DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 12/03/2020    Duedate: 12/16/2020

DAYLA KIV ARENA

DM-74    TURN-702

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

SERGEANT 3
MEDAL OF HONOR (519)
(74-4539) [9-0-3,125]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

SERGEANT 3                     CASTIEL
MEDAL OF HONOR (519)           SUPERNATURAL (565)
(74-4539) [9-0-3,125]          (74-4804) [3-3-1,17]

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

LISA TYL KOHL                  ROWENA
SAND DANCERS (251)             SUPERNATURAL (565)
(74-4741) [20-16-0,76]         (74-4803) [2-1-0,13]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

MEDAL OF HONOR (519)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. A.W. OF GUMBALL (558)       26
2. MEDAL OF HONOR (519)        21      A.W. OF GUMBALL (558)
3. SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)     20      Unchartered Team
4. SAND DANCERS (251)           1
5. ADVENTURERS (100)            0      SUPERNATURAL (565)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1 A.W. OF GUMBALL (558)     32   3  2 91.4   1/ 1 MEDAL OF HONOR (519)      9  0 1
 2/ 2 SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)  137  55  7 71.4   2/ 2 A.W. OF GUMBALL (558)     6  1 2
 3/ 3 MEDAL OF HONOR (519)     148  91 12 61.9   3/ 4 SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)   5  3 0
 4/ 4*SUPERNATURAL (565)        11  11  2 50.0   4/ 3 SAND DANCERS (251)        3 12 0
 5/ 5 SAND DANCERS (251)       %1580 %1791 51 46.9   5/ 5*SUPERNATURAL (565)        2  8 0
 6- 6*ADVENTURERS (100)          0   1  0  0.0   6- 6*ADVENTURERS (100)         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

"It didn't need to be this way."

Kathana glanced briefly at me and then looked back to the procession of Kivians 
bundled against the cold as they solemnly marched towards the graveyard on the 
outskirts of town where Dean Winchester would be laid to rest.  She held her silence.

"Supernatural had no way to know that Richard, pantomiming as a fresh warrior with two 
arena fights, was moonlighting as a very successful professional fighter with 27 other 
fights already under his belt," I continued.  "That fight was like a four-horse 
runaway coach trampling a toddler.  That whole team is a lie.  Gumball - the warrior, 
that is - has fought professionally 58 times while winning awards in every contest he 
has entered.  He runner-upped twice!  Yet here he sits, representing a measly 6 arena 
fights."

I continued to stew for a while, chewing my lip in frustration, looking at but not 
seeing the procession of mourners.  Then shook my head in disgust.  "The Supernatural 
are probably going to abandon the team, the town or the sport.  Or perhaps all three."

Finally, Kat stirred and looked at me again.  "So, the wrong person died today.  What 
happened?  You had a plan that would have prevented this."

"Oh, I think I have an idea what happened?"

                           *******  One week earlier *****

The offices of the Gladiatorial Commission were more than 30 years old and showed it.  
Walter trudged up and inside, much as he had done each morning for many of those 
years.  And, like many previous mornings, Walter had one of Raf's pastries, sold from 
his street cart over on Montebank, balanced carefully on top of his coffee to enjoy at 
his desk.

The pastry started with an impossibly flaky crust which wrapped a good amount of 
tender darr meat that had been seasoned overnight in cardamom, cinnamon and - of all 
things - rose water.  This latter wasn't well known but Walter had managed to pump Raf 
over the years until it had slipped.  Add in onions and some mix of spicy pepper and 
you were probably most of the way there.  Walter had been enthusiastically touting 
Raf's pastries for years.  And the lines had gotten longer.  He'd only just managed to 
get one of the last pastries this morning.  Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut.

He settled in behind his desk and began tackling the small amount of correspondence 
that had arrived since the previous day.  It was steady, if not particularly 
challenging, work to officially plan out each cycle's arena matches, recording 
combatant challenges and avoidances, and otherwise executing on the administrative 
playbook.  Over the years, as Alastarians had turned to other pursuits for 
entertainment, the workload had dropped but, thankfully, no one had yet suggested he 
wasn't needed.  Probably because he was the only one who really understood the 
playbook.  A comfortable if not particularly gratifying form of job security.

