Chapter 4

The next morning, Daniel woke to find the village in frantic motion. Although the notice had been short, the people were determined to give him a farewell party. Dressing, he packed his meager belongings, which consisted of a change of clothes and the small box of woodcarvings he'd made to keep his hands occupied while his thoughts leapt about like a festival dancer. He'd given most of the figures he'd created to the village children, but a small few held a trace of significance to the elusive parts of his mind. The lack of luggage didn't bother him any, though, and he got the impression he'd packed up and left many times in his forgotten life.

Maybe that was why he was having such a difficult time remembering: he'd never been one to cling to his own past. Now, the past in general interested him, as he'd discovered when a troupe of travelling entertainers visited Makosis within Daniel's first moon in the village. He'd hung on every word and gesture as the master bard wove epics and sagas into living, breathing stories, discovering later that he'd committed the tales to memory with little effort, though not quite word-for word. Still, the elderly storyteller had been impressed, inviting Daniel to apprentice with him. Still new to the world, the language, the people, and himself most especially, Daniel declined, but the bard asked him to decide carefully before he returned again in the summer. If Daniel went with Vala now, he would likely miss the return of the gypsies.

He weighed the thought carefully, then dismissed it. Leaving through the Stargate afforded him a greater opportunity to rediscover who he was, as it was obvious now that he was from another world entirely. Daniel felt certain Vala was not of his own people, but at least the language they shared was more familiar, came to his lips with less difficulty. He promised himself that if he hadn't found any solid answers by the next winter, he would return to Makosis and join the traveling minstrels.

Atrus waited for him outside Daniel's room in the unmarried men's dwelling. "Are you ready, Eranos?"

"I have the feeling I am always saying goodbye," Daniel admitted. "Perhaps I have never been meant to stay any one place for long."

"Even the traveling minstrels have a place to call 'home'," the older man advised. "Perhaps you live in the journey, not the destination."

That statement struck a chord deep within him. "I believe you are right, friend, and I will certainly miss you."

Atrus clasped his shoulder. "And I you. But before you depart, there are many in this village who wish to see you!"

Daniel groaned theatrically, but allowed himself to be led out of the men's house. A cheer greeted him when he stepped into the early morning light, shielding his pale eyes from the already-bright rays. "Safe journey, Theadan!"

He glanced at Atrus, and the village leader splayed his hands. "I did not tell them your true name, for I know it matters naught to them if you were judged or by whom. You will always be our gift." Daniel frowned and opened his mouth, but was interrupted. "Eranos, allow yourself to enjoy these moments without self-doubts. If we never see each other again, I want to go to Tseus knowing your last candle with us was spent joyfully."

Nodding, Daniel began to turn back toward the waiting villagers, but caught sight of Vala out of the corner of his eye. The strange woman was sprawled across one of the ever-present benches lining the front walls of the buildings, crunching noisily on a piece of fruit. He started to move in her direction, but a gentle push at the small of his back reminded him that Atrus intended this farewell to be for him alone. She was not one of them, and he would have plenty of time to speak with her in the near future.

Mikos, the young boy he had saved from a near-drowning during the spring floods, hesitantly stepped forward. "We wish we had more time to give you a proper sending off, Theadan, but we understand that time is short for the lady." He gulped air and continued. "We named you 'gift' when we found you, and a gift you proved to be not only when you saved my life, but countless ways since that morning four moons ago. It is not in your humble nature to accept thanks for even the smallest of deeds, yet we wish to offer you tokens by which to remember us."

Melia, the wife of Atrus, and their four daughters stepped forward, a length of cloth clutched in the hands of the youngest. "You have been as son and brother to us," the older woman smiled. "We clothed you when you were brought to us bare. For this parting, we clothe you again: take this neck-wrap, so that you will be untroubled by whatever chilly winds may blow beyond the stars."

Daniel accepted the scarf, eyes stinging. The women could not have created the beautiful garment overnight, and must have been planning it for some time. Made of soft lambs' wool, the yarns alternated deep blue, cream, and gold.

