(2 - continued) An Unwelcome Quest
(RECAP - REDROSE999:-)
"Rotha! It is Rotha, is it not?" he exclaimed warmly, gripping the Doctor. He turned to the brute at his side. "Release the wizard - his coming has been foretold."
Ben blinked. Confusion washed over his face and he looked over to the Doctor. “What is 'e rabbit’n about? We’ve never been 'ere before, especially wiv yer lookin' like this!”
Polly frowned, “Ben, please.”
The Doctor bowed politely, not liking where this line of conversation was heading. The...priest?...turned to his companions worriedly.
"These are your apprentices? It would have been better that you had arrived, wizard, outside. It is death to trespass in the sacred temple of the Eye. I'm afraid they will have to be taken away until we can decide what to do with them." He signalled, and with a great deal of spluttering and indignation, they were taken from the temple.
The Doctor watched after them with a long face. "You won't harm them?" he asked, an edge of panic in his voice. The priest shook his head, smiling in a bemused fashion.
"As long as you do what we tell you, they are as safe as you or I."
The Doctor felt his hearts fall into his shoes. It was going to be one of those days.
@@@@@
The guards dragged the trio out of the temple into open air. The moon shone above, casting her pale light over the grassy earth. Even though the temple was a crude structure. It was surrounded by flowered shrubs and tall trees. Polly tried to study her surroundings. The temple was set in the center of a large garden, which looked more natural and overgrown than tended to. Brightly colored flowers of varied shapes and sizes covered the earth, like a large pattered quilt. It would have been breath taking, if the circumstances hadn’t been so grave. The sent was fruity and a lazy breeze rustled the plants. Polly spied four carved stone figures sitting among the flowers, but the foliage was too dense for her to make out any details. Trees with large tropical leaves grew in a circle out side of the temple and were posts for a wooden fence circling the garden and enclosing the temple in its own private groove.
It was very warm and humid, and beyond the fence, Polly recognized large towering trees and a forest beyond. They were on the edge of a rainforest, she thought, realizing the trees beyond were massive, redwood size and had enormous canopies that blended in together.
The three companions were dragged across a small trampled path, though a gate into a hutted village.
(MY POST:-)
The Doctor stared glumly outside as the priest explained the task ahead of him, listening with only half an ear. Why was it he seemed to keep blundering into things? There was a time he made a point of checking atmosphere, gravity...it really was depressing. Now, his companions were prisoners, once again. He let the curtain over the temple door drop, and rounded on the priest so fast he almost fell over backwards.
"Why do you want it killed if you worship it, mm? If it is so powerful, its minions so fierce, what makes you think I can defeat it? Have you even seen it?"
The priest nodded his understanding. "You have been away a long time, I see, Rotha. You have forgotten." He removed a talisman from his pocket, and stared at it, mesmerized. "It was you who, generations ago, warned us of the beast in the caves. Minions were sighted, and we believed. Our best warriors guard the ways to the surface with their lives - making sure our village is safe." He turned back to the Doctor, locking eyes. "You said that, when you return, you will have found a way to destroy it. That you would free us."
"Well, I'm terribly sorry about all this, but I'm not Rotha. I'm the Doctor. We're travellers, and it's just dumb luck we landed in your temple."
The priest's mouth twitched. "Then I should have you all executed, right now. Either way, you play into my hands nicely, whoever you are. If you want a chance at life, you will try. Die here, without meaning, or die trying. It's up to you. As for why we worship it - it is powerful. It requires sacrifices occasionally to keep it satisfied, but moreover, it is so that it does not wander to the surface. It has the power, so history tells, to take the very sanity from a person - render them mad, or worse. Surely something that can do such a thing is evil?"
The Doctor huffed. The fact that he was using his companions to get him to do his dirty work made him sick, but there was a natural curiosity he couldn't resist, about it all. He'd never heard of such a creature. Even the symbol was lost on him. Finally, he nodded.
"I'll do it, as long as I can take one of my companions with me." The priest reluctantly agreed, and showed him the way out.
