Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Histy! I know what we can do with the other goddesses!"

"What? Neptune? And why did you suddenly yell out of nowhere?" replies Histoire, almost falling off her floating book.

"A tabletop game! All four of us, around a table, socializing, and all that stuff! That'll definitely increase our Lily Points together!" says Neptune excitedly.

"So, a board game? Wouldn't that just be a one-time game, that wouldn't be enough to increase any Lily Points at all," retorts Histoire.

"Well, yes, but this isn't any board game, it's a board game where you can delve into dungeons and defeat dragons!"

"...Don't you already do that for quests??" says Histoire in disbelief.

"You know that's not really fun to do, it's like that game where you control a little family you created and all you make them do is clean up and make sure the house is tidy, that's fun, but actually cleaning up, not fun! I mean there are literal games where the goal of the game is to clean up!"

"Alright! You made your point. What game would this be then? And all four of your can play together?"

"Yep! Actually, we'd need a 5th, so maybe Histy can be that 5th player!"

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah! Here, let me show you, wait here, actually go there by the table and take a seat... wait you're on your book anyway."

"Yes. I am on my book. Just go and get whatever it is you need to get."

"Be right back!"

Neptune runs off, leaving Histoire to float towards the table, wondering what in Gamindustri would Neptune pull out. She waits patiently with a sigh, while watching Neptune run around the Basilicom, rummaging around bookshelves, pulling out books. Histoire looks at her with a suspicious eye, as Neptune returns to place down a few books on the table.

"Here we go! These are the rules for the game," says Neptune with a slight haughty tone.

"...Neptune you can't even follow the basic rules of being a Goddess and you expect me to believe you can follow the rules of these books???"

"Details! It'll be fine, we can learn as we go!"

Histoire begins leafing through the books, checking the titles, all of them beginning with "Dungeons and Dragons", but each book clearly different. She starts reading the one that interests her the most, the "Dungeon Master Guide". Flipping a few pages here and there, Histoire sees that a lot of the pages detail rule management.

"Oh! Perfect!" blurted Neptune.

"What's perfect?"

"The book you started reading! I was going to ask you to be the Dungeon Master for the game."

"And what exactly is a Dungeon Master, in this game?"

"Um, they're basically the storyteller? Or I guess the referee? The person with the last say in things?"

"So do they actually play the game?"

"Of course! They're the ones who make up the whole world where the others do their adventures in, so they can control everything, like the monsters and non-players!"

"...Wait, are you telling me to do ALL the work? So the four of you can play around?!" yells out Histoire, preparing to toss the book at Neptune.

"W-wait! N-no! Of course not! There are things here called, um, modules! Pre-made adventures, so there's minimal preparation required! The maps, fights, and everything else is all there, you'd just need to maybe set up some things at most, like how the players need to set up our own characters!"

Histoire lowers the book and returns to reading it.

"Hm... so I'd have full control on what happens to all of you in the game, is that right?"

"Well, somewhat, I'm guessing this is a collaborative kind of game, like if everyone's unhappy with a decision you made, because you forced it then, I guess that's bad, sorta."

"It seems ... interesting. What about the other goddesses, do they know about this game?"

"Oh, um, I'm thinking probably not, but who knows, maybe I'll call them to meet up and ask, I'm thinking Vert might know..."

"So how much of the game do you actually know?"

Neptune flinches a bit, and begins to giggle, scratching the back of her head as well.

"Um, I know enough! Of course, I know enough!"

"You haven't just been reading things online and playing the game vicariously have you?"

"Uh... uh! I better ask the others now!" Neptune runs off, leaving the Basilicom.

"Of course, that's exactly what she did. My ulcer is going to get worse at this rate, but maybe this game would be good for everyone."

Histoire continues to read through the "Dungeon Master Guide", flipping through the pages back and forth, and even checking the other books, "Player's Handbook" and "Monster Manual", with a slight smirk on her face.

Chapter Text

"Histy! They should be here in a while!"

"So, you were actually able to get all of them to agree to play? Do they even know what sort of game this is?"

Neptune shrugs with a giggle, "Of course they do! Although I don't know if they know how to play the game outside of it's just rolling dice and doing numbers, also what are you wearing Histy?"

Histoire straightens her purple, pointed, starry hat, while pulling the sleeves on her similarly designed robe. "I thought I'd get into the proper outfit for the occasion."

"But the whole robe and hat...?"

Their conversation gets interrupted, as the elevator bell rings, indicating its arrival. The doors open and Noire, Vert, and Blanc enter the Planeptune penthouse. The three of them approach the table where Histoire and Neptune are, all the while looking at Histoire's odd choice of clothing.

Noire speaks up first, inspecting the robe Histoire is wearing. "It's quite cute on you Lady Histoire."

"Did you make it yourself?" asks Vert.

"I don't think she could've bought one..." adds in Blanc.

"Yes, thank you, you three. Now, do you know what kind of game Neptune has roped all of you into?" says Histoire, folding her arms.

"I believe this is a tabletop game, correct? Dungeons and Dragons?" answers Vert.

"That is correct. Now, do any of you know how to play atleast?"

Noire, scratches her head, and shakes it. Blanc does the same, while Vert thinks about it, then shakes her head.

Histoire takes a deep sigh, with a look of defeat. "This is going to be a long night, but okay, I've spent the last 3 days going through the books, so let's start with character creation."

"Here's your sheets!" says Neptune, giving everyone sheets of paper.

"Let's see... Name, Race, Class... Level, Feats... this is quite a list," comments Vert.

Neptune begins to pick up various dice, and shakes them excitedly in her hands. "This is when we roll the dice right!?"

"No! Hold on, stop, what dice are those?" says Histoire.

"Uh, this one has a zero, and a 9, uh..." replies Neptune, inspecting the die.

"That would be a 10-sided die, or a d10, which is not what you use for your character stats."

"I believe what you use are four d6's, correct?" pipes in Vert.

"...Yes, actually that's correct Miss Vert."

Neptune lets go of the dice she has on hand, and brings a box of assorted dice. "Okay then! Teach me, Histy!"

"...Right. Okay, get four of those d6's, roll all of them, take the lowest one out, take note of the total, and repeat it 5 more times, for a total of six, one for each of your stats. After that, you can assign them to each of your stats, which is Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Wait a minute, Neptune, have you even decided on a class yet?"

"Um, yeah! Of course! Let me roll my dice first."

Neptune picks up 4 purple dice then rolls it. The first throw results in, two 1's, a 6 and a 2.

"Aaaaah!!! No! Bad dice! I got a total of ... 9?!"

The rest of the table chuckle at Neptune's poor luck as she rolls another set of dice.

The second throw, one 4, 1, 2, and finally a 3.

"Histy are these dice rigged against me?! It's another 9!" she cries out.

"Some would say that 9 is the strongest," Blanc flatly states.

Neptune looks frustrated as she blows on the four dice in her hand before throwing them down.

Five. Two. Six. Three.

"Much better! A fourteen."

She continues to roll the rest.
A three, one, six and a five, for another 14.
A six, two fives, and a three, for 16.
Neptune's final roll comes out as three fives, and a two, for a 15. She still looks miffed at the first two rolls as she keeps staring at the 9s in her list of numbers. The other goddesses begin to roll their own sets, knowing how to do it after watching Neptune.

"Okay, I'll go next," says Blanc, picking up a set of blue dice.

She nonchalantly throws the four dice. The dice show up as, two 3s, a 2, and a 6, for a result of 12. She gives a slightly smug smirk towards Neptune as she throws the rest of her sets.
"3, two 6s, and a 5, for 17."
"3, two 5s, and 6, for 16."
"A quadruple 4, for 12."
"Two 2s, 6, and 4, for another 12."
"Two 3s, one 2, and one 4, for an average 10."

Blanc writes down her numbers, and looks at Vert and Noire. "How about you two?"

"I shall go next," proclaims Vert, taking hold of 4 green dice, one in each gap of her fingers and thumb. Expertly rolling the dice on the table with a spin.

"Miss Vert, are you quite sure that this is the first time you've played with dice?" asked Histoire, watching the dice spin on the table.

"Stop showing off, Vert," says Blanc, unimpressed.

"I just feel that rolling them in this manner would provide me better results," retorts Vert, in a matter-of-fact tone.

The dice slow down and show the results, two 4s, and two 2s. A flat 10.

Blanc smirks as Vert notes down the result and picks up the dice again. Looking a bit embarrassed about the previous results, Vert rolls the rest of her sets without flair.

Two 6s, 5, and 3.
Two 6s, 2, and 1.
6, 2, 1, 5.
4, 5, 2, 4.
Two 1s, 4, 6.

"To tally, that would be... 10, 17, 14, two thirteens, and an 11. I believe the max would be an 18, so having 17 is quite nice. Lady Histoire, would it be fine for me to say what class I would like to be?"

"Perhaps, it would be best for everyone to have their statistic scores first, but, I suppose it wouldn't do harm, go ahead Miss Vert."

"I would like to roll as the party cleric," pronounces Vert.

The rest of the table seems ecstatic at her choice, except Blanc. She lightly slams on the table, and looks at Vert with a suspicious stare.

"What are you planning here..."

"What do you mean, Blanc? I just want to ensure that the party has a dedicated healer, and as I frequent MMOs, I know that finding someone willing to roll a healer is an arduous task, anyway we can discuss further on that, but for now let's let Noire roll her dice."

Noire picks up a set of black dice, "Thank you, Vert."

She shakes the dice in her hand before letting them roll off her hand. She continues to do roll them like this until she got her full set.

Two 3s, 5, and 6.
5, 2, 4, and 3.
Two 3s, 4, and 5.
Two 1s, 4, and 5.
2, 4, 5, and 1.
Three 6s, and a 5.

Vert's eyes widened slightly as she saw Noire's final roll, silently clicking her tongue, seeing that she wasn't the one with the highest natural stat.

"Let's see here... 14, two twelves, 10, 11 and an 18! That's pretty good!"

"Yes, Miss Noire, that's quite a lucky roll, but we're not done yet, now that everyone has their stats, or should I say ability scores settled, please decide what class and race you would like to be, remember that depending on what race you select, your ability scores can be modified, and to make things simpler, we're only using the ones in the Player's Handbook."

"What?! We're not using the other books?! That's like not using any DLC!" Vert blurts out, looking shocked and appalled.

"Hold on, Vert, I thought you didn't know how to play? How did you know there are more books?" asks Noire.

Everyone has their eyes on Vert, as her eyes dart around, as if she did a heinous crime. "Y-yes, I don't know how to play, but, I mentioned to some of my guild, yes, that I'll be away for some nights to play, and they mentioned that there are more books than what we have right now..."

"Is that so, Miss Vert? Well, since we're all new, it would be best that we stick with the basics, so we don't get overwhelmed," commented Histoire.

Noire shrugs. "I guess that makes sense."

Vert visibly relaxes in her seat again, as she looks over her results once more. Neptune is still staring at her two 9s, while Blanc and Noire are reading the Player's Handbook.

Chapter Text

"Wow! Felt like it's been a few days since that ability score rolling!"

"Neptune, what are you talking about? We literally just finished rolling our ability scores," says Noire.

"Riiight, of course we just did. Anyway, I think I know what class I'll pick, I'll be a Bard," shrugs Neptune, beginning to scribble on her character sheet.

Histoire places the Player's Handbook in front of Neptune and taps it. "Do you even know the details on what to place there?"

"Of course I do..! Here's the name... uh, Sir Puddington!" A collective mild groan is heard around the table while Neptune continues filling out the form.

Histoire puts a hand on Neptune's shoulder. "Neptune, hold on, there's a recommended list of things for your class... wait a minute, did you even choose what race you'll be going as? You do know that what you choose there can change your ability scores."

"Uh... I'll go with... um... Bard uses... Charisma, totally me, I'm the most charismatic here... oh. There's no race that directly increase my Charisma... lame," Neptune says with a sigh.

Noire pats Neptune's back, "Now, now, it's not all about the ability scores, it's about how well you play the game!"

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one with two 9s for their stats! Miss 'I have Nat 18 for a stat'!" says Neptune with a pout.

Noire's only response is an awkward chuckle. "Um, anyway I'll ... choose... um, human ... Paladin!"

"Miss Goody Two Shoes over here, rolling a paladin..." comments Blanc, poring over the handbook.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I'm checking here and you have to have your alignment to be Lawful Good, or else you can't be a paladin anymore."

"That's gonna be easy."

"If you say so... anyway, I'll be a ...barbarian. Half-orc, I guess. They get a battle axe, and get more powerful when enraged."

"You mean, kind of like you?" giggled out Vert.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that..."

"I'll be a half-orc cleric then," states Vert, writing down her choice.

"...Are you mocking me?" says Blanc, her voice slowly rising.

"No, I am quite serious with my choice."

Noire looks at Vert and then to Histoire. "Lady Histoire, don't you have anything to say about this..?"

Histoire folds her arms and shakes her head. "I won't force any choices from any of you, if everyone decided to roll 4 bards, then so be it, but it seems we have a somewhat balanced party... A bard, a paladin, a barbarian, and a cleric, racial choices notwithstanding. Speaking of, Neptune, have you decided what bard you'll be?"

Neptune looks up from the handbook, and goes back to it. "Well, either a human, or a gnome, but I think gnome sounds better, especially with the name Puddington."

"Okay, so a Gnome Bard, a Human Paladin, a Half-Orc Barbarian, and a Half-Orc... Cleric. The cleric choice doesn't sound or feel right, but I won't stop you Miss Vert... please make sure that everything on your sheet is correct."

The rest of the table quiet down, as the goddesses continue to fill out their character sheets, while Histoire continues to read her copy of the Dungeon Master Guide. She glances at the rest of the table, Noire is writing as if working on a document, Neptune is scratching her head and counting with her fingers, Blanc is writing diligently, sometimes erasing an error, and Vert is quickly filling it out, as if she already knew what to do.

Blanc stops writing and looks at Histoire. "It ... kind of feels weird putting in a Deity name that our character ... worships... can't we just put in our own names?"

"Um, sure, that should be fine, I suppose, once we're more comfortable, we'll be more strict on such details. Anything else that seems confusing?"

Blanc continues to write again. "No, thank you Lady Histoire."

"Histy! There's a lot of things in the Gnome section that can't seem to fit on the sheet..."

"Put it in Special Abilities or on a blank sheet of paper, and just remember it."

"Okay!" says Neptune, as everyone else nods in agreement.

"That goes for everyone else, alright? If you're unsure where to place it, just put it on a sheet of paper, just make sure you remember it, probably put in where you found it too just in case."

"Histy! Even the spells take too much space!"

"Spells? At your level? We're starting at 1, remember that."

Neptune brings up the book and points at the page. "No, no, no, being a gnome lands me a few spells already, see!"

"Huh, is that so, well, seeing as the spell area for the sheet is small, just go on ahead and place it in a blank piece of paper..."

Blanc smirks. "Heh, no need for me to mess with spells, they just need a good whack of the axe."

"My, my, that's so like you..." Vert whispers to herself. Blanc did not hear Vert's comment, as she continues to finish up her own sheet.

"Oh! Right," Histoire starts up, "the starting wealth of each character, it's determined per class, so let's go on ahead and roll them."

Histoire hands Neptune, two purple, pyramid-shaped dice; Vert gets one green, pyramid-shaped die; Noire gets six black, pyramid-shaped dice, and Blanc, two blue, pyramid-shaped dice. Vert looks at everyone else, and sees that she is the only one that has only one. She frowns as she, and everyone else rolls their dice.

The green die shows up as 3.
The black dice land on, three 2s, 1, 3, and 4.
The blue dice land on, a 1 and 4.
The purple dice land on, 4 and 3.

Everyone writes the result in their wealth, Vert writing hers with a slight sigh, while everyone else with a smile. Histoire notices Vert's slight woe, and approaches her.

"I understand that you're quite used to playing RPGs and seeing a small amount of money is quite worrying, but don't worry, the guide says that this starting wealth is for purchasing extra gear aside from the starting items you have."

"Okay, I understand, thank you Lady Histoire..."

"Don't be too disheartened Miss Vert, we're only just beginning. Speaking of, may I see everyone's sheets to make sure that everything is correct?"

"Check mine first, Histy!" says Neptune, handing Histoire, 3 sheets of paper.

"Let's see... Sir Puddington, a Gnome, ability scores are as follows... 12, 14, 11, 15, 9, and 16... maxed out ranks in, Bluff, Decipher, Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Listen, Perform with String Instruments, and Tumble. You chose Dodge for your feat, and for magic, you filled in the free Gnome magic, and selected Daze, Detect Magic, Light, and Read Magic. I see you've mostly followed the recommended bard loadout. Nothing wrong with that of course."

Noire chuckles to herself, "Neptune with 9 wisdom, that sounds like her, alright."

"Hey now! It's not my fault the dice rolled like that!"

"Neptune, I'm surprised, you actually filled everything out correctly. Now if only you were this serious when working. Now, Miss Noire, would you please show me your sheet?"

Noire hands Histoire her sheet. "Here you go, Lady Histoire."

"Ah, yes, Paladins don't get spells until their 4th level, let's see here, Albedo, human, 14, 10, 12, 11, 12, 18, maxed out in Diplomacy, Heal and Ride. Improved Initiative and Weapon Focus, for Longswords. Good work as always Miss Noire."

"Ah, yes, you only wish you had that much Charisma outside of the game," Neptune smugly chuckles back.

"Whaaaaat?! I'll have you know that--!"

"Let me know what, Noire?" Neptune giggles back.

"Calm down you two," intervenes Histoire, "Miss Blanc, would you please show me your sheet?"

Blanc slides her sheet towards Histoire. "Barbarians seem simple enough, so there shouldn't be anything wrong."

"Blunga, Half-Orc Barbarian, 19, 12, 16, and the rest are flat 10s. Weapon Focus for Greataxe, and what's this? Literacy? 2 skill points."

"I didn't want my barbarian to be illiterate."

"Okay, I suppose you do have that choice, maxed out in Climb, Listen, Survival, and 2 points in Swim. Items look to be in order as well. Thank you, Miss Blanc. Miss Vert, let me check yours now, since you are a Cleric, you must tell me what alignment your deity would be, even if there won't be anything written there."

Vert hands Histoire her sheets. "It will be Chaotic Good, and my domains are Strength and Luck."

Noire slams her hand on the table. "Wait a minute! Where will your healing be? Isn't that why you chose Cleric?"

"Now, now, Noire, I chose these because I looked at the Healing domain, and it seems it only adds an extra 1 of healing, besides I have the ability to change any of my prepared spells, aside from Domain, into a cure spell," says Vert calmly.

"Are you quite sure you haven't played this before Miss Vert?" asks Histoire.

"Of course, Lady Histoire, I just read through my class description very carefully. It's quite a useful skill when playing games, especially when reading patch notes."

"That's quite true, let me read through your sheets then."

"Half-orc Cleric, named Burt... I ... guess that works. Most of your other sheets is every spell... it would have been sufficient to simply write down the spells you'd like... but, if you can handle it, that would be fine. Score allocation... 19, 11, 14, 11, 13, 8... is this a barbarian or a cleric... Improved Initiative, and you've prepared 5 regular spells, and your domain spell. Everything seems to be in order," states Histoire, as she hands Vert her sheets back.

"Thank you, Lady Histoire."

Histoire claps, "Good job everyone! Now, we are ready to begin the game."

"Oh no, that means maybe a week or more of waiting to actually begin!" blurts out Neptune.

Histoire opens up her own set of notes and looks at Neptune. "What are you even talking about? We're about to begin now, not tomorrow."

"Well, I suppose!"

Chapter Text

"Okay everyone, now that we're done with our sheets, we can begin the session, it will cover the most basics of the game, and allow your 4 characters to naturally meet up. Atleast, as natural as they could somehow meetup."

"Histy! You didn't let me start like the last 3 chapters!"

"What are you talking about? Wait, no, I know what you're talking about, please Neptune we've had to repair the 4th wall each time."

Neptune chuckles a bit. "Okay, okay, sorry about that Histy. Alright, let's start!"

"Everyone, please make sure you're comfortable, and let's begin. I'll introduce each of your characters, and if you have any interjections, please say so. I'll be, 'railroading', so to speak, a few things just so we can begin."

"Sounds fine to me..."
"Sure, Histy."
"Go ahead, Lady Histoire."
"Alright."

"Our story begins at evening in the tavern of... Good Knight's Sleep Inn, located in the small village of... Keydento, for now we will focus on the tavern as that's where everyone is at."

Histoire waves her hands around the table, channeling her power as the table begins to glow. Miniatures, walls, models, and tiny furniture begin to materialize. They all arrange themselves into a tavern, static humanoid miniatures are in front of tables with drinks and food, and it's even complete with the usual noise of chatter and music.

"This is quite impressive Lady Histoire..." says Vert, taking a closer look and inspecting the visuals.

"They're small static figurines, so it's fine for you to take a look, but continuing on, Neptune, as a bard, you always visit this inn, for its good food, and the fact you usually pay for that meal by performing, which is what you're currently doing."

"I am!? Oh gosh, I didn't bring my instruments with me!" she says jokingly.

"Just go ahead and roll a performance check. Take a d20, that 20-sided die, or an icosahedron, if you want to be technical..."

Neptune takes her purple d20, and gently rolls it across the table. It stops its roll on 10. She looks at her sheet quickly afterwards. "Okay, I have a 7, on my 'performance', does that mean..?"

"Yes, you just add that number to the result, so in the end it means you have a 17. Now, with a 17, you're playing very good music. Everyone seems to be enjoying their time, and you even get a few gold coins given to you. Put in 4 gold pieces."

Neptune jots down the increase in wealth. "Nice! I'm even richer now!"

"What about me Lady Histoire?" pops in Noire.

"As a paladin, you have been tasked by the local authorities to patrol the local area for any disturbance, person or otherwise. You are situated near the tavern, where Sir Puddington is currently playing, you don't know that, of course, actually you don't even know who Sir PUddington is, I'm just letting you know as a player, but as your character you're just there patrolling."

