Rediscovery EP: The Lost Letter to the Sacramento Union

[The Ancient Warrior]

Author's Note: This is one of the episodes of my independent project, Legends: The Rediscovery.  More information on the project can be found by following this link.

Episode 110px]

The camera swerves through a thick rainforest, and after multiple turns, it eventually stops in front of an ancient temple.  The eyes of giant stone head next to the temple gate light up red as he begins to speak:
"LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE!"
The show's logo forms as two halves of a Pendant of Life come in from the sides of the screen and merge; the show's name appears above the logo as the camera pans across the entire temple.
"With your guide, Kirk Fogg! And here he is NOW!"

On this final word, Kirk emerges from a thick patch of jungle plants and shrubs, then runs into the foreground and up a wide set of steps to greet the crowd. "Thank you! Thank you very much! Nice to see you! Thank you, Olmec! Welcome to Legends of the Hidden Temple.  The rooms are filled with lost treasures that are protected by mysterious Mayan Temple Guards.  Only Olmec knows the legend behind each of the treasures of his temple.  Which one are we gonna hear about today?"

Faint orange lights underneath Olmec turn on, and the camera cuts to a close-up of him as he replies:
"The Lost Letter to the Sacramento Union."

"Ooh, the Lost Letter to the Sacramento Union!" Kirk says in response as the camera cuts back to him. "Well, one of these six teams will have a chance to retrieve the Lost Letter.  Is it gonna be:
"Benjamin and Amber of the Red Jaguars?" the camera pans to each team in order, their first names briefly appearing at the bottom of the screen?
"Kevin and Marianne of the Blue Barracudas,
"Nikhil and Taylor of the Green Monkeys,
"Anthony and Katherine of the Orange Iguanas,
"William and Shelby of the Purple Parrots,
"Or Scott and Samantha of the Silver Snakes?"

"They'll have to pass some tough physical and mental tests," Kirk says, "but in the end, only one team will have the right to enter Olmec's Temple.  First, they have to cross the Moat, and here's how they have to do it today?
"Each team is standing in front of an ancient fishing net hanging overhead, and with a giant fishing hook at the end.  When I say 'Go,' both players on each team are gonna climb up onto the steps and they're gonna grab onto the fishing net, and climb hand-over-hand across the net.  Then they're gonna both grab onto the fishing hook and slide down to the other side."
"As soon as both players jump down to the deck, they'll have to run over here and hit the gong." He hits the top button on the Red Jaguars' gong? which lights up red? to demonstrate. "The first four teams to hit their gongs will be going on to the Steps of Knowledge.  So teams: are you ready?"
The players all cheer and shout in response.
"Olmec: are you ready?" asks Kirk.
"This rock is ready to roll!" Olmec replies.
"All right then!" Kirk says in response. "On your marks, get set, GO!"

On "Go," the twelve players hoist themselves up onto box-like platforms at the starting line so that they can reach the overhead nets, and then begin to cross.  The teams move at a rather slow rate? especially the Green Monkeys and the Orange Iguanas? but the Purple Parrots are the first team to even come close to their fishhook/zipline, a little more than twenty seconds into the round.  However, the Blue Barracudas are the first team to have to restart; their female player falls loses grip on the rope net and takes a seven-foot fall into the water, forcing her partner to drop down and go back as well. "The Blue Barracudas have to go back? they both have to go back 'cause they have to cross together!" The Purple Parrots, Red Jaguars and Silver Snakes all get to their fishhooks within seconds of each other (roughly a half-minute into the crossing), and all three teams ride them down to the deck, then run over to the gongs.
"We got the Purple Parrots? Red Jaguars? Silver Snakes!" Kirk declares as the three teams lock in to first (:34), second (:36) and third (:37) respectively. "Still looking for one more!" At this time, the Blue Barracudas are a little less than halfway across the net and the Green Monkeys and the Orange Iguanas are approaching their respective fishhooks.  Both teams ride their fishhooks down to the deck, and it becomes a footrace, but only one team can place fourth.  As soon as the fourth gong sounds, the Moat crossing ends, having lasted for forty-four seconds.
"We got our four teams right here!" Kirk announces, and the camera cuts over to the him standing with the Red Jaguars behind their gong. "The Red Jaguars did a great job getting across; it was a tough match.  But they're going on to the Steps of Knowledge, along with the Green Monkeys?" the camera goes down the line to show each of the other qualifying teams, with Kirk pausing to let the audience cheer? "and the Purple Parrots? and the Silver Snakes! The Blue Barracudas and the Orange Iguanas gave it a great effort.  We got a great gift for 'em for playing and here's what it is." Kevin, Marianne, Anthony and Katherine will each be receiving a copy of Monsters vs. Aliens on DVD.

