DUELMASTERS NEWSLETTER

Date   : 10/12/1999    Duedate: 10/25/1999

JHELUM ARENA

DM-4    TURN-378

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

THUNDER BOLT
STORM FRONT (404)
(4-4440) [16-3-0,123]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              XERXES
                               TEMPLE OF X (420)
                               (4-4516) [5-0-0,36]

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

NAPOLEON                       URLI KNOTTLEORE
DOGS OF WAR (115)              ENCLAVE DRASKA (304)
(4-1409) [17-23-1,75]          (4-3594) [12-7-0,127]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

BLADES OF MIST (253)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. STORM FRONT (404)           25
2. CHAMPIONS (417)             25      HOUSE RROSTARR 5 (400)
3. ENCLAVE DRASKA (304)        20      Unchartered Team
4. THE BAD BUNNIES (164)       14
5. TWILIGHT LEGION II (409)    13      TEMPLE OF X (420)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1*TEMPLE OF X (420)          9   1  0 90.0   1/ 3 BLADES OF MIST (253)      8  6 1
 2- 2 LOST SOULS II (346)      140  86  6 61.9   2/ 4 STORM FRONT (404)         8  7 0
 3/ 4 HOUSE RROSTARR 5 (400)    13   9  1 59.1   3/ 5 CHAMPIONS (417)           7  5 0
 4/ 3 LIGHTS OUT (392)          86  60  3 58.9   4/ 6 TWILIGHT LEGION II (409)  7  7 0
 5/ 5 CHAMPIONS (417)           45  34  1 57.0   5/ 8 DOGS OF WAR (115)         7  8 0
 6/ 6 THE BAD BUNNIES (164)    284 220 23 56.3   6/ 7*TEMPLE OF X (420)         5  1 0
 7/ 7 NO HOLDS BARRED (383)     71  58  5 55.0   7/ 1 THE DEMON DOGS (406)      5  6 0
 8/ 8 STORM FRONT (404)         68  63  4 51.9   8/10 THE BAD BUNNIES (164)     4  6 0
 9/11 TWILIGHT LEGION II (409)  64  63  2 50.4   9/ 2 LIGHTS OUT (392)          4  7 0
10/12*DEEP13 (424)               2   2  0 50.0  10/11 HOUSE RROSTARR 5 (400)    3  0 1
11/10 THE DEMON DOGS (406)      71  73  5 49.3  11/ 0 ENCLAVE DRASKA (304)      3  1 1
12/ 0 ENCLAVE DRASKA (304)      88  96  4 47.8  12/ 9 NO HOLDS BARRED (383)     3  3 0
13/13 BLADES OF MIST (253)     111 137 13 44.8  13/12*DEEP13 (424)              2  2 0
14/ 0*EASTERN HORDE (418)        1   2  1 33.3  14-14 LOST SOULS II (346)       0  2 0
15/14 DOGS OF WAR (115)         77 156  8 33.0  15/ 0*EASTERN HORDE (418)       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

           + ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Osksi Empire #24 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +

Somewhere near Xochithlan:

     Autumn Rain, who had chosen to keep the first watch, frowned and rubbed her eyes, 
then stared into night again.  Starlight and a ground mist made a silvery gauze over 
the landscape, beautiful but deceptive.  It seemed like light, but concealed more than 
it illuminated.  Just now...she thought she saw a movement among the fern-leaved 
shrubs in the middle distance.  Or was it the stirring of the breeze that lifted her 
hair and cooled her?  Or even a trick of her tired eyes and weary mind....
     Without taking her eyes from the suspicious area, she backed up far enough to 
reach Zin with one boot and kicked him lightly, willing him to wake quietly.  But he 
wasn't a man to panic, so she hoped--
     "What is it, Rain?" he whispered.
     "I don't know," she answered as quietly.  "Something moving.  I can't make out 
any details."
     He rolled to his feet and followed her gaze.  After a moment, he said, "There is 
something moving.  If it was the wind, all the bushes would wave, and they aren't.  
But it doesn't seem to be coming any closer, just shifting back and forth out there."
     "Belgadh's barrier against monsters?"
     "Could be, I suppose."
     There was a mewing cry, like a gull...but they were too far from the Trier and 
any other open water for it to be a gull.  A faint voice that panted and faded and 
wandered said, "Rithakar.  Hurry.  I can't last much longer."
     Both gladiators stiffened.
     "What--?" Zin began.
     "Who--?" Autumn Rain asked.
     The claws-on-slate screech came again, from somewhere high overhead.  The dazzle 
of starlight darkened as a cold wind swept over them and was gone.  When they could 
see again, there was no movement and no whisper out of the night.
     "Rithakar," Autumn Rain said thoughtfully.  "Well, we're going there anyway."
                       ***     *****     ***     *****     ***
     They rode on at first light, pushing their horses hard, and by late afternoon 
were able to leave the blasted heath which had once been a forest behind.  They did so 
with relief.  That night they camped with a small Rirorni band and exchanged their 
weary horses for fresh ones.  One day stretched into another as they rode, following 
no caravan trail but navigating by the sun and stars.  Sometimes they stopped at night 
with other Rirorni bands, sometimes they camped alone.
     Finally they topped a long slow rise and Bergoi, one of their Rirorni companions, 
pointed ahead at a cluster of golden domes against the foot of a dark mountain.  
"Tsaumarn," he said.  "We will sleep there this night, in the Three Camels Serai."
     "Better we should camp on the plain outside," Belgadh muttered.  "To sleep within 
walls is not the Rirorni way."

