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By TERA STARFARE
On May 28th 2006 this notice was placed upon the doors of the famed Outback that stands just a little ways from our beloved Red Dragon Inn.
THE OUTBACK IS HEREBY CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
This noticed is addressed to all current and future participants in the sport of Duel of Fists. I am extremely disappointed and saddened to announce that, as a direct result of recent events, the Outback must close its doors to the dueling public.
In two recent challenge matches, the Outback suffered costly damage and destruction resulting from selfish and imprudent decisions made by patrons and staff alike.
Harris and Anubis were both responsible for destruction of Outback property, yet made no offers of compensation or payment to replace the broken objects. Theirs is the latest in a pattern actions undertaken by Outback patrons over several years which show a distinct lack of respect for the Outback and the assets within that provide its unique ambiance and environment.
The damage caused by Vanion in setting Styx ablaze, admittedly, is much more expensive. Not only did the ring completely burn down, the resulting fire and smoke damage to the ground and ceiling will require the replacement of sections of the wooden dome and flooring. Also, I have been informed of pending litigation against Vanion, the Outback, and myself due to the severe injuries
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sustained by Gork as a direct result of the rash actions taken by Outback staff in purposely setting the ring ablaze.
I have spoken with the Baron of Battlefield Park, who has graciously allowed the use of his land so that competition in the Duel of Fists may continue. North of the Redwin Memorial lies a small section of ground called Slagveld; dueling will commence there instead of the Outback, indefinitely. The Baron expects, and I also expect, that the patrons of the Duel of Fists will cause no damage to his land or the people or creatures within while we are his guests.
For the time being, and until overall costs of these recent events have been determined, there will be no staff layoffs. Vanion, however, is currently on an unpaid Leave of Absence from the sport. Mira, known to some of you as "The Cigar Girl," will continue in employ and will visit Slagveld on her usual nights.
Currently, this situation is the best I can offer. If and when the financial situation improves, the Outback is repaired, and significant assurances are given by patrons and staff that damage to any and all locations utilized for the Duel of Fists will be, if not eliminated altogether, significantly reduced, the Outback may re-open its doors to the sport.
--Matthew Algiers Simon
As an addendum the Baron of Seaside, Karen Wilder, also offered a place for the fist fights to be held. The Baron of Dockside, G'nort Dragoon, stated, "I am not offering Dockside. I don't want you Fist Freaks burning down anything over there." He however had a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face when he made that statement.
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By TERA STARFARE
Vanion ShadowcastOn June 4th a terrible fire occurred in the Annex which is adjacent to The Arena beneath the Red Dragon Inn. Thankfully the magical properties of the Inn extend to these areas as well or the whole entire place would have been lost without a doubt.
The magnitude of the damage was still horrific according to the reports of the Fire Marshall and Arson Investigators that were called in. There were three eye witnesses to this event and although one of the witnesses is an official of the Duel of Swords so far no official charges have been filed against anyone.
This particular situation is further complicated as the number one suspect, one Vanion Shadowcast, is also an official of the Duel of Swords and another of the eye witnesses is mute while the third eye witness is currently being accused of this crime by the one that the first eye witness, this reporter, saw commit the crime.
Vanion and Darling (AKA Kathreen) were engaging in what appeared to be a brawl when I entered the Annex thinking that Fight Night might still be going on. The officials had all already left and Misty, who operates the Fur's A Fly'n cargo hauling service, was yelling at me to get out of the way of the two of them.
As I looked to see what she was talking about, Vanion slammed a chair unto an already beaten and bloody Darling, who I had just two days before patched up from whip marks and an obvious beating by some assailant that was unknown to me.
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Dimitri was there trying to keep the dark elf from hurting the former slave any further but was having no luck so I stepped between them only to find myself
threatened as well! This did not set too well with this reporter and so I began to assist Dimitri in attempting to save the victim from what I later found out was an attempt by Vanion to enslave her!
After we succeeded in foiling his plans for Darling he was not happy and stated, "I wonder how it will look, three dead bodies and a room full of ashes." Now threats upon my life are nothing new to this reporter and so I passed it off as the dark elf simply being deprived of a new play toy as I was getting ready to escort Darling back up to the Inn.
The events that took place next will forever live in my memory as Vanion said, "Now burn for your troubles" and magically sealed the doors shut then set a table ablaze. Dimitri was doing his very best to keep Darling and I safe from the dark Elf in shadow form and as the fire quickly spread, via the dry wood of the tables and chairs, shifted into dragon form to protect us.
I do apologize faithful readers for not being able to stay for the confrontation between Vanion and Dimitri. I felt it was my duty to see that Darling got to safety and I needed to be able to give an account to the RhyDin police of the events as they happened and so I used the only means of escape left to me to get us to safety, the token that takes me to a good friend of mine.
