Forgotten Stories

By Joaquin Nicolas Yulan Lucioli

Life in the small Scottish town of Glencoe has been both peaceful and exciting so far. With your friend Nathaniel by your side, you've gone on many adventures and most importantly, avoided the wrath of your parents for going on such adventures in the first place.

 

However, this your friend's hobby has gotten you into a spot of trouble. He's always fancied writing, and he's always told you the most bizarre and beautiful stories...however this one trumps them all. His characters have escaped from his books, and it's up to you to put them back!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joaquin Nicolas Yulan Lucioli
• Release date: Apr 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223438496

Book preview

Page 2

The two of you arrive on time. Unsurprisingly, you note that Nathaniel appears to have prepared for a long trip. He’s brought big water bottles, a lunchbox, huge bags, some mattresses rolled on his back, and two heavy jackets, one of which you assume must be for you. There may be more, but not where you can see.

‘What’s all this for?’ You’re somewhat puzzled at such an impressive display of equipment. Your friend looks both ways, as if to make sure nobody’s listening to you, but no one is. The street the two of you are on is completely deserted, as is the norm at this time of the night.

‘Something’s gone wrong. Really wrong.’ He sounds troubled. ‘Remember my stories?’ Of course you do. Nathaniel is the best writer in all of Glencoe and maybe even the whole Highlands. You also know that if Nathaniel’s face looks the way it does now, it means that there’s big, big trouble somewhere. ‘They’ve escaped.’

‘What?’ You can’t believe it and neither can him. Nathaniel tells you the story of how he discovered one of the characters from an early story of his trying to wreak havoc in a store nearby, although thankfully she couldn’t do much due to being one centimetre tall. According to him, she told Nathaniel about what had happened after he’d remembered who she was...rather cryptically at best. ‘The best I could get out of her was that I had to go inside and find out what’s going on with each of them.’

‘Inside?’ You have an idea about what that means. ‘She didn’t mean...inside each-’

‘Story. Yes.’ But why? How? You ask Nathaniel, but he has no answer. Far in the distance, you can see snow falling atop the hills. You had expected a camping trip. Instead, you got an adventure. Very well.

Nathaniel tells you he’ll show you once you help him decide on what to do. You could follow the little woman’s advice and find out exactly what is going on here, but what would happen if someone who was not half an inch tall started wreaking havoc? Part of you wants to stay in Glencoe and defend it. It is your home after all. But then again, if this is all true and Nathaniel hasn’t gone mad, which he assures you he hasn’t, the only real way to stop this would be to find out what’s wrong, and the only way to do that is to go inside each story and try to fix it.

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If you want to enter Nathaniel’s stories, go to Page 3.

If you want to stay in Glencoe and defend it from intruders, go to Page 29.

Page 3

‘L et’s go in.’ This day couldn’t get any weirder, but you trust Nathaniel. If he says that the town is being invaded by his characters, then it is being invaded by his characters. And if he said that the only way to really stop them is to go inside their stories, then the only way to stop them is to go inside their stories. Your friend looks at you and properly explains the method again. This time, you pay more attention. It isn’t so hard...as long as you know what you’re doing. Before you can ask, Nathaniel explains that he had invented it, for one of his stories, and that was the only reason why it worked and nobody else knew about it. Then, when you raise an eyebrow, he quickly corrects himself and tells you that it was a load of bull and that the little lady told him how to do it.

‘There are a bunch to choose from.’ Ah, his stories. His old, not very good stories. His almost forgotten stories. There’s The Amazing Maze, which is not really very dangerous and about the titular maze. You question his choice of name, but that only makes him blush and explain the next one, Mobster’s Manor. Nathaniel tells you he doesn’t really remember much about this one, but with the amount of mafia movies you’ve watched you should be fine. There’s the fantasy novella Mediaeval Mayhem (Once more you question his naming choices), the embellished travel journal titled Strange and Wonderful London, and Deep Sea Diving, which apparently was about finding some lost sea treasure.

The only thing these have in common is that he’s never really put much thought into them, or even cared to remember much. They were, after all, relics of his amateur days. You can expect plenty of things that don’t make sense...at least he’s gotten much better than he was before. What he also tells you is that according to the little woman, in some places you may find gaps in the storytelling that allow you to switch stories. Before you can call them plot holes, Nathaniel starts talking again.

