Fic: Ambit (Mulder, Part 5B)
Here's Part 5B.
~
The feast is pleasant and relaxing. There doesn't appear to be a formal program: just eating, talking, and celebration. Raki wine flows freely - but neither Mulder nor Scully are interested. Mulder isn't entirely sure why Scully has decided not to have any, but it's an easy choice for him, since the very thought makes him feel faintly nauseated. Thankfully, no one seems to mind. (Axel, he notices, drinks his goblet of wine quite slowly and in small sips.)
Indeed, many villagers thank Mulder for his part in persuading Tellan to come and heal in Tith. Mulder nods and smiles at everyone who mentions their thanks to him and tries not to dwell on it.
At one point, the woman who had called on Scully's healing services immediately after Mulder's arrival in Tith approaches, with all of her children in tow. “I'm so glad to see you well, Healer Dana,” she says joyously.
“Thanks, Seri,” Scully replies. She smiles at the woman, and then at each of her kids. “And how are you all doing?”
Shyly, each one of them tells her they're very well, thank you, Healer. Mulder can't help smiling as well - and also thinking again with a flood of happy amazement that the thought of Scully and children together no longer has to cause pain.
The sun starts to set, and many of the feast attendees begin to depart. Mulder is very comfortably full and feeling rather content. Next to him, Scully yawns.
“Tired, Scully?” He hopes she isn't still dealing with the aftereffects of the attack and has just been staying here for appearances' sake.
“I'm fine,” she assures him. “It's just... I haven't eaten so much at once since Christmas.”
Mulder smiles, thinking of the most recent Christmas and the events of the following New Year. But she was right, there had certainly been no shortage of food. “I think we could beat a retreat without anyone minding.”
She rises to her feet as he does so, murmuring, “I thought you'd never ask.”
They make their leisurely way back to the house. The two of them are silent until they arrive, and then Scully startles him a bit by asking him if he'd be all right with talking more about her discovery of this morning.
“Sure, of course, Scully,” Mulder answers after a moment. He slips his hand into hers. “What have you been thinking?”
She waits until they are inside their room before continuing. Mulder sits and listens carefully as she explains in a logical fashion that she sees several benefits to the possibility that they could begin their attempt to have a child while they are still in this universe. He has thought of a few of these benefits himself, but not in as much detail as she has, which doesn't surprise him. Yet having been through the emotional and physical wringer with Scully during their failed attempt at IVF, he can clearly see the draw of remaining in this place where Scully could monitor and guide her health and the development of their child (a thought which still has the power to cause a flood of both excitement and fear) to a far greater degree than would ever be thinkable in their universe. And they would be able to know very quickly if they were successful.
When she has finished outlining the possible benefits, Scully turns to the other side of the matter, beginning - as Mulder had expected - with the issue of the omnipresence of raki. “I know neither of us want to risk raki addiction for our child, right from the beginning. And I don't know that I'd be able to do anything about that.” She has mostly been looking at him during this whole explanation, but now she seems to turn her focus inward for a few seconds. “I told you about foods with much lower amounts of raki that I heard about when I first got here, but I don't think that would be good enough and I don't think I'd be able to block it from being passed from me to the baby.”
She seems to be waiting for a response now, so Mulder composes his thoughts as best he can. “It would be nice to be able to know for sure, right away. But I also agree that it would be wrong, irresponsible, if we'd be addicting him or her to a drug in the process.” This thought makes him pause, and although he knows this topic is one on which they need to spend more time, he decides to change the subject, wondering aloud if Tellan has already returned to his clan or if he is still available for them to ask about Scully's idea of how they might get back home. As much as he wants to get home as soon as possible, Mulder really does not want to follow Tellan back to Esana if he has indeed left. Maybe there are other healers somewhere nearby that we could talk to...
“Well,” Scully replies, “it's not likely that he would have felt welcome at the feast, but we could check to see if he's gone.”
“I think he's been staying here, sleeping on the couch,” Mulder tells her as he stands up.