"The colors represent the features for which we teased you most," the eldest daughter explained, "your eyes, skin, and hair. You are unique to us, Theadan, and we will miss you."

"And I you," he replied, grateful his voice did not betray him. "All of you." The weather was far too warm to wear the scarf, though, so he carefully folded it and tucked it in his satchel.

Nelus, the village smith and Mikos' father, moved up beside his son, the drawstrings of a small bag looped around his wrist. "At first we thought it strange how you would take a piece of wood and fashion it into a toy... of course, we find much about you strange, as you well know. Still, the joy the children have found in the simple figures has been wondrous to behold. As you leave us to regain your past, take with you these wood-crafting tools, so that you may continue to carve your little marvels wherever your path takes you."

Daniel accepted the parcel of tools with a gracious nod, not trusting himself to speak. He placed the gift in his satchel, and on impulse, pulled out the box of carvings. He spied a particular rounded carving and drew it out, handing it to Atrus. "I leave you with one final gift. Like so many things, I do not know the true meaning of the shapes carved into this circle, but I think it means 'family' or 'home'... or as much of either as I ever had in my old life. Please place this where anyone can see it, so that they will look upon it and know that this place was 'home' for me."

Atrus' eyes crinkled, cradling the disk in his hands. "It will be hung above the door to the traveler's hall, so that all who pass beneath it will be... home." He then pulled Daniel into a hug. "Be safe, Eranos."

"Thank you again," he whispered in the older man's ear. "Vala's ship lies not far off the direction we must take to reach the Circle of Stars. As she does not intend to return to repair it, I believe it best that we find a way to destroy it. Then if any Jaffa come here, you can say it was destroyed when it crashed. I hope it will save you from any unwanted questions. It may be dangerous, so please ask everyone to stay away from the wreck for now."

"Everyone will remain in the village," Atrus promised, pulling away reluctantly. Again, he cupped Daniel's face in his palm. "Remember to come back to us, Eranos."

"I will," Daniel promised. Shouldering his bag, he waved to everyone and set off on his new journey, Darian somberly taking the lead.

Vala bounded up from her bench, grabbing her own satchel and catching up to the men as they passed the last building. "Well, that was touching," she commented.

"Knock it off," he growled. Perhaps sensing his mood, she quieted.

They crossed into the trees, the numerous conifers soon swallowing up the view of village. When the travelers entered the swath of destruction left by the crashing ship, Daniel asked Darian to wait for them, then motioned for Vala to follow.

"I told you the ship doesn't work," she protested, jogging a little to catch up to his long-legged strides.

"We need to destroy it," he replied.

"Destroy it?"

"Yes. If Jaffa find this ship, they will want to know who was aboard. Naturally they will question the nearest village. If they find only its wreckage, they will believe its passengers to have perished in the crash."

Her mouth snapped shut. "That's not a bad idea, actually."

"I have those occasionally," he answered sarcastically.

"Mee-yow," she huffed. The unexpected response drew a grin from him, though he wasn't sure why he found it so funny. It served to lighten the mood, though.

They were now close enough to the ship that he could see its actual shape, and not just the dull gray blob it had been up until now. It seemed oddly familiar, so he was sure that he had been near a vessel of its construction in his past. "So... any idea how to make it look like it... burst into flames? Blew up on impact?"

Vala nodded, stepping up to one side of the craft and pressing buttons on a small panel. "It should have a self-destruct mechanism... most do."

"Why would anyone want to blow up their own ship?" he asked. "Oh, besides us, of course. Forget I asked."

A seam split on the wall as doors slid open. "Did they overload you with too many parting gifts, or do you have room in your bag for a few more items?"

He hefted the satchel. "There's room enough, I guess. Depending on what you plan to pack in there, of course."

"A few more crystals," she answered, "and I should probably get you your own zat'nik'tel the first chance we get."

"Zat-ni-what?"

"Zat-nick-uh-tell," she repeated more slowly. "It's a type of energy weapon that... never mind, it's a defensive weapon. Where we're going, you'll probably need to be armed."

He pointed at the holster strapped to her thigh. "What about one of those?"

