Fun And Games
Chapter I
Spoilers: Major for Avatar, Gamekeeper, and general knowledge of season 7.
Disclaimer: One part Diablo II, One part Stargate, and a dash of Caverns of Socrates. I barely own the plot.
AN: I have adjusted some of the things in the game, only because those things don't make sense in the game. For instance Kashya really runs the camp, rather than stand around and talk to the RPG character.
There is an anecdote that Samuel Johnson, the British writer, was asked how he would refute Bishop Berkeley's statement that the world was an illusion.
"I refute it thus!" he said, and kicked a large rock.
Some people think he was right; some think he was wrong; and some don't think about it at all.
I've been thinking about it.
Dennis L. McKiernan, Caverns of Socrates
Chapter I
Daniel lay there, just listening to all the sounds of the Sisters of the Sightless Eye's camp at night. The rain was falling again, a common occurrence, being the rainy season and all. It made such a noise as it hit the canvas tent above him. Softer, he could hear the sound of the aqueduct, built to serve the outlying farming communities. The hens clucked as they couldn't find a safe place from the rain. The cows were silent, probably having gone to sleep long since, much more used to being outside in all sorts of weather.
He could hear Charsi making sure her temporary forge was still going. She might even decide later that some weapon or tool needed work. That would wake Gheed, who needed all the beauty sleep he could get.
Warrive, he could hear, paced by the big fire in the middle of the camp, as it crackled and popped. It made him feel comfortable, as he was always there. Sometimes he wondered if the man even slept.
Akara was sitting in her tent cooking up some brew or another before she went to get some sleep. She ground away at the pedestal. He would've thought that the rain would've made this impossible, but then again she was working inside her tent. Gheed, he could hear snoring away in the tent across the camp. That snore could probably be heard in Lut Gholein.
Kashya had sisters coming and going all night. Some brought news of enemy movement. Others were going on missions to see what the monsters were doing. Some were just making sure that they wouldn't attack that night. There were precious few of her sisters to do those jobs. Some had died out there fighting the darkness. Others had been turned to the other side. Daniel knew that those losses were the ones Kashya felt the most.
On one of turrets two of Kashya's Rogues were having a conversation. It was quiet, out of consideration of those who could sleep in the camp, but that meant it was too low for Daniel to hear.
Sam shared a tent with him. He could hear her breathe. The slow steady sound told him that she was sound asleep, in the comfort and safety of the camp.
Beyond all that, Daniel could hear the various sounds of the wilderness. There were animals that hadn't caught the attention of some demon, and the demons themselves. They made such strange noises; he really had nothing to compare them to. The wind sighed its way through the branches of the trees, and the leaves rustled in the rain.
It was strange. They had seen neither hide nor hair of Jack and Teal'c since this began, days ago. He wondered if they were having problems. What were they up to? He didn't know.
"Daniel, go to sleep." Sam wasn't as asleep as he had thought evidently.
"I can't it's too noisy."
"Well then stop thinking. It's keeping me up." Sam didn't move an inch, except for her mouth. She just wanted to sleep, he knew.
"I'm just wondering what Jack and Teal'c are doing. Are they all right? Is something going on out there that we don't know about?"
"Get some sleep. Tomorrow we face the biggest challenge yet, Blood Raven. And then we can contact the Colonel and Teal'c."
Jack stared at the screens. He should be there with them. Jack was in command of the SGC and was no longer on SG-1. He longed to be there with them, but really this was something that Daniel and Carter wanted to do alone. Try to work on their friendship.
It wasn't necessarily going down hill, Sam more felt the need to connect with her team mate. She still hadn't gotten over Daniel not visiting her when he was ascended.
Teal'c had wanted to participate also, but he also felt the need to stay out in case something happened. Then like the good Jaffa he was, he would come in and rescue the two.
Sam and Daniel were strapped into two chairs, and in a confusing mess of wires connected to two television screens. The chairs were adapted from the Gamekeeper's planet. Some bigwig in Washington thought they would make great training tools.
As Jack watched the screen with Daniel's name underneath, it showed Sam, as an Amazon, beating the living daylights out of a character named Blood Raven. It was strange because Blood Raven looked like Osiris, or rather the host, Sarah.
The other screen said Sam and showed Daniel on the other side of Blood Raven. He was in his werewolf form, making Daniel bigger and scarier than he was in real life.
A Druid and an Amazon. There was something indefinable about them like that. Daniel looked somehow rougher around the edges and Sam; she now embodied the phrase 'if looks could kill.' One real glance from her would be enough to drop most, if not all, the demons they were fighting. Such small changes made such a big difference.
