Myrddin's Shield
Chapter Six
The tunnel, that SG-1, Brin and Saurun now found themselves in, seemed to go on for miles. It was at least smoother, wider and drier than previous passageways and one by one the seven companions felt warm enough to loosen their cloaks and unzip their jackets a little. They also found it was possible to walk in groups of two or three now that the passageway was broader and most of the group took the opportunity to hold a conversation.
From his position in the middle of the group, Teal'c could hear Cameron and Sam discussing the likelihood of being able to extrapolate information from the Shield so that Sam could engineer something similar when they got back home. He could also hear Brin and Saurun sharing some memories of family events and the mischief they had got up to on more than one occasion: he smiled to himself as he listened to their chatter.
After a while, Teal'c's mind began to wander and he frowned as he became locked in his own dark thoughts. He found himself attacked by a growing sense of unease: the incident at the frozen glacier had been almost as Vala had described her dream. Indeed, those premonitions which she had shared, appeared to have been highly accurate. Teal'c began to fear that her vision of Daniel Jackson's death would come true unless drastic action was taken.
At the rear of the group, Vala tried to ignore the growing sense of anxiety in the pit of her stomach and take note of the advice she had only a few minutes ago given to Saurun. Try not to worry. Huh, some chance. She thought about what they had already gone through and what might lie ahead. They had successfully passed through the Water and Air challenges so that left Earth, Fire and whatever challenge Daniel's disc represented.
Vala realised that her dream had not included any version of the Fire challenge. She assumed that the depiction she'd seen of markings in an earthen floor was more than likely the Earth challenge. It occurred to her that as she hadn't dreamed about something horrible happening in the Water or Air challenges and those had been overcome without too much trouble, perhaps the Fire challenge would prove less difficult than Saurun feared.
Walking beside Vala, Daniel could tell from her silence that she was clearly worrying over what lay ahead: whether her dream was going to come true or not. He supposed he should be more anxious as she had essentially dreamed that he would get hurt but he believed what he had told her yesterday: that the future was not written in stone. He was also certain that whichever Ancient had given Vala the premonition had done so in order to keep them all safe.
He decided to try to distract Vala from her anxious thoughts. "So Vala…you were pretty amazing back there! Care to tell me how you learned to do that."
"What?" Vala looked confused for a moment. "Oh, that. Nothing to it." She waved away the rare compliment and saw disappointment cross Daniel's face. He was clearly hoping she would share her memory with him. Come on Vala, give the man a bone. It won't cost you anything to tell one true story. It might help you tell more of them.
"So I was nine years old and a bit of a handful," Vala began.
"I'll bet!" Daniel interrupted with a knowing nod of his head.
Vala slapped his arm. "Do you want me to tell you the story or not?"
"Sorry. Yes, go on. I'm listening." He had the grace to look apologetic.
"There was this boy in the village, Dra'van. He was a couple of years older than me and he used to bully us younger kids. He was always daring us to do stupid things and then laughing at us when we couldn't or wouldn't. Anyway, one day he borrowed a Rek'no'varet from his father and dared one of us to use it to jump off a cliff near my village."
What's a Rek'no'varet?" Daniel asked.
Vala waved her arms as she described the equipment: "It's a piece of gear the Jaffa use to jump into awkward enemy battle zones. It's a bit like a pair of huge wings made from lots of articulated pieces of thin metal."
"Oh, I see." Daniel looked aghast at the thought of a small child using one to jump off a cliff.
"Nobody else wanted to do it so I volunteered," Vala said proudly.
Daniel looked at her and shook his head. "Completely nuts!"
Vala's tone was haughty. "Thank you for your comment, darling, but I thought I was being very brave."
Daniel tried to appease her. "I'm sure you were…I take it you made it then…as you're standing here now."
Somehow Vala managed to look both excited and abashed at the same time. "Yes, I made it…not quite in one piece but close enough."
"What did you do?" Daniel demanded a confession.
