Chapter 28: Gathering Evidence
The Sunken Flagon was alive with excitement. The moment Jack, Teal'c, Sam, and Daniel walked in, they were greeted with both hearty welcomes and curious questions. Of all the companions they had adventured with, Khelgar, Casavir, and Neeshka were the most obviously enthusiastic. The tiefling, however, soon found herself red-faced when seeing Daniel again and avoided being one on one with him at first. Between the return of the team from Earth and the news of Tamil's situation, there was a lot going on.
After SG-1 related the events of their return home and subsequent summoning back to Faerûn, it was their turn to ask about what had happened while they were back on Earth. They were surprised to find that Sand had the most information about the situation and that the elf was now actually staying with Tamil at the Flagon rather than living in the room above his shop. The elf was a bit evasive about his involvement but explained that he was more familiar with Luskan politics than most people in the city were.
Sand explained the treaty to the group. Several years after the war between Luskan and Neverwinter, Lord Nasher met with a contingent of Luskan's Arcane Brotherhood to seek stability in the region. One of the provisions of the treaty included a reciprocal clause that allowed both cities to demand the surrender of anyone from the other city found attacking lands controlled by the opposing power. This clause was put into place to put a stop to a series of retaliatory clashes by former soldiers on both sides raiding villages across the border. For some it was a matter of vengeance, but for others it was just an opportunity for banditry.
However, as a matter of Neverwinter law superceding the treaty, any member of the nobility had to first be found guilty within Neverwinter's courts by a Justiciar of Tyr or the Lord of Neverwinter before any foreign power could extradite them. Unfortunately, members of the City Watch were not nobles. Tamil had been born in West Harbor, a chartered town of Neverwinter, but he had no noble parentage and the town have lacked any power to appoint nobles any government would recognize.
There were several ways to enter the Neverwinter nobility, but each had its own requirements and not all of them would be practical. The easiest way would be to purchase a title, but unfortunately, a person needed to have lived within the city for a minimum of three years before purchasing a title was legally allowed. The second method was to marry into the nobility, but Tamil would scarcely consider that course of action. Service to the crown could be rewarded with knighthood, and even the squire of a knight was considered a member of nobility. The last method of becoming a noble required one to have noble parentage and certificates either within Neverwinter's archives, or from a recognized authority, which Tamil did not have.
Luckily, a plan had been formulated by which Tamil would enter the Neverwinter knighthood as a squire. Until the ceremony by which she would become squired to the knight, however, she was forbidden to leave the city. Fleeing would make her a fugitive and Luskan could then send search parties to enter Neverwinter lands to hunt for her.
"So, what about the trial? What burden of proof needs to be met?" Daniel asked of Sand once the details of the situation had been related. "Is Tamil considered innocent and must be proven guilty by the prosecution, or is she considered guilty and must prove her innocence?"
Sand nodded at his friend, "Very good questions, Daniel. Were Tamil to be tried as a commoner under Low Justice, she would be required to provide sufficient proof that she had not committed the crime. In the case of a capital offense, two judges would be chosen by the accuser, two by the accused's advocate, and an impartial judge would be chosen by the overseeing justiciar. A majority of the judges must believe the accused to be innocent, indicated by a lit torch, otherwise he or she is found guilty. A judge can indicate at any time in the trial that they believe the accused to be guilty by drawing a blade.
"Fortunately, High Justice does not follow this system. Rather, the accused is tried by the Justiciar of Tyr in Neverwinter, possibly in the throne room before Lord Nasher. If Lord Nasher is presiding, then he is the one who determines guilt or innocence according to how he perceives the case. Otherwise, it is the justiciar who determines the guilt or innocence of the accused and then makes a recommendation to Lord Nasher who then decides what penalty will be meted out."
"So," Daniel said with a frown, "it all rides on being able to convince either Lord Nasher or the Justiciar."
"Not exactly," Sand corrected. "These trials are always a public spectacle. Depending on who is being tried, it can draw quite a crowd. And believe me," Sand bit off his next words with some poorly hidden vitrol, "Lord Nasher takes more than a little notice of how the crowd feels about a case, especially if there are many of the nobility in attendance."
"Then we're going to need to be very convincing," Colonel O'Neill broke in. Then he turned to Tamil. "Don't worry. We'll prove your innocence. This won't be the first time one of our friends had been wrongly accused."
"And I assume you won the case?" Tamil replied teasingly.
"Won the case, saved the world, and had a parasitic alien removed from our friend," Jack said matter-a-factly. "And our opponents were super-genius aliens with really big space ships. This will be a piece of cake."
