"I knew I should have stayed on Earth. I have a nice girlfriend, a new appartment and a laboratory, but noooo, let's go on an adventure to find out if magic is real! " whined McKay like he already did several times since he woke up.
"It would be nice if at least we could make profits from always being thrown in jails when we go on missions" said Vala Mal Doran.
The woman's declaration startled everybody and they all started to look at her with big eyes unsure of what she had in mind.
"All I'm saying is that a 'jail time' bonus would be a sensitive measure for the SGC to institute. It's at least the fourteenth time that I'm locked up, it would be nice to have some gratitude for me wasting my youth ..." clarified Vala.
The whole group woke up in what was obviously a prison, it had been a bad, but not unexpected realisation. What was unnusual, was that this prison was entierly made of ice and even more unnusual, the felt temperature, dispite being cold, wasn't cold enough to explain those rock solid walls. The group was complete, so at least they hadn't been separated and curiously they had been healed, considering the violence of the crash it was a very good thing.
Teal'C informed them that he had been able to remain counscious, despite his serious wounds and told them of his capture by the impossibly strong little girl, the same one that discovered them in the first place. In this story, there had been curious informations, the strange girl spoke in plain english, seemed totaly immune to zat's and not only had been able to keep up with the jumper, but was also probably the one who shot them down after whitstanding two ancient drones.
"We have more pressing matters Vala, if this whole situation goes like it pretty much always do, somebody will come and start asking questions that we don't want or can't answer" said Cameron pacing along the strangely beautiful prison bars "So far, we couldn't figure neither a way to escape nor do we have any idea about where we are".
"Come on, we'll do like always" answered the woman with a smirk "either we'll seize an opportunity to fight or flea and in the worst case, Daniel will talk our way out of it".
"Considering who captured us, I believe all attempts to use force or to evade are doomed to failure. If the red girl is representative of the peoples who are holding us, we shouldn't underestimate them" declared Teal'C from the ice bench were he sat.
"Mh, I also remember that the last time Daniel talked us out of it, I ended up BURNT ALIVE" blurted out Vala with an accusatory finger towards the archeologist "Come on muscles, she took you by surprise, but I'm sure if you have your revenge you can save us all" she continued, then she sat down next to Teal'C and started to massage his shoulder like his boxing manager.
"Calm down Vala, at least we know that we can communicate with them" tried Daniel "There is still a chance that this is all a misunderstanding or that we will be able to convince them that we don't have any ill inten ..." but he was interrupted by Sheppard who had been on the lookout keeping an eye on the strange hallway.
"Someone's approaching."
The whole group tensed at the announcment and shortly after, they could hear themselves footsteps comming in their direction. After what felt like an eternity of uncertainty about what was closing in for them, they were all shocked by what appeared to be their captor.
Walking on two feets and mooving calmy toward them until it stood before their cell, was now standing a gigantic insect. The creature was more than eight feet tall and looked like a frozen unholy hybrid between an ant and a scarab. Curiously it didn't gave off the clumsiness that all other bugs or insects gave off, on the contrary it looked way more nimble-footed than a creature of this size should in all their minds. Carrying a long halberd fitting his size and several giant pieces of jewelry, the creature seemed to gauge them before speaking.
"You. can. take. them. but. I. am. still. ordered. to. keep. watch. Hiiissssssss" Announced curiously the frozen monster with two of his four arms crossed, Vala and McKay jumped at the end of it's statement when it released an ice jet in the air.
They had been so surprised by the frozen creature, that none of them noticed the person that was standing back before the man spoke "Thank you Cocytus, there shouldn't be any problem as long as Ainz-sama orders are carried" an elegant voice came from the old man wearing a perfect traditional black service uniform. The monster nodded an agreement and the man approched elegantly before speaking to them.
"Greetings Lady and gentlemen, I am Sebas Tian, the Iron butler and this is Cocytus, the guardian of the Frozen Prison. In the name of our master, I bid you welcome in the Great Tomb of Nazarick".
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A strange journey of it's own began; Guided by the butler, that they quickly came to call Sebas and followed silently by the monster called Cocytus, they discovered many things on their way, either through discussion or their very onws eyes.
It started on the frozen land outside of their cell, they crossed path with numerous insect like monsters and strange beings. Groups often watched each other curiously, the local faunae, varying widely in size, shape and color, looked heavily militarised and ready for combat. At this stage of their travel, it had been explained to them that this level, upon witch ruled Cocytus, was used as a prison but also as a protective layer for the lower levels. It didn't make much sense for the earthlings to call this place 'underground' since the sky could be seen, but both their guide and warden were adament that this was the fifth floor below the surface. It's only when they arrived in a dark room, occupied by a strange hovering undead and that they were teleported in a totaly different place, that they started to understand that the world they were in, was very different that what they were used to.
