It took me only a moment to reach the circle in the ground and stand with the others around the carved stone edge.

“What is it?” Lucas asked. Probably we were all asking ourselves the same question, and of course no one could answer it. The darkness below me wasn’t completely uniform, occasionally I saw a glimmer, like a reflection of sunlight on a gem below.

The gnoll archers were setting up on the hill, and within a few seconds we were going to look like porcupines. The number of gnoll archers hurrying up the hill was in the hundreds, the melee classes were closing in on us too. “I think it’s water,” I declared to everyone. I couldn’t be one-hundred percent certain, but that flicker of light was familiar: like the sun shimmering off a water’s surface. “We’re going to have to jump in: we don’t have much of a choice.” I looked around and saw only doubt and hesitation.

There wasn’t enough time to argue. Spending even a few seconds trying to persuade the others would lead to deaths. Our enemies’ bows were now drawn. “Good luck and I’ll see you all below,” I said just before jumping. I had to prove by demonstration that this was a liquid. If it wasn’t, if it was a deep pit, I’d be responsible for everyone’s death.

The freefall lasted a very long three or four seconds, and then I plunged into icy, cold water. Splashes sounded all around me as my party members joined me. I could even look up and see the others still in free fall. None of them had doubted me, jumping before I’d even confirmed if it was water.

“It’s SO COLD!” I heard Maria yell out.

“We aren’t safe yet,” Jessica warned us. “They’re racing to the edges.” I looked up to see their shadows appear above. Their bows were visible too as were the arrows beginning to hit the water around us.

“Dive down!” shouted Lucas.

I hugged the wall’s edge and then dived down a few feet, periodically holding my breath. The arrows only made it around two feet into the water before losing all their force. We were safe, but still trapped like fish in a barrel.

The gnolls above continued to shoot more arrows for several minutes before it seemed they might have given up. It was impossible to see us below and while we were trapped, the hole in the ground was anything but small. It was bigger than any swimming pool I’d ever been in by two or three times.

“There’s something over here,” suddenly Mark yelled out. He was across from me, against the far wall. I couldn’t see anything at all from where I was, but I could hear how everyone was slowly converging on him. Only when I reached the wall could I see what Mark had found, thanks to reflections on the surface of the dark water.

There was a passageway, half submerged in the water. “It’s the only way to go,” Lucas looked at everyone. “Who wants to go first?”

“I’ll explore; wait here, I won’t go far,” Jessica promptly swam into the tunnel. With her improved physique, her physical ability was through the roof, which included her lung capacity. During that entire sprint, I hadn’t noticed any sign of her being winded at all.

She started her swim into the tunnel and then disappeared into the darkness. I waited anxiously there, hand on the cold, rough stone of the wall. It would be cruel if there was no way out once inside, but I was confident that whatever she found, Jessica’s awareness would keep her safe. She would turn back if things got bad…

Two minutes passed that felt like an eternity, and I was growing increasingly nervous. Maria had her fingers in her mouth, biting her nails with anxiety. Suddenly, there was a faint light in the dark water, and then Jessica emerged. “You’ll have to swim for about a minute underwater,” she said while taking a deep breath of air. “Just on the other side is an open cavern that leads somewhere.”

“Is it… possible to get lost underwater?” Maria asked. She seemed nervous about swimming in. the dark, as was I.

“It was just a single tunnel; you can’t get lost.” Jessica clarified for everyone. “There’s enough space to turn around if needed as well.”

“That’s good.” Lucas wiped his head. “Underwater is already ick; claustrophobic and underwater…”

“Nightmare combination,” Maria agreed.

“Okay, who is first?” Jessica asked. “I’ll bring you.” Once again my admiration for my closest friend and comrade soared. She seemed completely at ease in the water, and expertly guided each person who wasn’t comfortable going alone through the underwater tunnel. After a dozen minutes, everyone had passed through the sump without a hitch.

I arrived on the other side of the cold swim in a cavern, completely plain and pitch black as could be. Lacking magical light, or old-fashioned torches, there was no other option for us but to feel around blindly with our hands.

“Here,” Richard called out at last. He had found an opening in the cavern, forward and right of the tunnel we had swam out of.

The walls of this new area were jagged and filled with cavities. It was easy to hold on and use the projections of stones as support, but a budding fear that something would pop out of these holes and bite my hand started to grow. I said nothing as I brought up the rear.

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We wound through the dark corridor for several minutes with Richard leading at the front. The corridor was unchanging and just as I heard a few grumbles about this, the scenery changed.

The winding tunnel came to an end and we entered an even wider cavern than the first. We were on a ledge in fact, and there was light. Glowing algae spotted the outline of the cave in front of us.

“Those plants are creating their own photosynthetic reaction,” Glenn said like an absolute nerd.

“That’s good for them” Maria said sarcastically, but I was just happy I could see. I could see the gleam of light in the eyes of the others as they took in our surroundings. The cave below was beautiful in an utterly unexpected way, the perfect sight to take in after experiencing nothing but pure darkness.

“Careful,” Lucas warned us. I had been pushing to the cavern ledge to take a better look below, “there’s something there.”

