Sorry that it took this long this time, but I've had some minor things to
deal with, such as graduation and entrance exams. Now it's summer, though,
and I should be able to update more often. ;-)
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Tanis and Sturm sat rather uncomfortably on the damp ground, so far from the Stargate that they couldn't see it. Draconian guards were standing at a few paces from them, although they had tied the companions so tightly that they had no hope of escaping. What made the situation even more uncomfortable for them were the two strange humans who sat next to them.
Luckily, Daniel hadn't been hurt as badly as Jack had feared, thanks to the now destroyed backpack. Still, the colonel was worried - the lizard-men had tied both their hands and feet, so he was unable to do anything to help the younger man. Daniel was lying on his side, leaning on his elbow to keep his head up. The cuts on his back were still bleeding, but less than before, and they looked quite clean.
"So..." Jack begun awkwardly, glancing at Tanis. "I don't think I caught your name."
"I didn't hear yours, either," the half-elf replied quickly.
"I'm Daniel, and that's Jack," the linguist offered helpfully. "We're from Earth. Tau'ri," he added. Jack shook his head at Daniel's carelessness. Yep, he had definitely not been hurt that bad at all - he would have been more wary if he had. Even though his face might have been a bit paler than usually, his eyes were sparkling with his usual enthusiasm.
Tanis was about to tell his name, when Sturm stopped him. "Are you sure you want to tell them your name?" he whispered to the half-elf's ear. "I don't trust them. Where did they come from? Why are they here? And what did they do to Caramon and that... brother of his?"
"I know, I don't trust them any more than you do. But they did help us in the fight. The only way we can learn more is to ask them," Tanis replied, keeping his voice low as well.
Meanwhile, Daniel was telling Jack the opposite of what Sturm had said. "Jack, come on. What bad could that possibly do? They're not hostile, and so far it seems they've never even heard of Earth, and know nothing about the Gate..." He pushed himself up into a sitting position, wincing at the pain on his back, and glared the older man in a manner that was both challenging and pleading.
"Look, Danny. We know nothing about them. What if they're in league with the lizards and the whole thing was a ploy?" the colonel replied, his voice perhaps a bit louder than he had meant.
"That does not mean that they're not evil. For all we know, they could be seeking for the crystal staff and serving false gods as well!" Sturm uttered his heated reply to Tanis.
A tense silence fell among the four. Both pairs had heard enough of the others' arguments to understand what was going on. Daniel peered at Jack in a reproachful manner and the colonel grinned back cynically. Sturm looked rather embarrassed, since the strangers had heard his rather serious accusations. Tanis looked thoroughly frustrated.
The half-elf crawled nearer to Jack and Daniel, gesturing with his head that Sturm should follow. "I'm Tanis Half-elven, and this is Sturm Brightblade," he declared in an apologetic manner. Then he went on with a lower voice, so that the guards could not hear a word. "If we are to escape, we've got to trust each other, at least a bit. And I believe our freedom is what we all want?"
Daniel nodded eagerly - that was what he had been thinking as well. Sturm and Jack weren't quite as quick to accept, but they did, after all. "Tanis, I trust you. If you trust these people, it will have to do," the solamnian gave in. Jack sighed, shrugged, and nodded as well.
"Oohhkay. Now that we're all pals, maybe you could explain a few things. Like who, what, where, when, why and so on," the colonel inquired irritably.
"What? We do not need to answer to you! It is you who appeared out of nowhere, clad in strange clothes, carrying odd weapons, and it was because of you that two of our group are now missing!" Sturm could not contain himself.
Now it was Daniel and Tanis's turn to exchange glances, frustrated at the two others.
"We came through the Stargate - that's the stone ring that your friends disappeared into. It's basically a gateway that leads to different worlds. Please don't ask me how it works, that's Sam's area of expertise," Daniel begun explaining, ignoring Jack's attempts of catching his attention.
"And you came here through it," Tanis nodded, making sure that he had understood. "But why?"
"We're explorers. We use the Gate to travel to different worlds, so we can learn from the people who live in those worlds."
"Simply out of curiosity?" Sturm asked, his disbelief apparent.
"Our Danny here really does it out of curiosity," Jack remarked, still unwilling to elaborate.
"Well... We have powerful enemies who use the Gate as well, and we're trying to find ways to fight them better, and to help others who suffer because of them. They're called goa'ulds, and they often impersonate local gods."
