Everyone agreed, and we began to bury the treasure deep inside the temple.
“I’m going back to my town to live on the wheat farm,” said Julian. “When you’re done with your first exploration, come find me, and we can travel back here and dig up the treasure together.”
We said good-bye to Julian and began our first exploration. During the first few days of the exploration, we were convinced that Charles and Thao would return and stop us, but after a few weeks, we had almost forgotten about them. And after a few months, we felt safe enough to believe they wouldn’t return. The Overworld was a happy place again, and everyone was able to live the lives they wanted. We kept exploring and made many discoveries.
Once Oliver had put together a collection of his maps, and I completed my notes, we began to present them to the people of the Overworld. The people were excited to hear about our adventures. They studied Oliver’s maps and began to take their own journeys. The entire Overworld began to refer to our maps and notes, and we became a trusted source of information.
Whenever we traveled around the Overworld, people would treat us with respect. They were gracious and opened their homes to us when we visited a new town. People who wanted to hear about our explorations constantly surrounded us. It was an exciting time. It seemed as if we were always on the move, and visiting new towns. But although it had been a long time, we hadn’t stopped by Julian’s town.
We stopped at the top and I looked in the direction of his town in the landscape. I knew that would be our next trip.
13
SANDY DREAMS
We should try to find the treasure,” Harriet said.
“But we have to wait for Julian,” Toby reminded us.
Jack looked up at the sky. “He told us he wouldn’t be long, but look, the sun is going to set soon and we have no place to stay.”
Harriet agreed. “We have to find shelter.”
“If we go to the desert temple, I bet we can stay there. Then we can look for the treasure in the morning.” Toby was excited. He loved a good treasure hunt.
“Let’s just give Julian a few more minutes.” Harriet looked out to see if Julian was approaching, but there was no sign of him.
The group waited a little while longer for Julian, but he didn’t appear. “We have to go,” said Jack. “It’s getting dark.”
They made their way to the sandy biome, running as fast as they could toward the desert. When they finally reached the desert, it was night.
Harriet spotted the desert temple in the distance. “There’s the temple. We’ll have to sprint there!”
Outside the desert temple were a few dead bushes and a couple of cacti. The desert temple was empty. The room that usually contained the treasure was looted, but they hoped the buried treasure still remained beneath the floor of the temple.
“We need to craft beds. We don’t want to be exposed to hostile mobs,” Toby warned the group.
The gang crafted their beds and then pulled the blue wool covers up and fell asleep. Harriet dreamt of the treasure they were going to dig the next morning. But she also wondered what had happened to Julian. She worried that he had been attacked. She tossed and turned, half awake. Eventually, she finally drifted off to sleep.
In the morning Jack woke them up. “I want to search for treasure.”
The gang took their shovels and pickaxes and broke up away at the blocks. They dug deep into the surface, but they couldn’t find anything.
“Do you think we’re in the right temple?” Toby wondered.
“I think so,” said Harriet. “It looks just like the one William described in the journal.”
The gang spent the entire day digging holes in the temple. Night was beginning to set. They had just climbed into bed when they heard a noise. Harriet climbed back out to investigate.
She heard someone say, “Wait outside. I bet they’re hiding in here.”
The boys were right behind her. Jack took out his sword and approached the intruder, ready to attack.
“Stop!” the person called out.
“Julian?” Harriet was shocked.
“I had a feeling you’d be here,” Julian told them.
“Why?” asked Harriet.
“Because you’re reading the journal. I lived it, so I know what you’re searching for, and you’re not going to find it here. In fact, it’s probably best if you end your journey here. Please let the past stay in the past. You are digging up old memories that should stay buried.”
“But we want to find William and Oliver,” said Harriet. “They could be hurt and in trouble.”
“People have spent their entire lives searching for them,” said Julian. “Just because you have an old journal doesn’t mean you’re going to find them.”
Harriet wondered why Julian was so against their search for the missing explorers. And hadn’t he said it was his mission to find them, himself? According to William’s journal, they were friends. Wouldn’t he want to find his friends?
Jack asked, “Who’s outside?”
“I’ll introduce you shortly. I just want you to promise that you won’t look for William and Oliver. Just give up this search. The journals are too dangerous.”
Toby paused. He thought about the journal and how far they had traveled to find William and Oliver. “I’m not sure we could do that. This is a mystery we really want to solve.”
A man wearing a black helmet walked into the room.
“The man in the black helmet!” Toby shouted. “William and Oliver destroyed you.”
“You were working with Charles and Thao,” Harriet called out.
“That was a long time ago. I was like Julian. I was forced into working with them. They are long gone. As you know, William and Oliver destroyed them with their Ender Dragon attack.”
“Why are you here? What do you want from us?” asked Harriet.
“I’m here to warn you about the journal. It’s cursed. I’ve know people who have found it before, and they all suffered a terrible fate.”
“We aren’t going to give up,” said Jack.
The man in the black helmet walked around the desert temple. Looking around, he said, “I see you’ve been searching for the buried treasure. You won’t find it here.”