They arrived in what could only be described as an incredibly luxurious and esoteric castle, the wole place was heavily decorated with gold, jewelry and dark drapes. Even more impressive, was that the place was filled with amazing statues and sculptures. Sebas welcomed them on what he said was the ninth floor, the Royal Suite of the 'Supreme Beings'. In here, they crossed path with fewer but much more diversified creatures; a few demons, an angel, a sort of penguin wearing a bow tie, a couple of unidentified others and to their surprise, several human looking maids working at various tasks.
Finaly, the team was installed in a comfy, but still luxuriously decorated room with several sofas for them. Shortly after, a smiling maid brought a tray covered with food and drinks and started to serve them under the watch of the blue bug who remained next to the door and the gaze of the butler sitting accross the room.
"This stuff is amazing" said McKay after eating is fourth cupcake "I've never tasted anything that good!" noticing the look the rest of his team gave him he added "What, I'm nervous. When I'm nervous I'm hungry".
Trying to ignore him, Daniel continued his converstation with Sebas Tian "So if I understood what you are saying, we are in the house of the ruller of this land; the Great Tomb of Nazarick, in the Sorcerer Kingdom".
"You are correct young man, but to be more precise, my master, Ainz Ooal Gown, is the de facto supreme ruler of this whole world. After years of diplomacy, commerce and war, all civilised species accepted him as their undying king and entered a new age of prosperity. There are still several hostiles and wild groups on the other continent, but sooner or latter they will be pacified" answered Sebas.
"Yes, that's the thing I'm curious about, undying, I heard you saying that your master is the undead we saw as statues" interjected Cameron.
"You are also correct, but more precision is, once again needed. A common misconception is that my master is a mere undead, like skeletons or lichs, that you could have encountered and may be naturally spawned or magically summoned. Those, are both weak and lack any form of intelligence, besides the blind hatred they have for the living. Our lord is nothing less than one of the the Supreme Beings, entities which powers and knowledge defies the wildest imagination. Since he took this land, he also proved himself a wise and benevolent leader for the population." said the butler, in a way that seems repeated many times.
"I guess the real important question for us is, why were we attacked and are we prisonners ?" asked Sheppard.
Sebas Tian seemed to think about his answer for a moment, before he responded with what could only be described now, as his usual professionalism "To tell the truth, you were unfortunate enough to stumble upon a guardian on her day off. I believe Shalltear Bloodfallen, the one who attacked you, took for granted that you were some sort of spies and wished to capture you. As for your current status, the definitive answer can only be given by my master, but I think my presence is a good indications that he does not wish to keep you prisonners."
Observing that the group was rapidly eating what she had brought, the happy young maid joyously announced: "Sebas-sama, I'm going to get more things for our guests" and she then left the room.
The discussion continued for some time, the off world group continued to learn a lot more informations while waiting to encounter the Sorcerer King. They learnt that a permanent world wide magic spell was translating every language and that magic was capable of both amazing creation and terrifying destruction. The state of this civilization was also very impressive, slavery had been banned by the Sorcerer Kingdom and hundreds of differents species were living in peace as equal citizens in a complex power structure, it was apparently based on nominated governors and a senate representing various races and cultures. They were also shocked when, after a strange small talk with the maid, Lumière, that came back and stared at McKay eating, before weirdly acting with him in an almost flirtatious way, they discovered that not only she was not human, but that most of the Nazarick population, were litteraly creations of 'Supreme Beings' like the Sorcerer King. More surprising was that this was also the case for Sebas Tian and Cocytus.
The exploration team was being explained the particularity of the Sorcerer Kingdom as a necromantic state, which was practicing the rental of undead labor in various contractual agreements, when finaly, the necromancer in question, made his entry. Regaly entering the room, was the very incarnation of what some might call ... death. Suffice it to say, the statues that they observed, altough surprisingly accurate, did not do justice to the both greatness and terribleness of his actual appearance.
All the inhabitants of the tomb bowed deeply and after a moment of uncertainty, the in effect Tau'Ri representatives, also got up and slighlty bowed.
"Welcome and please sit back, I trust you had enough time to introduce us and our world Sebas ?" asked the undead king while sitting. He then released his beautiful golden scepter that started to hover next to him.
"Yes my lord, it had been an interesting experience to present things to people who never heard about us and are new to this world" answered the butler slightly bowing in the process.
"Good, on my side I observed your equipement and your ship; I have to say that I'm very curious about your presence in this world and what it implies" said the Sorcerer King strangely caressing his chin.