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Tamil sat alone out beneath the starry skies. She took a moment to lean back and look high up in the sky at the beautiful sight of Selûne, the moon of Abeir-Toril, followed by what looked like glittering jewels following in its wake. The Tears of Selûne, asteroids large enough to be visible and reflect the light of the sun, trailed away from the bright moon tapering off partway across the black void of space high above the planet. It was a beautiful night to be out pondering her life.
Sir Grayson had sworn her to uphold the Knight's Code and left her outside the walls of Neverwinter in what was known as Solace Glade. All around her were the farmlands that thrived under the protection of Neverwinter's frequent road and land patrols. It reminded her of home.
She had spent her life growing up in a farming community. Her adopted father hunted and traded, putting his skill in the wilds to use augmenting the community's agricultural trade with skins and meat from local animals. Unknown to many, he was also responsible for putting down many dangerous monsters that roamed too close to the small town of West Harbor.
Being the adopted daughter of a ranger who was away from town most of the time would have been a lonely life if not for her friends. Of them all, Aimee was the one closest to her. Then there was Bevil Starling, the boy who had a crush on both her and Aimee for as long as the two girls could remember. Tamil even thought fondly of the Mossfield boys, all of whom were trouble just looking for a place to happen. They were good kids, just with no outlet for the energy of their youth. They were all back there in West Harbor. All except for Aimee.
She had gotten vengeance for her friend. In truth, by now, between her and her companions she had slain at least a dozen of the githyanki and their servants for every one of the dead of her home town. That had never been her goal, only to see the threat ended, but still it felt balanced and complete. The blood of her enemies no longer bothered her the way it had those first few times. It had been necessary, and now she felt so in her heart.
She thought of her new friends. She was uncommonly lucky to have teamed up with Khelgar when she had. The two of them had made a fine team and they had learned so much from each other. She fondly recalled rescuing Neeshka from the corrupt soldiers from Fort Locke. The young tiefling for all her past folly and thievery was so fiercely loyal as to challenge even the dwarf's devotion. Of course, there were also the lovable Grobnar and the upright Casavir who had recently shown themselves to be worthwhile companions.
But SG-1 was something else. Jack, Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c were so dear to her now. She had helped them, but in return, they had done so much more for her. Without them, she wondered, how much more blood would be on her hands? Could she have been able to bring down the corruption in the docks without their amazing knowledge or technology? She didn't know, but she was certainly glad they were back with her again.
Tamil heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Of course, they weren't actually with her now. They were camped out of earshot while she performed her vigil before becoming a squire. She was alone.
The bard grabbed her weapon and spun towards the sound. When she saw who it was, she quickly sheathed her weapon and smiled. The farm girl. Shandra.
Shandra Jerro had come out to check on her protector. The two chatted comfortably for a few minutes. Tamil Farlong felt a kinship to the young and sturdy woman from Highcliff. The farmer had lost her parents years before and had inherited the property she worked. Not many people her age were prepared for responsibility like that.
"Did you hear something?" Shandra asked, turning towards the direction of the sound.
Tamil followed her gaze to see a trio of armed men heading her way. They did not look like Neverwinter guards. Two of them were distinctly half-orcs, their ugly faces and snouts giving their parentage away. The leader looked at Shandra with disdain and then addressed Tamil. "I didn't expect the girl to be here. We'll spare her the grief of crying over your corpse and kill her as well."
Before the bard could make a retort, Shandra drew her father's short sword and brought up her blade. "I'm right here, you know. Why don't you try!"
Tamil could see from the position of her arm and the way she held the buckler she had pulled from behind her waist that Khelgar had been given the farm girl some lessons. The bard grinned and pulled out her own sword and shield. Yeah, she was definitely feeling a kinship with the farm girl.
"Three big tough men against two meek little women?" Tamil said, cocking her head to the side. "These odds are unfair." The men started to laugh and the leader started to open his mouth to comment. Tamil cut him off. "Shandra, back off," she shot the farm girl a wink, "to even it up."
The assassin leader was making some kind of retort, but Tamil was already humming a tune and by the time the fight began, the bard and the farmer were both encased in a skin of iron. The leader and one of the half-orc brutes concentrated on Tamil. The other half-orc struck at Shandra.
What Shandra quickly discovered was that her opponent was not nearly as good of a fighter as Khelgar was. While she was practicing with the dwarf he had complimented her on how well her father had trained her, and her skills were coming back. Then the skilled dwarf knocked her around until she was able to fend off his attacks and learn to strike back. She hadn't yet managed to even touch Khelgar, but her half-orc foe was shocked when she batted aside his attack and slashed him across the arm.
