Episode Eleven: Power Politics
(Day 31-33)
"I
think Cutter's going insane from lack of... Leetah," Skywise says. "A few
of us woke up around dawn this morning and found him striding about on
the beach wearing nothing but his chief's lock. Eee-yuck. I wonder how
long it will be before he starts chasing after me or Nightfall or something.
Damn it if I haven't told Cutter a thousand times that he's not my type.
I swear, this will turn into Survivor: Sexual Harrasment."
"Cutter has definitely been pressuring me to side against Ember. I think
he's been terribly unfair - how can he ask me to turn against Ember? But
at the same time, we've been family for so many years - he's practically
my second lifemate. Am I going to... console him, now that Leetah is gone?
Maybe. Am I going to help him destroy his daughter? I'm not sure. But I
can't see myself helping Ember humiliate her father."
Pike and Skot retreat into their own little alliance, ever-aware that
they may well be next on the chopping block. "Ever since Clearbrook left
we've been seeing things a lot clearer," Pike says. "There are two camps:
Ember's and Cutter's. The question is, do we side with one of them? Or
do we keep playing with just the two of us and last as long as we can."
Skot: I don't like the idea of sucking up to someone just
to stay alive a little longer. As long as you've bred your share, what's
so thumping important about staying alive?
Pike: I don't really know how deep in these alliances I want to get.
I just want to have fun, stay as long as I can, and keep Skot with me as
long as I can.
Skywise: Pike and Skot should be worried. Scouter and Cutter are
fast coming together into this new alliance, and both of them want to weed
those two out as soon as they can.
Rayek: I'm quite fond of Pike and the little gay Go-Back. But I'll
vote them out if I have to get ahead. Scouter's approaching me for an alliance,
and he's made it quite clear that if he can't strike out at Ember right
away, then he'll settle for Pike and Skot.
On Day 31, the New Blood tribe gathers on a beach a short distance from
their camp. "Well, how are you all doing?" Teir asks. "Sleeping well? Got
a lot of muscle aches?Yeah, I bet you do. Well, today I have a special
prize for you. One of you will have a chance to relax at a five star spa
this afternoon, where you'll enjoy a traditional Beacon massage, an authentic
Beacon mud pack, facial, and a traditional native feast. Want to see what
you have to do? Well, it's simple. Today's challenge is a cross country
race. You start down this trail until you come to a large root-spreader
tree. There you'll find a tag with your name on it. Take that tab and turn
left. Next you'll come to a steep slope. Run uphill to the crest of the
hill. There you'll find another tag. Then you'll descend back intot he
jungle, where you'll have to wade through a swamp to reach the third set
of tags, hanging from traditional shaman's poles. After that you run onto
a series of lava rocks and onto the beach. On the beach you'll find your
fourth tag. Then just follow the beach back here. First with all four tags
wins."
The elves are off. Cutter takes the early lead, but Dewshine soon outpaces
him through the dense forest. The elves collect their first tags and race
up the hill. Pike stumbles and drops his tag, and loses valuable moments
retrieving it. Cutter drops his two tags in the swamp and gropes for them
in the muck as Ember dashes past him. By the time the elves appear on the
beach, Dewshine is still in the lead, with Ember closing fast. In a sudden
burst of speed, Ember breaks ahead of Dewshine and crosses the finish line.
"The winner, Ember!" Teir cries. Slowly all the other elves appear,
one after the other. Pike is in last place - but Cutter is nowhere in sight.
Finally Cutter answers Teir's sendings, allowed now that the challenge
has ended. He appears several minutes later, covered in mud and slime,
without a single token to his name. The same XL SUV that took the Wolfriders
to their luau days earlier drives onto the beach, waiting for Ember to
board. "Now, Ember..." Teir smiles. "Turns out... there's just enough room
in the SUV for a friend. You want to invite someone to join you?"
Ember surveys the tribe. "Well... there's one person here who I've just
really gotten to know lately, and I really think she's appreciate this.
So Venka... is you want to come..." Venka smiles and runs over to hug Ember
in thanks. The two women get into the SUV and drive off, and the other
nine elves are left to return to camp.
Cutter: Why did Ember take Venka with her?
Scouter: If Ember thinks taking Venka with her will get her another
ally, then she has another thing coming. I plan to have Venka squarely
in my camp by the next council.
"Venka and I had a great time," Ember says. "The chauffeur drove us out
for about two hours, and suddenly we were at this incredible tropical resort
that looked like it had been built up overnight. First we took a long shower,
then these very nice humans led us over to these two pools of warm mud.
We just dove right in."
"I
haven't felt so clean in ages," Venka says. "We just soaked in the mud
bath until we thought it would petrify around us, then we got out for another
shower, then received these bone-melting massages from the human masseuses.
We could barely lift our heads when the time came for the facial and manicure.
By the time the humans were finished, we were wrapped up in silk robes,
lounging on futons and dining on incredible Beacon stir-fry and sushi.
Then we just laid back on the beach and watched the stars come out."
Venka: This is heaven.
Ember: So... what do you think of my father? Do you really think
he has what it takes to lead this tribe?
Venka: Hah. If we hadn't merged Skot and Zhantee and Pike and I would
have voted him out.
Ember: You want to vote him out next?