The differences in Daniel and Carter's looks were not all that extreme. Well, Daniel in his human form. The fact that Daniel had different forms just boggled the mind. Daniel had shoulder length hair, put in pony tail, and he was decked out in animal skins. As a Druid, Daniel could change form into a bear or wolf. He could call sprit animals to him, and command some of the elements.
Carter's hair was long, going right down her back, and a bit blonder. She had it tied up in a pony tail on top of her head, and she was wearing red leather. As an Amazon, she couldn't do much of the supernatural stuff, but there were two spells that were very helpful. One slowed down projectiles fired from their enemies. The other made the enemies glow and took a bit out of the strange creatures.
Jack didn't know all this from reading the preliminary reports. It showed how much time he spent at these screens that he understood what was going on.
"Don't worry, General. The chairs are accelerating time for them, so they don't loose much time out here."
"Good to hear." It was perfectly safe. He had nothing to worry about, Jack knew, but there was this nagging doubt, a voice, that told him it was SG-1. SG-1 always got into trouble.
The voice that would've said, "but they always make it back out alive," was strangely absent.
"O'Neill, is there not something you should be doing?" Teal'c, what a guy to remind him that there was a mountain of paperwork on his desk. Some days he had to wonder how Cheyenne Mountain could hold it.
"I can hardly believe that you've defeated Blood Raven! Though she was once my closest friend, I pray that her tortured spirit remains banished forever. You have earned my respect, stranger... and the allegiance of the Rogues. I have placed several of my best warriors at your disposal. One would like to travel with you free of charge." That last line was said like she didn't know how this rouge could possibly actually want to travel with these outlanders. Sam could understand this sentiment. After all, these outlanders had done what Kashya and her rouges couldn't.
And they had done it. All in the camp had congratulated them, in one way or another. Even Gheed, in his own way, had said, "Some of those gals weren't so nice the first time around." Tonight there would be a celebration; the first of their victories over Andarial had been won, even if it was by a couple of outlanders.
"Daniel will change your mind about us eventually. I just know it. He has that effect on almost everyone."
"That hardly seems likely to happen. He is a Druid, after all. Why does an Amazon such as yourself journey with such a man?" This was the way their conversations always went. Kashya seemed to have something against men in general and druids in particular.
"He's my friend. And he has saved my life more times than I can count."
"Someday you will tell me the story of how you two met. Go talk to Akara. She has something to talk to you about." Kashya turned her back to talk to one of her scouts. Sam shook her head. This was one woman she just couldn't understand.
"I'll talk to you later, then." She waited for Kashya to nod her head before moving on to Akara's tent.
Since the chairs didn't have the information to really flesh out the characters, they were pulled from her and Daniel's memories. Kashya, for instance, was Anise. Gheed was Maybourne. That one fit quite well actually. Warrive was that elf-like leader of Latona, Marul. The one that surprised her most though was Akara. It was very strange to see the best friend that died sitting there giving you advice. Janet was the face of Akara. It was fitting that the healer of the camp was also the healer of SG-1.
There the similarities ended though. Akara was much more motherly and older. She had more grey than red in her hair. What Akara reminded Sam of the most was how she imagined Janet would've been like had she lived to become a grandmother.
"Akara," Sam called out to make sure she didn't startle the woman, "Kashya said you had something to talk about."
"Samantha, do come in. The rain this time of year is horrible. But it is better than snow. I was just about to get myself some tea. Would you like some?"
"I would love some tea. Thank you." The tea would be welcome after the cold pounding rain. "Kashya said you had something to tell me."
"Where is your other half? I would like to explain this only once." Akara put the tea leaves in the hot water to set.
"I believe he is visiting Gheed, trying to get some keys out of him without buying half the goods in his wagon." 'Her other half' was Daniel. They were a man and a woman traveling together, living together really, at least in the game, but they weren't together. Many, including Akara, thought they were.
"He will be there awhile. So it seems I will have to explain this twice. It is clear that we are facing an Evil difficult to comprehend, let alone combat. There is only one Horadrim sage, schooled in the most arcane history and lore, who could advise us... His name is Deckard Cain. You must go to Tristram and find him, my friend. I pray that he still lives." Akara poured the tea into two cups, one for herself and one for Sam.