"This can't be right?" Walter muttered as his eyebrows involuntarily climbed.  He 
grabbed the previous sheet of paper, turned it over and scanned it.  Then looked back 
at the correspondence in hand.  A challenge in Dayla Kiv was not very common.  A 
challenge issued forth from a Tournament Victor even less so.  A Tourney Champion, 
even rarer.  But such a challenge involving The Muffin Man's Gumball guild as a 
target?  Unheard of.

Walter sat back and stared off into space.  He suddenly felt queasy and was pretty 
sure it had nothing to do with Raf's pastry.  He'd never really considered it as being 
"on the take", as such turn of phrase was commonly found in the parlance of people who 
are.  Over the years, certain kindnesses had been accepted just for being thorough in 
his job.  Keeping an eye out for any incoming items from the TMM Conglomerate, doing 
business as whatever the guild happened to be called this month.  Making sure they 
were handled properly and expeditiously.  The sublimation of perhaps base, personal 
benefit into an overall benefit to the greater society enjoying the games.  An 
alignment of satisfaction and security under the watchful gaze of social mores.

Many people could achieve this sort of thing without even being aware of it.  The 
internal weights and scales that one unconsciously applies to any societal situation 
involving the delicate tapestry of moral, religious, philosophical and aesthetic 
considerations.  Walter was, regrettably, not one of them.

He was on the take.  And he knew it.  He began to sweat.

A quick scrawl on parchment, secured with the Gladiatorial Commission seal, and his 
complicity was complete.  Walter waved over a Gladiatorial Commission runner and 
instructed prompt delivery to the Gumball Guild.

"Am I to await the honor of a response?"

"What?  Of course, you ninnie!  Now go."

Walter had no need to worry about getting too comfortable as he awaited the pleasure 
of the Gumball Guild.  The response was as swift as the initial onset of his unease 
had been upon seeing the challenge.  Unfortunately, it did nothing to lessen the 
latter.  Waving the runner away, he took time for the luxury of a single slow breath 
and then broke the seal of the response. 

It was unequivocal.

After a glance to ensure the runner had departed, he turned back to his desk, picked 
up the parchment registering the Tournament Champion challenge and shredded it.  Being 
no one's dupe, he carefully folded and pocketed the Gumball missive against any future 
need.

                                      SPY REPORT

     It's me, The Unknown Spymaster here with my bag to give you the news on last 
week's fights.  Hey everybody, watch out for NICOLE, who flew up 15 points in the 
rankings after mashing IRIS like a melon.  Keep your eye on this gal.  And falling 
like a basher in the top ten was CASTIEL, who dropped 8 points after a disappointing 
(to say the least) bout with MIGUEL.  Our battling duelmaster SERGEANT 3 has managed 
to hold the title, fending off CHOPPED LIVER's none too subtle advances.  Better luck 
next time, SPROUT OF MY WAY!.  Can you believe they are paying me 10 gold to deliver 
this stuff?   
     Let's dig a little deeper into what's happening in the DAYLA KIV arena.  Did you 
hear that A.W. OF GUMBALL was most avoided team this week?  Well, knowing the 
personal hygiene of A.W. OF GUMBALL's warriors, I'm not surprised!  Okay, so I may 
not be funny, but catch SPROUT OF MY WAY!'s act in the arena.  Those acrobats seem to 
be fairly deft at running from A.W. OF GUMBALL.   
     Remember that an arena is not always a safe place to be, but it is one of the 
most interesting, though!  Yes, and another newbie bites the dust as IRIS goes down 
under the sword of NICOLE.  Thanks to this, NICOLE now has 66 recognition points.  
Remember:  alliances are great, but try and take your ally in the arena with you and 
see what happens.   
     Well, that wasn't too bad; Alarond told me that the people in DAYLA KIV have no 
sense of humor.  Or maybe that they were senseless.  C'mon, Leadfoot, let's make some 
tracks.  Hasta la bye-bye.  (Loud choruses of 'Beat it, ya bum!')-- The Unknown 
Spymaster  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 SERGEANT 3 4539               9   0  3   125       MEDAL OF HONOR (519)

CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-DARWIN 4739                  14   1  0   130       A.W. OF GUMBALL (558)
-SERGEANT 4 4509              15   5  1    94       MEDAL OF HONOR (519)
 SERGEANT 5 4515               8   2  1    94       MEDAL OF HONOR (519)

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 CHOPPED LIVER 4763           11   4  0    82       SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 LISA TYL KOHL 4741           20  16  0    76       SAND DANCERS (251)
-GUMBALL 4730                  6   0  0    73       A.W. OF GUMBALL (558)

CHALLENGER ADEPTS              W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 JACK FARMER 4758             14  14  0    66       SAND DANCERS (251)
 NICOLE 4784                   6   1  1    66       A.W. OF GUMBALL (558)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 RICHARD 4787                  4   0  1    51       A.W. OF GUMBALL (558)
 LEO 4762                     10   8  0    42       SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)
 MIGUEL 4799                   3   0  0    41       SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 ANAIS 4780                    2   1  0    26       A.W. OF GUMBALL (558)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-SERGEANT 2 4534               1   0  0    21       MEDAL OF HONOR (519)
 SERGEANT 1 4810               2   0  0    18       MEDAL OF HONOR (519)
 CASTIEL 4804                  3   3  1    17       SUPERNATURAL (565)
 ROWENA 4803                   2   1  0    13       SUPERNATURAL (565)
 MIGHTY MIKE 4800              1   0  0    13       SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)
 KAREN HALE 4809               1   2  0     5       SAND DANCERS (251)
 ALDEN DENNY 4812              1   2  0     5       SAND DANCERS (251)
 TARAN TEN SALTH 4811          1   2  0     5       SAND DANCERS (251)
-FIGHTER 483                   0   1  0     1       ADVENTURERS (100)

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
MARTIN DENNY 4728      16 23 0 SAND DANCERS 251     SERGEANT 3 4539       699   
TALIA TYL SALTH 4802    2  6 0 SAND DANCERS 251     IRIS 4801             699   
IRIS 4801               5  3 1 SPROUT OF MY WAY 555 NICOLE 4784           702   
BOBBY SINGER 4805       2  2 0 SUPERNATURAL 565     DARINHASS THE FI      702  NONE
DEAN WINCHESTER 4806    2  3 0 SUPERNATURAL 565     RICHARD 4787          701   
SAM WINCHESTER 4807     2  2 1 SUPERNATURAL 565     SERGEANT 5 4515       700   

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Jorja & Green Eyes -- Thanks for the tips.  I will avoid those arenas.  I'm still 
trying to learn this #*?!#! game, and it's too much of an investment to get killed off 
or laughs to me. -- Shawn

'King' Richard -- I had just decided to shelve Dean Winchester.  I realized he was 
designed way wrong.  1 turn too late I guess. -- Shawn

General Question -- I don't have access to the internet.  Is there any specific 
Newsletter/Noblish Island article for learning/recognizing the correct rhythm for each 
style?  Is the activity statement a clue?  Are there other clues on the overview? -- 
Shawn, a newbie

     I'll look to see if there are any good articles. Maybe Jorja knows of one? -- 
     Green Eyes

Sergeant 3 -- Heck, we always seem to lose to sergeants.  An innate resistance to 
authority figures, I guess. -- Jack Farmer

Sergeant 5 -- You're tall enough to be one of Jorja's regulars. -- Lisa tyl Kohl
P.S.  A secret admirer would teach me SKILLS.