[The Ancient Warrior]

When the camera cuts away from the consolation prize, the four remaining teams, along with Kirk, are now at the top of the Steps of Knowledge. "As the quest continues," he explains, "it's now time for Olmec to tell us about the Lost Letter to the Sacramento Union.  But pay attention, because your knowledge of the legend can bring you a step closer to the Temple."
Olmec begins to tell the legend:

"One of the first and most famous newspapers in the western United States was the Sacramento Union, one of the only successes in what was once a news town.  The Union was founded in 1851 and covered famous events like the Gold Rush, the Civil War and the San Francisco Earthquake, but also famous were the people involved with the paper, such as Mark Twain.  Legend has it that he was approached in 1866 by the editor, John Morse.
" 'Mr. Twain, I have a proposition for you.  How would you like an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii and write back to us telling us what it's like out there?'
" 'A few months reporting from tropical ahslands? Ah kin live with that.'
"At the time, the Hawaiian Islands were mostly foreign to America and Mark Twain was not yet famous? but his letters to the Sacramento Union launched his career.  He went on to write famous novels such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, but after he died, his letters, now mostly forgotten, were stolen, and one made its way to the Temple.  You must find the Lost Letter to the Sacramento Union and bring it back here."

"Thanks Olmec," Kirk says after Olmec finishes telling the legend, "but tell us: where is the Letter?"
Olmec replies:
"The Lost Letter to the Sacramento Union can be found in the Graveyard of Ships." The camera zooms in on a letter tacked to the ship prow protruding from the back-upper-left corner in the Graveyard of Ships, and then fades back to Kirk.

"All right.  Teams," Kirk begins, "in a moment, Olmec will ask you a question.  If you think you know the answer, stomp down on the ancient marking in front of you.  If you're right, you'll move down to the next level, but if you're wrong or you run out of time, I'll give the other teams a chance." Kirk starts walking down the steps as he continues. "The first two teams to make it to the bottom level will be one step closer to Olmec's Temple.  Olmec: we're now ready for your first question."

Olmec begins:
"Was the Sacramento Union a: City constitution, Novel or Newspaper?"
During the third choice, Nikhil rings in: "Newspaper."
"Correct," answers Olmec.
"Nice job, Green Monkeys, step down!" Kirk encourages, and the Green Monkeys move down to the second step. "Next question."

Olmec now asks:
"Was it founded in: 1831, 1851 or 1871?"
Nikhil buzzes in again: "1871??"
"Incorrect."
William is the second player to gong in: "1851??"
"Correct."
"Purple Parrots, step down!" Kirk encourages, and so the Purple Parrots join the Green Monkeys on the second step. "They're on the board now, but the other teams can catch up.  Next question, Olmec."

Olmec continues:
"Which of these writers started out as a reporter for the Sacramento Union: Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Rice Burr??"
Another stomp by William interrupts Olmec: "Mark Twain."
"That is correct," says Olmec in response.
"Just like that, the Purple Parrots are now one step away from the Temple Games!" Kirk remarks as the Purple Parrots reach the third step. "But remember: we're looking for two teams.  Olmec: next question."

Olmec follows up with this:
"While working for the Sacramento Union, did Mark Twain write about: Tahiti, Ha??"
Amber cuts Olmec off this time: "Hawaii."
"Correct."
"Red Jaguars, step down!" Kirk calls out, and the Red Jaguars act accordingly, joining the Green Monkeys on the second step. "The Silver Snakes can still get into this; it's anybody's game.  Next question, Olmec!"

Olmec asks:
"At the time, were the Hawaiian Islands: Uninhabited, Already a U.S. state or An independent kingdom?"
Nikhil stomps down and guesses: "Already a state??"
"Incorrect."
Amber hits her team's marking and guesses: "Uh? its own kingdom??"
"That is correct."
"Red Jaguars, step down! You're now one step away from the Temple Games!" Kirk encourages, and the Red Jaguars move down to the penultimate level. "They're now tied up with the Purple Parrots, but the other teams can still catch up.  Next question, Mr. Olmec."

