"Phew! That was a nice glass of water," says Neptune slamming down the glass by the table.

Vert, Noire, and Blanc walk in to Neptune, breathing a sigh of relief. They all take their usual spots in the kitchen, preparing the snacks they brought.

"So, Neptune," asks Blanc, "why'd you need to run off like that? It's not like human experimentation is a new concept in stories. Actually, violence like that is quite common, thinking about it. Of course if we ever hear something like that happening outside of fiction..."

"Oh! I'm surprised you've taken such a lax response to it, I remember back then, any kind of violence, you'd ban outright."

"...That was a long time ago. In fact I even allowed more mature concepts, if you recall."

"Aha," interrupts Vert, "did you mean that game with the funny squirrel?"

"Yes, and do remember, that we've had projects together, where the story was literally about a huge pharmaceutical company experimenting on humans. My only concern now is Rom and Ram. Well, Lady Histoire didn't delve into extreme detail, at the very least."

"Rom and Ram are," Vert replies, "strong girls, so I believe they should be fine. You shouldn't coddle them forever, they might despise you for it."

"Hm. I know, but I can't help it."

Vert smiles at Blanc before facing Neptune. "Anyway, Neptune, continuing from Blanc's question."

Neptune scratches the back of her head. "Well, ya know, I don't think there's ever been this kind of, uhm, content in our games, I mean sure there was that one time, but that was totally non-canon. Every time there was a 'death' it's usually enemies, and only on occasion was it human, and even then they totally didn't die."

"...Right."

"See? Totally makes sense. Now let's grab our snacks and get back to Histy. Sometimes it feels like it's taking longer to get back to Histy each time."

"Does it?" asks Noire. "I don't think so..."

"Feels like it's been a month for me, Noire!" replies Neptune.

"Neptune, what kind of water did you drink..." says Noire, but it falls on deaf ears, as Neptune has already left to return to Histoire.

Vert shrugs. "What can we do Noire? Sometimes she does say the oddest things, but she's right. We've gotten our snacks, let's get back to Lady Histoire."

The three of them exit out of the kitchen, snacks in hand, with Blanc carrying more than normal. She distributes the snacks to Rom and Ram who happily take them. The two of them thank their sister before beginning to eat.

"Hold on Blanc..." says Noire, looking at the twins enjoying their snack. "Should you really have given them snacks this late at night?"

"...you're right, but it wouldn't be fair to them if we were the only ones eating snacks. Anyway, Lady Histoire, we're more or less ready."

"Now that we're all back... Neptune, or Sir Puddington has looked through the logs near each door. What does he want to do?"

"...I'll be taking them, then we're going back to the Mayor, then we'll see maybe there's a missing person's list that we can match this with in order to find out where they're from."

Vert nods. "That's a sound idea Neptune. Although, I am quite curious about the doors. So, it opens to a dirt wall? Just a wall?"

"Yes Miss Vert. Attempting to open and close the door as if in a cartoon produces no different results. It's always the dirt wall. Examining the dirt... um..."

"I'll roll, Lady Histoire. Nature, I suppose?"

"Hm... do you have the proper skill for it? I believe it would be a subset of Knowledge."

"...I don't. Can I just make a d20 roll to see if, as a layperson, the dirt seems wrong."

"Well, Miss Vert, how would a layperson know exactly if dirt is wrong?"

"Um... the composition..? Uh..." Vert is at a lost for words. Histoire smiles playfully in response.

"Oh! Histy! I know, what about bardic knowledge?"

Histoire checks the rules for bardic knowledge, and it says there specifically if it's about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places. Near the end of the explanation is where she finds conflict within the rules since it says that this sort of knowledge is essentially random. She mentally shrugs and decides that knowledge about dirt would be random enough.

"Sure, Neptune. That would be a d20 plus your bard level, and knowledge modifier."

"So that would be a plus 5, and... I rolled a ... 9. For a 14 total."

"Alright, with that 14, Sir Puddington finds out that the dirt is as normal as it can be. The consistency is ... consistent with the other mine walls. It looks like it hasn't been disturbed."

Neptune is scrunching her face thinking hard. "How does this work? Why do these doors lead to nowhere? Did this whole facility get teleported to the middle of the mines, somehow?"

Vert perks up upon hearing the notion of teleportation. "If that was the case that would be extremely powerful magic. Perhaps detect magic can help."

"Being a barbarian in this situation makes me feel useless," grumbles Blanc.

"Don't worry Blanc," says Noire. "You've shone brightly during our fights."

"So, Lady Histoire, Burt will cast Detect Magic."

"Okay, Burt casts it, and she detects nothing."

"What? Nothing? Hold on, let me see here..." Vert looks at the Player's Handbook, flips to the spells portion, and reads through the Detect Magic details. "Says here... magic leaves traces... uh, huh... duration of lingering aura is ... the maximum is 1d6 days?!"

"That's right Miss Vert."

