Illuminating with the small flame emanating from the tip of his finger, Apolo walked in the direction where he had heard the women arguing. It didn't take long for the young boy to see a dimly lit camp in the distance, although the fire was very weak and partially concealed by some crates. As a result, Apolo could only discern the faint light reflected on the cave walls. To his surprise, he couldn't spot Helena or her teacher anywhere, causing the young boy to become agitated and rush towards the camp.

Upon arrival, the first thing the boy noticed was that the campfire was about to go out, and no one had bothered to add more logs. It seemed like no one had been at this camp for quite a while. The camp itself consisted of only a campfire, two makeshift sleeping bags made of blankets, and a few supply crates. For some reason, the sleeping bags had been left behind along with the supply crates scattered around, making him wonder how someone had managed to transport all these things to this place or why they had been casually abandoned here.

In search of answers, Apolo turned to ask his brother, but he instantly realized that Homero had disappeared, leaving him completely alone in the middle of an enemy camp.

—Homero!—Apolo shouted loudly, trying to make his brother hear his voice.

—I'm here...—Homero responded immediately, emerging from the darkness of the cave while illuminating his body with a fireball floating above his head.

—Why the hell did you scare me like that, you idiot! I almost had a heart attack. I thought they'd caught you!—Apolo complained.

—But you bunch of fools, how could you approach the enemy camp like that? It was logical that the smartest thing to do in this situation was to stay hidden in the shadows and see if anyone hidden among the sheets jumped out to attack you—Homero explained, causing the fireball above his head to grow and diminish in size as he expressed his anger.

—Mmm... that was a good idea...—Apolo responded, his face turning red, quite embarrassed that his younger brother had taught him a lesson.

—Where's Helena and the woman?—Homero asked, slowly approaching the camp.

—They're nowhere to be found. It's like they've disappeared!—Apolo replied, lifting the sheets violently in frustration.

—How could they disappear? Clearly, they went somewhere. Look harder; there must be some kind of secret passage—Homero objected while moving the camp's crates, searching for something hidden underneath.

Apolo followed his brother's idea and began to search for a secret passage among the scattered supply crates, until he finally pushed the right crate, revealing a metal hatch underneath.

—I found the hidden passage!—Apolo exclaimed, trying to open the hatch but immediately realizing that it seemed to be locked.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

—What's wrong?—Homero asked with a puzzled look on his face as Apolo struggled to open the metal hatch.

—It won't open. I'm trying to break it, but I can't get the hatch out—Apolo shouted, trying to force the metal hatch open.

—Wait, stop forcing it, or you'll break the lock, and there'll be no way to open it!—Homero cried out in desperation with a voice that sounded quite distorted, making Apolo look at him strangely.

—Mmm, there must be a spare key somewhere in this camp, or the woman who took Helena could lose the original key and risk not being able to re-enter the passage—Homero suggested calmly, trying to calm Apolo and prevent him from continuing to try to break the hatch.

—Where do you think she could have hidden the spare key? We've been searching this camp for a while now and haven't found any keys while moving the crates—Apolo said impatiently.

—Don't rush it so much; we already know where they went. In the worst case, we'll tell Grandpa where they escaped, and he'll take care of everything—Homero said nonchalantly, trying to reassure Apolo and prevent the boy from trying to break the hatch.

—I suppose...—Apolo reflected, not entirely convinced of the idea of letting them escape—But we've been searching this camp for a while to find this hatch, and we haven't found any keys while moving the crates.

—Think like Helena or her master. Where would you hide the secret key?—Homero asked, looking around the room for a good hiding spot.

—Among the sheets! There must be a hidden pocket—Apolo said, running towards the sheets and feeling them to see if he could find something other than fabric hidden in the seam.

Noticing that Apolo had moved away from the metal hatch, Homero quickly approached it, placing his hand on top and sliding his finger into the lock as if it were a key. Immediately, the edges of the metal hatch lit up with a sudden bluish light for a few seconds before returning to normal. After seeing the flash, a broad smile formed on Homero's masked face, and without wasting time, the boy proceeded to lift the metal hatch, and it opened smoothly.

—I found the key, Apolo! It was on one of the edges of the hatch. If you had been more patient and searched better, you would have seen it—Homero scolded.

After hearing his younger brother's reprimand, Apolo rushed to the metal hatch to see what was behind it and discovered a staircase that apparently led to the center of the Earth, as the bottom of the passage could not be seen. With a flame on his finger, Apolo pointed his hand into the metal hatch and shot the flame inside.

*Piuu*... The flame, when shot out, transformed into a needle-sized arrow, illuminating for a few seconds without seeming to touch the bottom until it became too small to be seen.

—It doesn't make sense! How the hell did someone dig such a hole in the ground?—Apolo exclaimed, noticing that the walls of the hole were too smooth for someone to have dug this with a pickaxe.

—You forgot that the woman said something about wizards, and she seemed to be a wizard herself. She probably created the hole using very complex magic—Homero explained in a hurry and with some nervousness.

—Are there wizards with such powerful spells in this world? This tunnel doesn't seem to have an end...—Apolo questioned, still stunned.

—Remember the stories Grandpa used to tell us about the powerful wizards of old. Maybe Helena's teacher was the last one alive, or maybe she used a magical tool. It's just a hole...—Homero replied with concern, fearing that Apolo would overthink the matter.

—Should we go down, or should we call Grandpa for reinforcements just in case?—Apolo asked, looking at the stairs with curiosity. The boy really wanted to know what secret lay at the end of this deep hole.