Olmec proceeds with this:
"Which of these novels did Mark Twain write later in his life: The Jungle Book, Tom Sawyer or Great Expectations?"
During the third choice, William rings in: "Tom Sawyer."
"THAT IS CORRECT!" booms Olmec, and the Purple Parrots jump down onto the fourth step and start hugging and high-fiving each other in celebration.
"We got our first team going on to the Temple Games: it's the Purple Parrots!" Kirk remarks during the Purple Parrots' celebration, with the audience cheering in the background. "We're still looking for one more team, and who's it gonna be: the Red Jaguars, the Green Monkeys or the Silver Snakes? Olmec: continue."

Olmec does so by asking:
"The Sacramento Union was founded during which of these events: The California Gold Rush, The Civil War or The San Francisco Earthquake?"
Amberstomps down and guesses: "The Civil War??"
"Incorrect."
Hesitating, Nikhil becomes the second player to ring in: "California Gold Rush??"
"That is correct," says Olmec in response.
"There's another tie on the second-to-last step," Kirk declares as the Green Monkeys join the Red Jaguars on the third level, "but the Silver Snakes can still come back! Next question!"

Olmec then asks:
"Did Mark Twain join the paper in: 1856, 1866 or 1876?"
Nikhil hits the marking first: "1876."
"Incorrect."
Amber is the second player to buzz in: "1856??"
"Incorrect," answers Olmec. "The correct answer was: 1866."
"Okay, tough question, Olmec," comments Kirk, "but let's keep going."

Olmec's next question is this:
"According to our legend, was the editor at the time: John Morse, Louis Braille or Olivier??"
A stomp by Samantha interrupts Olmec: "John Morse??"
"Correct."
"Silver Snakes are on the board!" Kirk exclaims, and the audience cheers as the Silver Snakes move down to the second step. "Could this be a comeback? We'll see! Olmec: next question!"

Olmec continues with the following:
"In our legend, before the Lost Letter appeared in the Temple, was it: Torn into shreds, Stolen from the editor?s office or Sold at an auction?"
Amber is the first to gong in: "Stolen from? the editor's office??"
"THAT IS CORRECT!" bellows Olmec in response, allowing the Red Jaguars to jump down onto the bottommost step.  Kirk promptly runs back onscreen and up the bottom step before the four players can celebrate with one another.
"We got our four? uh, two teams right here!" Kirk announces, laughing off his mistake as he turns to face the camera and the team players start to high-five and shake hands with one another. "The Purple Parrots and the Red Jaguars! Nice job!" He pauses for a moment. "The Green Monkeys and the Silver Snakes gave it a great effort too.  We got a great gift for 'em and here's what it is." Nikhil, Taylor, Scott and Samantha will each be receiving a custom Legends of the Hidden Temple watch provided by Armitron.
The camera cuts away from the consolation prize to reveal that the Green Monkeys and Silver Snakes have disappeared, leaving only the two qualifying teams at the base of the steps with Kirk. "These two teams will be playing for the right to enter Olmec's Temple? right after this!" The camera swings over to the Central Reef and zooms in on a fish suspended from the stage-left wall of the room by an inserted fishhook.  The show's logo reforms over this and the camera then fades to commercial.

[The Ancient Warrior]

The camera fades in from black, with the show's logo superimposed over a shot of the pseudo-Polynesian mask on the back wall of the Room of the Ancient Masks, to the camera-right side of the Temple Guard door.  The Pendant of Life splits, the title shrinks into the distance and the camera segues to Kirk standing in front of the Coconut Harvest between with one of the two remaining teams on either side.
"Welcome back to Legends!" he greets. "Now the glory goes to the fastest and the strongest? so let's hear it for Shelby and William of the Purple Parrots!" The team, made up of a girl with brown eyes and straight auburn hair and a black boy with short hair and visible braces (who is also wearing a purple waterproof coat over his team shirt), sport wide grins and clap along during the audience's round of applause. "And Amber and Benjamin of the Red Jaguars!" The Red Jaguars, composed of strawberry-blonde girl with blue eyes behind rectangular glasses and a brown-haired boy with brown eyes and a constellation of freckles on every visible part of his body and a red waterproof coat over his team shirt, high-ten twice while the audience cheers for them.
"All right! Now, why don?t you girls go get ready for the first Temple Game," Kirk says while pointing offscreen somewhere to the left. "And you guys can go get set up for the second game over there." Kirk then points off to the right, and the players follow his gestures: Amber and Shelby walk stage-left and out of the camera frame; Benjamin and William vanish off the right edge as Kirk faces the camera once more. "In the Temple Games, teams are competing to win?" he opens a pouch and pulls out a small gold medallion to show to the camera? "Pendants of Life.  The winning team will need those Pendants to protect them from the dreaded Temple Guards as they make their way through the Temple.  There are three Temple Games, and Olmec will tell us about Temple Game #1."

