Chapter Twenty: Down in the Dungeons

They landed just outside the city and began to walk through the streets. Phoebe had indeed been joking about transporting everybody on a broomstick for which Jack was grateful. Riding a dragon was both peculiar and dangerous but at least it was somewhat heroic. Sitting on a broomstick behind a witch would have been downright stupid.

Phoebe had used her flying power to carry herself, Jack and Sam in a series of long night-time hops on their way back to the city. It would have been OK thought Jack if Sam hadn't remarked on how much it was like travelling with Peter Pan. It did in fact take a bit of getting used to but Jack and Sam were both experienced parachutists and that stood them in good stead.

It would be better if Phoebe had described what she did as levitation thought Jack. Such things as levitation, telekinesis, teleportation and so on simply sounded so much better, more scientific, than flying, using magic powers and casting spells. Jack knew very well which set of terms he would use when making his reports to General Hammond.

Phoebe's search through the scattered pieces of wood lying in the forest had not been all playacting. She had finally found what she had been looking for, a nondescript piece of wood which she pronounced was just what she needed. It was, she explained, a piece of dowsing wood. After casting a simple spell it would act as their compass to lead them back to the city.

"Compasses we've got," Jack had explained pulling out his from his pocket. Sam had nodded in agreement and held up hers.

"OK," said Phoebe. "But how do you know your compasses are pointing to this planet's magnetic north and not to its magnetic south? Do you know where magnetic north is on this planet?"

Jack smiled. "We've visited a few crazy planets before now," he agreed. "So we don't take anything for granted. I don't know all about the local magnetic field but I do know that the dragon flew us north-west by my compass when we left the city so I think a general route south-east should take us back there."

"And that's the direction the dragon gave us, south-east," said Sam.

"That'll probably work OK then," said Phoebe. "But I'll still prepare a dowsing stick just in case. When it's ready it'll keep pointing in exactly the direction of the city, wherever we are. But keep checking your compasses, just in case."

The dowsing stick had worked exactly as advertised. Once Phoebe had cast her spell on it Jack took a reading of the direction it originally pointed, south-east. At every stop on the way it continued to point in the same direction. Now it had brought them back to the city. Once on the outskirts of the city the dowsing stick proved to be really useful since none of the Earth people knew their way through the streets. Phoebe used the stick to steer them right back to their hotel.

They had decided to walk the final lap through the city streets rather than fly through the city itself. Even though this was a city, indeed a world, that knew all about powerful witches Phoebe felt it best not to be too blatant in the use of her power. Besides, as Sam pointed out it was quite likely that the Goa'uld had agents in the city. There was no need to advertise to everybody what she could do.

This was one reason why Phoebe had decided to fly only at night. In a world that used guns they would make a prominent target for anybody who was an enemy or who just didn't like flying witches.

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At Prue's request Paige orbed the two of them to the very bottom level of the castle. As expected this was a sub-basement dungeon area. Prue intended to explore the dungeons first and see if there were any prisoners there. She explained that any prisoners they found there should be prime sources of information about current events and the state of the struggle against the Goa'uld.

"And after questioning these prisoners what'll we do with them?" asked Paige.

"What do you mean do with them?" asked a puzzled Prue.

"Well we can't rescue them can we, without changing the timeline?" said Paige. "Even questioning them might change things."

"Ah, I should have thought of that," said Prue. "Perhaps we can overhear them talking without them noticing us."

"And if we're really lucky the Goa'uld might be torturing somebody for information," said Paige sarcastically. "And we can have grandstand seats. That's the sort of thing they used to do in dungeons. I don't want to see any of that. I don't think I could stop myself doing something about it."

"OK, if anything like that's going on you orb us away at once," said Prue hoping they were not faced with anything like that during their time in the past.

Paige looked at her elder sister but said nothing more. She didn't think she could just walk away, or rather orb away if something horrible was going on and she didn't think Prue could either. Hopefully they wouldn't be faced with something like that.

Being late at night the sisters expected the dungeons to be quiet with perhaps nobody awake except a guard or two. As it turned out the dungeons were not only quiet but pitch black as well. Prue muttered a spell to produce a small floating witch light to enable the sisters to look around them.

They were in a narrow corridor. A filthy, low ceiling corridor filled with cobwebs, and what were probably droppings left by the local rodents. On one side was a plain brick wall, on the other a series of solid doors, each with a small panel at approximately eye level that contained metal bars.

"This area becomes the basement of the witches' library back in our time," whispered Paige.

Prue and Paige went along the corridor and peered inside each cell. Prue pushed the light through the bars into each cell in turn but they were all empty. Either the Goa'uld of this time didn't take prisoners or they kept them somewhere else.

Prue led the way around the corner at the end of the corridor into a large room. This room was also empty of occupants and judging by the dust that lay thickly around, it hadn't been used for a long time. The only piece of furniture was an old wooden table but there was no chair. A flight of stairs led up into the darkness on the right. On the opposite side of the room was the entrance to a second corridor.