The assassins had heard of Tamil Farlong. She was supposed to be pretty tough. They figured two of them should be able to take her, and three would come just to make sure. After the first exchange, they realized they had underestimated their opponent. Tamil dodged one strike and blocked the other with her shield, all while deftly bringing her own blade around to stab at her opponent's exposed midsection. The blade hummed in her hand and when it ripped through the man's flesh, he felt the vibration tearing at his guts. And she was singing a chipper song as she was slicing through her opponent.
The half-orc facing Shandra managed to trade blows, striking the farmer across the shoulders with his poisoned blade. The tip failed to even break through her skin. Shandra, however, had no trouble slashing through the bone and muscle of the brute's chest. The half-orc staggered back and the blond haired farmer came on. She was protected both by Tamil's magical ironskin chant as well as the armor she wore, fresh from a session with Khelgar. The assassin got a swing in, and Shandra felt the bite into her arm, but that didn't stop her and she drove the blade home through the stunned brute's heart. She was going to have to thank Khelgar.
Tamil saw one of her opponent's charging her position and easily countered with precise footsteps that left her enemy off balance and the full weight of her attack aimed at the assassin leader who had been left exposed by his companion's recklessness. The bard knocked his weapon aside and slashed the man's throat. Then she turned to handle the remaining assassin. Only now, the odds had changed. With Shandra there, the two made quick work of the overwhelmed half-orc.
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Sir Grayson arrived back at the Solace Glade to find his new squire sitting cross-legged in front of a pair of bloody corpses. A third littered the ground several paces away, its black blood smearing the grass. The knight quickly surmised it was the work of assassins trying to stop Neverwinter's plan from preventing them from getting Tamil. The bard doubted it was response to the plan to make her a squire, suspecting it was an attack of opportunity, but held her tongue. She did, however, insist on Shandra returning with Sand and SG-1 before the bodies were disturbed. Samantha Carter had already carefully explained to all of them how an investigation should work.
When SG-1 arrived, Dr. Carter had everyone carefully step back while she pulled out the digital camera they had retrieved from the Flagon after returning. She took pictures of each of the slain assassins, their weapons, and especially, the hand of the leader which was found to have a strange ring with small spikes around its circumference. Then, she removed their belongings and carefully handed the ring and several small vials of thick liquid to Sir Grayson.
"Here. We need you to bring these items to Blacklake for safekeeping."
The knight was uncomfortable with handling what were obviously vials of poison. He voiced his dissent and asked why he had to be the one to do so. Sand was also curious why such potential evidence needed to be handed off to someone else.
"Sir Grayson, this is a matter of honor. Since I am a friend of Tamil's, someone could argue that I switched these items for something else. You, however, are a knight of Neverwinter with an impeccable record. Nobody would doubt your honor. Even though Squire Farlong is your charge, when you testify that you obtained these items from where your squire was attacked, your word will be accepted."
With that reasoning, the knight accepted the items into his care and the group discussed their next steps for the investigation. It was clear that whatever occurred, they would need to leave Neverwinter in order to gather evidence. They would need to travel to Port Last, where the crime was first reported, and the village of Ember, where the crime was said to have taken place.
"We should split up," Daniel suggested. "We can cover more ground that way."
"Uh, bad idea," Jack protested. "Every time we split up something bad happens."
"Such as?"
"Oh, I don't know. One of us getting a gou'ald implanted in us, being sent to an alternate universe through a mirror, getting sent through an Asgard trap for gou'ald and Jaffa… with a Jaffa, or, how about being stabbed through the chest?"
"Okay, Jack, I'll grant you that," Daniel retorted, "but how about stowing aboard two separate gou'ald ha'tak motherships to save the Earth? Preventing the Tollan from getting blown up from orbit when their ion canon defenses were sabotaged? Or having our favorite former Jaffa become chosen of a powerful being who heals us just when we need it? We had to split up to accomplish those missions, right?"
Jack stood there with his finger in the air and opened his mouth once, then twice. Then he just shrugged. "Alright, fair enough. We'll split up. Daphne, Velma and Scooby can search the spooky woods while Shaggy and Freddy take the Mystery Machine to the haunted house."
When all the Faerûnians gave puzzled looks, Jack explained, "It's from Scooby Doo. It's a cartoon… er, a show, from the late 1970s and early 80s. On an Earth calendar. Never mind. Okay, Tamil, Teal'c, and I will go to the town where this was supposed to have happened to collect evidence. Daniel, Sam, and the pointy eared guy can go investigate Port Last, or whatever the town's name is."
"Perhaps it would be better," Sand broke in, "if I were to go with Ms. Farlong? I am more familiar with the local customs and could no doubt point out certain irregularities that you might miss without the benefit of my knowledge."
Daniel gave a short frown and then pursed is lips before turning to face the elf. "And if Tamil were going to Port Last instead, rather than Ember, then I suppose your expertise would be better put to use dealing with the local authorities there?"
