The skies were clear and blue. Birds were singing their beautiful songs, and all was well in the Oak Wood Forest. Autumn was drawing near, the leaves were turning orange, red, and brown. Oliver was biking on a long dirt path that weaved its way through the dense forest. The wind whipped past his face and through his hair; he was enjoying the fresh fall air. He saw someone in the distance. As he got closer, he realized it was his best friend, Jewel! Jewel warmly greeted him, “Hey Oliver! Fancy seeing you here.” Oliver joyfully replied, “Hello! How are you?” “I’m doing great, do you want to join me on a ride?” “Sure!”

As Oliver and Jewel biked along the rough dirt road, they spotted a worn game trail. Its overgrown path leads into dense woods. They concluded that following the trail would be a thrilling adventure. Once they entered the woods they were met by a cold darkness. It seemed to permeate itself throughout the area. They ventured on, the air was cold and foggy. Little critters could be seen poking their heads out from behind trees and branches, Jewel pointed out to a squirrel making its way through the bushes. As they rode even deeper into the trees it seemed as though the sunlight was slowly disappearing. Oliver came to an abrupt stop, the game trail had cut short.

Oliver turned to Jewel and offered, “It looks like we should head back home.” Jewel didn’t respond. She held out a shaky finger that pointed to a small structure standing deep in the trees. Oliver gasped, “What is that?” Jewel responded, “It looks like an abandoned logging cabin.”

The building was old and decrepit. The chimney was charred, and the mossy shingles were collapsing from years of weathering. Most of the windows were broken out or fogged up. Overgrown weeds were sprouting out from underneath the logs. Flat stones were creating a path almost fully concealed by dense bushes of weeds leading right up to a door that was cracked and burnt as if it were scorched in a fire. There were no traces of anyone living there at least for what seemed like a few decades. Jewel asked Oliver, “Do you think we should go over there?” Oliver hesitantly responded, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea… that place looks like it’s been abandoned for years! Who knows the danger into which we could get ourselves.”

They both slowly got off their mud-splattered bikes and started to walk toward the logging cabin. With each step they took dead leaves crunched beneath their feet. At this point, the sun’s light struggled to break through the packed canopy of branches. As they both got closer, they could see how worn and dusty each log was, the whole cabin looked untouched by the forest and yet was slowly being consumed by it. Oliver propped himself up on one of the logs, hoping to get a peek inside of one of the stained windows. He pressed his face against the cold window and found that the window was, in fact, loose. Jewel walked over to the distressed front door and tried pushing and pulling, but it wouldn’t open. She heard a holler from the inside of the cabin! Oliver had broken through the flimsy window and was unlocking the tattered door. “Oliver! You scared me half to death!” Jewel exclaimed. Oliver replied sarcastically, “Well, at least it was only half to death. We should look around, maybe we’ll find something valuable!” “Like what? A dusty ax? That’s about all we’re bound to find here.” Jewel retorted.

They peered around the dark room and realized that the cabin seemed much larger from the inside than it did from the outside. The floorboards creaked as they walked. Jewel saw a wall with rusty lockers on it and started to search there. Oliver found a small cabinet, he opened it, but the contents were empty. Jewel had no luck finding anything. They regrouped at the front door. Jewel pointed out a small box hiding in the corner. She questioned, “Look! What’s that?” “I don’t know. Let’s see!” Oliver said excitedly

They strained to pull the old box’s lid off, but they couldn’t. Oliver whipped out his knife and tried to pry it open. He got it! He carefully lifted the lid off and peered inside. There was an old piece of paper coated in a thin layer of dust. Oliver took the piece out and blew the dust off, revealing what looked like a map! As he examined it closer, he saw a small sketch of a cabin. Jewel came up behind him and looked at the map as well. “Wow! Now that’s better than a rusty ax!” Jewel spouted. Oliver declared, “It’s a map! Maybe it leads to treasure!” Jewel replied, “I seriously doubt that.” “Well, there’s only one way to find out! Let’s follow the map!” Oliver announced.

