Lara snarled as she stumbled down the remaining stairs and landing on her knees in the dirt. The she let out a small "oomph" as Jack fell into her. She ended up with her face pressed into the dirt floor of the cellar, and Jack lying on top of her.

She barely registered the warm hard muscle pressed against her back, before it was gone. "Sorry." Jack muttered.

Lara got to her feet and brushed herself off, before rummaging around in her backpack and pulling out her torch. The light shone brightly in the darkness, momentarily blinding the pair. As Lara's eyes adjusted to the light, she noticed that the walls were made of rough stone blocks - as was the ceiling. Lara flicked the torch around the room, but she soon let out a growl of frustration.

"There's no way out of here!" she snapped, annoyed. "Except that bloody trapdoor!"

"Well, then I guess we'll have to use it." Jack said, going for his gun and cursing softly when his hand grasped air.

"Wait." Lara said, laying an hand on his forearm. "Daniel's out there somewhere, and maybe they can tell us where."

"How?" Jack asked, annoyance and frustration clear in his voice. "They don't exactly speak English!"

Lara frowned. "There's something strange about that." She said. "There's something familiar about the language but I just can't place it!"

Jack raised an eyebrow and sat down on the bottom step, watching Lara snarl and pace. She was quite a sight with her hair tangled and half loose, hanging in wet clumps down her back. Her clothes - just like his - were splattered with mud and stuck wetly to her body.

The light bobbed and danced on the walls as Lara spun, the torch still in her hand. "What is it?!" she snapped.

Jack smiled faintly and shrugged. "You're the linguist."

Before Lara could retort the trapdoor opened and Jack leapt to his feet, coming to stand near Lara. Four of their pursuers came down the stairs, two of them holding flickering torches. The men placed the ends of the torches in the dirt. A cool breeze made Lara and Jack shiver in their wet clothes. The air filled with the smell of wet vegetation, burning wood and the slightly acidic smell of something else.

One of the men stepped forward and spoke, his deep voice echoing of the walls. Unfortunately, neither Jack nor Lara could understand what he said. He spoke again, and this time it sounded slightly accusatory.

"That's it!" Lara cried.

"That's what?" Jack asked.

"I know why there language is so familiar! It's a variation of Ancient Norse."

"And you know how to speak Ancient Norse, of course." Jack said dryly.

"Yes, I do, actually." Lara said. Then she frowned. "They don't look Norse."

"How are Norse supposed to look?" Jack asked her.

"Blond, pale skinned, blue eyed." She shot him a glance. "They were the Vikings."

Jack and Lara looked at their dark haired, bronze skinned captors. "That one's got blue eyes." Jack offered, nodding at a man standing towards the back, holding a spear.

The man who had spoken before, gestured sharply and spoke again. Hesitantly, Lara replied in a more guttural sounding language. The man replied and Lara spoke again, this time with more confidence. The discussion went on for a few more minutes, while Jack watched on anxiously.

Lara said something and the man smiled. He nodded his head once and then gestured to the other three men. Jack noted how their postures relaxed slightly and their grips on their weapons loosened fractionally. He's standing his men down, Jack realised.

Jack's admiration for the woman beside him increased. Not many people could cope with what she had over the last few days - let alone thrive like she seemed to. Lara turned to him. "This is Alvis. He is the son of the Chief and one of the greatest warriors of his tribe."

"Tribe?" Jack asked. "That doesn't sound very Viking."

"It's not." Lara said. "Their tribal culture is from their Native American ancestors."

"Native American?" Jack echoed, surprised.

"Yes." Lara explained. "In about 1000 AD some people believe that Leif Eriksson discovered North America. He settled near Boston for a while."

She gestured at Alvis and his people. "It fits." She said. "They speak a mixture of Ancient Norse and Algonquin - the language of the people they would have encountered."

"Okay." Jack said. "So how do we get out of here?"

Lara turned back to Alvis and said something in that guttural language - Ancient Norse, Jack guessed. After a while she frowned and said something harsh and abrupt. Alvis' face hardened and he said something that sounded final even to Jack.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Alvis concedes we are not the people he was trying to hunt." She frowned at Jack. "Apparently, there are another group of people living on the planet and they came through the stargate."

Jack frowned at the news as Lara continued. "They also haven't seen Daniel." She paused. "But that's not the worst news."

Lara looked at Jack. "The only way to get out of here is to prove we are strong warriors. Otherwise we are prey and they won't let us go."

"And how do we do that?" Jack asked.

Lara winced. "We fight them - to the death."

* * *

Tavrek watched the young, brown haired man crouched in the dimly lit tunnel before him. "Son." He said and watched the man's face light up with joy. "Father." He replied.

"Have you found what we seek yet?" Tavrek asked.

"Yes, father. I have." Daniel said.

"Well?" Tavrek asked urgently.

"This tablet gives reference to a 'power from the Gods' and a location. I believe this is the weapon we seek, father."

"Good." Tavrek said. "You have done well, my son."

Then he handed Daniel a glass. "You must be thirsty."

"Thankyou, father." Daniel replied, taking the glass.

He drank deeply, because he was indeed thirsty. Only when Daniel had finished it, did he taste the faint sour flavour. He frowned. "Father . . ?" he asked confused.

Then the world began to spin and fade. Daniel slumped to the floor, unconscious. Tavrek watched him fall, before motioning to a nan behind him. "Take his notes and our warriors. Go to this place and find this weapon." Tavrek ordered.

"What about him?" the man asked, motioning at Daniel.

"I'll deal with him." Tavrek said.