"Um, okay, is there anything that seems out of place?"

"You know what to do, go ahead and roll for ... spot."

Noire looks at her sheet before rolling, looking a bit worried afterwards. She proceeds to roll, and it lands on 8. "I ... got a 9. Um! It's dark, so uh, maybe I can take a listen, instead? Please?"

"Okay, Miss Noire, go ahead and take a listen check."

Noire screams as she sees the result. The rest of the table sees the number 5 face up on her d20 die.

"Miss Noire! Please calm down, it's not the end of the game when you get bad rolls like this!"

"I'm sorry, Lady Histoire..."

"That's alright, moving on, Albedo does not sense anything amiss during her patrol. The noise from the tavern doesn't sound too over-the-top from the usual, and no sketchy looking people walking about."

"I guess, I'll just keep doing the patrol then..." says Noire, sounding downcast.

"As for you Miss Blanc, as a barbarian, Blunga is eating her meal with other patrons. She is a traveling hunter, always testing her mettle, either against wildlife or challengers. Your meal today has been paid from the challengers that you've won against, go ahead and roll a d8, see how much you've won."

"Sounds good to me," Blanc replies, rolling a 3.

"Add 3 gold, Miss Blanc, and as for you Miss Vert, you're in the tavern after a long day of..."

"Mining," adds Vert.

"Uh... what? Aren't you a cleric?"

"Yes, would it be fine for me to use a self-made Deity that I'm comfortable with?"

"Well, that's called homebrewing, and sure, that's fine, who would it be?"

"I'll name them Steve. They are the patron of miners, who my cleric follows."

"And I suppose, needing great Strength and a dash of Luck is something miners need... so that fits. Okay then, so Burt, is having his meal with his fellow miners."

Blanc knocks on the table to get everyone's attention. "That still doesn't explain why Burt is a cleric and a miner."

Vert chuckles. "Of course, I have a reason. Little Burt back then, during his childhood, was raised by miners, and they were very much interested in mining. Digging through rocks and discovering valuable stones were his pastime, but being a miner has its dangers, so he reveres Steve. Eventually he was blessed by Steve, hence he became a cleric, ensuring the safety of miners. Now, Burt has been traveling around, spreading the blessings of Steve."

Histoire claps. "My, my, it seems you have the knack for roleplaying Miss Vert."

"Thank you, Lady Histoire, I have played plenty of RPGs, so it may have come naturally."

As Histoire describes the scene and each player, the miniatures appear and move around as described, enrapturing the goddesses. "Now, as the four of you are minding your own business, Albedo, notices that a man is running towards the inn. That would be you, Miss Noire."

"Oh? Um, I don't think it's too weird, but it is night time... uh, I stop him!"

"Okay, so Albedo stops him, the man stops, seeing as an armored woman commands him to do so. He says, 'Oh! Miss Albedo, good evening, I was sent here by our local mayor as there is an official order to clear the mines of unwanted beasts.'" says Histoire, in her gruffest sounding voice, which elicited some stiff giggles.

"That's pretty cute, Histy..." says Neptune, trying her hardest not to break into a laugh.

"Um, I'll reply with... 'An order? I see. Sorry I stopped you.' Then I'll let him be on his way," says Noire, looking a bit embarrassed.

"The man thanks you, but doesn't leave immediately, he tells you, 'Ah, yes the mayor is also requesting that you join in the mines to assist. It says here, it will be tomorrow, in the Keydento Mines, I believe you know where it is, correct? Please visit the mayor's office in the morning.' Before leaving to enter the inn."

"Wait a minute, Histy, I don't know where these mines are!" protests Noire.

"It's okay, Miss Noire. Albedo knows it, this isn't like a video game where you have to meticulously control the movement of your character, going to a location is as easy as simply telling me where you'd like to go, and assuming it's reasonable for you to know how to get there, then we go about travel."

"Oooh, okay..."

"Did you play too many walking simulators lately? Maybe some delivery games?" asks Blanc.

"N-no... also, I guess, I follow the man into the inn."

"Ahem, anyway, alright, Albedo follows," continues Histoire, "and for the rest of the table, the messenger is heard calling everyone's attention."

"Well, not to be rude, I stop playing to allow the man to speak," says Neptune.

"Okay, once Sir Puddington's music stops, everyone's attention immediately turns to the messenger, and he announces the same information that was said to Noire, and the promise of a reward, which is ... 500 gold pieces, in total. The man places the scroll he read the information from, unto the notice board and promptly leaves."

"So, how does the rest of the place react?" asks Blanc.
"Oh! I resume playing after the man leaves!" adds in Neptune.

Histoire waves her fingers above the miniatures, and move as described. "Most of the patrons react with mild surprise, but most of them go back to tending to their meal. Some take a look at the noticeboard, and mumble to themselves about the 500 gold reward before going back to their table. Also, yes, Sir Puddington resumes playing his music."

Vert picks up her miniature and move it towards the noticeboard. "Burt looks at the noticeboard for any more details, like, what are the unwanted beasts? And since the mines are being attacked, it's my duty as a cleric of Steve to ensure the safety of miners."

"Alright Vert, no need to get all melodramatic..." says Blanc.

Histoire takes a look at her notes. "There are a few more details stating that the beasts haven't been fully identified, but witnesses say that they are large, hairy creatures, with a long tail. They don't know where they came from but they've been scaring and attacking the local miners."

Vert takes a pensive stance. "Lady Histoire, would it be possible for me to maybe get an idea what the creatures could be, since I have been mining a lot?"

"Well, looking at your scores here, you have slightly above average intelligence, but you haven't put any ranks in that skill. Still though, go ahead and roll Knowledge."

The green d20 lands on 15.

"I'd say that it's probably a chimera with that gold amount," says Vert knowledgeably.

Histoire picks up the Monster Manual, quickly flips through the pages, finds Chimera, and visibly winces while inhaling loudly. "Um... a chimera... uh... with that 15, Burt definitely knows that chimeras are extremely dangerous and would entail a much larger reward than just 500 gold."

"Oh. Then, what would they be...?"

"Well, you definitely know that they aren't chimeras, but dangerous enough for it to be a threat to regular men and women."

"Hmmm... fair enough. Burt will definitely join in for tomorrow."

Blanc picks up her own miniature and places it beside Vert's Burt. "Blunga will also look at it, saying, 'Beasts, huh? This is a good chance for me to test my mettle.'" saying her character's lines in a gruff voice like Histoire, which elicits a stiff giggle from Vert.

"Um," says Noire, "It's night already, and knowing I have a mission due tomorrow, I guess I'll do the responsible thing and go to bed."

Histoire moves Albedo away from the tavern and makes it disappear. "Alright, Albedo returns to her home. What about Sir Puddington, Neptune?"

"Sir Puddington will... check out the notice later, because he still has to continue playing, he'll be joining because being in an adventure is the best way to get new stories to tell! Atleast, that's what I read about bards in the handbook."

Histoire returns the miniatures to their original positions. "Okay then, anyone else want to do anything else for the evening, or let's move to the next day?"

"I'm good for the next day, we'll be at he mayor's place right?"
"Yep, Sir Pudding, thanks the audience for listening."
"Burt, will pray to Steve before going to bed."
"Blunga will... go to bed."

Histoire claps her hand once. "Okay then! How about a small break? We've gotten through character creation and even roleplayed a bit, and gotten used to rolling dice."

Everyone nods and takes a break.

Chapter Text

Neptune takes her seat around the table, holding a pudding cup. "Alright! That was a nice break, is everyone ready Histy?"

Histoire looks at the pudding cup Neptune is holding. "Make sure to not spill anything on the table, Neptune, and no, as you can see you're the first one back."

"Of course, I won't spill it! I'll be careful."

The other three players, Noire, Vert, and Blanc, return shortly after Neptune's first bite of the pudding. They all take their original seats, holding snacks of their own. Blanc has a small carton of manjū, each one with a small caricature of her face. Vert has gotten a whole pot of tea and a biscuits, while Noire has a mug of hot chocolate, with marshmallows.

"It seems everyone's getting quite comfortable with the game, seeing as everyone has brought snacks back."

Everyone nods in unison, as they sip, and nibble on their food. Histoire shrugs to herself, as she begins to wave her hands over the table once more. A rectangular room, furnished like an office, complete with paintings on the wall, a large window overlooking outside, and a mahogany desk, with a stout looking male miniature behind it.

Blanc's eyes narrow and clicks her tongue as she sees the miniature. "Really?"

"Really, what? Miss Blanc? Is something wrong?" 

Blanc picks up the male miniature. "Did you get this idea from the other Histoire?"

The male miniature resembles a stout, white haired, middle-aged man, wearing glasses that somehow always has a glare that makes it look opaque. It's wearing a dark blue striped suit, and slacks.

Neptune takes a closer look at the miniature as well. "Hey! That kinda resembles Mr. Badd! Does that mean this person is going to be evil but in the end has a change of heart due to his daughters?"

"Neptune! If you use that knowledge to change your in-game decisions and not because of what you know in-character, that would be called 'metagaming' and is widely frowned upon!"

"Oof! Sorry, Histy. Don't worry, I won't metagame! Or at the very least try my best to not do it!"

"That's good, I understand that there would be some mild cases of it, but try not to overdo it."

Neptune sits down, while Blanc is still looking at Histoire, wanting answers.

"Ah, yes, apologies Miss Blanc, but regarding the similarities, I thought it best to have a memorable person to signify their importance. Other than appearance, there shouldn't be more similarities."

"Just leaves a slight bitter taste in my mouth, but I suppose that's fine. He did get his just desserts in the end, anyway, I didn't mean to make a big fuss about it, sorry."

"Thank you Miss Blanc, moving on, the four of you, individually made your way towards the office."

Histoire conjures their 4 miniatures inside the office. "Oh, right, I've only used basic miniatures for your characters, but would that be fine?"

"Just make sure Pudding's hair is purple!"
"Make sure it's different from Vert's half-orc."
"My half-orc is fully armored, don't worry, besides your half-orc is female."
"Hm... I'll put twintails on Albedo."

Histoire wiggles her fingers around the miniatures and changed the miniatures as how they want it to be. Sir Puddington now has a purple head of hair, Burt is more armored than Blunga, and Albedo received twintails like her player.

"Really, Noire? Self-inserting a bit much aren't we?" says Neptune. 

"Hey! It's my character!"

"Now, now, this game allows that, so it's fine. The four of you have decided to accept the mayor's request to clear out the mines. The mayor says, 'Ah, thank you for accepting the call to arms. I am Mayor Manual. As you know, the local Keydento mines are quite important to our economy, so having our miners attacked by beasts is something we can't ignore.' The mayor pulls out a large scroll and rolls it out on the table." Histoire moves her hands and replaces the diorama with a flat image.

The flat image is a sprawling maze of twists and turns that go in every direction. The rest of the table goes silent, as they look at the image, their eyes trying to trace a pathway.

"Um, Histy? Isn't this a bit much?"

"Don't worry Neptune, anyway, the mayor continues, 'The attacks happened in these areas,' he says as he points towards the map."

Portions of the image began glowing, and its pathways also becoming more illuminated than the rest. A collective sigh of relief is heard all around. Neptune wipes the imaginary sweat from her brow with a phew. The illuminated pathways create a simple three-pronged fork, each one ending in a room.

Neptune points a finger towards one of the rooms. "So one of these three rooms have the monsters? I mean, uh, that's what Sir Puddington asks."

"The mayor responds, 'These are the three areas where the attacks were reported. It may be in all of the rooms, or just one. If possible please subjugate the threat, if not possible, report what they are at the minimum, so we may prepare further if necessary. Also, please take a copy of the map. It would for the best.' He produces a smaller copy of the map, but only with the areas required to investigate."

"Oh, so we can't fully explore without getting lost, huh?" says Vert, to herself.

"Well, Miss Vert, I have created the whole map, so you can explore if you all really want to, but I'm just directing you to where the attacks are, as per the mayor."

"I see..."

"Well," interjects Noire, "who's going to be keeping the map? I think I'll do it."

"I guess that'll be fine," agrees Blanc.
"Go ahead Noire."
"Pudding has to get more instruments."

Histoire waves a finger, and the small parchment floats above Albedo's miniature and disappears with a small pop. "Um, Miss Noire, please add in an item called 'Mines Map', that was just a visual aid for items."

"Oh! Okay," says Noire, adding in an item to her inventory.

"The mayor then says, 'Please, make haste towards the mines, bring any proof or information for your reward.' Now then, does the party leave immediately or do they do something else while in town?"

"Time's a wastin' let's go to the mines! We do know where it is right..?"
"I'm sure Burt would know."
"Blunga will just go with the party, and mentally prepare herself for the coming fight."
"Well, Lady Histoire did say Albedo knows, so we should be safe."

Histoire nods. "Okay, the party proceeds into the mines. Travel towards the mines is simple enough, the walk towards the small hamlet took less than a few hours, and the road is safe, no bandits or brigands around. The group left early in the morning, the sun is up and shining, and the trees give enough shade over the road."

Histoire rolls a pair of percentile die, away from everyone else. It lands on 20 and 5, 25.

Neptune notices and tries to crane her neck, upon hearing the sound of dice landing. "Hey, Histy, did you roll the dice? What'd they land on?"

"Ahem, that's for me to know, and for you to never find out, Neptune. That's part and parcel of the game that the DM can make random rolls depending on the situation. Continuing on, the four of you travel towards the hamlet of Keydento Mines for a few hours, just enjoying the sun and light breeze."

"Aww, come on Histy, let me know what the dice rolls were!"

"Now, now," says Vert, "it's like this in every RPG, whenever you travel, a random encounter happens, I believe that's what Histoire rolled for and we just didn't get any."

"Well, I won't confirm or deny that Miss Vert. Continuing on, the party reaches the hamlet, and from the distance is a hill, where there are mounds of dirt and stones along with mine carts filled with dirt and gravel. There are people living their lives here, some women cooking and cleaning, children playing, and the sounds of a hammer striking metal is clearly heard."

Histoire waves her hands around and begins to conjure the scene as described. Various miniatures of all age and sizes appear, a dirt road, small shanties, tiny fires, and other decorative pieces, along with sound effects of children laughing and the sound of a hammer striking metal.

"So there's a blacksmith then," says Noire, "I wonder if they can make me better armor..."

Vert hands Noire the Player's Handbook. "Noire, you may want to check the cost of armor."

Noire opens the book, runs a finger through the table of contents, and flips through the pages. "Oh? Are they cheap?"

A rough cough is heard from Noire as she nearly chokes on her drink. Her eyes widen, she blinks numerous times in disbelief, hoping that maybe the numbers would change after a few more blinks, but to no avail. She closes the book with a wince and passes it back to Vert.

"Is full plate, really that expensive? I don't think we even have 50 gold combined! 1500!" she voices out loudly.

"Well, Miss Noire, don't worry, your current armor is more than sufficient for your character. Okay, now since the four of you arrived, especially with such a colorful group, mostly Neptune's hair, or rather Puddington's hair..."

"Sir! Puddington!" interjects Neptune.

"Alright, Sir Puddington's hair, someone has approached the group, it's a small boy, looking at the four of you. What do you want to do?"

"I'm good with kids, and I'm most likely sized like one, so Sir Puddington will talk to him!"

"Okay then Neptune, what does Sir Puddington say to the boy? Also, he says that Sir Puddington looks funny with his hair."

"Ahem, Sir Puddington says, 'Hey there champ, who's the big boss around here? We're here to clear out the mines that are having issues.' Then show him my big guns."

Neptune flexes her arms.

Histoire takes Neptune's sheet, and reads it quickly before returning it to Neptune. "Well, it seems your strength score is actually higher than the 10 average. So, it works, I'll let it slide without a roll."

"Oh? So not everything needs to be a roll? Great, what happens next?"

"That's right Neptune, only if there is failure and it would significantly change things I'd ask for a roll, or for comedy."

Noire puts her mug down. "Then what was my rolls for?"

"It's for both practice and spotting the messenger quicker," fibbed Histoire with a straight face.

Noire nods. "Oooh, I see..."

"Okay Neptune, the boy laughs and flexes as well, then he says 'Sure! Follow me to the head miner chief!' afterwards he begins to jog ahead, and waving his arm for you to follow."

"Sir Puddington will follow of course."

The rest of the table agreed, nodding their heads.

Histoire takes that as her cue to change the village diorama to a shanty house, with all the player miniatures, child and a man wearing a hard hat. "Now, the party follows the boy into this home, and the boy says 'Okay! This is the chief! Bye-bye!' then he runs off. The man looks at the group, from top to bottom, then says, 'Well, none of you look like miners, name's Albrecht. Who might you all be?' then he waits."

Noire speaks up first. "I'll introduce myself and the party, 'Greetings Albrecht, we were the ones who accepted the quest from Mayor Manual to clean up the mines.' I'll do it with a slight bow for respect."

"M'chief..." says Neptune with a slight giggle.

"What was that?"

"Nothing Noire!"

"Okay then Noire, I mean Albedo," says Histoire, "does that and Albrecht nods with a smile. 'That's great to hear, it's only been a few days and we've already gotten a solution for the problem. I was worried it would take months. Please, let me show you to the mines.' He says that and stands up, directing the four of you to follow. At this point, I think there wouldn't be any sudden objections, so I'll proceed to the mines."

Vert pours a new cup of tea. "I'm fine with that Lady Histoire, oh, would you like a cup as well?"

"Thank you Miss Vert, but it's okay."

Histoire waves her hands, dismisses the shanty, and creates a small hill with a mine entrance, mine carts, and some tools strewn about, with the five miniatures just beside the mine entrance. Behind the hill is dense fog, covering the table completely. Neptune places her hand through the fog, and it disappears, out of sight. She shakes it, but nothing happens to the fog. She pulls out her hand shortly after, with no consequence.

"What's with this fog, Histy?"

"You shall see Neptune. Now that Albrecht has led the party towards the mines, 'Here are the mines, the attacks happened pretty early in the mines, so we're thinking it's just some vicious animals that got in, but none of our miners can fight so we needed the help.' He goes into the mines and the party follows."

Histoire moves the miniatures into the mines, and a straight line cuts into the fog, giving way sight to what was beneath it. Rails for the carts, different pathways going left, right, and beyond.

Vert gasps audibly. "Oh! It's fog of war! So we can't see the whole map, unless we're there directly!"

"That's right Miss Vert, although, it may be easier for distances if we just use a flat image for the map, but with fog of war still active."

"I'm fine with that," says Blanc with her mouth full.

Everyone else on the table agrees, and with that Histoire flattens the diorama, into a map with grid lines. Each miniature occupies a single square. The mines are two squares wide, and extends 10 squares vertically before stopping. At the end is a room, seemingly empty, and midway of the mine hallway are rails that indicate further sections of the mine, unseen.

Noire moves her miniature to the outside of where the grid is and it gets placed back to its original spot.

"Oh, so we can't move out of bounds, that's quite nice."

"That's right Miss Noire, it'll make it easier to make sure they stay where they need to be. Now that we have a map, please feel free to move around."

Vert takes her miniature and moves it towards the middle where there's a possible path, and as expected, the fog gets cut through and a new path emerges. "This is quite amusing Lady Histoire, although for now, we should focus on the mission at hand, so I'll keep going straight, just before the room."

She keeps moving her miniature forward, and sees Histoire rolling an unknown die. Vert purses her lips as her eyes widen in anticipation for the result. Histoire checks the result of the d20, and it lands on 5. She shakes her head slightly, much to Vert's ever widening eyes.

"Okay then Miss Vert, you move towards the end of the current mines. Alright, anybody else?"

After moving the miniature, the fog of war clears showing two pathways, one on the left, and one on the right. The left side extends 8 squares, before taking a turn. The right side extends by 9 before also taking a turn. Both side are similar in its contents, just rails, rocks, and dirt.

"Wait, that's it? What was the roll for? What did it land on?"

Histoire smirks slightly. "That would be all Miss Vert, let us let the others move their own characters."

Vert is left with her mouth agape, looking shocked. Blanc chuckles to herself, and moves Blunga close to Burt. Histoire also rolls another unknown die. Blanc tries to hide her emotion, but finds herself looking at the source of the sound and then towards Histoire looking at the result in disbelief. The d20 lands on 2.

"The dice are not playing nice today..." Histoire says to herself, before looking at Blanc. "Alright, you're beside Burt."

"I don't like how Lady Histoire is looking at these results... but okay, Blunga's next to Burt. We haven't been attacked yet, so I guess that's good."

Neptune takes Sir Puddington, and pokes Noire. "We should both move since we're all moving towards there anyway, right?"

Noire picks up Albedo, and moves it along with Neptune. "Um, I guess so."

Histoire rolls two dice, and sighs with a smile looking at the results. An 8 and a 19. Noire and Neptune smile slightly as well upon seeing Histoire. The two of them look at each other and nod.

"So, Histy, what happens now?"

"Okay as for Sir Puddington, nothing."

"Aw!"

Histoire waves a hand and an arrow begins to float above the fog of war towards the left of the miniatures. "But for Albedo, she hears an odd scratching sound towards their left."

Noire perks up upon hearing Histoire. "Oh! Finally! Alright, I run towards the noise!" Noire moves her miniature just before the arrow. She moves it 8 squares to the left, but the fog of war does not automatically clear.

Histoire lets out a laugh. "Okay. Albedo runs towards the noise. Her armor makes loud noises while she runs. Let me clear the fog of war now."

"I don't like that Histy is manually clearing the fog..."

Histoire waves her hands and clears the fog. 4 miniatures of giant rats are just a few squares away from Albedo. Each giant rat is facing directly towards Albedo's direction.

Noire desperately tries to move her character back, but to no avail, as her miniature keeps returning to the original spot. "Noooooo, Albedoooo..."

"Okay then everyone, please roll initiative," says Histoire, rolling a d20 for herself, which lands on 9.

Noire is too busy anguishing over her poor decisions, while the others are wondering what to do. "So how do we roll initiative, Histy? I see the Initiative number here on my sheet, is it like any other roll like Performance?"

