Chapter 8
The team walked steadily on for another hour, sat down and ate a quick lunch, and then continued on. There was no sign of Jack's ruined knife, but Jack kept scanning the ground as if determined to find it and prove them all wrong. Mr. Optimistic. Finally, while Jack was once again looking down and muttering unintelligible words, Sam called his attention up ahead.
"Colonel."
When Jack looked ahead he saw that the tunnel had reached an end at last. Either that or it had caved in…. SG-1 hurried forward, holding their breath, and found a wall of ice blocking their path.
"Looks like the snow piled up here and then melted from the warmth of the tunnel," Sam said, fascinated but exasperated, looking closely at the ice. "It can't be very thick, sir. The outside air has to be able to reach this area or this snow would not have been able to freeze like this. I think Teal'c's staff could probably melt through it."
"Good. I'd hate to waste C4 on this. Teal'c, would you do the honors?" Jack asked, turning to Teal'c, who simply readied himself to fire while the other moved a safe distance behind him. He then aimed at the center of the barrier, and fired.
With the first shot came the distinctive sound of cracking ice. With the second, the ice shattered to create a large hole the size of Teal'c's head. Yet once the tinkling of the falling ice ended, shouts rang out from the other side of the hole.
"Are those…human voices?" Daniel asked no one in particular, confused.
"Indeed." Teal'c murmured, his voice as incredulous as it could ever be expected to sound as he stared hard through the opening.
"But I thought the U.A.V. didn't find any life signs…"
"It didn't," Sam said softly, eyes wide as she too stared through the hole.
"So now what?" Jack asked.
His question did not exactly go unanswered. A woman's voiced called to them from the other side of the ice.
"Who are you, and why do you come here?"
Daniel eagerly moved closer to the whole, excited as always to have the honor of introducing himself and his friends to a new culture. Craning his neck he shouted back, "We're explorers. We want to trade knowledge with you."
"Explorers from where? We know of no other place but here, and we know of no other life in this world other than what is already here," the woman's voice answered skeptically.
"We came through the Stargate." When silence answered Daniel's replay, he continued, "It's that big round stone thing. It is – or rather was – how we came here from our planet, Earth."
"I have not heard of such a thing. Tell me, why do you carry the weapons of the gods?"
Daniel quickly turned to face the rest of the team. "They must have recognized the sound, which means these people are either under the rule of a Gould now, or they were brought here recently enough that the first generation is still alive –"
"Yeah yeah, Daniel. Now answer the poor woman and get us outta here!" Jack barked in a loud whisper.
"Ah, my friend here once served those whom you call 'gods'. Are the gods nearby?"
"Not in flesh and blood, no, but we are afraid that they might be able to hear us." The woman's voice shook a little, obviously scared of such a possibility, and then steadied with effort. "They brought us to this place from our homes and have not come back for many seasons now."
"Daniel," Jack said in a harsh whisper, "I know this really fascinates you and all, but do you think you could get them to help us outta here?"
Daniel turned back to the hole. "Ah, if you could help us out of here we could talk more. I'm sure there is a lot we could learn from each other."
"How do I know you are not sent by the gods to test us?" the woman's voice asked suspiciously.
"Fer cryin' out loud!" Jack exclaimed, abandoning all pretence of letting Daniel do the talking and rushing forward to the hole, sticking his face as far into it as he could. "The Gould are our enemies. If you don't want them to come after you, we can help you, but not if you don't let us outta here!"
There was a long pause and then the woman answered, "Alright. We will help you. But don't use your weapons again in an attempt to get out by yourselves. You will only hurt someone."
A few minutes passed and then a scraping sound could be heard on the other side of the ice wall. The team moved back when the sharp tips of pick axes broke through the ice, shattering it. Soon daylight showed in, bright and warm and very welcome. With the daylight came hands, reaching in to help the team members climb out onto the snow bank.
When the four friends climbed out and looked around them they discovered that they were surrounded by roughly forty men, women, and children who peered around the legs of their parental units. They wore heavy woven clothing of simple coloring and boots that looked like they were made of some kind of animal hide.
Behind the circle of observers the snow laden city rose. It was no longer a heap of ruins, but rather a strong and proud mini metropolis. Yet it was not without flaws. Several of the structures were in desperate need of repair, and overgrowth was evident in several areas, even under the snow. Beyond the rooftops more mountain peeks could be seen, capped majestically with snow and fluffy clouds.
The team took in their new surroundings, once again shocked at finding that things were so contrary to what the U.A.V. had detected.
A woman who looked to be in her early twenties, small in stature but with a great presence about her, stepped forward. She had a very round, pale young face. A breeze played with her long straight brown hair, bringing it over her shoulders to frame her face. She looked at them with slightly narrowed brown eyes through the wispy bangs that shaded them but failed to hide an acute case of acne on her forehead. Her voice was strong, yet not overwhelming. It was the voice they had spoken with through the hole.
"I am Lunasa. Welcome to Xanthus."