Olmec begins:
"Mark Twain wrote a series of letters to the Sacramento Union about the Hawaiian Islands, but legend has it some of his letters were missing.  When Kirk gives the signal, jump up and untie one of the journal pages from the net above you.  Once it falls, come back down and place it in your bin.  Then, jump back up and do it again.
"The first player to bring down all four journal pages? or the player that's further along at the end of 60 seconds? wins."
The camera segues to Kirk standing in front of the harnessed girls and their respective nets. "Somebody lost their letters, huh?" he comments. "Let's get 'em back.  Let's put 60 seconds on the clock?" With a banging sound effect, a countdown clock drops into the bottom-right corner of the screen, and Kirk quickly steps out of the camera frame. "On your mark, get set, GO!"
Shelby and Amber, with the help of their support cords, jump up to try and reach the nets above them.  Amber easily reaches the net on her first jump, but Shelby fails to jump high enough on her first try and has to retry. "First you gotta reach the net? Then they gotta untie the letters from the net! Red Jaguars ahead right now?!" Amber quickly unties her first folded-up journal page, and descends again as it falls. "Red Jaguars already got their first one? Purple Parrots still working on their first one!" Sure enough, by the time Amber has placed her first journal page in the team's bin with 49 seconds to go, Shelby is only just about to untie her first page from the net.  She doesn't take very long to come back down and place it in her bin, tying the score, but both girls have a little difficulty the second time around? Shelby has to jump twice again, while Amber loses her grip on the net around :40. "Red Jaguars lost the net! She's gotta?  She's gotta grab on again if she wants to stay ahead!" Eventually Amber reconnects with the net, but by now Shelby has already untied the second folded-up letter for her team and lets go of her net with 35 seconds to go.
"Purple Parrots a little ahead now? wait, here come the Red Jaguars!" Kirk declares as Amber unties her second letter a moment later.  The girls both descend to the floor and score around the halfway mark, but this time around, only Shelby reaches the net again on her very next try, whereas Amber has to restart (:24).  The third letter falls from the Purple Parrots' net with 21 seconds to go, and Shelby quickly descends after it while Amber grapples with the knot on one of the two letters still hanging from her net. "Purple Parrots ahead? they just need one more to win!" In fact, Shelby jumps up again after placing her third letter in the bin with seventeenth seconds to go; Amber detaches her third letter from its rope at this point and starts back down. "Purple Parrots need one more to win, but can the Red Jaguars catch up?" The two girls trade positions again, although Shelby takes a little more time than usual working on this final knot, giving Amber the opportunity to jump up towards her own net again (:09!!).  However, Shelby unties her final letter from the net and watches it drop with seven seconds left before she goes down after it. "This could be it! Red Jaguars gotta hurry!" Amber scrambles to unfasten her team's final knot, but ends up losing grip on it and the net again.  On the other hand, Shelby places her team's final letter in the bin with three seconds left, ending the game.
"That's it!" Kirk announces, running over as the clock disappears from the screen and Amber descends to the floor. "The Red Jaguars still had one letter left, but the Purple Parrots got all of theirs before time ended? That gives them a half-Pendant of Life!" The audience cheers for a few moments, and Shelby claps along with a cheerful smile on her face. "Red Jaguars can catch up in this next game; it's worth a half-Pendant.  Olmec: tell us about it."

