DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 04/22/2008 Duedate: 05/05/2008 AMEN-TEI ARENA DM-63 TURN-427 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS ATRION THE EXILED ONES (31) (63-2733) [9-2-1,95] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader ATRION ZECHARIAH HAMMER THE EXILED ONES (31) BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) (63-2733) [9-2-1,95] (63-2742) [3-4-0,43] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite DIMAGGIO MARIA 1949 YANKEES (316) THE EXILED ONES (31) (63-2705) [7-3-0,65] (63-2736) [6-5-2,57] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) 34 2. WAYFARERS (248) 32 THE EXILED ONES (31) 3. 1949 YANKEES (316) 17 Unchartered Team 4. THE EXILED ONES (31) 3 5. OXYMORONS (322) 0 BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 1*BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) 21 14 0 60.0 1/ 2*BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) 9 6 0 2/ 3 THE EXILED ONES (31) 408 329 17 55.4 2/ 1 THE EXILED ONES (31) 8 7 0 3/ 0 1949 YANKEES (316) 45 37 7 54.9 3/ 3 WAYFARERS (248) 8 7 0 4/ 4 WAYFARERS (248) 621 656 14 48.6 4/ 0 1949 YANKEES (316) 2 2 0 5- 5*OXYMORONS (322) 3 17 0 15.0 5- 5*OXYMORONS (322) 1 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[ 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 295): UNHOLY TERROR of BLOOD RITES (Wretch, mgr.) DM 11 ARUAK CITY (turn 591): CHIEF SITTING BULL of BULLDOGS (Kennelworth, mgr.) DM 14 TOBIR (turn 591): MOLYNEUX of OTAGO HIGHLANDERS (The Mun, mgr.) DM 22 SOLVEN (turn 584): JEROME of KELLUMBO'S KIDS (Detective Kellumbo, mgr.) DM 24 ZORPUNT (turn 580): MITCHELL PAIGE of MEDAL OF HONOR A3 (The Anarchist, mgr.) DM 25 LYRATILAN (turn 580): KEG STAND of BARHOPPERS (Apex, mgr.) DM 26 CALEAM (turn 577): MOLDRAUN of GOLDEN CANYON (Jorja, mgr.) DM 30 IAYE (turn 573): KLINK of THE A'S -- LOSERS II (Malaquar, 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 295): SMITHSONIAN (Curator, mgr.) DM 11 ARUAK CITY (turn 591): BULLDOGS (Kennelworth, mgr.) DM 14 TOBIR (turn 591): OTAGO HIGHLANDERS (The Mun, mgr.) DM 22 SOLVEN (turn 584): KELLUMBO'S KIDS (Detective Kellumbo, mgr.) DM 24 ZORPUNT (turn 580): KRILL CAVALRY (Jorja, mgr.) DM 25 LYRATILAN (turn 580): MASTERS OF SIN (Sin, mgr.) DM 26 CALEAM (turn 577): ULTRA-VIOLENT (Deep Thought, mgr.) DM 30 IAYE (turn 573): LENPROS (Lenpro, 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 22 SOLVEN (turn 584): JACKSON OF KELLUMBO'S KIDS (Detective Kellumbo, 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 30 IAYE (turn 573): KLINK of THE A'S -- LOSERS II (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.) SPY REPORT It is I, Novgorodny Vir, Spymaster of Spymasters. Look on my work, ye mighty, and despair! THE EXILED ONES? Who? BIBLICAL HAMMERZ is the top team these days, buddies! Say what you will about blind luck and dirty fighting, but WAYFARERS will tell you 621-656-14 is nothing to laugh at... Practice pays for ZECHARIAH HAMMER, who pummelled HYRAM CARTER, to pocket 18 points. KELLER certainly had a baffled expression on his face, after losing to EPHESIANS HAMMER and losing 12 points in the process! VETERAN MERCENARY found out that AMEN-TEI isn't a democracy. You've gotta be the best to be Duelmaster here! Word has it one team in AMEN-TEI is using psychics to predict wins. They lead a charmed life! My mother wished me to avoid conflict, and seek the gentle trade of Spyreporter. But warriors aren't supposed to avoid fights! The moving sword slashes, and having slashed, moves on... Ask not for whom the sword slashes; it slashes for thee. Leave me now, you base fools! As the seasons change, and the creatures of the wild change also, so do I feel a yearning to leave this place. Can anything compare to the pleasure of writing Spyreports for AMEN-TEI? On that giddy note I take my leave-- Novgorodny Vir DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME ATRION 2733 9 2 1 95 THE EXILED ONES (31) CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME M.T. LANE 2720 14 14 0 66 WAYFARERS (248) DIMAGGIO 2705 7 3 0 65 1949 YANKEES (316) CELEDON 2735 7 4 0 62 THE EXILED ONES (31) CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME MARIA 2736 6 5 2 57 THE EXILED ONES (31) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME ZANTHOR 2732 8 3 0 49 THE EXILED ONES (31) CRUZIA GARDETT 2748 6 3 0 46 WAYFARERS (248) ZECHARIAH HAMMER 2742 3 4 0 43 BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) JESPIX 