None of us had noticed it, but there was a small thin film in the air. Like a portal or a pool of water. Lucas tossed a small pebble over the ledge and the air in front rippled and blurred before going back to perfect peace. Even the view behind it blurred, and seemed to be an illusion.

Were we merely sitting in an empty boring cavern? Did the beautiful cavity in front of us even exist?

“Is it a portal?” Anna asked. She tossed a stone as well, and even shot a spell through the film.

“Isn’t this just a dungeon entrance then?” Jessica asked.

Several of us pulled out our maps and checked for any changes, and sure enough, there was something there. “The Hole.” I read the name out loud. On the map, the name was posted above a simple black circle.

“Doesn’t sound very inviting.” Thomas said.

“Well, this is what we were looking for,” I said. “Even before the gnolls took our choices away. We’ve stumbled upon our original objective. And it goes without saying, but I think we have to go inside.”

Unless we somehow obtained the ability to climb up the side of the hole and out, our only option was to go into the dungeon. I had only been in one dungeon so far, and my experience that time was that we had been trapped inside and only could leave after defeating the boss. If that was the case here… we could be stuck for months or even years.

The more I thought of that, the less worried about it I actually felt. Retreating into a dungeon for several years might be a good thing, especially with the world changing as it was. There was potential for this to be safer inside than outside.

“Is anyone against going in?” I looked around and double checked. It was only now possible to see the faces of my party members with the ­– possibly illusionary – algae providing some light. There was a hint of hesitation on a few faces, not everyone seemed fully prepared to go. Jessica, of course, gave me a determined look. She was ready for the dungeon.

“There’s nothing for us out here anyway. Why the hell not?” Glenn broke the silence and his words seemed to encourage the others.

“True enough,” Anna agreed. She hadn’t been with us in our original dungeon exploration. Neither were Richard, or Glenn, or Mark. This was a brand new and possibly frightening experience for them.

“Alan in first,” I said. “Count to five after he enters and then go.” This was just in case there were enemies and he needed time to pick up aggro before we arrived.

“See you on the other side,” Alan said before dashing through. There was no hesitation on his face, just a thirst for battle.

Five seconds later, all of us pushed through the portal in front of us.

The situation I had expected to see was nothing like the reality in front of me. We weren’t in a cave, nor was it dark and damp or moldy. Instead, we had appeared on a beautiful grassland.

The land ahead of me was luscious and green with grass and colorful flowers. The sun shined happily above me with vibrant intensity. A cool breeze washed over me, and the sound the racing wind made across the fields was heavenly. It didn’t seem like we were in a dungeon at all.

“This looks a bit similar to where the Hole was, no?” Jessica asked. She had come out in high alert, instantly taking in everything around us. Nothing escaped her vision, and thank goodness for that.

“I think so,” I answered, “the hill there is almost identical.” I was even more certain than my words indicated, because the situation when we were being chased by gnolls was burned into my mind. We’d survived without any casualties, or even damage, but the heightened level of stress had fixed the details of that encounter into me. I’d be seeing dreams of it in the future for certain.

“Did it just spit us back out?” Lucas a suggestion out. “Where are the gnolls then?”

“Could be…” Richard was on proceeding cautiously as we slowly made our way to the hill. “You said we have to defeat a dungeon boss to get out of here?”

“As far as I’m concerned, this place is paradise!” Maria had made it to the top of the hill and gazed into the distance. There was the forest behind us, and then green grass as far as the eye could see.

“It’s hard to believe a place so beautiful could still exist in this hell,” Thomas said.

“Let’s be careful. This can’t be the world we just came from.” Jessica gave everyone a stern warning. Being the one in charge of detection had slowly morphed her into an almost motherly figure in the group. The downside was she never had a moment of reprieve. Constantly scanning for danger and being responsible for our group had to be taking a toll on her.

I approached her from the side and wrapped an arm around her, “Are you okay?” I asked.

I received a tender, but extremely rare smile, “I’m okay. You know we can’t be careless.”

“I know. I won’t forget what happened to Maria.” Our carelessness back then almost got her killed. The green fields looked harmless, but who knew what was lurking beneath. “Try to relax just a bit. We can set the pace here.”

I turned my attention back to everyone else, “I know this place looks like paradise on earth, but we have to remain vigilant, so I’d like to lay down some ground rules.” I paused and made sure I had everyone’s attention.

“First of all: Never ever wander off alone. Under no circumstances is anyone to go anywhere without being in view of the group. If you need to use the bathroom, find a partner.” This rule was almost humiliating, but the possibility of someone slipping away randomly through their own mistake or being hunted by a malicious entity was high. And if one of us did disappear, finding them again in a world of this size might prove impossible.

“Second: if you discover something strange, or even THINK it’s strange, say something. The world can play with our minds. If something doesn’t seem right, speak up about it.”

“Third: We are a single entity. We work as a group, and we do everything as a group. That means, regardless of how you feel about something, we all follow the group’s decision. With that being said, we will vote and discuss pertinent issues if they arise. That’s all, any questions?” I finished.

No one seemed put off by any of the rules. They were created to ensure the group’s survival, and keep every person in the party alive. Perhaps because the others appreciated the spirit behind them, no one complained. “Now that that’s out of the way, we should talk about how to get out of here.”