Wow! I can't believe I got two reviews just for the first chapter! Thanks so much!

And now chapter two has arrived... information has been obtained, and the team begins to follow Daniel's trail.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable.

Chapter 2

Arriving at the village where Daniel had been seen, they were easily able to find the young villager Jacob had mentioned and question him about Daniel. He readily explained everything he had told the Tok'ra, and was able to give them the address Daniel had gone to through the Stargate.

They continued following Daniel's trail. Jack was beginning to notice a pattern- Daniel would arrive on a new planet, stay for a day or two, a week at most, and then leave through the Stargate to another planet. The informant's guess seemed to be correct- Daniel was running from something.

Most of the time, a villager or someone who had seen him knew the address of where he had gone, but a few times Sam had to check the DHD to find the address, which took several hours each time.

Eventually, they arrived on a planet where there was no village in sight. Teal'c glimpsed a column of smoke in the distance, so the team headed in that direction. After traveling for a few days, they came upon a small town.

-*/*-

Jack approached a woman adjusting a device above the door of her house. "Can I talk to you?" he asked.

The woman looked up. "Of course. Give me one moment to finish this." She made a few more adjustments and stepped down from the stool, brushing off her hands on her shorts. "I'm Kayla. What do you need?"

"I was wondering, has anyone passed through here recently, past year or so? We're looking for a young man, six foot, brown hair, blue eyes. Daniel Jackson. You seen him around?"

Kayla considered for a moment, twirling a lock of smoky blond hair around her finger. "Yes, I remember. He came through here… twelve or thirteen moons ago, I think? We asked if he and his companions would stay for a while, but he said they had to keep moving. They stayed in my friend's inn for a week, spent most of their time buying supplies and not speaking much to anyone. They left through the athara- the Stargate, as you call it."

"Do you know the address?" Sam spoke up.

Kayla nodded. "I memorized the symbols he pressed, in case I needed to try to find him again."

"Would you show them to us?" Teal'c asked. She looked up at him, hazel eyes wide.

"We won't tell anyone else the address, we promise," Sam said gently. Jack heard a slight irritation in her voice, something only he or Teal'c would notice. They'd had this conversation numerous times while traveling. "We want to find him because he's our friend."

Kayla hesitated. "Okay. Give me a moment, I need to grab a cloak. Then I'll go with you to the athara."

She vanished into the house. Sam looked at Jack. "She said he had companions," she commented in an undertone. "Wonder who they were."

"Wonder if they're still with him," Jack said thoughtfully.

Kayla emerged from her house, swathed in a black cloak, and shut the door. "I told my husband I'll be gone for a few days so he won't worry. Let's go."

-*/*-

Another two and a half days' travel later, they arrived back at the Stargate. Kayla pointed to the symbols that Daniel had activated, and Sam made the connection.

Jack looked at Kayla. "You said Daniel had companions. Do you know who they were?"

She hesitated. "There were four others with him- two men and two women. Daniel was the only one who ever spoke to anyone, so I don't know anything about them. All I know is that Daniel was very defensive of them and they refused to say anything about him if anyone asked."

Jack exchanged looks with Teal'c and Sam. "Can you describe them?" Sam wondered aloud.

"They all wore hoods most of the time, but one night I saw Daniel talking to one of the women, the taller one, and I saw a strand of hair that was a sort of reddish-gold color come out from under her hood. Only one of the others ever took off his hood besides Daniel, and he had dark hair and dark eyes. I don't know about the last two, but I got the impression they were younger than the other three. They were both shorter and slenderer, and let the others do the talking."

"Thank you for the information you were able to provide," Teal'c said graciously with a slight bow. Sam beckoned, and together the three stepped through the Stargate once again.

The next world was fairly technologically advanced, judging from the large city that the Stargate stood in the center of. Jack caught the attention of a young guard, who brought them to the magistrate who ruled the city.

The magistrate, a severely-dressed woman in her late forties or early fifties, examined them as they entered the large council room. She dismissed the others that stood around the table, then turned to Jack. "I am Magistrate Ajira Larsen. What are your names? My guards tell me you are searching for someone."