2747 7 3 1 34 THE EXILED ONES (31) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME HYRAM CARTER 2728 8 9 0 33 WAYFARERS (248) EPHESIANS HAMMER 2744 6 1 0 31 BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) GALATIANS HAMMER 2743 4 3 0 27 BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME VALNAKORINE 2761 2 0 0 21 WAYFARERS (248) YALO TACTSIE 2750 2 6 0 19 WAYFARERS (248) -SURE BET 2753 1 3 0 16 OXYMORONS (322) ZEPHANIA HAMMER 2740 4 3 0 15 BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) LEVITICUS HAMMER 2741 4 3 0 15 BIBLICAL HAMMERZ (321) TOMMY HENRICH 2759 1 0 0 13 1949 YANKEES (316) KELLER 2749 2 1 1 10 1949 YANKEES (316) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? LOPAT 2760 0 1 0 1949 YANKEES 316 SPYMASTER 427 NONE PERSONAL ADS Zanthor -- I figure that you being exiled from somewhere else, you don't speak our language, and that's why you're so quiet, yes? Too bad, because if you DID speak our language, I'd invite you out for a beer. But that's life. -- M.T. Lane Ephesians Hammer -- I know it's crude of me, but I really do wonder if you resemble Diana of Ephesius in certain rather personal aspects? -- Hyram Carter Zephania Hammer -- No. -- Cruzia Gardett Leviticus Hammer -- I didn't need that. At all. -- Yalo Tactsie Ah, a standby. That's a relief. I wanted to start out slow, you know. -- Valnakorine LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS LOPAT was butchered by SPYMASTER in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight. ATRION devastated VETERAN MERCENARY in a 1 minute one-sided Title duel. CELEDON was overcome by KUNG-FU MASTER in a popular 1 minute match. M.T. LANE won victory over MARIA in a crowd pleasing 5 minute brawl. DIMAGGIO overpowered JESPIX in a 1 minute one-sided fight. ZANTHOR bested GALATIANS HAMMER in a 1 minute brawl. HYRAM CARTER was vanquished by ZECHARIAH HAMMER in a 1 minute mismatched fight. CRUZIA GARDETT devastated HAPPY PEASANT in a 1 minute one-sided competition. ZEPHANIA HAMMER lost to VALNAKORINE in a 1 minute duel. LEVITICUS HAMMER lost to YALO TACTSIE in a 3 minute duel. EPHESIANS HAMMER overpowered KELLER in a 2 minute uneven duel. TOMMY HENRICH overpowered FRIENDLY CONSTABLE in a 2 minute one-sided fight. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |LUNGING ATTACK 3 PARRY-RIPOSTE 12 - 1 - 0 92 | |WALL OF STEEL 3 AIMED BLOW 16 - 8 - 1 67 | |PARRY-LUNGE 3 WALL OF STEEL 13 - 8 - 1 62 | |SLASHING ATTACK 3 SLASHING ATTACK 15 - 11 - 3 58 | |AIMED BLOW 2 TOTAL PARRY 10 - 8 - 0 56 | |TOTAL PARRY 2 STRIKING ATTACK 7 - 8 - 0 47 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 LUNGING ATTACK 16 - 23 - 2 41 | |STRIKING ATTACK 1 PARRY-LUNGE 13 - 20 - 0 39 | |BASHING ATTACK 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 - 0 0 | |PARRY-STRIKE 0 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 - 0 0 | Turn 427 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 PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 2 2 AIMED BLOW PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 0 SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 2 2 LUNGING ATTACK LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 SLASHING ATTACK WALL OF STEEL 2 - 1 STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 TOTAL PARRY TOTAL PARRY 1 - 1 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 STRIKING ATTACK 1 WALL OF STEEL 1 PARRY-LUNGE 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME AIMED BLOW ATRION 2733 9 2 1 95 THE EXILED ONES (31) LUNGING ATTACK DIMAGGIO 2705 7 3 0 65 1949 YANKEES (316) STRIKING ATTACK CELEDON 2735 7 4 0 62 THE EXILED ONES (31) WALL OF STEEL ZANTHOR 2732 8 3 0 49 THE EXILED ONES (31) SLASHING ATTACK JESPIX 2747 7 3 1 34 THE EXILED ONES (31) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is DIMAGGIO 2705. The most popular warrior this turn was MARIA 2736. The ten other most popular fighters were YALO TACTSIE 2750, ATRION 2733, CELEDON 2735, M.T. LANE 2720, ZECHARIAH HAMMER 2742, CRUZIA GARDETT 2748, VALNAKORINE 2761, DIMAGGIO 2705, GALATIANS HAMMER 2743, and EPHESIANS HAMMER 2744. The least popular fighter this week was LEVITICUS HAMMER 2741. The other ten least popular fighters were ZEPHANIA HAMMER 2740, JESPIX 2747, LOPAT 2760, TOMMY HENRICH 2759, KELLER 2749, HYRAM CARTER 2728, ZANTHOR 2732, EPHESIANS HAMMER 2744, GALATIANS HAMMER 2743, and DIMAGGIO 2705. 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."