Strongbow maintains a diplomatic silence the entire way back to camp. But as soon as they reach Two Moons beach, Strongbow confronts Crescent in the woods beside the camp. The static of their sending stars echoes over the beach.

**Bearclaw’s Beard! What are you doing, cub?**

**Playing the game.**

**What kind of game is that? Look at me, Crescent! You betrayed me! You betrayed Nightfall! You betrayed Tyleet! We were going to go to Final Four, the four surviving Warp elves!**

**And Coppersky?**

**What about Coppersky? This has nothing to do with Coppersky! Coppersky won’t last more than another three days!**

**Won’t he? Really? Aren’t you playing your own game with him?**

**By the High Ones, cub, you have trust me!**

**Trust you? Oh, that’s it, is it? I’m supposed to just quietly follow, am I? Daddy’s little girl, the obedient little wolf? No! No, I’m not going to just follow your lead. You’re not my chief. And I’m not a cub. I’ve been dead longer than you’ve been alive!**

**That’s not my fault! If Rayek hadn’t stolen the Palace–**

**That’s beside the point! All this game, I’ve been waiting for you to treat me like an equal. Like a tribemate! You treat me like a follower. You tell me to trust you, then you stab Cutter in the back. You tell me to trust you, then you order me to help you and Brightmetal get rid of Swift. You tell me to trust you, and you’re making all sorts of promises to Coppersky. No one else can trust you, why should I?**

**Bearclaw’s beard! This is a game, Crescent! This isn’t life! They’re not my tribemates, they’re my opponents. This is a hunt, and I want to bring down the prize, even if I must bring down every other hunter! But this isn’t real! You’re real, Crescent! High Ones, you’re my daughter! I’d never betray you. I’d never hurt you.**

Struck by his impassioned mindspeech, Crescent hesitates. “But I’m also your opponent,” she whispers. “And only one of us can win this game.”

Strongbow’s expression is pained. “Crescent... I’d never choose this game over you.”

Crescent smiles bittersweetly at his admission. Silence stretches out between them. At length, Strongbow sends: **If you want to hunt with them... I would understand.**

**I don’t want to leave you, Father. I want us to go into Final Four together. There’s still time. We can make it work. If we work together.**

Strongbow reaches out for Crescent’s spirit hand. She extends her arm and their fingers interlace. Strongbow shivers at the sudden chill. “Sorry,” Crescent says.

“What do you think they’re up to?” Savin asks Cheipar as the other members of the Two Moons tribe wait on the beach. Cheipar can only shrug.

Crescent and Strongbow return from the forest several minutes later. Strongbow’s eyes are bloodshot, and he is clumsily wiping at his eyes in an attempt to banish tears. Crescent’s spirit seems to be glowing a bit more brightly.

But if Crescent and Strongbow were able to patch up their differences, Tyleet is not is such a forgiving mood. **You voted out my mother!** she hisses at Crescent as the tribe beds down for the night. **How do you expect me to feel about that?**

Morning of Day 34 sees the tribe generally lethargic. “The drama last night took it out of us,” Savin confesses. “Every few days it hits you again of ‘what the drukk am I doing here?’”

Tyleet goes on the water run alone, and returns beaming with a piece of tree-mail. “‘Come one, come all,’” reads the mail. “Pay your dues to have a ball. A feast for the eyes awaits. Fill your bellies and clean your plates.’”

Savin: Food auction! Oh, thank the High Ones!

Tyleet: We’re all starving for some good food. The hunting hasn’t been too good lately, and a little free food is just what we need to perk ourselves up.

The bidding begins with Savin and Strongbow taking the price up to two hundred. Coppersky jumps in at three hundred, then withdraws when Strongbow goes to four hundred. He takes the coffee and pastry and devours them.

Coppersky:(sotto voce) Coffee gives you the trots, you know.

Strongbow:**Shut up.**

Winnowill offers up a mystery prize. No one bids for a tense moment, until Weatherbird gamely lays down a hundred. No one else bets, and she claims her prize – a huge slice of double-chocolate cake and a mug of milk. Weatherbird tucks into her dessert with abandon, generously letting everyone sample a taste.