There is no sign of him in the house, but when they check outside, they find him in the backyard. Mulder notes with some surprise that Tellan's posture and attitude as he sits against the back wall almost mirror his own, the day he'd first arrived in Tith.
The healer sees them coming and stands up quickly. His expression is hard to read. “Is the festival over?”
Mulder once again finds himself unable to spend any time in Tellan's presence without remembering his experiences with Esana 'hospitality'. “Just about,” he answers the man's question, trying not to be overly hostile. “Finding your own fun?”
“I did not feel it appropriate for me to take part,” Tellan answers seriously, looking distinctly unhappy. “And I have been busy with my own thoughts.”
It's Scully who asks what he's been thinking about, and with a sigh, Tellan answers, “I'm thinking that being a healer and being a member of Esana may not go well together.”
“Really?” Mulder says, raising his eyebrows. “I'm shocked to hear such an idea!”
This time, Tellan can't fail to miss the sarcasm. “I deserve that,” he says quietly. “I have known for a while, if I truly allowed myself to consider it, that my brother's actions were - are - cruel and inhumane, and I should not take part in them. And you, Mulder, his treatment of you-- I should have stopped it. But it is our custom.” Before Mulder can begin his irate response to this comment, the healer continues, “That is not an excuse, but it is a reason why I could not really act otherwise. I think it was your comment about the Clan's customs that finally made me unable to ignore how wrong it all is.”
This is addressed to Scully. Mulder tries to remember something Scully might have said to Tellan, but of course it's not all that surprising that he can't recall much of the time surrounding his awakening from his last post-muse unconsciousness. Still, Mulder reflects, exchanging a glance with his partner, Scully has brought him out of his own stupidity enough times for him to believe without any trouble at all that whatever she told Tellan would stick in his mind.
“So, what will you do now?” Scully asks. “Does Jalgar know anything about this?”
At this, Tellan grimaces and states that he doubts Jalgar would even consider the idea that his brother could disagree with him. “But as you both have proved, it would be... unwise for him to attempt to pursue me or force me to return. I think I would like to simply heal, somewhere the people need me.”
Scully nods and suggests almost casually that Tellan could stay in Tith, if the villagers agree to it.
“Are you not staying here?”
“We hope not.” Scully glances at Mulder. “It's been wonderful here, for both of us, but Mulder and I want to go home.”
When Tellan asks if going home is a long journey, Mulder has to hold back a laugh, even though the situation is far from amusing.
Scully doesn't quite know how to answer, and Mulder decides it's time for a little directness. “Tellan, have you ever heard of people coming here from another world entirely?”
The man gives Mulder a look that he's quite familiar with, like he's questioning Mulder's sanity. But when he looks from him to Scully and sees that they're both in earnest, he answers them seriously. “I cannot say I have, no.” Guessing correctly that it isn't just a theoretical question, he then asks, “Are you telling me that you and Healer Dana aren't from this world?”
Mulder nods. “As far as we can tell. Think about it - how else could neither of us have ever heard of raki, much less had any before we got here?”
“That actually does make a little sense,” Tellan concedes.
Scully makes a dig at Mulder then with a comment about how rare it is for him to make sense, but before Mulder can get in a rejoinder, she clears her throat and asks the healer if he's ever heard of her proposed world-crossing method.
Once again, it's obvious that Tellan has never even thought of anything like this, but he tells her that there seems to be some logic in what she has suggested.
“But if neither of us even knows how to start...” Scully trails off.
“What would you like to start?” Axel asks, coming around the side of the house. He looks tired, and Mulder remembers his statement that seers don't generally spend a lot of time in large groups of people.
“Axel,” Scully says, clearing her throat, “do you know of any legends or stories about people traveling between worlds?”
He blinks. “Ah. Hmm.” Then he smiles suddenly. “This wouldn't be connected to how you and Mulder arrived here and where you came from, would it?”
“Good guess,” Mulder puts in.