‘I’m not really sure where to go first. I mean, all of them are sort of the same length, somewhat dangerous, and probably have a world that doesn’t make much sense. If I had to choose one, however, I’d choose the maze.’ He’s reluctant to say the name after you teased him with it. ‘At least there the path is somewhat linear, and I think I remember bits and pieces.’ The Amazing Maze was never one of your favourites. You could agree with your friend, and find out what the maze was really like (Given that the book still lies unfinished in your room) or propose some other story instead. In any case, this can’t go on any longer. The town is in danger and Nathaniel has already explained everything you need to know. What you’re about to do is crazy, but has there ever been a time when doing things with Nathaniel actually turned out really badly? ‘I’m ready.’ You say, taking the supplies, bag, lunchbox and jacket he gives you. ‘I choose...’

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The Amazing Maze lies on Page 9.  Mediaeval Mayhem awaits you in Page 54.

The Mobster’s Manor throws its doors open for you on Page 23.

Strange and Wonderful London is on the street above Page 50.

Deep Sea Diving is deeper than even Page 36.

Page 4

‘L et’s go right.’ The two of you say simultaneously. It takes a second for each to register before you both blush.

Without further ado, Nathaniel and you follow the hand pointing right. The path goes in a straight line without the end or any forks in sight.

‘Maze, huh?’ Why is it called a maze, much less an amazing maze, if all it is is linear grassy corridors? It’s been almost fifteen minutes since you got here and you’ve yet to see another branching path.

‘There’s got to be another sign somewhere.’ He’s doubtful. ‘Maybe if we turn around?’ He does, and you too, but there’s nothing there either, just more grass, forever. After a brief sign of frustration, Nathaniel keeps on walking, as do you. After what seems like an eternity, the two of you let a sigh of relief go as you come by a different place. You’re not hopelessly lost yet.

Whoever owns this maze is most likely very rich. They’ve adorned their garden with a gigantic fountain in the middle, one with a small statue of a woman on top. Is she a goddess? You think she is. Maybe you’ve seen her before?

Around the fountain are littered dozens of old statues, some still mostly pristine, some barely standing. Maybe this place was some kind of museum before? You explain your theory to Nathaniel, but he shakes his head. ‘I’m sure something important was to happen here, but I think I never got around to writing it. Perhaps...’ The lightbulb has turned on. He has that look again. ‘Perhaps we’ve got to continue where I left off! If we can get to the end, or to where it’s supposed to end, then...’

‘We can find out what went wrong!’ He’s a genius sometimes. Fortunately, so are you.

Let’s see... There’s not much aside from what you’ve already seen. Not even an exit to the rest of the maze, which means this is either a dead end, or you have to force it open somehow. ‘So much for Amazing, is it not?’ You wonder if a lighter would work before remembering that you’re inside the maze too.

‘Let’s...let’s just take a look around.’ That blush tells you he agrees. There’s most likely some kind of clue hidden somewhere...a secret door, perhaps? How might you drain that fountain? The options are as endless as your imagination, but you have to start somewhere. Of course, you could walk and walk and walk and try the path on the left...

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If you want to check out the statues, go to Page 21.

If you want to check out the fountain, go to Page 14.

If you want to take the left path, go to Page 32.

Page 5

The wind is picking up. You can barely hear Taxidermied Kangaroo speak. ‘Some items have gone missing! Important items!’ He adds quickly, then carefully hands both you and Nathaniel a list. ‘We’ve already got everyone looking for them, but we need more!’ And quite a list it is. The Rosetta Stone, thousands of Roman coins, old royal suits of armour...it goes on and on, but for some reason the Crown Jewels are not on the list. Nathaniel must have been feeling subversive whenever he wrote this. ‘Good luck!’ Just that? No help? No tools? Not even a tiny clue? He must have had something, wasn’t everyone already working on it...? Could it be that the entire London police department was just that stupid?

You look at Nathaniel. ‘It’s not my fault he’s all enigmatic.’ You look at him some more. ‘Okay, yes, it is.’ He is quick to regain his composure, however. ‘We have to find all this stuff. Where do you propose we start?’

Finding all the items in the list sounds like a long shot. Especially since the descriptions of some are quite vague. But if it’s the only way to move the story forward, find out what’s wrong with it, and save Glencoe, then you’ll take part in the biggest treasure hunt in history. ‘We should start out somewhere important. If we’re going to move at all.’ Another idea hits your mind. What if instead of desperately looking for the story’s plot, you let the story’s plot look for you? It would