"That's right Neptune."

Everyone except Noire rolls. Neptune gets 15, and Blanc gets 14. Vert's mouth is left agape and her eyes widen in disbelief as the d20 lands on 1.

"Oh, my. Don't worry Miss Vert, only on attacks do Natural 1s have a secondary function. Now, please don't forget to add your Initiative bonus, and Miss Noire, please don't worry, go ahead and roll your initiative."

Noire rolls her black d20, and gets 13. "Adding my initiative of 4, it's 17."

"Thank you Miss Noire, okay, it seems Albedo has a higher Initiative modifier, as both Sir Puddington and her ties at 17, so Albedo goes first, then Sir Puddington, then Blunga, then the 4 rats, then Burt."

Noire's face brightens as she hears Histoire, while Vert continues to hang her head. Noire happily pokes her miniature with glee.

"Okay then, Lady Histoire, it's my turn right? What can I do? I want to attack the nearest rat to me, but ... I don't want to go near them... I have a bow, I can use that right?"

"That's correct Miss Noire, if you want to attack, please roll a d20, add your attack modifier for it, and if it hits, you'll roll damage."

"Sounds simple enough. Okay, I got ... 15, and my bonus is +1 as a base... so 16 in total."

"That's a hit, Miss Noire, go ahead and roll your damage, which for your bow is 1d6, so pick up the same dice for stats, but just one and roll it."

"Here we go, and 5!"

"Five damage, Albedo fires her bow and the arrow lands true on the rat's head. It is no longer moving."

"Yay! Can I move?"

"Yes, you can."

Noire moves her miniature back one square away from the rats. "I think I'll move back one square, and if that's all I can do, it's Neptune's turn."

Neptune takes her miniature and moves it close to Noire. "Alright, let's move next to Noire over here..." The miniature is placed, but then moves back to the original position, much to Neptune's surprise.

"Histy, what's happening? It's my turn right?"

"Yes, that's right, but you're a gnome, which means you can't move as far while in combat. You can only move 20 feet, or 4 squares."

"Whaaat!? Isn't there a way for me to move more?"

"Yes, there is, but you'd be giving up your attack, also even if you move your maximum distance right now, you won't have line of sight with the rats. So I suppose if you exchange your attack to dash instead, you can move 8 squares."

"I'll do that, move beside somewhat near Noire or rather Albedo, I guess that's all I can do. Blanc, it's your turn."

Blanc takes her miniature in her hand. "Right, I have 30 feet of movement... and I won't have line of sight, but can I prepare an action? Is that possible, like, if I see a rat, I fire an arrow at it?"

"Yes, that's possible Miss Blanc, I believe. That will be both your action and reaction."

"Action and reaction? What reactions are there?"

"In due time, but I suppose the most common would be attacks of opportunity. If you do an action that provokes an attack of opportunity and you are within range of an enemy, they can use their reaction to get a free attack on you. The most common action is moving away from an enemy."

"Huh, I see. Well, I'm a barbarian so I don't think there would be too many times that I'd need to move out of melee. That'll be my turn."

Histoire waves her hands as the miniatures of the giant rats begin to move. "It is now their turn."

A rat moves towards Noire, and into the line of sight of Blunga.

"Oh," interjects Blanc, "that rat's in my line of sight now, so I can attack it right?"

"Yes, go ahead and attack just like Miss Noire."

"Alright, let me roll... 16, I have 2, 1 from base attack, and 1 from Dexterity... so 18, unless something weird happens, that should be a hit, and since it's the same bow, I have 5 from the d6."

"Wow, alright, the rat is also no longer moving."

Noire claps her hands. "That's two out of 4 taken care of!"

Histoire moves the rest of the rats near Noire. "Well, you are the nearest target, and they definitely saw you attack one of their kind. Since they're both on the same turn, I'll just move them both and... for clarity, and perhaps suspense for everyone, I'll roll their attacks up front."

Everyone nods in agreement.

Histoire rolls a d20 for the first rat, lands on a 2. She shrugs and rolls the second one. Everyone's eyes widen, as they see the d20 land on 20.

Noire speaks up first, turning white. "Lady Histoire?! What does this mean, what's going to happen to Albedo!?"

"Hold on, just because it lands on a 20, doesn't mean bad things will happen immediately, this is a real game, not one of those ... meme images where a 20 makes magical things happen, we're going to be playing by the book as much as we can. A 20 just means it's an automatic hit, and a threat for a critical. I'll be rolling a second attack roll, if it doesn't connect, you just get hit for regular damage."

Noire nods meekly.

Histoire rolls, and Noire voices out anguish. The d20 lands on 17.

"Um... with a 4 for their attacks, that's a hit. I believe you have 16 armor class, which is what it needs to beat, but you attacked with your bow, so you don't have your shield out, which lowers it to 14... so that's a 21 to hit, um, what I'm saying is, that the attack is a critical, but it's only a rat! The attack is only a 2d4 on a critical hit, so don't despair Miss Noire, even if it does land on the maximum rolls, it'll only be 8. Oh, and I'm not piling on more problems but, please roll a fortitude save."

Noire looks to be on the verge of tears as she rolls her d20. "I don't want Albedo to die so early..."

"Okay, your d20 landed on 10, and with your stats, that's an additional 3, okay, you passed the difficulty check for resisting the disease. Now let me roll the damage... and it is 3 ... and 4... um, that would be 7. Miss Noire, Albedo takes 7 damage."

"Wow," says Blanc, "these creatures are crazy, and we're the trained adventurers here? Average Joes wouldn't stand a chance..."

"Albedo," Noire sniffs, "only has 4 health left."

"Miss Vert, you've been quiet this whole time, it is your turn now."

Vert shrugs. "I was just observing how combat is ran Lady Histoire, so for Burt, I believe he can only move 20 feet, or 4 squares due to my heavy armor."

"Oh, my, that's right Miss Vert, I forgot about encumbrance for heavy armor, Miss Noire, I'm quite glad you only moved 5 feet, you would not have been able to move further than 4 squares."

"I shall move Burt, and um, hold on, Lady Histoire, would the spell Command work on the rat?"

"Command? Um, let me check. It says here... that you use a command word and if it fails the save it will follow the command... uh, wait, it says here Language-Dependent, unless Burt knows how to speak rat... do rats have a language?"

"We kept fighting a talking rat before, Lady Histoire."

"Well, that's ... different, these rats can't speak. So I'd have to say it can't work, because they don't understand you."

"Alright, that's fair. And before anyone says to heal Albedo, I need to be able to touch Albedo. So, I'm trying to check what my options are here... all my spells require me to touch the person I'm buffing... I shall just use my crossbow to attack the nearest rat."

"Miss Vert, you rolled 18, no modifier, but you hit. That's a crossbow, so that will be a d8."

"And the result is a 5. I believe, that would be enough to stop the rat."

"Yes, that's right. And that would be your turn, Miss Vert. It's your turn now Miss Noire."

Noire takes her sheet. "If I move away, I'll get attacked, so I'll attack with my sword."

"That means you have to sheathe your bow first, and that would be an action."

"What? Really? What if I just drop it and attack with my sword and shield immediately?"

"That's fine, dropping your weapon is a free action."

"Albedo will drop her bow, pull out her sword and shield, and attack. That's a 16, and with my modifier of 4, that will be 20, but that's not a critical hit... and for damage, it will be a d8, and it lands on 6, bonus damage is an additional 2, for a total of 8."

"That's all correct Miss Noire. The final rat is now defeated. Congratulations everyone."

Histoire claps with a smile.

Noire slumps on the table. "That was rough, how long did that battle take in-game? Felt like forever."

"About that Miss Noire, in-game, that battle took... 12 seconds."

"What?!"
"That's a bit absurd."
"Histy, are you serious? That's only just slightly longer than The World!"
"So it's 6 seconds whenever the whole round is finished?"

Histoire takes a look at her notes. "So, regarding experience points, everyone gets 25 points. For combat."

"Ah," blurts out Blanc, "Blunga will cut off their tails as proof for the town mayor."

"Okay then, Blunga cuts off the rat tails and keeps it in her empty sack as proof, please add 4 Rat Tails, 0.1 pounds each."

Blanc writes down the new items. "Now that we're done, we should head back to the town."

"Wait!" Noire blurts out. "Can't we rest? How do I regain back health?"

"Don't worry Noire, my Burt will heal you. Lady Histoire, I'll cast Cure Light Wounds, using my Command spell slot. And I rolled 7, plus 1 for my caster level, so 8 in total. Noire, you're fully healed."

"Really?! Thank you so much Vert...!" Noire moves towards Vert and gives her a hug.

"Now, now, Noire, that's why I rolled a cleric."

"Okay then Miss Noire and Miss Vert," says Histoire, "go ahead and mark your Command spell as used, and Miss Noire, you're fully healed like what Miss Vert said. So, does the party want to exit out of mines?"

"Yes, also Noire, please let go, I appreciate the skinship, but we should get back on track."
"Oh, sorry Vert, okay, we get out of the mines. Can we still rest though, like an inn so Vert gets her magic back?"
"...I don't think Sir Pudding did much in that fight..."
"Might be a good idea to rest, if what Vert said about the random encounters, we could get attacked by who knows what on the way back."

"Alright, so I'll assume, that wanting to rest, everyone wants to get out of the mines."

Histoire waves her hands, dismisses the map, and returns the hamlet diorama back in view. Not much has changed, the sounds of children playing are still evident. The miniatures are moved back to Albrecht's home.

"Oh," Noire perks up, "we're back in Albrecht's house, sure, that's perfect since we need to tell him about the news. Albedo will tell him, 'Good day, Albrecht, we've taken care of the problem, it was four gigantic rats roaming about the mines. My companion, Blunga, has taken the tails as proof.' Then I ask Blunga to show the sack."

"Blunga will show the inside of the sack to Albrecht."

"Okay then, Miss Noire tells Albrecht of their fight, and Miss Blanc shows him the spoils of battle. Initially Albrecht looks quite relieved, but suddenly he looks more worried. He tells the group, 'Giant rats? And inside the sack there are 4 tails, normally, they can be a big group of up to 50... I don't know if there could be more or perhaps that's all of them... please, stay in our hamlet for longer and investigate further...' He puts his hands together and begs the group."

"Albedo tells him to not worry and we'll stay here until the mines are fully cleared out."
"Hold on, we had trouble with 4 rats, but now it's possible there would be more..? I mean, combat didn't take that long, but... Burt's spells wouldn't hold out unless we keep going in and out of the mines..."
"I'll gladly keep attacking more rats."
"Oh! I have an idea!"

Histoire scrunches her forehead as she looks at Neptune. "Neptune? You have an idea?"

"Of course! And it's a good idea! Instead of having to take care of the rats one-by-one, can't we just make poison, place them around the mines, and wait for the problem to fix itself? Sir Puddington has Alchemy for his skills, so I think I should be able to reasonably create something that can be used against rats!"

The table is silent. Everyone is looking at Neptune as if she just grew a second head. Before the silence grows longer, Vert breaks the silence with a cough.

"That's actually an excellent idea, and if the town knows how to properly bait and poison the mines so no pests will take shelter, we'd have permanently solved the problem."

"See! Told ya, it's a great idea!"

Histoire looks at her notes, and promptly places them at the bottom of the pile. "Okay then, so Sir Puddington will be crafting poison, but this is a hamlet, somewhat far from any marketplace, and you don't have any ingredients on hand to create it."

"No problemo, we'll just scoot on over back to town, after resting of course, then get some info here and there, learn how to make it, make it, and bam, we're good!"

"I can't ... argue with that, alright then. I think this is a good time to end today's session. We've created our characters, roleplayed a bit, entered combat, and had a great new idea. So before we fully end, let me just discuss how resting works. For every full night of rest, you heal an amount equal to your total character level, so in this case, each full night of rest, you would gain 1 health point."

"Only one? Sleeping isn't as powerful as the other RPGs make it out to be..."
"Wait, with how much Albedo got hurt, if she had to let that naturally heal, I would be out for an entire week?!"
"That's crazy Histy."
"That means we're all going to be reliant on Burt for healing... I don't like being overly reliant on Vert but..."

"Although, if you go a full bed rest instead of just sleeping every evening, you'll gain twice as much. And that's about it. There's no such thing as taking an hour breather and regaining health. And with that we're done for the evening. How was it everyone?"

"Thanks for hosting Histy! I had a lot of fun."
"Same here, even though I got a bit too into it, sorry."
"It's quite a change seeing how big of an impact small numbers are in these kinds of games, I got used to RPGs with much larger numbers."
"I feel like maybe Blunga won't be too useful since she's only good in combat..."

"Thank you everyone, and Miss Blanc, if you wish, we can retroactively change your character. Just tell me about it and we can discuss. Okay then, we'll see everyone next week."

Vert, Noire, and Blanc, say their goodbyes and leave the Planeptune Basilicom.

"That was really fun Histy, can't wait for next week!"

"Well, Neptune, if you want me to keep hosting these games, I'd better see you working much harder! Or else Sir Puddington may get into more trouble..."

"Uh-oh! Of course Histy! Good night!"

"Good night, Neptune."

Chapter Text

"Finally, it's game night again! Time to roll some dice, and get some more Lily Points! I think I got a quick level from everyone, but Noire's points toward Vert increased by 2..."

Neptune gets some pudding from the refrigerator, before taking her seat, to wait for the other goddesses to arrive. Histoire is taking her seat as well, wearing the same purple robe and wizard hat from before. She is organizing her notes for tonight's game, and cross-checking it with the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Soon enough, the familiar elevator bell indicating an arrival breaks the silence. Vert, Noire, and Blanc, file out of the elevator, and takes their seats. Histoire returns to them their character sheet, and their set of dice.

"So, how was everyone's week?" asks Histoire.

"Oh, come on, Histy, we're all here to play and forget about work... right?"

"I suppose so."
"It's been a bit rough with Rom and Ram..."
"Chika has been clamoring trying to join but..."
"Yeah! Besides the author doesn't need to add more details in this story-within-a-story!"

"Neptune! What did I say about the 4th wall?"

"Sorry, Histy. Anyway, let's start! We ended off with everyone resting right?"

Histoire clears her throat as she waves her hands around the table, conjuring the familiar hamlet of Keydento Mines. The miniatures of the town and players, all wake up in different parts of the hamlet. The lighting Histoire is using, tints the hamlet into an early morning scene, with the sounds of roosters beginning to crow.

"Lady Histoire, I do love your dioramas, it really adds a lot to the game," says Vert clutching her hands together.

"Thank you, Miss Vert. Continuing on from last time, the party was able to secure a place to sleep for the night. Just to add from last time, since Burt and Albedo are wearing heavy armor, if they tried to sleep while wearing it, they would wake up feeling fatigued. They'll receive a penalty to strength and dexterity, and they need a night's rest to recover from it. That'll only apply to heavy armor, so just to let you know."

Noire looks at her sheet again. "So, if Albedo were to be attacked at night, knowing that I'd need to be without armor, that would mean..."

"Yes, your armor class would plummet to 10, or even less than that since you are being ambushed. I believe that would be all the rules for now regarding resting, we can discuss that more when it becomes relevant. So, now, everyone is awake and Sir Puddington's plan was to create rat poison, but this is a simple hamlet, so they don't have the required materials on hand, unless Sir Puddington would like to venture into the forest, and try to gather materials, which may or may not work. What would it be?"

Neptune puts a hand on her chin and looks at her sheet. "Well then, I think it would be best to return to town, and buy it from there. Everyone good with that?"

The rest of the table nods and looks back to Histoire, she begins to wave her hands to dismiss the hamlet.

"Oh!" interjects Noire, "Before we go, I want to tell Albrecht that we're leaving but will be back tomorrow with the rat poison."

Histoire continues to dismiss the hamlet and replaces it with a forest. Histoire rolls a pair of percentile dice away from everyone, as it lands on 37. She shrugs it off, and continues to conjure sounds of the forest. "The party ventures through the pathway of the forest, they encounter a lone wolf in the distance, through the foliage but, upon seeing the party, it runs off, deeper into the forest."

"Histoire, is it possible for Blunga to figure out what kind of wolf that was?"

"Um... would Blunga happen to have Knowledge, Nature?"

"...I don't even have the skill Knowledge. I didn't think being a barbarian in a game like this would... make me feel this useless."

"I'm sorry Miss Blanc, but no one can shine for every occasion, and I'm sure that an opportunity for you to show your mettle will come up soon."

Blanc sighs. "I hope so."

"Um, moving on, the party continues to walk back to town. Let's see..." Histoire opens the manual flips through a few pages, and closes it back. "The party hears the sound of battle in the distance, within the forest."

"There's no time to lose then!" Noire blurts out, almost standing up. "Where is the battle Lady Histoire? And what kind of sounds are we talking about?"

"The sounds are of men yelling out battle cries, and a rabid animal snarling and roaring." Histoire begins to wave her hands to change the forest diorama to a flat map image. A pathway where the Sir Puddington, Blunga, Burt, and Albedo are walking along, and to their west, is a very large badger, snarling; a few smaller badgers, already on the ground; two armor clad men, on the ground, clearly hurt; and behind them is a terrified man. The party is 6 squares away from the large badger, they are positioned in such a way they create a square, with Blunga on the top-left, Sir Puddington on the top-right, Albedo on the lower-left, and Burt on the lower-right.

Noire is looking at the conjured diorama then to Histoire, then back, grabbed her dice and began shaking it quickly. "Do we roll our initiatives now Lady Histoire?"

"My, it seems Noire is quite excited," says Vert, picking up her dice as well.

"Maybe, this'll be Blunga's time to shine," says Blanc already rolling hers, which lands on 12.

The rest of the dice roll, purple lands on 14, green lands on 11, and the black die lands on 7. Noire looks at her result with worry, but calms down a bit seeing the rest having good rolls. Histoire rolls her own set, 6 for the badger, and 4 for both armored men, and a natural 1 for the terrified man.

Histoire clears her throat to get everyone's attention. "Alright then, first up is... Sir Puddington, then Burt, Blunga, and finally Albedo. You have all rolled higher than everyone else so, as a group you are all first in line for initiative."

"Sir Puddington, will fire his bow, and 13 plus 3, is 16. Did that hit Histy?"

"Yes, a definite hit. An arrow flies from Sir Puddington's crossbow and finds itself on the back of the giant badger. It turns around and snarls. Roll damage."

"I got a massive 7 damage. I think it's Vert's turn next." Histoire notes down the damage.

"Thank you Neptune, okay, since Burt cannot make his way in melee range, I suppose I shall also make use of a ranged attack. I rolled 10. Is that a hit?"

Histoire checks, and shakes her head. "Sadly not, Miss Vert. Miss Blanc, it is your turn."

"Um...can I charge at the badger? Is there a bonus for it or it's just, okay I move?"

Histoire checks the handbook. "Oh! Actually, you can charge, but you would need to be unimpeded the whole way through, and that includes other players." Vert was looking a bit excited at the charge, but realized that Albedo was blocking Burt's way.

"It says here you will get an additional plus 2 to your attack roll but you lose the same amount of armor class."

"I'll do it. Also, I'll use my barbarian's rage."

"So, you'll have an additional 4 to Strength, Constitution, and 2 as a morale bonus to Will Saves. Oh, you'll also lose more armor class."

"That's fine, I should be tougher with more constitution. I'll attack now, so in total I would have... my base strength modifier is 4, additional strength adds 2, my feat adds 1, charging adds 2, base attack bonus is another 1, so in total 10, to my attack rolls. I got 16, and in total 26. I'm sure that's a hit, so I'll roll damage... a d12? Weird looking shape, but it rolled 12, nice. Greataxe is a 1.5 strength modifier... I have 6 strength modifier, so an additional 9 damage to 12, for a total of 21."

"Oh man, as someone who advertises repair tape, he would say, that's a lotta damage!" adds in Neptune.

Vert looks at the result. "That's quite an impressive amount of damage, Blanc."

"Miss Blanc," says Histoire, looking at her notes, "well, with your raging charging barbarian attack, you have easily defeated the giant badger. Congratulations, everyone."

"Wait!" interrupts Noire, "What about those who are injured!?"

"Calm down, Noire." says Vert. "Burt will handle them. I'll use Cure Minor Wounds to stabilize them, I'll use Detect Magic and Purify for my slots."

"Okay then Miss Vert. Burt heals the two armored men for 1 health each, they are now stabilized, and are no longer in the danger of passing away. Also Miss Blanc, you're fatigued now, as per the rage effect, you lose 2 strength and dexterity, and you cannot run or charge anymore for the rest of the day. Now, before I forget, everyone gains 38 XP for that combat encounter. Please remember to write that down."

Histoire waves her hands and dismisses the map back to a diorama of the forest. "After Blunga's massive attack, the battle is over, and Burt is healing the wounded men. The man who was at the back terrified of the beast calms down significantly after witnessing his rescue, and thanks the group."

"Albedo will check on the terrified man and assure him that things will be okay, actually let me say it in-character. 'Ahem, good day! It seems we are fortunate to have been passing by when we did. Are all of you alright?' Then I'll help him up."

Histoire clears her throat and takes another attempt for a masculine sounding voice, which elicits some giggles from Neptune. "The man stands up thanks to Albedo then he says, 'How can I ever repay you all?' He vigorously shakes Albedo's hand."

Vert looks at the situation. "Lady Histoire, is there anything I can tell about the man? Looking at it, I find it difficult to believe they would be friends, they look like bodyguards." 

"Astute observation Miss Vert, looking at the man, he seems to be wearing well-to-do clothes, it reminds you of what most rich merchants would look like."

"Ooooh!" cooed out Neptune, "If he's a merchant then maybe he has the things we need! Alright, Sir Puddington will approach and say, 'Oh! Well, it looks like you're a merchant, and if you'd like to repay us, how about letting us check your wares, maybe with a slight discount?' then I wink at him like this."

Neptune winks with a cheeky smile on her face.