Winnowill puts a cheeseburger and spicy fries up. Savin, Coppersky and Tyleet drive the bid up to a thousand dollars. Finally Savin and Tyleet bow out, and Coppersky claims it for eleven hundred. He is less generous, and proceeds to wolf down the burger with the gusto of a Go-Back.

Strongbow:**Manners, please.**

Winnowill offers another mystery prize. This time the bidding is spirited. Tyleets wins the bid, only to receive a single after-dinner mint. Winnowill next offers a jug of dreamberry wine. The cadre of Savin, Cheipar and Weatherbird pool their last spendings to buy it away from the Strongbow-Coppersky-Tyleet alliance. And abruptly the auction is over. Winnowill packs up shop and instructs the tribe to head home.

Savin: That really hit the spot. We’ll all feeling a lot better now that we’ve got some solid food in us. And I think we might be a little more likely to set aside our rivalries long enough for a nice afternoon siesta. (her stomach gurgles) Drukk... I think we need to sleep off this feed.

Coppersky: I wish I could have the luxury of just... turning off my brain fore the next of the afternoon. But I’ve got to take the pulse of this tribe. Something’s changed between Strongbow and Crescent. I can’t tell whether that means I’m safer or whether I’m on the edge. (his stomach grumbles) Oh no... no... don’t tell me Winnowill spiked the food.

Strongbow: **That Glider bitch gave us all E. coli didn’t she?**

Tyleet: I think we all overindulged. But we’re Wolfriders... we’re used to grumbling stomachs. A short famine, a poor cut of meat, Krim’s cooking – we can take it. And we’re not going to complain about it.

Strongbow:**Today is a good day to die!**

Strongbow hesitates. He cannot lie in sending. **Crescent does not trust you,** he finally sends.

“Oh, I could tell that. She doesn’t much trust either of us, does she? She’s backing Cheipar right now. I hope you realize she might have just handed him the game the other night.”

**Don’t be so dramatic. I think you’re agree it’s for the best Nightfall went home when she did.**

“That won’t mean anything if Cheipar and Savin stay alive much later. Or Crescent for that matter.”

**Or you,** Strongbow snaps back.

Coppersky:(nervous) Yep. I’m officially worried now.

Crescent: I don’t know how it happened, but suddenly I’ve become the swing vote in this tribe. I don’t like it. And I don’t like all these shifting alliances. I know it’s all strategy. I know it’s a game. But it... it just rubs me the wrong way.

Coppersky: Crescent... Crescent. Don’t get me started on her. She has no loyalty. Except to her precious papa. And Tyleet for some reason. And Cheipar. Cheipar! I’m so sick of Cheipar! I’m so sick of his drukkin’ Sir Galahad act! He’s going to win this game in a hundred words or less, you’ll see!

“You voted out Mother! What am I supposed to say to you?”

“I’m sorry.”

Tyleet is not satisfied. “Oh, you’re sorry. That’s good. You were sorry when you voted out Spar. You were sorry when you voted out my mother! You’re sorry everytime you have to play this game. But you play it better than any of us!”

Crescent stands her ground. “I couldn’t go along with Coppersky and my father. I don’t believe in voting people out because they are strong players.”

“That’s exactly what they did with Mother! Those... Alt elves! They voted her out because they were afraid of her! They’ll vote us out because they’re afraid of us. They’ll vote you out!”

“Now you’re starting to sound like Strongbow. Or Scouter.”

“If my Scouter were still here, he’d show you how to play this game!” Tyleet snaps back.

“I can’t stand this!” Crescent shouts. “This drukkin’ hypocrisy! One minute you’re all saying ‘Be loyal! Be true to yourself!’ The next you’re all saying ‘It’s just a game. You have to play the game!’ Where does the game end? Does anyone know anymore? This isn’t just a dreamberry haze we’re going to forget when we go home. This is real. These are real choices!We may never have to see the Alternaverse elves again after this, but we will have to face each other when we go home! We’re going to have to face ourselves!”

Tyleet bursts into angry tears. “I don’t deserve this from you! I’ve been nothing but a friend. You’re the one who’s lying to yourself! You’re the one who’ll have to face what you’ve done!”

