The Explorer's Compass: A Young Adventurer's Guide

Previously

…Silas recoiled, his eyes widening in surprise, then narrowing with renewed determination. He had clearly expected a fight, not a secret revealed by the rock itself. Alex didn't wait. With a final, defiant glance at Silas, Alex plunged into the darkness, the compass held aloft, its light a defiant spark against the encroaching night. The grinding sound of the stone door closing echoed behind, sealing Alex within, the mountain’s challenge met, and a new, deeper mystery unfolding.