EVENT LOG: DOWN THIS ROAD

[asgardmods]

Who: EVERYONE going to Ginnungagap
What: the Down This Road mingle log!
When: Days 401-404 ( Feb. 9-16 )
Where: Asgard, Ginnungagap, and the road inbetween.
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

Day 401 ( Feb. 9/10 )

Waiting by the Gate of Fire will be several carriages all prepared to take the Travellers to their destination. Natives will help them load into the carriages and provide a personal pack of food and blankets to those that need it, all with a grim face and averted eyes. This journey is one few outside the immortals have ever made, and only several thousand years ago. It's a sacred place, and one they are not entirely comfortable with seeing entered. But their King gave them orders, and so the caravan will depart by midday with Mimir and Honir at the head to lead the way onward.

They will continue riding through sunset and stop to make camp by nightfall. The gods will tell the Travellers to rest up, as the rest of the journey will be a strenuous one.

Day 402 ( Feb. 11/12 )

The caravan will pick up again for a few hours, but it will come to a sudden halt with a cry of pain from the leading carriage. The accompanying gods will be feeling the same inexplicable wrenching as the gods in Asgard, but this far from the city, its effects will not reach the Travellers in their party. A moment will be spared for their recovery before Honir announces that it's best they continue on foot; from there on forward, it's a hike, and not a particularly friendly one.

Ginnungagap sparsely littered with old trees and short, soft grass on the outskirts of the canyon, streams flowing from varying mountain peaks into the vast space below; deeper within, it is sheer rock and sharp edges that are harsh and unyielding. If one were to look at it from above, they might think someone stabbed a knife into solid stone and carved out a jagged wound, and so it is moving through the canyon itself, where one false step can lead to certain and painful death.

The vast majority of the day will be spent moving slowly and carefully, with few breaks to stop for water and rest while Honir and Mimir negotiate the safest paths. By the time it goes dark, they will be too deep into the canyon and its steep cliff faces to stop without risking losing someone to the jagged rocks hidden in the darkness, and so the gods will conjure small orbs of light to follow each Traveller as they direct every footfall very precisely until they reach their destination.

They will stop just outside the path that leads to the cavern of the Earth Giants' final resting place. There is ample space to make camp and rest for the night; Honir and Mimir will have to vanquish their lights in order to regain their strength, so they will urge the Travellers not to go off wandering on their own. The sound of slowly streaming water and the echo of emptiness will linger just outside their reach in the darkness as they try to sleep.

Day 403

By early morning, very little sunlight will be able to reach the company from their position on the small plateau, but the gods will wake their companions and relight their guides to lead them further in. It takes less than an hour to reach the entrance to the kingdom of the Earth Giants, and sunlight will flood the ruins in abundance. It may be easy to tell that the sprawling city was once something of magnificence, the architecture careful and precise to maximise their position in the sun carried down into the canyon.

However, nearly all buildings lay in varying states of destruction, as though a large bomb went off at the centre and blew outwards. Every surface is overgrown by moss, weeds, and chaotic tangles of vines. Waterfalls that were contained and utilised in artful structures and fountains have worn down the walls of the cavern and flow freely throughout the ruins, leaving the earth a sodden constant. The kingdom has fallen into complete disrepair in the eighteen-thousand years it's been deserted.

Most notable, however, is the distinct lack of life anywhere throughout the cavern. Ginnungagap on the whole is not terribly occupied by wildlife, but there are animals and insects that can be found roaming the cliffs; here, there is absolutely none to be found. Nothing stirs but the sound of water echoing off of empty walls, and there is, it seems, a very unnatural hollow sensation from simply standing in this space so devoid of life.

It has long been believed that the tragedy of the Earth Giants' obliteration starved this land of its will to thrive, but this is an extreme the gods did not foresee. The Travellers will be free to explore for a few hours, but will be ushered out at the insistence of the unnerved gods before midday. They have a long journey ahead of them, and they will not stop for anything until night has fallen and they are far from this barren wasteland.

Day 404 ( Feb. 13/14 )

Travel back to Asgard is otherwise uneventful in the wake of their discovery in Ginnungagap. They will arrive to the city pulling itself together after its latest blight, and the gods that accompanied the caravan will give hurried farewells before quickly making their way to the castle to bring news of their experience. The natives will once again help the Travellers unload, this time even more grim than before. Strange things are stirring, and the confusion on both sides will leave many questions unanswered.

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for the Down This Road event! Remember that you must leave Asgard on Day 401 ( Feb. 9/10 ) if you want to opt out of this month's body horror event! Please put [OPEN/CLOSED] in the subject of your comment, as well as the time and location. Both Honir and Mimir will be around in this log, so feel free to contact us if you'd like them in a particular thread somewhere. Let us know if you have any questions! ]

Comments

Yosuke Hanamura | open, various days!

[windbreak]

[D401, evening]

Hey!