"The merchant stands up and dusts himself off," Histoire clears her throat, "then he says, 'Of course, my name is Creed, of the Aikon Company, I am a traveling merchant by trade, please come to my wagon and browse my wares. And of course, with a slight discount as thanks for saving my life and my bodyguards.' He then leads the party to his wagon, assuming there are no objections, the party does so."

Histoire changes the diorama of the forest to something reminiscent of an item shop menu in games. A list of his wares, and prices are listed, along with how much he is carrying currently. Everyone on the table is in awe at the item shop screen.

"Burt doesn't really have much ... money on hand."
"Same with Blunga, besides I think this greataxe is the best I can get for now."
"Albedo has to save up for new armor!"

Neptune shakes her head. "Okay! Gotta concentrate, let's see here... uh, I don't actually know on the top of my head what rat poison is made of, but I'm sure Sir Puddington does, right Histy? He does have alchemical knowledge!"

"That would be true Neptune, so, Sir Puddington knows, how to concoct the poison and what materials are required. And looking at his list of wares, he has arsenic. Creed tells you, 'Ah, you are purchasing poison? Hopefully not for killing others, well I do have ready-made poison, normally it would cost 120 gold pieces, but as a discount, it would only be 60 gold pieces.' He is waiting for your response."

"Wait! 60?! That's really expensive! He said ready-made? What about raw materials, maybe crafting it would be cheaper!"

"Creed sees the shock on Sir Puddington's face, 'I do have the raw materials for it, usually for 40 gold pieces, but at that rate, perhaps escorting me and my bodyguards safely back to town of Keydento, that would be sufficient payment.' Then he waves over to his unconscious guards."

"Blunga will go ahead and carry the guards to his wagon, assuming there's room..."
"Burt will go ahead and help out Blunga with that."
"Okay, since the two of you are doing it, I won't need a strength check anymore, Creed is thankful for the assistance for his bodyguards."
"Albedo will walk alongside the wagon."
"Well, Sir Puddington will ride along with Creed if he doesn't mind."

Histoire waves her hands and replaces the shop menu with a wagon scene. Sir Puddington is on the front with Creed, Albedo, Blunga and Burt are walking alongside the wagon. "Does anyone want to do anything or is everyone alright with skipping back to town?"

"I got nothin' for Sir Puddington, I just wanna know how to craft that thing."

Everyone else voices the same opinion, as Histoire waves the wagon scene into a diorama of the town of Keydento with a small wagon representing the party entering into the town. "Okay then Neptune, for crafting, it seems that according to the rules, it will take a minimum of one week."

"One week?! But, Histy! We said to the guy... uh, Albrecht! Yeah, Albrecht, right? We'll be back tomorrow!"

Histoire folds her arms. "Well, do you think that he's going to be unreasonable and be upset that it'll take longer?"

"I suppose, not, but I guess let's go ahead and check what the rules of crafting are before we promise more..."

"Okay then Neptune... it says here, find the item's price, and convert it to silver pieces, it's 10 silver pieces for 1 gold piece, okay, so the base price of the poison, Arsenic, is 120 gold pieces. So we multiply that by 10, and we have 1200. Find the craft DC, or difficulty check, I'll place that as 15, then for one week's of work, make the appropriate craft check, if the check is higher than the DC, multiply that result to the DC. So for example, if you get 20 for your craft check, multiply that to 15, which would 300, then subtract that from the 1200. So if you get 20 each time, it would take 4 weeks to finish the poison. So it would be an average of 5 weeks. Also, if you fail the check by 4 or less, you fail to do any work, and if you fail by more than 5, you lose the material and need to purchase more."

"Five weeks?! I mean, I suppose that's not real time, and it's easy to just say poof we're done, but still... wow."

"That's how life is in these times. Work is slow and steady. Be thankful you don't have to spend weeks doing something like this outside of the game."

Noire raises her hand. "Um, Lady Histoire, what about the rest of us? Assuming Neptune would take a month in-game to finish the poison... what about us?"

"Of course I have a plan for all of you as well, Neptune will not be the only one making checks, unless you'd prefer your character to just be doing nothing. Let's see, a character can do a profession check, earning half of that check in gold pieces, this represents one week of work. Profession requires a wisdom check, so Miss Noire, what kind of profession would Albedo be doing? Burt has mining, and Blunga has ... oh. Um..."

"Lady Histoire," says Blanc, "Blunga is literate. Not many barbarians are literate. I think it would be fair that I can use that as my check."

"That's... fair. Okay, for Blunga she can use her Literacy, which is a plus 2 for her check. Okay, let's make Neptune first roll for the crafting, then depending on how long Sir Puddington takes to craft it, that's how many times everyone else will be doing their profession."

"Wait!" interrupts Noire, "since it's a week, per, would it be fine that we can say tomorrow, we visit Albrecht and tell him of the situation?"

Histoire nods. "Of course, Noire. That would be fine. For now, let's get Neptune to roll. Assume, due to goodwill, even if you do fail, you don't need to purchase new material, as Creed will be supplying you with them."

Neptune shakes her purple d20 in both hands. "Oooohhh, please roll good!" She lets go of it and it lands on the table.

Natural 20.

Neptune jumps off her chair. "Ooooohhhhhh!!!! Twenty!!"

"Neptune! I don't want to rain on your parade, but 20 in a skill check just means 20, which adding your 4 modifier means 24. And... that would mean 360 silver pieces worth of work has been done."

Neptune sits back down looking slightly dejected. "Aw. Then what about those people with the Nat 20 bluffs and intimidates?"

"I knew it, you have just been looking at Dungeons and Dragons images and trying to live vicariously through them!"

"Ehehehe, um, anyway, I guess I'll roll the rest..." she says rolling her d20 once more.

Noire chuckles a bit. "And just like that you got a 3. Well, Lady Histoire says failures are free, but that's a week gone."

Neptune frowns as she rolls her d20 again. She screams. It's 5. The rest of the table shake their head.

Neptune shakes the dice again in her hands and talks to it. "Dice please! Is this my punishment for my hubris?!"

The dice does not answer her prayers and results in 6. Neptune hangs her head, and even Histoire is looking worried. The dice is rolled once more, and it lands on 17.

Histoire takes note of the number. "585 silver pieces left."

Neptune looks hopeful as she rolls the dice once more, and it lands on a second 17. "Nice! 330 silver left... come on baby!" She rolls it once more.

"Neptune," says Blanc, "maybe you should stay quiet, the dice doesn't seem to like noise. You got another 5."

Neptune looks betrayed as she picks up the dice to roll it once more. Histoire holds up her hand, "Neptune, I think you tried to bite off more than you can chew when you tried this out, but this is everyone's first time and I'm quite happy with the idea, so I'll say you've successfully created the item, is that okay with you?"

Noire shrugs. "Honestly, that sounds good to me Lady Histoire. Besides, let's see... that's 7 weeks."

"But, but, Sir Puddington... it doesn't feel right getting handouts like this..."

"Oh, come on Neptune, like you haven't gotten a handout from me before when your shares were dipping low. What's the difference now?"

"Well, if you put it that way Noire... I guess, that's fine Histy."

Histoire takes note of the results. "So the rest of you, please roll 7 times. And for Noire, don't worry, Albedo consistently makes reports to Albrecht. Whatever the final result of 7 weeks worth of work is, divide that by 2, and you gain that much gold.

Blanc, Noire, and Vert roll their d20s seven times each, and calculate the results. Blanc gets, two 20s, a 19, a 9, 8, 4, then 3, then adding in the total modifier of 14, she gets 97. Noire gets, 6, 11, 2, 14, 19, 13 and finally 4, adding in her total modifier of 7, she gets 69. Vert gets, 3, 13, 5, 14, 19, 7, and 6, adding in her total modifier of 7 as well, she gets 74.

Histoire finishes noting down the numbers. "Miss Blanc, you get 49 gold, I've rounded-up the gold gain, instead of using silver pieces. Miss Noire, you gain 38, and Miss Vert, you gain 37. Sir Puddington gains Arsenic."

"So 7 weeks have passed," says Noire, crossing her arms, "I suppose it kinda makes sense for such a big issue, and Albrecht did say he was expecting months..."

Histoire waves her hands and conjures the hamlet. "Now, the party has gotten the poison for the rats, and have returned to the hamlet of Keydento Mines. Albrecht is elated to finally hear that the rat problem will be gone. He tells the party, 'Ah! You've all returned, wondrous news! Our miners will be the ones to place the poison. Again, as the chief miner, we thank you all for the help.' He bows his head to the party, and giving a writ of completion."

Neptune clears her throat. "Well, Sir Puddington, will give the arsenic in exchange for the writ, and tell them, 'Well, here ya go. Be careful with it, alright? I made it myself.' Actually wait, no, scratch that last part, don't tell them I made it, I'm sure others would have made it faster than me..."

"Alright then Neptune, anyone else?"

The rest of the table shake their heads, while Vert speaks up. "Lady Histoire, would we get experience points for finishing the request? Even though it took some time."

"Of course, Miss Vert, in fact, if it's not an issue, we can let all of you head back to the town of Keydento, and speak to the mayor."

"Well," says Blanc, "we're rushing it a bit, but I suppose that sounds fine, I don't think we can do much more."

Histoire conjures the town of Keydento. "Don't worry Miss Blanc, just finishing this request doesn't mean the game is over. So, after the party delivers the arsenic, they return to Mayor Manual. He welcomes all of you in his office, 'Ah, you've all returned! I take it you've completed the request? It feels like it took some time.' Then he waves his arm towards a couch, seemingly asking all of you to feel free to take a seat."

"Um," says Noire, "I guess Albedo will say to him the circumstances, 'Apologies it took a while, we were looking for a more permanent solution rather than just simply clearing out what we saw. I believe Sir Puddington has the writ of completion."

"Okay," says Neptune, "Sir Puddington will give the writ."

"Mayor Manual accepts the writ, and takes a look at it and he gives a nodding smile, then he tells the party, 'Well, everything here seems in order, and since you have solved the issue in a more permanent manner, I feel it fit to increase the reward.' He hands the party a large bag, and inside it is a lot of gold."

"Nice!" blurts out Neptune, "Lots of gold! I'm guessing everyone gets an equal portion, how much is it in total Histy?"

"Alright, everyone gains 250 gold each, and please add 1000 EXP for solving the issue, and an extra 500 EXP for solving it in a different approach."

The table perks up upon hearing the amount of experience points, and Vert speaks up first. "That's more than enough to go to Level 2! How do we level up? This isn't like a game when we level up the computer automatically places in new bonuses..."

"That's what we'll discuss next Miss Vert. Everyone please check the handbook and go to your respective class. I'll help you all one by one to level up."

"Ooh!" blurts Neptune, "Me first!"

Histoire shakes her head. "Alright, Neptune. So this is for everyone, every time you level up, your max health goes up, depending on your hit die, which is dependent on your class. For barbarians, their hit die is a d12, paladins, have a d10, clerics use d8, and bards use d6. You have the choice of gaining average health, or you can gamble it and actually roll it. For example, Sir Puddington, if he uses the average, he'll gain 4 hit points, because he doesn't have a modifier for his constitution stat."

"What? Constitution is used for gaining health?"

"Yes, Neptune, allow me to continue, so, he will gain 4 hit points, which is the average of a d6 roll, rounded up. Or, alternatively Neptune can roll a d6, and whatever result is there, whether worse than 4 or greater than 4, that's the result. So, Neptune, do you feel lucky?"

"Um... judging from my craft checks a while ago... uh... no! I'll take the average, thanks!"

"I respect your decision Neptune, the other changes, you can see in your class table in the handbook. Please refer to it, there's a lot of changes there, like for Sir Pudding, his Reflex and Will saves increase by 1, from 2 to 3, and his base attack bonus also increased by 1. It seems you get more spells, as well."

"Histy, it says here I have 0 spells per day at Level 1, what's up with that? Why put it there if I can't have it?"

"Well, Neptune, your spellcasting modifier, which is Charisma, gives you bonus spells depending on how high it is, and at 16, you have an additional bonus spell of up to 3rd level spells, but you can only access them once you're allowed to, which is level 7."

"Wow, that's really far away."

"Yes, it is, and don't forget, you also gain skill points, which is also dependent on your class. At first level, the max rank of each skill is only 4, but each time you level up, it goes up by 1. So at your current level, it will be 2. Any other bonus would be in your class section. Any questions? Don't worry, I'll check once you're all done."

"I'm going for average health."
"Same."
"Sounds like the safest choice."

"I'm definitely getting more points for my alchemy crafting if I want to do more of that..."

The rest of the table check their sheets, the handbook, and begin to take note of what they get at level 2. A good while later, Neptune submits her sheet like a student submitting to a teacher.

"Everything here should look right!"

"Alright, let's see here... you added 5 ranks to Craft Alchemy, I see you really don't want to fail like that anymore... an addition to Perform, Gather Information, and Tumble. You forgot something here Neptune, there's a thing called skill synergies, and for Tumble, you gain a plus 2 bonus to Jump and Balance checks at the 5th rank, which is what you're at. And for your spells, you added Know Direction, Cure Light Wounds, and finally Summon Monster. Quite odd choices, but I suppose it's good to be a good all-rounder."

"Thanks Histy! Let me add those Jump and Balance modifiers then."

"Lady Histoire, here's Blunga."

"Not much to change as a Barbarian, you added Climb, Survival, and two ranks to Jump. I believe that's it, just add your Dexterity bonus to your flat-footed armor class due to Uncanny Dodge. Miss Noire, is yours ready?"

Noire hands Histoire her sheet.

"You added Diplomacy and Heal. Divine Grace adds your Charisma modifier to all your saves, it's quite impressive how high your saving throws have become. You've also gained Lay on Hands, and at your level, you have 8 charges, since it's your level multiplied by your Charisma modifier, which is 4. I believe that's it."

"Thank you, Lady Histoire. Vert, are you done with yours?"

"Yes, here you go Lady Histoire."

"Oh my, it seems I was preoccupied with your spells before, I forgot to actually check your skills, but it seems you've only maxed out your rank for Heal and Spellcraft. I apologize Miss Vert. Your next additions are for more spells you can prepare, which can change anytime a full rest occurs."

"That's no problem Lady Histoire. Thank you for checking our sheets."

"Histy! I think I'm gonna need a quick pudding break!"

"Alright, Neptune, I suppose, it's a good time for a break. I'll see you all in a couple of minutes."

The rest of the table stand up, stretch their arms, and go for their break.

Chapter Text

Noire takes a sip of black currant juice with a satisfied sigh. "Ah, this is good. Still, Neptune, I didn't think you'd roll that poorly for crafting that arsenic."

"Ehhh! That's why I took all my new ranks into Crafting, so that doesn't, or atleast shouldn't happen again!"

Vert takes a bite of her butterscotch cake. "Speaking of ranks, I noticed that Sir Puddington gains plenty of ranks per level, so I'm hoping you select useful ones."

"Meanwhile, Blunga, barely gets any... then again my combat proficiency is good," says Blanc biting on her manjū.

"Alright, let's grab our snacks back to the table, Histy's waiting for us."

Neptune grabs her pudding cup, Noire fills her cup with more black currant, Vert grabs her pot of tea, and Blanc, her box of manjū. They return back to the table, placing their snacks and drinks on their respective spots, while Histoire is reading the rulebooks. She sees that the table is back from their break, and closes the book she's reading.

"It seems everyone's back, that's good. We've just leveled up, but just for future reference, if you gain enough experience points to level up in a dungeon, you won't get the additional stats or bonuses, until the party finishes a rest, so you can't level up, unless you can find a way to get a full night's rest."

"What?! Histy, but that's a legitimate strategy in RPG games! Vert! You play tons of RPGs, what do you say to that?!"

Vert places a hand on her chin. "Well, yes, I have, and normally RPGs have up to level 100, it seems Dungeons and Dragons is only 1/5th of that, and all level up calculations is done manually... I would have to say being able to level up mid-dungeon or even combat is going to mess with the flow of the game. So, I would say we would need to rest in order to level up."

"Et tu, Vert?! Blanc? What about you! Nepgear has told me a few things about the stories you've written! Protagonists powering up mid-battle!"

Blanc's eyes shot open. "She WHAT?!"

"Yeah... I didn't know it was to her taste... but anyway! You're on board about leveling mid-battle right?"

Noire clears her throat, "Neptune! Think about it, do you think Lady Histoire would even award us experience points in the middle of battle? It's usually at the end! I'm sure this is just so we don't ask her for experience for every little thing. Also I'm sure she just wants to make sure it's safe before we level up. "

"Nepu... Okay, fine. You make a good point, we don't get any points until the fight is over anyway..."

Neptune sits down with a sigh. "Alright, what do we do next Histy? We've finished our mission, now what?"

Histoire conjures up some water for herself and takes a sip before speaking. "Okay then, Mayor Manual calls on the four of you for another request."

Waving her hands, Histoire shows the diorama of the the Mayor's office once more, with the four miniatures of the goddesses and the mayor in the room.

Noire sagely nods. "Another request, huh? I guess we did good on the last one."

"On the table are large stacks of papers, and the mayor is currently sifting through them, but still greets the party as they enter. 'Ah, good, you're all here, apologies for the mess, but there have been plenty of reports regarding this and that. I've called the four of you to actually investigate on this. Remember the merchant, named... Let's see here, ah, Creed. His name is Creed.' He says as he pulls out a sheaf of papers."

"Oh!" Neptune blurts out, "It's the merchant that provided us with the materials, nice, I thought he'd be a one-off character."

"The mayor shows the group the papers and on the papers are various reports of attacks. 'So here, are reports about various animal attacks, normally that'd be something that's just a one time thing, but the attacks are happening too frequently, along with all of the attacks being done by very large versions of the animals. I'd like you all to investigate the source.' He pulls out a map."

Vert gasps. "Oh, an investigation quest! I'm curious how it gets handled in this game, I remember in other games, if the hints just don't click, you basically guess every choice combination until it works, but since everything here is manually done, and not being set in stone, ooh, it gets me excited to see how it goes."

Neptune chuckles. "I still remember one of those games you had Blanc, having to use a parrot as evidence, what even was that?"

"Oi! If you had the proper reading comprehension, you would've easily known that!" Blanc retorts.

"Now, now," says Histoire, waving her hands down, "On the map, the group sees multiple red marks all around, in the middle is the town of Keydento, there are forests all around, mines with settlements, and other small details like the roads. The mayor explains, 'These are where the attacks have occurred, we haven't really found any kind of connection to each attack, they've all been random for all I know, but perhaps a different point of view may help.' He hands the map to the group."

Histoire waves her hands and replaces the diorama with the map, marking random spots with a red cross. She looks at her notes, and it says 'Choose best sounding theory that would lead to them discovering crystals that are transforming the beasts'. She takes a deep breath as the table takes a look at the map, she knows this is the best way to do this, as trying to bet on even one of them getting exactly what she's thinking of would be an impossibility. Neptune, Noire, Vert and Blanc, take a good hard look, trying to think of any kind of connection where there was absolutely none. Heads are scratched, and fingers tapped on the table for what felt seemingly like hours, trying to figure out what to do.

Histoire was about to open her mouth, Vert slams her hand on the table, to the shock of everyone on the table.

"Woah!" blurts out Neptune. "I was expecting you to yell out 'Hold it!' or something there Vert."

"I think," says Vert, "I have an idea. If you look at the map, most of the marks look somewhat close to the settlements, which means these must be the territories of the animals. I'd like to ask the mayor if they've sent anyone to check on the areas after the fact of the attack, to see if they've found anything."

"The mayor says that, they have investigated where the attacks occurred, but found nothing."

"I'd like to be able to check the surrounding area of the attacks, find where the homes of the animals are, maybe there's some clues there."

Histoire nods. "Anybody else have other theories?"

Histoire takes note of Vert's idea, and mentally prepares how to proceed with that idea. She checks the book while waiting for anyone else to pipe in with their idea, then she winces when she sees the rules for making Survival checks. It says that anyone can do a survival check to find tracks, it takes a ranger, or someone with the appropriate feat, to follow tracks with a difficulty check higher than 10. Histoire winces as she takes an overview at the party, seeing as no one has taken that feat at all. She doesn't want to bend the rules too much, but then, a new hope is found upon further reading on the Track feat. The difficulty check is a flat 10 on soft ground, and since the creatures are large, that places an additional negative modifier of 1, and easily more than one creature, that would add another negative modifier of 1, bringing down the difficulty check to 8. She smiles a wide grin, knowing the rules are falling perfectly into place.

"Hey, Histy, what's with the smile?"

"Huh? N-nothing, Neptune. Anyway, did somebody else say something?"

They all shake their heads. "That would be a no, Lady Histoire," says Noire, "I think we all agree that Vert's idea sounds good, and if doesn't produce results, then we'll get back to the drawing board."

Histoire closes the dungeon master guide, with a nod. "Okay then. I believe this is a good time for us to close the session for this week. We'll be continuing on the investigation of the attacks. We've been here for quite a while, mostly just thinking about the map that was given to the group."

Vert frowns slightly. "Aw, I would've wanted to find out if my idea was correct already, but now I need to wait for next week."

"Don't worry Miss Vert, it'll be next week before you know it," says Histoire with a smile.

"Alright. If that would be all for this week, I shall take my leave before Chika gets too worried." 
"Same here, I think Uni wants to play as well, but maybe she just wants to hang out." 
"Rom and Ram would probably just keep rolling the dice for no reason."

Vert, Noire, and Blanc stand up from the table, clean up the remains of their snacks and drinks before leaving the Basilicom. Only Histoire and Neptune are left on the table. Neptune yawns, and stretches before standing up and bidding Histoire a good night.

"Nighty-night Histy! Thanks again!" 

"Have a good night as well, Neptune."

The table is now empty aside from Histoire, the character sheets, and her own notes. She begins to wave her hands, practicing the proper gestures and motions to conjure a forest, deciding whether it would be best for it to be just a quick diorama for visual purposes, or a map for combat. She thinks about it for a while and decides that both would be a good idea, as is the idea of the crystal being capable to drive someone into an uncontrollable rage when touched with their bare hands.