Onour Amoun:

     The descent from the plains of the Shagornan Desert to the Ratani city of Onour 
Amoun was long and difficult.  The local people called it the Rirorni Stair, and that 
was not far out.  Horses could handle it, but only if unburdened and led; mules could 
descend with half-loads.  At a serai at the top of the Stair, it was possible to rent 
mules to move cargoes down, and the people there almost certainly made a good living 
out of it.
     Moonbeam and Doomslug stood at the head of the Stair, looking down, while they 
waited for their captors to negotiate for mules.  There were enough of the Roadsmen 
around to prevent any attempt at escape.  The drop was not sheer for the whole length, 
but there were cliffs here and there, and the rest of the slopes were steep and 
inhospitable.
     "How far down is it?" Moonbeam asked one of their guards.
     The man shrugged.  "A mile...a mile and a half, maybe.  Very steep.  A bad trail, 
but the only way down."  He saluted as the leader of his group, a man by the name of 
Naggal, strode over from the serai.
     "We'll wait here," Naggal said shortly.  "Think of it as your last rest and savor 
it."
     "Why are we waiting?" Doomslug asked.  He'd decided that since the Roadsmen 
wanted them alive and well, he might as well ask any question that occurred to him.  
They weren't likely to kill him for it.
     "Until Abeq comes.  A week or so.  He has contracted for warriors."
                       ***     *****     ***     *****     ***
     High Onour, the natives called it.  Almost any vice could be purchased here, the 
gladiators found.  Strangers in the town were fair game, to be cheated, robbed, 
kidnapped, even killed if someone felt so inclined and could do it.  Moonbeam and 
Doomslug stayed together and were soon glad of the company of Naggal's soldiers, too--
at least, so long as Naggal insisted that the gladiators remain unarmed.
     No one stopped them asking questions, and they slowly pieced together a picture 
of the situation in this area:
  The Rirorni on the high ground here were slowly draining away to the south and east, 
reason unknown.  Below the great cliff were the independent Ratani Emirates and a 
different game of empire.  The different emirates were jostling against each other, 
striving to conquer and expand.  Onour Amoun, at the foot of the Stair, was the rival 
of Mazgourrah, though it seldom came to outright war.  A little to the north along the 
base of the cliff was Alunzar, an emirate which had already conquered more than one 
neighbor, and it, too, had its eye on Mazgourrah.  Mazgourrah, one merchant explained, 
had the best farmland in all Ratan.  Lured (and Moonbeam could be very alluring) into 
conversation, Naggal had admitted that he thought the gladiators would find themselves 
in the army of Alunzar.
     Beyond Ratan was southern Lirith Kai, and long lines of slaves came up the Stair 
who were golden-skinned and dark haired and said by the merchants in High Onour to be 
Adantri.  Captives from Alunzarn raids, the merchants guessed, and would have nothing 
to do with the unfortunates, though many of them dealt in slaves.  "No good will come 
of this," the merchants said, "for the Adantri will not suffer their people to be sold 
into foreign slavery.  There will be war."  And those who brought the captives up from 
the lowland laughed and said, "Let there be war!  That'll mean more captives."

Somewhere in Lirith Kai:

     "If that fat so-and-so doesn't stop complaining," Colin grumbled to Dune, "I'm 
going to kill him."
     His fellow gladiator shrugged.  "So he doesn't like being crammed into a public 
stage with all the stinking peasants--"
     "And he's too cheap to hire a private carriage, even though he could afford it," 
Colin pointed out.  "I don't care what happens to Tricorus, but you gotta admit, this 
guy would make a rotten king.  We'd be doing them a favor to kill him."
     "Yeah, but what about us?  We go back to Tricorus and say, oh, by the way, the 
guy we were guarding was such a pain in the neck, we killed him.  That'll make us 
popular, I don't think."
     Colin sighed.  "Yeah, I guess.  And there's the problem of how we'd get back, 
too.  I've got about enough money to travel one day on this damned stage, and we've 
been weeks on the road already."  He glanced at his companion.  "What about you?"
     "Broke, pretty near."  The gladiator was silent for a moment, listening to the 
running litany of complaint from their employer on the forwardmost of the coach's 
three seats.  "Maybe somebody else will kill him.  He don't have the knack of making 
friends."
     "If someone else tries," Colin observed gloomily, "we'll have to stop them.  
We're supposed to be protecting Sarivan."
                       ***     *****     ***     *****     ***
     Sarivan looked around his quarters with a mixture of pleasure and 
dissatisfaction, and Colin supposed he could understand that.  It was a very pleasant 
inn, though not the best in Chan Hisar--rooms of a decent size, airy and clean, beds 
maybe a little on the hard side but not unbearably so, food rather exotic, maybe, but 
good and plentiful...and prices high.  All the Tricoran merchant's protests and 
arguments had been useless in getting a lower rate.  Even the room shared by the two 
gladiators, `servants' quarters', was as expensive as the best room in the Blue 
Dolphin in Tricorus.  Finally the merchant took a gulp from his wineglass (he hadn't 
offered any to Colin and Dune), and sighed, then said, "Well, according to the 
information the priest gave us, the tomb of this Harbindal should be somewhere near 
by."
     "To the east, I'd suppose," Colin said, having studied the map provided by the 
innkeeper.  He opened the map and attempted to hand it to Sarivan.
     The merchant pointedly ignored it.  "Very well.  Go find it, the two of you, and 
bring me the contents."
     "Hey, wait a minute!" Dune protested.  "This is supposed to be your quest--"
     "I am to be the King of Tricorus, not the Chief Adventurer," Sarivan said 
sharply.  "A good king delegates tasks of this nature to those best suited to be 
`heroes'.  Meaning you two.  I hope you're up to it."