Jack nodded respectfully. Magistrate Larsen had a very powerful presence, one that reminded him rather forcefully of General Hammond, and he had to restrain the impulse to salute at that aura of authority. "I'm Jack O'Neill, this is Sam Carter, and Teal'c. We're looking for Daniel Jackson. We were told he came here about eleven months ago, with a group of four others."

Magistrate Larsen nodded. "Yes, I remember. Jackson and his companions requested a place to stay for a week or so. The city guard academy was short on students at the time, so they were offered space there. I do not remember where they went after that, but perhaps one of the students or instructors recalls. Would you like me to arrange a meeting with the headmaster?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble," Sam answered. "Thank you."

The magistrate nodded. She typed something quickly into her wristband, then said, "If you'll follow Erin, she'll take you to the headmaster. Good day, and good luck." She nodded farewell and left the room.

The young guard who had escorted them to the magistrate beckoned. "This way, please. The palace has a transporter that goes directly to the academy."

She led them to a side chamber, where she directed them to stand on painted circles on the floor. There was a strange feeling of falling but remaining still, and then they were in another room. Erin led them through a door, where an old man in red robes seated behind a desk spoke to a pair of blue-robed students before him.

"Forgive the intrusion, Headmaster," Erin said quickly. "But the Magistrate requested that I bring these travelers to you. They are searching for the group that came here last year and stayed in the academy for a week."

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Erin," the old man smiled gently at the young woman, who smiled back and left through the door. The headmaster then turned to Jack, Sam, and Teal'c. "What is it you wish to know about them, my friends?"

"We were wondering if you could tell us where they went," Sam replied.

The old man considered silently for a moment. "I believe they left through the gate to the stars, but I do not recall the symbols their leader pressed to activate it. However, young Jylla here has a rather prodigious memory. Do you remember the symbols, my dear? As I recall, you were rather fascinated by the strangers during their stay."

The girl standing in front of the headmaster's desk turned pink. The boy next to her, who was probably her brother, elbowed her in the ribs and she regained her composure. "I think I remember them, Headmaster, but I'm not sure. Maybe it's better if Jule and I both try?"

The old man smiled. "Of course. Twins are always stronger when you work together." He turned to Jack. "If you would permit it, my friend, Jylla and Julian will come with you to the gate and show you the symbols your missing friend pressed when he and his companions left our world."

Jack nodded. "It's fine. C'mon, kids." He started to head out the door, and then realized he had no idea where he was going. "On second thought… maybe you two should lead the way."

Jylla and Julian exchanged identical grins and led the way back to the Stargate, leaving the academy and heading to the center of the city. They had to push through a crowd surrounding the Stargate to get to the ancient device.

"Why are all these people here?" Sam wondered.

"The gate has only been activated three times, including your arrival, in living memory," Julian explained. "A lot of people thought it was a decoration until your friend came through it last year."

Jack and Sam exchanged amused looks, wondering how Daniel had liked that. The twins managed to get them through the crowd, and Teal'c gestured for them to point to the symbols.

With some sibling-like debate, the pair remembered the address that Daniel and his companions had gone to, and Jack, Sam, and Teal'c stepped through the Stargate.

-*/*-

Jack shook off the chill of the dimensional tunnel and looked around. They stood at the bottom of a rocky ravine. There were no living creatures in sight, neither plants nor animals.

"Sam, any ideas?" Jack asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. This is the world they told us he went, but I don't see any-"

Her words were interrupted by a burst of zat fire. A bolt struck Sam, and she fell to the ground. Jack brought up his P-90, but another zat shot rang out as searing pain swept his body and he collapsed.

In the few moments before his vision faded, Jack saw someone stand over him. A voice spoke, faint to Jack's deteriorating senses. "Bind them."

-*/*-

Sam blearily opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred, and her limbs felt rubbery. She blinked again and looked around, finding herself lying in a small tent. Jack and Teal'c were with her, both unconscious. She reached over and poked Jack. "Jack, wake up. Jack."

The man stirred under her touch. "Sam…" he muttered, opening his eyes. "What happened?"

Sam shrugged. "I'm not sure. We were attacked by someone with Goa'uld weapons. They could have taken Daniel."

Teal'c came awake suddenly, tense. Jack held out a hand to calm him, but then Sam heard what the Jaffa had heard.