Histoire notes down, 'The crystal would be a will save of 14, and it would make the person incredibly aggressive to anyone that wrongs them.' She nods with a smile, and continues to mull over how to continue after that. She writes down her thoughts, 'Continue with player theories? Railroad?' Her other hand is on her forehead as she frowns and shakes her head, unsure how to proceed. Looking at her previous notes, she checks how she wants the current quest scenario to end. It reads, 'Discover hidden underground cavern producing the crystals.' and on the side, of that 'Maybe at the bottom of a lake?'. She sighs and notes down, 'How are the crystals being transported to random locations? How are the crystals being produced?'. Inspiration hits Histoire, as she begins to quickly jot down her thoughts throughout the night. Her fervent writing is only interrupted when Neptune spots her still on the table.

"Huh? Histy? Are you still there? It's almost midnight..."

"Oh! Neptune, um, I guess I lost track of time. I'll head to bed shortly."

Neptune grabs a glass of water and drinks a few gulps. "Okay, Histy. Don't stress out too much, you still have the rest of the week to think! Well, the author might not, but still!"

Histoire closes her notes and hides it. "I'll head to bed now as well. Good night Neptune, hope I didn't wake you up."

"Nah, I just got thirsty. Good night, again, Histy!"

Chapter Text

Histoire finalizes her notes with a sigh of relief. She smiles with confidence, yet at the same time there's slight worry in her eyes, as she re-reads her notes and plans for the session. Meanwhile, Neptune is lazing about, reading simply just waiting for the others to arrive. Normally this would infuriate Histoire, but, it seems Planeptune's shares have been steady, so there's no reason to be upset.

"Hey, Histy, what's the plan for this week's session?"

"Well, once the others are here, you'll find out, but you remember what happened last time right? Miss Vert gave out her idea and everyone decided it would be good to follow through with that."

"Oh yeah, so we'll be checking whatever is there, huh."

"That's right. We shall see how it proceeds.

"I hope it goes well!"

As they continue to discuss, almost on cue, the familiar bell of the elevator indicating someone's arrival. The elevator doors open and Vert, Blanc, and Noire step out. Noire is carrying a small plastic bag with the logo of a nearby convenience store. Neptune spots this bag and immediately makes her way towards Noire.

"Hey, what's in the bag Noire?"

"Huh? Oh? This, it's just some snacks for everyone, o-of course it's not for you specifically! I just thought it would be rude to keep going here without bringing anything!"

Neptune begins rummaging around the bag Noire is holding. "Yay! Thanks Noire, it's all pudding! This is my favorite pudding too!"

"H-hey!"

Histoire folds her arms and scolds Neptune. "Now Neptune, that was rude."

"Sorry Histy, and Noire, but this pudding is mine right?"

"Y-yes, a-anyway, let's start the game shall we?"

Everyone takes their seat, while Noire distributes the contents of her plastic bag to everyone else. Blanc, Vert and Histoire each get a pudding cup each, along with a small spoon that comes with the cup. Noire takes her own and begins to open it.

"It's best when it's still chilly. You don't mind right Lady Histoire?"

"No, of course not," she says opening her own and partaking in it. "Let's continue. Now, where did we last leave off?"

"I believe," starts Vert, "we ended when I suggested on what to do with the map. I said that we should investigate some of the areas where there were attacks and see if there are any possible tracks of the animals. Track them back to their dens, perhaps we'll find a clue there."

Histoire conjures up the mayor's room once more. "Well, if I recall, you're all still in the mayor's office. So, Burt introduces this idea to the group and to the mayor. The mayor responds, 'That sounds like an excellent idea.' He says, pointing towards a red mark on the map, 'This is the most recent one, so if there would be any fresh tracks, it would be here.' Then he points towards the town, and traces back to the spot, it's not too far, an hour's walk at a leisurely pace."

Vert nods. "Alright, then let's head out there, everyone ready?"

"Yep, Albedo, will follow."
"Lady Histoire, what would Blunga need to roll to try and track... tracks?"
"Oh yeah, we're tracking things, so what kinda roll would that be? I don't think I've seen a tracking skill."

"That would be a survival check. Oh, speaking of, Miss Blanc, you have 5 ranks in Survival, correct? If so, please add Knowledge: Nature, with a modifier of plus 2."

Blanc writes down what Histoire asks of her. "Alright, thanks Lady Histoire."

Histoire waves away the mayor's room, and replaces it with a forest diorama. She enlarges it to a scene of an attack. There are scratch and claw marks, along with broken branches. The typical result of battle in a forest. She places the miniatures spread around the area.

"So Histy, we gotta roll for survival to check for tracks right?" says Neptune, readying her die.

Blanc places her arm in front of Neptune. "Hold on, I have the highest rank for survival checks here. Unless you have more than 5."

Neptune looks up her sheet. "Um... nope! Well, I don't want to be useless, Histy, is there a way for us to help out Blanc for her roll?"

"Um," Histoire checks the books, flips through the pages before closing the book back again. "Yes, there is actually, you can aid her. If you roll a survival check as well, and it rolls 10 or higher, Miss Blanc obtains an additional 2 modifier. There's something here that basically says as long as it makes sense that aiding would have an effect, then it would, for example, you can't aid someone that you don't have the appropriate skill on. Now, as immersion breaking as this may be, we need to discuss this now."

The rest of the table looks at Histoire with slightly widened eyes, waiting for some kind of terrible piece of news.

"Um... don't look at me like that, it's nothing too drastic, but I don't want any arguments to suddenly occur, just in case you haven't checked the rules, but... according to the rules of tracking, anyone can find tracks, but following them would require the tracking feat, if the difficulty check is higher than 10. So, for example, if the difficulty check is even just 11, you can find the tracks, but would be unable to follow them."

Blanc listens attentively. "So, if the DC is below 10, someone without the feat, which is basically all of us, can follow the tracks after finding them. I can see why you'd want to let us know of this now, I would've argued a really high roll for following tracks would allow me to do that, but ... since we're told before that would be a thing, I guess that's fine, you were right though, it is slightly immersion breaking, since now I sort of know that the DC would need to be less than 10... well, maybe."

"Don't worry Blanc! I'm sure Histy would let us go this time!"

"Hmmm, maybe just this once, so we learn it, I think when I can get a new feat, I'll go take tracker. Maybe I should have rolled ranger..."

Histoire clears her throat, "Anyway, going back to it, if you'd like to assist Miss Blanc with her tracking roll, go ahead and roll a survival check."

The 3 dice fly from Vert, Neptune, and Noire's hands and lands on the table. The black die lands on 6, the purple die lands on 19, and the green die lands on 4. Noire and Vert both hang their head slightly knowing even with their modifiers, it would be 7 and 5 in total respectively, while Neptune has a grin on her face, even with her negative modifier, it would still be 18. Histoire takes note of the numbers.

"Well, it seems only one of you succeeded on the aid check, so Miss Blanc will be rolling with an additional 2 modifier for her survival check. Go ahead Miss Blanc."

Blanc rolls her blue die, and it lands on 17, with the total modifier of 7, it ends up as 24.

"Histy! Blanc didn't even need my help!"

"Now Neptune, you know the dice are fickle. Continuing on, Miss Blanc, with your 24, Blunga was able to find the tracks and follow it, a few hundred feet away."

"Wait," interrupts Blanc, "Hold on, before we follow it fully, can I know what kind of animal it would be?"

"Go ahead and roll a Knowledge: Nature, check."

"I got a 13, and with my modifier it would be 15."

"With that 15, Blunga knows that this is a badger print, but it's larger than normal, unnaturally large."

"So, kind of like that badger we fought ... weeks ago, thanks Neptune. Well, anyway, so we've followed it, I assume, so what do we find after following the tracks for... well, until we find something."

Histoire waves her hands around the table, dismisses the current forest, and replaces it with another forest opening, with a large ground mound in the middle. The tracks that the party has been following continues into an opening in the hillock. The table all look at the current diorama and think about their options.

"Lady Histoire," says Blanc, "what do I know about badgers? Large or not, animals are animals, so they should be somewhat similar to regular badgers."

"Roll the same check as before."

"18, and with my modifier, it's 20."

"Wow!" exclaimed Neptune. "Blanc's really pumping out these numbers!"

"Okay Miss Blanc, with that roll of 20, Blunga knows that badgers are usually in a group of atleast a dozen, in larger setts. They are territorial, and will defend their home against intrusion."

As soon as the table heard the phrase 'defend their home' everyone winces and sees Histoire dismiss the diorama and replace it with a flat map for combat. "It seems your arrival has spurred on the anger of a few badgers, as three large badgers emerge from the sett, growling angrily. Please roll your initiative."

The table roll their dice, while Histoire rolls in secret. She gets a 19 for the badgers, and with their modifier of 3, it becomes 22. She worries that the badgers would go first, this worry becomes real as she sees the results of the player rolls. The black die lands on 14, the purple die lands on 12, the blue die lands on 13, and the green die lands on 8. Histoire checks her notes, and sees that the badgers have 28 health each, which should be doable for the party.

Vert sighs in disbelief. "My initiative is 12." She places a hand on her forehead.

"I got 14, Histy!"

"I have 14 as well," says Blanc. "Who goes first?"

"Let me see here Miss Blanc, Sir Puddington has a higher initiative bonus, so Neptune would go first."

"Albedo got 18!"

Histoire writes down their initiatives. "Okay, so turn order would be Albedo, Sir Puddington, Blunga, and then Burt, but the badgers go first, then Albedo."

Noire winces once more. "Oh no."

"Oh! Right, before combat begins, I will allow you 4 to position yourselves at the very least so it's not too random. As you can see the badgers are all in a row, and the party is parallel to them, with a gap of 20 feet. You can move around, as long as it's within reasonable distance."

Neptune immediately puts her miniature behind everyone else. "I don't think I'm as tough as the rest, so I'll be behind everyone else!"

"Hey now..!" blurts out Noire. "Wait, no, she's right, if those badgers get to Sir Puddington he's a goner, I think this might be the best to have, our melee combatants in the front, and our bard in the back."

"It would be dumb if Blunga is at the back."
"Burt is good where he is currently."

Histoire nods. "I'll begin combat then." Histoire begins to move the three badgers to the front of Burt, Blunga, and Albedo, afterwards, she rolls a d20 three times. It lands on 15, 6, and another 15.

"I believe both Albedo and Blunga is hit." Histoire rolls a d4 twice, it lands on 1 and 3. She notes down the damage.

"How much damage did we take, Lady Histoire?" 

"Albedo takes 3, and Blunga takes 5, and Miss Noire it's your turn."

Both Noire and Blanc write down their damage, afterwards Noire picks up her d20.

"Alright, Albedo will attack the badger that attacked her!" she says rolling her die, which lands on 14. She picks up her d8, and looks at Histoire, waiting for confirmation.

"14, and you have a 5 modifier, I believe, so that's 19, yes that's a hit. Go ahead and roll your damage."

"I got 8, and with my modifier, that's 10!"

"Alright, Miss Noire, as Albedo hits the badger, the badger growls in anger, and its fur stands up."

"Ummm... does it do anything else?" says Noire, worriedly.

"Well, no, because it's not its turn, continuing on, Neptune, it's your turn." Histoire notes down the rage effect for the badger, and adds in 4 to its strength, 4 to its constitution, and subtract 2 from its armor class.

Neptune excitedly grabs her dice and starts shaking them around in her hand. "Alright! Let's see, if I score higher than 19, then that's a hit, so I'll be hitting the same badger that Noire hit! And... it's 12... oof, with my modifier it's, 16. Histy, did that hit?"

Histoire nods.

"Nice! Alright, I got a 4, and I don't have a modifier for it, so it's just gonna be 4."

Blanc picks up her dice. "I'll rage and retaliate against the one who attacked me. I got a 19, add a 9, 28... I doubt that missed. For damage... tch! 3. Add 9 to that, and it's a total of 12."

"The badger growls just like the last one. Miss Vert, go ahead."

Vert looks at her sheet and options available. She looks at Enlarge Person, but the cast time is one round, and the battle may be over soon. The supernatural strength option isn't very useful right now, since it will at most, simply add an additional modifier for her attack. She grabs her dice with a slight sigh and rolls them.

"I shall attack the one in front of my just like the others. I got a 12, for a total of 17. Since Neptune's 16 was able to hit, I assume mine would hit as well, and for the damage it would be ... 6, add in 4, for 10."

"The badger growls in anger as well. And now, it is their turn." Histoire rolls a d20, 9 times.

Noire panics as she sees the dice being rolled continuously. "Wait, NINE times?! Lady Histoire what happened?!"

"Each badger attacked three times. Two claw attacks and one bite attack."

"Is it because they got angry!? We should've focused on one... now we have three angry badgers at us!"

Histoire opens "Miss Noire, allow me to explain. So everyone, and I mean, everyone, has something called full round actions, when you do a full round action, the most you can do else, is move 5 feet. Doing multiple attacks is a full round action. There are more rules of combat and... oh my, oh no."

"Lady Histoire? What happened?"

"It seems I made a slight error for Neptune's attacks. I just saw here that there is a section regarding shooting, or throwing towards melee. It seems that if someone attacks a target who is engaged in melee with a friendly unit, which in this case is every single badger with everyone that isn't Sir Puddington, the attacker gets a negative 4 modifier for their attack roll."

"Histy, does that mean we'll have to backtrack and my attack would miss?"

"No. We won't do that, but in the future we'll be properly deducting any modifiers for special circumstances like that. Anyway, continuing on from Miss Noire's question, a full round action is usually multiple attacks. Which is why I rolled 9 dice, 3 for each attack, and judging from the rolls, allow me to tally them all... it would be a bite, and two claw attacks in that order."

The first set of 3, comes out as, 11, 8, and 3. Histoire shakes her head.
The second set, 10, 6, 17. The 17 becomes modified to 23, and the damage comes out as 1, with a 4 modifier, to a total 5.

"Miss Vert, unless you can somehow diminish a 23 result to be less than your AC, you take 5 damage from a claw attack."

Vert writes down her damage taken. "Well, I'm glad we can heal up after this."

The last set, ends up as 14, 12, and 15, adding in the modifiers for each one and the fact that Blunga has less AC due to enraging, all 3 attacks are hits. Histoire rolls the damage, two 1s, and a 2, with modifiers comes out as 5 each, for a total of 15.

"Miss Blanc... you take a total of 15 damage."

Blanc slams her hands down the table. "FIFTEEN?! I'm 5 health away from biting the dust!"

"Ahahaha..." chuckles Neptune, worriedly, "Calm down Blanc, we have healing, so you'll be fine..."

"You're not the one in the front lines here!"

"Ahem," interrupts Noire, "Let me take my turn, and hopefully we deal with them before we're overwhelmed." Blanc is still seething as Noire rolls her dice.

"Miss Noire, you got a 10, I believe with your modifier, it goes 15. That would be a hit. Please roll your damage."

Noire shakes the d8 in her hand. "Come on, be enough to take this badger down! I got 6, for a total of 8."

Histoire shakes her head as she notes down the damage. The badger still has 6 health remaining. "The badger is very wounded but it's still alive, Neptune, your turn."

"Um... do I try and heal Blanc or ... attack... I'll heal Blunga! Um, healing is kind of like dealing damage right? Do I need to roll to hit?"

"No, you wouldn't need to. Go ahead and roll the die that the spell mentions."

"Alright, casting cure light wounds, for a massive ... oh. 2, and with my modifier ... 4."

Blanc sighs. "Better than nothing. Thanks Neptune. It's my turn now. I got an 8, but with my rage and strength, it becomes a 17, which hits, from what I've seen. I deal another 8... which also becomes 17. It's downed, right?

Histoire checks her notes and sees a slight mistake she's made. She forgot to modify the badger health to accommodate the slight 2 point increase in health. The damage Blanc dealt would have left the badger with exactly 1 point of health.

"It's down," says Histoire.

"Good. Now I can help with the others. Vert, it's your turn."

"Lady Histoire, I can attack any target as long as it's within 5 feet of me correct?"

Histoire checks her book if she somehow missed some odd rule about attacking diagonally that would provoke an attack of opportunity, and from what she can see, there doesn't seem to be anything. She mentally shrugs, and tells Vert that she's free to do so.

"Thank you. I'll be attacking Noire's target... I rolled 3 for a total of 8..."

"That would be---"

"Hold on, Lady Histoire! I'll be using my Luck Domain power to re-roll it."

"Oh! Of course. Go ahead, but remember if it somehow rolls worse than 3, you'd have to accept it."

"Gladly, and I got..."

The dice did not play nicely, as her green die lands on 5. Vert lays her head sideways on the table, with a frown, feeling utter defeat. Histoire pats Vert on the head, while Blanc chuckles to herself.

"It'll be alright Miss Vert... I think. Um, it's the badgers turn now, and it will attack both Miss Noire and Miss Vert," Histoire rolls the d20 dice, and it lands on 9, 12, and 7; she rolls a d4 for the claw damage, which lands on 1. "Miss Noire, you got hit once with its claw, for, 5 damage in total."

Noire takes note of the damage she took. "This battle is kind of tough..."

Histoire rolls 6, 13, and finally 19; taking a d4 for damage, it once again lands on 1. She thinks to herself that these d4s seem to have a propensity to roll quite low. "Miss Vert, you got hit once with its claws, for 5 damage."

"Okay... I'm 7 points away from going down, but the badgers should be downed this turn." Vert is still hurt from the betrayal her dice dealt to her.

Noire rolls her dice. "Alright! Let's get these badgers down! I got a total of 21, and for damage, I got 5, that's with my modifier already. Is it downed?"

Histoire shakes her head. The badger has 1 point of health remaining, unmodified, but 3 health remaining modified. In some way, it's almost the same situation where there's only 1 health point remaining. She let Blanc off, due to her own slight mistake of keeping health values, but she won't let Noire have this, as someone who's keeping close numbers on the badgers would notice that it has taken less damage than what Blanc dealt and it has already fallen.

"It's Sir Puddington's time to shine! Since doing ranged attacks are difficult, I'll just scooch on over beside the badger Noire's been attacking... that shouldn't be a problem right?"

Histoire nods. "No problem at all. No one has full round attacks yet, so you can freely move and attack."

"I'll give it the ol' stabby-stab."

"Wait Neptune, don't you have your crossbow out?"

"...Yes?"

"Wouldn't that mean you'd have to sheathe that to be able to use your longsword?"

"Um, it says here I can fire the crossbow using one-hand for a negative 2 modifier, so what's that telling me is I can realistically just hold my crossbow with one hand... let's say my left, and attack with my right hand, unsheathing and attacking with my longsword, all part of the same action."

Histoire opens her mouth and holds up a finger as if in protest, before she lowers it down and looks around the table. "I suppose that makes sense. Um, go ahead Neptune."

Neptune happily rolls her dice. "Alright! Got a 16, add 3, and that's a hit, now for damage it's a d8, which lands on 7, add in 1 for my mod, so it's a total of 8."

"Alright Neptune, you've downed the badger. Miss Blanc, your turn please."

"This badger better go down now. I got an 18 total to hit, and a 19 total damage."

Histoire dismisses the map for combat and claps her hands. "Congratulations everyone. You've defeated the badgers."

A collective sigh of relief, as soon as Histoire claps, is heard.

"Phew! Histy, I think it's time for a bit of a break!"

"Before you all go, please add 113 EXP. Also Miss Blanc, you're fatigued, as per rage mechanics."

"Can we," says Blanc, "get our health points back up a bit more before we go on a break and make bad decisions?"

Neptune shrugs, "Well, Sir Puddington doesn't have any heals left."

"Um, Albedo will heal... I have 8 points of damage... and my Lay on Hands is 8 points worth... um... Vert, maybe you should heal us all first, and I'll distribute the healing as best as I can?"

Vert nods. "Alright, let me see. I'll use all my Level 1 spell slots, to heal myself, Albedo, and Blunga. I'll heal myself first, and 7, adding 2, total of 9. I'll heal Blanc next... um, 3, for a total of 5."

"Is your dice rigged against me or something, Vert?"

"You saw it roll the table and land on 3! A-anyway, now for Noire... a 6, for a total of 8."

Noire smiles hearing the result. "Okay, I'll use all of my Lay on Hands on Blanc, so she heals for 8."

"Alright, I'm not that hurt anymore, but I'm fatigued, I should still be able to fight in case something goes wrong, but I'd rather we get back to town as soon as we can and rest."

Noire, Vert, Blanc, and Neptune stand up for their break.

"Neptune, before you go," says Histoire, "I need to talk to you for a bit."

"Huh? Am I in trouble?"

"Yes, and no. I didn't notice because it's a bit of a niche rule, but Sir Puddington is a gnome, correct?"

"Um, yes, that's right..."

"And because he is a gnome, his size is small, and can only move so much, right?"

"I'm sure I didn't move more than 20 feet, when I moved..."

"Movement isn't the only thing that gets lessened, because Sir Puddington is small, his weapons would also be smaller than normal, and because they're smaller than normal, they deal less damage."

"But size doesn't matter right? It's how you use it?"

"Not in this scenario Neptune. Please make your d8 damage dice be d6. I won't change your rolls retroactively, but in the future please make sure you use the correct dice. That's about it really. Now go take your break."

"Thanks Histy."

Neptune stands up to join the others grabbing something to eat and drink in the kitchen.

Chapter Text

"So Neptune," says Noire, "What did Lady Histoire talk to you about?"

Neptune fiddles with her fingers. "Um... just that since I'm playing as a gnome... my weapons are smaller, so I deal less damage than everyone else."

"Oh my, so bigger is better, is that it?" says Vert, preparing her tea.

"Shut up Vert," blurts out Blanc.

Vert chuckles to herself, as she finishes preparing her pot of tea. "Did that hit a small nerve?"

Blanc growls and balls her fist before exhaling slowly and lowering her shoulders. "I'm not going to be provoked by that. I'll just say you get a free pass tonight, because you've healed my barbarian."

"My, my, does that mean every time I heal you I get a free pass?"

