Jack and Annie finally had been Master Librarians, so they got the secret cards. Morgan said the right people would know what the cards mean.
This adventure would be their first mission, since Morgan had made them Master Librarians.
There have been many great libraries lost in history, so were many wonderful stories. For Camelot's library, Morgan needed them to collect the books before the libraries became lost forever.
Jack and Annie set off to save a story to Pompeii, one of the typical ancient Roman towns, with a book titled "Life in Roman Times".
Morgan said them to remember her telling that when their darkest hour only the ancient story could be saving them.
They had landed in a grove of olive trees on August 24, A.D. 79 in Pompeii which Romans went on their vacation. Jack and Annie were dressed in tunics with belts, sandals that laced up, and a leather bag, instead of their own ones.
Jack was interested in here, but something felt wrong with Annie. Because she had a nightmare last night, felt scary of the name of Mount Vesuvius, felt shaken and heard ground rumbling, and didn't hear any birds singing in the grove. What's even worse, when they got to the stream, they found it had dried up. Feeling weird, she followed Jack. Annie wanted them to better find that story fast.
They crossed the bridge, stepped onto a busy street, and walked past shops. Soon they came to a forum which was the center of a Roman town, where people meet to sell goods and discuss politics.
That's when, a woman who wore a black cloak, with tangled wild hair and missing her teeth, pointed a bony finger at Jack and Annie. She warned them that the end is near, and two strangers must go home. They hurried away from her before people wondered who they were. She was a soothsayer.
They kept walking and soon came to the Public Baths where people washed, swam, played sports, and visited with their friends. And they came to the Temple of Jupiter, chief of god, with large columns, where the people of Pompeii prayed to Jupiter and offered him gifts. We call the stories about Jupiter and other gods and goddesses "myths."
As they left the forum, they saw Gladiators whose feet were chained together, and guards walked with them. Gladiators were slaves or criminals who fought in the amphitheater.
Just then they crossed with the soothsayer. Annie wanted to talk to her, so went to her. The soothsayer said that all the streams of Pompeii had dried up, all the birds had flown away, and all the rats had left, because the end was near.
The two of them asked her about library, and showed secret library card. Then she smiled warmly at them, and pointed only library she knew in house of Brutus. She said to them that after finding the book then leave at once because there would be nothing left in Pompeii after today.
They ran up to the villa, but anybody were in there. There was no time, so they had to look in all the rooms for books faster. At last, they opened one, where along the walls of the room were long shelves with rolls of paper on them. Romans had written their books on scrolls of papyrus paper.
Jack pulled out the piece of paper with the Latin title on it, which Morgan gave them before starting this journey, "Vir Fortissimus in Mundo". They unrolled scrolls one by one, then the words at the top matched the ones on their paper.
That's when a volcano was coming with sundial pointing at noon. Just then they heard a terrible blast. Everything was shaking and crashing down them. Glowing rocks were bursting through the sky above Mount Vesuvius. A thick black cloud was spreading over the earth like an umbrella. The sun vanished as the sky turned smoky gray and the ground trembled again.
After they tided pillows around their head with their belt, they ran from the vacation villa into the burning streets. Burning rocks and fiery ash fell from the sky. They left the street and ran to the dried-up stream near the olive grove.
But the bridge had already vanished. The bridge must had caved in and Pumice had piled up in huge drifts, like snow. They tried to move through the millions of warm grayish white pebbles, but they were trapped.
At the moment, Annie remembered what Morgan said, 'In your darkest hour, only the ancient story can save you!'. They pulled out the ancient scroll and shouted, "Save us, story!"
Suddenly a huge gladiator held Jack with one hand and Annie with the other. He placed them both on the other bank of the stream. Two of them didn't stop to ask any questions, and charged through the olive grove.
Finally, they charged into the magic tree house. They was too blinded by ash and dust to find Pennsylvania book that always took them home, but soon had got it.
In the tree house, When they were back to the woods, Morgan stood in the corner of it. Jack handed the scroll to her. That story, about one they just rescued, was called The Strongest Man in the World. That was a lost tale about Hercules, sun of Jupiter.
Annie thought they were saved by Hercules. Though Hercules was a myth to people in this time, but in Roman times lots of people believed that he was real. Since they were in Roman times, he was real to them. Jack also said thanks to Hercules at the sky, whatever he was, too.
