBLOCK 2611, BOUNCING BEA 2635, SABURO SAKAI 2605, RAIDEN 2602, TOM-TOM TORA 2634, FURTIVE RETURNS II 2556, and HAYABUSA 2603. The least popular fighter this week was TORYU 2604. The other ten least popular fighters were HAYABUSA 2603, FURTIVE RETURNS II 2556, TOM-TOM TORA 2634, RAIDEN 2602, SABURO SAKAI 2605, BOUNCING BEA 2635, ROADBLOCK 2611, HITCH HIKER 2592, SHINDEN-KAI 2601, and MALICHAI 2396.