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JOURNAL ENTRY: SECRET TEMPLE

Trip 8: Back to the Desert

I didn’t want to go back to the desert. I didn’t care about the treasure. I wanted to explore the Overworld, but I had promised Julian we could return, and Oliver was holding me to that promise. As we entered the temple, Julian began to pace.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “You seem nervous.”

“I just want to find the treasure.”

“We’ll find it,” I said, certain that we would.

But we didn’t. We dug all over the temple and there was nothing there. Julian suggested that we had stolen it from him. And we blamed him for the missing treasure.

“I promise you,” I said, “we didn’t take the treasure.”

“Then who did?” Julian was getting frustrated.

A man wearing a black helmet entered the desert temple and I took out my diamond sword. “Who are you?” I asked, pointing my sword at him.

“I’m Ezra,” he said. “I know where your treasure is hidden.”

“How?” I asked.

“Tell them who I am.” He looked over at Julian.

“You know this man?” Oliver was shocked.

“Ezra used to be a part of the blue army.” Julian spoke slowly. “But he stopped working with Charles and Thao.”

“Where are Charles and Thao?” I asked.

“They’re long gone,” Ezra told us, “and we’ll never have to worry about them again. When you staged the Ender Dragon attack, I used command blocks to switch them to Hardcore mode.”

“Why would you betray them like that?” asked Oliver.

“I really didn’t want to be a part of their army,” replied Ezra. “They were terrible leaders.”

“So then where is the treasure?” I asked.

“Well,” said Ezra, “I know it isn’t here.”

“How could you know that?” Oliver asked.

“I live in the desert—I never left after the attack. And I once saw someone come into this temple and empty it,” replied Ezra.

“Who?” asked Oliver.

“I’m not sure. I only caught a quick glimpse and I thought it was Charles, on his own. But I knew that was impossible. I had put him on Hardcore mode and he had been destroyed. There was no way he could come back.”

“Maybe he knew you put him on Hardcore mode and stopped it?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if I should trust Ezra. I was also beginning to grow wary of Julian again. He had never told us about this friend from his blue army days. And what a coincidence for Ezra to suddenly appear in the desert temple while we were searching it. I felt like we were being tricked.

“I suppose that is a possibility,” Ezra replied finally.

“Did you follow him?” asked Oliver.

“Yes, but I lost him,” Ezra continued. “And then I thought I saw him here a few weeks ago. I tried to follow him again, but he noticed. He splashed a potion on himself and disappeared.”

A roar was heard outside the desert temple. The wing from an Ender Dragon struck the side of the temple—almost immediately it crumbled.

“Watch out!” Oliver called out.

“Who summoned the Ender Dragon?” I shouted.

“It could be the mystery man. It could be Charles!” Ezra cried.

I grabbed all the snowballs I had in my inventory and tried to keep a brave face, but when the Ender Dragon let out a fiery breath, I was terrified. This is why we’d stayed so far away when we’d summoned the Ender Dragons the first time.

Oliver was at my side. He threw the first snowball at the dragon, but despite his good aim, one snowball didn’t destroy the powerful creature.

Julian and Ezra joined in the battle. They hurled their own snowballs at the beast, but it was only weakening the dragon, not destroying it. And we were quickly losing energy.

“Who summoned this?” I asked aloud again, but realized I was talking to myself—everyone else was immersed in battle.

The dragon flew toward me, and instead of striking it with my sword, I sprinted back into the desert temple. I wanted to seek shelter from the horrid flying terror.

I was useless in battle. A warrior who couldn’t fight.

I could hear them fighting from inside the temple. I felt terrible for abandoning my friends in battle, but I was no help. My fears had overtook me.

“I think I’ve got it!” I heard Julian call out as he slammed the fiery beast with the last of his snowball supply.

It went quiet outside. Then I heard Oliver. “William, where are you?”

As I came out of the temple, I spotted someone running by. It looked like Charles. “I think he’s here!” I shouted.

Nobody was listening. They were all cheering for Julian, who had thrown the final snowball at the Ender Dragon. It had exploded, dropping a dragon egg and unleashing a portal to the End.

I joined them, but I couldn’t see Oliver anywhere. “Where’s Oliver?” I asked the others.

“He disappeared at the end of the battle,” said Julian. “We aren’t sure where he went.”

“Sorry,” said Ezra, “but we’re going to the End. We don’t want to miss this chance.”

The two passed through the portal, leaving me to search for Oliver on my own. I looked around the temple, but he was nowhere in sight. First the treasure went missing and now my best friend was gone. We never should have come back. That’s what I get for keeping my promise.

I spent the next day searching every block of the temple and all the land surrounding it. I couldn’t find Oliver. I was starting to get nervous. I kind of missed him and I was worried he might have been taken prisoner. I hoped the person who looked like Charles would return and I could trap and question him. I wanted Oliver back. If my plan failed . . . well, there was nobody who could help me. I was all alone.

Kaboom!

I heard an explosion in the distance. I was shaking, but I went to explore the source of the noise. I had to find out if Oliver was somehow involved. It was getting dark, and two Endermen crept by. They were carrying blocks, and I tried not to make eye contact with them. The lanky Endermen didn’t see me, but I knew it was just a matter of time before I was destroyed by one of the hostile mobs that spawned in the night. I was scared and I felt like a fraud. The entire Overworld celebrated me. They believed I was a fearless explorer. I had called myself a warrior. And here I was, friendless and scared. I missed Oliver.