Taegskel, notes from the diary of Medan Dashell, Jr.:

     Well, here we are stuck in this blighted hole, and Sheff thinks it's a great 
thing.  At least, I suppose that's what he thinks.  I don't think so.  Well, I ask 
you!
     I mean to say, I thought I would toddle along to the nearest tavern and talk to 
the regulars, get the feel of the place, what?  And then see about getting up a little 
friendly darts tournament, a bun fight, some congenial give and take, don't you know?  
And the only place I could find--  Mind you, I'm not forgetting we just fought a sort 
of a little war here and burned a few what-nots, but there was only one tavern!  Fact!  
Run by a particularly hot number named Torhalga.  A few minutes in the same room with 
her and it makes a chap really understand about those spiders that eat their husbands.  
Well, I always used to pretty much disbelieve that, don't you know.  I mean, does it 
make sense to you?  I mean, here's this lady spider who's found herself a congenial 
gentleman spider, and they can't be all that common, don't you, because you never hear 
of widower spiders, do you?  And then she, you know, has him once and then eats him!  
Wasteful, I call it.  But that is absolutely what this Torhalga wench made me think 
of.
     Well, what happened is, I went into this place, you see.  The Sailor's Delight or 
some such name.  I went in there, and I see this woman who was obviously constructed 
to some sultan's specifications, what I mean is, very large, very small, very large, 
and falling out of her bodice, what?  And she comes toward me sweeping all before her, 
as they say, and I begin to sweat.  I like a little light flirtation as well as the 
next chap, but this, I could see, was Too Much of a Good Thing.  But it isn't me she 
wants, for which I devoutly thank anybody who wants my thanks.  She wants Sheff!  
Incredible.  I mean, quite a good looking chap in his way, no doubt.  Not that I'm a 
judge, you understand, because who knows what women like?  Sheff and those two 
gladiators he's got hanging out with him, Hargreave and Jallors.  Terribly energetic 
chaps, all three of them, and they'll need to be if they're going to stay out of her 
clutches!
     To be absolutely frank with you, I didn't have the nerve to ask her about a darts 
tournament.

     "Torhalga said what?" Hargreave demanded.  He barely managed to change a laugh 
into a cough.
     "It's no joke," Sheff snarled.  "The woman's a...she's insatiable.  And she wants 
you, too!  You and Jallors."
     "Oh, but we'd just be appetizers," Jallors said, grinning.  "It's you she's got 
her, um, heart set on, Captain."
     "What you do with or without her is your own business," Sheff said crisply, "but 
I'll have nothing further to do with that...person."  He gestured at the map spread 
out on the table that served as his desk.  It showed Taegskel and the area for five 
miles around in considerable detail.  "What have you got to report?"
     "Slow but steady progress on the harbor works," Jallors said.  "We've got the 
land side dock built out to water deep enough to take a ship's boat.  As slowly as the 
bottom drops, though, getting it out to where even a modest trading packet could reach 
it is, well, not going to happen any time soon.  As to building something out in deep 
water for ships to tie up to or unload at for ferrying inward, no.  Not a chance, 
unless you've got a reasonably powerful magician in your pocket."
     "Then not now," Sheff decided.  "Damned if we do and damned if we don't--hiring a 
magician to fix our port takes money, and to get money, we have to have a working 
port."
     "Having a dock at all will help," Jallors said.  "I know a lot of ship captains 
who will be more likely to trade here now--if we can find something to offer them 
here, at least."
     Sheff turned to Hargreave, who shrugged.  "As far as I can tell, Taegskel has no 
products," the gladiator said.  "If the Rirorni tribes can be convinced to bring 
their, ah, whatevers--"
     "Fleeces and weavings, I think," Jallors offered doubtfully.  "And things they 
get in trade farther east and south, I suppose."
     "If you say so."  Hargreave looked dubious.  "I don't see that as being a big 
incentive for anyone to trade here, though.  I mean, they--the Rirorni--would have to 
pass Trocar, Xochithlan, Jhans, all those places along the Selnaga, to get here to 
trade, and why would they?"
     "Gods, why would anybody come here?" Jallors asked, glancing around the make-
shift office.  "Why have a town here at all?"

       + ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Delarquan Federation #25 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +

Tsaumarn:

     They had entered a kitchen, one big enough to cook meals for a hundred men 
without crowding.  There was no one in sight, but double doors were open onto the 
courtyard on the other side from their point of entry, and the sounds of combat were 
loud and steady.  Ultraist guessed that the cooks and scullions had rushed out to help 
fight off Barkab and his two followers.
     "Quickly now," Saureza said, "we must make the most of the time Barkab is gaining 
for us!"  She darted toward one of the interior doors.
     He followed, and found that the passage behind the door led to a large room with 
a long table down the middle and a sort of step-like arrangement of shelves along one 
side on which was displayed a bewildering assortment of probably valuable things.  It 
was as though a packrat with expensive tastes had set all his miscellaneous 
acquisitions out there so that other packrats could see and envy his collection.  
"What about my friend in the dungeon?" he asked.
     "First things first," the woman said briskly.  "This is our mission first."  She 
was scanning the heterogeneous collection with desperate haste and suddenly leaped 
forward and seized something.
     In all the clutter, he couldn't be sure what it had been, not that he needed to 
know, but he was curious.  What was so valuable to Barkab's tribe that he and his 
followers had risked death or capture to get it?  All he could recall for sure was 
that there had been some kind of crystal that flashed, and that it was small enough 
for Saureza to conceal in her clothes.  "Now what?" he asked, trying to watch all the 
room's many doors at once.
     "Now the dungeons and your friends," she said.
                       ***     *****     ***     *****     ***
     It was, Doc LeMa$e decided, about the way it must feel to live on the edge of a 
volcano.  The Overlord of Sibikhas gave the impression of being about to erupt at any 
moment, and over the hours of their imprisonment he had become less and less willing 
to listen to rational advice.  That Gryzash had considerable magical power was 
obvious, hell, the man practically seethed with power.  But there was great magical 
power binding this dungeon into its form and purpose, too.  Although the big manager 
would yield to no one in his willingness to undertake desperate and violent tasks, he 
had no desire to be present when Gryzash's power clashed with the power built into 
this foundation.  Not if it could be avoided.
     These reflections were interrupted by sounds from the corridor outside their 
cell: marching feet and clanging metal, coming nearer.
     "They're coming for us," LeMa$e said with satisfaction.  "Maybe now we'll have a 
chance to find out what this is all about, state our own case--"
     "If harm has come to Morra," Gryzash snarled through set teeth, "I will kill 
every one of them."
     "So shall we all," LeMa$e answered impatiently, "but let's not buy trouble.  She 
may have received no harm--"
     "I mistrust all here," Chezarnoi muttered from the other side of the cell.
     Magic crackled around the door, power crawling like lightning on the bars.  
LeMa$e leaped back with an oath.  He guessed that a mage of respectable power stood on 
the other side.  Respectable, but not great--freed of the hampering spells of this 
place, he himself could have destroyed the fellow with one hand tied behind his back.  
But he was not freed of the hampering spells, and any attempt to engage in a magical 
battle here would be futile at best.  At worst, it would set off Gryzash, and the 
Overlord was a lot too much like a powerful bomb for him to--
     He leaped on the Overlord quickly, just in time to prevent disaster.  His weight 
and momentum were enough to fling Gryzash against the stone wall and stun the man 
temporarily.  It was enough.  The door opened and guards entered warily; the magician 
remained outside but clearly prepared to take a hand if needed.  The three prisoners 
were chained and hustled out into the corridor, then up a seemingly endless spiral 
stair.

Elsewhere in Tsaumarn:

     It was the Rirorni Cook who brought the news, bursting in on Varndis Abeq and the 
gladiators as they planned their departure.  "Lord Sa Kolke is arresting all in the 
city who are not Rirorni and have no safe pass!" he announced.
     "The city depends on foreigners coming here to trade," Zeus pointed out.  "How 
can he dare to drive out all the traders?"
     "All I know is that the Defender's troops are going through every serai arresting 
people," the Cook said, shrugging.  "I am Rirorni and face no risk."
     "And I have a safe pass," Varndis Abeq said.  He looked around at the gladiators 
with an expression of such innocence that they were immediately suspicious.  "I could 
include you all under the protection of my pass, if you will place yourselves in my 
hands unreservedly."
     "Unreservedly meaning what?" Candyacid asked suspiciously.
     "I could not lie to the Defender's agents," the trader said virtuously, "but if I 
could truthfully tell them that you are all my bondsmen--"
     "Why not come right out and call us your slaves?" Renae snarled.  Her fingers 
clenched and unclenched.
     Candyacid reached over and stilled her companion's hands.  "We will leave 
immediately," she said.  "There are no gates to passed, our gear is already packed, 
and we can be gone in half an hour--with luck, before the arresting party gets here.  
Renae, if you'll tell Raveln, I'll get our mounts.  Meet me at the rear gate of the 
serai as fast as you can."
     "That goes for us, too," Zeus said coldly.  Columbine nodded, but didn't speak; 
she was thrusting the last of their possessions into packs.
     "You can't!" Playgirl said.  "You have to go with Varndis to--"
     "We'll meet him down the road and go on from there," the Delarquan said.  "And 
you'd better come with us."
     "There is no need.  I am his partner," Playgirl answered smugly.
     "The gods damn all Karnhorns," Columbine muttered under her breath.  
"Treacherous, every one."

                                 DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
                             Notes from the arena champ.