"I broke my arm." Vala shrugged. "It wasn't the end of the world."
"And this is a happy memory?" Daniel sounded incredulous.
"The best. It was such a fantastic feeling floating free up there. Above everything. No-one to bother me." Vala grinned at him as she remembered. "And after that Dra'van didn't bother us anymore. He knew I was more than a match for him."
"I'm sure he did," Daniel said. "Well, if you hadn't done that crazy dare as a child, I guess you wouldn't have been ready to tackle the Air challenge back there."
"Oh, I think I'd have given it a go anyway," Vala said impishly.
Daniel sighed. "You probably would have, wouldn't you?...Do you ever think about the consequences of what you're about to do?" he asked. As soon as he said it, he realised that it had come out more sharply than he'd meant. "Sorry. I didn't mean that the way it sounded."
Vala tried to hide the wounded expression that flitted across her face. "You sound cross, Daniel. Are you mad at me for some reason?"
"No, not mad." Daniel hesitated before admitting, "I was just worried you were going to get hurt."
Vala's face broke into a small smile. "Yes, I know Daniel…I admit I've sometimes been reckless in the past but there's more at stake now…I promise you I wouldn't take a completely unnecessary risk."
Daniel smiled back. "Good. I'm glad to hear it."
The two of them walked on in companionable silence and ahead of them Teal'c allowed himself a small smile. He hadn't been able to avoid overhearing their conversation and was glad at the steps, however tiny, his friends were taking to try to understand each other better.
After a further mile of walking, the passageway began to climb steeply upwards so that, by the time they came to the opening into the next chamber, they were all slightly out of breath and ready for a drink from their canteens.
Looking around, they could see that they had come out again into a vast cavern, hollowed out of rock which was made up of darker materials than the previous level that they had been through and which somehow seemed to absorb any glimmer of light. Their torches picked out eerie shapes and shadows and failed to reach the end of the chamber. Cameron pulled a flare from his pack and ignited it.
Once the chamber was flooded with the flare's temporary light, they could see that once again there were wall sconces holding bowls of oil on either side of the entrance: Teal'c and Sam quickly set to lighting them and as the ancient illuminations flared and brightened, they saw that immediately ahead the cavern was filled with columns that were all about six feet high and covered with inscriptions.
Daniel looked as if he was in archaeological heaven as he started making notes and said to no-one in particular, "I can see the names of the knights of King Arthur's court on some of these: Gawain, Percival, Lancelot, Bors, Caractacus…"
Leaving Daniel to record the inscriptions, Cameron walked away through the dozens of pillars filling this part of the chamber until he came out on the other side. There were more oil filled sconces which he lighted and then stared out at the mosaic of square floor stones covered with writing, running away into the distance. Under his breath, he muttered, "Guess this is what Vala's been dreaming about."
He peered ahead into the gloom trying to assess the distance the tiles covered and winced as he realised that some way ahead there were several holes in the floor, where presumably unlucky adventurers had fallen to who knew what end. Vala had something about spikes, hadn't she?
He turned to find Teal'c and Brin standing beside him. "Think this is the place in Vala's dream?"
"I believe it is," Teal'c intoned gravely.
"Then we'd better be extra careful going across."
The Jaffa inclined his head. "Indeed."
Cameron said to Brin's puzzled look, "Vala dreamt about this place before we came here. She dreamt one of us got hurt so we'd better all keep our wits about us." Brin nodded his head in agreement and Cameron hid a smile at the boy's attempt to look sage. "Well, let's go see how Jackson's doing. We may have to drag him away if we don't want to spend days down here."
Teal'c's cheek twitched and he sighed. "Indeed."
When the three of them returned to the beginning of the chamber, Daniel was excitedly showing Vala and Saurun the different inscriptions on the obelisks: giving Saurun a quick lesson on Arthurian legend and making notes in his latest battered and well-thumbed notebook while Sam watched him fondly.