Tyleet runs away, leaving Crescent to float back to the beach alone. Crescent finds a deserted stretch of sand and sits under the shade of a palm tree, brooding. “She’s wrong,” she mutters to herself. A little while later: “I want to go home. High Ones... I want out of here.”

Coppersky continues his too-forceful ingratiation with Strongbow. “Look. I’ve been on your side since the merge. I’ve burned a lot of bridges here. You can’t just decide to drop me because your baby girl is having a crisis of conscience.”

Strongbow bristles. **I don’t owe you anything. And you’ve done nothing for me I could not do myself.**

The cameras later catch Coppersky in the forest, cursing at the plants and inventing new slurs for Wolfriders too blue to be aired on any respectable network.

Weatherbird finds Coppersky standing alone under a grove of date palms, idly kicking the fallen fruit around in the dust. Weatherbird gently walks up to him. “Coppersky?” He does not answer her. She reaches up and touches his shoulder. Suddenly his arms come around her in a crushing hug. Weatherbird only smiles sadly and hugs her tribemate back.

As the rest of the day crawls by, the cameras catch more of the elves sitting by themselves or pacing through the forest like caged animals. “I hate this...” Crescent is overhead to mutter. Strongbow flips off a troll who comes too close, reading questions from the interview prompt sheet. Coppersky covers up a camera lens with one hand and coldly warns the camera-troll to withdraw. Cheipar blankly stares into the lens of his own confessional camera, clearly trying to think of something say, but unable to find the words.

Winnowill: This is what we call the crisis point. It happens every season. Morale hits rock bottom and everyone is so disgusted with themselves and the situation in general that it only takes the tiniest nudge to make them all quit the game en masse. Now, I have of irate horseflies saved for just such an occasion. But the ratings would never recover, so we’re not going to be nudging anyone today.

“What about Tyleet?” Weatherbird asks politely. Coppersky rolls his eyes. “Please.”

Strongbow is having a crisis of conscience. **I don’t want to turn on Coppersky,** he tells Crescent as they conference as the daylight fades. **I know you don’t like him. I don’t like him either. But he has been loyal to us. He voted with us even when it might have served him better to return to his fold. I don’t know if I want him in Final Four. I would have rather Nightfall. But I don’t want to abandon him. Not for your archer.**

**He’s not ‘my archer.’** Crescent retorts. She pauses to consider it. **If you had to choose between Coppersky and Tyleet, who would you choose?**

**To keep?** Strongbow considers it. **Coppersky. He wants it more. And one would stand a better chance against him in Final Two. Tyleet has done little in this game other that ally herself with strong players. But she’s done little to offend anyone. I would not like to go up against her for the final council.**

**I have to disagree,** Crescent sends.

**What do we do, then, daughter?**

Crescent is touched he asks her advice. **We wait,** she sends at length. **We wait for the next immunity challenge to be over. We’ll know then.**

They do not have long to wait. Tree-mail arrives on the morning of Day 36. “All it says is ‘Breathtaking,’” Tyleet reads. The elves ponder the oddly cryptic and verse-less clue. But the accompanying directions tell them to appear at the designated beach within an hour, so there is little time to ponder the meaning. They begin their trek through the jungle to the other side of the little island where Winnowill is waiting for them. An hour later, they emerge on the beach, sweaty and covered in little scratches from the prickers that lined their route. Winnowill is wearing a fetching Speedo as she stands on bamboo planks built out in the water. A foam platform is tethered next to the little dock. Strongbow curses under his breath. Another water challenge.

“The name of the game today is wrestling,” Winnowill announces gleefully. “The rules are simple. Two opponents at a time will face off on the wrestling platform. The first elf to throw his or her opponent completely into the water wins. If both of you fall in the water, the round is a tie. We’ll round-robin until only one champion remains. Remember, I said completely in the water. We’ll draw names randomly for the pairs.”

“I gather this is to differentiate it from the American Gladiators duel over water back in the day,” Savin observes. “And I’m guessing this means there will be a lot more hair-pulling involved.”

