The third "Dern's Council" was certainly nothing to look forward to for Tribe Yumnuska. As is always the case, one of their members would be asked to leave the island by the host Bryan Dern. The seven castaways were sitting in front of the fire, awaiting judgment. After what seemed like hours, the host emerged from a corner in the clearing.

"Aren't you a sorry looking bunch?", he said, looking rather content in knowing something the rest of the castaways didn't. "As you know, I have the results from the voting. I don't think this will come as a big surprise to anyone, including myself."

Dern approached Jack Allen and began to smile. "How's the leg Jack? Glad to see you're all better, would've been a real shame if Yumnuska lost their most prominent leader!" He gave a little chuckle and then wandered over to Bernard. "Nice shootin' Berny, too bad you still weren't good enough to beat Blackgaard... you let your whole team down when it counted" He gave another little laugh and then begin to walk over to Connie.

"Mr. Dern", Walter piped up from the behind the castaways, "Would you be so kind as to get on with the results? It's rather disrespectful to insult the castaways before one of us is forced to leave the island."

"Fine then", Dern said, turning back to Walter, "I guess since you all really want know... it gives me great pleasure in announcing that Bart Rathbone will not be joining you tomorrow morning!"

Everyone's attention turned to Bart Rathbone, who had been sitting there biting his nails. "You's joking right? You can't possibly be forcing me to leave! After all I've done? First Doris, then me? What have I done to deserve this? Why must the Rathbone's be the first to leave the island?", he paused and spit out a nail he had been chewing, "Oh I get it... You's all afraid of a little competition, we're too good for ya hunh'? None of you's is willing to admit that we're better then ya! Fine, if that's the case then I quit! I don't wanna be on this here island anyway! Outta my way Dern, I'm leaving!"

Bart stood up and walked out of the clearing, not looking back. "Temper, temper!", Dern said looking happy with himself, "Well, anyway, you know the drill. It's time for the rest of you to head back to camp, I'll see you all in two days time. Goodnight!"

And with that, the rest of the castaways gathered their torches and began to walk home. One less member, but one less problem to worry about.


Last night, Bart Rathbone was the third person to be voted off the island. After breakfast this morning, our reporters caught up with the remaining members of the tribe to hear their reactions:

"It appears that the council reached their verdict and elected to exclude Mr. Rathbone from our assembly. He certainly seemed rather resentful at the decision, but due to his rather idle nature, it was obviously the correct decision."
- Eugene Meltsner, Yumnuska

"Oh, Bart? When will you ever learn? It doesn't come as a big surprise that he was the one voted off. In past experiences I've had with him, he hasn't really proven himself a big asset. I just hope he learned his lesson this time and I'll be praying for him, just as I have done and will continue to do for everyone else on the island."
- John Whittaker, Tala Neki

"Hahaha, so pop got the boot 'eh? I told ya so, he's always getting on other people's nerves. It's too bad that the Rathbone family seems to be marked, I better watch my mouth and lay low for a while. Maybe I should get some work done around the camp... on second though, nah! hehehe"
- Rodney Rathbone, Tala Neki

The fourth Tribal Battle will be held tomorrow! Be sure to come by, and see the next candidates for "Dern's Council" on Day 20.


Lack of food and extremely hot conditions have made life miserable for the fourteen remaining castaways. So, Odyssey 105 and the Odyssey Times decided that the winner of today's Tribal Battle would be allowed to enjoy a cooler of drinks and a bucket of fish. Needless to say, there was much more at stake going into the competition, and both tribes were as hungry as ever.

The two tribes met at the edge of a long river. Two logs were floating in the water tied to a nearby tree. Cut into both of the logs were four seats, apparently they were vehicles of some sort that resembled a log ride. Dern arrived and explained the latest game to the two tribes. The goal of the competition was to paddle the two logs down the river in a race-like format, and the first team to reach the finish line would win the cooler/fish along with immunity from the vote. The four seats in each of the logs would be the seats for the four representatives from each team. Tala Neki chose Jason, Tom, Whit and Rodney, while Yumnuska went with Jack, Connie, Bernard and Katrina.

The eight castaways were all given helmets, with the color corresponding to the teams color. They then crouched down into the damp seats of the logs, and held their paddles in the ready position. The castaways who were not chosen to participate in the event, spread themselves out along the river. Bryan Dern made sure everyone was ready, and then blew his whistle to begin the race.

Tala Neki began with a burst of speed, and found themselves well in front of the Yumnuska log. The only loose link on the team seemed to be Rodney, who was complaining about blisters and was dragging his paddle in the water.

Yumnuska on the other hand was rather slow to begin. Connie and Katrina hadn't quiet figured out the whole paddling process yet, and Jack was coaching them on paddling techniques. By the time they had got everything sorted out, the Tala Neki tribe was already well ahead of them. But the fact they were far behind helped them work just as hard to try and catch up, and soon found themselves neck and neck. Rodney noticed how close they had become and tried to steer them off course by poking them with his paddle. But Jack was able to recover their position, while the rest of the team paddled hard to take the lead.