[Yosuke understands why the atmosphere's been so sombre since this caravan started rolling, he really does - but that doesn't stop it grating on his nerves. It's old. It's even older when his music player finally dies, about a day earlier than he was hoping. And more importantly, if they don't pull out of it while the going's good, they'll all drown in it before this road trip gets anywhere.

That's why, once he's finished setting up and gotten bored of wandering around, he makes a beeline for the nearest person or group of people he thinks he can recognise, in deliberately high spirits. Of course, in this low light, he could be mistaken...]

A campsite, the howl of the wild... You know what this kind of night is perfect for!?


[D402, night]

[Although Yosuke realises his mistake in picking this spot the moment he tries to flop down and slides straight off the large rock under his bedroll, hauling himself back up would be more effort than he he can physically muster by now. With a bit of incautious experimentation, he settles for hunching over under a blanket, legs splaying out at awkward angles.

Presently, he starts fidgeting. His face is lit from below by the dim glow of a mostly blank holographic screen, but that isn't where he's looking.

Still, that too loses its novelty after a while, so he tucks away the flat object in his hand and sags. Ugh, never mind. Even if lying down might be out of the question, he'd better try to rest, like the guy said. Maybe then he'll wake up with one or two body parts that aren't twinging in complaint after the hike today. He allows himself a small but drawn-out groan before he switches the bracelet off, letting the shadows wash over the faint afterimage until there's nothing left.

And then back on, less than a minute later. And off. And on. And off. And on...

No, it isn't exactly highbrow entertainment. It's just better than being alone with his thoughts.]


[D403]

[Okay, he takes it back. The caravan wasn't that bad.

When he's by himself, he tries to stay on task - taking pictures, staying calm, keeping an eye out. It's no use. He wants to be dependable, that's why he came all the way out here, but if he spends any longer just kicking around this eroded graveyard, he'll be the one going crazy...

The instant he spots a figure up ahead with their back turned, he makes up his mind. He advances on them quietly, a look of utmost concentration on his face, pointer finger out, taking care not to squelch across the dampest patches of ground or otherwise give them any reason to look behind them early -

- and yelps when his ankle meets a puddle that was a few inches deeper than it looks.

He stumbles back a couple of steps, then a couple more before he can start to sink into the mud.] Damn, that's cold...

[His muttering hangs in the empty air a little too long to feel completely natural.]

D401

[runtothesunlight]

Sleeping?

[Because dude, he was just about to fall asleep. What are you doing?]

[izanyagi]

[From somewhere a little nearby, he can hear Souji's voice.]

Could it wait until tomorrow?

[windbreak]

Aw, come on, man! You know what I -

[He does a double take. Whoa, how did he miss the other guy lying there? Maybe he's more tired out than he thought. Must be another friend of Souji's...

No, hold on, he's heard that voice before!]

Huh? Aren't you Arisato...?

[runtothesunlight]

[yawns] Yeah, that's me.

Sorry, I don't know you.

D401

[discrepant]

[When Yosuke found and headed over to Soushi's side, the SS agent was currently keeping watch in one of the dark corners of the camp that had a line drawn on the ground, in hopes, that no one will pass by it. Needless to say, he was surprise to find Yosuke over at his corner, but he didn't mind as he was more interested to hear the younger man's suggestion.]

I have a few ideas. [But.] What do you have in mind, Hanamura-san?

[windbreak]

[Oh, it's this guy. Not who he thought it might be from a distance, but now that he looks, he has somehow wandered a little ways away from the lights in the middle of the campsite. It can't be helped, he thinks. And it's better than bumping into a total stranger.]

Well... why not everything? There's a bunch of people hanging around looking gloomy right now, but they can't do that all night, you know? Hey, you could even help me round some of them up. [He grins, clearly joking.] Sit around a real campfire, play games, tell ghost stories, make -

[Then he hesitates.] Okay, maybe not cook our own food. But at least that's not a problem here.

[discrepant]

[Soushi will simply listen to Yosuke, intrigued by the suggestion as he was paying attention to the younger boy. His formal smile will turn to a more playful one as he turns to his back bag and begins to search through it.]

You are very thoughtful. I agree. It would be best to try and enjoy our current situation. After all, it is not everyday we get a chance like this -- to camp and participate in all types of activity quite like it. This is my first time to be in a situation like this one as well...

[Taking out of his bag, he will show Yosuke a plastic bag filled with marshmallows, chocolate, and crackers.]

I do not have any games to occupy our time with, but I do have these. Will they make up in the "cooking our own food" department?

[windbreak]

[Curious, he peers over, and promptly lets out a mildly impressed whistle.] Whoa, where'd you get all of those? [...Did he get any of those? Come to think, he wasn't really paying attention.] I dunno if that's the kind of cooking I was thinking, but it's gotta be harder to screw up!

[He looks up.] But you've never been camping before, huh? Didn't live in the right kind of place for it, is that it?

403

[not_sasuke]

[And Yuusuke turns in an instant, taking up a defensive stance for all of a split second before letting it drop. If Yosuke was quick enough to catch it, he may have noticed the kid seemed to almost be going for a weapon-?