Castiel -- I wish Jorja wouldn't insist on looking things up.  Now I don't think I can 
trust you.  If that was ever an option. -- Taran ten Salth

Anais -- Not a good day for me, and lunch was second rate, too. -- Alden Denny

Stupid scribe. -- Karen Hale
P.S.  I thought standbys were supposed to LOSE.

Supernatural -- My apologies for the death of Dean at the hands of Richard. It was 
completely unintended. I'm going to be running Richard for three more turns (setting 
him up for the next tourney), so if he doesn't die, you'll have three shots at a 
Bloodfeud. -- TMM

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

BOBBY SINGER was butchered by DARINHASS THE FIRST in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
SERGEANT 3 devastated CHOPPED LIVER in a action packed 1 minute one-sided Title duel.
LISA TYL KOHL was subdued by KOMAR THE PENNILESS in a 2 minute uneven fight.
JACK FARMER was devastated by SERGEANT 5 in a 1 minute one-sided contest.
RICHARD overpowered DIRTY RUFFIAN in a crowd pleasing 1 minute mismatched match.
NICOLE assassinated IRIS in a 1 minute bloody one-sided struggle.
LEO overcame ANAIS in a action packed 1 minute fight.
MIGUEL vanquished CASTIEL in a 1 minute uneven duel.
ROWENA viciously subdued ALDEN DENNY in a action packed 2 minute beginner's fight.
KAREN HALE was defeated by SERGEANT 1 in a 2 minute beginner's match.
TARAN TEN SALTH was overpowered by MIGHTY MIKE in a 1 minute one-sided fight.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|AIMED BLOW                       5         BASHING ATTACK     3 -   0 -  0     100  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    4         SLASHING ATTACK   14 -   6 -  3      70  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  3         STRIKING ATTACK   14 -   8 -  2      64  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   2         AIMED BLOW        26 -  15 -  1      63  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  2         LUNGING ATTACK     8 -   6 -  1      57  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   1         PARRY-LUNGE        2 -   3 -  0      40  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      1         PARRY-RIPOSTE      5 -  10 -  0      33  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    1         WALL OF STEEL      5 -  14 -  0      26  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     0         TOTAL PARRY        0 -   0 -  0       0  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      0         PARRY-STRIKE       0 -   0 -  0       0  |

Turn 702 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     2 -  0     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  1         3  STRIKING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK     1 -  0     PARRY-STRIKE       0 -  0         3  AIMED BLOW     
STRIKING ATTACK    2 -  1     PARRY-RIPOSTE      0 -  1         2  SLASHING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW         3 -  2     TOTAL PARRY        0 -  0         2  LUNGING ATTACK 
SLASHING ATTACK    1 -  1     WALL OF STEEL      0 -  4         1  WALL OF STEEL  

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
STRIKING ATTACK  SERGEANT 3 4539             9   0  3  125 MEDAL OF HONOR (519)
SLASHING ATTACK  SERGEANT 5 4515             8   2  1   94 MEDAL OF HONOR (519)
AIMED BLOW       CHOPPED LIVER 4763         11   4  0   82 SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)
LUNGING ATTACK   RICHARD 4787                4   0  1   51 A.W. OF GUMBALL (558)
BASHING ATTACK   MIGUEL 4799                 3   0  0   41 SPROUT OF MY WAY! (555)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is LISA TYL KOHL 4741.  The most popular warrior this 
turn was ROWENA 4803.  The ten other most popular fighters were LEO 4762, RICHARD 
4787, SERGEANT 3 4539, SERGEANT 5 4515, SERGEANT 1 4810, MIGHTY MIKE 4800, LISA TYL 
KOHL 4741, NICOLE 4784, MIGUEL 4799, and CHOPPED LIVER 4763.

The least popular fighter this week was TARAN TEN SALTH 4811.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were CASTIEL 4804, ANAIS 4780, JACK FARMER 4758, BOBBY SINGER 4805, 
KAREN HALE 4809, ALDEN DENNY 4812, IRIS 4801, CHOPPED LIVER 4763, MIGUEL 4799, and 
NICOLE 4784.