Episode One: Welcome to Beacon
(Day 1-3)
"Hello, I'm Teir, and welcome to Survivor: ElfQuest. We're here on
the beautiful island of Beacon, just north of Hearthstone, the most neglected
continent of all ElfQuest. This island has a lot of history: the humans
who once lived here were originally pirates who camped on several haunted
native graveyards where ancient shamans once practiced cannibalism and
nomadic hunters tested their young men in grueling rites of manhood which
were related to extensive fertility rituals connected to the spring equinox
when prehistoric image-makers carved runic symbols into the limestone caves
where.... Whew. Well, anyway. It's on this island that two tribes of elves
will compete against each other in a 51 day battle to claim the one million
Djunian dollars and be declared the ultimate survivor. They will be assigned
separate beaches, where they will learn to survive without their weapons
or supplies. They will have one luxury item each, and one small dagger
per tribe. No magic will be allowed in any challenges.
"Our elves are just getting off the boats now, where
they were be assigned their team colours. They have not been allowed to
speak to each other until this moment, and do not know who will be assigned
to Cutter's tribe, the Wolfriders, and who will join Ember's Wild Hunt.
"High Ones, Ember's a hottie... uh, anyway... where
was I? Yes, the Wolfriders will from now on wear the green colours, and
the Wild Hunt will wear blue. They will compete as two separate tribes
in reward and immunity challenges. For the winners, items that may help
them better adapt to this inhospitable terrain, and most importantly, immunity
from the tribal council for three more days. Each time a time comes to
tribal council, they must vote off one of their own teammates. They must
strategize to stay in the game as a tribe, until the tribes merge into
one. From then on new alliances form, new strategies emerge, and the elves
compete as individuals against their former friends and allies. Who will
have what it takes to stay standing?"
The elves get off the boats and gather on the beach. Mender is already
seasick and Cutter looks very green. The tribes are formed on the beach,
and Teir hands out the tribals bandanas, green to Ember's tribe and blue
to Cutter's. Ember's Wild Hunt is formed entirely of wolf-blooded,
except for Leetah and Skywise, while Cutter's Wolfriders turns out to be
a mix of older wolf-blooded elves and several purebloods. Teir asks them
to choose their campsites. They have the choose of a camp with a good shelter
but not convenient watering hole, or a camp with no shelter but a nearby
waterfall and pool. Ember is given the first choice and takes the campsite
with a pre-made shelter.
"High Ones, did you get a look at Teir?" Ember asks the camera on the
way to her campsite. "I mean - damn - that is one fine piece of
meat. Suddenly I don't really think I like blondes anymore. Huh... oh,
right, Moonshade's calling me over to her. Ugh, she has terrible timing."
"I don't like blue," Rayek says on the way to his campsite. "It
doesn't flatter my skin tones at all." Still, he grudgingly slips the bandana
overtop of his red-and-yellow striped headband, while Skot and Krim are
tying theirs around their arm, and Clearbrook is wearing hers around her
neck. Several minutes later, the Wolfriders reach their campsite to find
a great empty plain surrounded by palm trees, just above the beach, and
a gentle walk from a deep pool fed by a waterfall.
Cutter: I was surprised to find that Ember got the tribe
with all Wolfriders. That little rebel-rouser always seems to like the
foreign
ones.
I wouldn't be surprised if she dumps a fine, upstanding lad like Mender
for that little rat Teir. I don't like him. He reminds me of Rayek.
Rayek: Why do I get stuck on the ship of fools? That old
duffer Treestump actually brought his golf clubs with him. He and Cutter
are practicing their chip shots right now! We haven't even begun work on
our shelter. I told them we have to build one up in the trees, away from
the crabs and the puddles, but does anyone listen to me? Nooo, of course
not.
Skot: We barely reached our campsite and Rayek started whining! He
thinks he's got problems? I just left my better third behind with Ember's
tribe!
Venka: Peace and serenity is the key to this contest. I don't intend
to be caught up in any emotion firestorm like Father or Skot. Now, if you'll
excuse me, my romance novel is calling me.
Over at the Wild Hunt, Ember and her tribe find a large cave network
reminiscent of Howling Rock, and a long trek over broken ground to the
watering hole. Redlance and Nightfall set up their bedrolls in the cave,
while several tribemembers begin to argue over who should have water duty.
Ember: Moonshade thinks just because she is the elder, she
doesn't have to go on a water run.
Moonshade: The problem with Ember is, she thinks she that being called
a chief means she automatically knows how to act like a chief.
Pike: Where's Redlance? I need to get this dreamberry seeds to sprout.
I told them, if we have dreamberry juice we won't have to do a water run
as often. I don't know why they don't listen.
Finally,
Nightfall and Dewshine go looking for water. The route takes them on a
long hike up through the scrub. "Prickers and weeds and all these rocks,"
Dewshine complains. "I'm slipping and sliding on pebbles and gravel and
all these little rocks. It makes it very hard to be chirpy when I'm tripping
every five feet."
Nightfall: Sometimes we teach, sometimes we are taught.
And today, Dewshine learned to swap her sandals for her hiking boots before
trying to climb the hill to the water source. (Snicker) But then
hiking boots won't show off her slender ankles.
Dewshine: I think Nightfall was laughing behind her hand the whole
way.