And sure enough, in the first match between Coppersky and Tyleet, both go immediately for the other’s red hair. Soon they have each others’ heads in death grips as they shove and jostle each other across the mat. But it is an easy contest to call. Coppersky collapses on the mat and rolls over to shove Tyleet’s lower body into the water. From there, he digs his fingernails into her hands and slowly pries her grip from his braid. Tyleet goes in the water, and Coppersky wins Round One.

Weatherbird and Savin are evenly matched as they drag each other to the mat and begin to crawl and push and twist each other’s arms. Finally Savin throws her granddaughter. Next Cheipar and Crescent are paired. As Cheipar has nothing to grab onto, he insteads blasts Crescent with sending stars. She does likewise. “Pity we don’t still have Littlefire,” Savin whispers to a sopping wet Weatherbird.

The silent battle continues for a long time. Finally Crescent is slowly edged back towards the water. The observant elves notice she is losing her focus. Her heart does not seem to be in the game today. She retreats to float over the water, and Winnowill pronounces her disqualified.

Strongbow faces off Cheipar and proves the wiry ones have hidden strength. Weatherbird and Crescent both send at each other until them both topple backwards into the water. Strongbow throws Savin. Cheipar defeats Savin in a few quick kung fu moves. Coppersky wrestles Weatherbird into the sea. Tyleet, her scalp tingling and her strength spent, allows Strongbow to drop her into the ocean without a fight. The matches continue in a baffling sequence of quasi-round-robins as Winnowill slowly eliminates the poor fighters. Tyleet. Weatherbird. Savin.

Strongbow and Crescent wrestle with sending stars. The fights goes on for a long time. Bets are placed by Coppersky, Savin and Weatherbird. Winnowill applies more SPF 100 sunscreen. Finally Crescent is forced to yield, and she is eliminated.

Coppersky and Cheipar are paired for their final match. It promises to be ugly. At Winnowill’s “Go!” Coppersky throws himself at Cheipar’s legs, bringing him down to the mat. They grapple with a variety of unorthodox and painful wrestling holds, until at one point Cheipar has the end of Coppersky’s braid in one hand, while Coppersky is wrapped around his midsection, trying to wrench his knee back.

“If we took a picture, we could blackmail them for a fortune,” Savin quips. Weatherbird giggles.

Coppersky surges forward with a burst of power, and Cheipar falls into the water. Sheer rage has one the day for the Sun Villager. But now he has to face a very grim-faced Strongbow.

John Williams’ orchestral themes play as the two final combatants circle each other warily. Coppersky’s face is a mask of anger and frustration. Strongbow is coldly poker faced. They pace around each other for the longest time, sizing up each others’ weaknesses. Suddenly Coppersky lunges for him. They lock hands and lock minds in a vicious sending battle. They stagger back and forth across the foam mat, which sways on the gently lapping waves. Tyleet and Crescent cheer for Strongbow. Weatherbird cheers for Coppersky. Savin and Cheipar are silent.

Strongbow roars silently and pours all his strength into one last charge. He pushes hard against Coppersky’s hands, trying to force him to bend. Coppersky drops down and swings one leg out, knocking Strongbow on his back. Coppersky dives to pin his arms, and Strongbow’s foot comes up against his gut. Strongbow extends his leg and throws Coppersky right over his head and into the water.

“Immunity, Strongbow!” Winnowill announces.

Coppersky hauls himself out of the water and punches the foam mat in anger. Strongbow pointedly yanks the immunity necklace out of Winnowill’s hands and puts it back around his neck.

“How does it feel to have it back?” Winnowill asks. **How do you think?** Strongbow retorts sharply.

Coppersky hangs on the edge of the mat, too tired to rise. Weatherbird walks over and offers him a hand. He takes it and she pulls him up onto the mat.

“I’m dead, aren’t I?” he asks. Weatherbird can only shrug.

The tribe returns to Two Moons beach, subjecting themselves to the onslaught of pricker bushes again. Strongbow and Crescent converse in locksending the entire way back. **Who?** Strongbow sends. **Savin? You couldn’t object to Savin!**

Crescent shrugs. Strongbow knows who she really wants to vote out.