Cameron cleared his throat to get their attention. "I think this is the place in Vala's dream, folks. We've got a whole heap of floor with writing on it to get across, just the other side of these pillars. Anything here going to help with that?"
Vala looked anxious as Daniel said, "I don't know. These seem to be a roll of honour for the knights of King Arthur's court. I should probably take a bit more time just to make sure there aren't any hidden clues here. A few of these also seem to have the Earth symbol on so I guess this is the Earth challenge."
Sam held up her disc. "Let's find out where this goes then."
Cameron said, "Well, finish making your notes and then come and look at the inscriptions on the tiles. We can take a proper meal break while we assess the situation."
The group followed Cameron through the pillars to the middle of the chamber with Daniel and Vala trailing behind. Daniel was busy scribbling down translations; Vala was trying to put off seeing the place that had haunted her dreams. She shivered slightly as goose-bumps appeared on her arms and neck at the sight of the inscribed floor tiles stretching away into the distance. This was the place she had been dreading and this was the place where she must make sure Daniel came to no harm.
As everyone sat on the earthen floor and ate something, Daniel walked up and down the length of the square tiles, munching on a chicken salad MRE and translating the Latin inscriptions as he went. Cameron waited for a moment or two then asked, "So Jackson? Think you can work out a way across?"
"Well, we've got the words for truth, light, power, worth and strength and the words are repeated in a different order on each line. We'll just have to work out the pattern." He consulted his notebook before saying: "The writing on the obelisk near the Gate said we had to conquer the elements to reveal the Shield's truth or veritas, light or lumen and power or potentia so maybe that's the right order…Let me just check whether…yes, the Archway at the village used those same words in the same order."
As they finished eating, the rest of the team stood and got ready to move on and Cameron said, "Right...Teal'c, I think we should tie some rope round the lead man just in case it's not as simple as it seems…or in case he makes a mistake…No, insult intended, Dr Jackson!" he added to Daniel's affronted expression.
Suddenly Vala stepped in front of Daniel and blocked his way, half a foot stepping on the stone carved with the word "veritas" in the first row.
"Vala!" they all chorused and Cameron added, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
With a determined look on her face, she stated, "Going first."
"And why would you want to do that?" Cameron asked with some irritation.
Vala shrugged. "I'm lighter than Daniel so easier for Teal'c to hold on to should anything go wrong…and I can read Latin as well as Daniel can so why not?"
Daniel groaned with frustration and moved as if to step up and pull her back but suddenly found the muscled bulk of Teal'c standing in his way.
"Vala Mal Doran will lead," the Jaffa warrior said in a tone that brooked no arguments. He handed his staff weapon to Saurun and turned around before anyone could argue, slipping the rope he had been holding at the ready over Vala's head and under her arms, tightening the loop until it was a snug fit.
"This is ridiculous," Daniel protested.
"Is it not true that Vala Mal Doran can translate this language almost as well as you, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.
Daniel grudgingly nodded as Teal'c continued, "Also she is far lighter than you and, as she has said, will therefore take little effort to keep safe."
As Daniel turned to appeal to Cameron, Vala whispered, "Thanks, Muscles."
Teal'c said softly, "I hope you are following the right course of action."
"Me too," she whispered again, giving him a nervous smile.
Daniel was still grumbling when Cameron gave the order to set off. Vala followed Daniel's advice about the order of the stones and they made steady progress across the cavern floor.
A few rows into the puzzle, they noted there were one or two stones that were missing: when Vala peered into one and shone her torch down she could just about make out the sharp spikes at the bottom and the remains of a skeleton. She shuddered and took a steadying breath, comforted by Teal'c's solid presence behind her and by the knowledge that if she could still hear Daniel grumbling then he was in no danger.
The pattern of the three words for truth, light and power seemed to work and they grew more confident as the end of the floor space started to come into view, moving more surely and quickly. Even so, the vastness of the cavern meant that a good half an hour had passed when Vala stopped suddenly and said, "Oh! Now there seem to be a whole load of stargate symbols. How are we supposed to know which ones to step on?"