     The light of dawn is breaking.   It hurts my eyes...kinda like all you worthless 
slaves hurt my eyes.  Pawns in the greatness of Darkness.  Pawns, or maybe even 
lower...like toads.  You scurry along the ground, hopping from senseless shade to 
shade.  All you all do is eat and look like toads.
     I don't have time to waste on the dregs of society.  Worms!  Scumbags!
     Challenge me if you've got the guts!  Little Wa Wa!  Hole in the Hart!  
Xandbagger!  Jenna-Rae Loser!  Spider Doc!  Thunder Blunder!  Rooster Wench!  Hair 
Gel!  Come on, slugs.  Here I am!

                                                       Darkness

                                      SPY REPORT

     Greetings, Warriors of JHELUM.  Allow this humble servant Novgorodny Vir to give 
you a respite from the fights in the form of this Spyreport.  The boys at THE DEMON 
DOGS left the arena dejected, after being kicked out of the top spot by BLADES OF 
MIST.  Good show!  He who laughs last didn't get the joke.  Speaking of laughing at 
jokes, observe LIGHTS OUT.  Last week they got 0-3-0 to drop by 7!  Nothing works for 
a team like victory (How's that for a perceptive observation?) as DOGS OF WAR can 
attest...  The arena was more crowded than usual this time, as THUNDER BOLT faced 
JHELUM's Duelmaster.  In JHELUM, nothing is permanent (except Death), and we find 
ourselves a new Duelmaster, THUNDER BOLT.  Word has it one team in JHELUM is taking 
speech lessons to try to bore their opponent to death.  I'll bet it works.   
     A Zenmaster once told me, 'Does not the spinning wheel turn?  And do not the 
little birds cry out?'  Any ideas?  Perhaps the warriors of TWILIGHT LEGION II should 
take up some hobbies, as they are the most avoided team...  The warriors of TWILIGHT 
LEGION II found their efforts at combat frustrated as BLADES OF MIST apparently had 
more important things to do than fight.  If challenges were horses, CHIHUAHUA CHE 
could open up a fast food joint!  My love of complete Spyreports dictates that I note 
the mismatched fight, FISH HOOK and MAGINOT MIKE.  Are NO HOLDS BARRED unwilling to 
engage in a fair fight?  I thought FISH HOOK showed great skill and promise when he 
was bested by MAGINOT MIKE.  All right, so I slept through it!  Big deal!   
     Is there life after death?  Pragmatics (and warriors) know there is death after 
life!  SPYMASTER in the Dark Arena wasn't enough for XANDAR of BLADES OF MIST.  Maybe 
that certain serving girl(?) at The Dripping Blade will be!  Ask not a spymaster for 
counsel, for he will pontificate long after you have fallen into an unconscious 
stupor.   
     All good things must come to an end.  As the seasons change, and the creatures 
of the wild change also, so do I feel a yearning to leave this place.  JHELUM, I 
leave you now.  The Duelmaster has agreed to foot my bill at The Dripping Blade.  
'Til next time-- Novgorodny Vir  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 THUNDER BOLT 4440            16   3  0   123       STORM FRONT (404)

CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-BEN WA 4335                  13   0  1   186       LOST SOULS II (346)
 LEURIANR RROSTARR 4344       13   9  1   127       HOUSE RROSTARR 5 (400)
 URLI KNOTTLEORE 3594         12   7  0   127       ENCLAVE DRASKA (304)
 DARKNESS 4312                22   5  0   123       LIGHTS OUT (392)
 GELION 4396                  17  10  0   109       TWILIGHT LEGION II (409)
-JENNA-RAE POWER 4372         13  13  2   103       THE DEMON DOGS (406)
 CAMPFIRE 4276                23  15  0   102       LIGHTS OUT (392)
 TUMA BALDHEEL 3742           10   0  1   100       ENCLAVE DRASKA (304)
-SPIDER GUARD 4180            14   9  1    97       NO HOLDS BARRED (383)
 PIERCE HART 4407             13  11  0    91       THE DEMON DOGS (406)

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-LORD FANDIL 4018             14  10  1    87       LOST SOULS II (346)
 QUICK JAB 4466                9   5  1    87       NO HOLDS BARRED (383)
 LIGHT BRINGER 4474           11   6  1    85       CHAMPIONS (417)
 NAPOLEON 1409                17  23  1    75       DOGS OF WAR (115)
 ROSETTA DEGRAVES 4528         6   2  0    74       THE DEMON DOGS (406)

CHALLENGER ADEPTS              W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 SHIFT 4471                   11   5  0    61       CHAMPIONS (417)
 CYCLONE 4387                 10  15  0    61       STORM FRONT (404)
 ICEBERG 4507                  7   3  0    61       STORM FRONT (404)
 ELECTRUM 4470                 9   7  0    58       CHAMPIONS (417)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 SQUAL 4441                    8  11  1    56       STORM FRONT (404)
 WOLFE 4336                    7  27  0    52       DOGS OF WAR (115)
-IVY'S REVENGE 4026            8   2  0    50       LOST SOULS II (346)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 RABID RABBIT 4490             5   2  0    47       THE BAD BUNNIES (164)
-COTTONTAIL 4162              11   7  1    45       THE BAD BUNNIES (164)
 TEMPEST 4503                  7   3  1    43       STORM FRONT (404)
 PETER RABBIT 4161             7   8  1    42       THE BAD BUNNIES (164)
 THEODORE 4486                 7   9  0    42       BLADES OF MIST (253)
 SUNFLARE 4496                 6   8  0    38       BLADES OF MIST (253)
 XERXES 4516                   5   0  0    36       TEMPLE OF X (420)
-DARK ONE 4331                 5   5  0    34       LOST SOULS II (346)