The tribe is uneasy as the day wears on. Coppersky counts votes on his fingers, trying to calculate all the possible strategies. “Strongbow and I have lost our chance against Cheipar,” he says. “We’d only get three votes even if Tyleet stayed with us. I’d bet I could get Tyleet with me against Crescent, but we’d never convince the others to go along, and nothing would make me go grovelling to the old pack for votes now.”

Savin: No, Coppersky hasn’t come by to make a deal all day. And I respect him for that. He knows it’s too late to try to jump ship again. And he’s not going to come begging. It’s just not his way.

Coppersky: Tyleet... Tyleet could stand to go.

Crescent only shakes her head again. Strongbow sighs. **You won’t vote out those who are powerful enough to threaten us. You won’t vote out those who are too weak to survive by themselves. Who will you vote against?**

**Those who do not to win!**

“Does Tyleet deserve to win?” Strongbow blurts out aloud.

Coppersky sits down next to Weatherbird as she is cooking their seafood supper. “I’m going after Tyleet,” he tells her. “Just something to pass on. If your crew wants her out, you can throw your votes in too. If not... well... might as well tell me now.”

“I’ll tell the others,” Weatherbird says. “But I can’t promise anything.”

The elves ready themselves for tribal council. Coppersky is careful to pack up everything of his, including the novelty welcome mat he won in the reward challenge back in the early days of the game. Weatherbird is in conference with Savin and Cheipar. “Tyleet?” she suggests. “How much longer do we really want her around?”

Savin shakes her head. “Coppersky nearly took immunity this time. Maybe if Strongbow didn’t have immunity... it might be different.”

“You could always give me your necklace,” Coppersky tells Strongbow as they prepare for their trek. Strongbow laughs aloud, a strange barking sort of sound. Coppersky smiles wryly. “I guess that’s a ‘no.’”

Strongbow gives him a slap to the shoulder. **You’re an obnoxious piece of troll-dung, Coppersky. But I still don’t mind you that much.**

The tribe arrives at council. Winnowill brings in the members of the Jury. Nightfall is wearing a fresh ensemble in her costumary sienna-and-green colour combination. Littlefire appears to still be in his pyjamas.
 
“Nightfall, newly joined the Jury,” Winnowill says. “Well, quite a busy three days. Strongbow. Last council vote was a bit of a shocker. This time around there’s little chance of a tie. But are you worried at all that there might be another upset?”

Strongbow:**grumble... grumble...**

Crescent: Can we just vote and get it over with? We’re not really in the mood for soundbites.

Coppersky considers his words carefully. “Just that... if I’ve played this game with everything I’ve got in me. And... scat, at this point anyone could be going at any minute, and if I’m going, well, I’ve played a good game.”

“Tyleet. I notice you’re not sitting next to Crescent anymore. Something going on there?”

Tyleet: I don’t want to talk about it, Winnowill. Let’s just say... head and head can’t meet on this one.

The elves retire to vote one by one. No one hesitates in the voting booth.
 

Coppersky:(holding up Tyleet’s name to the cameras) I really wish this could be Cheipar’s name. But you’re a tool, Tyleet, and I’m using you accordingly.

Strongbow:(holding up Tyleet’s name)**Nothing personal.**

Crescent:(holding up Coppersky’s name) Lots of luck in the real world. But you’ve overstayed your welcome here.

Coppersky nods. “Burn in troll hell, everyone,” he tosses over his shoulder cheerfully as he gathers his belongings and brings his torch over to Winnowill.

“Coppersky, the tribe has spoken,” Winnowill says, extinguishing his torch. “It’s time for you to leave.”
 
 

COPPERSKY’S LAST WORDS  Hardly a surprise. I made one big mistake in this game, and that was choosing Strongbow instead of Crescent. Wouldn’t surprise me if that damn ghost took this game. (thoughtful pause) I’m not happy with this. But I’m... I’m content. It’s over now. And that’s a huge relief. I can already feel every muscle unknotting. So I’ll go curl up with some satellite TV and some real food now. And I’ll get to take some sweet revenge come Final Two. Yeah. Yeah, I’m feeling better already.

Back
On to Episode 13