7

CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN

They were interrupted when a familiar voice called out.

“Julian?” called back Harriet.

“Hi,” said Julian. “I’m sorry—I followed you.”

“Why?” Harriet looked down at the open door. She wanted to hide their discovery from him, but it was too late. “What happened? Why did you disappear?”

“I got scared. But I have no home. When I saw you guys walking by my farm, I called out to you, but you didn’t turn around. So I decided to follow you.”

“We didn’t hear you,” Harriet replied. She didn’t remember hearing anyone call out their name and she didn’t recall seeing Julian when they climbed up the mountain. She was skeptical, but couldn’t help but be a little impressed that he had made the journey on his own.

Julian peeked down the hole. “What’s that?”

“It’s a stronghold. We think it’s a secret room where an army used to be housed,” said Jack.

Harriet was annoyed at Jack. She didn’t want Julian to know about the room. He was too trusting—just like Oliver.

“What makes you think that?” asked Julian.

Jack paused. He saw Harriet shoot him a dirty look, and he knew he had said too much. “I don’t know. A wild guess.”

“That’s a pretty wild guess,” Julian said.

Night began to set in. The group crawled into the hole, and Julian followed them.

“Excuse me,” Harriet called back. “Who said you could come with us?”

Julian paused. “I think you should be nicer to me—you might find me helpful.”

Harriet didn’t know what that meant. But she decided to leave it alone and let him follow them. Together they entered the secret room that was once used by the blue army. It was just as William had described in his journal. Harriet was in awe. She felt as if she was walking into the pages of a storybook as she inspected the room.

Before they could explore the room, Jack suggested they get some sleep. “We want to get rest and avoid hostile mobs.” They walked into the smaller room and quickly fell asleep in the beds. When they awoke, they were ready to explore.

“I found a chest!” Toby shouted.

“What’s in it?” Jack asked.

The group joined Toby and watched as he slowly opened the chest. It was filled with blue helmets. Toby sifted through them. “I think there’s something hidden in the bottom.”

“What?” Jack helped Toby remove the helmets to search the chest more carefully.

“It looks like it’s a book.” Toby pushed the helmets out of the way and grabbed the book from the bottom.

Harriet leaned over Toby and read the cover. “It’s another of William’s journals!”

Julian looked upset. “How do you know William?”

“Everyone knows William the Explorer. He was a famed explorer who went missing.”

“Are you looking for him?” asked Julian.

“Yes,” replied Toby. Harriet glared at him.

“Well, you’re not going to find him,” Julian said with a shaky voice.

“How do you know?” Harriet reached for her diamond sword. She didn’t trust Julian.

“He was trapped a long time ago,” explained Julian. “I don’t even know if he still exists. He used to have this friend who always traveled with him. He was the first one they captured.”

“Who captured them?” Harriet took out her sword and aimed it at Julian. “How do you know all of this?”

“I used to be a part of William’s secret army,” Julian confessed. “It was run by my friend Roger.”

“You must be one of the blue soldiers from the journal,” Toby let slip. Harriet stomped her foot. He wasn’t taking a hint!

Julian was shocked. “You have another journal?”

“Yes, we do. But since you were there, you could probably tell us more than the journal,” said Toby. “Can you tell us why your army turned against William and Oliver in this very room?”

“We were following orders from Roger. After that happened, I was scared and ran off to live on the wheat farm. It’s hard to explain my past. I’ve been trying to forget it.”

Harriet looked at Julian. “You acted as if you never left your town.” She put down her sword. “Why did you really follow us here? How can you help us? Do you know where Charles and Thao are now?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know much, but I’d like to help you find out more. This has been bothering me for a very long time. I want to find William and his friend.”

Harriet looked around the room. “I think we have to search for clues. This is the best place to start. And we have to keep reading the journal. It’s the only way we can get answers. Obviously, William was able to leave his first journal in an abandoned mineshaft after he was here, so we know he had to escape from here at some point.”

“That’s not true,” said Toby. “Someone could have found it here and brought it to the mineshaft.”

Everyone had a theory, but nobody knew where William was hiding. Or being hidden. Julian interrupted. “We’ll find him. It’s been my mission to help him, ever since I left him. I failed him when I left.”

The group searched the two rooms. Harriet looked at the bed where William had slept and secretly written in his journal. She spotted another chest by the bed, and opened it.

“Guys, come quick,” she called out.

Jack shouted, “Diamond armor!”

“I wonder if this belonged to William and Oliver,” Harriet said. “Julian, do you know?” She turned to Julian, but he was no longer in the room.

“Julian?” Toby called out.

There was no response.

“He’s gone,” replied Jack. “Again.”

“Seriously?” asked Harriet. They searched the rooms.

“And the door is closed!” Jack said, as he stood on the stairs. He banged on the door. “It’s blocked!”

Toby rushed to the chest that contained the second journal. “He took William’s journal!”

“I knew he wasn’t to be trusted!” Harriet cried.

“What are we going to do?” Jack banged on the door with his pickaxe, but it stuck. “We’re trapped!”

Toby took out William’s original journal from his inventory. “We’re going to read.”