The wizard gave his protégé a shrewd look as he affirmed Daniel's suspicions, "Why yes, I do believe that would be the case."
Daniel nodded. Then he pulled Jack and Tamil over to speak with them in private. "It seems that Sand has been asked to do more than just assist us. He's been sent to keep an eye on you," Daniel said, looking towards Tamil with that last statement.
"So, we should give him the slip?" Jack asked.
"No, I don't think so. Since we are sure Tamil is innocent, we just go along with this arrangement. Wherever Tamil goes, Sand goes, too. In fact, if we can have more witnesses to the investigation, it would be better."
Turning back to the rest of the companions, Daniel asked whom the courts would trust as witnesses. It was explained that aside from the Neverwinter Nine of Nasher's court, none were held in as high esteem as knights and clerics in the service of Tyr. After a brief discussion of the circumstances under which Casavir left the service of Neverwinter and how Teal'c would be viewed, it was decided that Casavir would accompany Tamil to Port Last while Teal'c would observe as Daniel gathered evidence in Ember.
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Despite not being familiar with the lands they were walking, Elanee led the group heading to Ember over the terrain without any difficulty. Without Tamil or Jack in the group, leadership seemed to naturally fall to the druidess, at least when it came to matters of travel and rest. Grobnar was happy to follow behind, whistling a cheerful tune as they went, much to both Neeshka and Elanee's annoyance. Daniel noticed, though, that the gnomish bard would make no noise at all whenever they were in a dangerous area. Teal'c, who certainly had experience in leadership, seemed content to defer to the elven druidess.
Daniel, of course, knew he was not suited to leading the excursion through the wilderness. He had thought that Neeshka might take up the point position as she had done in the various underground dungeons they had been in, but she seemed much less at ease out of doors than inside a city or even inside a monster and trapped filled labyrinth. She also seemed to have gotten over her shyness at Daniel's unexpected return and was quite comfortable walking along beside him. Remembering the passionate kiss she had laid on him just before he was about to return to the SGC just a week ago, the archaeologist was not as comfortable.
As soon as they arrived at the village, they noticed the stench of death. Whatever untruths the Luskans were telling, the massacre itself was a fact. Bodies of the villagers were left lying were they had been slain, flies buzzing about the corpses in swarms. Everything within the village had been butchered, even several cats that had been hacked apart.
Daniel, taking charge of the group for the investigation, instructed everyone to stand back from any of the corpses and not to touch any of them. He took careful photos of each corpse as they had fallen and then several close-ups of the fatal wounds. After taking initial shots, he pulled away clothing near the wounds and took further photos.
Shortly, they came across a corpse with a different pattern of discoloration from the rest of the victims. The skin around the wounds were a ghastly black and the wounds were not nearly as deep. After snapping the photos, Daniel commented to the rest of the group, "This one didn't die of stabbing or slashing wounds." Gobnar and Neeshka came closer to listen to his explanation. "These wounds are all superficial. I'd say it's a pretty good guess that this victim died of septic shock, through some poison administered on the blade."
"Did not Tamil Farlong indicate that she and Shandra were attacked by enemies who coated their weapons in poison and carried such poisons upon their person?" Teal'c asked. "In fact, I had to treat Shandra for poison when she returned to see me."
"Yes, she did, and thank you again," Daniel answered as he took several samples of flesh as well as a few vials of blood from the affected wounds. "The question will be if these poisons match."
After he did so, he heard a crackle from his walkie-talkie. "Daniel?" came the voice of Samantha Carter.
"Yeah, Carter," he responded.
"We're pretty much done here in Port Last. We spoke to a couple witnesses here. One was obviously lying and after a little careful questioning, Tamil convinced him to recant his entire testimony. The other, though, was a woman Jack, Tamil, Shandra and Casavir all recognized. She says she is completely certain it was Tamil who led the killing. Sand suspects some sort of magical disguise."
"Any trouble there?" Daniel responded to the radio.
"A few of the local militia wanted to provoke a fight, but Tamil talked them down. Other than that no trouble. But, Daniel, one of the merchants here was asking about the dead bodies in Ember. She seems to be worried that they'll be left unburied and rise up as undead due to the violent nature of their deaths. Do you have any wyrmsage on you?"
"No, but I think I know how to solve that problem."
"You're not going to zat the bodies are you?" Carter asked with a little concern in her voice. "I know that would eliminate the bodies, but it's… disrespectful."
"No, not that. I'll have Teal'c make some holy water. He should be able to do that with the powers he has from Tyr," Daniel replied.