Whit was telling Rodney to just keep paddling, and not to interfere with the other team. He reluctantly agreed, and joined his teammates in trying to out race the other tribe. However, Yumnuska appeared to be a much stronger team when it came to paddling, and Tala Neki just couldn't keep up.

The two logs approached a forested bend in the river, the cheers from the five other castaways were now muffled in the trees. The finish line was still not visible to either tribe, but it was clear that Yumnuska would be the first to reach the goal. They approached another bend, this one to the left but Yumnuska turned and hit a large rock in the water, they had lodged themselves between the rock and the shore. Bernard was struggling with his paddle that was pinned between them when Tala Neki finally approached the turn and Rodney let out a laugh as he watched. Tom asked them if they need any help, but Jack told them they didn't need any and to get on their way. So Tala Neki continued paddling through the forested area until they reached another bend. When they turned, they could clearly see a crimson red banner in the distance. "FINISH", was written across it in white with the remaining castaways crowding around it cheering the team on.

Tala Neki managed to paddle through the ribbons and raise their hands high above their heads, they had won the second challenge in a row. Regis Blackgaard approached the castaways and shook their hands, a big smile on his face. "You did well boys, you did well." After crawling out of the log, Tala Neki grabbed hold of the cooler and fish and said good-bye to Yumnuska. They went on their way while Eugene and Walter ran into the forest to try and find the rest of their team. It was going to be the second time they would be forced to visit "Dern's Council" in as many weeks, something they were certainly not looking forward to.


"Let's see", Bryan Dern said as he paced up and down in front of the remaining Yumnuska tribe, "This is your third 'Dern's Council' and when you leave here, there will only be five members left. The fans have already submitted their votes, and in a few minutes I will reveal the person who will go home. So, I'll give you all some time to think and I'll be back in a few moments." With that, Dern walked away into a corner of the clearing and disappeared from sight.

Bernard wiped the sweat from his brow. He felt he was in a very vulnerable position right now, after all, he had accidentally steered the Yumnuska log into a rock that cost his team the challenge a few days ago. Across from him, Katrina sat nervously biting her thumb. She had not really contributed anything to the tribe that was especially useful and felt that her days were numbered.

They rest of the castaways had been eating very little and it was beginning to show. The usual rice and canned food they had been provided was not very pleasant to eat, and delicacies such as fish were few and far between for Yumnuska. Walter Shakespeare seemed to be suffering the most from the current meal plan. He had lost nearly 21 pounds since arriving on the island, and looked sickly pale.

Tala Neki, who was back at their camp talking amongst themselves, were also showing effects of the food conditions. They had all lost some weight, Harlow and Whit a little more then others, and looked very worn out. Even Regis' cat Sasha was having trouble finding suitable food.

Meanwhile, Bryan Dern returned with the results of the vote in his hands. As usual, he had a little grin on his face and chuckled as he talked. "Well, well, it looks like the fans have finally got their wish to oust this particular castaway. He has come close to being voted off twice before. But now that George and Bart have paved the way for him, it's time that he leaves. Although from the looks of you Walter... this is a probably good thing."

"Very well", Shakespeare said, a hint of sadness in the tone of his voice, "I suppose this is for the best, and I'm certain the rest of you will be able to carry on your activities without me. Now, now, don't be sad... this is what I want." Walter then stood up from his chair and shook the hands of his teammates. "Good luck guys, and win the next competition for me, will ya?" He then turned, and walked out of the clearing. There was now only twelve castaways left, who would be next?


Walter Shakespeare became the fourth person to be kicked off the island. As usual, the reporters caught up with the rest of the members of the tribes to hear their reactions. As you can see, not many people really knew him very well:

"Shakespeare was a nice guy, though we never really talked much. Even back in Odyssey the only few encounters we had was when he was with Edwin, you know, the owner of the Harlequin? Anyway, It's too bad to see so many people go, it takes all the fun out of the challenge of surviving the island. Hunger pains are also beginning to take effect... we had another bowl of rice for breakfast, yuck!"
- Connie Kendall, Yumnuska

"Ah, Shakespeare. My brother Edwin has worked with him for a very, very long time. It's rather odd, Edwin probably misses him more then he misses his own flesh and blood. Ha, I suppose I can't really blame him, I'm not exactly proud of my checkered past, but don't people see I'm a changed man? What?, oh yes, back to the topic at hand... I do wish Shakespeare well in the future, and I hope Edwin was able to get by without his sl-, er, companion..."
- Regis Blackgaard, Tala Neki

The fifth Tribal Battle will be held tomorrow, can Yumnuska come back from haing lost two in a row? Be sure to come by, and see the next candidates for "Dern's Council" for Day 25!