"The
question on everyone's mind is... are Cutter and Nightfall having sex now
that they're on the jury together?" Skywise chuckles after tribal council.
But Dewshine is not laughing. "Now that Cutter's gone, my only hope is
to form an alliance with Rayek or Ember. Maybe I should have voted Cutter
out too, rather than remain loyal to my chief at the expense of my own
hide. But I made my bed... now I have to make a new one."
Skywise: I don't know what Dewshine is going to do. I suppose in theory she and I and Ember and Pike could form an all-Wolfrider bloc against Rayek and Venka.... I don't know though. Our alliance with Rayek and Venka has really paid off.On Day 43 the tribe of six receives a tree-mail informing them of a new reward challenge. The poem seems to indicate that the winner gets some sort of safari trip. "Safari trip - what I could really use right now is a stiff drink," Dewshine says. Still, in front of her tribemates she keeps up a chirpy demeanor, afraid to step on any toes now that her closest ally has left her.Ember: Why should I trust Dewshine? Just a few days ago she was trying to kill me. Now she's trying to form an alliance.
The elves meet Teir at noon. There are six strange loom-like structures adorned with a tangle of ropes. Teir explains that they are authentic traditional Beacon rope puzzles. "Damn it!" Skywise exclaims. "How many traditional things does this drukking island have, anyway?" Still, he smiles gamely as Teir explains that the day's winner will have an aerial tour of the north side of Beacon. "It'll take you all night, and a little bit of tomorrow too, and along the way you'll have a nice overnight stop at a five-star chalet up in the mountains. It'll be an experience you won't soon forget. Ready to play?"
The elves take up positions on their rope puzzles, and at Teir's signal, struggle to untangle the knots and loops. Teir paces around, watching each of them as he keeps his hand on the stopwatch. Finally, at the 28 minute mark, Rayek calls out that he's finished. Sixteen pieces of rope hang limp from the frame. Everyone else's puzzle is still a jumble of knots.
"Rayek!" Teir calls. "You're going on a trip. And I've got a surprise for you - well, it's not that much of a surprise, since we do this every single time. But try to act surprised when I say you can take a friend with you."
Rayek laughs, then after a moment's indecision, picks Ember to accompany. Ember lets out a shriek of delight, then tackles Rayek and the two embrace.
Skywise: We-ell, those two have come a long way since they were hitting each other with snowballs.A helicopter lands right in the clearing, and Rayek and Ember climb in. The four other eleves hike back to camp. "Rayek's one devious S.O.B.," Dewshine grumbles. "He takes Ember to solidify their alliance, and since his little baby girl is holding the fort at camp, I can't work an alliance out with Pike and Skywise unless I can get them away from Venka."Teir: (grumbling under his breath) You just keep the hands above the waist, blackhair.
Meanwhile, Rayek and Ember settle in inside the chopper and watch the scenery pass below them. The scrubland fades to dense tropical rainforest, and then open savannah as they fly deeper inland. "Hey, elephants!" Ember squeaks. Soon the chopper flies back over the jungle, and the two elves spot eagles and monkeys flitting through the canopy. It takes a great effort for them to pull themselves away from the view to resume discussions about their alliance.
Rayek: Are we still on for the Final Four?
Ember: Is there some reason we shouldn't be?Rayek: I just thought I'd check. Dewshine... she might be trying to work something out with you.
Ember: We made an alliance and I'm sticking to it. You, me, Venka and Skywise in the Final Four.
Rayek: If Dewshine keeps winning immunity our plans could be compromised.
Ember: I know. We'll all have to work on that.
Back
in camp, Dewshine decides to go after Venka. "I'm trying to get something
together where me, Venka, Rayek and Pike take out Skywise and Ember. Venka
and Pike really bonded, so did Pike and Rayek. If I can use that to my
advantage, I just might be able to get rid of Ember and Skywise. If I can
make it to the Final Four...."
Venka: Dewshine approached me, yes. She proposed a new alliance, and I must admit... it's something to consider.At sundown Ember and Rayek dine on a three-course-meal at the chalet, then retire to their separate rooms. "Yeah... I kinda got a little (hic) tipsy," Ember laughs as she falls into bed. "They have goooood dreamberry wine here." By morning a slightly hungover Ember and Rayek remount their helicopter and continue on their sightseeing tour. "Oohhh, gonna be airsick..." Rayek moans at one point. But both elves keep their breakfasts down, and by the time the chopper takes them back to camp they were wide awake and once again mesmorized by the sights.
Pike: Hey... I think I see the chopper coming in.The chopper lands on the beach and Rayek and Ember hop out of the chopper, to the greetings of the other elves. "Hey, you smell of dreamberries!" Pike exclaims when he embraces Ember. "You little bitch, didn't you bring any back to me?" Ember laughs and produces her waterskin, filled with the dreamberry wine she didn't drink the night before. Pike downs a large gulp before Skywise and Dewshine and persuade him to share. Rayek greets his daughter, and the two quietly drift away from the other elves.
