does it mean?” Kostya asked, looking around as if trying to find the source of the sound.
“It seems we need to enter this circle,” Andrei suggested, trying to conceal his unease. “Maybe it’s some kind of test or a passage to another place?”
Without hesitation, Vera took a step forward. She felt that this circle had not appeared on their path by chance, that this was where their real adventure began. The others followed her lead, though doubt and fear were evident in their eyes.
As they all stood inside the stone circle, the whispering around them intensified, and the light from the symbols on the stones grew brighter. Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble, and the circle filled with a blinding light. The children closed their eyes but felt no fear – only a strange sense of calm and anticipation of something great.
And then, as the light became unbearably bright, they felt their bodies start to lose weight, as if they were becoming weightless. The sensation of flight filled them, and in the next moment, they felt the solid ground disappear beneath their feet, and they were falling into the void.
The forest, the fog, the stone circle – all vanished, leaving only light and the sensation of movement. They didn’t know where this strange passage was leading them, but they instinctively felt that the place they were about to reach would change them forever.
As the light began to fade, the children found themselves on the other side. They stood on the edge of a vast forest gorge, surrounded by towering cliffs and trees whose tops disappeared into the clouds. Ahead stretched a new, unexplored world, full of mysteries and dangers. The forest of Tumanyer was behind them, and ahead lay a new challenge – and a new great adventure.
Chapter 3: The Secrets of the Forest Gorge
The children stood on the edge of the Forest Gorge, awestruck by the grandeur of the scene before them. The gorge stretched for miles ahead, its walls towering like stone giants guarding their ancient secrets. Far below, hidden beneath the thick canopy of trees, a river flowed, its sound reaching them as a distant murmur.
“What is this place?” Lena whispered, unable to take her eyes off the panorama before them.
“It seems like we haven’t just crossed into another part of the forest,” Andrei replied, gazing into the distance. “This is something else… It’s like we’re in another world.”
“Look!” Vera exclaimed, pointing to the far edge of the gorge. There, against the backdrop of a horizon disappearing into the clouds, were the ruins of an ancient castle. Lights flickered within its walls, as if someone or something inhabited it.
“That must be our next destination,” Kostya said, trying to figure out how they could reach the castle. “But how will we cross this gorge?”
They looked around, searching for a way down. Climbing down the sheer cliffs was dangerous, and the trees growing on the edges seemed too fragile to support even one person’s weight. But ahead, to their right, the children noticed a narrow path leading down along the edge of the gorge.
“This is our only way,” Andrei said, taking the first cautious step onto the path. “We’ll have to move slowly and carefully.”
The others followed him, trying not to look down. The path was narrow and winding; each step could be their last, but the children pressed on, supporting one another. Every now and then, one of them would stumble, but there was always someone else to lend a shoulder and help them stay on their feet.
The lower they descended, the darker it became. The sun barely penetrated here, and everything was shrouded in twilight. But something strange was happening in this place. As they descended, they began to notice that the trees around them started to change. Their trunks were covered with moss that glowed faintly green, and the leaves whispered, as if the trees were communicating with one another.
“This place is alive,” Lena observed, feeling the trunk of one of the trees. “It’s not just a forest… There’s something magical here.”
“Maybe this light will help us find our way,” Vera suggested, pointing to the glowing moss. “Let’s follow it.”
So they did, using the glowing moss as their guide. After a while, they noticed that the path widened, and they found themselves in a small clearing surrounded by tall trees. In the center of the clearing was an old, long-abandoned well, from which a faint light emanated.
“What is this place?” Kostya asked, cautiously approaching the well.
“It seems this well is more than just a well,” Andrei replied, studying it closely. The stones of the well were carved with the same symbols they had seen on the stone circle they passed through in the previous chapter.
Vera carefully peered inside. At the bottom, she saw a shimmering light emanating from the water. But there was something unusual about this light, as if it was trying to convey some kind of information.
“It feels like this light is calling us,” she said, her gaze fixed on the water. “But what does it want to tell us?”
“Maybe it’s some kind of magical source?” Lena suggested. “Maybe it will show us the way or reveal something important?”
“Let’s try to use it,” Kostya proposed, taking a small stone from his pocket and tossing it into the water. As soon as the stone touched the surface, the light intensified, and images began to appear on the water.
On the water’s surface, the image of the ancient castle they had seen from the edge of the gorge emerged. But now they could see it in detail: the castle was surrounded by walls, behind which were narrow passageways and gloomy halls. In one of the halls, they noticed a glowing artifact emitting a powerful light.
“That’s what we need to find,” Vera said, as if hearing confirmation in her mind. “This artifact will help us unravel the secrets of this world and find our way home.”
“But how will we get there?” Andrei wondered. “That castle looks impregnable, and the path to it is full of dangers.”
At that moment, the light in the well suddenly disappeared, and a wind rose over the clearing, filling the air with the whisper of trees. In their sounds, the words: “The trial has begun…” slipped through again.
“It seems the forest is testing us once more,” Kostya said, clenching his fists. “But we have no choice. We have to pass this test.”
“We’ll do it together,” Vera said firmly, looking at her friends. “We’ll make it, as always, because we have each other.”
With these words, they left the clearing, following the glowing moss that led them further down the path. They knew that new trials and dangers awaited them ahead, but they believed that friendship and courage would help them overcome all obstacles.
Their journey to the castle was just beginning, and each minute of this adventure brought them closer to unraveling the great mystery hidden in the heart of this strange, magical world.
Chapter 4: The Labyrinth of Shadows
The path, illuminated by glowing moss, led the friends deeper into the dark depths of the Forest Gorge. The surroundings grew darker, and soon they found themselves in a place where the light vanished, leaving them alone with the dense, almost tangible darkness. The trees stood so close to each other that their branches intertwined, forming a thick canopy through which not a single ray of light penetrated.
“We must be careful,” Andrei whispered, feeling the air around them grow colder and heavier. “Something isn’t right here.”
“This place… it seems to absorb light,” Lena noted, peering into the darkness. Her voice was restrained, as if she was afraid to break the silence that seemed to press down on them.
Vera, walking in front, stopped. She suddenly