"Listen!" whispered Paige.

Both sisters stopped and Prue extinguished her witch light. The sound of voices came from the other corridor as well as a little light, indicating that there was some activity in this part of the castle after all.

Prue led the way across the room and into the other corridor. Paige kept hold of her hand in order to orb both of them away to safety in the event of any danger. They walked cautiously along the new corridor until they could hear what was being said.

"Why not?" asked a female voice. "If you think about it, it's in your interest as much as mine."

"I should just give you a symbiote, that way I know you'll be loyal," said a male voice.

"The way you're loyal to Mitra?" replied the woman with a laugh. "Do you want another Goa'uld to have that much power? The power of a witch combined with the power of a Goa'uld? You're better off just trusting me. You know I can't take your place the way I am now, but with a symbiote..."

By now Prue and Paige had reached the end of the corridor. They resisted the temptation to peek around the corner to see who was talking. They wouldn't recognise anybody and they might be spotted. In any event it was clear from the conversation that some sort of arrangement was being made between a Kallistien witch and a Goa'uld who was hoping to improve his position in the Goa'uld hierarchy.

"OK," said the male voice. "But if it doesn't work, or you betray me, I'll be back and I'll turn this whole world to ashes."

As he spoke the last sentence the voice became louder and the light began to brighten, indicating that the man/Goa'uld was coming towards them so Paige orbed the two of them back to the darkened entrance to the first corridor. There they waited in the darkness to get a glimpse of the man and hopefully the witch as well.

A few moments later the figure of a man appeared carrying a bright light of some description. As expected he went straight up the stairs on the right without stopping. Prue concentrated on studying the man as well as she could in the available light. She wanted to be able to recognise him if she ever saw him again.

The sisters continued to wait and a few minutes later the witch too came out of the corridor. She however did not go up the stairs. She had her own witch light which preceded her out of the corridor. Once in the room she waved to brighten the light which also rose up to a central position lighting up the whole room.

For the fist time the sisters could see the witch's face and to Prue's amazement it was a face she recognised. She glanced at Paige but then realised that Paige would not recognise the woman because she had never met her.

"Why don't we have a chat?" said the Kallistien witch. As she spoke she wiped the dust off the end of the table with a handkerchief that she brought out of her sleeve. She then sat down on the table and looked straight at the dark corridor in which Prue and Paige were standing. There was nobody else in the room. Prue and Paige exchanged glances. Was she talking to them?

"Yes, I am talking to you," said the Kallistien witch. "Perhaps you can tell me just what you're up to."

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A lot of heads turned as Daniel followed Piper and Faith into the Tavern. One of the consequences of travelling with beautiful women thought Daniel but then he realised there might be another reason. All of the travellers had been kitted out with period costume to help them fit in without being particularly noticed. However they had overlooked one important detail.

Just like ancient Earth people, ancient Kallistians were much poorer than their modern descendants. The costumes worn by the travellers might well be in period but they were brand new and obviously of a much better quality than the clothes being worn by everybody else. It must look as if some high born aristocrats are slumming it thought Daniel.

The tavern keeper bustled forward and gave a short bow each to Piper and Faith before addressing Daniel. He looked like a typical tavern keeper, portly, middle aged and balding. "And how can I help you my lord?"

"I'm not a lord," said Daniel. "We're merchants new to the city. Travellers from the north. Does this tavern have high quality rooms to rent?" He decided not to pretend to be an aristocrat since he would have to come up with a suitable title and he had no idea what was appropriate. Claiming to be merchants might at least provide a plausible reason for why they were so well dressed.

Both Piper and Faith could see that things had not gone according to plan since everybody in the tavern was staring at them. Their intended low key entry had turned out to be something of a local event. They looked at one another but said nothing, silently deciding to leave Daniel to handle matters.

"Certainly my lord, uh sir," replied the tavern keeper. "If you will come this way there are some excellent rooms upstairs."

The tavern keeper started to move towards the nearby staircase when he was interrupted by a shout from the watching audience.

"Witch!" yelled a man walking towards the three newcomers, pointing straight at Piper. He was a thin, grubby, black coated man in need of a shave. "She's a witch!" he continued, making it clear that this was an accusation and very much not a friendly welcome. Obviously the man was hostile to witches.

The pointing man held a small black book in one hand and a knife in the other. He turned towards the people in the main tavern saloon as if expecting them to support him before turning back and aggressively waving his knife. Murmurings from the crowd began in response. Piper raised her hands preparatory to freezing everybody but Daniel grabbed her and pulled down her hands. "Better not," he said quietly, "unless there's no alternative."

Daniel turned away from Piper intending to confront the man but Faith forestalled him. She stepped forward, knocked aside the man's knife carrying hand and took him out with one punch. The man fell to the floor unconscious and didn't move. The whole tavern fell silent.

Well so much for diplomacy and keeping a low profile thought Daniel. One punch! Looks like Teal'c got off lightly he thought, remembering the Faith/Teal'c confrontation, although Teal'c of course would have been better able to defend himself.