POSTED FROM REDROSE999:-
He had never been in a jungle, at least not one like this. As a service man, Ben sailed to many exotic places. Yet none of them rivaled the places he had gone to with the Doctor. Ben Jackson looked around himself, realizing how large many of the plants in the surrounding forest were. Many were man sized and had large colorful flowers and leaves. Several torches ringed the village as well. Certainly the torches kept dangerous animals away?
The huts themselves were long, and made up of vines, leaves and wood supports. They looked strong, and able to hold up during a storm. Some were fairly large, and able to hold at least ten people comfortably while other structures were small, and quaint. Women and children stood around or near the huts. Some were weaving, or involved in cleaning game or hand grinding grains in bowls. Small children watched the adults or ran about, giggling and laughing oblivious of the trio as they were marched through the center of the village toward a sinister looking hut, that was long, and composed of logs and vines.
The men were not far away, and Ben realized most of them were making arrows or darts out of twigs of branches. Some practiced using bows on a Target closer to the forest. They were warriors and hunters, and Ben didn’t fancy getting into a scrape with any of them.
As cleaver as the Doctor was, they’d be hard press to get out of this one without some fancy maneuvering. Then again, these natives didn’t seem any different than the primitives they encountered in Atlantis.
The hut itself was guarded by two men carrying spears at the entrance. There were no windows or any other way out.
The guards dragged the three of them into the hut, and strapped them to the three support posts in the center of the room and left.
A moment later, the door was closed casting the three in darkness.
“I fancy he’ll be along shortly with some sort of trouble for us to get into.” Ben announced. He wiggled his hands. They were bound tightly against the post. The material binding him bit into his skin, reminding him of leather. “So what’s the plan Dutchess?”
With a sigh, Polly slid down to the floor, and stretched her legs. He feet were tied at the ankles. “Wait for him I guess. Fine kettle of fish we’re in. Not that I’m not used to it.” She stared across the room, toward the door. “They put my purse near the door.” She said. “My nail file is there. Don’t think it will work on these tongs though.”
Jamie squinted. The lad joined Polly on the floor and drew his knees up. “Eh? They took my dirk, but I still got me knife in my sock. I think I can reach it.”
"Rotha! It is Rotha, is it not?" he exclaimed warmly, gripping the Doctor. He turned to the brute at his side. "Release the wizard - his coming has been foretold."
Ben blinked. Confusion washed over his face and he looked over to the Doctor. “What is 'e rabbit’n about? We’ve never been 'ere before, especially wiv yer lookin' like this!”
Polly frowned, “Ben, please.”
The Doctor bowed politely, not liking where this line of conversation was heading. The...priest?...turned to his companions worriedly.
"These are your apprentices? It would have been better that you had arrived, wizard, outside. It is death to trespass in the sacred temple of the Eye. I'm afraid they will have to be taken away until we can decide what to do with them." He signalled, and with a great deal of spluttering and indignation, they were taken from the temple.
The Doctor watched after them with a long face. "You won't harm them?" he asked, an edge of panic in his voice. The priest shook his head, smiling in a bemused fashion.
"As long as you do what we tell you, they are as safe as you or I."
The Doctor felt his hearts fall into his shoes. It was going to be one of those days.
@@@@@
The guards dragged the trio out of the temple into open air. The moon shone above, casting her pale light over the grassy earth. Even though the temple was a crude structure. It was surrounded by flowered shrubs and tall trees. Polly tried to study her surroundings. The temple was set in the center of a large garden, which looked more natural and overgrown than tended to. Brightly colored flowers of varied shapes and sizes covered the earth, like a large pattered quilt. It would have been breath taking, if the circumstances hadn’t been so grave. The sent was fruity and a lazy breeze rustled the plants. Polly spied four carved stone figures sitting among the flowers, but the foliage was too dense for her to make out any details. Trees with large tropical leaves grew in a circle out side of the temple and were posts for a wooden fence circling the garden and enclosing the temple in its own private groove.
It was very warm and humid, and beyond the fence, Polly recognized large towering trees and a forest beyond. They were on the edge of a rainforest, she thought, realizing the trees beyond were massive, redwood size and had enormous canopies that blended in together.
