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In the heart of a wood which lost its name long ago, is a place where a seeker of stories

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may go. If you've arrived and a story is your desire, come take a seat for what you require

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is a tale from the second storytime.

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Oh, welcome. I'm glad you've returned. Or, if you're arriving for the first time,

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I am the second storyteller. I really am quite bad with faces, I'm afraid. Books don't have faces,

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you see. Just prefaces. Some of you may be wondering if there was a first storyteller.

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An understandable question, but perhaps a story for a different day.

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Now, this room is one of the tower's great libraries. Stories of every kind find their way

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to these shelves. And today, I was hoping to share a rather fun story, and I believe I've managed to

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find one. This particular tale is from a series called The Platinum Clover Chronicles. The stories

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from this series tend to be pretty ridiculous, but I find there's a certain charm in tales that

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have a bit of whimsie, as you might say. Well then, it's quite lovely out, so why don't we have a

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seat right over here by the window and enjoy some warm sunshine? If you're comfortable, then, today's

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story is part one of The Platinum Clover Chronicles. She's a girl, she's a... cube?

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Deep within a treacherous dungeon, a young man with messy blue hair and bright green eyes

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leaned back against the cavern wall and slowly slid down against it. He was dressed in simple

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leather armor and wore the most basic of steel swords at his hip.

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The

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man's name was Thorn Bootscape, and he was the worst adventurer in the entire land of Platinum

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Clover. Thorn had grown up the son of a tavernkeeper. His entire childhood had been filled with

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adventurers of all types of people. He was dressed in simple leather armor and wore the most basic of

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steel swords at his hip. Thorn had decided early on that as soon as he was able, he would go on his

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own exciting quests. However, at the age of 18, Thorn was just a guy with a sword and very little

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experience. One day, while working at the tavern, he overheard a group of travelers discussing their

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next quest. Thorn was a very good adventurer, and he was a very good adventurer. He was a

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very good adventurer, and he was a very good adventurer, and he was a very good adventurer.

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While working at the tavern, he overheard a group of travelers discussing their next quest.

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We need one more. We can't do a dungeon crawl without a sword. A really buff ogre grumbled,

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flexing without even trying. No, there's three of us, Crags. You are the muscle, I'm the healer,

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and Parsnip is our mage. I think we're set, replied a young woman with black hair.

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However, Parsnip objected. Parsnip was a turtle. Eventually, Thorn had wandered over and offered

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his assistance. It was so exciting. The group accepted his help, and before he knew it,

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Thorn was walking into his first dungeon with his first ever adventuring party. As they entered

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the first chamber, Parsnip trotted over to something dangling from the ceiling. Everyone

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watched for a minute, amused, because a turtle was trying to reach something high up, and that's

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adorable. Finally, Thorn approached the dangling object.

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Looks like a key, he said, and pulled it loose from the string it dangled from.

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In an instant, the entire floor directly behind Thorn crumbled away, and his three

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companions vanished into an inky abyss. Terrified, Thorn started to run. Traps began triggering

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behind him as he ran. Arrows shot over his head, jets of flame leapt up from the floor,

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just as he raced past, and the chaos only stopped when he reached the end of the tunnel,

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where there was only a locked door. It was here that Thorn slumped down against the wall with

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the key, and gave a voice to his misery. This is horrible. Why would anyone want to do this all

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the time? Adventuring is the worst. Who sets up a trap like that anyway? He slowly stood,

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and looked back at the tunnel he had run through. Bits of the floor were still very slightly on fire.

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Thorn, well, I can't go back. There's only a chasm there now,

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but there must be another way out, since I don't really have a choice.

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Thorn shoved the key into the lock and turned the door knob. The door opened with a creak,

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and he stuffed the key into a pouch on his hip, just in case it opened more than one thing.

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He stepped cautiously into a very circular room, lit by torches. A staircase leading down,

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lay at the opposite end of the room. It's a way forward, at least.

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He was starting to regain his confidence. He knew he should feel worse about his dead

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adventuring party, but he didn't honestly know any of them, and adventurers had a tendency to

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fall into traps. Sad and shocking as it was, Thorn had heard thousands of tales where such

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things occurred, and knew his only course was to press on. As he began to cross the room,

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a sudden noise made Thorn stop. There was a sound like a drop of water, splattering on the floor,

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followed by several more drops. Thorn looked up and jumped back with alarm. There was a large,

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gooey thing attached to the ceiling. No sooner had Thorn backed up, the thing dislodged itself

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from the ceiling and landed with the loudest squelching he'd ever heard. Thorn stared at the

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creature open-mouthed. It stood only slightly taller than Thorn himself, though it was a great deal

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wider and more cube-shaped. Two large eyes floated in the goop, occasionally spinning,

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but fixing their gaze on Thorn whenever they could manage. Thorn could also see a skeletal

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arm and leg drifting within the creature. He couldn't believe it. Thorn had found himself

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faced a glop with a jelly cube. Uggg! Thorn screamed, unsheathing his sword. His legs shook as he

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readied what he assumed was a fighting stance and tried to look as cool as possible without peeing

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himself. I mean, stay back, you terrible thing! You won't add me to all that stuff floating in you!