Axel informs them that he knows of a few stories, some of which were Alun's favorites growing up. He doesn't remember the details well enough, though. “But Larsal would probably have some knowledge of them,” he suggests, “if not some written record.”
Mulder turns to Scully, who quickly explains, “Remember, Larsal is the record-keeper here in Tith. I visited him shortly after I first arrived here.”
He nods, and somewhat reluctantly agrees with her assessment that it might be best to wait until tomorrow to visit the record-keeper, since they have no way of knowing ahead of time how long this process might take.
“The process of you and Mulder returning home?” Axel asks.
Mulder thinks about what's waiting for Scully and him back in their world - especially including what he and Scully had discussed so recently. “That's what we're hoping,” he tells the seer. “I think it's time.”
Axel looks serious. “It's been an honor to have both of you here. However, I'm sure your friends and family back home are missing you.”
Scully almost winces at that, and it doesn't take any mind-reading abilities for Mulder to guess that she's thinking about her mother.
~
After a more restful night than Mulder had been expecting, what with all that's been on his mind, he and Scully leave with Tellan and Axel to visit Larsal. The man raises his eyebrows at their query about stories involving travel between worlds, but nevertheless directs them toward where he keeps them.
Larsal is understandably curious as to why the four of them are interested in these stories, but Mulder and Scully decide to be cautious in their reply. Scully merely tells the record-keeper that the subject is one that she and Mulder find interesting, and that they have never read these stories before. Tellan chimes in with the fact that he hasn't read them, either.
Larsal doesn't seem entirely satisfied by this answer, but he says, “If you need anything else, let me know,” and excuses himself.
The book Mulder has chosen doesn't seem to have anything helpful in it, based on his skim-through. After a few minutes of silence broken only by the sound of pages turning, he asks the group at large, “Anyone have anything useful?”
Scully, sounding more than a little discouraged, relates that the only thing her book seems to have is a mention of 'holes in the air' - nothing on how to find them.
Axel speaks up. “I have not gotten very far in this legend yet, but it might be useful. The man who came from another world here was a healer.”
Tellan and Scully are immediately intrigued, but at Tellan's further query, Axel repeats that he's only just started reading it.
Another brief period of silence falls. “Ah!” Axel says suddenly, straightening up and pointing at a section of the page. “In this story, Healer Jass disappears again at the end.”
That sounds much more promising. Mulder is on his feet to peer over Axel's shoulder in seconds. “Does it say anything about how he does it?”
Squinting and bending closer to the page (Mulder feels a pang of sympathy for him and stands back in order to not block his light), Axel mutters, “Hmm. It describes him going back to where he had first come through, then 'He gazed at the air as one seeing more than others could, and seemed to be focusing in the same way as he would if there was a wound there, though invisible to anyone else. Then the air shimmered like the surface of a pond, and the Healer walked through, never to be seen again.'”
Mulder and Scully exchange glances. “It seems like we should all read this story,” she says, and Tellan and Axel agree.
The most efficient means of accomplishing this, they decide, is for them to trade off reading it aloud. Thankfully, it's not a long story, and it's well-written. Less cheering, though, is the fact that not much else useful seems to be gained beyond the section Axel already pointed out. Scully looks very contemplative as they finish, Mulder notes.
After their read-through, Mulder inquires, “Does anyone else's story have anything to offer?”
“As far as I have seen in a quick reading,” Tellan reports, “this story features visitors from another world, but no one ever mentions how they arrive.” He turns a few pages ahead, and adds that it mentions that the men disappear at the end, but no details of how they did so are included. “And there is only the briefest mention of any healer in the story.”
Scully sighs, but remarks that Axel's story at least gives them somewhere to start.
Mulder is about to ask what their next step should be when the sound of several voices at the entrance to the records building interrupts him. The four of them quickly make their way to the front of the building, where they are greeted by the sight of Larsal talking to three men whose armor and weapons make it clear that they are soldiers.
