In the long-forgotten, rational corner of his mind, Daniel understood what
he was doing, although he had no idea of how he was able to do it. He knew
that every Jaffa he encountered and then struck down was only a soldier
following orders, and what he did, attacking them suddenly, with no reason
and no warning, was possibly worse than anything they had ever done. And he
was not even sure of how badly he hurt them with each spell, each bolt of
lightning or surge of magical fire that leaped from his hands.
The loud voice speaking to him drowned all his thoughts. Her voice. The voice that told him what to do, whispered the right words and gestures for each spell, and guided him towards her.
He did see Sam, Teal'c and the twins, but he could not remember who they were, and she told that they were not important, so he did not look again.
He went on tirelessly, even though he had hardly slept at all, without stopping to think when he had last had anything to eat or drink.
He went on without any doubts, knowing that what he did was right, because she told him so.
And he was furious at all those who tried to keep him away from her.
***
Daniel would SO pay for this, Jack assured himself, as he tried to clear off the sticky web that covered him from head to toes. So far, he had just managed to get it twisted more tightly around his limbs, and the bits sticking to his hair felt so much like bubble gum that he wondered if he'd end up looking as bald as Teal'c before he'd finally get rid of it.
Without Tanis's help, he might have spent the rest of the night and most of the morning struggling to get free. The half-elf cut away the web in a matter of minutes. Though the stuff in his hair was still there.
Everyone else seemed to be free already. Flint was picking bits of web from his beard, Goldmoon uttering something to Riverwind in low tones, Tasslehoff was nowhere to be seen and Sturm was his usual bright self.
Before Jack had had any time to collect his thoughts and figure out what to do next, Sturm stepped in front of him, sword drawn. "You can no longer say that your friend is not an evil wizard of some sort. I am going after him now, and if you stand in my way, not even Tanis can guarantee your safety," he declared.
"Whoa, easy, now, Sturm! I'm not going to stand in your way. I'm going to run with you. I want to find him as badly as you do. See, he's not usually an evil wizard. It's not at all like him. That's why we'd better catch him before he hurts someone. Or himself," Jack replied quickly.
"I will keep a close eye on you, and if you give me any reason to think that you are like your friend..."
"Yeah, I know, I know – I will get to taste your sword, or whatever other knightly cliché you'll pick. What're we waiting for? Let's go!"
"We're all going," Tanis added. "You'll need our help if you truly want to stop him. Besides, we still don't know what happened to Raistlin and Caramon, and those two other friends of yours."
"And keep your eyes open for that no-good turnip-head of a kender, too. He's gone again!" Flint grumbled.
***
Tanis Half-elven couldn't quite decide whose side he was on, or how he wanted to see the situation solved. Of course, Sturm was a good friend of his, and had been one for a long time. Tanis had learned to live with his rather stubborn beliefs and somewhat narrow-minded view of life, although he didn't share them. Still, he wondered what would happen if they actually managed to catch Daniel – would it only mean a possibly lethal duel between the two? Sturm's sword against whatever magical powers Daniel had?
Tanis was equally unable to figure out Jack, and the relationship between these two who had come through the Stargate. If Sturm had been right all along and Daniel was a dark mage of some sort, then was Jack one of those as well? Tanis didn't think so. He could see that Jack was both worried about what was going on, and really mad at Daniel, and if he had any idea of what was going on, he certainly didn't show it. If it really was just some kind of a trick devised by the two, then Jack was acting his part amazingly well.
Pushing aside all the questions that he couldn't answer, Tanis joined the others in arranging the camp site. They put off the fire and hid most of their things, since they were planning to return and then depart into an entirely different direction, away from both the thicket and the ruins. If they only could find Raistlin and Caramon. And Tasslehoff.
"Goldmoon, Riverwind – I am not asking you to come with us. You could stay here and guard our belongings," the half-elf suggested to the plainsmen.
"But we shall not. We stayed behind once already, and it was a coward's choice," Riverwind replied proudly.
"It was a wise choice as well," Goldmoon soothed, touching his arm. "But still, I agree with you now. I fear I was the one who caused this, as I may not have managed to heal Daniel as well as I should have..."
"Nonsense! Your healing or not healing him has nothing to do with the fact that he serves a dark power of some sort," Sturm rumbled. "We have lingered long enough already. If we do not go now, we have little hope of catching him at all."
Without waiting for any answers, Sturm turned and led the way out of the thicket. Everyone followed him, moving as fast as they could.