"Good thinking. Tamil heard from a local ranger that there was a disturbance in the woods bordering Ember. We're going to check out that area to see if we can find any more potential witnesses. And be on the look out for a mining prospector with red hair. Carter out."
Teal'c began converting the groups waterskins into pouches of holy water while the rest of them inspected the rest of the village. Among the things that were found was a journal kept by the town quartermaster. Daniel carefully leafed through the book, turning the pages by the very edge. Then he sealed the book up in a watertight map pouch.
After burying the bodies of the villagers, the group prepared to leave when they heard a sound coming from the well. It sounded as if someone or something was moving around from inside. Daniel radioed to the other group that they were going to investigate noises from the well before using the bucket and rope to lower the members of the team down.
What they found at the bottom of the well was both surprising and disturbing.
First, the water source for the town was flowing through an underground cavern that was lined with rich minerals and metal. While this would be an excellent place to begin mining ore, it was a terrible place for a water well. The minerals from the rock were seeping into the water, and would slowly begin poisoning the people. If they hadn't died already, they were certain to begin getting sick.
Secondly, they found the young boy, Marcus, cowering in a corner. But when the boy saw Daniel, Teal'c, and Neeshka, he stood up straight and approached without fear.
They asked the boy what happened and he explained that he had seen the beginning of the massacre. Someone disguised as Tamil, through some form of magic, was ordering everyone to be killed without mercy. When asked about the disguise, the boy shrugged and just said that illusory magic just never fooled him. He was able to hide in a small space. One of the attackers had come down after him and had run into the corridors ahead, but the man never returned.
Marcus handed the knife he had taken from the ranger, Bishop, back to Daniel. "This saved my life. I've been hiding out down here until you came. I knew you would return, though I was getting a little worried it would be a long time from now."
Grobnar pressed the boy for details. Marcus explained how he had hidden from the raiders and the occasional monster, living off rodents and insects. "You lived off of rats? How exciting! Are there any recipes for rat that you've discovered that you would like to share? And do tell me, how did you know it would be us that would be coming?"
Of all the odd questions the gnome had asked, the last one was the least odd. However, it was also the one that received the most curious of responses. As soon as Marcus heard the question, his demeanor changed and his eyes took on a strange vacant quality. When he spoke, it was as if he were speaking while in a dreamlike trance.
"You, Grobnar Gnomehands, I did not see. In your place I saw a giant metal man with great blades for arms and your blood spilled upon its chest." Then the child seer turned to face Elanee. "Elanee of the Circle of the Mere, child of the land and the elves, I saw you return with shadows gathering behind you. The King of Shadows has tasted the power of the Circle and seeks to bring every last druid of the lands to his side, as slaves of shadow. In the end you have a choice; you must succumb to the shadow, or leave this land behind forever to face exile on a world where the land has long ago lost its voice."
Elanee was visibly shaken at this pronouncement. Grobnar's eyes had gone wide. "Oh my word," he muttered, "I can't believe this."
"Daniel Jackson, you and Samantha Carter have begun a journey into the secrets of magic. Mystra herself has taken notice of you. At the moment of choice you may choose to escape the snares of darkness to join The Lady of Mysteries, sharing secrets of magic and creation beyond your dreams, or you may leap into the unknown and the mysteries will follow after you."
As Marcus spoke each pronouncement in turn, Daniel noticed a slight flicker of Marcus's eyes. It was as if a different source or personality was speaking through the boy. When the boy finished speaking to him, it was as if a small flash of blue was fading away to be replaced with a warm whiteness when Marcus turned to Teal'c.
"Teal'c of Chulak, favored of Tyr. The Even-Handed is pleased with your course. Wherever you walk, you shall be an instrument of justice and ever a blessing to those who walk the path or righteousness with you."
The change from Marcus speaking to Teal'c and speaking to Neeshka was like an abrupt shift. The boy seemed to flinch, before settling back into calm and turning to the tiefling. "Young Neeshka, Princess of Stygia. Your path is shrouded in mystery. Gather strong allies and choose wisely the side you are on. There are bonds of blood and greater bonds which will tie you to your fate."
And then Marcus was standing there, blinking for a moment, but once again just a little boy. He climbed into the bucket and began hoisting himself back out of the well. When Daniel and Elanee protested that they would escort him to safety, the boy simply smiled and said that now they had found him, he knew he would be safe on his way. He assured them he would see them again before the trial and testify on Tamil's behalf.
"I can't believe this," Grobnar repeated again. "What a stroke of luck! I've heard the prophesy of my own death!" Everyone turned to regard the curious gnome. "Don't you see? I have nothing to fear now except a giant metal man with giant blades for arms! And even that doesn't seem that scary since I've already seen one of those before. Oh, what an extraordinary discovery!"