The soldiers turn to look at them, and Mulder once again wishes he had his own weapon with him. There is something about their expressions that tells him that this situation could get ugly very fast.
Larsal, smiling in a way that sets Mulder's teeth on edge, says, “And here they are now, Commander.”
The man Larsal had addressed turns his gaze on Scully. “You're Healer Dana?” Before she can reply, he continues, “And which one of you is... Mulder?”
“That's me.” Mulder moves closer to Scully as unobtrusively as he can as he asks, “What is this about?”
“You're both strangers to Elis, is that correct?”
Mulder stays silent, as do the others. Finally, the man puts a hand to the gun at his hip. “I am Commander Rastin of the Elis Army Guard, and you will answer me or be arrested,” he declares in irritation. “You are both strangers to Elis, and you have been reading about traveling between worlds, is that not correct?”
Larsal steps forward. “I showed them to those books myself.”
Rastin spares the record-keeper a brief glance. “It's fortunate we were in the area. I will ask the healer and Mulder to please come with me for questioning.”
“Are we under arrest now?” Mulder demands, crossing his arms. “What are the charges?”
The two other soldiers move forward, clearly ready to draw their weapons. “It is the Army Guard's task to keep Elis secure,” the commander starts, but is interrupted by an outburst from Axel.
“And you have waited until now to come here,” he asks furiously, “though we have been under attack from raiders for more than a year? Healer Dana and Mulder are no threat. They have done nothing but help our village.”
Rastin looks skeptical. “Really? I understand the latest of these attacks was revenge from one of the outlaw clans on a raid this healer undertook on their land.”
A raid?! Mulder opens his mouth to protest, but Scully stops him with a hand on his arm. “The only reason I trespassed on Clan Esana's land is to rescue Mulder from where he had been kidnapped and enslaved!” she informs Rastin, her eyes flashing. “I would have been happy to go about it in a different way, but I had been assured I had no recourse to any sort of law enforcement.”
“You were given the wrong information,” the commander replies coolly. “All right, I would like to speak to you all about this before I make any decisions. Where is the village hall?”
The entire group begins the short trip to the hall. The sight of Mulder, Scully, Tellan, and Axel being escorted by three soldiers draws plenty of attention in the village as they go, although the resulting crowd stays at a distance.
When they arrive at the center of the village, Tannen has pushed his way to the front of the crowd, followed by some other villagers that Mulder recognizes faintly from the previous day's festivities. “What is going on here?” Tannen calls out. “Are these people under arrest?”
“Basically,” Mulder replies brightly.
Rastin glares at him and then turns back to Tannen and the others. “We're here to figure out the status of these two strangers to Elis - not to mention Healer Tellan, here, a member of an outlaw clan,” he explains calmly. “No one is under arrest.”
“Yet,” Mulder mutters, this time keeping his voice low enough that only Scully hears him. She rolls her eyes but looks grim. It feels like waiting outside an OPR hearing all over again. However this goes down, it's clear that these soldiers are just the kind of interfering, officious suits that have caused so many problems for him, for Scully, and for their work over the years. The only difference is, these ones are in armor instead. It remains to be seen if they are actually competent in any way.
It looks like Tannen doesn't have much more confidence in the commander's word. He asks Rastin to consider how the people of Tith have welcomed their visitors, and also pleads Axel's case.
Rastin quickly consents to Axel being allowed to go. “We have no need to question him,” he says. “As for the rest, thank you for the information. If I need testimony from you or any of these good people, I will ask.”
While Scully, Tellan, and he are being escorted into the hall, Mulder watches as the seer hesitates, obviously not wanting to leave his friends to the soldiers' mercies. “Mulder and Healer Dana have done nothing wrong,” he tells Rastin, quietly but earnestly. “And Healer Tellan was once a part of Clan Esana, true, but he has renounced those ways and pledged to live a life of helping others.”
One of the other soldiers thanks Axel firmly, and shuts the door in his face. Mulder looks at Scully and Tellan, sighs heavily, and prepares himself for the interrogation they're about to face.
