This sure was a strange place to have the last challenge of the entire season. The sky was dark, the winds were chilling, and the snow clouded the five finalists’ view as they marched towards the light of the set of the challenge. Still, there was something undeniably beautiful about the gloomy atmosphere.
Henry spotted a sign hanging on the side or a building and recognized the language of its writing. “We’re in Iceland,” he said aloud. The others were too cold to offer a spoken reply.
Fortunately, there would be some relief when they arrived on set, as Connie and Niobe stood bundled up next to several outdoor heaters. Niobe waved to the group with a smile, while Connie oozed discomfort rather than her usual schadenfreude.
“It’s… So… Cold…” Connie moaned, slumped over and shivering.
“Welcome to Skipbrot,” Niobe said. “This town is small, but it’s home to an exciting event in nautical history.” She looked to Connie to continue, but the freezing Floridian was too busy chugging a thermos of hot chocolate. At least, that’s what Niobe thought she was drinking.
“Many centuries ago, a pirate ship arrived in the docks of Skipbrot. Its captain ended up dying at the hands of the locals, but not before he gave his wife clues on where he had hidden his treasure.”
“I feel like I heard about this,” Mel said. “The treasure was only found relatively recently, right?”
“That’s right!” Niobe said approvingly. “As it happens, the treasure was found not far from here, deep in the dark recesses of the ice caves.”
“Don’t tell me,” Ryan exclaimed. “We have to explore the caves?”
The idea of someone other than herself experiencing some form of icy anguish temporarily revived Connie. “Ha ha! That’s right! And this is the only light source you get!” Dylan walked by and passed each contestant a small pocket flashlight. Needless to say, it wouldn’t be help in cutting through the thick darkness.
“You’ll have a certain amount of time to explore the caves and take note of the objects you find in it,” Niobe explained. “Then, after you’ve returned, you’ll be quizzed on what sections of the caves you found each object. You’ll be scored on how many correct answers you come up with.”
The contestants looked nervous. This was their last chance to score points, and they had to explore an ancient, freezing cave! But before they could object, they were led to a row of snowmobiles, where using their knowledge from their time in Canada, they followed Dylan into the snowy distance.
All of you will perform this challenge individually. Please let us know when throughout the next week and weekend you are available. You will have 60 moves for the exploration period of the challenge. For each move, you will enter one of the two or more doorways in each square room of the cave. Remember to keep track of your perspective and what direction you are facing, as this will change the layout of the doorways. When you have entered a room with an object, we will notify you before your next move. Message us if you have any questions.