“But we’ll find it.” Harriet said.
“Maybe. But you’re searching in the wrong place,” the man in the black helmet told them.
“So you know where it is?” questioned Harriet.
“No, I don’t, but I know this temple is empty. There is nothing here but memories.” The man in the black helmet looked down at the holes in the ground. “Don’t you believe me? Look at the ground. The holes are empty.”
Harriet was wary. She didn’t trust the man in the black helmet. She looked over at Julian.
Julian confirmed it. “This temple is a sad place. I have bad memories here.”
“All right,” said Harriet. “I think we should go.”
“Can I talk to you in private?” asked Toby.
Harriet, Jack, and Toby walked over to the corner and spoke in a hushed whisper.
“I have a feeling there is something here,” whispered Toby. “I don’t trust them, and they want us to leave so badly. I think that’s a sign that we’re onto something.”
Jack agreed. “I bet there’s a secret room here.”
“But how are we going to explore the rest of the desert temple if they are here?” asked Harriet.
“Let’s leave with them. We’ll come back later on our own,” said Jack.
The gang told Julian and the man in the black helmet that they were heading back home. Once they had traveled a bit further out of the desert, and when they were far enough away from Julian and the man in the black helmet, they constructed a house.
As they sat in their beds, they strategized a plan to explore the desert temple. “I bet there is a secret room,” said Harriet.
“I know,” said Jack. “They are definitely hiding something from us.”
&nbs
p; Toby opened the journal. “Maybe this will help.” He began to read.
14
JOURNAL ENTRY: EXPLORATIONS AND FAME
Trip 7: Julian’s Town
We had finally explored most of the Overworld and the Nether, and battled everything from zombies to ghasts, we were ready to see our old friend. I had promised him, and I try to never break my promises. The journey wasn’t going to be easy. I stared at Oliver’s map and realized that Julian’s town was on the other side of the Overworld, and the journey would take quite awhile.
“I think it’s time we visit Julian,” I told Oliver.
“Good idea,” Oliver said, studying the map.
I looked at the map again. “It looks like we’ll have to travel through the swamp.”
“Yes, and you don’t like witches.”
Despite being a warrior, witches scare me almost as much as fire, and I try to avoid them at any cost. So swamps are some of my least favorite places to go. But I had to see Julian, and there was no easy way to reach his village without traveling through the swamp biome.
“We could always teleport to Julian’s town,” suggested Oliver.
“That seems like cheating. We are world-renowned explorers. We don’t TP.”
“Well, then I think we should start our journey now.” Oliver looked over at me.
“Yes, but let’s go through our inventories and make sure we have all the supplies we need first.”
We had well-stocked inventories. I took a sip of milk and a bite of a potato, and with that, we began our trip to Julian’s village.
At first the journey seemed too easy. We traveled through grassy biomes, and the first night we built a shelter without any attacks from hostile mobs. But once we reached the swamp biome, I started feeling nervous.
“I don’t see any witches.” Oliver kept a close eye on the surroundings.
A bat flew close to my head. “I don’t think that’s necessarily a good sign. We know they’re here somewhere. . . .”
I was right. Within seconds, we came upon a small witch hut. A witch emerged from the house. She clutched a tiny bottle of potion in her hand.
“Watch out!” Oliver shouted.
I stood frozen in terror. I couldn’t move. No matter how many times Oliver shouted warnings at me, I just couldn’t. I was terrified. The witch was coming closer.
“William!” Oliver shouted. “Sprint!”
I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn’t move. The witch was so close that I could have reached out and touched her—if I’d been able to move. She splashed a potion on me. Now I was frozen in place and I was weakened.
Oliver ran toward us. He lunged at the witch with his enchanted diamond sword and struck her before she had a chance to use another of her potions. With a few blows from the sword, she was destroyed. The witch dropped a glass bottle. Oliver leaned over and picked it up. He came over to me. “Drink this.”
I sipped the potion Oliver handed me and regained my strength.
“You did a good job,” Oliver told me.
“Me?” I laughed. “You were the one who destroyed the witch. I did nothing.”
“You’re still here, aren’t you?” Oliver said, and we continued our journey to Julian’s town.
When we entered Julian’s town, crowds surrounded us. They were excited to meet the world-famous explorers. I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging, but this happens to us whenever we enter a new town now. We’ve become celebrities.
Julian rushed over to us. “You guys finally came to visit! I’ve missed you!”
He introduced us to his friends. We saw Tess again and met many other villagers. He walked us over to the wheat farm and told us that he would throw a huge celebration for us that night. The townspeople were excited and everyone talked about the food they would bring to the big feast. Someone decided to plan a fireworks show, too. We were so happy. I was glad to see Julian and be reunited with my old friend.
While we dined on rabbit stew and baked potatoes, a townsperson named Hope asked me about the Nether. “Isn’t it very dangerous and scary?”
“Not at all,” I said, “if you know what you’re doing. I can battle three ghasts without any hassle. And Oliver can battle a horde of blazes while still taking notes for his maps.”
