The five stood inside a cavern. It looked like it was almost half the size of a basketball court, with a ceiling hanging over three meters high.
The air here was damp, but not nearly as heavy as the air of the mountain was under the weight of the storm.
Marina put a strand of her light brown hair behind her ear and adjusted her glasses. A combination of gestures that everyone in the group knew meant that she had just gotten seriously excited.
"I've never heard of any cavern besides that one cave where we used to retreat to sometimes… And definitely not a cavern as big as this one."
"The bigger question, though, is how are we able to see anything? Where does the light come from?"
Carlos pointed out the elephant in the room, or in the cavern in this case. A cavern would usually be too dark for most eyes. A lot of cave-only species even evolved to give up their eyes completely, because they are useless in this environment.
Yet, this cavern was not dark. On the contrary, a faint glow rendered everything visible. But…
"There doesn't seem to be a single source. We aren't projecting shadows in any direction. It's almost like the air itself is the source of light."
Marina adjusted her glasses again as she spoke, for her comment was spot on.
Everyone started looking around, testing the hypothesis. They walked in several directions, made slow and fast movements… always with the same result.
"Yup. You're right, Marina. No matter what we do, there's no shadow."
Henrique furrowed his brow in frustration, recalling some documentaries he watched earlier this year. Meanwhile, Carlos looked around as if in a bliss.
"Is this… magic? Like true, real magic? Could it be…?"
Everyone chuckled at his words, yet none tried to make fun of him. It was the 'I'm cooked' kind of chuckle.
"I would like to say that magic doesn't exist. But, as far as the science knows, there's no light without a point of origin and a projection, and teleportation is just a fever dream."
"Do you think that we were actually teleported, Henrique?"
Heloisa, the girl with long, pink hair who is the 'mom' of the group, asked meekly.
"Of course. What else could have happened? We are not on the top of the Watermine Peak, that's for sure. But we didn't walk away from that place. So, we teleported."
Marina took out her phone, and everyone else followed her example. They fiddled with their phones for a while, until Heloisa spoke, frowning.
"It's no use. No phone or internet signal, nor GPS signal."
Marina quickly put down her phone and started scouring the cavern, looking for any clues.
After some time, she goes back to the group.
"Hey guys. This cavern doesn't have anything, but there are two passages. I didn't find anything else. One passage is to the south, and the other is to the northwest. So, where should we go?"
Ravi, who was quiet until this moment, suddenly spoke.
"Guys! This is an adventure! Let's face this as a dungeon and explore it as our characters would do in our RPGs. There shall be an exit somewhere."
Heloisa smiled wryly and nodded.
"That's right. But let's not forget that we aren't RPG characters. We don't have magic or fancy powers. And if we die, it's real death. So, let's start by reviewing our gear and resources, then put up a plan."
Everyone nodded gravely at her words. This was indeed a serious thing, but at the same time, thrilling. And it was true that some of the knowledge from dungeoneering in RPGs could come in handy in this situation.
"Right. I will scout in front. I have a brand new sketchbook and several pens, as well as a compass, so I can map out as we explore. I have a pair of clothes for changing, and we just restocked water on the brook less than an hour ago, so I have… three liters of water.
Oh, and I also brought the usual food for the four days we would stay at the camping site. It's mostly bread, smoked meat, biscuits, nuts, and dried fruit. And I also have the machete and a big knife, a lighter, a lantern, some rope, and of course my tent and a blanket."
Marina was the first to speak. She was experienced and well prepared for several issues that could arise during a camping weekend. The others soon double-checked their own backpacks and told the items they've brought.
Several of them had brought instant noodles and canned vegetables and meat. They also had some pots that they could set over a campfire and even a bottle of alcohol. Yet, there was no timber in this cavern, so they couldn't cook.
Besides the heavy RPG books, some of them had also brought notebooks and pencils. But the only weapons besides the knife and machete from Marina were another knife brought by Henrique and a slingshot that Ravi carried.
Ravi had good accuracy with the slingshot, but he never used pebbles as ammo. He only used harmless mamona fruits, of which he had a pouch. He was still always outmatched by Marina in their little 'mamona wars.'
All the others also carried tents and blankets, as well as more rope, candles, some tableware, water, and food that didn't require cooking. Heloisa also had a complete first-aid kit she always carried around, even in the city.
"Okay… I will go in front, but we'll stop every now and then so I can draw the map as we advance."
"Right, Marina. But can I hold the machete? You won't be in need of cutting off branches, and I think that if some weird thing appears, I'll be able to show off a bit of the results of my training."
Henrique had joined a sword-fighting group a couple months ago. They used rubber replicas and wood shields. It probably doesn't even count as 'martial arts,' but it would still beat no training at all.
"Of course. I'll still have the knife. Ravi, I think that you should arm yourself with your slingshot and pick some pebbles from around the ground. I saw some good ones earlier."
Ravi shook his head at the mention of the slingshot.
"No, you are better with it than me. And you are the scout as well. You take the slingshot, and I take Henrique's knife, as he will be using the machete."
"You have a deal, then."
Marina attached the slingshot to her waist and quickly went around collecting pebbles and stuffing them in her pockets.
"I'm so glad I bought these pants. They are sturdy, so they protect against thorns and bites from insects and small animals. And they also have these big pockets…"
She muttered more to herself than to her friends as she went about collecting the little stones. The others, in the meanwhile, also put back all the stuff in their backpacks and steeled themselves.
Though they were just a group of teenagers - or, as they would prefer to be called, 'young adults' - lost in a cavern god knows where on the planet, a fire burned in all of their eyes.
They were excited, not afraid. Confident, not desperate.
After all, this was the adventure they always dreamed about. A true adventure. One that they could live themselves, instead of through the existence of their characters, who were, in the end, nothing more than scribbles on paper.
This was their own adventure, their time to shine.
That was what was in the minds of each one of them.
Who knows how long that excitement and confidence will hold before giving way to terror and despair?