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 MONOLITH 4506                 8   2  0    31       CHAMPIONS (417)
 IDDERWILIK 4097               5   1  0    31       ENCLAVE DRASKA (304)
 MAGINOT MIKE 4509             5   6  0    31       DOGS OF WAR (115)
 MINDRAZOR 4538                2   2  0    30       CHAMPIONS (417)
 CHIHUAHUA CHE 4508            4   7  0    29       DOGS OF WAR (115)
-BAR BUNNY 4225                5   7  1    28       THE BAD BUNNIES (164)
 WHITTLE 4526                  3   3  0    25       TWILIGHT LEGION II (409)
-TWILIGHT 4554                 2   0  0    25       LIGHTS OUT (392)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 FISH HOOK 4501                6   5  0    23       NO HOLDS BARRED (383)
 XUTHUS 4519                   4   1  0    20       TEMPLE OF X (420)
 GILLI 4533                    3   3  1    20       TWILIGHT LEGION II (409)
 AZREAL ELS III 4482           1   2  1    20       EASTERN HORDE (418)
-SCISSOR PUNCH 4500            2   2  0    18       NO HOLDS BARRED (383)
 FLUFFY BUNNY 4491             3   3  0    17       THE BAD BUNNIES (164)
 TONGUE PUPPET 4549            2   0  0    17       DEEP13 (424)
 ISKERAT 4115                  3   2  0    15       ENCLAVE DRASKA (304)
 DIANA'S LEGS 4535             4   2  0    14       BLADES OF MIST (253)
 GINIE 4534                    2   4  0    12       TWILIGHT LEGION II (409)
 WILLO 4559                    1   1  0    12       TWILIGHT LEGION II (409)
 ANITA WYNNE 4555              3   2  0    11       THE DEMON DOGS (406)
 TWINKLE TWINKLE 4502          1   6  1    10       LIGHTS OUT (392)
 WOLFHOUND 4560                1   2  0     5       DOGS OF WAR (115)
 THRENODY 4557                 1   1  0     4       BLADES OF MIST (253)
 BCG-1.9 4551                  0   2  0     2       DEEP13 (424)
-EERIE 4561                    0   1  0     1       LIGHTS OUT (392)
 KENNY WYNNE 4562              0   1  0     1       THE DEMON DOGS (406)

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

THE DEAD               W  L K TEAM NAME             SLAIN BY             TURN Revenge?
VENOMOUS CONCUBIN 595  0  1 0   1                   TUMA BALDHEEL 3742    378 NONE    
SPYMASTER 602          0  1 0 DARK ARENA 0          XANDAR 4392           378 NONE    
DOUG GRAVES 4476      10  5 0 THE DEMON DOGS 406    LEURIANR RROSTAR 4344 377         

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Chihuahua Che -- A valiant effort, sir.  My right buttock is killing me, and I have 
this sudden craving for a beef & bean burrito.... -- Xerxes

Twilight -- You had to go and ruin my team's perfect record, didn't you?  Party 
pooper! -- Xuthus

Campfire -- Oh ya.  I'm scared.  If I were to kill another one of you teammates, I'm 
sure you would just stand there and teach me three skills per fight.  Way to put me in 
my place. -- Squall
P.S.  Looks like I could go down and get Twilight.  Hope he can take a hit.

Darkness -- You the Scum. -- Thunder Bolt
P.S . Maybe we should try it on my terms next time.

Andarus -- You are dreaming.  Diana would have nothing to do with your silly self, nor 
the dark brothers Umbra and Shadowgate (Dope and Doper).  And I have a good tip that 
says she doesn't like fleas, so Maddog is out.  All that is left is Mt. Yukon.

Sunflare -- If you keep teaching me that well, I'm going to keep challenging.  I 
figure I can beat you, keep using the avoids. -- Whittle

All -- I was clearly the favorite of Diana.  She poured my drinks first and leaned 
against me more than anyone else.  Andarus was sitting next to me, I can understand 
his confusion. -- Umbra

All -- I'm sure Yukon thinks he was the favorite, but his beer glass was last filled.  
'Nuff said. -- Umbra

Shadowgate -- You know, I can understand bloodfeuding.  Heck if I had killed your 
"godling" on purpose, I would expect the assault.  Three bloodfeud losses from an 
alliance mate due to a random match-kill, well, that doesn't sit well.  Watch out. -- 
Umbra

Nighty-Night -- Could you tell Darkness to quit chirping.  All the racket is beginning 
to hurt my ears. -- Umbra
P.S.  Don't you think that naming a guy Twilight could cause you some trouble from the 
Legion?