"Xanthus?" Daniel repeated questioningly.
"Sounds familiar?" Jack asked, turning to Daniel and expecting a stream of mythological babble to come flying at him. It was rare for Daniel to disappoint.
"Well there's about a dozen different things it could be related to . . ." He stopped short as Jack gave him the cut-to-the-important-stuff glare. "There was a Greek god known as Scamander who was also called Xanthus by the other gods – "
"A Gould?"
"Possibly, but even if he was he's only known as a minor river god mentioned by Homer, and he seemed to be pretty much dominated by Hera and Hephaestus." Jack shot him a mischevious look regarding his choice of words, but Daniel ignored him. "There was a river in Troy named Xanthus and an ancient Lycian city named Xanthos ."
"And any of this could be useful because . . ."
Daniel, knowing it was quite useless to attempt to explain to Jack how it could help them understand the people there, shrugged and left it at that.
"It is the name we gave this city. In our native language it means 'great study.'" Lunasa replied cautiously, watching the strangers carefully with tight lips. She had been standing there so quietly that they had nearly forgotten she was there.
"Oh. Well, I'm Daniel Jackson, and these are my friends, Colonel Jack O'Neill, Teal'c, and Major Sam Carter." Jack gave his customary "howdy" as Sam smiled gently at the young woman, for whom she had an immediate liking. Teal'c bowed respectfully even as his eyes were in constant motion, watching for signs of danger among the hodgepodge of people that surrounded them. Lunasa gracefully nodded back, acknowledging each one politely but cautiously. Her eyes never left them, particularly Teal'c, whom she studied with shrewdly. There was an odd silence as her eyes traveled to his golden brand, and then, seemingly satisfied that it was not a symbol she had seen recently, she beckoned them forward.
"I can tell that we have much to talk about. Please come with me. No doubt you need food and shelter?" Lunasa asked cautiously as she turned to lead the way into the city.
"Yes, that would be nice," Jack spoke up as he tried to fall into step with the young woman who was walking very quickly indeed. He fleetingly noted how the crowed parted unquestioningly before this odd girl. His knees, already protesting over the two days of extended hiking, whined at the injustice of it all, but he ignored them. He had a higher priority. "But what we really need is the Star–"
"Please, wait until we reach my home to discuss this matter more," Lunasa quickly cut him off, her face paling as she quickened her rapid pace all the more. Jack flipped the rest of the team a puzzled look over his shoulder, but he only got two shrugs and a raised eyebrow in reply.
The tired team struggled to keep up as the young woman led them further into the heart of the city, all the while being followed and stared at by curious and nervous onlookers. When Lunasa finally stopped, it was in front of a three-story building made of sandy-colored stone, died rose red by the setting sun, with a heavy wood door and wood shutters locked tight over each window.
"Please, come on in." Lunasa led them through the front door. Inside it was much warmer with the help of a roaring fireplace. A large rectangular wood table stretched the width of the small room with a smaller round table off the right in the center of what looked to be a kitchen. As the team entered, a figure rose from the fireplace and turned to Lunasa.
"Where did you disappear to? I turn my back for two seconds and…oh."
The young woman froze as she saw the strangers standing in her doorway. Short and round-faced like Lunasa, she looked to be in her late teens. Her hair, so dark it was almost indistinguishable from black, was a few inches beyond her shoulders and had a natural gentle wave to it. Her brown eyes showed no fear of the newcomers, but rather a mild surprise, as though her sister regularly brought strange people home for dinner.
"Please, let me introduce my sister, Lauria. Lauria, these people came from outside of Xanthus. They are in need of shelter and food," Lunasa explained.
Long-handled wooded spoon in hand, Lauria whipped around to face her sister. "And you think that they can stay here? Are you mad? We have hardly enough food to last the rest of this winter as it is! How do you expect to feed four more?" Lauria demanded, exasperated and not bothering to keep her voice down. If she put her hands on her hips she would have been even more intimidating, a true stereotypical scolding maternal figure, but it really wasn't necessary.
Sam cautiously stepped forward in an attempt to end the conflict. "We still have enough rations to last several days. There's no reason –"
"If these people want to eat, they had better get going. I understand it's almost impossible to catch one of those mountain goats," Lauria sassed, cutting off both Sam and Lunasa.
"Lauria!" Lunasa was positively fuming. She fell silent and closed her eyes for a moment, as if counting to relieve her temper as her sister watched, completely unfazed. "I have items to trade saved away if necessary," she continued calmly, looking only at her sibling.
"Not mother's –"
"Lauria," Lunasa cut her off sternly, "they need our help. This family has never turned out those in need before and we will not start now."
This seemed to settle the matter as Lauria nodded slowly, and then turned back to the pot that was sitting in the fire, steaming pleasantly.
"Please, forgive my sister." Lunasa said, turning back to her guests with the best smile she could muster. "Times are not easy on us, and she is only showing her… concern. Please come and sit. I think there is much that we need to talk about."