As they went deeper into the mountain, the landscape became more and more wild. The trees were dense, the branches intertwined and the sunlight had difficulty getting through. The fog had become thicker and made everything seem somewhat eerie.
Elpida walked ahead, holding the map tightly in her hands. She tried to look confident, but inside she felt a little anxious. What if she had made a mistake? What if they had taken the wrong path? She didn't want to disappoint her friends.
Kostas, on the other hand, pretended not to care, but he too felt a strange knot in his stomach. It was one thing to talk about treasures at school and another to actually be lost in the mountain.
"Well? How much longer?" Christina asked, wiping a little sweat from her forehead.
"We shouldn't be far," Elpida replied. "The map says there's a mark on a rock somewhere here."
"What mark?" Rania asked.
"Something like a heart. A symbol."
Everyone started looking around more carefully. Every large rock caught their attention. They stopped at some, cleaned them of leaves and dirt, but they couldn't find anything.
"Did the person who made the map imagine it?" Kostas grumbled.
"Or are we just not looking hard enough?" Elpida replied.
Time was passing and they were starting to get tired. The idea of treasure, which had seemed exciting at first, now seemed a little more distant.
And then Christina's voice was heard.
"Hey, guys! I think I found it!"
Everyone ran towards her. On a large, old rock there was a symbol carved. It was not clearly visible, because it was half covered in moss, but it looked very similar to the one on the map.
Elpida took out the map and compared it.
"Yes… it's the same!" she said excitedly. "We're on the right track!"
Everyone's mood changed immediately. Tiredness was forgotten.
"And now what does it say?" Kostas asked.
Elpida read carefully.
"It says that from here we should continue northeast, until we find a cave."
Rania sighed.
"Great… except that Pangaeo is full of caves."
But Kostas was already bent over the map.
"Wait… there's another clue here. It shows that in front of the correct cave there is an old building."
Hope was startled.
"An old building? I know what it is!"
The others looked at her in surprise.
"I've been there before with my dad," she explained. "I know exactly where it is."
For the first time since they started, everyone felt real hope.