~
The feast is pleasant and relaxing. There doesn't appear to be a formal program: just eating, talking, and celebration. Raki wine flows freely - but neither Mulder nor Scully are interested. Mulder isn't entirely sure why Scully has decided not to have any, but it's an easy choice for him, since the very thought makes him feel faintly nauseated. Thankfully, no one seems to mind. (Axel, he notices, drinks his goblet of wine quite slowly and in small sips.)
Indeed, many villagers thank Mulder for his part in persuading Tellan to come and heal in Tith. Mulder nods and smiles at everyone who mentions their thanks to him and tries not to dwell on it.
At one point, the woman who had called on Scully's healing services immediately after Mulder's arrival in Tith approaches, with all of her children in tow. “I'm so glad to see you well, Healer Dana,” she says joyously.
“Thanks, Seri,” Scully replies. She smiles at the woman, and then at each of her kids. “And how are you all doing?”
Shyly, each one of them tells her they're very well, thank you, Healer. Mulder can't help smiling as well - and also thinking again with a flood of happy amazement that the thought of Scully and children together no longer has to cause pain.
The sun starts to set, and many of the feast attendees begin to depart. Mulder is very comfortably full and feeling rather content. Next to him, Scully yawns.
“Tired, Scully?” He hopes she isn't still dealing with the aftereffects of the attack and has just been staying here for appearances' sake.
“I'm fine,” she assures him. “It's just... I haven't eaten so much at once since Christmas.”
Mulder smiles, thinking of the most recent Christmas and the events of the following New Year. But she was right, there had certainly been no shortage of food. “I think we could beat a retreat without anyone minding.”
She rises to her feet as he does so, murmuring, “I thought you'd never ask.”
They make their leisurely way back to the house. The two of them are silent until they arrive, and then Scully startles him a bit by asking him if he'd be all right with talking more about her discovery of this morning.
“Sure, of course, Scully,” Mulder answers after a moment. He slips his hand into hers. “What have you been thinking?”
She waits until they are inside their room before continuing. Mulder sits and listens carefully as she explains in a logical fashion that she sees several benefits to the possibility that they could begin their attempt to have a child while they are still in this universe. He has thought of a few of these benefits himself, but not in as much detail as she has, which doesn't surprise him. Yet having been through the emotional and physical wringer with Scully during their failed attempt at IVF, he can clearly see the draw of remaining in this place where Scully could monitor and guide her health and the development of their child (a thought which still has the power to cause a flood of both excitement and fear) to a far greater degree than would ever be thinkable in their universe. And they would be able to know very quickly if they were successful.
When she has finished outlining the possible benefits, Scully turns to the other side of the matter, beginning - as Mulder had expected - with the issue of the omnipresence of raki. “I know neither of us want to risk raki addiction for our child, right from the beginning. And I don't know that I'd be able to do anything about that.” She has mostly been looking at him during this whole explanation, but now she seems to turn her focus inward for a few seconds. “I told you about foods with much lower amounts of raki that I heard about when I first got here, but I don't think that would be good enough and I don't think I'd be able to block it from being passed from me to the baby.”
She seems to be waiting for a response now, so Mulder composes his thoughts as best he can. “It would be nice to be able to know for sure, right away. But I also agree that it would be wrong, irresponsible, if we'd be addicting him or her to a drug in the process.” This thought makes him pause, and although he knows this topic is one on which they need to spend more time, he decides to change the subject, wondering aloud if Tellan has already returned to his clan or if he is still available for them to ask about Scully's idea of how they might get back home. As much as he wants to get home as soon as possible, Mulder really does not want to follow Tellan back to Esana if he has indeed left. Maybe there are other healers somewhere nearby that we could talk to...
“Well,” Scully replies, “it's not likely that he would have felt welcome at the feast, but we could check to see if he's gone.”
“I think he's been staying here, sleeping on the couch,” Mulder tells her as he stands up.