"Don't push your luck, Vert. Besides, your luck seems to be pretty bad, I'm glad healing spells don't miss on allies, heh."

Vert clicks her tongue, while Blanc smirks at her. Neptune, after watching them defuse the situation by themselves, opens up the fridge to get more pudding. Noire is nibbling on some cookies, while returning to the table where Histoire is busy looking through her notes.

Noire takes her seat by the table. "Lady Histoire, how do you determine what kind of creatures we're going to fight?"

"Oh, hello Miss Noire. It's very much like designing a game. The developer has to know what would be an appropriate challenge knowing the capabilities of the player. For our game, there is a basic quick guide on determining whether a challenge would be appropriate or not. Each monster has a number called the challenge rating, and using that, it's more or less easy to determine if an encounter would be appropriate or not."

"Interesting... so I guess it's not just randomly deciding what monsters look cool to fight..."

"If that were the case Miss Noire, you'd all be yelling at me for sending in impossible-to-fight dragons," says Histoire with a chuckle.

"Oh? What's this about dragons, Histy?" says Neptune, returning to the table, spoon in one hand and pudding cup on the other. "Are we gonna fight some soon?"

Histoire chuckles, before stopping abruptly. "No. If I did that you'd scream bloody murder."

"Oh, come on Histy, it can't be that bad right? I mean in our games, you can deal with some Dragons as early as Level 25, I think."

Histoire takes a deep sigh. "Okay, maybe I should let you all deal with a dragon soon... on second thought, no, there's still too many things we all need to learn together before that."

Noire looks relieved, while Neptune looks slightly peeved. Blanc and Vert make their return to the table, with Vert carrying her usual pot of tea. They both take their seats with everyone else, and Histoire, upon seeing everyone return clears her throat, along with the pudding cup she just finished.

"Good to see everyone back. Now we've left off after you've all defeated the giant badgers. Is there something the party would like to do?"

Neptune puts a hand on her chin. "I don't think these badgers are normal, is there a skill check for me to detect magic... wait I have a spell literally named Detect Magic. I'll use that! So what do I find out Histy?"

Histoire smiles. "Let's see... according to this, you'd need to concentrate, for a few rounds, but this seems to be when you're in combat, so, you can cast Detect Magic, and you'd need to roll a Spellcraft check, and if you roll high enough, you figure something out."

"You mean I just don't get it for free? I gotta roll for it?" protests Neptune.

"That's what the rules for Detect Magic states, if the creature or object is within line of sight, make a spellcraft check for each object or creature with an aura. 1st round is knowing the presence, 2nd round is number of different magical auras and the power of the most potent aura, and on the 3rd round is being able to determine the school of magic. So, since this is a relatively safe area, there are no more badgers that are appearing, Sir Puddington knows there is an aura, from the, well, dead badgers. There are 3 auras, because, it's all coming from the badgers, and according to this, the aura strength is faint. So, you have 3 chances per Detect Magic use to figure out what the school of magic of the aura belongs in."

"So, you're telling me, with all my spell slots for this, I have a total of nine chances to roll high enough."

Histoire nods, as Neptune starts shaking her dice.

"Um...eight... plus 2. Looking through the table in Detect Magic... it's a minimum DC of 15... and Histy said it's Faint... so it's a maximum of 18. And I only have a 2 modifier. Oh my goodness, I'd have to roll atleast sixteen! Come on dice, don't fail me now!"

She rolls 2 and hangs her head. She rolls again, and gets another 2, making her hang her head even lower. Meanwhile Histoire is checking the rules and sees that there are specific rules for lingering auras, and decides that since the badgers are still there, their auras will stay much longer than the specified time stated in the spell listing.

Neptune lightly slams her hand on the table. "I'm casting it again!"

1, then 12, then 5. Everyone at the table winces, barring Neptune who's getting upset.

"These rolls are rigged! Come on! My last 3 chances!" A bright light covers Neptune making everyone cover their eyes, and as the light dissipates, Purple Heart is standing in the place of Neptune.

"Neptune..." says Blanc, "Did you really have to transform for this..?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures!" replies Purple Heart.

Noire groans. "You know your transformation has absolutely no bearing on what you roll, right?"

"Heh! Just watch me, Noire!" she says rolling the die on the table.

It lands on 2. Purple Heart recoils as if struck in battle, she gets up and throws the die once more. She flies back as she sees it land once more on 2. Vert stands up to help her up, before handing her d20 back.

"Thanks Vert. Come on, author! Give me a break here! Just write down a 16, so I can add 2 for 18! No one will know!"

"Neptune, who are you even talking to?" asks Noire.

Purple Heart rolls the die on the table. It bounces a few times and spins, before stopping itself at 4. She collapses in defeat, on the floor and reverts back to Neptune with a quick flash of light. Vert pulls Neptune back up to her seat with a 'heave-ho' before returning to her own. Neptune begins to bemoan the dice.

"I had nine rolls! Why did it happen like this! Wasn't my transformation the sign that it would all go right? Now what do we do?"

"Ahem," interrupts Vert, "my cleric also has Detect Magic. At the very least, one use of it available. So we have another 3 shots at this. Lady Histoire, just a quick question... is there a way to detect magical auras without the use of Detect Magic..?"

"Oh, let me check Miss Vert... um... there seems to be the concept of Epic Levels and Epic Skill Usage. The appraise skill can be used for detecting magical auras."

"May I simply use Appraise instead?"

"Miss Vert, the difficulty check for such a use case is, 50. Afterwards you roll for Spellcraft as if you've used Detect Magic."

Vert abruptly stops her drink, choking slightly. She beats her chest as she recovers from the sudden shock. "F-f-fifty!? You would need at the very least, a modifier of 30 and a roll of 20 to even reach that! How?!" The eyes of everyone else on the table is wide in surprise upon hearing the number.

"Well, it did say Epic Skill Usage. That's still quite far away."

"That's probably something like Chapter 100 or something Vert, if this story continues that long," says Neptune on the side.

Histoire shoots Neptune a look before continuing. "Anyway, Miss Vert, go ahead and please use Detect Magic, if you wish."

"I shall, and let me roll for my Spellcraft."

"That's just unfair!" shouts out Neptune, "You got a 15! What even is your spellcraft modifier?"

"That would be a 5, Neptune. So I have a total of 20, on my first roll."

"That's not fair. I bet the author prefers you or something," says Neptune suddenly pulling out an N-Gear.

"What are you looking for there?" asks Vert.

"Just checking something here... uh, nope. Author doesn't seem to even prefer any of us here, it's someone else, in the same franchise of course. So I guess, there's no bias..?"

Histoire slaps the table a few times. "Ahem, let us continue back to the game. Now, Miss Vert, with that 20, Burt knows that the magical effect on the badgers is in the school of transmutation."

"I see. How about within the sett? We've been so preoccupied with the badgers, we haven't even looked at the sett."

"So Burt takes a look at the sett, and detects a magical aura emanating from the entrance. It's the same kind of aura, but this time it feels much more powerful."

"Much more powerful you say... setts aren't just simple holes in the ground, we would need a team to dig this out properly. And if it's able to be detected even from here, it must be incredibly powerful... I would have to say that whatever is in there, could be an item as the source of this aura."

"Bah!" interrupted Blanc, "We'll just get shovels and dig it out ourselves! We don't need to get others here, if it could affect badgers like this, what if a person got affected? The less people getting affected by this the better!"

"Oooh, that's a good point Blanc!" says Neptune, "I don't want to go around suddenly hurting people!"

"So," says Noire, "I guess let's remember this place, and head back to town, grab a few shovels and get to digging. Worse comes to worse, we might spend the night digging through."

Histoire flips through a few pages. "For simplification, you all get back to town, buy a few shovels, which would be... 2 gold pieces each. The owner sells a smaller version for Sir Puddington, for 1 gold piece."

Everyone around the table, aside from Neptune, giggles at the notion of a smaller shovel for her character. "Hey now! It's how Sir Puddington uses it alright! Not about the size!"

"Please deduct 2 gold pieces from your inventory, Miss Noire, Miss Blanc, and Miss Vert. For you Neptune, only 1 gold piece. Is there anything else you'd like to buy from here before returning to the sett? Miss Noire?"

"Um, rations would be good. It says in our inventory we have some already, I assume we haven't used them at all because we've usually been in towns... so maybe some more rations."

"It says here Miss Noire, that it's 5 silver pieces per day of rations. For simplicity, it would be good to purchase two sets."

"I'll grab two then," says Noire.
"Same here! Two rations for Sir Puddington!"
"Blunga will do the same."
"Burt will purchase 4."

"Okay then, everyone aside from Burt deduct an additional 1 gold piece, while two pieces for Miss Vert, and please add in the appropriate number of rations. Is there anything else you can think of Miss Noire?"

"Um, we have sleeping rolls, but no tents... would we need tents? I'll get one anyway."

"That would be 10 gold pieces Miss Noire."

"That's fine. If there's a sudden shower or such, then atleast we can be dry. I assume we don't need a tent for each person and we can all kind of squeeze in."

"That would be correct Miss Noire."

"I don't think there's anything else that we'd need. So let's get back to the sett, and start digging."

Histoire nods. "If there's nothing else, the party returns to the sett. Two and a half hours have passed. Since you've all bought a shovel, I assume the whole party does the digging."

"That's right Lady Histoire," says Vert, "shoveling sounds like it would need strength, would it be possible to take 20 for our ability check?"

Noire, Blanc, and Neptune look confused, as if Vert just grew a second head. Neptune speaks up first, "What do you mean by 'take 20'? What we're just gonna get a 20 roll then add our modifiers? Why couldn't I have done that when I was crafting? Or even using my Spellcraft check?"

"Neptune," says Histoire, "Allow me to explain. I'm surprised you know about the concept of taking 20, Miss Vert. Regardless, taking 20 means, just that, you will take a 20 instead of rolling, but you may only do that when you are facing no threats or distractions, and failure carries no consequence. You basically try and try again, until you succeed. Using your spellcraft check as an example, you only had three chances per use of Detect Magic, failure carries the consequence of not obtaining the appropriate information. For shoveling, failing to shovel a patch of ground on a roll, you would simply try and try again, it's not like the dirt would suddenly become alive and bite you."

Neptune nods knowingly. "I see, so basically if there's no point in rolling, because failure doesn't carry a consequence, we can just take 20. Is there another take thing kind of concept?"

"Yes, there is, and it's called taking 10. It's like taking 20, but here, you can use it even when there is a consequence of failure. It's useful for routine tasks, or anything where obtaining a higher roll would be negligible. It's really more of a safety net, when you know your modifier is high enough that getting 10 is more than enough, for example, if your modifier for your alchemy was, let's say, 15, and you tried crafting the arsenic once more, if you took 10 each time, you would get 25, and we can go from there."

"Oooh, I see, okay..."

"Wait," says Blanc, "so technically I could have just took 10 when I did my Survival check for finding tracks?"

"Um, that's right Miss Blanc."

"Hmm... well, good to know for future occurrences, I suppose. Anyway, so just like what Vert said, I'm guessing we've pretty much dug out the whole sett?"

"No, not yet. It would be too easy for that. Shoveling all day is quite tiring, so, I would simply like you all to roll a Fortitude Save, to prevent becoming fatigued."

"Wait, Lady Histoire, I'm already fatigued. What then?"

"You would become exhausted instead of fatigued, which is a minus 6 to Strength and Dexterity. To recover from being exhausted you need 1 hour of rest, then you will be fatigued. To recover from being fatigued you need 8 hours of rest. The main reason I'm asking you all to roll for Fortitude, is to determine how long before all of you would be done shoveling the sett apart. It's already the afternoon, if we assume that all of you are able to keep digging, you would all be done digging just before sundown, but if you become fatigued, you wouldn't be able to help as well, though in Miss Blanc's case, if her Blunga becomes exhausted, she would not be able to help at all and would require rest."

Noire takes a look at her sheet. "So, to recap that, if we all somehow fail our fortitude roll, we'd have to stay the night here?"

Histoire smirks slightly. "Well, you are all free to leave the unfinished sett, but who knows what might be here the next day without anyone looking after it?"

"Um! No thank you, Lady Histoire!" says Noire, her eyes widening, "I'll go and roll for my fortitude save now, is that alright?"

"Go ahead Miss Noire, that goes for everyone as well, the DC is 15. It's not too tiring, but manual labor is nothing to scoff at."

"Not gonna transform this time Neptune?" says Blanc, rolling her die.

"N-no..." replies Neptune sheepishly, rolling her die as well.

The purple die lands on 12, the blue die lands on 17, the black die lands on 3, and finally the green die lands on 14. Noire and Neptune looks devastated, while Blanc and Vert looks quite pleased with the results.

"Sir Puddington... has a 12, he doesn't have any fortitude increase..."
"Blunga's fine, I got a 23."
"Same with Burt, my total is 19."
"Albedo... probably collapsed with her 11... I thought my modifier would make it harder to be tired... wait can't I have taken 10 for this?"

"Um, no, Miss Noire. You can't take 10 on a save." replies Histoire, while Noire hangs her head, "Since there are two that got tired after an hour of shoveling, the sett was only dug out a few feet after a few hours of digging. There's still plenty of work to be done, but it is getting dark."

"Histy, can't we work throughout the night?"

"Well, Neptune, if you do that, the party would be exhausted, and unlike our modern society of today, it would get dark quite fast."

"I suppose that's true, so I guess we just sleep then? Is it the next day already?"

"No, Neptune, sleeping in the wilderness is quite different from sleeping in a nice inn. Now, since you're all in the wilderness, you may roll for survival to obtain food, but you've all bought rations, so I assume that is what you'll all eat. Please subtract one ration each."

"Lady Histoire, so I suppose you've mentioned before regarding sleeping in armor... Albedo would have to remove her armor to sleep, right? We're not technically safe, I'd say we need to sleep in shifts, we're 4 members, so, we'd only have 6 hours of sleep, if we do two hour shifts... would that even count as enough rest to remove fatigue?"

"Yes, Miss Noire, I would say so, but you would not get natural healing, nor your spell slots back, because you would need 8 hours of uninterrupted rest."

"Lady Histoire," pipes up Vert, "we're not exactly too far from the town correct? If that's the case, I would rather go back to town, get fully rested, obtain our spell slots, and heal what little we can, than going through with camping."

"But Vert!" protests Noire, "We've already dug up quite an amount at the sett, who knows what would happen if something discovers whatever is in the sett? If we've fought giant badgers, I don't want to imagine, what if there's a wolf that decides to dig this up, or maybe even more badgers!"

"That may be true Noire, but if we rest here, and we get attacked, we'd both be without armor, even then, once our rest is done, we won't have our spell slots, our only benefit would be that we can start digging up the rest of the sett. Have you thought of what if there's more threats in the sett? Perhaps it was lucky we weren't able to fully dig up whatever is in there..."

"So you would rather risk a possibly greater threat when we come back here, if we rest in town?"

"Yes! At the very least we would have all our spell slots back, and be more than ready for any animal or creature that may find whatever it is down there! If we stay here and get ambushed, we would need to wake up and fight them back, even if Lady Histoire does rule that the fatigue would be removed, there's still too much to risk sleeping here."

Both Vert and Noire go back and forth, going over the pros and cons of either going back to town to rest, or camping out. They both make a good point, and for Histoire, she has the responsibility to accommodate whichever decision the party eventually decides on.

"Okay everyone!" Histoire suddenly announces, pausing the argument between Vert and Noire, "You two have been going back and forth for nearly half an hour now, perhaps you both should think about this for next week's session. We've been at this for quite some time now. It's getting quite late."

"Histy's right. We should probably sleep on our final decision about our sleep!"
"If that's the case, I should apologize to Mina for coming home late. Have a good night, Lady Histoire."
"Alright, it's getting late, Chika has already sent me multiple messages on my phone. Thank you again, Lady Histoire."
"I hope Uni hasn't stayed up late waiting for me... sorry for the arguement Lady Histoire."

"Have a good night everyone," says Histoire, covering her mouth as she yawns, "and on the contrary Miss Noire, and Miss Vert, it's good that you two are thinking about the consequences of your actions. That makes me glad."

Vert, Noire, and Blanc all take the elevator, leaving the Basilicom.

"Neptune, feel free to head to bed, I'll clean up here don't worry."

"Okay, Histy."

Histoire waves her hands, using her magic to collect all the sheets and her notes, stacking them all cleanly and putting them all in a neat dossier. She takes her seat on her book and floats back to her room, chuckling to herself that the goddesses need to sleep on the decision on how they will sleep.

Chapter Text

Histoire takes her usual seat at the head of the table, her DM screen masking her rolls and notes, and tries to get comfortable. It dawned on her the day after the last session, that she would require two different scenarios depending on how the party finally decides on if they want to sleep in the wilderness or go back to town. She felt her stomach turn that day when she realized the situation, but in the end, decided that if they sleep in the wilderness, they would need to fight off 2 regular wolves, and if they decide to sleep in town, they would need to fight a much more massive monster. Something along the lines of Challenge Rating 4, seems sufficient, and it would be a Dire Boar. Both decisions in the end would require someone to make a will save upon coming into contact with the crystal.

"Hey Histy, you seem to be deep in thought, you alright?" says Neptune, disrupting Histoire's train of thought.

"Huh? Neptune? No, I'm just thinking about our game. I really should have told them to make the decision there and then, but what's done is done."

"Oooh, so whether we sleep out or sleep back in town, huh?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Both Noire and Vert did get heated in their discussion. They both make good points, the pros and cons of sleeping out in the wilderness or sleeping back in town."

"It does make me glad they're quite immersed in the game. If they didn't care much about the game, they would simply shrug it off."

"Well, it's almost time for our game isn't it? I should get some water, they were starting to sound parched during that argument of theirs. Back in a bit Histy!"

Neptune skips away from the table, while Histoire makes sure everything looks right. She looks at the clock, and sees that it's almost time for the others to arrive. As Histoire takes another sigh, Neptune returns with a pitcher of water, along with the usual ding of the elevator bell. The three other goddesses arrive, and they all take their seats. Noire sees the pitcher of water, and serves everyone a glass.

"Eager to please aren't we Noire?" says Vert with a slight chuckle.

"I-I'm not doing this for anyone in particular!"

Noire sits down, slightly red in the face, and takes a sip of water. She sighs and coughs slightly.

"Careful now, Miss Noire. Anyway, how is everyone doing?"

"I made sure to not overthink about our last week's session. Chika made sure of that."
"My main worry is really just Blunga's fatigue, but you said it's fine no matter what decision it'll go away, right?"
"I tried to do quests to get my mind off things, but somehow it just wouldn't go away..."

"That's not good Miss Noire... um, so let's get to that. Have you all decided if you'll rest in the wilderness or rest in town?"

Noire, with a deep sigh, starts first. "Yes, I'll give in, and agree to resting in town. I still personally don't want to do that, but I thought about it for the past week, and there are a few things we gain if we rest in town in comparison to resting in the wilderness."

"But, Noire..." interjected Vert, "I was going to say it's fine for us to rest in the wilderness instead."

Histoire places a hand on her face and takes a deep breath while her eyes widen in disbelief. "Really..." she says to herself.

The same discussion happened, but this time in reverse. Noire is now in the position of making the party rest in town, while Vert is in the favor of making the party rest in the wilderness. Histoire can feel her stomach turning. She remembered what she said to Neptune a while ago, but her stomach turns nonetheless. A few minutes of back and forth pass, and Histoire can no longer hold her tongue. She slams her hands on the table, making everyone look at her in shock and awe; even her DM screen falls down.

"Alright then everyone!" says Histoire loudly, "I see that we'll be stuck here, so, while it pains me to do this, let us just flip a coin, and see where it lands. Heads, the party rests in the wilderness, and tails, the party rests in town."

"C-calm down Histy..! Remember what you told me a while ago!"

"I know what I said a while ago, but we have to make a decision eventually, and if both parties are unsure, sometimes an arbitrary decision is needed."

"That makes sense to me," says Blanc. "I'll flip the coin."

"Alright... let's see how it turns out," says Noire with a nod.

"I don't know what to hope for," says Vert.

"For the best," says Blanc, flipping a coin in the air. The coin spins around in the air, and before it lands she swipes it out of the air and places it covered on the back of her hand. Not wanting to prolong the tension in the room, she removes her hand, revealing the result of the flip.

"Alright then," says Histoire, "the coin landed on tails. The party will rest in town. Everyone replenish your spell slots if applicable and choose your spells."

"Tch." Blanc clicks her tongue. "Blunga still has 1 point of damage remaining, this whole rest mechanic really feels like it's mostly for casters, or if you rest for a week straight, maybe."

"Well, either be a caster or just stock up on potions! Hey, Histy, since we're in town, how much are potions?"

"I'll assume you meant healing potions. It's 50 gold pieces per vial, well, the cheapest ones go for that price range."

Neptune scratches her head. "What do they do?"

"They heal for... the same amount as Cure Light Wounds."

"What?" blurts Vert, "Are you saying potions are basically mini-clerics?"

"N-no, Miss Vert, potions are basically spells that only affect the drinker, so it's almost any spell, and unlike the actual Cure Light Wounds spell, they don't get a bonus of your caster level, it would only be a flat d8."

"Oh, I see. Alright. I suppose I'll purchase a few potions... about 3. So, that would be 150 gold, correct?"

"Yes, that's right Miss Vert."

"Hey Histy, I just thought about it but, is there no such thing as tax in here?" asks Neptune.

Histoire gives Neptune a confused look. "Um... that's... uh... please don't think about it too much Neptune. It's just a game. Anyway, please add in 3 potions of Cure Light Wounds in your inventory Miss Vert, and subtract 150 gold."

Vert writes on her sheet. "Done. Oh! One more thing, Lady Histoire, I'd like to purchase a weapon. A flail if you don't mind."

"Um, okay? It's also a 1d8, but, I guess if you prefer it that way... add in a flail and subtract 8 gold. Anybody else after Miss Vert's purchase?"