The Wolfriders squabble over the shelter all through the afternoon, and
when the sun set they are forced to sleep on the ground. Cutter and Treestump
try to rally the spirits with a song, and Rayek shouts at them to be quiet
and go to sleep. Krim gets tired of the fighting and disappears off to
the beach to sleep by herself. At the Wild Hunt, the elves gets a good
night's sleep, but wake up in the morning to find that the tide had come
in and soaked all their supplies. With much quarreling, they move their
camp higher up into the cave.
Moonshade: Didn't Ember notice the high tide line? What
kind of leader is she?
Ember: If Moonshade saw a high tide line, why didn't she say
anything?
On Day 2 the Wild Hunt goes for its first hunt, armed with spears made
of treeshaped branches. Redlance, Tyleet and Moonshade remain in camp while
the other seven elves go into the scrub in search of food. "We saw one
small little deer thing, about the size of a ravvit," Pike reports. "But
not much else." By midafternoon it becomes too hot to continue the hunt,
and the Wild Hunt return to camp. "No food, I see," Moonshade sighs miserably.
"If my Strongbow were here, we would have meat now."
Tyleet, Scouter and Dewshine beachcomb and return with a bag filled
with shellfish. "Yuck, I hate seafood," Moonshade sighs, but she nevertheless
swallows the slippery mollusks raw. Tyleet offers to take out the little
wok the tribe received and try to cook the shellfish, but is shouted down
by Moonshade, Scouter and Nightfall.
Pike: Frankly, I would have been interested to see if we
could fry up those gooey things.
Over at the Wolfriders' camp, Rayek, Venka and Skot disappear on a hunting
trip, and return with one large rodent to show for it. "Oooh, a big-ass
rat," Mender sneers. "That'll be real nutritional." Skot lashes back: "Ah,
go eat some kelp, health-food boy!" Meanwhile Cutter and the elders ignore
their hunger as they struggle to erect a shelter. "We want to build it
up a platform up above the sand," Clearbrook says. "But we're Wolfriders,
not engineers. It would go easier if Rayek would help out a little more."
Rayek: Oh yes, blame me. It's all my fault. Everything is
all the baby-stealer's fault. It gets so damned old!
Venka: Father is just making trouble for himself. We all have to
work together. And if that means bending in the wind, then so be it.
"We had a big howl at our caves," Ember reports on the evening of Day 2.
"A sort of celebration-thing to perk ourselves up. We told ghost stories
and danced and everything. But Moonshade just sat by herself in a corner,
looking at that picture of Strongbow and Dart. I gotta say, I sure thought
she was a little more of team player."
At dawn on Day 3, Skywise comes to camp bearing a rolled message. "I
found it in the tree-mail inbox. It's a wimpy little poem about light in
the darkness and your future being bright. Stars, who ever wrote this can't
write verse to save his life!"
At
noon, the elves gather for their first immunity challenge. "How are we
all doing?" Teir asks. "Immunity - it's the most important thing here on
the island. Win this and you win your tribe three more days on Beacon.
Want to see what you're playing for?" With that he unveils the Little Palace.
"Want to know what the challenge is? It's about fire. It's about light
in the darkness. It's about -"
"Bad poetry?" Skywise taunts.
"Yes," Teir smiles tightly. He outlines the rules: the winning tribe
has to start a bonfire with flames high enough to burn through a cord eight
feet high. While the tribes receive flint and steel, the hunt for wood
is left up to them. The elves race around the beach, trying to collect
driftwood and dried palm fronds. Moonshade tries to oversee the Wild Hunt
fire, while Pike and Ember loudly contradict her. At the Wolfriders' fire,
Rayek tersely orders the elves around, and Skot and Krim fight over the
flint and steel. After fifteen minutes of stoking the fire, the Wolfriders
win. Two minutes later, the Wild Hunt's bonfire reaches the same height.
Cutter: Damn, Rayek, Venka, and the Go-Backs really came
in handy. The rest of us were lost at sea.
Ember: Of course we lost. The only one of us who knew how to kindle
a bonfire properly was Pike, but Moonshade refused to listen to him.
Scouter: This tribe is going to sh*t.
Dewshine: Ohh... Tyleet, hey, don't cry. C'mon, perk up. Every cloud
has a silver lining.
Grudgingly the Wild Hunt hike through the jungle to tribal council, and
find a little hut in the middle of the forest. There they each pick up
a ceremonial torch and light it in the fire. "Fire represents life," Teir
says. "For nine of you, you can take your torches back to camp and kindle
your own hearth-fire. For one of you, the game will be over tonight, and
you'll have the dubious honour of being the first elf voted out of the
tribe."
As Teir interrogates the Wild Hunt. Moonshade vents her frustrations
at being ignored. "I'm the elder. People are supposed to listen to me!"
Ember insists that they will fall into their groove soon enough. "We just
have to be patient," she says. Moonshade snarls back that they can't afford
to be patient. Nightfall tries to soothe the tensions, while Scouter glowers
silently and Dewshine looks from one elf to the other with a charming smile.
At length the elves retire one by one to vote, and when Teir reads the
votes, Moonshade is voted out on a 7 to 3 majority. Teir nods and snuffs
out Moonshade's torch with the solemn statement: "The tribe has spoken."
| MOONSHADE'S LAST WORDS |
| Ember refuses to listen to anyone. This is no time for an untried leader.
What does she know of the dangers we have faced? Will you be content to
stand by, my tribemates, knowing that her choices are wrong? Or will you
go against her for the good of the tribe? Vote her out now, before it's
too late. |
On to Episode Two
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