Xandar has finally graduated, giving me 5 styles now.  He leaves us at 7-10-10-21-9-
10-17, favorites QS, Low/Low rhythms, slash tactic.  Gotta love that QS/slash 
combination.  He's now off to a nice, relaxing retirement. -- Andarus

Darkness -- Now that I finally gained that rating in my last fight, I'd like one last 
round with you, but I'm sure you'll be using those avoids.  Instead I'm off to the 
Dark Arena.  Thanks for all the long, exhausting fights. -- Xandar

All -- I've been away for a while, but I return.  Don't recognize too many of the team 
names, but hopefully I will remember some of the people. -- Coelacanth (formerly Cliff 
B.)

     Welcome back, dude! -- Ed.

Xerxes -- How x-austing of you.  Ai-ai-ai! -- Che

Shift -- Can it be that my experience is finally beginning to make a difference?  
Surely not... -- Napoleon

Peter Rabbit -- (toothy grin) -- Wolfe

Mindrazor -- Ouch!  You shaved me close! -- Wolfhound

Monolith -- Wait a minute, wait a damned minute here!  Don't we get to fight anybody 
from some OTHER team? -- Mike

Mike -- Not unless you can persuade your new manager to issue challenges. -- Napp

New...?  You're selling our charter? -- Mike, Che, Napoleon, et all

Er, ah, not so much SELLING it as...well, I owe this guy, see?  And now he wants to 
collect.  And you guys rate as disposable assets.  Sorry and all that, but that's the 
way the cupcake crumbles sometimes.  Your new manager is Sun Tsu, from Lirith Kai.  Be 
good for him, okay?  I don't want him thinking I've swapped a lemon for all my 
notes... -- Napp

Napp -- Oh, sure, be good and pull YOUR groundnuts out of the fire!  This whole deal 
seems pretty smoky to me! -- Napoleon

Hot-cha-cha!  I'm the most cha-cha-challenged!  All the ladies (pause to twirl his 
mustache) want to learn to do the hot-cha from me, no?  And all their mens want to 
find out what is my secret, and maybe also cut out my liver, yes?  Ole! -- Che

Darkness -- How well you put that. -- Wolfe, gloomily

Rabid Rabbit -- Bad bunny!  All I wanted to do was light up the sky. -- Twinkle, 
Twinkle

Threnody -- You no good, dirty, rotten, evil, ugly, worthless, stinking dirtbag! -- 
Eerie

Xuthus -- The day is experiencing its finest moment at twilight.  Let the Lights Out 
time begin! -- Twilight

Xandar -- You fought very well, putting out Campfire's flame.  Salute. -- Nighty-Night

Pierce Hart -- Was there ever a doubt? -- Darkness

11 October 1999
All -- Talon Volksie has finally entered the 90's on the verge of the millenium.  I 
have e-mail.  You may email me at TalonVolksie@aol.com. -- Talon V.

     Everyone now knows that DM-33 is one of the "Fiercest & Best Free Blades Arena" 
around.  The Hammer and others have done wonderful things for that arena.  With 50 or 
so teams, DM-33 is fun, challenging and a joy to play in.  However, I am not here to 
talk about DM-33.  I want to talk to you about DM-43, Veastian.
     DM-43 is not a large arena, we have only 8 teams here right now.  It is small, 
and not the greatest arena around...yet.  We need YOU to help make this a great 
arena.  Since it's so small, this is your chance to get in on the ground floor and 
become a cornerstone of this arena.  Not many have this chance.  DM-33 is great, but 
it is crowded.  Here in DM-43 you will not be one of the many, you will be one of the 
best.  For all of you Noblish Island managers, this is your chance to transfer your 
team to an arena where you will have an immediate impact on the game.  This is an 
arena where you can continue to hone your skills and be a contender for the 
Duelmastership.  Veteran managers...do you want to make Duelmasters the best it can 
be?  Help newbies and make an arena of your own?
     This is a wonderful chance for everyone.  For the newer players to make a 
serious impact on an arena and veteran players to be a "founder" of an arena.  
Managers like Don John, Mutt Lange, The Rake and myself want you to help make DM-43 
the best arena out there.  We don't want just "anyone" to come here, we want managers 
who want to play hard and have fun.  If that is you, then come to DM-43, Veastian.
     If anyone has any questions at all, please diplo me and I will reply as soon as 
possible.  Now is your chance, now is the time.  DM-43. -- Apollo Maximillious, mgr. 
Cult of the Dragon (339), DM-43

All -- By Seefe's name, am I tired of looking at such team names as Inyo Eye and 
Eggnog Warriors.  Please, in the name of all that is decent on the face of Ghea, give 
your teams and fighters APPROPRIATE names!!  I know it can be challenging and 
demanding to make up TRULY GOOD names like Boneshredders and Aerie Fire, but please, 
don't call your guys something that causes me to dirge in disgust!!  It really hurts 
your (and my) gaming experience when my warriors have to stand against someone named 
"Underwear Gnomes".  After all, I can come up with ten names like Bust-a-Plumber and 
Chococroc in a single minute, but why don't I do it? -- Shadowfire, mgr. of 
Dragonslayers (636) in Solven (DM 22)