Ignoring the gnome, Daniel suggested they continue on. Elanee was not so keen on going further into the tunnel, but Dr. Jackson was insistent. "According to Marcus, one of the attackers came through here. He might have left some more clues as to the identity of the real murderers." Grudgingly, the druidess agreed to continue forward through a door that led into a deeper cavern.
Despite being somewhat shaken by the curious pronouncement about her fate, Neeshka took the point position as they continued walking forward. It was fortunate that she did, as she found a very cleverly designed trip wire that would fire off powerful crossbow bolts at high velocity. She disabled it and noted to the group that this was a particularly nasty piece of work. Whoever put this here was clever.
A warning cry came from the tunnel in front of them. Just ahead were several short figures, shorter even than Grobnar, carrying weapons of various shapes. They were green-skinned creatures with tattered gray leather clothing that may once have been armor. Their faces were misshapen with bulging red and yellow eyes. The duo from SG-1 had never seen their like before, but the look on Elanee and Grobnar's faces made them pull out their weapons.
The creatures shouted out something that sounded like coarse Common, but Daniel had a hard time understanding what they were saying. The accent was too rough for him to properly understand without the magical translation circlet he had stopped wearing. Fortunately, Grobnar explained things.
"These are goblins, warning us to stay away. Most are very nasty creatures, will try to kill you without provocation, but some can be reasoned with," the gnome explained.
This group of goblins turned out to be the latter kind, refugees from a larger band, who had holed up in this cavern for safety. They had encountered a human several days before who had run into their lair and slaughtered many of their kind. Many more would have died as well, but this particular goblin tribe had an advantage: most of them had developed magical powers after living in this cavern for so long. With their magic, they had managed to kill the intruder before too many of their goblin brothers and sisters died.
Daniel explained that they were looking for the human, and that he may have been an enemy. The goblin guard allowed them to enter the cavern to speak with the goblin chieftain, Glek. Glek's ability to speak Common was better than the guard's, and Daniel was better able to understand what was going on.
Daniel pulled out his camera and began recording. When the goblins hissed in protest, he explained its purpose. They relaxed. Glek gave explained everything in detail, including what the intruder looked like. Then he displayed the items he had taken from the man.
When Daniel asked if he could have the ring, the goblin chief initially declined. Then he made the group an offer: if the group could help wipe out a colony of spiders that was preying on his tribe, they would give the ring to them. Everyone agreed.
The cavern broke off in two directions. To the left was a corridor filled with huge glowing spiders. Neeshka started forward when suddenly the corridor was filled with white sticky tendrils of webbing that exploded from the walls. She was trapped in the corridor as the large spiders began crawling rapidly forward.
Daniel didn't hesitate. He quickly grabbed his P90 and took aim. A couple quick bursts killed the first of the huge arachnids. They were simply too big to miss. An explosion from Teal'c's ma'tok staff weapon turned the following creature into purplish goo that splattered all over the cavern. The next nearest giant spider was further back, not immediately a threat, but it was approaching.
Grobnar and Elanee shot at the creature with arrows. Elanee was mentioning something about abominations against nature. Daniel lowered his automatic weapon and raised his hands in a sort of throwing gesture as he uttered the words to one of his offensive spells. A ball of fire roared down the corridor exploding in the cavern. The spiders gave off the sounds of high pitched chittering, their versions of screams of pain.
Between Teal'c and Daniel, the spiders never even came close to Neeshka. The webbing slowly faded away, Daniel realizing it was magical rather than truly biological in nature. The tielfing was soon freed and the group searched to the end of the cavern. Neeshka looked to her companions with a smile on her face.
The goblins honored their agreement and turned the ring over, though that was likely more because they had no desire to battle an enemy capable of wiping out the spiders as easily as the group had than that they cared about honor. Daniel filmed the ring being handed over. Teal'c kept the item in a small pouch brought for that specific purpose. That was another key piece of evidence.
Before leaving, Grobnar asked to explore the remainder of the cave. With the goblin chief's consent, they took the right hand tunnel towards a chamber heavily guarded by many goblins. In addition to the goblins, there was a curious pool of what looked like liquid metal and on the opposite side of the room, a white glowing sphere resting directly within the water reservoir.
"That pool looks like it's made of mercury, but somehow I doubt that's what it really is," Daniel remarked.
"I believe that glowstone is the source of the abnormalities in this cavern," Elanee said, nodding over to where the goblins guarding it bristled.
"It's surprising none of them have developed cancer with all the impurities in the water around here," Daniel added. "But I'm betting that someone important knows what's underneath this town, and the people here were killed to obtain it."
Elanee looked at Daniel in shock. "Do you think someone would covet the treasures of nature so greedily as to murder an entire village?"