"False gods! We've had more than enough of those," Tanis uttered, shaking his head. "I doubt there even is such a thing as a true god."
Sturm shook his head to the half-elf. He did not want to hear more of such blasphemy!
"You've seen false gods? Did they ask for people to use as hosts? To take over their bodies and live in them?" Daniel was beginning to sound worried.
To the archaeologist's relief, the half-elf shook his head. "I've never heard of one who'd do that. On the other hand, with all the charlatans that we've seen, one like that would be easy to dismiss."
"Why's there so many of those, then? I mean, how can you determine that they're false?" Daniel frowned.
"Because the true gods used to be here. There were clerics who could heal deadly wounds with their holy powers. Then came the Cataclysm, and the powers of the priests were lost. Their prayers are no longer answered," Sturm spoke with a wistful voice.
"So, what's this cata-thingy?" Jack asked. Obviously he had finally decided that sulking would do no good.
"According to the legends, the gods cast a fiery mountain on Krynn, willing to punish the people for their arrogance. And then, the gods went away," Tanis told.
"So, the legends don't suggest that the gods might be returning again, when they're needed? That's typical in many known mythologies," Daniel begun, but Jack interrupted him.
"To tell you the truth, I really couldn't care less of your legends. I want to get out of here, away from those stinking lizards. But before we start planning, I'd still like to know what you're doing here, if you didn't even know about the Gate."
"Well... We... We're a group of companions, and we just ended up on some kind of a quest - really, I hardly understand it myself," the half-elf explained vaguely. He was actually going to tell more, describe that particular evening in the Inn of the Last Home.
"And you need not know more than that," Sturm finished for him, not willing to reveal more.
Jack glanced at him darkly. "Who're you to decide what we need to know?"
"Jack, let it be," Daniel muttered wearily. Moving quite awkwardly with his hands and feet tied, he settled down on his side again.
Tanis shook his head, to the stubbornness of both his friend and this other human called Jack, and out of worry for the injured Daniel. But at least there was some trust, delicate as it was, and so there had to be hope as well. "Now, there are two questions left that we all need the answers to. Why did they attack and capture us, and, most of all, how are we going to escape?" he said.
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No Raist this time, alas! But in the next chapter... There's always a next chapter, some day... :-p
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Tanis and Sturm sat rather uncomfortably on the damp ground, so far from the Stargate that they couldn't see it. Draconian guards were standing at a few paces from them, although they had tied the companions so tightly that they had no hope of escaping. What made the situation even more uncomfortable for them were the two strange humans who sat next to them.
Luckily, Daniel hadn't been hurt as badly as Jack had feared, thanks to the now destroyed backpack. Still, the colonel was worried - the lizard-men had tied both their hands and feet, so he was unable to do anything to help the younger man. Daniel was lying on his side, leaning on his elbow to keep his head up. The cuts on his back were still bleeding, but less than before, and they looked quite clean.
"So..." Jack begun awkwardly, glancing at Tanis. "I don't think I caught your name."
"I didn't hear yours, either," the half-elf replied quickly.
"I'm Daniel, and that's Jack," the linguist offered helpfully. "We're from Earth. Tau'ri," he added. Jack shook his head at Daniel's carelessness. Yep, he had definitely not been hurt that bad at all - he would have been more wary if he had. Even though his face might have been a bit paler than usually, his eyes were sparkling with his usual enthusiasm.
Tanis was about to tell his name, when Sturm stopped him. "Are you sure you want to tell them your name?" he whispered to the half-elf's ear. "I don't trust them. Where did they come from? Why are they here? And what did they do to Caramon and that... brother of his?"
"I know, I don't trust them any more than you do. But they did help us in the fight. The only way we can learn more is to ask them," Tanis replied, keeping his voice low as well.
Meanwhile, Daniel was telling Jack the opposite of what Sturm had said. "Jack, come on. What bad could that possibly do? They're not hostile, and so far it seems they've never even heard of Earth, and know nothing about the Gate..." He pushed himself up into a sitting position, wincing at the pain on his back, and glared the older man in a manner that was both challenging and pleading.
"Look, Danny. We know nothing about them. What if they're in league with the lizards and the whole thing was a ploy?" the colonel replied, his voice perhaps a bit louder than he had meant.
"That does not mean that they're not evil. For all we know, they could be seeking for the crystal staff and serving false gods as well!" Sturm uttered his heated reply to Tanis.