Venka: I told Father about the alliance Dewshine suggested, and we agreed to think on it after the immunity challenge, which we expect will begin in a few hours.A few hours after the chopper drops Rayek and Ember off at camp, the elves assemble for the next immunity challenge. "Today's challenge is an important one," Teir says. "For one of you, a guaranteed one-in-five chance to be the sole survivor. For another of you, this will be your last challenge."Rayek: I told Venka we ought to think about, but I also told her how important it was to keep Dewshine from getting immunity.We can't have her dictating terms to us! If she wins immunity again, she's guaranteed a spot in the final five, and I'm not ready to just hand her that.
Dewshine: What are my chances of securing an alliance? I don't know. I'm either halfway home or I'm a dead elf walking.
Pike: Something's in the air. What am I going to do if Rayek and Ember splinter and they both want me on their side. High Ones, I don't know. I'm really getting in too deep. I just want to get to final five, and then I can just let go.
The challenge turns out to be another race, but with a twist. The elves must race 50 feet on stilts. Each time they fall off their stilts, they must start over. The stilts are only one foot above the ground, but the elves teeter on the strange poles, and everyone falls at the starting shout, except Venka, who slowly advances one foot in front of the other.
Dewshine falls again, then returns to the starting line as Pike stumbles a few more paces ahead before he trips. Rayek races ahead, and almost catches up with Venka, before he falls too. Skywise and Ember are slowly gaining ground, learning from Venka's example. But when Skywise sees Dewshine recovering, he tries to quicken pace and he falls too. The falls and restarts continue, while Venka advances at a snail's pace, still moving forward. The race continues for several long minutes. Ember closes on Venka, but keeps her pace slow. Rayek gains ground, only to fall again. Finally Venka hobbles across the finish line, Ember only a few paces behind.
"Immunity - Venka!" Teir cries. Dewshine throws down her stilts in a rage, while Pike falls flat on his face again. Teir presents Venka with the wolfshead necklace, and bids the New Blood elves goodnight. The elves slowly walk back to camp, considering their many game plans.
Venka: Now that we took immunity out of Dewshine's hands, the power is in our hands. The question is, who do we focus that power against?Dewshine and Venka disappear into the forest on an alleged water run, while Rayek and Pike go to find food. "We all have a lot of things to talk about," Rayek says. "The game can either continue as planned, or I can take control and turn everything in a completely different direction. I need to think." Ember, meanwhile, is starting to suspect some sort of plot is at work when she returns to camp and finds that all the elves have been strategizing in secret. "Skywise can't tell me what's going on. I have to say, I'm a little worried right now."Pike: Hey, where did Ember go? Don't tell me she "got lost" again!
Dewshine: Well, maybe Ember should be taking care of her tribe instead of sneaking off to find Teir.On Day 45, Rayek confesses to the camera that he and Venka will not be forming an alliance with Dewshine. "I could side with her, and I might even have a better chance of making it to the Final Two. But then I would have all the people I betrayed on the jury. And I know to keep my enemies' list as small as possible. No, I won't betray Ember. She's been loyal to me, and so I will be loyal to her. Am I going to tell Dewshine? No... no I don't think I will. Hey, I never said I wasn't pure evil."Ember: I know Dewshine is planning something... I only hope I can still depend on Rayek and Venka.
Dewshine
seem to know that her time is up, and the tension at camp finally snaps.
"Dewshine and Ember got into a total screaming match," Pike says. "We're
all going to be breathing a lot easier after tonight." the day drags back
too slowly for everybody's taste, and finally at sundown, the elves trek
to tribal council. Teir greets them all, and though it might be a trick
of the light, Ember seems to wink at him.
"Let's bring in our jury," Teir says. Nightfall enters, followed by Scouter, and a newly showered Cutter, dressed in obscenely tight leather pants and a muscle shirt. He glares at Ember, who refuses to make eye contact.
Conversation is short, as everyone is eager to get to the voting. The elves file in one by one to vote, and Teir promptly returns with the vote. One vote for Venka, in Dewshine's bubbly handwriting. And one, two, three, four, five votes for Dewshine. Dewshine nods, a gracious loser, then brings Teir her torch to be snuffed out. "Dewshine, the fourth member of our jury," Teir says. "For the rest of you, a one-in-five chance at being the sole survivor. Dewshine, the tribe has spoken. Time for you to leave."
"By everyone," Dewshine waves as she steps off-camera.
| DEWSHINE'S LAST WORDS |
| Oh... well, my plan didn't work out. I guess being Too Cute For This Planet only gets you so far. But let's face it, if Rayek and Venka hadn't chosen Ember and Skywise over us, Scouter and I would be sitting pretty right now. Well, I maintain a cheery smile in spite of all the pain. Every dark cloud has a silver lining... hey, is Tyleet still on the island? I've... kinda *missed* her, if you get my drift. |