DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 02/07/2020    Duedate: 02/20/2020

ARADI ARENA

DM-60    TURN-743

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

JAWS
RED DOG GANG (476)
(60-9078) [22-23-0,107]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

JAWS                           POSITION IS EMPTY
RED DOG GANG (476)             
(60-9078) [22-23-0,107]        

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

JAWS                           HACK-N-SLASH
RED DOG GANG (476)             THE ELITE (677)
(60-9078) [22-23-0,107]        (60-9189) [2-3-0,12]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

RED DOG GANG (476)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. RED DOG GANG (476)          62
2. UNNAMEABLES (91)           -18      UNNAMEABLES (91)
3. THE ELITE (677)            -24      Unchartered Team

                                        (-1)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1 UNNAMEABLES (91)         397 322 18 55.2   1/ 1 RED DOG GANG (476)       11  4 1
 2/ 2 RED DOG GANG (476)       824 %1128 25 42.2   2/ 2 THE ELITE (677)           4 11 0
 3/ 3 THE ELITE (677)          113 163 12 40.9   3/ 3 UNNAMEABLES (91)          1  2 0

    '*'   Unchartered team                       '-'  Team did not fight this turn
   (###)  Avoid teams by their Team Id          ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank

                                    TEAM SPOTLIGHT

                                    Dark Stoicism

The giant sword cut a furrow into the dirt. The night's light reflected from a few 
patches on its slowly rusting blade, which rose out through an upturned mouth. The 
ricasso head stretched past a crossguard of outstretched hands. The stylized fighter 
handle stood on a pommel skull. Two beefy hands grasped the figure's body. The sword 
was massive, like the warrior holding it, called Stoic. The sword was sleek and 
battle-worn, the warrior was bloated and uncertain. Towering though he was, even under 
plates of armor, fat rolls peeked out. One might wonder if the cook decided to go to 
war while the soldiers stayed in the kitchen.

Stoic looked back. His manager, memory, had been there just a moment ago, but the tree 
line had misted over, obscuring the entrance. He shrugged under the weight of the 
armor and looked through his helmet. The moonlight was bright on a clearing in the 
forest. All was deadly quiet, night mist roiling. His sollrets clunking through patchy 
grass occasionally broke the silence. It would be serene, but he could feel eyes 
everywhere and the promise of death. This was not a quiet forest and certainly not the 
boisterous and sandy arena he normally fought in. This was the Dark Arena, final 
resting spot of the failed gladiator. 

                                        * * *

"I can do better. I can! Please!" Stoic pleaded but memory was unmoved. "My decision 
is final. You don't have the desire to live a life of war. You have not grown into the 
gladiator name I gave you." Stoic was on his knees, begging, searching memory's 
unseeing eyes for hope. Memory's mouth tightened as he let out an almost imperceptible 
sigh. He pulled the hood of his tight black cloak over his head, turned, and drifted 
away. 

"Wyvern, please. Surely you can save me?" The trainer put a hand on his shoulder. With 
Stoic on his knees, he and the diminutive trainer were eye to eye. An immortal warrior 
with many years and many deaths behind her, she did not harbor his fear of the 
unknown. "Today's fight is over. Tomorrow we will train for the next." She locked eyes 
with him, passing on some of her inner resolve. "Come," she bade, as she led him from 
the infirmary back to their training hall.

                                        * * * 

A biting pain seared through an exposed flap of skin on his stomach. His mind had 
wandered away from the fight. His opponent, a Dark Arena champion, had entered 
silently. An elf stood before him, two feet shorter, but standing tall and towering 
above Stoic by confidence and bearing if not physical height. He might have been a 
glimmering angel, moonbeams dancing on exquisite silver mail. The elf brought his 
needle-thin sword up, hilt to face, blade skyward, in honorable warrior salute. He was 
sure he had won, and everyone knew it. He had time to honor the walking dead. 

                                        * * * 

Old Wyvern snaked a short spear under his guard, stopping just short of cutting. She 
always used her deadly spear, even in training, such was her skill and control. He had 
a greatsword, blunted for training, but massive. "I can barely move it. How can I 
train or fight if it's too heavy?" He felt a familiar and painful whack from the blunt 
end of Wyvern's spear. "Don't blame the sword. Desire victory and the sword will 
move." She struck again and he moved to the side, not moving the sword so much as 
standing it in the path of the attack. The parry was unorthodox but successful. 
"That'll do. Now strike!"