Vala's hand dropped to the butt of the pistol. "You recognize it?"

"It's a handgun," he answered. "Yet another of those things I know but really can't explain. It fires projectiles at very high velocities, doesn't it?"

"Actually, this particular model fires bursts of energy, but most are projectile-based." She cocked her head to one side. "I suppose we could get you one of these, too... but you'll first have to prove you know how to use your weapon." She grinned slyly, winking at the unintended innuendo.

"Funny. Why don't we just start with the zat, and go from there?"

"'Zat?' Oh, I suppose." She stepped into the darkened cabin, motioning for him to follow. Cautiously, he entered the wrecked ship, carefully moving to keep his balance on the pitched deck. Following Vala into a compartment at the rear of the vessel, he held open his shoulder bag while she selected more of the crystals. The resemblance to the panel from his brief flashback was uncanny, though the one from his memory had had considerably fewer melted and fractured rods than this.

At last, Vala decided she'd salvaged as much as she could and gestured for Daniel to step out of the ship. A moment later, she emerged. "We have a minute to get out of the way," she warned as they walked quickly back in the direction they'd come. Just as they reached where Darian was waiting, there was a low rumble and the ground shook. Looking back toward the cargo ship, Daniel could see a dark plume of smoke rising.

"That should do it," Vala nodded, satisfied.

Darian was puzzled. "Why did she destroy her boat?"

"When she showed me one of the parts last night, I recognized it from my other life and realized her, uh, 'boat' could not be repaired easily. We removed her cargo of crystals and destroyed the boat so that the Jaffa would not come looking for passengers."

"Crystals?"

"Yes. We put them in our packs," Daniel explained, inwardly marveling at what a bad influence Vala was turning out to be. He'd never deliberately lied to any of the Makosins before, and here he was spouting little white ones.

They passed the next two candles making idle chatter, Daniel translating between the hunter and the woman when needed. Less than three candles after the start of their journey, they reached the sentry station near the Stargate.

"Hail, sentry!" Darian called out in greeting. "I bring two travelers who wish to pass through the Circle of Stars!"

The sentry on duty leaned over the tower's rail. "Hail, Darian! The Circle stands empty for the moment, but yesterday a cart was sent through."

"Cart?" Daniel questioned.

"The horn of clearing was sounded, Baeloc," Darian protested.

The man nodded. "The cart was not pulled by man or beast and did not move further after the water drained from the circle."

"What's going on?" Vala asked, waiting for the translation. Daniel quickly explained that some sort of probe had arrived through the Stargate, but had been inactive since the wormhole collapsed. "So it's safe to go on?"

"Yes," Baeloc replied after the question was relayed. "It has made no movement at all this morning. I do wonder about the column of smoke back in the direction you came. Was it that boat which crashed yesterday?"

"It was," Darian confirmed. "Theadan felt it best it be destroyed so that Jaffa would not seek the boat's passenger--the lady who travels with us."

The sentry smiled. "I had heard of you, Theadan... well met. Well met, lady."

"Well met, Baeloc, and farewell." Daniel replied, for himself and Vala. "We are going through the Circle to find my past, and she has business beyond the stars. Perhaps one day I will return, but it will not be soon."

"Farewell and good luck."

Darian smiled and laid his spear across his chest. "The Circle lies just ahead, Theadan. Good luck, friend, and farewell."

"And you, as well," Daniel replied, crossing his right hand to his left shoulder, since he carried no weapon. Quick to catch on, Vala mimicked the movement.

They exited the trees and stood before the Stargate. Daniel knew he had seen it before, though no images came to mind. He stood close to Vala as she touched panels on the pedestal facing the ring, causing lights to shine on the console and the Stargate itself. Then, with a great roar, a column of blue shot out from the ring before settling back into a shimmering pool of light.

Sparing only a brief glance for the wheeled contraption standing beside the Stargate, Vala grinned. "Your first time through can be a little unnerving if you don't know what to expect." She held out her arm, and Daniel automatically linked elbows with her. "Let's go."

Together, they stepped into the event horizon.


Author's Notes:
Aaaaaaaand they're off!