Passage under the Red Stone

Lena did not like Wednesdays. Especially when she had to help her grandmother in the basement of the old red building after school. But something was different that day. Maks, her older brother, had to stay too, because her grandmother said they would only tackle moving the jars together. The cellar was full of secret corners and smelled of dust that irritated noses. Lena rolled her eyes as Maks began playing with a torch, casting luminous circles on the walls. Suddenly, behind a pile of empty crates, the light fell on something strange - a small iron door they had never seen before. - Maks! Look! - Lena whispered excitedly. The door looked very old. It had carved knobs and traces of strange symbols that could not be read. Maks carefully touched the handle. To their surprise, the door opened without the slightest creak. Inside, it was semi-darkness, but they could recognise a long, winding corridor that led, it seemed, into infinity. - Should we go in? - Lena asked, clutching a jar of raspberry jam in her hand as if it were a talisman. Maks nodded. - If not now, when? They took a few steps deeper into the corridor. Behind them, the door slammed shut with a quiet 'click'. Torchlight danced across the walls, revealing magnificent paintings: running owls, glistening trees, mysterious figures in cloaks. Suddenly they felt a breath of cold air and heard a strange rustling, as if someone or something was following them in the darkness. At the end of the corridor a blue glow appeared. They got closer and closer, and Lena noticed that the drawings on the walls were beginning to... move. Owls were spreading their wings, trees were whispering something in an unfamiliar language, and one of the figures raised its hand as if welcoming them. Maks stopped. - 'Lena, can you see that? - he whispered in surprise. The glow grew stronger and stronger, and the door behind them disappeared. A real portal was opening in front of them - a swirling circle of light through which echoed unfamiliar voices and smells not of this world. Should they cross the portal? Or should they return before it was too late? Next to them, the first step of a mysterious figure had just resounded....