Olmec continues:
"Everyone knows Hawaii is made up of a chain of islands, which are surrounded by water.  In this game, you will need to dump out some of the waters of the Pacific.  Behind you is a very slippery slope, and at the top are three buckets full of ocean water.  When Kirk gives the signal, climb up the slope on your knees until you reach the top.   Grab the rope to release one of the buckets, and then slide back down.  Then, do it again.
"The first player to dump all three buckets and slide back down? or the player that's further along at the end of 60 seconds? wins."
The camera transitions to Kirk standing in front of the boys and the equipment. "It's gonna get wet and wild out here!" he comments. "Let's put 60 seconds on the clock?" The countdown clock reappears in the bottom-right corner of the screen, and a purple half-Pendant also materializes in the upper-left corner as Kirk steps out of the camera frame. "On your mark, get set, GO!"
"There they go? On your knees! You gotta go up on your knees!" calls Kirk as William and Benjamin start scaling the slopes.  Both quickly correct themselves, but the new scaling method causes Benjamin a bit more trouble than it does William, who is almost at the top after only fifteen seconds? on the other hand, Benjamin is only a little more than two-thirds of the way to the top of the slope. "When they get to the top, they gotta pull down one of the buckets and dunk? er, dump the water!" William reaches out for the ropes attached to the bucket and finally dumps his leftmost bucket with forty seconds to go; the water follows him back down the slope.  Benjamin is about four seconds behind, and both players make a large splash when they reach the bottom.
"They both scored," declares Kirk, "but now it's gonna be slipperier than before?!" Sure enough, both players slip several times on the way up, but William seems to have more trouble, which lets Benjamin catch up. "They both need two more? Can either of them get at least one?" Eventually, William falls almost a quarter of the way back down with 21 seconds to go, and Benjamin takes a slight lead.  He dumps his team's second bucket, leaving just the stage-right one as he slides back down with twelve seconds to go.  William ties things up with just a few seconds left, and slides down as the contents of the second bucket wash over the slope (:06!!). "They got just a few seconds left? I don't think either of them's gonna make it!" Sure enough, time runs out just as William makes it about a quarter of the way to the top and Benjamin passes the one-third mark.  A pattern of ceiling spotlights flashes to let the players know that time has run out, and both give up and slide back down, creating more splashes as Kirk runs over.
"All right! Uh? Nice splash!" he laughs as he reappears onscreen. "It looks like?" the camera pans up to the buckets at the top of the slopes? "Both teams had one bucket left, so they both get a half-Pendant of Life!" The audience applauds, and Benjamin raises his arm in the air before Kirk continues. "So now the Purple Parrots have a full Pendant, the Red Jaguars a half? but this next game is worth a full Pendant.  Olmec: tell us about Temple Game #3."

Olmec narrates:
"In Mark Twain's time, it could take hours to travel from one of the Hawaiian Islands to the next.  In this game, you must cross a smaller chain of islands in a matter of seconds.  When Kirk gives the signal, choose an island and step out onto it.  If the island sinks, run back and tag your partner.  Then it's their turn to cross.
"The first team to get a player from one side of the island chain to the other? or the team that's made the most progress in 60 seconds? wins!"
The camera fades over to Kirk standing in front of the sinking steps. "This is for the Temple!" he reminds the audience. "Let's put 60 seconds on the clock?" The countdown clock reappears onscreen in the bottom-right corner, along with a purple full Pendant in the upper-left corner and a red half-Pendant in the upper-right.  Kirk then dashes offscreen to the left as the camera zooms out a little to show the entire piece of equipment and the two teams waiting on the camera-right end. "On your marks, get set, GO!"
Shelby and Amber move out onto the steps immediately in front of them to start, but Amber continues directly ahead and finds out that the furthest-from-camera step in the second row (F2) is unstable, forcing her team to restart almost instantly.  On the other hand, Shelby zigzags between the closest column to the camera and the middle column for a few steps, before sinking at the middle step in the fifth row (M5) with a full 54 seconds to go. "Purple Parrots going strong so far!" Kirk remarks as Benjamin falls in the third column and has to restart (:53).  He goes back and almost jumps over the platform, tagging Amber in the process.  When William begins his first turn, he moves hesitantly, allowing Amber to move one platform in front of him until she makes a misstep onto the closest-to-camera step in the fourth row (C4), once again forcing her team to restart without taking the lead from the Purple Parrots (:46). "Purple Parrots still ahead, but can they move even further ahead?" Just as Kirk says this, William swerves around the sinking C4 and makes his way to C5 and then to C6. "Purple Parrots are blaz? agh, they gotta go back!" Sure enough, William sinks when he heads on out to M7, and starts to run back to the starting line. "That could cost 'em? we'll see!" On the next attempt, Shelby tries to follow Benjamin from precisely one step behind; this works until he discovers that M6 is also a viable step, tying the teams in the process.  However, he soon steps on the faulty C7 platform and is forced to restart with 32 seconds remaining.  Shelby continues on by stepping on F7, but sinks at F8 just after the halfway mark.
"This is tough," commentates Kirk with just over twenty seconds to go, " 'cause now they gotta remember where they went!" At this point, Amber sinks by incorrectly choosing M7, and William, just two steps behind, moves on to F7 fairly quickly.  He then chooses M8 with seventeen seconds to go, increasing his team's lead even more. "He's just two steps away! Can he do it?" Shelby can be seen hopping up and down as William hesitantly chooses F9, which remains stable (:15!). "Down to the last one?!" After a couple seconds, he moves out to M10, which does not sink.  Immediately after, he makes it to the other platform, ending the game with twelve seconds on the clock.
"That's it!" Kirk declares, running back onscreen as the indicators vanish from the screen.  An excitable Shelby can be heard squealing in excitement as she gets off the starting platform and runs over; Benjamin follows soon after, and Amber steps off the stable fifth-row platform to join them. "The Purple Parrots made it all the way from one dock to the other before time ended.  They get the full Pendant, giving them two? the Red Jaguars only had a half.  The Purple Parrots are goin' to the Temple!" Shelby squeals once more, and she and William hug while Kirk goes over to talk to the Red Jaguars. "The Red Jaguars gave it a great effort too.  Here's what we got for them." Benjamin and Amber will each be receiving a $50 iTunes gift card.
The screen wipes to reveal that only Kirk and the Purple Parrots are standing on the stage-left side of the equipment for the final game. "We'll see if the Purple Parrots can make it through Olmec's Temple and retrieve that Lost Letter to the Sacramento Union," he announces, "right after this!" The camera pans over to the Graveyard of Ships, and focuses in on the Lost Letter dangling from the ship prow decoration.  The show's logo reforms over this shot and the camera fades to black for commercials.