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

XANDAR butchered SPYMASTER in a crowd pleasing 1 minute gruesome Dark Arena fight.
PIERCE HART was demolished by LEURIANR RROSTARR in a 1 minute Bloodfeud melee.
XERXES viciously subdued WHITTLE in a 4 minute bloody Challenge brawl.
THUNDER BOLT savagely defeated DARKNESS in a 8 minute veteran's Challenge Title fight.
GELION vanquished LIGHT BRINGER in a exciting 3 minute mismatched Challenge fight.
ROSETTA DEGRAVES devastated CYCLONE in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge competition.
ELECTRUM overcame TEMPEST in a action packed 2 minute gruesome Challenge melee.
SHIFT won victory over WOLFE in a 3 minute gruesome expert's Challenge fight.
PETER RABBIT was savagely defeated by SQUAL in a exciting 1 minute Challenge fight.
RABID RABBIT beat THEODORE in a 2 minute Challenge fight.
FISH HOOK was narrowly defeated by MAGINOT MIKE in a 4 minute Challenge match.
XUTHUS bested WILLO in a crowd pleasing 6 minute Challenge conflict.
GINIE savagely defeated WOLFHOUND in a crowd pleasing 1 minute gory Challenge match.
ANITA WYNNE was viciously subdued by CHIHUAHUA CHE in a 3 minute Challenge conflict.
CAMPFIRE was viciously subdued by URLI KNOTTLEORE in a 3 minute veteran's fray.
TUMA BALDHEEL butchered VENOMOUS CONCUBINE in a 1 minute brutal one-sided fight.
QUICK JAB savagely defeated NAPOLEON in a exciting 1 minute gory bout.
ICEBERG viciously subdued MONOLITH in a crowd pleasing 10 minute gory competition.
SUNFLARE was luckily beaten by AMBITIOUS GUARD in a 2 minute duel.
IDDERWILIK subdued AZREAL ELS III in a action packed 3 minute gruesome bout.
TWINKLE TWINKLE was outwaited by DIANA'S LEGS in a tiring 12 minute contest.
GILLI subdued BCG-1.9 in a 1 minute fight.
FLUFFY BUNNY savagely defeated THRENODY in a exciting 2 minute gory duel.
ISKERAT lost to MINDRAZOR in a exciting 3 minute gruesome novice's fight.
TONGUE PUPPET outlasted KENNY WYNNE in a tiring 13 minute beginner's duel.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|LUNGING ATTACK                  10         TOTAL PARRY       50 -  23 -   0     68  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      9         PARRY-STRIKE      10 -   6 -   0     63  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    8         WALL OF STEEL     31 -  26 -   1     54  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  4         SLASHING ATTACK   19 -  17 -   2     53  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      4         STRIKING ATTACK   17 -  17 -   1     50  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   4         LUNGING ATTACK    42 -  45 -   4     48  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     3         BASHING ATTACK    24 -  36 -   2     40  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  3         AIMED BLOW         5 -   8 -   2     38  |
|AIMED BLOW                       1         PARRY-LUNGE        5 -  12 -   0     29  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    1         PARRY-RIPOSTE      1 -  10 -   1      9  |

Turn 378 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         1 -  0     WALL OF STEEL      3 -  5         4  TOTAL PARRY    
SLASHING ATTACK    3 -  1     PARRY-STRIKE       1 -  2         3  LUNGING ATTACK 
LUNGING ATTACK     7 -  3     STRIKING ATTACK    1 -  2         2  SLASHING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY        6 -  3     PARRY-LUNGE        1 -  3         1  STRIKING ATTACK
                              BASHING ATTACK     1 -  3         1  BASHING ATTACK 
                              PARRY-RIPOSTE      0 -  1     

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
TOTAL PARRY      THUNDER BOLT 4440          16   3  0  123 STORM FRONT (404)
SLASHING ATTACK  LEURIANR RROSTARR 4344     13   9  1  127 HOUSE RROSTARR 5 (400)
LUNGING ATTACK   URLI KNOTTLEORE 3594       12   7  0  127 ENCLAVE DRASKA (304)
BASHING ATTACK   LIGHT BRINGER 4474         11   6  1   85 CHAMPIONS (417)
STRIKING ATTACK  ROSETTA DEGRAVES 4528       6   2  0   74 THE DEMON DOGS (406)
WALL OF STEEL    SHIFT 4471                 11   5  0   61 CHAMPIONS (417)
PARRY-STRIKE     ICEBERG 4507                7   3  0   61 STORM FRONT (404)

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is NAPOLEON 1409.  The most popular warrior this turn 
was URLI KNOTTLEORE 3594.  The ten other most popular fighters were THUNDER BOLT 
4440, CHIHUAHUA CHE 4508, WILLO 4559, ELECTRUM 4470, QUICK JAB 4466, FLUFFY BUNNY 
4491, MINDRAZOR 4538, LIGHT BRINGER 4474, ICEBERG 4507, and AZREAL ELS III 4482.

The least popular fighter this week was TONGUE PUPPET 4549.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were DIANA'S LEGS 4535, KENNY WYNNE 4562, MONOLITH 4506, NAPOLEON 
1409, WOLFHOUND 4560, XUTHUS 4519, MAGINOT MIKE 4509, CYCLONE 4387, DARKNESS 4312, 
and ISKERAT 4115.

The following warriors have traveled to ADVANCED DUELMASTERS after fighting this turn:

XANDAR (4-4392) BLADES OF MIST (253)

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