A man ducked in the entrance to the tent. He wore a simple brown tunic and leggings that complimented his smooth black hair. There were smile lines around his glittering obsidian eyes, but he wasn't smiling now. Dark hair, dark eyes, Sam thought, standing. Could this be the man who Kayla said was with Daniel?

He stood in the entrance for a moment, examining them. Sam couldn't help but shiver as his gaze landed on her. There was something extremely disquieting about him. He looked over them once more, then vanished out of the entrance. "What was that about?" Jack muttered as he climbed to his feet. Sam didn't know.

A few minutes later, the man returned. "Who are you?"

Sam glanced at Jack. "I'm Samantha Carter, this is Jack O'Neill and Teal'c," she introduced.

The man cocked his head. "Why are you here?"

Jack answered before Sam had the chance. "We're looking for a friend of ours, Daniel Jackson. You heard of him?"

There was a flash of recognition in the man's eyes, but it vanished so fast Sam thought she'd imagined it. "I don't think I've heard the name," the man said neutrally. "Why are you looking for him?"

"Because he's our friend," Sam responded quietly. "We need his help, and we want to bring him home."

The man simply looked down at her for a moment. A woman appeared in the tent entrance, dressed in all black, a hood and mask covering her features. The man looked up expectantly.

"Derin," the newcomer said softly. "We're moving into the Dark Forests."

"The Dark Forests?" The man called Derin raised an eyebrow. "Is he mad?"

"You and I should both know better than to ask or answer that question," the woman responded severely.

Derin sighed. "Tell the others to prepare for travel." The woman nodded and left. The dark-haired man looked back at Sam. "Come with me, all of you."

He led them outside. It was early in the morning. The sun was glowing brightly on the horizon. All around them, tents were being lowered and horses saddled. Men and women organized supplies and readied for departure.

"Can you ride?" Derin asked.

"We know the basics, but where we're from, we don't use horses for transportation very much," Sam explained.

Derin cocked his head. "That's interesting. You'll have to explain it to me later. Let's see… Hala!" he called, waving to someone amidst the tents.

Another woman- a girl, really, no more than nineteen or twenty- with a long brown braid that hung past her hips and deep, mysterious grey eyes extricated herself from a conversation and jogged over. "What's up, Derin?" she asked.

"We need three extra horses for them, Hala. Are there any to spare? Preferably not lively ones?"

The girl appraised the trio from Earth. "I think there are three of the remounts that would work." She put her fingers in her mouth and gave a high-pitched whistle that carried across the clearing. "Saleh! Cara! Taillon!"

Three horses appeared from behind a large tent and trotted over. Hala caught their reins and spoke to them quietly in a strange language. "Hala's a great rider, and the best equestrian we have," Derin said softly to Sam, Jack, and Teal'c. "Sometimes I think she can actually speak with them. I've known her for years, and I still don't understand it."

Sam stared in amazement. The horses were some of the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen. The first was a cream-colored mare, the second a black mare, and the third a powerful thoroughbred with a brown coat.

Hala offered the reins of the first to Sam. "This is Saleh," she introduced. "Cara can take you, and Taillon can take you," she told Jack and Teal'c, respectively, offering Jack the black mare and Teal'c the brown destrier.

Teal'c stroked the thoroughbred's nose gently, and Taillon nuzzled him. Jack looked slightly unnerved as Cara lipped his shoulder. Sam herself was captivated by Saleh.

Derin, to Sam's amusement, stifled a smile. "Mount up," he told them. Hala offered him the reins of a reddish-brown gelding, and he swung into the saddle with practiced ease. The girl mounted her own horse, a pure white mare without a saddle or bridle.

Teal'c got into the saddle without difficulty, then dismounted to help Jack and Sam. Once in the saddle, it occurred to Sam just how far off the ground she was, and she resolutely fixed her eyes on the back of Saleh's head. Jack showed surprising ease in handling Cara's reins, although Sam could tell he preferred his own two feet over the horse's four.

The last of the tents were struck and packed. Sam saw a man wearing a brown cloak mount a chestnut stallion in the shadows of the trees. The stallion reared, and the company, a group of thirty or so, rode out of the clearing and into the trees, following the man in the cloak.

They rode for several hours. Derin stayed close by, as did several others, making it clear that escape was not an option, but Sam realized that so far, they had been treated more like guests than prisoners. She was unsure if that unnerved her or comforted her.