The rest of the table shake their heads, while Histoire waves her hands and conjures the diorama of the forest they've left, and begin to describe the area.

"So, the party returns to the badger sett," says Histoire rolling 4 d20s behind her screen for the party's listen check, landing in 6, 16, 14, and 9; with their individual modifiers, it becomes 11, 20, 15, and 10, everyone passes the simple DC of 10. "Everyone can clearly hear loud snorting and looking around the dense thick forest for the source of the snorting, the party sees the results of a very messy battle. There are bodies of animals around, all of them wounded and gored."

"Wait, what?!" Noire shouts out. "Oh no, now I really wish we slept in the wilderness, do we see who or what is doing the snorting sounds?"

"Please roll a spot check, Miss Noire."

Noire picks up her die and so does the rest of the table. The black die lands on 16, the green die shows 17, while the blue and purple dice land on 5 and 6 respectively. Blanc glares at the result as she picks up her die, while Neptune simply hangs her head in shame.

"Alright, everyone clearly sees a large hairy moving mound about 30 feet away, you can only see a portion of its back as it seems to be digging through the sett and a clear view is being blocked by the sett."

Neptune and Blanc look surprised hearing their low rolls were enough to be able to actually see it.

"A large... hairy mound? Can Burt use a nature check to try and figure what it is?"

"Go ahead Miss Vert, although you don't have ranks in it, just roll a d20."

"I got an 11. Does that tell me anything?"

"Miss Vert, with that 11, Burt believes that that creature is a boar, and Burt knows that boars are aggressive animals."

"Oh dear, we would need to fight that, wouldn't we... well, we're all fully prepared... Let's approach it. I'll tell the party to ready themselves."

"As Burt tells the party, they see the hairy mound freeze up and suddenly look around."

The four goddesses freeze up as Histoire wave her hands and changes the diorama to a flat map, indicating combat. On the map is a large boar token, and the four tokens of the goddesses' characters. There are 6 squares of distance between the two groups. On cue, as soon as they saw the flat map appear, the four of them pick up their dice and roll for initiative. Noire rolls 16, Blanc rolls 17, Neptune rolls 11, and Vert rolls 7. Histoire secretly rolls 13 for the boar.

Vert plops herself down on the table in disappointment with her result and Neptune pats her head, while Histoire notes down the final results adding in everyone's initiative modifier, making the turn order as Albedo, Blunga, Sir Puddington, the dire boar, then Burt.

"Okay, the turn order would be, Miss Noire, Miss Blanc, Neptune, the enemy, then Miss Vert. Miss Noire, please go ahead. You are 30 feet away from the boar."

"I'll charge at the boar, because my regular walking speed won't cut it... that would add 2 to my attack roll, but decrease my AC... that's fine though. I got an 11, regular modifier of 5, now at 7, I got 18. Did that hit?"

"Yes. Albedo's blade cuts cleanly on the boar's flesh. The boar squeals and snorts in anger. Go ahead and roll damage."

"Alright, atleast now we know 18 above would hit it. I hope it doesn't enrage like those badgers... Now for damage, I got 4, for a total of 6. Blanc, your turn."

Blanc picks up her die and shakes it in her hand. "I'll rage, and charge at this boar. I got 14, and with my total modifier of 11, that's a definite hit. Tch. I only got 4 on my attack, but thankfully my modifier boosts that up to 13."

"Blunga ferociously plunges her axe blade into the boar. Neptune, it's your turn."

"Okay Histy, um, Summon Monster... it says since I'm Chaotic Good... I can summon a celestial badger. What kind of stats does it have?"

"Oh, here, let me show you." Histoire conjures a page containing the stat block of a badger. "Celestial or not, it still has the same stats as a regular badger, and I'd like to remind you, the things you've fought recently are dire badgers."

"Whhaaat, so we can't have super powerful badgers on our side? Aw... uhm... what can I do here... I remember the rules that trying to hit an enemy that's directly in combat with an ally puts a negative 4 modifier... Bah! I'll attack it anyway! I have a plus 4 mod, and now I'll get a minus 4 mod! Come on dice! Don't fail me now!"

She rolls her purple die after blowing on it. It lands on the table, face up to the magical number of 20.

"Hah! Twenty! Let's see... that's an automatic hit, at the very least, so let's see if it crits... um, 14!"

Histoire shakes her head. "You hit but the critical is not confirmed. I'm sorry Neptune."

"Aw... but now we know we can't hit it at 14 below, but we can hit it at 18 above, I hope this doesn't have an AC that high... oh right, my damage. It's a ... 1. Whyyyyy???" Neptune begins to scold her d6."

"Now, it's the boar's turn. It will attack the one that hurt it the most. Um, let's see, it rolled 16, and modifier of 12... a 28 will definitely hit."

Everyone else's eyes go wide as they heard Histoire say 28.

"Um, Miss Blanc, you get hit for 19."

"A nineteen in one hit?! Wait, no, I hit something for 20 plus that one time... fine. I don't like it, but it's only one attack, right?"

"Yes, that's correct Miss Blanc. The boar gores you for 19 damage. Now, Miss Vert, it's your turn."

Vert picks up her green die, then decides to place it back down. "Alright, I will cast enlarge person on myself..."

"Okay, you know the effects of that I believe...so we go back up and it is Miss Noire's turn."

Noire looks at her sheet and the current situation. "Um... I'll heal Blanc with all my charges! That's 8 charges."

"Thanks Noire," says Blanc with a smile.

"Oooh!" blurts out Neptune, "Their lily ranks are increasing! I want mine to increase..."

"Now," says Blanc, "It's my turn. I'm still raging, so I continue to attack the boar. I rolled 19! Take that you overgrown pig! Now for damage... 10, and adding 9 in, a 19 as well! Is it dead?"

Histoire shakes her head. "No, but it's looking heavily wounded after Blunga's deep chop to it."

"Alright, it's Sir Puddington's turn now... and I guess I'll shoot it again... Aaaaahhhh!!! No! Why a 1! Is it because I didn't blow on it?! Aaaaahh!!!"

"After Neptune's absolute miss... it's now the boar's turn. It will continue to gore Blunga once more. It rolls 8, for a total of 20. And the damage is also 20. Blunga gets gored."

"Wait, what?! That means I'm literally dead! I've taken a total of 32 damage from my health pool of 25!" Blanc gets ready to flip the table.

"M-miss Blanc! Please calm down! You'll only be dead if you've fallen 10 hit points lower than your health, right now you're at 32, you have until 35 damage before you truly die. Allow me to explain, so when you have less than zero health, or in our case, we're counting damage, when the total damage exceeds your health even by one, you'll be considered bleeding out, and that number keeps increasing by 1 per round, and when it exceeds your health by 10, then that's when your character truly dies, but when you get healed by even one point, you become stabilized and stop bleeding out, but, you can also become stabilized if you're lucky. When it's your turn you roll percentile dice, and if it rolls 10 below, your body automatically stabilizes you."

"Lady Histoire," begins Vert, "is it possible to feed Blunga a potion even in her state?"

Histoire begins to look through the manuals and handbooks. "Um, let me check Miss Vert."

"Wait a minute, aren't you a friggin' Cleric?! Just cast Cure on me already!"

"Now Blanc, this is just what if we're at a point we're conserving spell slots? Or perhaps, what if I was the one who was injured and no one else could cast Cure?"

"Miss Vert, it says here that as a full round action, you can carefully administer a potion down an unconscious creature's throat. So, yes, in Miss Blanc's case, you may most definitely feed her a potion."

"Okay, that's good, thank you Lady Histoire. For my turn, I shall charge in, and attempt to trip the boar."

"Oh! A trip attack..." Histoire opens the handbook. "Let's see, it's a touch attack, and it provokes an attack of opportunity..."

"Ah, but it will not provoke one if I'm using a weapon made for tripping, such as a flail."

"Is that why you purchased one? I see, okay, so, you make a touch attack against the boar's touch AC which is ... oh my." Histoire looks at the touch armor class of the boar, and it's simply 9. "Anyway, once you hit the touch AC, there will be a strength contest, and if Miss Vert wins the strength contest, she will successfully trip the boar."

Vert rolls her die and it lands on 16. "Alright, with my mod, and charging, it becomes 23, am I able to initiate the trip attack?"

"Yes, you may, but allow me just elaborate on the rules more for everyone's benefit. So, for every size a combatant is larger than medium, they shall gain an additional plus 4 to their check, and if they're smaller, a negative 4 modifier. Also, if the defender, which in this case is the boar, has more than 2 feet, or generally more stable than a standard humanoid, they get an additional 4 modifier. I would have to say the cards are slightly stacked against you Miss Vert, but perhaps the dice will be kind..."

"I've already initiated the trip, so I shall also use my Strength Domain supernatural ability, which in my case would add an additional 1 modifier. So, my regular strength modifier of 4, enlarge person adds 1, and an extra 4 due to the trip mechanics, and finally my supernatural ability adds another 1. In total 6 extra from my regular modifier."

"Alright, activation of that is a free action, so I'll say that's fine. I'll roll the strength check of the boar. It's more stable, and is much larger than medium, so it has an additional 8, in addition to its natural strength."

Histoire rolls the die behind her screen, away from everyone else. The boar has a natural 8 modifier, and adding an extra 8 means it has 16 total modifier. The die lands on 16 as well, for a total of 32.

"Okay, so what did you get Miss Vert?"

Vert rolls her die and it lands on 1. She immediately picks it back up and begins shaking the die in her hand. "I'll also use my Luck Domain ability to re-roll that gaffe!"

It lands on 10, for a respectable total result of 20.

"Alright, the boar rolled a 3, for a 19, so it seems the dice was in your favor," lied Histoire with a straight face.

Vert does a quick fist pump in joy, while Noire and Neptune looked like a huge weight was taken off their shoulders.

"The boar is now tripped. The large beast after one of it's legs have been pulled by Burt's flail falls down. It's prone now, which means melee attackers gain an extra 4 modifier to their melee attacks, while ranged attacks get reduced by 4. In addition, if it attempts to stand up, it will invoke attacks of opportunity."

"Wait!" says Neptune, "I keep getting reduction after reduction for these! Being ranged is awful!"

Histoire flips through a few pages of the Player's Handbook. "If you have the proper feats, you can remove the negative modifiers for a lot of things."

"I should have rolled a ranger or something..."

"Anyway, moving on, Miss Noire, it's your turn."

Noire nods. "So it's prone right now. And I've already used all my Lay on Hands... ugh, I really can't do anything but attack! I rolled 16, adding 5 from my usual attack mod, and finally 4 from it being prone, that's 25, so definitely a hit! Rolled 6, for a total of 8!"

"Albedo slashes the prone boar. It's still alive. Um, Miss Blanc, since you're bleeding out, you can't really do much..."

"Bah, Neptune, your turn, you guys better end this before I kick the bucket," Blanc harrumphs as she rolls her percentile die, landing on 88.

"Gah!" yells Neptune, "There's too many anti-range modifiers here! I'm going to charge in and stab it with my blade!"

Neptune rolls her die, and as if to mock her, happily lands on 1, much to her chagrin. She lays herself down on the table with a slight sob.

"It's the boar's turn now, it attempts to stand up."

"Ah!" blurts Vert, "I'll attack it as it stands up."
"Oh! Sir Puddington will do so as well!"
"Albedo too!"

The three goddesses roll their attacks of opportunity. Vert rolls 8, Noire rolls 9, and Neptune rolls 16. Their faces are in slight turmoil as they feel aside from Neptune, they've missed their crucial attacks. Histoire looks at the result with relief, but hides it on her face, knowing that they've all actually hit. The rest of the table look at Histoire, waiting for her judgment.

"Okay," says Histoire breaking the silence, "I'll explain how Attacks of Opportunity work. These attacks must be resolved immediately, which means, the boar is still prone. Hence, Miss Vert's 8, adding 5, for 13, is actually 17 because of the additional 4 mod. Miss Noire's 9, becomes 19 in total. Please roll all your damage on the boar."

Neptune rolls her d6, Noire rolls her d8 and Vert rolls 2d6, much to Neptune's wonder. The purple d6 lands on 1, making Neptune groan, Noire's 3 makes her click her tongue, and Vert's 5 and 1 makes her shrug slightly.

Histoire begins tallying up the damage. "Neptune stabs it for two, Miss Noire slashes it for 5, and Miss Vert smashes it for a total of 12." Histoire mentally sighs in relief as she continues. "Congratulations everyone, your concentrated attacks on the boar has taken it down."

"Oi, oi, oi! Don't forget about my barbarian!"

Vert chuckles. "Of course, Lady Histoire, I'll use a potion on Blunga."

"Miss Blanc, go ahead and roll a 1d8 for your healing."

Blanc growls as she sees the die land on 1. "That means I'm basically unconscious until then!"

"Yes," says Vert, "but atleast you're not bleeding out. Don't worry, we'll keep you safe."

"Histy! Can we take a break, I know we've only done combat and buying stuff but, phew! That boar was nasty!"

Histoire nods. "Go ahead, I believe everyone should take a quick break and cool off."

The four goddesses stand up and stretch, before heading to the kitchen to get drinks and snacks, meanwhile Histoire is sweating at her decision for the combat scenario. She may have overdone it, but thankfully, she was able to fudge the results without much issue. she read that while fudging rolls as a player is not permitted, as the dungeon master, she's more or less expected to do so, whether for dramatic purpose, or to help out the players during a bad time, and in this case it was most definitely the latter. Histoire makes a mental note that beyond challenge rating 3, the creatures in the monster manual become very difficult. She herself, stood up and made her way to the kitchen to get a drink, needing one for her suddenly parched throat.

Chapter Text

"Oh! Lady Histoire, did something happen?" asks Noire, surprised seeing Histoire float to the kitchen.

Histoire smiles weakly. "I just felt like I needed some water. I felt thirsty all of a sudden." Noire gives her a small cup of water and fills it. She nods in thanks, and gulps down the fresh cool water, as if she hasn't drank in ages. Emptying the glass, she gives it back to a surprised looking Noire.

"Lady Histoire, are you alright?"

Histoire smiles slightly. "Oh? Yes, thank you for your concern Miss Noire. I'm alright, don't worry. Thank you again for the glass," she says as she floats out of the kitchen. The rest of the goddesses watch in silence as Histoire slowly returns to her seat and prop up the DM screen, seemingly contemplating on something. Neptune breaks the silence first.

"Wonder what's up with Histy?"

"Perhaps," ponders Vert, "our last encounter was almost a bit too much for us and she felt we were lucky that we survived with only one 'casualty'."

"Oi! I'm still very much alive, thanks!" interjects Blanc.

"Yes, you are, and if the boar decided at all to target someone else, they would have been instantaneously gored to death, or near death."

"Maybe," says Noire "she misjudged the difficulty of the fight? And now she's feeling bad about it?"

"It's possible, I don't think she's the type to simply make things difficult for no reason."

"Eh?" says Neptune, "well, I thought it was like a boss fight, that we decided because we had time to prepare, you know like those rooms before a boss fight, filled with healing items and ammo and stuff!"

The four of them continue discussing about the boar, while Histoire is rubbing her temples still thinking about how she handled the combat scenario. She licks her lips and breathes deeply, thinking to herself, if they've noticed that she fudged the rolls. Perhaps, they have noticed, or perhaps they haven't, but all the same, it worries her deeply. She thinks of a few possibilities, that they know the rolls were fudged, and they won't say; that they don't know the rolls were fudged, so they won't really think about it; or the worse of all is that they know the rolls are fudged and will make, or even demand, that Histoire roll all of it in public. She shakes her head, hoping that it wouldn't come to that. Going back to her notes, she decides what's done is done, and it's time to focus on the next part of the session.

As she continues to mull over the next challenge, the goddesses return to the table, each one bringing back their snack or drink. Noire has her usual dark beverage, a bottle of Doc P this time around; Vert has a thermos of green tea; Blanc has her manjū once more; and Neptune, a small cup of pudding. They each take their seat and get comfortable, Noire opens her bottle with a fizz, takes a sip and sighs with satisfaction.

"Okay," begins Histoire, "is everyone ready?"

The rest of the table nod their heads, and Histoire waves her hands begins to conjure the diorama of the forest. An upturned sett, a large token of the boar on its side, Blunga also on her side, and the other three tokens surrounding the sett. 

"Hey Histy, can we get our EXP for the boar?"

"Ah, yes, of course. Each of you get 338 EXP."

Neptune, Noire, Blanc, and Vert start to add the amount to their sheet. Vert, after finishing adding in her experience points, looks up to Histoire and raises a finger. "Excuse me Lady Histoire, why does this feel like we've gotten more experience here than before?"

Histoire smiles slightly, scratches her face with a finger, looking embarrassed. "Actually, I've just realized but I've been calculating experience slightly wrongly, at least for monsters. Don't worry about it too much though, it all works out in the end."

"I suppose that's true. This isn't automated like video games. Alright then." Vert moves her token nearer the sett. "Lady Histoire, so the sett is upturned, what do I see inside?"

"Burt clearly sees a red glow underneath the upturned soil. Thanks to the boar, it has more or less done the rest of the digging. It looks like the soil where the glow is coming from, it's freshly upturned."

"Hm, so, I'm guessing that the boar decided to dig through our sett, probably looking for food or what not, got into contact with whatever is making that glow, and got transformed into that ... monster. The fact that I can see the glow and nothing has happened... yet, means we probably need to be much closer to it to be affected."

Histoire nods, but only to show that she's listening. "So, Miss Vert, thank you for elucidating your thoughts on the matter. What would you like to do now?"

The rest of the table look at Vert, awaiting her response. Vert's eyes widen slightly, before going back to normal. She clears her throat and starts speaking. "I see that everyone is waiting for me to speak, so if it helps... I shall cast Resistance on myself, grab an empty sack and try to dig out the source of the glow."

Histoire nods once more. "Okay, so Resistance will increase your saving throw by one, and I believe Burt will be using the sack as a makeshift glove?" Vert nods, and Histoire continues. "So Burt will dig around with the makeshift sack glove. Since he sees the glow, I wouldn't need to make you roll for searching around, that wouldn't make sense. In less than a minute, Burt is able to grab the source of the glow. He sees that it is a red crystal, it is rather malformed, like an uncut gem, yet at the same time he can feel his mind being assaulted by anger. Miss Vert, please roll a will save."

Vert looks slightly surprised but still prepares to roll her die. She winces a bit seeing the result of 7. Histoire also winces, but hides it quickly. Vert checks her sheet to be sure of her end result.

"So, 7, and my Will Modifier is 4, adding in resistance, I have a total of 12."

Histoire nods, and various thoughts run through her head. She feels she's doing the Neplympics equivalent of gymnastics in her head, thinking of how to possibly either break out the news that Burt has failed the already planned 14 DC she had, or perhaps there may be a reason to lower the DC. She decides, that the fact that Vert had the idea of using the burlap sack would impose an additional modifier to Vert's save.

"Miss Vert, due to your idea of using the sack as a makeshift glove, you may add an additional 2 to your save for a total of 14. So, this is what happens, the thoughts of anger and dismay fills Burt's head, but through sheer will and the fact that Burt isn't holding the crystal with his bare flesh, he could just barely fight it, and easily bag it."

Neptune, Noire, Blanc and Vert exhale in relief from hearing Histoire's description. "Phew!" says Neptune, "I guess we're safe for now, except Blanc... um, I'll cast Cure Light Wounds on her, and hopefully that's enough to get her up, I don't think we can realistically carry her..."

Neptune rolls her d8 and it lands on 1, much to her annoyance. "Oh come on! Vert..! I'll buy you more potions, but can you use more on Blunga? I don't want to roll strength checks to see if we can carry her back!"

"Oi! Are you calling her heavy?!" spits out Blanc.

"But Blanc," says Noire, "you're a half-orc right, a very muscular, half-orc... you would naturally be heavy..."

Blanc is stunned and fails to find a proper retort. "Right."

Vert begins to roll dice. "I'll use my Cure Light Wounds." The dice lands at 8. "That's good. I believe Blunga should be more or less up."

Blanc checks her sheet. "Yes. I'm not as wounded anymore. Thanks, Vert ... and Neptune... and Noire."

"Alright!" says Neptune, "I guess since we have that rock now, let's get back to town and show it to the mayor!"

Vert nods. "I agree, let's head back to town. Lady Histoire, does simply carrying the stone affect me or?"

Histoire shakes her head. "No, it's in the sack, it does make the sack glow red, but simply holding the sack, without actually touching the rock, Burt does not feel the anger and dismay he felt before."

"Okay, then unless we have any objections, let's head back to town, and speak with the mayor."

Histoire dismisses the forest and conjures back the mayor's office. "The party returns back to town. Since you all want to return to the mayor, I've conjured the office. The mayor looks glad to see the four of you, but shows concern upon seeing Blunga in her state. He asks, 'What happened? It looks like you got severely attacked.' He then stands up and offers a small red vial. It's the same potion that Burt administered to Blunga."

"Blunga will take it," says Blanc, rolling a d8. "Got an 8. So I'm feeling much better, I give the mayor my thanks as I drink it."

"The mayor looks glad. Now he says, 'So, I'm guessing since you all returned, beaten but alive. Did you all find something out?' What does the party want to do?"

"Well," begins Vert, "I'll tell him about the crystal, actually, let me say it in character. 'Mayor Manual, we've discovered a rather worrying fact.' Burt will show him the sack with the red glowing rock inside it. 'Inside this sack is a rock that seems to be driving whatever or whoever touches it either insane or extremely aggressive along with transforming them into monstrous sizes. Even just trying to get it in here, I had to fight against it, thankfully it seems that it needs direct contact for it to have full effect, even a simple burlap sack is enough to somewhat lessen the effects when handling it.' Then Burt will carefully place the sack on top of the mayor's desk, unless he motions Burt to not place it there."

"Alright, thank you Miss Vert, the mayor allows Burt to place the sack on his table and then he says, 'Thank you very much for discovering this. I'll have mages study this and see what we can find out. For now, we'll need to give out warnings to everyone for wild animal attacks.' The mayor brings out... uh..."