"So either, there was no magic involved here, which is impossible from what we've seen; it wouldn't make sense, or it's been more than a week. That sounds more plausible. Everything that happened here must have happened a long time ago, an unknown amount of time, but definitely longer than 6 days. I don't think there's much more we can find here... Lady Histoire, let me roll for Search... and 7. Nevermind."

"Alright," says Histoire, "what does the party want to do next then? Let me try to summarize what has happened, the party has arrived to the mines, delved deeper into it, guided by a local miner. Upon reaching uncharted territory, the miner leaves and the party finds an odd room, it's guarded by what the party described as a golem. It asked a riddle in exchange for entry. After entering, the party is greeted by a magically lit room, that looks akin to a lab. Then, experimental logs pertaining to the colored gemstones are found. Afterwards, the party finds a hallway, where there are doors that lead to dirt walls. The doors, also have what looks to be experimental logs, and upon reading it, the test subjects were in fact human. Did I miss something?"

Noire shakes her head. "No, sounds like you've gotten it. So, I think, the best thing to do now is to return outside, with the logs in tow."

"Thank you Miss Noire. If that's the case then, does everyone agree on returning?"

"I don't think Sir Puddington has anymore business here."
"Same with Blunga."
"Burt will join the party."

As Histoire mentally finishes up, she remembers that Rom and Ram are at the table. "Ah! Miss Rom and Miss Ram, I nearly forgot about you two, is there something you'd like to add? I don't want you two to feel to be left out."

Ram sits up from her slight slouch, in response. "Oh! Um, I think we're good for now Miss Histoire. We'll just stay on Blunga's shoulders for now, though this might be more fun if we were playing with Uni and Nepgear!"

"Yeah!" adds Rom. "We're having fun listening in, but, we know that this game and story was made for our big sister and the others. We'll just continue to listen in, maybe like what Ram said, we can play with Uni and Nepgear, but ... who would be the storyteller though?"

Histoire feels like a weight has been shifted off her shoulders. She enjoys the company of Rom and Ram, but nevertheless, the game she has planned is only made for the four goddesses. Hearing that the two of them are fine with just listening in would make the need to re-balance things unnecessary.

"I see. I would still allow the two of you to have input in the story, if you feel like something should be done."

"Thanks Miss Histoire!"

Histoire smiles at the twins, before turning to the others. "Okay then, the party wishes to return to the town, before that though, I would say that you all earned some valuable experience points. Namely for figuring out the effects of each color. So, the party receives 7344 experience points in total, divided by 4, would be 1836, which I believe is enough to bring you all up to Level 4."

Blanc, Neptune, Vert and Noire all look excited to level up. They all begin to scribble and check the handbook to see what new things they get for leveling up. Histoire uses this time to discuss with Rom and Ram.

"So, Miss Rom and Miss Ram, are you two having fun?"

Rom nods. "Yep! It's like listening to a story, but we can change things! I can see why big sister is always looking forward to these nights!"

Ram continues. "Although, like we said, we don't want to intrude too much. We're just thinking now, how can we get Nepgear and Uni to play this, and who will, um..."

"DM?"

"Yeah! That word, we don't know who's going to DM if we ever get to play."

"Perhaps, Miss Nishizawa would be up for it. If she doesn't mind the possible extra responsibility. You two should ask her. And as a suggestion, perhaps, ask her to do it in 5th Edition, and use a module to lessen the burden."

"Okay... so, um, fifth edition... and a module. What are those?"

"So currently, the goddesses and I, are playing using what's commonly called 3.5e, 3rd edition, revised. It's the same game, but the rules are slightly different. There are things easier to manage in 5th edition, than in 3.5e, but all the same if you wish to play the same game like your big sister, that's okay too. Ask Miss Nishizawa, which edition she prefers. She might not even like Dungeons and Dragons... and go for a different system altogether."

"Oh, okay! Wait, different systems?"

"Yes, that's correct Miss Ram. Dungeons and Dragons is just one game of the myriad available Tabletop Role-Playing Games. They're all basically the same concept, everyone is at a table, and follows a set of rules that everyone has agreed upon, and they roleplay various ... roles. It will take a while to explain each detail, but that's the basic gist of it."

"So..." Rom says, "there are more games like this where everyone is telling a story and they play with it?"

"Basically Miss Rom."

"I don't want to intrude on your conversation Lady Histoire," pipes up Noire, "but I'm done leveling up Albedo. Could you check if something is missing? I believe it should all be there, and I even get spellcasting!"

"Let me see here, Miss Noire... average health, so you get an additional 7 for 32, your base attack bonus has increased to 4, so your masterwork longsword should be an 8... you've increased diplomacy and riding. Speaking of, you don't have your warhorse with you at the moment, since you're in a cave, so I'm just reminding you to be careful in choosing your fights. You have 12 Wisdom, which means you have more than enough to be able to handle up to Level 2 spells, but you can only cast and prepare Level 1 spells, or in your case... 1 Level 1 Spell, and that's only due to your Wisdom. Oh, and you also get Turn Undead. No, this doesn't actually make you into undead... if that's what you're thinking. Your fortitude save modifier also has increased to 4 from 3. I do believe that's it. Make sure to select the appropriate spell for your single spell slot."