Daniel looked back at the elven lady with a sad frown, "I'm afraid worse had been done for less. That makes more sense than slaughtering them all simply to frame Tamil. From what I can tell, the frame job was just a bonus."
The group discussed what they had discovered and the meaning it had while they explored the rest of the cavern. Daniel and Teal'c remarked on several ore deposits that would be extremely valuable. Grobnar remarked on what he found down a side tunnel.
"It's a gigantic intelligent spider! Much larger than those other ones!" he beamed.
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Casavir took the lead position on the way from Port Last to the Duskwood, with Tamil beside him. Jack, Shandra, and Khelgar served as rearguard, while Sand and Dr. Carter were protected in the middle in case of an ambush. Reports of strange movements in the woods near the village of Ember were a scant lead, but it was something they could follow up on before meeting back with Daniel and Teal'c's party. As they approached the wood, there was a strange heavy feeling in the air that slowly settled upon them.
Sand warned the group about the magical dampening effects of the Duskwood, rendering most arcane spells and protections useless, or at least unreliable. Tamil thanked Sand for his warning and then began singing a song. Immediately, the entire group felt a surge of confidence. Apparently, the dampening effect did not hinder musical enchantments and most magical items continued to function normally.
The group quickly came to a split in the path, one fork taking them higher, and the second going lower. Tamil decided to take the higher fork. A short while later the group realized that, apparently, so had a large pack of dire wolves.
In the gloomy darkness of the Duskwood, the wolves were upon the group before anyone spotted them. Tamil and Casavir drew their weapons and hefted their shields to meet the creatures' charge. These were no small dogs, but massive beasts grown to the size of a small pony. They lunged and snapped, trying to bring the front line down. More of the creatures circled around to the back of the group, only to be met by Khelgar and Shandra's axe and sword.
This might have been a bloody, tough battle, especially were the group relying on the group's wizards, Sand and Samantha Carter, for magical firepower. But the pair from SG-1 had more than enough firepower without relying on magic. Alien technology was much more effective in this situation. The sound of zats discharging their energy burts rang out, the pair blasting the dire wolves one after another. The large brutish creatures gave out a yelp from the pain and fell motionless to the ground.
"Two shots," Jack ordered. "We wouldn't want any travelers following us to run into this bunch. They might not have ever taken one of these," Jack flourished his zat'nik'tel, "from a gou'ald host before."
The path they took had an unusually large number of wolves and dire wolves on it. The smaller wolves simply ran off, while the larger ones would charge them in small, concerted groups. They were easily dispatched, though, thanks to the zats. What was most unusual, however, were the two gnomes who were sitting a little further up the road near the entrance to a cave.
Jilla and Mirri were two chatty female gnomes who were out collecting bugs. In the middle of a pack of dire wolves. Despite the oddity of that, they were happy to tell what little the knew about the village of Ember. Which was that they had seen nothing of the attack.
"Strange girls," Jack commented from the back as the group left the pair of female gnomes to enter the cave. "You think we should bring Grobnar by and see if they hit it off? Those two were strange enough for him, I think."
"They seemed a bit wary about us entering this cave," Tamil commented back over her shoulder.
Her look back almost cost her a bite to the face. The cave was filled with a huge pack of dire wolves who charged at her the moment they smelled the group in the cave. Only her shield prevented the creature from trying to tear out her throat.
The bard gritted her teeth and drew her weapon. Casavir was already striking back at a second wolf that had the group bottlenecked in a narrow part of the corridor. Jack and Sam had their zats out, but couldn't get an angle to shoot without risking hitting one of their companions ahead of them. Those first several seconds of the savage fight were a matter of strength and determination.
Fortunately, for the non-animals in the group, Tamil and Casavir were far more determined not to be eaten than the wolves were to bite or claw them. They shoved the creatures back with the shields, stabbed at them with a sword or bashed them with a hammer. The wolves, their spiked-heads bloodied, their muzzles and forepaws cut and bleeding, fell back before the concerted efforts of the bard and paladin. The two continued to push forward, slicing through and then stepping on the fallen bodies of the first animals they had already slain to continue to attack the second ones were slaying.
As soon as they backed the wolves into the wider den area, the battle was over. Sam and Jack blasted the creatures with quick, bursts of alien energy. With a few yelps, it was over.
It was over until they got to the back of the cave and discovered the bones of several devoured bodies, a red-headed corpse, and a small living area just the right size for a pair of gnomes. No sooner than Jack let out an "uh oh" than the group turned around to see yet another pack of dire wolves filling up the back of the cave with a small pair of gnome-sized bipedal wolf-creatures at their head. Oddly enough, the creatures were still able to speak, though with a much thicker voice than one would expect from someone their size.