As the most used to this sort of interaction, Daniel speaked first with what was obviously, a lot of practice "Your majesty, thank you for receiving us. We are an exploration team and as you have suspected, we are not from this planet, but from one that is called either Earth ot Tau'Ri. We found references to this world, during what could be called historical researches and were curious to find out more about species that we never encountered and magic. If I may introduce us, I present to you the leader of our team, Colonel Cameron Mitchell, our pilot, Lieutnant Colonel John Sheppard, the Doctor Rodney McKey who is our scientist, Teal'C a long time ally of our people, Vala Mal Doran and myself, Doctor Daniel Jackson, archeologist".
"I see. Then nice to meet you. I believe you may already know but I am the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown, sovereign of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and ruler of the Sorcerer Kingdom". answered the undead king not showing any surprise and in a way that seemed equally practiced.
"Before we continue this conversation your majesty, I have to ask, what is it that you intend to do with us" asked Daniel diplomatically "As I said, we are pacific explorators who do not wish harm upon you or your kingdom".
The sovereign observed them calmy and several of them shuddered under the gaze from the flaming eyes. "Unfortunately, since you choose to approch us covertly, you attracted, let's say the wrong kind of attention from one of my subordinate; Considering the current state of your ship, you will be unable to leave with it. Furthermore I can't let you any access to it until it has been studied".
"With the technological difference it will take centuries for you to understand it ..." blurted out McKay before shutting up when the overlord turned his eyes to him. "I mean ... there is a huge gap to cross".
Curiously, the skeletal face seemed to smile before continuing "I don't think it will take long, we may appear a medieval planet, but it is mostly due to the potency of magic and the fact that the establishment of my kingdom is still rather recent. Meanwhile, I am curious if you can contact someone from your world. Take this, throw it in the air, say 'message' and think of someone whom you wish to speak to". While saying so, the hand of the king disapeared in a purple hole, only to retrieve a scroll that he gave to Sebas, who in turn gave it to Daniel.
Watching curiously the object he was given, he tried it. "[Message]" The scroll openned in middair and bursted in blue flames. After a moment of stupor and silence in the room, he added "There's ... there's a ringtone, but no one is answering".
"Interesting, it means that magic alone probably won't be enough to reach wherever you are from. For the moment, you are stranded in this world. Do you have any hope of a rescue from your people?" asked the overlord.
The group exchanged looks, before McKay answered for them "Not in the short term, although I can't be sure of how long it will take or what kind of solution they will come up with".
"So you are what we could call, involontary guests of my kingdom. I wish to prove myself a good host to you and eventualy, maybe even a friend for your civilization. You will be provided suitable accomodations in the capital and you will be granted a certain level of leniency on the form of guides and liaisons, at least you will be permited to continue your exploration and even learn about magic. Also for the moment, I won't be pressing you for informations, but I hope that as you learn about us, you will be able to enlighten us about yourselves" declared Ainz Ooal Gown.
Clearing his throat to attract attention, Cameron asked "That's nice that for once, we encounter someone thoughtful enough to not aggressively interrogate us and I will make sure that we disclose whatever we are authorised to. But I also have to ask, what about our equipement and weapons, can we have them back?".
"There is no problem with that, your weapons are interesting, but we didn't found anything that is currently forbiden or unusualy dangerous. Of course you will have to respect our citizens and laws but everything besides your ship will be given back to you. However, in the case where you will be able to return to your home, there will be a limit on what you will be authorise to take back from our world to yours. Your guides will be informed of exactly what and warn you should you acquire something like that, for your civilization's protection as ours" answered the king with an increase of intensity from his gaze "In the meantime, we will try to either establish contact with your universe, repair your ship or find a way to send you back"
"Thank you your majesty, we appreciate the gesture." said Daniel with a slight bow "but I have to point out, since we are already familiarised with this technology, surely our participation to it's reparation would be helpfull".
"I on the contrary believe it would be a hindrance" replied the undead while getting up "You would have been right if we used conventional methods, but there are ... states secrets that might prove more efficients. If these methods fail, needless to say you will be inform and your help will be requested. Sebas, Momon is preparing and will be in charge of their stay, lead them to their lodging and introduce them. I must attend to other matters for the moment, I hope you will enjoy your stay in our world"
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In a hallway not far from the guest room, the homonculus maid Lumière, met with, the homonculus maid Lumière.
"Thank you very much for your cooperation miss Lumière" said the first one bowing "I'm sorry that I've might have tarnished your reputation" ending her sentence, the youg maid started to melt into an amorphous figure.
"Don't worry about it doppelgänger-san, if it is for Ainz-sama, we will all do anything" answered joyously the real one.
Continuing it's transformation, the shapeshifter added "I am sure this will help our master's plan, now if you excuse me, I must go to Demiurge-sama to provide some insights". Rodney McKay smiled gently and went quickly on his way.
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Hello everybody,
I have to say, this chapter wasn't easy to write and I had to restart it several times. I hope you will enjoy this last version that I came up with, it's not a big step forward in the story but I feel there are details that are necessary :)
See you around :)