There is no sign of him in the house, but when they check outside, they find him in the backyard. Mulder notes with some surprise that Tellan's posture and attitude as he sits against the back wall almost mirror his own, the day he'd first arrived in Tith.
The healer sees them coming and stands up quickly. His expression is hard to read. “Is the festival over?”
Mulder once again finds himself unable to spend any time in Tellan's presence without remembering his experiences with Esana 'hospitality'. “Just about,” he answers the man's question, trying not to be overly hostile. “Finding your own fun?”
“I did not feel it appropriate for me to take part,” Tellan answers seriously, looking distinctly unhappy. “And I have been busy with my own thoughts.”
It's Scully who asks what he's been thinking about, and with a sigh, Tellan answers, “I'm thinking that being a healer and being a member of Esana may not go well together.”
“Really?” Mulder says, raising his eyebrows. “I'm shocked to hear such an idea!”
This time, Tellan can't fail to miss the sarcasm. “I deserve that,” he says quietly. “I have known for a while, if I truly allowed myself to consider it, that my brother's actions were - are - cruel and inhumane, and I should not take part in them. And you, Mulder, his treatment of you-- I should have stopped it. But it is our custom.” Before Mulder can begin his irate response to this comment, the healer continues, “That is not an excuse, but it is a reason why I could not really act otherwise. I think it was your comment about the Clan's customs that finally made me unable to ignore how wrong it all is.”
This is addressed to Scully. Mulder tries to remember something Scully might have said to Tellan, but of course it's not all that surprising that he can't recall much of the time surrounding his awakening from his last post-muse unconsciousness. Still, Mulder reflects, exchanging a glance with his partner, Scully has brought him out of his own stupidity enough times for him to believe without any trouble at all that whatever she told Tellan would stick in his mind.
“So, what will you do now?” Scully asks. “Does Jalgar know anything about this?”
At this, Tellan grimaces and states that he doubts Jalgar would even consider the idea that his brother could disagree with him. “But as you both have proved, it would be... unwise for him to attempt to pursue me or force me to return. I think I would like to simply heal, somewhere the people need me.”
Scully nods and suggests almost casually that Tellan could stay in Tith, if the villagers agree to it.
“Are you not staying here?”
“We hope not.” Scully glances at Mulder. “It's been wonderful here, for both of us, but Mulder and I want to go home.”
When Tellan asks if going home is a long journey, Mulder has to hold back a laugh, even though the situation is far from amusing.
Scully doesn't quite know how to answer, and Mulder decides it's time for a little directness. “Tellan, have you ever heard of people coming here from another world entirely?”
The man gives Mulder a look that he's quite familiar with, like he's questioning Mulder's sanity. But when he looks from him to Scully and sees that they're both in earnest, he answers them seriously. “I cannot say I have, no.” Guessing correctly that it isn't just a theoretical question, he then asks, “Are you telling me that you and Healer Dana aren't from this world?”
Mulder nods. “As far as we can tell. Think about it - how else could neither of us have ever heard of raki, much less had any before we got here?”
“That actually does make a little sense,” Tellan concedes.
Scully makes a dig at Mulder then with a comment about how rare it is for him to make sense, but before Mulder can get in a rejoinder, she clears her throat and asks the healer if he's ever heard of her proposed world-crossing method.
Once again, it's obvious that Tellan has never even thought of anything like this, but he tells her that there seems to be some logic in what she has suggested.
“But if neither of us even knows how to start...” Scully trails off.
“What would you like to start?” Axel asks, coming around the side of the house. He looks tired, and Mulder remembers his statement that seers don't generally spend a lot of time in large groups of people.
“Axel,” Scully says, clearing her throat, “do you know of any legends or stories about people traveling between worlds?”
He blinks. “Ah. Hmm.” Then he smiles suddenly. “This wouldn't be connected to how you and Mulder arrived here and where you came from, would it?”
“Good guess,” Mulder puts in.
