"Three
days, two immunity challenges, three tribal councils. It's finally here,"
Venka says. "I must admit, I'm a little nervous."
Ember: Everything depends on the next tribal council. Right now we're basically two teams of two. If Rayek wins immunity, Skywise and I will go after Venka, and if Venka wins immunity, we'll go after Rayek. I'm sure they've got the same thing planned. So there's almost certainly going to be a tie. We've never had a tie before, so I have no idea how Teir will deal with it. Maybe past votes, maybe a trivia challenge, maybe luck of the draw.The tribemates look for tree-mail in mid-morning, but there is no message. Frustrated, they sit around their campsite, and Venka cooks up a stir-fry of shellfish and greens for lunch. "I can't wait until this is all over," Skywise sighs. "Why can't we get this over tonight? I'm sick of Teir stretching things out!"Venka: Father and I have both approached Ember and Skywise independently, trying to get one of them to side with us. But I doubt either of them will budge. Of course, it has occured to me to cut a deal with Ember. But I would never betray my father.
Rayek: Sure, I almost wiped my daughter out of existence once, but I'm not so evil as to to vote her out of the tribe!
"It's all about the damned ratings," Rayek sighs.
Finally, just after noon, Skywise's trip to the tree-mail pays off, and he returns with a slip of paper. "'To know each other is for what we strive. Stay in the know and stay alive,'" he reads aloud. "Augh, this poetry gets worse every day! Anyway, we have to go to tribal council, and it looks like the challenge will take place right in front of the jury."
Ember: I think it's a trivia challenge, something to do with how well we know our tribemates.The elves linger around camp as the time passes. Rayek and Skywise go looking for one last meal big enough to fill four people, while Venka pulls out her dog-eared copy of Virginia Henley's classic romance novel Enslaved, and stretches out on the beach to work on her tan. Ember, for her part, goes for a long swim out past the coral reefs. An hour before sunset, Rayek and Skywise return with a medium-sized bird of prey. Venka cuts up the meat and proceeds to make a new stir-fry for dinner. At sunset, they light their torches and trek towards tribal council.Venka: Perhaps we will be asked about the jurymembers - the loser could make quite a bad impression.
Rayek: Oohh, that is vicious. Wish I had thought of it.
"Welcome," Teir says. "I'll bring out the jury." The five jurymembers come out, led by Pike. Though he can't talk to anyone, Pike smiles and waves at the four remaining members of New Blood. Teir sits down and looks over the contestants. "Now, with the jurymembers sitting across from you, and a poem about knowing your friends, you might think that this contest is a trivia challenge about the jurymembers. But you'd be wrong."
After pausing long enough to let the elves' faces drop into four scowls, Teir continues. "This is an oral challenge. I will ask each of you a different question in turn. These questions are about your three remaining teammates. Five questions each elf. If there is a tie, I will ask tie-breaker questions. The one who knows the most about his or her teammates wins immunity." After another pause, during which Skywise curses under his breath and glares at the host, Teir begins.
Teir: Ember, who was Rayek's first love?Ember: Well... Leetah... right?
Teir: Well, that would be a very logical answer... but it's the wrong one. Rayek, can you tell Ember what the correct answer is?
Rayek: (blushing) Ahdri.
Teir: Ember has a score of zero. Now, Rayek, it's your turn. What was Skywise's mother's name?
Rayek: Eyes High.
Teir: That's right. One for Rayek. Now, Skywise: What is Venka's dream job?
Skywise: (grinning) A motivational counselor.
Teir: That's correct. Venka: Why did Rayek destroy the Go-Back lodge in the classic ElfQuest series "Kings of the Broken Wheel?"
Venka: Because he thought Kahvi had let me die.
The
rounds of questioning continues. Ember answers that Venka's keepsake of
her mother is a woven headband Kahvi made her for, and finally enters the
game. Rayek misses the question about Ember's favorite TV show, and Skywise,
after a very long pause, remembers that Rayek is twelve years older than
Leetah. The game continues, while the jurymembers watch anxiously. By the
end of four rounds of questions, Ember and Rayek are tied at three points,
and Venka and Skywise at four.