"Oh man. I knew this was going too well," Cameron said. "Any ideas, Jackson?"
Saurun and Brin looked worried as Daniel threw up his hands in frustration and said, "I don't know! It could be any number of combinations! What if I've missed something on the pillars back there that would have given us a clue?"
Cameron threw up his hands. "My bad! I shouldn't have rushed you, Jackson. I'm sorry. Guess we'll have to go back then?"
Sam said, "Daniel, we might still be able to work this out. Let's try to think it through. Vala, can you see how many rows of symbols there are?"
"Yes, there are seven. Only seven!" she called back to them.
"Okay so I assume we can rule out Atlantis, at least?" Sam said.
Daniel shook his head, "Only if we're sure we're supposed to include a point of origin! And is that supposed to be the one for this world or our own?" Daniel waved his hands again to emphasise his frustration.
"Let's assume it is the usual six plus the point of origin for this planet," Sam said. "I don't think Merlin would have expected the people here to be able to travel out of this galaxy before they were advanced enough to get through the challenges he set here. Make an educated guess, Daniel."
Daniel frowned. "Sam, it's not that simple. It could be the address for a world with a society that Merlin established like Camelot. Or Castiana, Sahal or Vagonbrei for that matter. I don't know which one to choose…" and I don't want to risk Vala's life on a risky choice.
He stared into space for a few seconds, seeking inspiration then hurriedly grabbed his notebook from his bag, scribbled down some symbols and ripped out a page and gave it to Teal'c to pass to Vala. "Can you see any of those symbols in the row in front of you?" he asked.
"Yes, the first symbol and third symbol are right here in front of me. I can't see the second one anywhere," Vala replied.
Daniel started thinking out loud: "All right. So that knocks out Vagonbrei." He scribbled three more symbols on a sheet of paper and passed it forward. "Vala, can you see the second row clearly? Any of those symbols appear?"
"Yes, I can see the third symbol but not the others."
Daniel grimaced. "Well, assuming I've remembered the addresses correctly, it looks like the first two symbols of Camelot's address are in the first two rows so it could well be Camelot."
He weighed up the pros for choosing Camelot as the destination address: "Camelot was at the centre of all the other locations where clues were hidden by Merlin. It's also the name of his favourite place, where King Arthur had his court." He looked back at Sam and Cameron for their opinions.
Sam said, "Sounds logical to me."
Cameron nodded. "You've convinced me. I think it's worth a try anyway. Vala, you happy to go for it?"
"Yes, I trust Daniel's judgement," she replied then added tongue in cheek, "on this subject anyway…He knows Merlin's thinking inside out, after all!"
Cameron grinned and said, "Okay, off you go then but for heaven's sake tread lightly, you hear! Teal'c I hope you've got a good hold on her!"
Teal'c braced himself as Daniel called out the first symbol and Vala stepped forward. For a second, it seemed as if they had made the right choice and everyone relaxed. She was just about to ask for the next symbol when there was a sudden rumble and the ground opened up beneath her.
Teal'c reacted quickly but even as he pulled her backwards, she dropped down out of sight and the rope slipped through his hands by a few feet before he was able to plant his feet squarely and stop her momentum. Earth and dust were thrown up into the air making them all cough as they attempted to cover their mouths and noses to prevent inhaling too much powdered rock. When the rumbling finally stopped, it was Daniel who shouted first, "Vala?"
There was silence and then a muffled coughing sound.
"Teal'c can you see her?" Daniel's voice was full of anxiety and not a little anger aimed at himself.
The Jaffa's voice was strained as he replied, "No, I cannot and I cannot move closer until the rest of you hold the rope in a secure position to stop Vala Mal Doran from falling further."
Daniel, Saurun, and Sam passed the rope around their bodies and planted their feet to take the strain. Teal'c took a step forward and peered into the darkened hole ahead. "Vala Mal Doran! Can you hear me? Are you hurt?"