[The Ancient Warrior]

When the camera returns from the second commercial break, the show's logo is partially covering a shot of the telescope in the Observatory.  The Pendant of Life splits, the title shrinks into the distance and the camera segues to Kirk standing in front of the Temple's stairs, to the camera-right of William and Shelby. "Welcome back to Legends!" he says to the camera. "The Purple Parrots have proven themselves worthy, and now've earned the right to enter Olmec's Temple.  But first, Olmec's gonna give them some information to help them retrieve the Lost Letter to the Sacramento Union."
Olmec begins to give the rundown:
"You COULD start? by running up to the Room of the Ancient Masks! Push in the correct mask, and pass into the Upper Terrace! There you must choose your next path; you could race up into the Observatory.  Read the instructions on the far wall with the telescope, and follow them to open the door to the Central Reef.  Solve the correct puzzle to open the door to the Tiki Village! Push the correct idol into position; that may take you below or lead you into the SHRIIIIIIIIiiiiiine of the SIIIIILver Monkey! Assemble the statue, and you may be headed toward the Pirate's Cove! Place the torch in the correct holder to go back, or spin the ship's wheel and enter the Graveyard of Ships, where you can grab the Lost Letter to the Sacramento Union.
"Next, plow through the wall and enters the Viper's Nest.  Reach into the snake jars and find the key, and you'll enter the Bamboo Forest! If you escape, you might have a chance to enter the Cannon Room.  Load the three cannonballs into the cannon, and if the rock slab is up, you can crawl back through the Coconut Harvest and finally climb through the Cave, rrrrace down the STAIRS and back through the Temple Gate.  The choices are yours and yours alone!" Olmec pauses for a second. "You won 2 Pendants in the Temple Games.  Who's going first?"
"I am," says William.
"Very well, William!" replies Olmec as Kirk hands out the Pendants of Life. "When Kirk gives the signal, you'll race through the gates into the Temple and make your way towards the Lost Letter.  Hidden inside the Temple are three secret passages that may lead you into the Bamboo Forest, as well as Temple Guards assigned to protect three specific rooms.  You can trade your Pendant for an extra life and go on BUT? if you're caught without a Pendant, you'll be taken out of the Temple? and it'll be Shelby's turn to enter and try her luck.  If you reach the Letter, all the doors of the Temple will instantly unlock, and the Temple Guards will vanish.  Return through the gates with the Lost Letter of the Sacramento Union in three minutes, and you will both be handsomely rewarded? and here's how!"
?   For just getting into the Temple, they're both going to get an Xzibit Video Game Rocker provided by Dreamseat.
?   If they can grab the Lost Letter in three minutes, they're also going to get a World Book encyclopedia set.
?   And if they can bring the Lost Letter out of the Temple before three minutes is up, they'll both be going to Hawaii! In the heart of Waikiki, the Best Western Ohana Waikiki Tower participates in the Young Travelers Club.  Just steps away from Waikiki Beach, an area pulsing with excitement, shopping and entertainment!