"Tristram is too far to journey by foot... Cain would likely be dead, when you arrived. However, there is a magical portal that will take you there instantly. To open it, one must stand within the circle of Cairn Stones and touch them in a certain order. The proper order can be found in the runes written on the bark of the Tree of Inifuss. You must find the sacred Tree of Inifuss and bring back its bark. I will translate the runes to unlock the Stones' mystic pattern. I can see you have questions. Do not be afraid to ask." Sam blushed at being so transparent. A thousand questions were burning through her mind.
"Why would such a portal be created?"
"It was created after the tragedy, but before the monastery fell again, so that if it happened again we could move the rouges there as quickly as possible. Unfortunately the location of the tree was lost when Inifuss died just before the recent trouble."
Sam had a long list of questions.
"No, no, no, Gheed," Daniel didn't whine, he just complained in a slightly higher voice, "All I want are a few keys. I don't want a sword, axe, or armor."
"Ok, I understand that. But still I have some very nice pieces. How about a javelin? This one is guaranteed to never break. How about it?"
"NO! We prefer to get our weapons from Charsi. That way our money gets back to the sisters. They'll need all they can get, when they get back their monastery." Daniel was feed up with Gheed. He was so close to just leaving without the keys.
"Charsi is a fine girl…, but she has no business savvy! I know she means well, but the prices she charges for weapons and armor will never earn her a profit. As long as I keep filling her mind with stories of adventure, she'll never catch on to the fact that I'm raking in gold hand over fist!"
"Exactly why this money is going to the monastery! Now can I please buy some keys?" Ok, that time Daniel did wine, but it was for a very good cause.
"How about some lovely jewelry for the lady? I have this one ring that is sure to get her into your bed tonight. What do you say?" Gheed pressed on, determined to make this worth while. Keys don't cost much, and the ring was a safe bet. After all, the two were traveling together.
"I say no! Sam is a lovely woman, but we are just friends." Daniel got up to go. It was all he could do not to hit Gheed out of frustration.
Gheed, not one to pass up the opportunity to make money, gave in. "Here are the keys. I still think you're making a big mistake not giving her some nice jewelry."
Daniel counted out the twenty gold in payment. The ring would look gorgeous on Sam's hand, but he was sure Gheed didn't know what, if anything, the ring did. If it turned Sam purple, like the first time they had bought a ring off Gheed, he would be hearing about it for years.
After battling Gheed over the keys, Daniel needed some time to recover. It was harder to get keys from Gheed than it was to kill Blood Raven. So now Daniel sat just outside the entrance to the camp. The scenery was gorgeous. Not at all like when they had first entered the game. The detail upgrade made all the difference. He just wanted to savor the scenery.
The first time in, it had been very flat. It was good; it just didn't have depth to it. More like he was looking at a painting than seeing mountains and valleys before him. Most of all as he sat there just taking it in, he thought about how much had changed in just a short time. The people in the camp had started talking more, and saying other things than the stock of quotes in the game. It was one thing to know the game was learning from both him and Sam, it was another to see it happening.
Their memories and perceptions shaped how the game produced its virtual reality. For instance, it was fall, so the leaves on the trees had changed color to reflect that. Of course the view reminded him greatly of the area around Cheyenne Mountain.
Dr Lee wanted to understand better how the chairs learned from the person sitting in them, so all the "reality building" had been erased. He also thought that it would seem more real to the person sitting in the chair if it was built up from their memories. Daniel was beginning to think he was right.
"Master Daniel?" The question didn't startle him. Really, it didn't. It was the name he jumped at. He wasn't a master at anything. Not to mention the other implications of that word.
"Please call me Daniel, just Daniel."
"Ok then, Daniel, just Daniel," oh yeah she was yanking his chain, "is there anyone sitting here?"
"No." The Rouge's leathers creaked as she sat down.
"My name is Alcinoe." She smiled when Daniel turned to look at her. "I volunteered to accompany you and Mistress Sam on your adventure."
"Well 'Mighty Wisdom," I think you may have made a mistake in judgment." He could see the astonishment on her face. It wasn't everyday someone knew without being told what her name meant. "But I'm glad for the company. And I'm sure Sam will be too." The Rouge smiled. Daniel knew it, she was afraid they wouldn't want her to come along. "Just make sure I'm there when you call her 'Mistress Sam.'"
Alcinoe grinned at that one. Apparently the chairs had learned to apply the cultural meanings. "So, where are you from?"
Daniel grinned too. The truth would never do. He had read enough of the back story to spin a wonderful yarn about Scosglen, the Druid lands. He told of a place he had never been, the universities he had never seen. It was a grand yarn.
After that Daniel asked about where Alcinoe came from. He listened and asked questions, genuinely curious. And there he was, playing the anthropologist once again, even if it was just a game.