AN: Liam's son joins in the hunt and an overly suspicious Carter converses with a statue. References to Demons and Crystal Skull.

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Part 2 - NEARBY TO FARAWAY PLACES

Chapter 2 - Offerings and Masses

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"Oh, no, son. I had prayed he would return to your family in the states when he left us. I'm very sorry, but perhaps you could help me?"

"Of course, Father. What is it you need?"

"Terrance, do you remember what happened to the green rock in a plastic container you took from your grandfather's mantle - the one he told you was a paperweight?"

The young man groaned. "How can I forget? Dad was livid when he came back from the Cairo dig and I'd already packed it up with the other stuff and given it to a Chicago museum. Grandpa Nick never mentioned a will to me!"

"Understandable. Terrance, this is very important, son. Do you know if that rock was one of the artifacts stolen in the museum robbery?"

"No, but they wanted it."

"What do you mean?"

"The curator's report says they left behind the empty container after they lost the stone. What happened to it was no mystery to my father. Nor you, any longer."

"Yes, imagine my surprise, Terrance, that morning I spilled candle wax on the altar and a section of it began to glow Leprechaun green! Until that moment, I'd truly thought your father was in need of a holiday, that next he'd be seeing wee people at his hillside digs carrying off his rocks!"

"When he was there, Father, he didn't bring any companions?"

"No. And I fear to say, Terrance, that a member in my modest congregation recently tells me of two men from Colorado here, although your father swore to keep it a secret."

"Doesn't sound good. Wait, Father Haggardy, you said Colorado? Colorado Springs was the last place my grandfather was the day he vanished! Yes, he called from there to wish me Happy Birthday, and said he'd made peace with my cousin whom I haven't seen since I was about five."

"Then I believe you are the right man for this, Terrance. I need to find out who or what these men are for the sake of your father. They called themselves Thomas and Luke, claiming to be artifact researchers hired by the same Chicago museum. I never met them myself."

"Thank you for calling, Father Haggardy, these stones have been nothing but trouble in our family. I'd like to see all of them go back to where they're from! I'm sure I can get a few weeks leave from Great Lakes. And I know Cindy and the kids would really love to visit her mother in Milwaukee."

"Very good, son! I await to hear of your success! Goodbye and God Bless!"

"Goodbye, Father Haggardy. Take care, and don't worry, I will definitely find out what interest these men have in the stones."

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Click. Click. Static. "Colonel, I can't read you, sir! Fire what?"

"These animals were sacrificed as religious burnt offerings long before the Dark Ages worshipped them in ritualistic pagan black masses."

Sam hesitated, slowly, reluctantly turning to regard the innocuous statue. "I suppose you're somehow blocking our transmissions?" The animal's stone-carved haunches defied her to look more closely. Her eyes traveled up the back of the shaggy head to the straight, pointed U-shaped horns, about a foot and a half long. "And what exactly are you, anyway? Sacred goat, pagan ram or a testimony to a good harvest in the field?" She warily circled the aged platform, but the creature revealed nothing until she saw its feet. Instead of cloven, they'd been sculpted in the smooth half-moon shape more reminiscent of a colt.

"Whoa!" Startled, Sam instinctively jumped back. "Okay, that's too odd. Go-orse? Co-ram? Do you even have normal ancestors where I'm from?"

Forgetting her absurd conversation, Carter stepped further away from the statue and paused, uncertain of where to look next. Each hut surrounding the edge of the small square was identical to the one where she'd left Daniel. Uncovered entrances with no windows, thatched roofs losing their straw.

All except for a single dwelling.

Tucked further back from the other huts, this one stood slightly higher and a little wider to mark it as a town hall in most villages. And in others, it might be considered as the home of the village leader. Either way, it was different.

From the doorway, however, this dwelling appeared as barren as the last one - if you discounted the nearly manhole-sized disk embedded in the solid dirt floor. Deep green at its center, it's five concentric rings shown lighter hues until it's rim was almost silver.

Without Daniel there to insist upon deciphering tiny symbols carved into the rings, Sam unslung her P90, entertaining vague images of low-lit maze-like tunnels circling below. The trick always was to find the release. She poked around the rim with the weapon's barrel several times, but to no avail.

"Fine," Carter sighed in defeat, falling back onto her haunches, the P90 balancing loosely across her left knee. "Then how does anyone open a pseudo manhole cover with no crowbar or wrench around?"

Okay, there was Daniel's way by touching symbols in random combinations.

On her fourth try, Carter heard a distinctive whirring click, then stood in awed silence as the disk rose out of the floor transforming into a polished silver-gray column. As it made its slow ascent, it threw off pulsating lights in bizarrely whirling streams of blue, green and purple bathing the small hut in a '70s disco ball effect gone blindingly awry.

Sam wanted to shield her eyes, but she could only stare in awed wonder at the object until it pulled to a whining halt about an inch above her shoulders. Instantly, the light patterns blended, coalescing into blurred images like a camera bringing itself into focus. It didn't look dangerous, but all the same, she still took a few steps backward closer to the open entryway.

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TBC

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AN: Wow, each time the courtyard or statue is seen, I can hear the eerie Celtic chorus from Demons, although I haven't seen that episode in years!