The camera cuts back from the grand prize to show Kirk, William and Shelby one last time before the bonus round begins. "Hawaii! All right, let's see if we can get the Purple Parrots to Hawaii!" comments Kirk. "Let's get you out in front, William.  Put your mouthpieces in.  Lower the gate, Olmec!"
Olmec groans gutturally as he lowers the gate; the faint orange lights under him are turned off.
"And put three minutes on the clock." The clock reappears onscreen. "On your mark, get set, GO!"

"There goes William! Up into the Temple!" Kirk declares as William runs up the stairs and slides down past Olmec into the Cave.  He starts to make his way through the ledges, but something pulls his feet out from under him?
"TEMPLE GUARD!" shouts Kirk as William looks over his shoulder at the guard with wide eyes. "But he's got a Pendant? he can give that up and he can go on!" In very little time, William hands over his Pendant of Life, and then heads across through the ledges while Temple Guard recedes into the bottommost portion of the Cave.  William soon reaches the lower crawl tube, and hits the actuator to open it, but to no avail (2:47). "Augh, that door didn't work? maybe he'll find another way!" Rather quickly, William climbs up through the Cave to the ceiling, and soon opens the door to the Room of the Ancient Masks.  He climbs on up the ladder and enters the room with 2:36 on the clock. "Okay, now he's gotta hit a mask to open a door!" William rushes over to the back wall of the room, and pushes in both masks there; the stage-right one opens the door to the Upper Terrace, and he moves on (2:28). "He's making? clearing a path now!" William dashes across the stage-left catwalk and opens the door to the Central Reef, then crawls through.  He stands up and moves over to the coral puzzle surrounding the ladder leading downward, but before he can get started, the second Temple Guard emerges from the side door and captures him (2:17)!
"Augh, he's taken outta there! Go Shelby!" Kirk calls out as Shelby runs up into the Temple.  She starts by going up into the Room of the Ancient Masks (2:11), then runs through the room and across the Upper Terrace; she crawls through into the Central Reef with 1:57 remaining. "She's got two choices if she wants to move on? which puzzle's she gonna take?" Like William tried to, Shelby starts in on the coral puzzle surrounding the ladder leading downward.  She picks up the topmost piece of coral? a square frame with many protrusions and depressions, almost like teeth? and turns it until it properly fits on the piece immediately beneath it (1:52). "She's got a Pendant, she's got plenty of time?" Shelby works her way down, gradually getting more and more of the pieces of coral to fit together and causing the stack to become shorter. "We've already seen two of them? but if she runs into the next Temple Guard, she's got a Pendant!" It isn't very long until the stack is properly arranged, causing the door leading downward to open with 1:39 on the clock. "She's got the door opened? now which way's she gonna go?" Hesitating for just a second, Shelby then tries to step over the sections of coral to access the ladder in the middle.  It takes a couple seconds, but she eventually makes it in and climbs down into the Cannon Room.  After a few rungs, she simply jumps off the ladder to save time, and sets foot in the room at the halfway mark.
"All right, she's into the Cannon Room, where she's gotta find three cannonballs!" Kirk remarks as Shelby starts searching for the missing cannonballs on the camera-right side of the room.  She quickly finds one in the front-right corner, then moves towards the back of the room and finds a second close to the Temple Guard doors (1:22). "She's moving fast, and that's always important! This is a tough, tough Purple Parrots team?" Shelby moves stage-left, carefully skirting the final cannonball by the side of the ladder as she makes her way to the cannon and loads in the two in her hands. "They were first in the Moat, first in the Steps of Knowledge? they had two Pendants!" As Shelby loads the last cannonball, the tip of the cannon's fuse lights up and a shaft of light penetrates the room from the camera-left side? the door to the Bamboo Forest opens with 1:11 on the clock.  She heads on through, but before she can make it too far into the room, the third Temple Guard emerges from the substances on the floor and tries to capture her!
"There's that last Temple Guard," commentates Kirk, "but she's got a Pendant! She can still keep going!" After a moment of shock, Shelby tosses her Pendant of Life at the Temple Guard and climbs out onto the first of three parallel bamboo tangles in the room (1:04).  She climbs up towards an opening near the top of the first tangle, makes her way through and climbs onto the second mass rather quickly.
The camera briefly cuts away to Kirk and William watching from the sidelines (0:59). "She said she's into gymnastics? I don't know if she's tried parallel bars like this!"
"Go Shelby! You can do it!"
When the camera cuts back to the room, the Temple Guard has vanished and Shelby has just made it through a lower opening on the second bamboo tangle, now dropping to the ground for the third and preparing to crawl underneath (0:55).  Once on the far side of the room, she hits the actuator above the closer-to-the-foreground crawl tube and heads through into the Viper's Nest with 48 seconds left.  She heads straight across to the rock wall? but it doesn't break down when she pushes it!
"Augh, she can't bust through the wall!" remarks Kirk, as Shelby backs away from the rock wall. "She's gotta find another way!" She lifts the lids of the stage-left and center snake jars on the altar at the same time; rubber snakes jump out at her from the stage-left jar, but the center jar doesn't appear to contain any snakes.  Instead, she pulls out a magnetic key and goes to the back of the room with it (0:40). "She's going strong? she's going up!" Shelby opens the leftmost golden door, then climbs up the ladder behind it and enters the Shrine of the Silver Monkey with about 32 seconds to go. "She's just two rooms away! I thought she would've had it, but there's still time!" Shelby climbs up onto the shelves and grabs all three pieces of the silver monkey in one sweep, then brings them to the front of the room and starts to assemble the statue (0:23). "First the base? then the middle? We all know how to put the monkey together!" Shelby takes a couple seconds properly positioning the base? one of the corners doesn't fall into place within the pedestal at first? but has relatively little trouble with the other parts of the statue.  She threads the rod attached to the head into the other pieces after the torso is properly placed, and presses down on it with ten seconds to go, opening two doors leading out of the room. "She's just got a few seconds left! Still got one room? No! She's in the room!" Sure enough, Shelby crawls into the Graveyard of Ships, and jumps down the ladder with five seconds to go. "Get the Letter! HURRY!" She races across and reaches up for the letter, dangling by a rope with a hook at the end (0:02!!).  She removes it from the hook manually? and just before time runs out!
"SHE GOT IT!" Kirk shouts out as the camera switches to him and William in the foreground; William raises his hands and appears to be shouting in excitement, but with his mouthpiece still in. "She got the Letter just before time ran out! Great job? here she comes now!" The camera cuts to Shelby running across the foreground from the Graveyard of Ships, then joining Kirk and William soon after, Letter in hand. "Great effort by both players! They were a tough team all day long, and now they got the video game chairs and the encyclopedia set, and it was great having them here? but we gotta get outta here.  I don't wanna, but we gotta.  Check us out next time for more adventure and another great Legend of the Hidden Temple! Buh-bye!" The three all wave to the camera as it zooms out; shots of the Central Dock, Shrine of the Silver Monkey, Graveyard of Ships and the Moat? including detail shots of several fishhooks? are shown while the credits roll.