The three companions were dragged across a small trampled path, though a gate into a hutted village.
(MY POST:-)
The Doctor stared glumly outside as the priest explained the task ahead of him, listening with only half an ear. Why was it he seemed to keep blundering into things? There was a time he made a point of checking atmosphere, gravity...it really was depressing. Now, his companions were prisoners, once again. He let the curtain over the temple door drop, and rounded on the priest so fast he almost fell over backwards.
"Why do you want it killed if you worship it, mm? If it is so powerful, its minions so fierce, what makes you think I can defeat it? Have you even seen it?"
The priest nodded his understanding. "You have been away a long time, I see, Rotha. You have forgotten." He removed a talisman from his pocket, and stared at it, mesmerized. "It was you who, generations ago, warned us of the beast in the caves. Minions were sighted, and we believed. Our best warriors guard the ways to the surface with their lives - making sure our village is safe." He turned back to the Doctor, locking eyes. "You said that, when you return, you will have found a way to destroy it. That you would free us."
"Well, I'm terribly sorry about all this, but I'm not Rotha. I'm the Doctor. We're travellers, and it's just dumb luck we landed in your temple."
The priest's mouth twitched. "Then I should have you all executed, right now. Either way, you play into my hands nicely, whoever you are. If you want a chance at life, you will try. Die here, without meaning, or die trying. It's up to you. As for why we worship it - it is powerful. It requires sacrifices occasionally to keep it satisfied, but moreover, it is so that it does not wander to the surface. It has the power, so history tells, to take the very sanity from a person - render them mad, or worse. Surely something that can do such a thing is evil?"
The Doctor huffed. The fact that he was using his companions to get him to do his dirty work made him sick, but there was a natural curiosity he couldn't resist, about it all. He'd never heard of such a creature. Even the symbol was lost on him. Finally, he nodded.
"I'll do it, as long as I can take one of my companions with me." The priest reluctantly agreed, and showed him the way out.
POSTED FROM REDROSE999:-
He had never been in a jungle, at least not one like this. As a service man, Ben sailed to many exotic places. Yet none of them rivaled the places he had gone to with the Doctor. Ben Jackson looked around himself, realizing how large many of the plants in the surrounding forest were. Many were man sized and had large colorful flowers and leaves. Several torches ringed the village as well. Certainly the torches kept dangerous animals away?
The huts themselves were long, and made up of vines, leaves and wood supports. They looked strong, and able to hold up during a storm. Some were fairly large, and able to hold at least ten people comfortably while other structures were small, and quaint. Women and children stood around or near the huts. Some were weaving, or involved in cleaning game or hand grinding grains in bowls. Small children watched the adults or ran about, giggling and laughing oblivious of the trio as they were marched through the center of the village toward a sinister looking hut, that was long, and composed of logs and vines.
The men were not far away, and Ben realized most of them were making arrows or darts out of twigs of branches. Some practiced using bows on a Target closer to the forest. They were warriors and hunters, and Ben didn’t fancy getting into a scrape with any of them.
As cleaver as the Doctor was, they’d be hard press to get out of this one without some fancy maneuvering. Then again, these natives didn’t seem any different than the primitives they encountered in Atlantis.
The hut itself was guarded by two men carrying spears at the entrance. There were no windows or any other way out.
The guards dragged the three of them into the hut, and strapped them to the three support posts in the center of the room and left.
A moment later, the door was closed casting the three in darkness.
“I fancy he’ll be along shortly with some sort of trouble for us to get into.” Ben announced. He wiggled his hands. They were bound tightly against the post. The material binding him bit into his skin, reminding him of leather. “So what’s the plan Dutchess?”
With a sigh, Polly slid down to the floor, and stretched her legs. He feet were tied at the ankles. “Wait for him I guess. Fine kettle of fish we’re in. Not that I’m not used to it.” She stared across the room, toward the door. “They put my purse near the door.” She said. “My nail file is there. Don’t think it will work on these tongs though.”
Jamie squinted. The lad joined Polly on the floor and drew his knees up. “Eh? They took my dirk, but I still got me knife in my sock. I think I can reach it.”