A tense silence fell among the four. Both pairs had heard enough of the others' arguments to understand what was going on. Daniel peered at Jack in a reproachful manner and the colonel grinned back cynically. Sturm looked rather embarrassed, since the strangers had heard his rather serious accusations. Tanis looked thoroughly frustrated.
The half-elf crawled nearer to Jack and Daniel, gesturing with his head that Sturm should follow. "I'm Tanis Half-elven, and this is Sturm Brightblade," he declared in an apologetic manner. Then he went on with a lower voice, so that the guards could not hear a word. "If we are to escape, we've got to trust each other, at least a bit. And I believe our freedom is what we all want?"
Daniel nodded eagerly - that was what he had been thinking as well. Sturm and Jack weren't quite as quick to accept, but they did, after all. "Tanis, I trust you. If you trust these people, it will have to do," the solamnian gave in. Jack sighed, shrugged, and nodded as well.
"Oohhkay. Now that we're all pals, maybe you could explain a few things. Like who, what, where, when, why and so on," the colonel inquired irritably.
"What? We do not need to answer to you! It is you who appeared out of nowhere, clad in strange clothes, carrying odd weapons, and it was because of you that two of our group are now missing!" Sturm could not contain himself.
Now it was Daniel and Tanis's turn to exchange glances, frustrated at the two others.
"We came through the Stargate - that's the stone ring that your friends disappeared into. It's basically a gateway that leads to different worlds. Please don't ask me how it works, that's Sam's area of expertise," Daniel begun explaining, ignoring Jack's attempts of catching his attention.
"And you came here through it," Tanis nodded, making sure that he had understood. "But why?"
"We're explorers. We use the Gate to travel to different worlds, so we can learn from the people who live in those worlds."
"Simply out of curiosity?" Sturm asked, his disbelief apparent.
"Our Danny here really does it out of curiosity," Jack remarked, still unwilling to elaborate.
"Well... We have powerful enemies who use the Gate as well, and we're trying to find ways to fight them better, and to help others who suffer because of them. They're called goa'ulds, and they often impersonate local gods."
"False gods! We've had more than enough of those," Tanis uttered, shaking his head. "I doubt there even is such a thing as a true god."
Sturm shook his head to the half-elf. He did not want to hear more of such blasphemy!
"You've seen false gods? Did they ask for people to use as hosts? To take over their bodies and live in them?" Daniel was beginning to sound worried.
To the archaeologist's relief, the half-elf shook his head. "I've never heard of one who'd do that. On the other hand, with all the charlatans that we've seen, one like that would be easy to dismiss."
"Why's there so many of those, then? I mean, how can you determine that they're false?" Daniel frowned.
"Because the true gods used to be here. There were clerics who could heal deadly wounds with their holy powers. Then came the Cataclysm, and the powers of the priests were lost. Their prayers are no longer answered," Sturm spoke with a wistful voice.
"So, what's this cata-thingy?" Jack asked. Obviously he had finally decided that sulking would do no good.
"According to the legends, the gods cast a fiery mountain on Krynn, willing to punish the people for their arrogance. And then, the gods went away," Tanis told.
"So, the legends don't suggest that the gods might be returning again, when they're needed? That's typical in many known mythologies," Daniel begun, but Jack interrupted him.
"To tell you the truth, I really couldn't care less of your legends. I want to get out of here, away from those stinking lizards. But before we start planning, I'd still like to know what you're doing here, if you didn't even know about the Gate."
"Well... We... We're a group of companions, and we just ended up on some kind of a quest - really, I hardly understand it myself," the half-elf explained vaguely. He was actually going to tell more, describe that particular evening in the Inn of the Last Home.
"And you need not know more than that," Sturm finished for him, not willing to reveal more.
Jack glanced at him darkly. "Who're you to decide what we need to know?"
"Jack, let it be," Daniel muttered wearily. Moving quite awkwardly with his hands and feet tied, he settled down on his side again.
Tanis shook his head, to the stubbornness of both his friend and this other human called Jack, and out of worry for the injured Daniel. But at least there was some trust, delicate as it was, and so there had to be hope as well. "Now, there are two questions left that we all need the answers to. Why did they attack and capture us, and, most of all, how are we going to escape?" he said.
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No Raist this time, alas! But in the next chapter... There's always a next chapter, some day... :-p