Oliver and Jewel excitedly ran out the door to their bikes. They took another look at the tattered map. The next small sketch was of four oak trees lined up in a row with a small “N” above them symbolizing north. They quickly hopped onto their bikes and rode off. This time, heading in the opposite direction of the game trail that they arrived on. The skies were a golden orange, the air was frigid and hazy. Oliver spotted some oak trees in the distance. “Look, there are the four oak trees!” Oliver shouted. Jewel rejoiced, “Yes, we are finally here!”

The four oak trees stood tall and firm, each of their branches filled with red, orange, and brown leaves. Oliver and Jewel parked their bikes and slowly moved towards them. Oliver looked down at the map in his hands and then back at the trees. This was the last sketch on the map meaning this could be where treasure is! Jewel walked around but couldn’t find any sign of something valuable anywhere. The ground was flat and packed around the base of the enormous trees. “We should split up, so we can cover more ground.” Oliver suggested. “Good idea! I will go this way and you go that way.” Jewel announced.

Jewel slowly walked around one of the large oak trees. She swiveled her head this way and that, scanning for any sign of treasure. Oliver was digging at the base of one of the trees. He thought that whatever they were looking for might be buried. He dug and dug; the cold dirt impacting itself in his nails. Jewel came over to him “Any luck?” Jewel questioned. “No, but we can’t give up!” “You’re right, why would there be a map with no treasure?”

Oliver decided to climb one of the trees to see what he could find. He took a hold of one of the low-hanging branches. He carefully climbed up and up the tree, looking around. He spotted a hole in the tree! Oliver hesitantly reached into the hole and grabbed a small chest. He climbed down and excitedly pronounced, “I found it!” Jewel congratulated, “Great work! What’s in it?” “I don’t know.”

They concluded that they should open the chest. Oliver and Jewel both put a hand on the chest. As they opened it, they were overwhelmed by a bright flash of light! They both woke up in a different place than they were before. Jewel slowly sat up and looked around, she was sitting on the dusty floor of the old cabin! Oliver looked around in absolute shock! Were they back where they started? As they sat there in confusion, they heard a twinkling sound. A sparkling light was floating over what looked like a trap door. Oliver asked, “Should we go in there?” “I guess so.” Jewel agreed.

Jewel tried to pull on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Oliver tried too, and still no luck. Oliver spotted an inscription on the door. It read “Äbrati cimáso.” “What does Äbrati cimáso mean?” Oliver questioned.

As Oliver said the words inscribed on the wood, they heard an earth-quaking rumble! The ground began to shake, the green stone burst out of the small chest. It pounded into the trapdoor; green veins of light weaved their way across the decrepit door. The hatch rose ominously, revealing a ladder into the darkness.“Do you think we’re supposed to go down there?” Jewel asked. He rapidly responded, “I’m not going down there, are you crazy!” “Well, I’m going with or without you.” She declared. “What if it’s a trap?” Oliver hollered.Jewel teased, “Don’t be such a scaredy cat!”

Jewel started down the ladder. The atmosphere was surprisingly fresh, untainted by the world above. Oliver didn’t want to be left behind, so he cautiously followed after her. They both descended into the abyss. They were met by a massive tunnel system heading off in all directions. It was like a world below the one we all know. Foliage overtook every square inch of the large tunnels. Occasional shafts of moonlight streamed in from tiny holes in the tunnel walls. The sparkling light appeared once again. It started to move down one of the passageways. Oliver and Jewel started to follow the mysterious light. The light began to move faster down the tunnel. They had to sprint to keep up with it. They zigged and zagged from tunnel to tunnel. Suddenly the light disappeared! They stopped and examined their surroundings, realizing that the air had become stale and humid. The foliage was dead and sparse. Jewel pointed out a decaying door covered in cobwebs. Oliver hesitantly said to Jewel, “Should we go in?”

Jewel nodded and they both cautiously walked closer to the wooden door. Oliver carefully reached out and slowly turned the rusty door handle. As he opened the door, he heard a deafening groan coming from the other side. He slammed the door shut and Jewel and him quickly took a few steps back. They looked at each other with panicked faces. The door slowly opened, and a skinny, pale-faced man emerged from the doorway! They were terrified! The man uttered the words, “¡Váltam orë, durä kipo ve levirá!” Not looking back, they ran away as fast as they could. Jewel cried out. “We need to find that ladder!”