The Asgardians {𝟛} | Marvel √

4

Jotunheim

A hole in the sky ripped open and the Bifrost came shooting out of it. Snow flurries up when the Bifrost hits as Thor and his friends touched down. Runes from the Bifrost were imprinted on the ice around them. Volstagg lost his footing and began to fall back but Triston quickly grabbed him by the belt.

As the warrior dangled precariously on the edge of a sheer cliff on the planet's inner ring, Triston looked down at him with a smirk.

Then he lifted Volstagg up and back onto the ice. "Thank you, God of Strength," Volstagg said, revealing what God Triston is, which just caused him to smile.

"It's what I do best," Triston said then they all turned and stared out in horror and wonder at the frozen alien wasteland before them. The whole planet was a massive flattened ring of jagged ice as it was slowly breaking apart. Huge chunks of ice calved away from its outer edges and floated off into space. The planet's icy surface cracked and melted as far as the eye could see. The ruins of the Jotun City laid in the distance. "We shouldn't be here," Triston told his father.

"Too late now," Thor said.

"Actually, it's not. We could turn right around, hop back to Asgard, share a mug by the fire. Could be nice," Fandral said but Thor ignored him. Loki & Triston looked around anxiously.

"Perhaps we should wait," Loki said and Thor turned back to his brother & son.

"For what?" he asked them.

"To survey the enemy. To gauge their strengths and weaknesses from a distance," Loki said.

"I'm liking that. Gauging, surveying. Particularly the distance part," Volstagg said.

"We know all we must. It's time to act," Thor said as they continued to walk.

"He's just got to swing his hammer," Sif said.

--

The group trudged behind Thor & Triston across the frozen wasteland as they shielded themselves from the howling wind and cold. Volstagg shivered as Thor turned back to his friends. "It feels good, doesn't it? To be together again, adventuring in another world?" Thor asked.

"Adventuring? Is that what we're doing?" Fandral asked.

"What would you call it?" Thor asked.

"Freezing," Fandral said.

"Starving," Volstagg said.

"Whiners," Triston said.

"How about a song to lift our spirits?" Thor asked but they all groaned.

"No, not that!" Hogun exclaimed.

"Please don't sing!" Triston exclaimed.

"If I have to listen to Volstagg's singing voice one more time, I'll fall on my own sword!" Fandral exclaimed.

"Well, now I'm on board," Sif said and she and Thor shared a grin. They reached the edge of the city where it's anciently structured jade and ice were melting and crumbling from warfare long ago. A temple lied before them, across from a central plaza.

"Where are they?" Triston asked.

"Hiding. As cowards always do," Thor said as he led them onwards towards the plaza while Loki & Triston reluctantly followed. They didn't notice as a shadowy figure moved in the shadows of the structures nearby.

Jotunheim
Central Plaza

The group reaches the plaza but they could sense that the Frost Giants were in the shadows and crevices, surrounding them from all sides. The Asgardians reached for the hilts of their weapons when a Jotun Sentry called out to them. "What is your business here, Asgardian?" he asked as his voice sounded like cracking ice.