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The contestants were stranded on a sandy beach of a deserted tropical island with nothing but what they wore. Christina (vampire) started to turn red and Dedrick (centaur) ran along the edge of the water laughing as the waves washed over his hooves. "I’m heading up to those trees," Christina said as she glanced around the group. "Call me when something happens." No one answered but several watched as she walked and then ran to the tree cover. "Is that the vampire?" William (werewolf) asked. "It’s obvious," Gorm (mage) replied. "And who are you?" "I’m William." "I mean what kind of creature?" "Werewolf." After more introductions between the group, Amber (unicorn) asked "What are we supposed to do?" "They didn’t tell us," Lina (rogue) said. "Do you think it’s the first challenge?" Amber asked. "Maybe we should search the beach," Nessa (elf) said. "Omfen ow hair," Paige (zombie) said. "What?" William asked wrinkling his nose. "Air…" Paige said as she pointed to the ocean. "There’s something in the water," Haimes (scree) said as he stared at his feet. "Are you sure?" Eadric (warrior) said. Haimes cringed then furtively glanced out at the ocean. "Yes." "There it is," said Lina. "I see it." "Me too," added Lorimer (sorcerer). "Kailen, can you fly out there and get a closer look?" Kailen (fairy) shook his head. "I’d rather not." "Why?" William asked. "I’d feel like fish bait if I got close to the water. Besides, it might be too far. What about you, Jewel? You can go the farthest without needing to swim." "Nope. I don’t swim, I sink," Jewel (cyclops) said. Lina rolled her eyes. "You guys are pathetic." She jogged into the serf, splashing water around her feet. When the sea was thigh high, she dove and swam out toward the object. "Isn’t she the thief?" Nessa asked. "Do we really want her to be the only one out there with whatever it is?" Ranzkin (gnome) who’d been quiet up until now said, "Can anyone else swim?" "I’ll go," said Eadric. Lorimer smiled and nodded. As Eadric splashed into the ocean, Lina had arrived at the object. "What’s she doing?" Nessa asked. "Is she headed back?" "No," Haimes said. "She’s looking at a paper." "Instructions?" William asked. Haimes shrugged. William and Nessa followed Eadric into the sea. "She’s headed back now," Haimes said. When Lina reached Eadric, he turned to follow her back. William and Nessa came back ahead of them. They walked out of the ocean dripping wet. Lina tossed the corked bottle in her hand to Eadric. "You should read it next, since you were second into the water." She ran back into the ocean and dove. "Freaking cheater," Gorm (mage) said. "Hurry and open the bottle." Eadric struggled with the cork until Nessa grabbed the bottle from his hands. She opened it, pulled out the scroll and read out loud. "The name of your first challenge is Shake and Snake. First you will dive for clams in the ocean. If you find an orange pearl, you’ll be in the Depths tribe. If you find a blue pearl, you’ll be in the Kivi tribe. Once you know which tribe you’re on, your team must complete two things. One is build a stack of sticks for a bonfire that must be taller than your tallest teammate. The other is to retrieve a lava snake from inside the depression at the top of the volcano. The first team to light their bonfire with the lava snake will be the winners of this competition." Nessa dropped the missive in the sand and sprinted behind the others into the water. Kailen looked at Ranzkin and shrugged. "Can you hold your breath long?" "That isn’t the problem. Ranzkin patted her round middle. "I can’t swim down. Buoyancy in salt water will keep me afloat." "What’s going on down there?" Christina yelled from the tree line. Kailen jumped into the air and started flying toward Christina. "Wait!" Ranzkin called. "She’s a vampire. She might eat you." Kailen hovered a moment, smiling. He winked and then flew to Christina. "We have to dive for clams. Inside are blue pearls for one tribe, orange for the other. Then the tribes have to build a bonfire and light it with lava snakes from the volcano." Click to continue reading Episode 1: Shake and Snake |