Teir: Last round. Ember: Was Skywise ever asked to sleep with you as a way of quieting your raging hormones?Rayek's eyes grow as wide as Mother Moon. Skywise looks from side to side, bites his lip, then motions Teir close. He whispers something in Teir's ear, and Teir grins. "That's right. Five points for Skywise. I'm sorry, Rayek. That means you're out too."Ember: (eyes widening) Please, High Ones, tell me the answer is no. Um... I'm going to say... no?
Teir: Sorry, the answer is yes. Cutter asked Skywise to sleep with you back in Hidden Years # 4. You're out of the game, Ember.
Ember: (glaring at Cutter) The things you learn....
Cutter:(sweating profusely) Huh... did I? So hard to remember, now that I've rediscovered the "Now of wolf-thought."
Teir: Rayek: Who is Kahvi initially tell Venka her father was?
Rayek: That's a trick question, Kahvi always told Venka that I was her father.
Teir: Correct. Four points for Rayek. Skywise: Has Rayek in fact stolen Venka's romance novel on several occasions and read it from cover to cover three times?
Skywise sits back down, and avoids looking over at Rayek. The jurymembers begin to whisper to each other, and Teir shushes them. He asks Venka the next question: Does Ember frequently sing "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf, off-key, while in the shower? Venka answers yes, and gets her fifth point. Teir declares a tie, and a sudden-death round begins between Venka and Skywise - the first person to incorrectly answer a question loses. The questions come hard and fast. What is Venka's favorite colour? Was the name Rayek gave his little toy zwoot when he was a child? Was the little pet rabbit Ember and Suntop had actually Ember's or Suntop's? What is Skywise's greatest fear? What is Ember's favorite shirt - the baby-doll tee made out of rabbit's fur or the sexy bikini top made out of deerskin? Finally, Venka cannot answer a question about when Skywise first started wearing his face-guard. "There are so many stories, rumours and urban legends about it!" she complains. "Damn that New Blood series!"
"Immunity, Skywise!" Teir declares, giving Skywise the necklace. "You're guaranteed a 1 in 3 shot at the title of Sole Survivor. For the rest of you, I'm sorry, but it's time to vote. Please don't communicate with each other in any way. Ember, you're first into the voting booth."
Skywise, Venka and Rayek exchange glances as Ember disappears into the booth. She returns, and the other elves follow, one by one. Teir returns with the votes and read them out. "First vote: Venka. Second vote: Ember. Third vote: Venka. Fourth vote: Ember. We have a tie. We'll have to have a re-vote. First - Ember, Venka, would you like to say anything, to try and convince your tribemates not to vote for you?"
Ember: I... I know exactly what is happening here, and I doubt anything I could say will change anyone's minds. So if we're going to have a re-vote, let's just get it over with, because I have a good idea what the results will be again.The elves file back, one by one, and cast new votes. Teir reads them out, and once again there is a tie. "All right," Teir nods. "In that case, to be fair, we will have to go based on past votes. Whichever elf has the most previous votes will leave the tribe tonight. All right?"Venka: I have been a strong player throughout this entire game. I know I have made a few enemies, but I stand loyal to my convictions. I would very much like to stay in the game, but if it is time for me to go, then so be. As Ember said, I doubt anything either of us say will matter.
Teir: Ember, how many votes have you had against you?Venka lets Teir snuff out her torch, then waves goodbye to her tribemates as she walks out of tribal council. Rayek eyes Ember and Skywise nervously, while the jurymembers exchange glances.Ember: Four.
Teir: Venka?
Venka: I'm... not sure. Four or five.
Teir: (picking up a clipboard and flipping through his notes) Venka... you have had... five votes against you.
Venka: (swallowing hard) Is it "time for me to go"?
Teir: I'm afraid so. I'll need you to bring me your torch.
"You can go back to camp now," Teir says. "I'll see you all tomorrow
afternoon."
| VENKA'S LAST WORDS |
| I suppose this is Cutter's revenge. Of course, what poor Pike is probably thinking right now is that his little throwaway vote for me last night was the straw that broke the zwoot's back. I'll have to tell him that I don't blame him. Well, I cannot think of much to say. I will see one of you tomorrow, and I will be ready to play my role in the jury in two days. Shade and sweet water to you all. |