After breakfast – which was so good that Ian ate far more than he probably should have – they were given ten minutes or so to get cleaned up and changed (which they didn't need to do) before the group that was going to take them to the cave ended up outside the door to their lodge.
"Are you ready?" Braxton asked politely.
Jack nodded; double-checking to make sure the safety on his P90 was on. They were taking all their weaponry with them. Not because they were worried about running into trouble – although you never knew, right? They were taking it because it was better to have them on hand than to risk someone else getting hold of the gun. Someone who'd never used one before and might hurt themselves. The same reason Jack always kept a close watch on the weapons – the guns, especially.
"We're ready."
Daniel, in fact, had been practically dancing with impatience while the others had been getting ready, and predictably, he was the first out the doorway to join the villagers.
The group guiding them was composed of four people, all males and all dressed in loincloths, leather leggings and soft calf-high boots made of leather. They were carrying weapons, too; bows slung over their backs with quivers of arrows at their sides, attached to their belts with leather thongs. Ian felt like he'd jumped into the middle of a two-bit western.
"This is Peter," Braxton said, introducing the men with him. "And Aaron, and Stuart. They have agreed to come with us."
"Nice to meet you," Jack said.
The men nodded, and glanced at Ian before giving Jack polite smiles.
"We have quite a ways to go," Aaron told them. "We should get going if we want to be back before dinner."
And they definitely did.
As they walked out of the village, Teal'c took a position between Ian and Peter, who seemed to be trying to get close to the cadet. Remembering his promise to O'Neill, the Jaffa wasn't about to allow that. Instead, he and Jack (the dog) walked close to Ian, and Teal'c frowned at them every time one of the villagers tried to rearrange positions to move closer to Ian.
Soon they stopped trying. Teal'c was a Jaffa, after all, and even if he was tamed, they were afraid of him. And his beast.
Daniel wasn't paying attention to this, although Jack had noticed immediately. Instead, the archeologist was doing what he did best. Asking questions.
"How do your people get the grains needed for the rolls we had for dinner last night?" he asked Braxton. "Do you grow your own?"
"We have fields of wild grains that we cultivate – although we never plant more."
"Then how does it grow enough to sustain you?"
"We don't over harvest," Braxton told him. "We leave plenty for the animals of the forest, and nature takes care of the rest. Every year there is more than enough for all of us."
"Do you raise herds?"
"Herds?"
"Of animals. Cows or goats or..."
"We hunt," Peter said, casting a look over at Teal'c. "There is plenty in the forest to eat if you know how to find it."
He didn't mention that he didn't have a clue what a cow was, but he didn't have to. Daniel hadn't seen any cows or goats or any other animals in the village, which wasn't necessarily a definitive sign that they didn't have any – they might have sheep at a lower pasture or something – but it was a hint that they didn't. None of the skins Daniel had seen seemed to come from domesticated animals – and he'd looked – which was another hint.
"With just bows?"
"And snares."
"Is there anything big in these woods?" Jack asked, curiously.
"Trees…"
Ian snorted.
Jack scowled.
"I mean are there any big animals?"
"Dangerous animals, you mean?" Aaron asked, looking at the gun in Jack's hand.
"Yeah."
"Nothing we need to worry about."
"Good."
"Just watch where you step," Braxton said, pointing down. In the path n front of them was one of the holes that Taylor had broken his leg by tripping in.
"What makes them?" Jack asked, curiously as Ian stepped over it.
"A ground snake," Braxton said. "They're not poisonous – and they're very tasty. But the holes are very dangerous. As my son found out the hard way." He looked at Ian. "I never had a chance to properly thank you for what you did for him."
"You don't need to thank me."
"But I do. If you had not healed him, it is very possible that the leg wouldn't have healed properly – and that would have left him crippled."
"It wasn't that bad," Ian said, shrugging. He hadn't wanted to heal the little kid in the first place, so he was uncomfortable being thanked for doing it. "Don't worry about it."
Braxton exchanged glances with one of the others. Without realizing it, Ian was confirming what they were already suspecting – and Teal'c's behavior was adding to that belief.
"How many people live in your village?" Jack asked, changing the subject.
"Seventy-three."
Daniel frowned. That wasn't enough people to make a viable population for safe breeding, and none of the villagers had that sickly look that comes from being forced to take mates from among close relatives.
"That's not very many…" He said, trying to think of a way to bring up the mating and marriage question without seeming to be too nosy.
"We are the largest village in the area." Peter said proudly.
"In the area?" Jack echoed. "How many more villages are there?"
"Several," Braxton said, looking surprised at the question. "In this area alone there are four, but there are many, many more further away."
"So you seek wives and husbands from these other villages?" Daniel asked, figuring it was a good way to ask and not offend.
Braxton nodded.
"However, it is most difficult. Young women will leave their villages only if we do something to prove ourselves worthy of being selected as a potential mate. Which is why it is so important that Taylor's leg was healed. No woman would have wanted to marry a crippled man – and he would not have been able to prove himself to her."
He turned to Ian.
"Truly, you have done a great thing. A power such as yours would bring you any woman you wanted, I imagine."
Ian scowled.
"I have a girlfriend."
"A mate?" Braxton asked, curiously.
The cadet colored slightly, and refused to look Jack's direction.
"How far is this cave?"