                                        * * * 

Stoic tried to recall his training as the fight continued. It wasn't working. He was 
bleeding profusely. He fell back on his reserves of strength and willpower. Slash, 
cut, smash... the elf was striking every weak spot in his armor, inflicting damage at 
will. Circle, stab, circle, slash, circle, cut. Stoic had been on the ground twice 
before struggling to his feet, stumbling and throwing up defenses with little success. 
He felt frustrated and clumsy but kept defending. Maybe the attacks were coming more 
slowly...

                                        * * * 

The arena crowd was restless, only moderately attentive to the morning's rookie 
warriors. The sand worked its way between his toes. He was just a boy. His parents did 
not love their son so much as an arena bounty. Stoic was scared and slow and the man 
in front of him wished him harm. And harm he did. Stoic cowered behind his shield, 
without even a weapon. "It's better this way. Rely on your hands. I want to see what 
you can do," memory had said. Stoic was bruised and bleeding. His opponent was more 
tired than injured, exhausted, really. Under a slowly diminishing rain of blows, Stoic 
heard calls from his teammates. "Now strike!" They were yelling frantically. He peered 
over his shield to see his opponent, sweating, breathing heavily, grip loosening on 
his sword. The attacking gladiator overextended above his head, ready to deliver 
another hacking, unopposed blow. Stoic roared upward to his full height, at the same 
time sending his shield through the surprised gladiator's face. Blood spattered, he 
flipped once and landed face down with a thud, sword flying end over end to land ten 
feet away. The crowd gasped for a moment then roared. His team roared. He looked to 
see memory, gazing forward blindly as always, but clearly smiling at him.

                                        * * * 

Back in the night mist, he was tired and hurt. After a long fight, minutes under this 
barrage. It must happen soon. Stoic knew he would die. But he wasn't dead yet. He saw 
the elf circling, waiting for another attack. He saw the moonlight and the trees. He 
felt the watching eyes. He felt memory and old Wyvern and his team. He knew they could 
see. He felt his opponents and all the gladiators in him for this moment. He felt his 
parents, who only saw in him a mouth to feed. He saw the high elf, still glistening, 
now with sweat -- still looking down on Stoic -- looking down not with haughty 
indignation as before, but the desperation of a man trying to chop down a stone tower 
and just realizing his error. Stoic saw not confidence but desperation. For the first 
time, resignation gave way to fury. "Strike Now," he heard in his mind.

The elf leapt forward, blade flashing. Stoic spun to his right, pulling the massive 
blade in his wake. The elf and his blade shot through the spot Stoic had been, then 
turned back in disbelief at the unexpected life in his easy quarry. "Strike Now," 
Stoic thought, as he continued his spin, continued his fury, pulling the blade full 
circle, letting out a roar that called all the judging eyes to witness.

The blade felt warm in his hand. He struggled to catch his breath. The arc of the 
blade had pulled him another half circle away from his opponent. He looked back at the 
elf, ready for the next attack. The elf's body stood, head lying on its shoulder, neck 
detached entirely where the blade had hewn through. The head's eyes were still open, 
judging differently now, askew. Immortal these Dark Arena champions were, and 
immortality makes death an odd thing. Stoic fell to his knees, sobbing. The fight was 
over. And it might never end. 

                                          -- memory

                                      SPY REPORT

     Well, what are you looking at, ARADI?  Ain't you never seen Snide Clemens 
before?  Ah, shaddup and listen to my news.  Of course, we're all terribly impressed 
to see WOOFER win a fight and gain 22 points, terribly.  Tsk, tsk, WOOFER beat 
SMOKING GRETCHEN and SMOKING GRETCHEN lost 16 points.  You're breakin' my heart.  And 
it's out with the old, in with the new, as JAWS takes the Title and last week's bar 
tab from the old Duelmaster.  Heh, heh.  The Victory Tavern, humph!  I've tasted 
better ale at mortuaries.  Where do they get this stuff?  From ARADI's trash dumps?   
     My mother always told me, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, start 
talking.' I loved that woman.   
     Some people like volunteer work in the hospitals.  I volunteer for ARADI's 
morgue.  More variety.  We're all going to die in the end, so why worry if the fate 
catches up with you sooner that later?   
     I was about to buy a new quill pen the other day, but some fighter took it for 
an epee.  Forgive me for writing with a dagger.  Phlllt!  Just had to do that before 
I leave the fine city of ARADI.  I feel much better now.  I see the crowds are 
getting restless, I must leave now-- Snide Clemens  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 JAWS 9078                 LU 22  23  0   107       RED DOG GANG (476)

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 HUSH PUPPY 9291           AB 13   7  1    83       UNNAMEABLES (91)
 SPUD 9269                 TP 18  16  1    72       RED DOG GANG (476)
 HUNTER 9304               ST 10   9  1    69       RED DOG GANG (476)