This time, to the team's relief, her voice came back albeit unsteadily, "Mmm. Mostly my pride!" The cough that followed betrayed her humorous words and she continued with: "Uh, I think I may have broken a rib."
Daniel winced at remembered pain and felt even angrier with himself for getting things so wrong and causing Vala a serious injury. As he kept his hands firmly on the rope, helping to hold her above the dangers that lurked at the bottom of the pit, he berated himself for not insisting that they go back to the pillars to make sure that they had all the information they needed before setting out.
Anger at Cameron for rushing him mixed in with his own sense of guilt and he also found he was starting to feel a little cross with Vala for insisting on going first across the floor of the cavern. If she'd let me go first, I could have seen all the symbols and maybe guessed the right address!
Daniel's irritation was swiftly chased away and replaced by worry as Teal'c said, "I am going to pull you up now, Vala Mal Doran. Try to keep as still as you can."
Teal'c's torso heaved with the strain as he slowly pulled on the rope and passed its heavy coils back down the line to his waiting companions. With careful manoeuvring, he finally raised her up out of the pit and gently lifted her into his arms.
"Thanks, Muscles. I owe you one," Vala said softly.
Teal'c assessed her clammy, pain-filled face. "You have understated the severity of your injuries."
Vala smiled weakly. "Maybe just a little."
"Teal'c?" Daniel strained to see past him. "How bad is she hurt?"
"I'll live," Vala tried to joke but another round of coughing cut off her answer.
"I think her injuries are moderately severe," Teal'c said.
Cameron took charge. "Right. We're going to retrace our steps very carefully and make camp. Vala needs medical attention and I think we're all getting a little tired. We can start fresh after a few hours rest."
The group slowly made its way back across the floor. Cameron, Brin and Sam reached the collection of pillars first and started setting up camp: pulling blankets and their roll up mats out of their backpacks. Saurun followed more slowly, weighed down with his own staff, Teal'c's staff weapon and Vala's backpack.
Daniel hung back, making sure that Teal'c could find his way back across the stones, burdened as he was with Vala in her injured state. Finally, they made it back to the safety of the open area in front of the pillars and Teal'c gently laid Vala down on a mat. Each step had been agony for her and half way across the floor, she had passed out cold.
Daniel hovered while Sam assessed Vala's medical condition. Cameron walked over and asked, "Well, Sam? How's she doing?"
"Not too good. I think she could have some internal injuries as well as the broken rib," she said to Cameron. They exchanged a look and Sam knew what he was going to ask before he asked it.
"I'll try," she said, as she reached for Vala's backpack and pulled the Goa'uld healing device from it.
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When Vala regained consciousness, she found a pair of anxious blue eyes looking down at her. "I thought I told you not to scare me like that again," Daniel said, not really realising he was speaking out loud.
"Sorry. Beyond my control," Vala responded.
Daniel mentally shook himself before asking, "How are you feeling? You had us worried."
"Better. I feel better." She looked at Daniel questioningly.
"Sam used the healing device on you. She said she thinks she was able to repair most of the damage but you'd better take it easy until we can get you checked out at home by Dr Lam."
Vala grimaced. "I'm not sure taking it easy is going to be an option until we finish this quest but I'll try and be careful. How long was I out?"
"About four hours. Everyone's taking the chance to rest now before we go on."
Vala noted the weariness in his face and asked, "What about you, Daniel? Have you had any rest?"
He nodded then shrugged. "Teal'c took watch the first hour then I relieved him. I couldn't sleep." He hesitated then continued: "I wanted to be with you when you woke up…to say I'm so sorry I messed up. I should have insisted we went back and double-checked the pillars."
Vala's heart leapt and she looked away, confusion filling her at his obvious concern and his unusual openness in showing that he cared about her enough to want to be there when she woke up. "You can't always be right, Daniel," she said. "We all pushed you into making a choice when you'd already said you thought it was a bad idea…Don't beat yourself up about it. I'll be fine."