Axel informs them that he knows of a few stories, some of which were Alun's favorites growing up. He doesn't remember the details well enough, though. “But Larsal would probably have some knowledge of them,” he suggests, “if not some written record.”
Mulder turns to Scully, who quickly explains, “Remember, Larsal is the record-keeper here in Tith. I visited him shortly after I first arrived here.”
He nods, and somewhat reluctantly agrees with her assessment that it might be best to wait until tomorrow to visit the record-keeper, since they have no way of knowing ahead of time how long this process might take.
“The process of you and Mulder returning home?” Axel asks.
Mulder thinks about what's waiting for Scully and him back in their world - especially including what he and Scully had discussed so recently. “That's what we're hoping,” he tells the seer. “I think it's time.”
Axel looks serious. “It's been an honor to have both of you here. However, I'm sure your friends and family back home are missing you.”
Scully almost winces at that, and it doesn't take any mind-reading abilities for Mulder to guess that she's thinking about her mother.
~
After a more restful night than Mulder had been expecting, what with all that's been on his mind, he and Scully leave with Tellan and Axel to visit Larsal. The man raises his eyebrows at their query about stories involving travel between worlds, but nevertheless directs them toward where he keeps them.
Larsal is understandably curious as to why the four of them are interested in these stories, but Mulder and Scully decide to be cautious in their reply. Scully merely tells the record-keeper that the subject is one that she and Mulder find interesting, and that they have never read these stories before. Tellan chimes in with the fact that he hasn't read them, either.
Larsal doesn't seem entirely satisfied by this answer, but he says, “If you need anything else, let me know,” and excuses himself.
The book Mulder has chosen doesn't seem to have anything helpful in it, based on his skim-through. After a few minutes of silence broken only by the sound of pages turning, he asks the group at large, “Anyone have anything useful?”
Scully, sounding more than a little discouraged, relates that the only thing her book seems to have is a mention of 'holes in the air' - nothing on how to find them.
Axel speaks up. “I have not gotten very far in this legend yet, but it might be useful. The man who came from another world here was a healer.”
Tellan and Scully are immediately intrigued, but at Tellan's further query, Axel repeats that he's only just started reading it.
Another brief period of silence falls. “Ah!” Axel says suddenly, straightening up and pointing at a section of the page. “In this story, Healer Jass disappears again at the end.”
That sounds much more promising. Mulder is on his feet to peer over Axel's shoulder in seconds. “Does it say anything about how he does it?”
Squinting and bending closer to the page (Mulder feels a pang of sympathy for him and stands back in order to not block his light), Axel mutters, “Hmm. It describes him going back to where he had first come through, then 'He gazed at the air as one seeing more than others could, and seemed to be focusing in the same way as he would if there was a wound there, though invisible to anyone else. Then the air shimmered like the surface of a pond, and the Healer walked through, never to be seen again.'”
Mulder and Scully exchange glances. “It seems like we should all read this story,” she says, and Tellan and Axel agree.
The most efficient means of accomplishing this, they decide, is for them to trade off reading it aloud. Thankfully, it's not a long story, and it's well-written. Less cheering, though, is the fact that not much else useful seems to be gained beyond the section Axel already pointed out. Scully looks very contemplative as they finish, Mulder notes.
After their read-through, Mulder inquires, “Does anyone else's story have anything to offer?”
“As far as I have seen in a quick reading,” Tellan reports, “this story features visitors from another world, but no one ever mentions how they arrive.” He turns a few pages ahead, and adds that it mentions that the men disappear at the end, but no details of how they did so are included. “And there is only the briefest mention of any healer in the story.”
Scully sighs, but remarks that Axel's story at least gives them somewhere to start.
Mulder is about to ask what their next step should be when the sound of several voices at the entrance to the records building interrupts him. The four of them quickly make their way to the front of the building, where they are greeted by the sight of Larsal talking to three men whose armor and weapons make it clear that they are soldiers.
The soldiers turn to look at them, and Mulder once again wishes he had his own weapon with him. There is something about their expressions that tells him that this situation could get ugly very fast.