CHALLENGER ADEPTS              W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-WHALE MEAT 9270           LU  4   0  1    57       UNNAMEABLES (91)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 WOOFER 9308               LU  8   6  0    54       RED DOG GANG (476)
 MS. VIKTORIA 9143         BA  9  15  1    48       THE ELITE (677)
 LIL' DEAD DUDE 9140       ST 10  14  2    46       THE ELITE (677)                          *
 SMOKING GRETCHEN 9126     AB  5  24  0    39       THE ELITE (677)

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-HIEROGLYPH 9303           ST  2   0  0    24       UNNAMEABLES (91)                         *

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 MASTIFF 9322              WS  2   1  0    21       RED DOG GANG (476)                       *
 PISSED OFF ZOMBIE 9323        1   1  0    15       THE ELITE (677)                          ???
 HACK-N-SLASH 9189         SL  2   3  0    12       THE ELITE (677)                          *

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
REPTILE 9173            6  7 0 THE ELITE 677        HUNTER 9304           741   

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Lil' Dead Dude -- Why wear armor when you're already dead. -- Hunter

Hush Puppy -- Well, you hushed ME this time.  Well done. -- Jaws

Ms. Viktoria -- You again. -- Spud

Smoking Gretchen -- I will.  The smell of smoke that follows you around is unpleasing. 
-- Woofer

Pissed Off Zombie -- You're dead, right?  That's why I buried you in the sand. -- 
Mastiff

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

HUSH PUPPY was devastated by JAWS in a 1 minute mismatched Title fight.
SPUD was viciously subdued by KHALHUMS DWARF in a 5 minute brutal expert's battle.
HUNTER overpowered MS. VIKTORIA in a 1 minute mismatched duel.
SMOKING GRETCHEN was devastated by WOOFER in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
LIL' DEAD DUDE was demolished by RUTHLESS JAYWALKER in a 1 minute competition.
HACK-N-SLASH was bested by MASTIFF in a crowd pleasing 1 minute amateur's match.
PISSED OFF ZOMBIE overpowered PERSISTENT BEGGAR in a 4 minute uneven melee.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|AIMED BLOW                       3         PARRY-RIPOSTE      2 -   1 -  0      67  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   2         WALL OF STEEL      2 -   1 -  0      67  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  2         TOTAL PARRY        7 -   4 -  0      64  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    1         LUNGING ATTACK    14 -   9 -  0      61  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  1         STRIKING ATTACK   18 -  13 -  1      58  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   1         SLASHING ATTACK    2 -   3 -  0      40  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      1         AIMED BLOW        11 -  19 -  0      37  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      0         BASHING ATTACK     1 -   9 -  0      10  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     0         PARRY-STRIKE       0 -   0 -  0       0  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    0         PARRY-LUNGE        0 -   0 -  0       0  |

Turn 743 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     AIMED BLOW         1 -  2         3  LUNGING ATTACK 
WALL OF STEEL      1 -  0     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  0         3  STRIKING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK    1 -  1     PARRY-STRIKE       0 -  0         2  AIMED BLOW     
                              PARRY-RIPOSTE      0 -  0         1  TOTAL PARRY    
                              SLASHING ATTACK    0 -  1         1  BASHING ATTACK 
                              BASHING ATTACK     0 -  1         1  WALL OF STEEL  
                              TOTAL PARRY        0 -  1     

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
AIMED BLOW       HUSH PUPPY 9291            13   7  1   83 UNNAMEABLES (91)
TOTAL PARRY      SPUD 9269                  18  16  1   72 RED DOG GANG (476)
STRIKING ATTACK  HUNTER 9304                10   9  1   69 RED DOG GANG (476)
LUNGING ATTACK   WOOFER 9308                 8   6  0   54 RED DOG GANG (476)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is JAWS 9078.  The most popular warrior this turn was 
HACK-N-SLASH 9189.  The ten other most popular fighters were JAWS 9078, HUNTER 9304, 
MASTIFF 9322, WOOFER 9308, LIL' DEAD DUDE 9140, HUSH PUPPY 9291, SPUD 9269, MS. 
VIKTORIA 9143, SMOKING GRETCHEN 9126, and PISSED OFF ZOMBIE 9323.

The least popular fighter this week was PISSED OFF ZOMBIE 9323.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were SMOKING GRETCHEN 9126, MS. VIKTORIA 9143, SPUD 9269, HUSH PUPPY 
9291, LIL' DEAD DUDE 9140, WOOFER 9308, MASTIFF 9322, HUNTER 9304, JAWS 9078, and 
HACK-N-SLASH 9189.

The following warriors will travel to AD after next turn:

JAWS (60-9078) RED DOG GANG (476)