***
It was still dark. So dark that the ruins were only a vague dark form surrounding them. Still, it was easy to tell that something was going on. They had literally ran into a duo of draconians when they entered the complex. The draconians could probably see in the darkness, judging from how they had acted, but still, the odd group of men, woman, half-elf and dwarf had won the battle, mostly because there were so many more of them.
After that encounter they had been much more cautious, and Tanis's sharp half-elven eyes and ears had kept them from making the same mistake again. They had managed to avoid several groups of the lizard-men, some of which had been quite large.
They had also found a large number of Jaffa who were either dead or then very much out and unconscious – they hadn't stopped to examine which was the case.
And then, when they had almost reached the Gate, they met the strangest party so far.
The sound of muffled coughing made Tanis utter a quick warning to his friends, even though the sound was oddly familiar. He advanced towards it, and his thoughts were soon confirmed. He saw a hooded, cloaked figure, and another, much taller one, equally cloaked but without the hood, standing protectively behind the first.
Tanis took a few more steps towards them and whispered, "Raistlin? Caramon?"
The hooded person immediately looked up, although he couldn't possibly be able to see much.
"Tanis?" Raistlin returned the question in a slightly raspy voice.
"Raistlin! What happened? And how are you here again, and what are you doing?"
"It is a lengthy tale that you shall hear later. We are after the Earther called Daniel."
"Daniel? Where? Did you see him?" Jack exclaimed from behind Tanis – it sounded really loud compared to Tanis's low tones and Raistlin's hissing whisper.
"Colonel O'Neill?" Teal'c's deep voice replied.
"Sir!" Sam called out. "Are you all right?"
"Who's there? Oh, it's just you, Tanis, and Jack – is Sturm there too? And Flint? I knew you'd get rid of that web soon enough, that's why I didn't wait for you... Everyone's here now! Well, almost, at least!" Tasslehoff chimed in, his high-pitched voice covering everyone else's.
Even though they were clearly in danger of being overheard by someone, Tanis had to struggle not to burst out laughing. It felt like an odd masquerade: most of them could hardly see the face of the person standing next to them, but everyone was trying to figure out who was there, and where they were, and what was going on, while trying to keep silent enough not to catch the attention of every draconian in the ruins.
It was a sharp hiss and a few demanding words from Raistlin that finally put an end to the situation. "Enough of this farce! Let us keep going."
The loud voice speaking to him drowned all his thoughts. Her voice. The voice that told him what to do, whispered the right words and gestures for each spell, and guided him towards her.
He did see Sam, Teal'c and the twins, but he could not remember who they were, and she told that they were not important, so he did not look again.
He went on tirelessly, even though he had hardly slept at all, without stopping to think when he had last had anything to eat or drink.
He went on without any doubts, knowing that what he did was right, because she told him so.
And he was furious at all those who tried to keep him away from her.
***
Daniel would SO pay for this, Jack assured himself, as he tried to clear off the sticky web that covered him from head to toes. So far, he had just managed to get it twisted more tightly around his limbs, and the bits sticking to his hair felt so much like bubble gum that he wondered if he'd end up looking as bald as Teal'c before he'd finally get rid of it.
Without Tanis's help, he might have spent the rest of the night and most of the morning struggling to get free. The half-elf cut away the web in a matter of minutes. Though the stuff in his hair was still there.
Everyone else seemed to be free already. Flint was picking bits of web from his beard, Goldmoon uttering something to Riverwind in low tones, Tasslehoff was nowhere to be seen and Sturm was his usual bright self.
Before Jack had had any time to collect his thoughts and figure out what to do next, Sturm stepped in front of him, sword drawn. "You can no longer say that your friend is not an evil wizard of some sort. I am going after him now, and if you stand in my way, not even Tanis can guarantee your safety," he declared.
"Whoa, easy, now, Sturm! I'm not going to stand in your way. I'm going to run with you. I want to find him as badly as you do. See, he's not usually an evil wizard. It's not at all like him. That's why we'd better catch him before he hurts someone. Or himself," Jack replied quickly.
"I will keep a close eye on you, and if you give me any reason to think that you are like your friend..."
"Yeah, I know, I know – I will get to taste your sword, or whatever other knightly cliché you'll pick. What're we waiting for? Let's go!"
"We're all going," Tanis added. "You'll need our help if you truly want to stop him. Besides, we still don't know what happened to Raistlin and Caramon, and those two other friends of yours."