Daniel was silent for a while, considering something that was nagging away at the back of his mind. At last, he asked, "Vala why did you go first across the stones?"
Vala shifted uncomfortably and looked away. "In the dream I had, you were leading us over the stones…You suddenly disappeared into one of those pits we saw…and I knew you were dead." She swallowed and turned to look at him, fixing him with deep, serious eyes. "I couldn't let that happen, Daniel."
Daniel looked at her accusingly. "You should have told me exactly what you were afraid would happen when we were talking about it last night. Why didn't you say anything to any of us? You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like that."
Vala hesitated. "Well, I did tell Teal'c," she admitted.
"Oh so that's why he followed your lead," Daniel said with dawning comprehension and a faint stirring of anger that Teal'c had knowingly let Vala put herself in danger. "That still doesn't explain why you didn't tell me or why you went first. I thought we were friends. Friends should be honest with each other…and Teal'c could just have easily held a rope for me, whatever he said."
"I didn't tell you about my dream because…well, you hadn't exactly wanted my company before we got here." Vala noticed that Daniel squirmed slightly under her accusing look.
"Okay, that's fair enough but why did you go first?"
Vala bit her lip. "I wanted to make sure you'd be safe. The dream was so real, Daniel, and it's been so accurate, I knew I had to do something to change the outcome of what I'd seen…I figured if you didn't go first, you couldn't get hurt."
Daniel frowned. "But it doesn't make any sense to think if I didn't go first nothing at all would happen. Didn't you think it would just mean you got hurt instead?"
Vala shrugged, trying to pretend that hadn't occurred to her and said lightly, "Well better me than you in danger, darling. You're too important to everyone to let something happen to you."
Daniel frowned again. "You make it sound like somehow my life's more important than yours…" His blue eyes pierced her and she found she couldn't look away. "Is that what you think?"
Vala sighed. "Well, I don't know. I mean I'm good in a fight and a have a few useful connections on other planets but I haven't got any special skills that make me indispensable like the rest of you."
"That's totally untrue," Daniel protested.
"Is it?" Vala asked. "Mitchell's got the command thing going for him; Sam's smarter than anyone else in this galaxy; you're the specialist in all things ancient; and Teal'c's, well, Teal'c's Teal'c." Vala drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them, radiating depression. "What have I got? At best an ability to read Goa'uld and use a few Goa'uld devices but there are other people around who can do that just as well as me. Would anyone really miss me if I wasn't around?" She ventured a look at Daniel. Would you miss me?
Daniel was dismayed. "Vala! If we've made you feel like that…If I've made you feel like that, I'm really sorry. I thought you knew that you'd earned your place in the team. I…We need you and we all really care about you."
But do you care, Daniel? Vala thought as she regarded him. Under her scrutiny, Daniel flushed and felt compelled to say more: to try to let her know that he cared about her. "You have an aptitude for languages which makes you a great help to me and I thought…well, I thought you were kind of enjoying working with me."
Vala's eyes looked deeper than ever and Daniel thought he saw a flash of hope in them. He felt that his personal barrier was about to be breached. Was he ready? One step forward and they could never go back to where they were now. "And as an aerial acrobat you're fantastic," he said trying to ease back from the intimacy of the moment. "Those skills alone make you invaluable to the SGC! We need you in SG-1."
Vala looked away again: she'd thought he had been about to tell her that he needed her, that he cared for her but, yet again, she was disappointed. When she spoke, her words were so soft Daniel had to lean closer to hear her: "Things can't stay the same forever, Daniel. What if you…what if Sam, Teal'c and you all move on to different posts, different planets? Then where do I belong?"
Daniel knew that the barrier he'd been trying to hang onto was crumbling, fracturing as heard the longing for a sense of home filling Vala's voice. Not so different then after all? As he heard the others starting to stir around the chamber, he regretted that he had tried to forestall this intimate moment that had arisen between them; had tried to put off telling her how he felt.
Before the chance was gone completely, Daniel reached out and gently touched her face. He waited until she was looking at him again then said softly, "Maybe we could talk more about that later?...About whether we belong together maybe."
