outer_divide | [Video] | Backdated to early Week 47

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[Video] | Backdated to early Week 47

[A friendly godling pops up on the network Tuesday evening, looking a bit hopeful and expectant, both.]

So, my friends! I and some few others have visited a place the locals are calling dead, and we have brought back some items that... I fear I am not qualified to really examine properly. I can make nothing useful of them.

Would there be anyone among our number who could examine these things, here?

[Thor turns the camera on his communicator away from himself, and to the items he brought back: a mummified, dessicated deer corpse which is thankfully not looking like it's decaying further; a few bottles of dirt and dead leaves; and sketches and printed-out photos of the area. While showing these things to his audience, Thor keeps talking:]

I have been returning as often as I can, to track the growth of the deadness, but have other obligations and I can only visit once or twice a day. If there are any others who would have the time and inclination, I can give directions. And warnings. It is a ways away, and it may be dangerous.

Please contact me. I will have my communicator with me all evening.

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I am fairly certain, yes. When shall we go? Are you free to go today?

[He is a godling of action, that he is.]

I am free.

[ Her plans for the day are not set in stone. ]

When would you like to leave?

At any time! Perhaps now? Or-- very shortly, as I imagine you may need time to prepare?

[He's guessing, based on what he knows of Loki's magic.]

I need to collect a few vials and bags for specimens but that shall not take very long at all.

[ Minutes really. ]

I am currently in the Flop. Would you like to meet someplace else?

The Flop is well enough. I will be there shortly.

[And he is. She may or may not spot him flying up through a window, but when she makes it to the lobby, he'll be standing just outside, hammer on the ground beside him and cloak in place. Whenever he goes flying, he brings the cloak, even if he is currently lacking in armor.]

[ Helga is waiting. She had only needed to get a few things. They are in a small pouch, the string of which is long enough to go across her shoulder. ]

Good afternoon, my Lord.

[ Helga smiles. It's not the flying she is worried about, not exactly. Instead, Helga is slightly afraid of heights. ]

I am ready when you are.

Then come, and we shall away.

[He holds out his non-hammer hand to her. The thought of someone being afraid of heights doesn't even occur to him; he's never even considered such a thing.]

[ Helga accepts his hand. Don't mind her, she is going to keep her eyes shut the entire time. ]

[Thor pulls her up against him, since he can only do so much with one available arm, holding out his other for Mjolnir. It flies up to his hand. Then he suggests,]

Hold tight to me, Lady Helga.

[And once she has her arms around him in some fashion, he starts spinning the hammer in his hand-- and shoots skyward in its wake a beat later.]

[ She nods her head. Her lips form a thin line but she does hold on. It could even be said that she clings. Helga does not want to fall and she is going to keep her eyes closed the entire time. ]

[And the trip takes a little less than an hour, so that's a long time keeping her eyes shut. Thor holds her tightly, back, though, and the wind is fierce as they fly.]

[ Helga tried to open her eyes! She did. Then she looked down and promptly shut them again. Besides, the wind is quite strong at this height. It stings her eyes and she had not taken any precautions before lift off.

She swore to herself that she was not going to ask that. She tried. But after about close to what she thought was half an hour, she couldn't help herself anymore. She asked. ]

How much further?

Nearly, my lady. It is a shorter trip in this fashion than any other, I assure you.

[Compared to walking, yeah. Compared to the Bifrost or tesseract travel, of course, it takes forever. He is a bit concerned with her tension, though.]

Are you uncomfortable in any way?

[ There is no easy way to admit this. Helga decides to be honest. ]

I am somewhat fearful of flying, my Lord. It is nothing for you to be worried over. It will pass.

[ Once they land. ]

Oh, I am very sorry.

[It didn't even occur to him! Now he feels bad. He picks up speed, hoping to get them on the ground more quickly, for her sake. It still takes them another fifteen minutes, or so, but hey, that's better than half an hour more?

He sets them down as lightly as he can, but even so, there's a solid thump and a puff of dry leaves and dust when he hits. Still, he sets her feet down on the ground gently.]

There we are.

I volunteered to go. It is not something you should trouble yourself with.

[ She did volunteer afterall.

When they land, Helga lets out a sigh of relief. She is very glad to feel solid ground beneath her feet. ]

Thank you.

[ Helga smiles at Thor, pats his arm and then moves to take a good look around. It is like nothing she has ever seen before and so, of course, her wand comes out. It's better to be safe than sorry, she feels. ]

[Thor agrees, which is why he keeps Mjolnir in hand. And he still feels badly for frightening her, regardless. He points with the hammer towards the edge of the dead zone.]

The blight is there. You can tell it by the dying trees and the still air. It has grown again since this morning, though not by much.

[You know how he can tell? Because he left a marker. He walks into the dead zone to collect it, just a step or two: it's a piece of rebar from the ship, something at least relatively durable, and it's already started to rust.]

This is not natural.

[ Helga takes a few steps. She bends down to examine the ground. She uses the tip of her wand to scratch the soil. Helga then runs her fingers through the loose particles. ]

Did you leave a marker?

Aye. This.

[He holds up the piece of metal, stepping back out of the drainage zone again.]

It is certainly not natural, I agree with you. Stark tells me he will get me surveillance equipment, so that I can view it from afar and perhaps build a better picture of what causes this.

[ The particles between her fingers do not feel like any sort of dirt or soil that Helga is familiar with. She shakes her head and opens her bag. She takes out a jar and a small spade. Helga then starts to fill the jar. She lifts her head long enough to look at Thor's marker. ]

Is the rod in the same condition that you left it in? I could perhaps cast a spell to keep your next marker better intact.

[ She then resumes filling the jar. ]

Pepper's tony?

[ Helga gives a small nod of her head. ]

It is truly remarkable that you'll be able to view this area from afar. You did state it was spreading. Do you know where you might place it?

[Thor nods, and offers her the scrap metal to investigate if she wants to.]

Tony Stark, yes, who is Pepper's love. He is also a companion of mine, in battle.

[He sticks the metal rod back into the ground, sticking up straight, at the edge of the dead zone. She can enchant it if she likes-- there's certainly more where it came from, though.]

It began at nearly half this size, when I began watching it. Now I would call it half a mile across, slightly less.

Have you fought many foes together?

[ Helga fills two jars. It is enough for her purpose. The jars go into her bag and then she stands up. She approaches Thor's marker with her wand out. ]

How long ago was that?

[ She casts two simple spells on the marker, a preservation spell and a small shield. It might work and it might repel whatever is causing this ruin but there is every chance that it will not work. ]

We fought a war together, though it was only an afternoon of battle.

[It had been quite a fight. If Loki hadn't been involved, he might even have enjoyed himself-- as it was, he'd just been too upset about having to fight his brother's troops to really have a good time.]

It was several months, by time passed on Verdana.

[He's thinking the battle of New York, not the expansion of the dead zone, sorry, Helga. One track mind, he has.]

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[Video] | Backdated to early Week 47

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