Daniel turned back to the tavern keeper. "We'll see the rooms now," he said as if what had just happened was perfectly normal and quite trivial.

"Um, uh, I forgot," said the tavern keeper. "I'm afraid the rooms are taken. Yes, they're taken. They've all been rented out... for the next ten days."

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The big reception was joined late by Jack, Sam and Phoebe who had arrived late the previous night after their journey back from the meeting with the dragons. They soon discovered that this was not just a reception for the new arrivals but was also intended to be a planning strategy meeting for the war against the Goa'uld.

After a period devoted to introductions, explanations and general socialising General Selous, on behalf of the Kallistians outlined the plans that they had made. Now that there was a way to reach Marduk's spaceship, Tara and Jenny would transport witches and fighters up to the ship and these witches and fighters would take control of the ship. This would be a major blow against Marduk in terms of power, communications and central direction and, with luck Marduk himself might be killed or captured. If he survived, the spaceship could be used against his remaining forces.

At the same time as the attack on the spaceship, local attacks would be launched against the known Goa'uld bases. The dragons would take part in some of these attacks. The whole offensive would be co-ordinated by the communications supplied and in many cases operated by the SGC people who would also do their best to disrupt Marduk's communications.

The result of the offensive would hopefully be the elimination of Marduk's forces plus the capture of many weapons as well as his spaceship HQ. The latter especially could be vital in dealing with the anticipated return of Apophis.

The only problem with this plan, which satisfied both the Kallistians and the SGC people, was the absolute refusal of Tara and Jenny to have anything to do with it.

"Out job is helping and healing, protecting and when necessary rescuing." said Jenny. "We don't take part in wars, at least not in the sense of helping fight the battles. Not unless we are dealing with some sort of demonic or other supernatural evil. We certainly can't take sides in a war when there are humans on both sides."

"But those humans are controlled by alien parasites," said Selous. "They're as bad as any demons, maybe worse."

"Makes no difference I'm afraid," said Tara. "Your enemy is not demonic or supernatural so we can't help you in the fighting."

"There are, or there were witches on that ship," said Buffy. "I saw them. They're probably some of the people kidnapped by the Goa'uld. They need rescuing, even if they don't know it."

"We've thought about that," said Tara. "I can take part in a rescue mission, but we will not transport soldiers or help fight a battle. We can't have anything to do with killing people and we can't help you take possession of that ship to help you fight the war."

"It's not that we don't sympathise with the position you're in," said Jenny. "But our powers are strictly limited in what they can do, what they are for, in what we are allowed to do with them."

"Allowed by whom?" asked Sam. "Who are your bosses? Could you talk to them?"

"Yes," said Eve. "Don't you have free will? Aren't your people big on the whole free will thing?"

Jack groaned inwardly and walked away. Sam was finally going to get the philosophy debate she had been looking for. She might enjoy it but Jack could see it would be a complete waste of time. He had no idea of who exactly Jenny and Tara were answerable to and he really didn't want to know but he knew the type of people they were. They were people who knew they were right, right with a capital R.

Sam and the others could argue this every which way but it would make no difference, Jenny and Tara would not budge. As Jack saw it, it would be like asking the padre to man the machine gun. However necessary it was to keep firing, that was beside the point, the padre simply wouldn't do it.

"There might be another way," said somebody behind him.

Jack turned and found a dark haired man dressed in black stood behind him. With an effort he remembered which of the newcomers it was: Angel.

"Tell me more," replied Jack.

"Willow can open a portal on the ship," said Angel. "I might be able to persuade her to do it. A small team can go through and take control. Willow's a powerful witch, with her magic and the knowledge we already have of the ship I think we can make it work. We don't need to involve Tara and Jenny."

"You're close to Willow?" You don't think she agrees with Tara and Jenny?"

Angel smiled. "I'm not close in that way but I do know Willow, we go way back," he said. "It's not that she disagrees with the Whitelighters, she would never disagree with Tara about something like that, but she doesn't have the same, shall we say constraints as they do. So long as we do our level best to avoid killing humans I'm sure she'll help us take over the ship, and she won't mind if we then have to use it against the Goa'uld."

"Contrary to what some people might think we don't believe in doing any more killing than absolutely necessary either," said Jack. "But if you just pussy foot around it, you sometimes end up getting a lot more people killed, on both sides. A quick victory is generally the best way to save casualties. You haven't met him yet but Teal'c is a friend of mine. He's a Jaffa who used to work for the Goa'uld. He helps us recruit other Jaffa whenever we can, rather than kill them, but sometimes we do have to fight."

Angel held up his hand. "Hey, you don't have to persuade me, I've lived through two world wars, well sort of lived and I know sometimes you just have to fight. I'll have a chat with Willow and the others." Angel then walked away.

Jack shook his head. Just when he thought he was talking to somebody normal they dropped something like that into the conversation. And Whitelighters, what were they? He had understood that Tara was a witch. Did that make Paige Matthews a Whitelighter as well?