As he said the words, Daniel felt the last piece of the barrier between them tumble down and a huge weight fall away from him. He smiled hesitantly in response to the smile growing on her face; a smile that he was only now beginning to realise she seemed to reserve just for him.
"Do you really mean that, Daniel? You mean we might have a chance to be together?" Vala held her breath as she waited for his reply.
Daniel spoke quickly, time was running out. "All I know is, I don't think I could see a future without you in it." He was aware that Sam was heading their way to check on Vala. "We'll talk when we get home, okay."
Vala beamed at him and squeezed his hand, before ordering, "Give me a hand up."
"Are you sure? Shouldn't you get some more rest?"
"No, silly. I'm fine."
Daniel gently pulled her to her feet.
"Okay. Now give me a hug," Vala demanded and Daniel found himself responding before he even had time to think about it. Then she said softly, "We'll talk later then, Daniel…a really long talk about everything?"
"Yes, I think it's time we did that," he said and briefly buried his face in her hair.
"Good." Vala gave him a tight squeeze then quickly became all business as Sam arrived at her side and the rest of the group began to climb out of their sleeping bags, yawn and stretch.
Vala acknowledged the expectant smile on Sam's face with a quick grin of her own. Her friend had seen Daniel embracing her and suspected that something had happened between them but she would wait until she and Vala were alone to find out exactly what had been said.
"How are you feeling, Vala? How are your ribs? Anything still hurting?"
Vala brushed away her friend's concerns: "I'm fine, Sam, apart from a slight headache I've never felt better. Thanks to you."
Sam patted her arm. "You're welcome."
Vala turned back to Daniel, saying, "Now I think it's time to get on with solving this puzzle, don't you? Let's take another look at those pillars. See if you can't come up with a little of your usual inspiration, darling."
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By the time the rest of SG-1, Brin and Saurun were awake and nourished, Daniel and Vala were making their way systematically through the pillars: writing down the names of the knights mentioned; noting the number of times the Earth symbol appeared; and taking special notice of the pillar describing Arthur and his great deeds.
When they reached the end, Cameron and Sam came over, carrying coffee and MREs that Daniel and Vala gratefully took from them.
Cameron asked, "How are you doing, Vala? Feeling okay?"
Vala smiled in response and said, "I'm fine. Sam did a great job."
Cameron turned his attention to Daniel. "Jackson, did you get any sleep? You didn't wake me or Sam to relieve you on watch."
Daniel shrugged his concern away. "I'm fine. I was awake anyway so I thought you guys might as well get some rest while you could. Vala and I have just about finished translating all the inscriptions on the pillars."
Cameron sighed. "So did you find out anything new?'
Sam waved her disc at them. 'Don't suppose you spotted any holes where this would fit? This is the Earth challenge, isn't it?"
Daniel looked at her like a light bulb had just clicked on above him and then banged his head with his hands. "Oh, of course. I am such an idiot!" he exclaimed and then went bounding off towards one of the pillars. The others looked at each other in amusement then followed close on his heels.
Daniel stood in front of one of the pillars inscribed with the Earth symbol and said loudly, "Terra!" There was humming noise and a symbol suddenly appeared: Vala thought it looked like a letter from the Ancient alphabet but wasn't sure which one it was. Daniel wrote it down hurriedly before it disappeared again.
Glancing at the members of the SG-1 team following him round, he said for their benefit. "There are six pillars with the earth symbol on. Six! I should have realised that meant something." He hurried round to each of the other five pillars, saying the Latin word for Earth and forcing them to reveal their hidden symbols. When he'd finished, he held up his notebook for the others to read:
A, A, V, N, L, O
They looked at the translation with dawning comprehension. Cameron said, "The hidden letters spell out Avalon? I mean, Avalon as in the huge storehouse of treasure we found at Glastonbury back at home right?"
Daniel bounced on his heels and smiled with relief. "Exactly!"
