OOOOOOOOOO
Ian jumped back, startled, reaching for his Glock, since he'd slung his P90 over his shoulder when he'd started dialing. Jack and Teal'c both leveled their weapons towards the creature, startled but far too experienced to allow it to slow them down, and Daniel reached for his P90 – although it was slung over his shoulder like Ian's had been. The dogs reacted predictably, not liking to be startled any more than anyone else did. Black and blonde, both of them pulled their lips back in an unmistakable warning, and both tensed. The creature didn't smell evil to either of them – and didn't smell like a Jaffa, which would have been an immediate reason to go on the defensive – but it wasn't anyone or anything they recognized either.
But then, they couldn't really get a good smell anyways with the wind blowing snow all around them.
"Be calm," the creature said holding up its hand to show it was empty. It was then that Jack realized that the creature wasn't furry, after all. It was humanoid and wearing a very long coat that was made of some kind of thick brown fur. "I will not harm you. I only came to help. We must leave this area before the storm hits…"
"It's already here," Jack told him, lowering his weapon and gesturing for the others to do the same. He didn't know who the guy was – or even if it was a guy – but he didn't need to be a genius to know that they were in a lot of danger and none of it was from this person. The temperature was still dropping like mad and he felt as if his hands were going to freeze up any minute. Likely the others were feeling exactly the same thing.
They needed shelter.
The creature – or man, or whatever it was – shook its head.
"No, this is not the storm. Merely the precursor."
"You mean it's going to get worse?" Ian asked. Shouted, really, since the wind was beginning to howl.
"Come with me and stay very close. You cannot risk becoming separated."
They could believe that. The creature (or man or whatever) turned and headed directly towards the outcropping of rock that Jack had noticed earlier, turning to make sure they were following.
It didn't take much to make up his mind.
"Come on," Jack told them. "Keep close."
As a group – which was a little warmer, anyways – they headed after their guide, the two labs taking defensive positions on either side, although their tails were tightly tucked between their hind legs as the wind swirled snow around them.
"It's not far!"
Jack wasn't even sure if he actually heard the words, they were so faint. But he hoped it wasn't far, because he was freezing – and he knew the others had to be just as cold. He'd already tucked his P90 over his shoulder and put his hands under his armpits to warm them as much as possible, and looked down at Jaffer worriedly. The lab was shorthaired, and although he had a good layer of thick fur to protect him from the water when he swam it couldn't be doing all that much for him in this cold.
"It's not far, Little Man," he assured him, reaching down and slapping the lab's shoulder gently as they stumbled into the rocky area.
Jaffer might have made a response – a growl or a whine – but Jack couldn't hear it. The wind wasn't quite as bad when they reached the rocks, but it whistled eerily around them, making crazy noises that made him want to cover his already chilled ears.
The ground started going down almost immediately, and Jack saw that the rocks were far bigger than they actually looked from the Stargate. There was every possibility that there might be a cave or something here. Surely that was where their guide was taking them.
"Not far now!"
Jack looked back over his shoulder and saw that Teal'c had grabbed hold of Ian, who must have stumbled or something. The New Yorker was leaning on the Jaffa, but they were still moving quickly, so he probably hadn't hurt himself too seriously. They definitely didn't have time to stop and check it out just then.
He turned back to look for their guide, and couldn't see him, but before he could worry, a motion caught his eye and he saw the furry arm waving at him from a break in two rocks ten feet or so ahead of them and to the right.
Jack grabbed Daniel and gestured for him to take the lead, pointing out the direction he needed to go and Daniel nodded, saving his breath. With Jaffer beside him, Jack wasn't worried about Daniel walking into an ambush or anything like that. He fell back to the other side of Ian, reaching over and taking the P90 from him and grabbing his shirt to help steady him.
Daniel was already disappearing between the two rocks, Jaffer right beside him, and Jack (the dog) lunged forward as well, to give more security to their point position and to get out of the wind.
Which was exactly what happened when they stumbled between the two rocks, as well. The wind died down to almost nothing, blocked by the tall monoliths around them, and Daniel, their guide and the dogs were all stopped by a particularly large, flat rock face.
"This way, please…" their guide said, turning once more since they were all together and unlikely to get lost. He moved to the left side of the large rock and ducked in behind it, vanishing immediately. Had they not been so close to him, SG-1 might not have been able to figure out where he'd gone, but they'd seen him vanish and knew where he'd stepped, and they went the exact same direction, stepping up and then dodging behind the face of the rock.
And they found themselves in a cave, just as Jack had suspected. But it wasn't like any cave he'd ever seen before – and he'd been in several.
It was mammoth, for one thing. Easily the size of a house, with several fireplaces on two of the far walls which were generating enough heat that Jack actually felt his hands tingling as needles seemed to be poking him from the inside out. The only light in the place was from these fires, but it was fairly well lit, and he didn't have to worry about stumbling. He flexed his fingers as he looked around, and had the feeling that he was being watched by more than just their guide – even though he didn't see anyone else.
There were piles of blankets and cushions all around the cave. Even more, they were on low-slung platforms that could probably be sleeping areas or beds. These were fairly large and there were several of them, which clearly meant that there were others in this cave – or somewhere in the area.
Their guide turned towards them, keeping Jack from any further examination, and pulled off the hood of the long coat, revealing a very young man, maybe Ian's age, with brown hair and brilliant green eyes.
"Please…" the young man said. "Come and warm yourselves…"
He gestured to the closest of the fireplaces, but Daniel was looking all around him.
"This place is carved out of the rock…" he murmured, incredulously. "It must have taken years to do it…"
Jack and Teal'c carried Ian over to the fireplace, keeping him from needing to put any weight on either leg since they weren't sure which one he'd injured. The heat was intense, but welcomed after being so cold that none of them minded a bit.
"Here, he can sit on this," the young man said, following them and offering Ian a sort of chair.
Ian nodded his thanks and sat down, and Jack looked down at him while he stretched his right leg out, wincing.
"What'd you do to it?"
"Twisted my knee on a fucking rock," Ian muttered, rolling up his pant leg. "It's nothing serious."
He'd hurt the knee so many times, now, he was getting used to the fact that it was always going to be weaker than his left knee. No thanks to Cato's Jaffa, who had paid particular attention to it when they'd been beating the shit out of him.
"Allow me," the young man said, coming over to stand with them – although he didn't get too close to Jaffer or Jack (the dog) and he made sure not to step between them and the heat of the fire. He reached down and rested his hand lightly on Ian's shoulder, and closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Jack frowned.
"What are-?"
"Son of a bitch!"
Ian lunged to his feet, surprised – not angry – and Jack reached for him, in case he fell when trying to put weight on his injured knee. He didn't, though. Instead he looked over at their guide, dark eyes surprised.
The young man had opened his eyes when Ian moved, looking concerned.
"Is something wrong?"
"You healed it."
"Yes." He frowned, confused. "Would you like me to put it back the way it was?"