asgardmeridiem | EVENT LOG: DOWN THIS ROAD

EVENT LOG: DOWN THIS ROAD

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! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Of course Naegi is going to be that one who trips, considering his bad luck, so thank god that Yuusuke is here to grab him. He visibly lets out a sigh of relief with that. ]

T-Thanks... That was close...

Not used to nature walks, I take it?

[Once Naegi's steady again, he'll release his arm and stuff his hands into his pockets, looking somewhat smug.]

[ Naegi stands properly, making sure that he's stepping on something somewhat even. He then shakes his head. ]

Y-Yeah... I'm not really an outdoor person, if that wasn't obvious.

[ He's certainly not some bodybuilder or anything. ]

You probably don't get out of the city too much, do you?

[Silly city kids. Anyway, now that Naegi's at least able to stand on his own, he'll start to move again. Thankfully(?) he keeps his pace slow enough that Naegi should be able to keep up.]

[ Naegi will slowly follow behind Yuusuke, making sure to be more careful where he steps. ]

No, I've only really left the city a handful of times. Even back at home, I've never really done any outdoors stuff, like camping.

[ Because his sister would probably hate everything about camping, like bugs and no electricity and not being able to wash her hair... ]

How about you?

Is that so? I met a girl from the city once-- she couldn't even climb a tree.

[You can practically hear the laughter in his voice.]

I grew up in the countryside. [Countryside, forest, same difference.] Getting away from the city like this is kind of a relief, even under these circumstances.

[ ... What... Like, climbing a tree is hard, but even Naegi can do that. He can't help but be a bit amused and ??? about it as well. Anyway, though. ]

Oh, then you're probably used to uneven paths like this? What's the countryside like?

It's nice! Clear skies, open spaces - you don't have as much air pollution out there, so you can see the stars really well at night. Things aren't always convenient, but if you grow up there, you're used to walking everywhere anyway so it's not that big of a deal.

If I had to pick between the two, I'd choose the countryside hands down.

That does sound nice. Do you still live there-- I mean, back at home?

[ Since he did say he grew up there, but maybe he moved when he got older.

Nah, I had to move out for school. But it's still pretty deep in the country, so it's not all bad.

[If you count smack dab in the middle of the forest "deep in the country."]

--On the other hand, I'm guessing your school is in the city too? It's probably a lot more posh than the one I go to.

[ He gives a nod, even if Yuusuke might not see it, considering that Naegi's still following behind him. But h-haha, his... his school... the center place where a bunch of teenagers have been forced to kill each other by a robotic bear. What a great high school... ]

Yeah, right in the middle of the city and I've already lived there, so I didn't have to move, besides just into the dorms.

So yours keeps dorms too, huh? Hopefully they weren't as cramped as ours.

Was it a nice place? If it houses its students like that...

[Most would find it more convenient to simply take the bus or train, so it must have been a fancy place indeed.]

Not too cramped, they were pretty good.

[ Sound proof too. Perfect for his crush to get murdered in his room, c-cry. But ah, this question... ]

Yeah, it's nice school, since it's a super-exclusive academy. Or at least I'm guessing, but it probably was.

[ He lost two years of his memories, which included his school life there so he can't really answer that question properly... ]

[...That's an odd thing to say.]

You're only guessing? You don't know for sure?

Not really. I... don't actually remember attending that school, to be honest. I'm missing two years of my memory.

[ Not a big deal, right? H-Haha... ]

[...]

Did you hurt your head while you were there or something?

[It's just a hunch, but even with a dumb question like that... if it turns out to be wrong, this guy will probably fill in the blanks himself.]

No, it was nothing like that. I don't think I hurt my head in there, at least not before I lost my memories...

[ Getting hit over the head with a pipe and falling down a garbage chute after a failed execution, though? That counts... ][ Sure sounds weird when he says it... ]

Lost your memories...

So you're a type of amnesiac?

Kind of... I know who took away my memories, but I have no idea how to get them back.

[.........

He actually stops and turns to see Naegi's face properly, but... Even after some scrutiny, that's not really the face of a liar. It's far too open. So then...]

Wait...

What do you mean by that? Someone took them?

[Congrats Naegi, he actually looks legitimately surprised for once.]

[ Naegi stops when Yuusuke stops. He... shouldn't be really surprised that Yuusuke seems surprised by it. You don't really hear of someone taking your memories on a daily basis... ]

[ So he just gives a small and slow nod. ]

Y-Yeah. It's kind of a long story and I don't know how they did it, but I know for sure that they were taken away by a classmate of mine.

[He'll just. Pause again, studying Naegi's face for another moment. Because the words coming out sound like a lie, even if the face uttering them is like an open book, and he has to wonder, quite seriously, if Naegi isn't just some kind of poker face prodigy.

Then again, it's not like he can claim his own school is exactly ordinary. But classmates who steal memories? Really?

~~It's the former headmistresses that do that, not classmates!~~]

...Just what kind of a school do you go to?

[ The staring is a bit uncomfortable but Naegi completely understands it... ]

Um, it's a school where only the super-top in their respective fields can attend. I'm not one of them, though, I just won a lottery to attend...

[ Naegi is the only normal guy, surrounded by people who are the best of Japan, but man... this is sounding weirder and weirder by the second, huh? ]

You... won a lottery.

[Forgive him if he sounds just a bit disbelieving.]

...We should probably keep walking, but I'd like to hear more about this school of yours if that's okay. It sounds like an interesting place.

[An understatement. Although he turns to walk again, he paces himself, slowing down to the point where Naegi should be able to walk side by side with him.]

Y-Yeah, a lottery...

[ He knows, it sounds super ridiculous. To be honest, he was pretty surprised about it too... ]

[ But once Yuusuke starts walking again, Naegi follows. Noticing that he's at a slower pace now, he quickens up to walk beside him, still trying to be careful not to trip over anymore rocks. ]

But what do you want to know?

402!

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.... WOW I LOST A WHOLE SENTENCE IN MY LAST TAG I'M SORRY HOW DID THAT HAPPEN

IT'S COOL

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I'm a liar

... OFF TO BED WITH YOU, YOUNG LADY

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