After a break for lunch, the group continued on. Derin rode next to Sam and struck up a conversation. At first, Sam was guarded with her responses, but slowly she realized he wasn't hostile or trying to get information, just talking for the sake of talking, and willing to answer any questions should they choose to ask.

Derin explained that the group weren't mercenaries or bandits, as Sam had first assumed. He said that they were a crew, a team, and, in some ways, a family. "Most of us either don't have anyone else, or wanted to leave their villages and travel," he told them. "We depend on each other. We trade when we need to, but mostly we keep to ourselves."

Sam remained silent for a moment. "Who's your leader- the one wearing the brown cloak?" she asked hesitantly.

His guard came up. She noticed him shifting slightly. "He's… well, he's a lot of things. He's our leader, but he's also our friend and one of us. Only a few of us know who he really is, where he really came from. He's made a lot of enemies, so his identity isn't something he broadcasts."

"We can relate," Jack commented dryly.

"He doesn't trust very easily, but he trusts us with his life, and we trust him with ours," Derin continued. "I think he'd been through a lot, even before I met him. He always struck me as the type who had seen more in a few years than most people do in a lifetime."

Sam thought about that as they continued riding. She wondered what the leader of the band's past was- what had made him into what he was now.

-*/*-

They had ridden for the rest of the day and stopped at dusk. The band put their tents up again, and she, Jack, and Teal'c were given one as well. They waited for some time before soft voices speaking outside the tent broke into Sam's thoughts. She looked up as Derin entered the tent with three guards.

"Please come with us," Derin requested. "It's alright, our leader just wants to talk to you."

Jack scowled at him. The guards escorted them out of the tent and into the reconstructed camp. The sun was down already. The largest tent stood in the center, a blazing fire pit lighting up the fabric. The woman in black from that morning left the large tent and knelt next to the flames. She looked up, the light of the fire reflecting in her eyes under the hood, making them glow briefly.

Derin walked up to her and whispered something in her ear. The woman nodded and entered the large tent again. Sam looked at Derin, who poked the fire with a stick, then at Jack, who was tense and ready for anything. Teal'c's face was unemotional as usual.

The woman emerged from the tent. "He's ready for them." Derin nodded. The woman strode away, and the guards gestured for Sam, Jack, and Teal'c to walk in.

It was spacious but comfortable, although the few lamps left something to be desired in terms of light. There was a table in the center, with maps spread across it and several chairs surrounding it. A sleeping cot took most of a corner, and there was a throne-like chair at the head of the table. The lamps were all directed away from the chair, leaving it and the man seated in it in shadows. Sam tried to get a glimpse of the face under the hood, but the dark fabric prevented her from succeeding.

The man stayed silent for a few moments, then finally spoke. A chill went through her at the sound of his cold, melodic voice. "Derin told me you came here in search of a friend."

Jack nodded. "Yeah. We're looking for Daniel Jackson. You happen to see him around?"

The man seemed to weigh every word before he said them. "Perhaps. Why are you searching for him?"

"We told your men that already," Jack said, emotion making his voice harsh. "We want to bring him home."

There was a long moment of silence. Sam got the impression the man was carefully considering his options. "What if he did not want to go back?" he asked quietly.

Sam cocked her head. That wasn't a response she had expected. The man continued, "What would you do if he refused to return with you?"

Jack's patience was, apparently, running low. "Why would you care? He's our friend, he's been missing for years, and we're going to bring him home!"

Looking at the man, Sam thought that Jack's display of temper would bring him rising to his feet. Instead, he laughed softly. Sam could have sworn she knew that laugh. "I see you haven't changed, Jack." The voice was suddenly different; lighter, gentler, and undeniably familiar. Long, slender fingers pushed the hood back, letting the brown material fall to his shoulders.

He was thinner than he had been the last time she had seen him, five years previously. His brown hair was longer and slightly tangled. His face was pale and cold, the once-bright blue eyes shockingly haunted and sunken, the color in them almost glass-like, as if something were missing behind them.

Sam gasped. "Daniel?"

I know, I know. Cliffhangers are evil. As an avid reader I totally get it, but as a writer my brain insists upon providing me with so many good opportunities. I promise to have the next chapter up as soon as I get the chance!