Events on the Horizon: A Stargate Sequel

Chapter 14

Jack

Our footsteps echoed the crunching of the twigs and branches littering any semblance of a path as we continued down the forest walkway. The looming trees were casting shadows that crept across us and it gave me an unsettling feeling as we ventured further into the woods. There was an animal wailing off in the distance and my head turned in the direction.

"Colonel O'Neill?" Teal'c asked and I looked back at him.

"Hm?"

"Is everything alright?" He raised a brow and I nodded as we continued.

"I am just tired, didn't sleep well." I shrugged it off. There was a clearing and a small village of seemingly unoccupied homes cropped up. The leaf littered walk naturally led out into a dirt road and we continued into the empty village. Rotted thatched roofs and treated timber buildings all were dark and abandoned. Signs in front of doors were hanging on with rusty hinges depicting different pictures of various trades and I watched as Daniel went up to one and inspected it further. I poked my head inside what looked like a tavern and found it caked in grime with leaves tumbled inside. There were cups still on tables dried out with an amber film on them.

"This is..." Sam started and I finished her thought.

"Unsettling."

"Indeed." Teal'c nodded and Daniel rejoined us.

"These are all shops, the uh, butcher is over there. Tavern obviously here, there's an inn around the corner. The language had a similar structure to most Germanic beginnings."

"Thanks Daniel, that doesn't really help if there is no one here though does it?" I looked up at the sky and noticed the faint orange red tinge of a sunset. "Well, there was once a community here, not going to call it thriving but, it was working. We'll set up camp here and figure out in the morning if it's a worthwhile endeavor to stay." They agreed and we spread out to find a location suitable for the four of us to set up shop.

Daniel

The village was structured with a central focal point, this seemed to be a communal courtyard of sorts with shops lined along the four connecting walking streets around it. The signs all had pictures that would depict which guild system they must have belonged to. The buildings and textiles had me estimating their society at about Earth's equivalent to the 12th to 14th century. However, the amount of grime caked on every surface made it seem like it had been abandoned for the past decade at least.

I came across a weavers shop and took a step inside. Looms were set in place with decaying natural fibers that had snapped and were limply hanging from their half finished yet intricate designs. The evening sun streaming through the slotted windows highlighted the dust particles floating around me and I let out a sneeze. I grabbed a handkerchief from my pocket blotting my nose, and took out the small pill container I kept in my breast pocket next to the new sample note of affection from Eleanor, and took an antihistamine tablet out. From the corner of my eye I thought I saw a movement by the loom and I snapped my head in the direction, spilling the contents of the container onto the ground.

"Dammit," I mumbled, reaching down to collect the now dirty pills and scoop them back into the bottle. I grimaced, placing one in my mouth to swallow. It was that or having sneezing fits in this allergen riddled nightmare. Once on my feet I stumbled back clutching a hand carved railing behind me. A woman was sitting on a stool with her back turned to me reaching up for the corroded fibers. One hand was paused over the materials and the other was waving back and forth in her lap. Her hair was plaited close to her head and wrapped in a neutral toned series of layers keeping her face clear for work. The same tonal fabrics were used in her tunic, undershirt and floor length skirts as well. Common for most of the working class in the majority of civilizations, but still plain compared with the amount of intricacy in her work and the braiding of her hair.