Just before I used it to get us out of there I noted that every table and chair was on fire along with all of the rings. I don't know how either Vanion or Dimitri made it out alive since Dimitri declined my offer to take him with me. The last thing I heard before the change in scenery was Vanion's voice saying, "Never again will those who breathe hold sway against those of the night. Fire and Darkness will cleanse this City."
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By TERA STARFARE
G'nort Dragoon
Preferred Dueling Areas: Swords
 I recently had the pleasure and honor of sitting down with the Baron of Dockside, the infamous or famous, G'nort Dragoon for a little visit. G, as he said to me, "For brevity's sake, you can call me G. Makes for easier spelling." G was grinning as he made that statement to me. My visit with him was truly fun.
For those of you that don't know this Baron he is the Supervisor of the Officials that call for all of the sports that I report on here. He makes certain that someone is there when the doors are open during regular dueling hours. Also if you have a complaint about an official you can go to him and he can help you out. But back to more about the inside man behind the outside man.
When I asked him about his preferred style of dueling he replied swords, as he feels they are far more elegant although he does dabble from time to time with fists but feels that magic is a hassle. So he really is a Sword man at heart.
I asked him about Challenging for the title of Overlord and he had a lot to say on that subject and most of it really surprised me having known G for as long as I have which is to say I have known G for as long as I can remember.
Here is what he had to say in his own words: "You know I've been in the Arena for a long, long time correct? I've only made one challenge for the Title of Overlord. In all honesty, I've never had any desire to be considered the Supreme Duelist of the Arena. Other than for the sake of my own ego of course. I often am heard telling people I've never dueled before that I'm the best ever. Mainly that is for fun. As to the Title of Overlord, it would take someone I have an incredible amount of dislike for to give me cause to challenge for it."
I was very curious about the bounty that had been placed on the Baron Rakeesh because I don't remember that as something that had ever happened before and since G has been around the Arena and much more involved in the politics than I have ever been I asked him about his thoughts on it.
This was his reply: "I don't like Rakeesh. I think he's trying to use some sort of morality to explain his reasons for challenging and interfering in the past Overlord challenge. In reality, I think his motivation is more selfish. Therefore, I feel the Bounty issue is completely understandable. I'm surprised it hasn't been used before, thought of by me, and were I able to challenge him, I'd make the effort to do it myself. Of course, I would have even without the Bounty. I find a bounty to be an acceptable form of dealing with obstacles if you cannot take care of something yourself. So, I approve."
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Then I asked if that was the only way an Overlord/Overlady could effectively get rid of a Renegade Baron if they wanted to.
G: "No, not really. Though it's most effective. Especially with ill-favorer people. A popular Overlord/lady may be able to convince a friend or two to go after a renegade, or even someone else depending on how popular that Overlord was. Another option, of course, would be for the Overlord to retire and gain the necessary credentials to issue challenge themselves."
I have to tell you I was very surprised to find out that someone would actually consider retiring as Overlord just to take out a Baron but I am quite certain that has happened in the past due to ill feelings.
Our conversation then moved on to his career in Fists where he stated he hasn't had more than 3 wins over loses and Magic were he hasn't had more than 2 wins over loses. After this I wanted to let you all know a little more about G personally so I inquired after the business that I know he has owned for years now; The Golden Ivy Tavern.
Imagine my horror and shock when G said this to me, "Well, in a nutshell, yes and no. Yes, I own A Golden Ivy Tavern. No, because it's not the same one. A person of whom I have often been at odds with happened to bypass the magical barriers I went to great lengths to have put on it and burned the old tavern down. Let me tell you I was pretty surprised about that. But, I got my revenge and then rebuilt the Tavern into a larger, better one."
Well then I was really horrified and thankful that G knows me so very well because I could have just crawled in a hole somewhere when as soon as the last word was out of his mouth I blurted out to him quite seriously, "Did ya kill her?"
Of course he did not but he said that they will think twice before they do something like that again to anyone else. I asked him if he had any advice for new duelers just wanting to get started in the sports and this is what he had to say and I feel it is very good advice indeed.
G: "Never give up. That's the best advice anyone can get. One day, you could beat the same person nine times. But there will be a day that person will beat you the tenth. Sometimes all you need is that one duel. If you give up, you'll never get it. Also, always give your best. If you duel every duel with your hardest effort, your opponent will respect you for it. Unless they're just an egotistical ass with no respect for others anyway."
I want to give my sincere thanks to G for taking the time to sit down with me and to share a bit about both his professional and person life with us all.
He wanted me to add this final note special like for him... "I'd like to put in a special note to Kaja. Telling her I love her very much. And to all the other women out there, to stay away from Bon Bons. They're not conducive to a thin, sexy lifestyle. To all the duelists, remember that getting your fights in may be painful, but who knew that getting cut could be so much fun. Oh, and Remember, G'nort 3:16 says -NO- Slashing."
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