Venka: Mmm... he is very strong. As long as we keep an eye on him,
and as long we make sure we outnumber his faction, he's probably safe to
keep a little longer.
Back at camp, Scouter and Rayek are hard at work on their own plans. "Rayek
says he'll support me," Scouter says. "I'm promising to take him and Venka
with Dewshine and me into the Final Four. At the same time I'm promising
Cutter that I'll take him and Skywise with me. My plan is to pick of Ember's
supporters, then have Rayek and Venka vote with Dewshine and me to take
Cutter and Skywise out."
Cutter: Scouter has pledged loyalty to me. We're planning
to take down Rayek and Ember one after the other.
Rayek: Cutter thinks Scouter is going to help him destroy me. What
he doesn't know is that Scouter and I have made a pact to destroy him and
Ember. I only wish I can see his face when he finds out that his "loyal
tribemate" is siding with his worst enemy.
Skywise: Some freaky sh*t is going on here at New Blood. That's all
I can really say right now.
On
morning on Day 32, Ember and Venka return to New Blood, refreshed from
their night at the spa. "Ember brought back a canteen full of stir-fry,"
Dewshine says. "It was so sweet." But Cutter is in no mood to celebrate.
"Cutter pulled Ember away from the group and was yelling at her for not
taking him with her," Skywise reports. "I don't know what he's planning
- but whatever it is he's going about it the wrong way." Sounds of the
argument drift back to camp, until finally Ember stalks back, continuing
to shout at Cutter, who remains on the beach. "It was really loud," Pike
says. "Mostly it was just noise but at point Ember screamed at him that
the moment the game was over she was leaving Thorny Mountain to found her
own pack."
Dewshine: I can't believe she said that. This game is making
everyone crazy.
Nightfall: Please, High Ones tell me he didn't try to hit
her again. The last time he tried that she tore into him like there was
no tomorrow. This time she might just hit him back.
Skot: With a closed fist! Hit him, hit him, hit him!
The family feud is interrupted by the latest immunity challenge. Rayek
hands over Bearclaw's necklace, and Teir introduces the game. The race
is to assemble a four foot high cube out of eight different puzzle pieces,
scattered all around the open plain. At the start, everyone hurries to
find their designated colour, then the elves begin to assemble their cubes.
To the amazement of everyone, Skot wins. Teir fastens the immunity necklace
around his neck. "Now, Skot, do you want to keep this immunity, or give
it to someone else?" Skot looks across at Pike. "Pike and I are pretty
much hanging by a thread. So if one of us is going tonight I'd rather it
be me. I'm going to give immunity to Pike."
"I just wanted to start crying when Skot gave Pike immunity," Dewshine
says. "Pike was all flushed, and I think even he had a tear in his eyes.
They just held on to each other for the longest time. I wonder if Scouter
would do the same for me?"
Scouter: Skot just sealed his fate. He's out of here tonight.
The elves keep a quiet camp all of Day 33. Scouter confronts Venka on a
water run, demanding to know where her loyalties lie. "You went to the
spa with Ember," he says. "Are you sure that you haven't made some sort
of deal with her?" Venka is definite. "My father and I have made a pact
to support you, in exchange for a spot in the Final Four. I don't made
promises I don't intend to keep."
Skot and Pike try some last minute campaigning to keep Skot in the tribe
for three more days. They approach Skywise, who promises not to vote Skot
off, but who confesses that there is little hope that Skot will survive
the tribal council. "If I could just hang on three more days I'd make it
into the Jury. But I'd rather my squirrel-cheeks make it in than me. Besides
- one of us had better see how Krim is doing. We all die sooner or later.
I'm ready."
At sunset, the tribe arrives at tribal council. When asked if he has
anything to say, Skot says "I had a good run, and I'd sure love to stay
on another three nights. But let's face it - I'm the low wolf. I suppose
I really should have kept immunity if I wanted to stay on. But it's just
not that important to me. So if it's my night - then I say drukk it all
and I'll see you back at the holt."
"It's time to vote," Teir says.
Skywise: (on voting for Scouter) He's a paranoid backstabber,
and it's high time he left.
Scouter: (on voting for Skot) We don't have the rooms for people
who aren't taking this game seriously.
Skot: (on voting for Scouter) You're going down, pretty-boy. Maybe
not today, but you're going down.
Teir brings the vote back and reads them out one by one. They are divided
between Skot and Scouter, with Skot receiving 6 votes to Scouter's 4. Scouter
seems less than pleased with the high minority of votes he received, while
Skot accepts his death with good grace. "Take care, babe," he whispers
to Pike before he brings his staff over to Teir to be extinguished.
"The rest of you are all guaranteed a spot in the game in one way or
the other," Teir says after Skot has left. "There are only nine of you
left now. The next person voted off becomes the first member of the Jury.
Now you have to really plan your strategies carefully, because the elves
who make it to the Final Two will be judged by the very people they helped
vote out. It doesn't get any better than this."
| SKOT'S LAST WORDS |
| I had a good run - got this close to the jury. Thanks Venka,
Pike, Krim and Zhantee for sticking by me. I wouldn't have made it this
far without ya. Keep on your toes, Pike, and I'll see you when you get
back. I promise, I won't eat any double-pepperoni deep-dish without you.
'Bye everyone. To the Palace. |
On to Episode Twelve
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