By the time they returned to the villa water was flowing into the now pristine fountain in the main courtyard and filling the bathes. The water from the aqueduct was used for all purposes except the preparation of food or drink. For that water was still drawn from the well. With the return of regular bathes and laundry the general condition of the villa improved, as well as the aroma. The waste water from the laundry was use to flush out the latrines; again a definite improvement. There was a decided decrease in the drudgery in the lives of the slaves who had to haul water for the livestock, the withering crops and the simple necessities of life. Jack didn't think much of the antlers until he found out from another slave that this perk was valuable. He could trade the bone and would be allowed to do just that at the market in the local town. This was not the town where they were auctioned off but a larger city in the other direction. Maybe, Jack hoped, the town where the Stargate lie.
There was no Stargate in evidence but it was a bustling metropolis with a very active market with goods from many worlds. Jack looked through the goods avaible searching for a way to get information back to or from the SGC. Most of his day was spent in utter frustration, no Tau'ri or their allies in evidence.
Of course, what Jack did not notice was a young man searching the bazaar for anything that would have given him a clue that Sam or Jack were on this backwater planet. This young man felt a bond with the older man and when he caught sight of him he was at first confused. Could this man, without his uniform, dressed in home spun and sandals, grey longish hair that was tied back, bearded, could it be the same person? People change, he knew that from experience. He, himself was a genetic experiment whose aging had been accelerated. It was so botched that he almost died of organ failure. As a child he had cried and had sought solace in this man's arms, Jack's arms. And this man's arms were the first human arms that comforted him, that told him it was alright to acknowledge grief, that held him as he almost died. He set about his mission to save Jack and the one he called Carter. The Tok'ra usually called him by the name of his symbiote but he thought of himself as Retu Charlie and he felt a deep and abiding kinship with Jack O'Neill. When the opportunity presented itself he would contact Selmak who was coordinating the search. He tried to make his presence known to O'Neill but when a cadre of Jaffa marched by he disappeared into the crowd.
In the kitchen Leda addressed Sam as she washed the mountain of pots and dishes.
"When we can afford it or when Gessa daughter gets a little taller I will have a proper
scullery maid." And getting more serious "When they go to town, they always come
home drunk, every penny spent on wine and whores. Try not to expect any better or you
will be bitterly disappointed when your man staggers in tonight."
And sure enough in the evening after the meal the cart roller in with the overseer and O'Neill singing drunkenly.
He smiled broadly at Sam, leering a bit, and she turned on her heels and walked away.
He and the overseer walked into the kitchen and the overseer demanded food from Leda.
"Drunken swine" Leda bit out.
"We haven't had a bite to eat all day, woman, this cheap bastard offered not a sesterii for food, spent it all on that ungrateful woman. The only thing I've had is a miserable watered down wine skin on the way home and I'm starved."
Leda doled them out some supper and had the woman sweeping up fetch Sam.
She arrived as the men were rinsing off their plates. Jack turned to her, looking somewhat uncertain and gave her a bundle wrapped in clothe. Inside was two shifts, that the woman here worn, both white, one rather plain but thick with sleeves meant for the cooler weather and the other sleeveless edged with cotton lace, embroidered with tiny flowers, the top fitted with tucks and a row of tiny shell buttons. The other women who had come in to survey Sam's bounty oohed and aahed fingering the fine delicate material. There was also yards of material of a rich chocolate brown and a creamy caramel that the local women worn as skirts, bodices and shawls. She started to apologize but kissed his bearded cheek.
"Now if that were my man" one of the women exclaimed "he'd expect a lot more than that peck."
Sam flushed as Jack ignoring their audience put his arms around her and hugged her. In his arms she glanced over his shoulder to her bounty and whispered in his ear as the thought hit her.
"Camo"
He, pulling back, smiled at her and winked.