Still, he looks pretty angry for such a harmless joke.]

What's your problem?

[windbreak]

Whoa! [He doesn't need to catch it to notice that the kid's reaction is more than he was bargaining for. Accordingly, he recoils a bit further.] Uh, nothing? I mean - dude, what's yours!? I just slipped, that's all...

[He trails off hopefully.]

[not_sasuke]

After trying to sneak up on me.

[He's not so ignorant of his surroundings, especially as tense as he is here. With no other living things around to mask the sounds, it's almost painfully obvious when there's any movement at all.]

Is that how you plan to show respect for a cursed place like this?

[windbreak]

I wasn't sneaking, geez... [His protest is no more than a mumble, but still annoyingly audible; it echoes off the stone around them in an unsettling way.

At any rate, if the kid just wants to grump, Yosuke will gladly leave him to it. Hell, it was probably a bad idea splitting off from his friends in the first place. As he turns aside, though, he pauses with a small frown.]

Hey, have I seen you somewhere...?

401

[shesearches]

[And mistaken he is, but from where Jane's standing, more or less completely in shadow, it's pretty understandable. She's cheerful enough even as her quiet survey of the camp is broken by a stranger, though. Enough to answer the question, anyway.]

Ghost stories? [She hadn't been thinking of it before, but once it's put that way, it's the first answer to jump to mind.]

[windbreak]

[It's the unfamiliar voice that alerts Yosuke to his error before her appearance does, seeing as the latter is hardly more than a silhouette against the rocky outcrop nearby. ...Which might be a shame, now that he takes another look. Hard to say for certain, though.]

Oh! Sorry, I thought you were... Heheh. [He grins sheepishly.] But thank god you got it anyway, huh? I was starting to think nobody else here knew how these things were supposed to go.

apologies for being horrifically late

[shesearches]

[She shakes her head at the apology, waving a hand and laughing a little as he goes on.] It is a perfect place, isn't it? I guess people are trying to keep things more... respectful? [A shrug.] But maybe as long as it was kept kind of away from the gods.... It really is a perfect night for it.

never late! o/

[windbreak]

[He relaxes a little.] I know, right? Like, don't get me wrong, respect's one thing, but if everyone's planning to just stare into space the whole way there... I mean, you'd go crazy, wouldn't you? I'm sure those guys would think the same.

[But then he hesitates. Wait, was that overdoing it?] ...Probably.

403!

[optimistical]

[ Naegi jumps when he hears that yelp behind him. He's been kind of focused on taking notes and looking around. He hasn't even heard someone behind him, so it has really taken him by surprise. So, turning around, he sees...

[ ... ]

[ ... You always seems to be getting into some kind of misfortune, aren't you, Yosuke? ]

Hanamura-kun? Uh, are you okay?

[ What's with your wet foot... ]

[windbreak]

[It's a bit less wet once Yosuke has hopped up and down for long enough to empty his shoe out, but not as dry as he'd like. He sighs. If Naegi doesn't suspect anything, he might as well just leave it.] Y-Yeah, I'm fine. It's pretty slippery here, huh? You better watch your feet too.

[His eyes stray down.] Oh, were you in the middle of something? [Whoops, that means he's actually interrupting. He'd figured the guy was just wandering around. ...Like him.]

[optimistical]

[ Sucks to be you, Yosuke... But Naegi just raises his notepad and pen a bit. ]

Yeah, I was just taking some notes for myself and a friend. [ Friend being Kirigiri. Totally just a friend, h-haha... ] But did you need something?

[ Like to ask a question and not sneak up on him? ]

[windbreak]

[Since he doesn't mention his friend's gender or age, Yosuke has no reason to seize on that, and simply grins instead.] Ahaha, just wondering. [See, a flawless save!] Probably should've guessed. I mean, that is pretty much why we all came out here.

What're you taking notes on? I started out with a few, but there's only so many times you can write the word "depressing"...

401

[perspicaciousness]

[Unfortunately for Yosuke, even though he may not have been talking directly to Joseph when he was making his suggestion, his curiosity's still piqued. To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot going on, and a bored Joseph is never a good thing.

So he turns with a bit of a grin.]

Stories around the fire sounds about right.

[windbreak]

[Yosuke turns with a jolt. That, uh, sure is a big burly guy he didn't notice from a few feet away. Must be darker out here than he thought.]

O-Oh, heh... [He grins sheepishly.] Guess it's pretty obvious when I put it like that, huh?

[perspicaciousness]

[Probably. Though at least this big burly guy seems to be in good spirits despite the seemingly-encroaching gloom. :'|]

Maybe a little, but hey, not knocking it. Surprised I didn't think of it myself, to tell you the truth.

[windbreak]

Right, right? [In contrast, Yosuke's high spirits from a moment ago seem a little dampened... Still, the dude sounds friendly enough, so he finds himself starting to relax again.] Sure, the season's a little different than when you'd normally do it, but since we're here...