[The Ancient Warrior]

Episode Summary
Episode 110px]

Name of Artifact: The Lost Letter to the Sacramento Union
Season: 3
Layout: 3 (Hawaiian Layout; 13 overall)
Result: Failed escape
Team: Purple Parrots
Pendants Won: 2
Location of Artifact: The Graveyard of Ships



A fairly average Purple Parrots episode, all things considered.  After all, the team DID dominate everything before they made it to the Temple. The elimination rounds themselves had relatively uninspired challenges, especially the Temple Games? I honestly thought the second one, the "floodgate" game, was bit of a stretch? but the Purple Parrots did very well.  They even beat out the Red Jaguars in the Temple Games? a relatively rare occurrence in itself.

After William and Shelby had placed first in the Moat and Steps of Knowledge and won two Pendants in the Temple Games, I figured the Temple Run would be a cake walk for them.  Certainly these two were great players in both speed and smarts, but the configuration for this episode was fairly difficult, requiring players to not only enter a minimum eight rooms (including the Central Reef, Cannon Room and Bamboo Forest) on the way to the artifact, but also switch floors at least three times.  William added on one more room and floor switch at the beginning when he started in the Cave, and also met the first Temple Guard there.

Starting in the Cave might have been the only decision that the team could've avoided for the better, but that would only be an improvement if William could have cleared the Central Reef and Cannon Room in less time than his already-speedy partner? otherwise, there was no way the team could have made it out in time.  Shelby had to move around the Graveyard when the rock wall didn't break down, but she put the silver monkey together very nicely and scrambled through the diagonal passage to get the Letter.  Eventually, she got it off the hook it was attached to with one second left, earning her team the second prize.

Trivia and Records:
This is the third and final Temple Run (and the only one outside of Season 2) where the rock wall connecting the two leftmost rooms on the bottom floor does not break down.