"We didn't want to do it," one of the small furry werewolf gnomes began. "We never want to. But the blood…," she said in her deeper-than-a-small-body-like-that-should-sound kind of voice, "the smell," she said pausing as if each word were delicious, "it fills you up."
The other nodded its furry, fanged head, "Yes, Jilla, just so."
The two werewolf-gnomes stood there at first, carrying on their conversation, and the wolves bristled behind them, waiting for the signal to attack. Werewolves were natural pack leaders. Jilla and Mirri ever so apologetically explained how they had become werewolves, turned into lycanthropes by the previous occupant of the cave.
Tamil looked back at the red-headed corpse on the ground. "The man on the ground. You killed him?" She hoped the answer was no and that they had just found him and devoured him. Perhaps they could leave the cave without having to kill the two of them.
"We came back from hunting sheep, and he was here, in our cave... tapping at our wall in the dark," Jilla explained
"We try to stay away from folk... we truly do. We hunt animals, and when we can't catch any, we eat our specimens. We gorge on beetles and grubs," Mirri continued, looking at her companion.
"But when meat wanders into our lair... then the scent fills us up, and there's naught we can do..."
"The blood, flowing warm between our teeth... the taste of soft, yielding flesh... just so..." the two werewolves were salivating as they turned their attention on the group. And then—
The report of a 9mm handgun going off sounded just as Jilla was pouncing. The gnomish werewolf slumped to the ground, instantly dead, a bullet in her skull.
"Protect yourselves and concentrate on the normal wolves," Samantha Carter was shouting as she tried to aim at the small darting figure of Mirri.
The group did as instructed. Those closest to Mirri shielded themselves from her bite and claws while the rest killed the wolves around them. Jack managed to zat the diminutive werewolf, but the creature just shrugged off the energy as if it were nothing.
Sam had a more difficult time hitting the second werewolf in the chaos of the battle, missing with her next shot. She managed to shoot it in the leg, and it yelped. It tried to claw at Khelgar, but the sturdy dwarf's tower shield and sturdy armor prevented it from harming him. A second shot took the little creature through the abdomen and it turned towards the source of her pain with what would pass as a gnomish roar. A fourth shot missed. The creature charged and leaped, but Sam fired again and that bullet caught it full in the chest. It landed with a thud as Sam dodged out of its way.
"I didn't think your weapons would work on a werewolf," Tamil commented in surprise, catching her breath. "Werewolves are extremely resilient to anything but—"
"Silver," Sam finished, ejecting the cartridge from her 9mm and showing the silverized projectiles within.
"You actually made silver bullets?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Just enough for one clip," Sam replied. When Jack continued to stare at her, she threw up her hands. "Well, we're here in a world with people who can turn into animals, where Daniel and I become wizards, where devils and demons are actually running around being controlled by their names and tapped inside circles drawn on the floor. I figured, well, there are probably werewolves, too." She concluded. "I guessed right."
"So, how did you know a zat wouldn't work?" Jack asked. "I mean, it is an alien weapon."
"Yes, but werewolves regenerate from their wounds. Daniel and I have done some experimenting with this. It seems that resistance to physical damage is useless against a zat, but resistance against any sort of energy, such as fire, electricity, cold—"
"Cold?"
"Well, of course cold is not a source of energy, but resistance against cold has the same effect as resistance against heat in terms of how it protects against the zat stunning and killing effects," Sam explained. "As I was saying, resistance against any form of energy negates the build up of energy in a system that causes death or disintegration. Regeneration and spells that prevent negative energy draining abilities, such as from a—"
"Sam…"
"Well, you did ask, sir. Any way, zats will not work against a lot of different spells or abilities creatures have on this world. Regeneration is one of them."
"Are you sure?" Jack asked.
Sam pulled out her zat and shot Jack.
"Ow!" the colonel yelled out.
"Yes sir, absolutely."
"Well," Jack complained, turning the new ring on his finger, the one they had just purchased in Port Last, "it doesn't protect against the pain from the electrical energy discharge!"
"Sorry sir, next time we'll give the ring to Daniel and we can demonstrate on him."
"You'd better."
The group had walked back the way they had come and were coming back to the fork in the path that they had followed. If there was nothing else in the nearby area, then the wolf and werewolf activity must have been what they had spotted. They decided to walk a few hundred yards into the woods just to make sure before turning back.
"LORNE!" came an angry feminine voice. "Why haven't you held up your end of the bargain?"
A lone, strangely attired woman stood in front of a tall, twisted tree. A ring of strange animals surrounded the grove.
"Yes, Lorne," Sand said to Tamil pointedly. "Why haven't you kept up your end of the bargain with this nice dryad."