John and Tiberius were two regular New Zealanders who enjoyed roaming the countryside, exploring the woods and climbing the mountains. They would always go out together every weekend to their favourite place to walk near Taupo on the North Island.

While wandering through the deep wilderness of New Zealand's North Island, they reached the edge of the area in the woods where people would never go. Old traditions state no one should enter the mysterious hill. Many strange things had happened on the hill when people had been ignorant of these myths had walked here. Some people went out gathering berries and returned with an arm or a leg missing and sometimes they even disappeared completely. The myth began when a large group of settlers from Europe went searching for land to grow crops and never returned. Legend says some fell behind and then while taking a shortcut resulting in gettting dragged away by supposedly monstrous creatures with scaly green skin and terrifying eyes. The rest of the farmers got lost in the newly discovered land and fell down a large pit leading towards something, some said it was leading them to hell but others believed it was a new world.

This day, John and Tiberius wanted to find out the truth about these myths. They thought they were just old campfire stories made to scare people camping in this part of the woods, how very wrong they were. They trudged on past the warning sign that the village elders had placed on a tree many years before. Tiberius took a moment to look at the small clearing, there was something odd about this place, something not quite right. If he hadn't had a sensible head on his shoulders he might even have thought there was some merit to the myth. With a rumble of thunder the sky turned awfully grey.

"It's going to rain, John!" Tiberius exclaimed, knowing full well it would absolutely drench them.

"Let's run to find shelter!" replied a determined John. The two young men ran as fast as they could across the muddy field towards what they could see as rickety old tree houses. Nether had any idea who had built them since people who ventured this far into the clearing rarely returned, and if they did the villagers never got any information from them.

Despite the eerie feeling of the place both continued running, Tiberius worried and John intrigued. Unfortunately for Tiberius, he didn't see a tree root that stuck out of the ground; he tripped and fell flat on his face with a loud 'smack' that reverberated around the clearing. The legend was true. Tiberius slid down a narrow hole that opened up around his flailing body like a snake about to eat it's prey whole. Tiberius had no idea what was happening, his logic filled brain working furiously fast to work out how this giant whole had just opened up around himself. With desperate hands he scrabbled on the ground, trying to find a handhold. The muddy earth just gave way and hastened his fall. In a moment of clear mindedness Tiberius understood a simple fact; he would probably never see his friend again. John was not oblivious to the struggle happening a few meters behind him. John ran towards the seemingly bottomless pit and stretched his hand out to his friend. Tiberius quickly accepted the help but his hands were slick with mud. Tiberius fell. John watched. John shouted for help.

When the villagers got to the edge of the foreboding clearing (that was how far they were willing to go) there was no sign of the two men, just a muddy puddle in the centre, with a gnarled tree root next to it.