Sam groaned, "So that means we needed the gate address for Earth all along!"
Vala said with a smile, "Great! We can get on our way then." She winked at Teal'c, asking, "Hey Muscles, want to tie me up anyway just in case?"
Daniel turned to Vala. "I don't think you should have a rope tied round a broken rib even if Sam's done a good job of healing you. Why don't you let me lead this time?" Vala's face fell.
Cameron said, "Daniel's right, Vala. We're sure we've got the symbols we need this time. No-one's going to be in any danger. Besides I'm sure you've already changed the outcome of your dream if that's what's worrying you."
Vala looked anxiously at Daniel and then out towards the cavern floor. "I know it's irrational but the thought of Daniel going first just…"
Sam suddenly spoke, "Why don't you let me lead? After all, I'm supposed to be the child of Earth, right? We all know the route across the cavern floor now and I definitely know Earth's gate address!…I can wear a rope like Vala did just in case the area around the gate symbols has been weakened by the failure of our first attempt…Then everybody's happy."
Cameron nodded. "Good plan, Sam." He waited for Daniel and Vala to acquiesce then said, "Okay let's go fill Brin and Saurun in on what we've found out and pack up our gear. Time to get going."
Vala hesitated then went over to Sam who was concentrating on packing up her kit. Vala tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. Making sure no-one else was within earshot, she asked, "You know I'm not saying you're less important to me than Daniel, right?"
Sam smiled. "Don't be silly. I know that, Vala. We both just want to make sure we keep him safe. Right?" Vala nodded gratefully in reply.
With their gear stowed away and a rope tied firmly around her torso, Sam stepped fearlessly onto the first stone and led the way briskly across the extensive cavern floor. Brin and Saurun were chanting the Latin names under their breath as they stepped on each inscription. Ahead of them Daniel stopped for a moment and turned to say, "I'll write this all down for you when we get back to the village, Saurun. So you and your people will have the means to get through these challenges in the future."
Saurun smiled at him. "Thanks. I would be very glad of your help."
In a much faster time than their earlier foray had taken, they reached the section of the floor covered with stargate symbols. Sam took a deep breath before tentatively placing one foot on the first symbol of Earth's home address. There was no rumbling and no dust so she placed her other foot on the stone and let out the breath she had been holding.
One by one the others followed as she stepped on the next five symbols and then finally landed on the symbol for the point of origin; this world's symbol. As he went past the hole made by their previous attempt, Daniel shuddered at the sight of what had awaited Vala below. He was grateful yet again for Teal'c's enormous strength and very mindful of how easily Vala's life could have been lost: without him having the chance to tell her how he really felt about her.
Life was definitely too short and he was determined not to let this important second chance at happiness pass him by. He promised himself he would give their relationship a chance to develop into whatever it would turn out to be.
The cavern floor ended with a stretch of blank ground about three feet wide, making it necessary for everyone to stand in a long line along the steep rock wall that now faced them. "Anyone see a circle where this thing will fit?" Sam asked as she eased the rope from around her middle and Teal'c wound it up.
This end of the cavern was deep in shadow: the light from the bowls of oil not making it this far. Using their torches, they scoured the wall in front of them, looking for the place where the disc would fit. It was Brin who spotted the circular hole first: it was carved out of the rock face at a height of about seven feet. Teal'c could just about have reached up to the hole but Sam wanted to do her part as the Child of Earth. She took off her backpack and turned to Teal'c. "Can you give me a boost so I can slip the disc into position?"
Teal'c obliged by clasping his hands together and expertly hoisted Sam by one foot so that she was high enough to reach the round gap in the rock face. She clicked the disc into place and then Teal'c lowered her gently to the floor. Once again, there was the sound of stone grinding against stone and an archway appeared in the wall underneath the spot where Sam had inserted her disc. Yet another passage led away into the darkness.
"Nicely done, Sam, Teal'c," Cameron commented. "Okay folks, let's get going. The next challenge awaits."