"And keep your eyes open for that no-good turnip-head of a kender, too. He's gone again!" Flint grumbled.
***
Tanis Half-elven couldn't quite decide whose side he was on, or how he wanted to see the situation solved. Of course, Sturm was a good friend of his, and had been one for a long time. Tanis had learned to live with his rather stubborn beliefs and somewhat narrow-minded view of life, although he didn't share them. Still, he wondered what would happen if they actually managed to catch Daniel – would it only mean a possibly lethal duel between the two? Sturm's sword against whatever magical powers Daniel had?
Tanis was equally unable to figure out Jack, and the relationship between these two who had come through the Stargate. If Sturm had been right all along and Daniel was a dark mage of some sort, then was Jack one of those as well? Tanis didn't think so. He could see that Jack was both worried about what was going on, and really mad at Daniel, and if he had any idea of what was going on, he certainly didn't show it. If it really was just some kind of a trick devised by the two, then Jack was acting his part amazingly well.
Pushing aside all the questions that he couldn't answer, Tanis joined the others in arranging the camp site. They put off the fire and hid most of their things, since they were planning to return and then depart into an entirely different direction, away from both the thicket and the ruins. If they only could find Raistlin and Caramon. And Tasslehoff.
"Goldmoon, Riverwind – I am not asking you to come with us. You could stay here and guard our belongings," the half-elf suggested to the plainsmen.
"But we shall not. We stayed behind once already, and it was a coward's choice," Riverwind replied proudly.
"It was a wise choice as well," Goldmoon soothed, touching his arm. "But still, I agree with you now. I fear I was the one who caused this, as I may not have managed to heal Daniel as well as I should have..."
"Nonsense! Your healing or not healing him has nothing to do with the fact that he serves a dark power of some sort," Sturm rumbled. "We have lingered long enough already. If we do not go now, we have little hope of catching him at all."
Without waiting for any answers, Sturm turned and led the way out of the thicket. Everyone followed him, moving as fast as they could.
***
It was still dark. So dark that the ruins were only a vague dark form surrounding them. Still, it was easy to tell that something was going on. They had literally ran into a duo of draconians when they entered the complex. The draconians could probably see in the darkness, judging from how they had acted, but still, the odd group of men, woman, half-elf and dwarf had won the battle, mostly because there were so many more of them.
After that encounter they had been much more cautious, and Tanis's sharp half-elven eyes and ears had kept them from making the same mistake again. They had managed to avoid several groups of the lizard-men, some of which had been quite large.
They had also found a large number of Jaffa who were either dead or then very much out and unconscious – they hadn't stopped to examine which was the case.
And then, when they had almost reached the Gate, they met the strangest party so far.
The sound of muffled coughing made Tanis utter a quick warning to his friends, even though the sound was oddly familiar. He advanced towards it, and his thoughts were soon confirmed. He saw a hooded, cloaked figure, and another, much taller one, equally cloaked but without the hood, standing protectively behind the first.
Tanis took a few more steps towards them and whispered, "Raistlin? Caramon?"
The hooded person immediately looked up, although he couldn't possibly be able to see much.
"Tanis?" Raistlin returned the question in a slightly raspy voice.
"Raistlin! What happened? And how are you here again, and what are you doing?"
"It is a lengthy tale that you shall hear later. We are after the Earther called Daniel."
"Daniel? Where? Did you see him?" Jack exclaimed from behind Tanis – it sounded really loud compared to Tanis's low tones and Raistlin's hissing whisper.
"Colonel O'Neill?" Teal'c's deep voice replied.
"Sir!" Sam called out. "Are you all right?"
"Who's there? Oh, it's just you, Tanis, and Jack – is Sturm there too? And Flint? I knew you'd get rid of that web soon enough, that's why I didn't wait for you... Everyone's here now! Well, almost, at least!" Tasslehoff chimed in, his high-pitched voice covering everyone else's.
Even though they were clearly in danger of being overheard by someone, Tanis had to struggle not to burst out laughing. It felt like an odd masquerade: most of them could hardly see the face of the person standing next to them, but everyone was trying to figure out who was there, and where they were, and what was going on, while trying to keep silent enough not to catch the attention of every draconian in the ruins.
It was a sharp hiss and a few demanding words from Raistlin that finally put an end to the situation. "Enough of this farce! Let us keep going."