Larsal, smiling in a way that sets Mulder's teeth on edge, says, “And here they are now, Commander.”
The man Larsal had addressed turns his gaze on Scully. “You're Healer Dana?” Before she can reply, he continues, “And which one of you is... Mulder?”
“That's me.” Mulder moves closer to Scully as unobtrusively as he can as he asks, “What is this about?”
“You're both strangers to Elis, is that correct?”
Mulder stays silent, as do the others. Finally, the man puts a hand to the gun at his hip. “I am Commander Rastin of the Elis Army Guard, and you will answer me or be arrested,” he declares in irritation. “You are both strangers to Elis, and you have been reading about traveling between worlds, is that not correct?”
Larsal steps forward. “I showed them to those books myself.”
Rastin spares the record-keeper a brief glance. “It's fortunate we were in the area. I will ask the healer and Mulder to please come with me for questioning.”
“Are we under arrest now?” Mulder demands, crossing his arms. “What are the charges?”
The two other soldiers move forward, clearly ready to draw their weapons. “It is the Army Guard's task to keep Elis secure,” the commander starts, but is interrupted by an outburst from Axel.
“And you have waited until now to come here,” he asks furiously, “though we have been under attack from raiders for more than a year? Healer Dana and Mulder are no threat. They have done nothing but help our village.”
Rastin looks skeptical. “Really? I understand the latest of these attacks was revenge from one of the outlaw clans on a raid this healer undertook on their land.”
A raid?! Mulder opens his mouth to protest, but Scully stops him with a hand on his arm. “The only reason I trespassed on Clan Esana's land is to rescue Mulder from where he had been kidnapped and enslaved!” she informs Rastin, her eyes flashing. “I would have been happy to go about it in a different way, but I had been assured I had no recourse to any sort of law enforcement.”
“You were given the wrong information,” the commander replies coolly. “All right, I would like to speak to you all about this before I make any decisions. Where is the village hall?”
The entire group begins the short trip to the hall. The sight of Mulder, Scully, Tellan, and Axel being escorted by three soldiers draws plenty of attention in the village as they go, although the resulting crowd stays at a distance.
When they arrive at the center of the village, Tannen has pushed his way to the front of the crowd, followed by some other villagers that Mulder recognizes faintly from the previous day's festivities. “What is going on here?” Tannen calls out. “Are these people under arrest?”
“Basically,” Mulder replies brightly.
Rastin glares at him and then turns back to Tannen and the others. “We're here to figure out the status of these two strangers to Elis - not to mention Healer Tellan, here, a member of an outlaw clan,” he explains calmly. “No one is under arrest.”
“Yet,” Mulder mutters, this time keeping his voice low enough that only Scully hears him. She rolls her eyes but looks grim. It feels like waiting outside an OPR hearing all over again. However this goes down, it's clear that these soldiers are just the kind of interfering, officious suits that have caused so many problems for him, for Scully, and for their work over the years. The only difference is, these ones are in armor instead. It remains to be seen if they are actually competent in any way.
It looks like Tannen doesn't have much more confidence in the commander's word. He asks Rastin to consider how the people of Tith have welcomed their visitors, and also pleads Axel's case.
Rastin quickly consents to Axel being allowed to go. “We have no need to question him,” he says. “As for the rest, thank you for the information. If I need testimony from you or any of these good people, I will ask.”
While Scully, Tellan, and he are being escorted into the hall, Mulder watches as the seer hesitates, obviously not wanting to leave his friends to the soldiers' mercies. “Mulder and Healer Dana have done nothing wrong,” he tells Rastin, quietly but earnestly. “And Healer Tellan was once a part of Clan Esana, true, but he has renounced those ways and pledged to live a life of helping others.”
One of the other soldiers thanks Axel firmly, and shuts the door in his face. Mulder looks at Scully and Tellan, sighs heavily, and prepares himself for the interrogation they're about to face.