"Thanks Lady Histoire!"

Blanc steps up. "Lady Histoire, I'm sure this would be simple enough to check. It's a barbarian and doesn't need to make use of magic."

"Let me see... you've increased Listen, Survival, Swim, and Climb. Base attack bonus increased to 4... along with Fortitude Save, ah, you can now rage twice a day. Great. And yes, barbarians are simple to level up in comparison to the other classes. Thank you Miss Blanc."

Vert approaches Histoire as soon as Blanc returns to her seat. "Oh my, it feels like we're students asking teacher to check our answers..." says Vert with a chuckle.

"Okay Miss Vert, as you leveled up, you gain more spell slots for your Level 0, 1, and 2 spells. It seems you're consistently increasing your Spellcraft and Heal. An additional point for your base attack bonus, fortitude, and will saves. Finally, you've increased your health using the average. That seems to be a constant, that everyone is choosing the average. That's alright I suppose. If anything happens, for whatever reason we can easily remake your character sheet without needing to guess how the health was calculated. I believe that's it Miss Vert, just make sure to decide what spells you'll be preparing soon. Now it's Neptune's turn with Sir Puddington."

"No worries Histy, I'm sure I've gotten this right. Average for my health, which is 4, additional base attack bonus, reflex, and will. I don't get a special ability until 6th level. I get access to zero Level 2 spells at this level... but, due to my 16 Charisma, I get an additional Level 2 spell slot, so I can now cast Level 2 spells, which I've chosen as Cure Moderate Wounds and Heroism. I didn't know I rolled Alliance, would've preferred Bloodlust's sound effect. Anyway, one point in Alchemy, and 7 points in Use Magic Device. I feel like knowing about the gemstones, there might be a point I would need to be able to use them effectively if possible."

Histoire studies Neptune's sheet, cross-checks it with the handbook, and finds nothing wrong with it as far as she can tell. "This looks good Neptune. Alright, everyone has leveled up, and since everyone has decided to return to town, let's get back to the town, before that though, any last minute decisions you'd like to bring up?"

Blanc speaks up first. "Do we bring the gemstones with us? Or just the experimentation logs?"

"Um," Vert replies, "we've already had some trouble transporting one red gemstone, transporting bowls of these gemstones sound like asking for trouble. Perhaps, we can ask for assistance in getting these protected."

"Sounds like a reasonable plan," adds in Noire, "I suppose let's just bring the logs."

"Sir Puddington will pocket all the logs by the door. Surely these aren't magically trapped because Vert used Detect Magic and found nothing on them."

"Alright, the party, with experimental logs in hand, return to the town of Keydento, and head to the mayor's office. The mayor welcomes everyone and asks what their business is... or did the mayor send all of you there to investigate in the first place?"

Neptune looks slightly dumbfounded. "Um, it's only been a few weeks, but definitely felt like more than a few months since we've had that discussion, let me try to remember!"

After a minute or so of near silence, aside from a constant hum from Neptune, she blurts out, "Aha! I remember now! Mayor Manual asked us to investigate things further in the mines, because they've found something there."

"Ah, yes, thank you Neptune. Okay, the mayor welcomes you all and asks if your investigation has bore any fruit."

"Burt will reply, 'Yes, we have, we've found bowls of gemstones in the area. Multi-colored gemstones and experimentation logs accompanying it. It seems there have been experiments on ... people, about the effects of each gemstone.' After that Burt will explain the gemstones."

"Thank you Miss Vert, okay, Burt explains the effects, and the mayor expresses different emotions for each, ranging from curiosity to disgust. He then says, 'So it's highly likely there are more of these gemstones out there. Did you bring any samples of the stones?'"

"Albedo will say, 'No, we didn't bring any. We know that the gemstones more or less activate on touch, and attempting to transport one gemstone is dangerous already, an entire bowl of multi-colored ones might just bring us all to our knees.'"

"The mayor looks slightly embarrassed, 'Ah, of course, I got caught up with the gemstones, and forgot the fact they activate upon touch. My apologies. What about the experimentation logs you've mentioned? May I see them?' He puts out his hand."

"Sir Puddington will hand the mayor the logs."

"The mayor reads the logs, his expression getting grimmer the more he reads through them. He then says, 'These names... I believe I know some of them, I recall various reports where some of its townspeople have gone missing suddenly, but these reports are years old. Even though it's been years, it's possible there are some clues that remain. For now, go and rest, you've all done more than enough for this investigation, but, I wish to ask more if possible. I would like to know the truth of these disappearances, namely who or what is behind all of these."

"So I'm guessing we're done for now Histy?"

"Yes, I believe we've had a fruitful session, and I'd like to end it there with a slight cliffhanger."

"Aw!"

"Alright, I think Rom and Ram are about ready to sleep anyway," says Blanc looking at her two sisters dozing off, "have a good night Lady Histoire, and see you next week."

"Same here, before Chika gets too worried."

"Bye, Lady Histoire."

"See you all next week."