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The cube made no verbal response, but made a couple of splurked sounds. Then Thorn noticed

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something else floating in the cube. It was round and despite the fact that the jelly cube was a

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cloudy green color, it appeared to be a somewhat peach color, with a darker color near its center.

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Thorn spotted a second object just like it, floating in a different corner of the cube.

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It took him a moment, but then Thorn realized he was looking at things he had never seen before.

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They had only been described to him in legends by the tavern patrons, but here they were,

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right before his eyes. Thorn's boot scape was looking at a pair of tips. Realizing what this

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meant, he sheathed his sword and fell to his knees. I'm so sorry! he shouted at the cube.

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I didn't realize that you were a lady. You surprised me and I only just noticed. Please forgive me!

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He looked up to see that the cube had shifted a couple of feet closer to him.

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Thorn took this as a sign of forgiveness. Oh thank you! I will try not to be rude. I don't

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suppose you're able to cover yourself, huh? Must be really tough for you. I mean, you're probably

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super nice, even though you've got a tough side, that you use to keep people at a distance since

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you're not sure if somebody wants to help you or if they're just interested in your body. And

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people get the wrong impression, like you want them to stare at you, but you just can't help the way

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you are so people don't respect you because they get out judgy and make assumptions, right? The cube

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squanched closer. The skeletal arm floated towards Thorn until the bones of the hand reached out

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through the slime. The hand waved in a grasping motion in an attempt to grab Thorn. He took the

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skeletal hand and gazed into the gelatinous cube's eyes, which took a minute before they floated into

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a position where he could look into both at the same time. Well you know what I think? I think

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you just need someone you can talk to. I'm Thorn Bootscape. What's your name, Miss Cube?

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The cube made a horrific sucking sound, like the sound of death queefing.

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Jocelyn, huh? That name is so cute, it suits you perfectly.

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Thorn grabbed a torch from the wall and headed for the staircase.

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Come on, Jocelyn. Let's find our way out of this place together.

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Thorn smiled. Jocelyn snapped the fingers on the skeleton hand in a dang it sort of way,

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before she shuffled after Thorn with whatever the onomatopoeia is for jizzy footsteps.

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The flame from the torch felt warm on Thorn's face, and he also felt a warmth in his chest

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as he watched Jocelyn. She was unlike any girl he had ever seen before.

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Could… could this be? Thorn took his head and began to walk down the stairs.

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I hope you enjoyed our story today. This one was quite different from what we read last time,

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wouldn't you say? As I've said, this tower contains every type of story that you could imagine.

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It tells from the fantastical to the bone chilling, all within these ancient walls.

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If there is a particular type of story that interests you, I would be more than happy

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to take suggestions to find a story that you might enjoy. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll find

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a cupcake recipe on this place last year too. But for today, be well, and carry today's story in your heart.

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Today's tale has ended, but return once again to this place where you are considered a friend.

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Return to this tower and its mysterious dweller for more from the Library of The Second Storyteller.

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Thank you for listening to The Second Storyteller. If you have a prompt for a story,

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please send it to thesecondstoryteller at gmail.com. If your prompt is selected,

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your name will be credited at the end of the episode. Today's prompt was Adventure Story,

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submitted by Penny Dreadful. If you would like to help support the future of this podcast,

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please consider becoming a patron by going to patreon.com slash The Second Storyteller.

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A donation of just $10 a month puts you on the list of current Library Card holders,

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and your name will be read at the end of the episode. The Second Storyteller podcast and

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the features stories were written and created by Katie Chacon. The role of The Second Storyteller

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is played by Charles Scott. Today's voice of the story was provided by Katie Chacon.

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The voice of the intro and outro is Chris Camp, and you can find the fantastic games he's worked on

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at rix.itch.io. That's riks.itch.io. The music was written by Fintan, who can be found at garbagebag,

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all one word,.itch.io. The Second Storyteller will return next month with more magic, fun, and of

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course, a story to tell.