Oliver looked over at me. I could tell he was annoyed. I’ll admit I was stretching the truth a little. But it didn’t excuse Julian when he said, “William. Everyone knows you’re afraid of fire.”
I stared at him. Why would he reveal one of my biggest secrets? I didn’t want anyone to know about my fears. To them, I was a fearless leader and explorer of the Overworld. I wanted it to stay that way.
“Me? Afraid of fire? You must be mistaking me with Oliver over there.” I tried to laugh it off. I didn’t want people to believe him.
The sky grew dark and people began to settle in for the fireworks show. As we watched the colorful display, I hoped that people had forgotten Julian’s comment.
After the show, everyone headed home. We settled in Julian’s house on the wheat farm. As we climbed into our beds, Julian suggested, “Tomorrow we should go look for the treasure we buried in the desert temple.”
“Tomorrow, we are going to continue our explorations. We don’t have time to go back to the desert and dig up that measly treasure,” I replied.
“What? But that was our plan.” Julian seemed very disappointed.
“Plans change,” I said.
“People change.” Julian was annoyed. Oliver was silent.
I fell asleep thinking about the treasure. Julian didn’t deserve it. He had shared one of my secrets with the world. I didn’t trust him.
15
FACT OR FICTION?
I think our answers are in that temple,” said Harriet.
“Why?” Toby looked at the journal. “After reading this, I don’t trust William. It seems like the fame has gone to his head.”
“That doesn’t make me not trust him. I get why he wouldn’t want people knowing he was afraid of fire—that’s personal,” Harriet defended William.
Jack said, “Sometimes when you read the book I wonder what is fact and what is fiction. I mean this is how William sees everything, but it might not be the way things happened.”
“Well, it is his journal.” Toby stared at the tattered book.
“There’s no point in debating this. I’m convinced that we’ll get some answers at the desert temple. The treasure’s missing and we need to find out who took it. Once we figure that out, I think we’ll be closer to finding William and Oliver.” Harriet was tired. She wanted to go to bed.
When the sun rose, Jack woke up the others and offered them some carrots. As the group ate breakfast, Jack asked, “Are we ready to head back to the desert temple today?”
“I think we should use the potion of invisibility,” suggested Harriet. “I bet Julian and his friend are still lurking around the temple, and we don’t want them to see us.”
They all agreed. They made their way into the desert, and when they were close to the temple, they splashed the potion of invisibility on themselves.
They entered the temple carefully. It was eerily quiet. They searched the entire temple, but they couldn’t find any secret room. The gang stopped when they heard voices. Harriet looked down at her hands “Oh no—it looks like the potion is wearing off.”
They stood in the center of the desert temple and slowly began to reappear. Harriet gasped when she noticed Julian and his friend standing right in front of them.
“I knew you’d be back,” he said.
“How could you know?” asked Jack.
“You remind me of William and Oliver. They were always very curious, and they were also very stubborn. You couldn’t stop them from doing anything,” said Julian.
“Which is why they wound up in trouble,” the man in the black helmet added.
“I’ve spent my entire life searching for William and Oliver,” said Julian. “That wasn’t a lie. I miss my friends
. And I don’t know where they are. I’m worried about you reading the journals, but if you’re not going to give up this quest, then maybe we should join forces.”
Harriet, Toby, and Jack looked at one another. Harriet didn’t trust Julian. This didn’t feel sincere. The day before, he had been warning them not to search for William and Oliver, and now he wanted to join forces. She was confused.
“How can we help you?” she asked him.
“What information do you have from the journal?” He looked at the group. It was obvious he wasn’t sure which person had the journal.
Harriet wondered if this was all a trick to get the journal from them. So she lied. “We lost it.”
“Where?” asked Julian.
“We don’t know for sure. In the cold biome, we think. It’s also where we lost the second journal.” Toby spoke fast and sounded nervous.
“I have the second journal,” confessed Julian.
“You do?” Harriet was surprised that he was telling them.
“Yes. I didn’t think you should have it. And I am still trying to figure out if it’s a hoax. I don’t remember William having a second journal,” Julian replied.
“A hoax?” Harriet asked.
“I have my reasons for believing this, but I can’t explain,” said Julian.
“If we’re supposed to work together, we have to tell each other everything we know. Otherwise this isn’t going to work,” said Harriet.
“Okay,” Julian replied. “Do you still have the first journal?”
Harriet didn’t like the direction this was going. She was still convinced that they were being tricked. Julian hadn’t actually answered the question. “I think it’s time we left. I want to explore. You’re right. Searching for William and Oliver was a terrible idea, and it wasn’t our original plan. We’re done.”
Jack and Toby followed Harriet out of the desert temple.
Julian called out after them. “Wait!”
He ran after the gang. They stopped and turned around. “What do you want?” asked Harriet. “We told you we weren’t going to search for William and Oliver anymore. What more do you want from us?”
Discoveries in the Overworld Page 5