Histoire checks the Dungeon Master's Guide and begins to roll dice, while she looks at the Treasure Guide. She rolls a 3 pairs of percentile dice, which lands on 34, 3 and 63 respectively, which means she has to dole out 4d12 silver pieces multiplied by a thousand, and a minor magical item. She rolls the four d12s, and it lands on 3, 10, 4, and 7, for a total of 24,000 silver pieces, which is 2400 gold in total. Finally, the minor item is any item with an average price of 1000 gold pieces if she wants to choose manually or use the random magic item table included in the guide. She decides to roll a percentile die once more, with it landing on 17, which means they'll get a random potion. It feels slightly unfair, she thinks, but they're getting a decent chunk of gold out of this already and she's also going to be adding in experience points. Rolling another percentile, it lands on 7, which results in a simple Cure Light Wounds potion.

Finishing all the rolls, Histoire closes the book, and clears her throat. "Ahem, ah, so the rolls I made, continuing from a while ago, the mayor brings out a large bag of coins for the party. Inside is 2400 gold pieces, equally distributed among the party, and he adds in another Cure Light Wounds potion. He says, 'This is my thanks for the discovery. For now, if you wish, after resting and getting your strength back, you may survey the surrounding area and help in dealing with other instances of this stone wreaking havoc in the forest. Other than that, we would need to wait for the mages for their findings on the stone, after this gets delivered to them.' He takes the sack with the glowing stone and places it inside an iron chest."

"Wow!" says Neptune, "That's a lotta gold! That's about 600 for each of us!"

"Yes," replies Histoire, "that is correct, also, for finishing the quest, you all get 1100 experience points each."

Vert excitedly writes down the additional experience points. "Lady Histoire, that would mean we have enough experience points to hit level 3!"

"That's correct Miss Vert, although, it's already getting quite late. Perhaps, we can continue leveling up next session, although, do read up what you'll get for level 3, just to make it quicker."

They all look slightly disappointed, but acquiesced the decision. Histoire begins to clear up the diorama. "I hope you've all enjoyed this week's session."

They all nod in agreement.

"Yep, the boar fight was pretty exciting, though I don't think I could take watching Blunga almost bite the dust."
"It's good that I made a cleric then, we would all be in greater danger if not."
"Hey now, don't take all the credit, Albedo helped too!"
"Now I wish my bard had better spells to use..."

"I'm glad to hear that. See you all next week, and have a good night."

Chapter Text

"Alright! Let's get to leveling up to 3!"

Neptune, Noire, Blanc, and Vert begin scribbling on their character sheets, updating the values and adding in the biggest addition for the third level, an extra feat. They make sure everything is organized and easy to read, so they don't spend too much time going through them when they're going to use an ability or feat that has convoluted rules. As they're writing, Neptune finds herself pausing, as if realizing something.

"Wait a minute, how are we all here already? Where's the small window of time where it's only me and Histy? And the elevator ding, showing that Noire, Blanc and Vert arrive? Maybe with their snacks? Why are we already writing in our sheets?"

"Neptune!" scolds Histoire, Did you just forget the last 10 minutes? Did you somehow hit your head?"

"Huh? But..."

"Lady Histoire is right, Neptune," added Noire. "Anyway, can we do the leveling process one-by-one like last time? I don't want to suddenly misplace something."

Histoire nods. "Sure, do you want to go first Miss Noire? Let's open up the handbook to the Paladin section."

Noire opens up the book and flips to the Paladin section. She checks the table to quickly see what Albedo will get after leveling up to 3. The base attack bonus increases by 1, the Fortitude save stays the same as Level 2, and both Reflex and Will increase by 1. She also gets two new special features for this level, Divine Health and Aura of Courage, but still no spell slots. Noire looks excited from all the brand new things she got for her level.

"It seems Albedo gets a good amount of things for this level. Divine Health says, I gain immunity to all diseases, magical or otherwise. What constitutes as a disease, Lady Histoire?"

"Oh, there's quite a good number of them in the game, but thankfully any effect is clearly mentioned, so we'll get to it when we need to check, but for a quick example, Blinding Sickness, if you fail that save you'll become blind, permanently, but since you have Divine Health, you don't even need to make that save, you just immediately pass it completely."

"So that's one thing I don't need to worry about anymore. That's good, let's see what Aura of Courage does. It says here, that I become immune to fear, and each ally in a 10 foot radius, gains a plus 4 morale bonus on saving throws for fear. That's a lot of things I become immune to!"

Everyone else on the table nod their head in agreement. Noire makes note of her new abilities, and begins to flip to the feat pages, but Histoire immediately stops her.

"Miss Noire, please don't forget you gain new skill points. As a paladin, you gain 2 plus your intelligence modifier, and how will you add your health?"

"Oh! Right, my health, skill points, and my Lay on Hands increase with my level!" Noire tapping her forehead lightly, while she writes down her additional skills. Adding an additional point to her Heal skill, and diplomacy.

She grabs a d10 and starts to shake it in her hand, looking unsure. "Um... I'll go for the average. I don't want to suddenly roll 1... Is there anything else I'm missing Lady Histoire?"

"Hm..." Histoire takes Noire's sheet and looks at it. "I don't think so... Oh! I see that since you are a human paladin, you have the racial trait of Skilled, which means you gain additional skill points per level. You would have 18 skill points in total, but it says here you only have 16. Please add 2 more and lastly, your feat, I interrupted you when you were going to that section. Please go ahead and look through your feats, and we'll get back to you."

"Sure, Lady Histoire, and thanks. Let me add in a point for Ride."

"Ooh! Me next Histy!" Neptune waves her arm.

"Alright Neptune. Go ahead and open the book to the bard section and see what you get."

Neptune excitedly flips to the bard section, her mind filled with all the new goodies she could get at 3rd level. She checks the table like how Noire did, and sees that she gets an additional point for her base attack bonus, fortitude save, an extra spell slot, and Inspire Competence. Looking further in the section, she notices, that she learns additional spells, an extra level zero spell, and a level 1 spell.

"What's this? Inspire competence?" Neptune carefully looks at the explanation for Inspire Competence. "So, I can play music, and it gives them an additional 2 competence bonus for skill checks as long as they continue to hear it."

"I would have to say that you can't use this when you're trying to be sneaky, because that would break the purpose," added Histoire quickly.

"That makes sense, let's see, I get a feat as well, and 8 more skill points. Another point in Alchemy crafting... Performance for String Instruments, 5 points in Jump, which adds an additional 2 to Tumble, and finally a point in bluff! Also, I'll be rolling for my health. If in combat I'm getting hit, I'm doing something wrong. For my feat, I already know, I'll be getting Precise Shot, so I can shoot my crossbow without issue!"

"Hold on Neptune," says Histoire checking the handbook, "to get Precise Shot, you would need to get Point Blank Shot."

"Wait, you mean to get Precise Shot, it would be at the VERY LEAST, at Level 6?? That's so far away! I'll just get something else... Craft Wondrous Item! I'll be the crafter instead, being more useful out of combat!"

Vert subtlety perks up a bit upon hearing Neptune proclaiming that.

Neptune then rolls her d6 and it lands on a 5, prompting her to do a fist pump in joy. "Yes!" She exclaims, as she writes down her new health.

"I'll go next," says Blanc. "I'll just get the average health. It would be trouble if I roll low, and I'm usually the one getting slapped."

Blanc, just like Noire and Neptune, check her class's section in the handbook. She sees that she gets an additional base attack bonus, to a total of 3, gain an additional 10 hit points due to her constitution bonus of 3 and the average of a d12 being 7, her saving throws to both Reflex and Will increase to 1 from 0; she gains 4 skill points, and finally Trap Sense.

"Trap Sense... says here I gain an additional point for reflex saves, and an additional to dodge point to AC against attacks made by traps. Wait, does that mean even if you trip a trap it's possible for it to roll 1 and miss entirely?"

Histoire takes a quick glance at trap mechanics in the Dungeon Master Guide. "Yes, depending on what kind of trap, it may need to roll an attack which has to pass your AC. You don't just step into a trap and be immediately hurt."

Blanc continues writing in her new abilities. A point in Survival and Climb, and two more points into Listen. She feels conflicted on what to take for her feat, whether she goes with what she said before and take the track feat, or take something that would improve her offensive capabilities. Not wanting to break her word, she writes down the Track feat, afterwards she hands it to Histoire for checking.

Histoire takes a look and returns it to Blanc with a smile. "I don't see anything wrong as far as I can tell. Miss Vert, what about you?"

Vert pauses scribbling on her sheet. "It seems I don't get any special abilities, because I gain Level 2 spell slots. Let's see, the usual Base Attack Bonus increased to 2, Reflex Save to 1, and like I've said, a Level 2 spell slot. According to this, since my Wisdom is not high enough, I don't get a bonus spell slot, it should be fine. For my feat, I've elected to take Power Attack. It will allow me to decrease my attack bonus, in exchange for hitting much harder. For spells, well, I have access to all of them, I just need to decide which one seems to be the best for overall performance. I am more or less done. I don't have much skills as a Cleric, so I simply added another point to Heal and another point to Spellcraft. Heal is always useful to tend to people if my slots are all down."

"Well said, Miss Vert. Ah, Neptune, let us discuss your feat."

"Huh? Do I have to remove my shoes for that Histy?"

"What? I said feat! F-e-a-t!"

Neptune chuckles, "I know Histy, sorry couldn't resist. Is there something special with my Craft Wondrous Item?"

Histoire looks a bit annoyed, but exhales and calms herself down. "Yes, crafting in that manner is as completely different set of rules. First of, it doesn't require a roll to do."

Neptune looks flummoxed. "Are you saying I'm just wasting my skill points for Alchemy?"

"No, Neptune. It's not a waste. You would still be using that to create non-magical items and other components. Basically anything that isn't a wondrous item doesn't get affected by your feat. Anyway, the gist of your feat is that you can craft Wondrous Items, as per the name, but each Wondrous Item has a specific set of requirements, you can't just craft what you want, when you want. For example, you may like this, a Hat of Disguise. In order to craft it, you would need to be Caster Level 1, and Caster Level just means your regular level, not what level of spells you can cast. A bit confusing, I know, but it'll make sense eventually. So, Caster Level 1, the feat Craft Wondrous Item, which you have, and Disguise Self, you would need to be able to cast Disguise Self, or find someone who would cast it on your behalf as long as you need it, and finally the craft itself costs 1800 gold."

"ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED GOLD??" Neptune's eyes are as wide as saucers.

"Calm down. Let me read through the rules. To enchant or create a Wondrous Item, you must spend 1/25 of the item's price in XP and use up raw materials costing half of this price. So for example of that 1800 gold, you would need to use up 72 XP, and 900 gold in raw materials. That's just the raw materials, so any additional items such as spell casts and specific items aren't counted. Oh, and finally, for crafting time, each 1000 gold in cost is one day of crafting. So an item costing 5000 gold would take 5 days maximum to craft, and any item below 1000 would be one day. I will give the specific items and tell you what's needed, but do you understand the gist of it?"

"Um, okay, let me see if I got it... so if an item is let's say costs 50 gold according to the book..."

"50 gold, Universal Solvent is 50 gold. Let me see..." Histoire looks at the requirements for Universal Solvent and her eyes widen as she does, but is completely missed by Neptune.

"So 50 gold, it would cost... a whopping two XP points, and 25 gold to craft! That's going to be one day of crafting! Let's try it out, let me make a Universal Solvent!"

Neptune is giddy, ready to try out her new feat to make something completely unknown. That giddiness goes away when Histoire looks at her, shaking her head, with the same look a mother would give a child when they ask for candy and they have to say no.

"The requirements for Universal Solvent, Neptune, is the following... The spell disintegrate, which is a 6th Level Spell... another thing, you need to be Caster Level 20. So, just because the price tag is cheap, doesn't mean the requirements aren't. Sorry to disappoint."

Neptune hangs her head. "What can I make at this point in time then?"

"Here, go ahead and check," says Histoire as she conjures a list of wondrous items. "You can check in the Dungeon Master's Guide as well, but, you're not allowed to look at that, so here's a quick list, it's a bit metagaming, but I don't want to obscure information like that."

"Thanks Histy!"

"Now, I believe we're all more or less done with our leveling process. Since you were all in a town, let's just continue the roleplay from before. The mayor has rewarded the four of you gold, and said that they would need time before they can have definite answers. The group knows that this is just a single incident, just getting the odd rock doesn't mean the attacks would suddenly just stop."

Vert nods sagaciously. "That's true. Perhaps we can spend this time to obtain new gear or patrol around the forest to gain more samples to get a clearer picture. It's possible that's the only rock that does that specific thing."

"Oh!" says Noire, "You're right, I didn't even think of the possibility that this stone is a unique sample... Neptune, have you found something that you can probably craft to help us in combat?"

"Huh? Um... There's a Brooch of Shielding, but it can only really help with Magic Missile, and if we're fighting against something that can cast that, we're in real hot water."

"Lady Histoire," says Blanc, "Can we also get a copy of that list? Maybe we want to look at it and work out what we want."

Histoire conjures 3 more lists for the rest.

"Thank you Lady Histoire."

"Um... is this what our night would break into? Checking the list to see what wondrous item looks good to get?"

Neptune immediately replies, "Sorry Histy! Anyway, looking through here, there's not much I can really craft at 3rd Level. Maybe the boots of striding and springing, that extra movement is really nice, but it's a bit expensive. Is there anything we could possibly buy with our gold?"

"Lady Histoire," says Vert, reading the handbook, "are there such things as better versions of our weapons? It's hard to imagine in an RPG that we've basically reached our best state of weapons... Oh? There are Masterwork Weapons? We have enough money now, so I believe we can purchase Masterwork weapons. I shall most definitely do that."

"That's correct Miss Vert, Masterwork Weapons cost an additional 300 gold in addition to their base cost, which is usually a paltry amount. So would you like to purchase them?"

Vert immediately nods her head, while Blanc thinks for a bit before nodding as well. They both update their character sheets after nodding. Histoire directs them to the Masterwork section of the Player's Handbook.

"So it says here Masterwork weapons increase your attack roll by 1, so Blunga will hit more accurately... which is pretty substantial with the numbers we're working with, no point in hitting obscenely hard if I miss."

"For Sir Puddington... um, masterwork ammo sounds like a bit of a waste for me... and armor only reduces the downside of heavy armor, it doesn't increase our armor class..."

"So, I assume that everyone aside from Neptune," says Histoire, "will purchase a Masterwork version of their weapon. If that's the case, please add a +1 modifier to your attack roll. Along with deducting the appropriate amount of gold."

"Thank you, Lady Histoire," says Vert with a smile. "Now I shall be more accurate with my attacks."

"Now," Histoire clears her throat, "in terms of roleplaying, the leveling and purchase of gear is later, you're all still with the mayor. Does anyone want to say anything else to the mayor?"

"Blunga will tell the mayor, hold on, let me just say it in character, ahem... 'Mayor Manual, we'll continue investigating the other attack sites, are there more recent ones? We plan on visiting those sites once we're all fully recovered.' I don't think anyone has an issue with that, right?"

The rest of the table shake their heads, while Histoire makes a mental note to prepare a few more combat scenarios for them to tackle, but perhaps not the same risk as the boar, but at the same time, the party has leveled up to 3, so the threats they can handle should increase as well. She looks up Dire Wolf, and sees that it has slightly less health than a Dire Boar, but the threat it poses is still up there with the Boar, perhaps they will be more careful now that they know what sort of threats they have to fight. Mentally nodding, she decides the next fight they will face is a Dire Wolf, a single wolf that has gone mad due to the crystal and eradicated its own pack.

"Now that Blanc has explained to the mayor we would need time to recover... during our time of rest, I think we've already rested, so my spell slots are ready, I shall cast the rest of my Cure Light Wounds on Blunga, hopefully that's enough healing... let's see, she's missing 12 health..." Vert rolls the first die, and it lands on 8, and rolls a second one, which lands on 4. "Now with my caster level of 3, that would be 11 and 7, more than enough healing. Let's rest and head out tomorrow."

"Sounds like a good plan to me Vert," nods Noire.
"Thanks Vert for the healing," says Blanc, removing the damage values on her sheet.
"Histy, can we take a quick break?"
"Eh? A break already? It feels like we really haven't done much, Neptune."
"Leveling is thirsty work, Noire! Besides, you haven't even chosen your feat yet!"
"Ah! You're right! S-sure! Let's take one, and I'll think about it while we're on break!"

Noire immediately stands up and heads to the kitchen, her face slightly red. The rest of the table chuckle slightly as they also stand up and stretch a bit.

"Well," says Histoire, "once we reconvene, hopefully Miss Noire has made a decision on her feat."

Chapter Text

Noire hurriedly finds herself in the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and pouring herself a drink of cool water. She gulps down the glass of water, all the while thinking of which feat to get.

"Noire!" yells out Neptune as she enters the kitchen, "You in here?"

"Neptune, we saw her go in here, of course she'll be here," replies Blanc.

"Eh, I guess so, that's true," shrugs Neptune, "Oh, look, there she is, having a drink. So! Noire, have you decided what feat you'll be getting?"

Noire chokes slightly on her drink, making her cough and sputter. "Y-yes! And don't surprise me like that!"

"Sorry!"

Vert hands Noire a small handkerchief to wipe her mouth. Noire takes it with thanks and pats her mouth with it. Neptune looks at this with shock.

"Their Lily Rank is just going up and up! Blanc! What do we do! How can we increase our own Lily Ranks!?" Neptune grabs hold of Blanc's collar and brings her close.

"Stop bringing me so close to your face, Neptune. The story rating won't allow it to happen, nor will the site let it," says Blanc.

"Yeah, you're right," Neptune lets go of Blanc's collars, Blanc then pats herself down and straightens out her collar before getting a drink of water and her snacks.

The four of them proceed to mind their own business, getting snacks, and eating some of them, before they return to the table, where Histoire awaits them. Neptune grabs a pudding cup, Noire prepares a cup of iced coffee, while Vert does the same but with tea, and finally Blanc gets a glass of milk.

"Welcome back, everyone," greets Histoire. "Miss Noire, have you decided which feat you'll get?"

Noire nods. "Yes, I'll get Mounted Combat. I've looked through the Paladin section and it seems they're expected to have a mount, and I have 6 ranks in Ride, and I expect to keep increasing it, now I just need a mount."

"Okay then Miss Noire, let me check... if you'd like to purchase a warhorse, that would cost 400 gold pieces, since the recommended mount is a Heavy Warhorse, they'll be trained for combat immediately. You would also need a saddle, a military saddle would cost 20 gold pieces. Also, the bonuses for your mount doesn't go active until you are level 5, just letting you know. One more thing, when you're mounted in combat, the two of you will be counted as one single cohesive unit. We can discuss more of the minute details when necessary."

"I'll deduct that amount of gold along with the saddle... um, I'd want a palomino! And I'll name her, Soleil! Is there anything special I need to do for taking care of her?"

"Um, I would say you need to at the very least ensure Soleil is fed and watered. So, you would need to supply it with feed. You may, of course, allow it to simply graze, but in general, make sure she's cared for properly."

"Would Albedo know how to care for her, or do I need to go to a class for it..?"

Histoire looks side-to-side, slightly unsure. "I would say, as a Paladin, Albedo was definitely taught how to properly care for their steed."

"That's great to hear. Now I'll be able to ride into battle with Soleil!"

"Um, Miss Noire, don't forget, you have the rest of the group, who doesn't have a mount."

"O-oh! R-right. Well, if we have someone who's fainted, or we have to transport a person, then Soleil can carry them back, without us needing to use a spell slot, or even burden them to walk in their state."

"Okay, so Miss Noire has purchased her own mount. Is there anyone else who would like to purchase anything else? Also, would someone kindly recap what the group would like to do afterwards?"

Vert speaks up. "Of course, Lady Histoire. Before our break, I suggested that we rest up, heal Blunga, then proceed to track another stone. We'd like to find out if the red stone we found is unique or not."

"I believe," Blanc chimes in, "Blunga has been fully healed, so right now we're just resting, in order to restore Burt's spell slots. After that, we'll probably ask the mayor for the most recent attack."

"Okay, thank you Miss Vert and Miss Blanc. I don't think any of you have anything you can do solo within a day, so let's just proceed to the 2nd day, where everyone is prepared and visiting Mayor Manual."

"Sounds good to me Histy!"
"Let me just prepare my spells Lady Histoire."
"I hope I get to try out my Masterwork Axe..."
"Is there a place for me to place Soleil nearby?"

"Miss Noire, um, Albedo can safely leave Soleil outside, she's well trained so she won't suddenly run off without reason."

"That's good. I'll tie her to a nearby fence, or post, before entering Mayor Manual's office."

"Alright, the party returns to Mayor Manual's office, Albedo ties Soleil onto a post. The party enters the office of Mayor Manual where he greets the group, and asks them what he can do for them. 'Welcome! We still haven't gotten a result for the stone, it'll take some more time, but is there anything you need?' Now he's waiting for a response."

"Burt will respond, saying 'Hello Mayor Manual, we would need information on the most recent attack. We would like to conduct further investigation on the stone. Whether it's a unique existence or there are multiples of them.' Alright, what does he say to that Lady Histoire?"

"He says... 'Yes, of course, I believe your companion, Blunga, has mentioned this beforehand. The most recent attack, aside from the boar you've mentioned, was a few days ago. Thankfully there hasn't been further attacks, yet. Here's the location.' He then points a location on the map. The party knows where this is now in relation to the town. It would take an hour or two of walking."

"Burt will respond... 'Thank you. We'll make our way there now.' Then the group will make our way there."

"Unless there's an objection," says Histoire as she conjures up the forest diorama and rolls a d20, it lands on 10, in plain sight of everyone, "the group makes their way to the attack site. Just as the mayor said there are clear signs of battle, like before. Claw marks, spatters of blood, fur, hair, and then some."

Blanc checks her sheet. "Lady Histoire, are we able to discern what sort of beast made these attacks? Let me roll Knowledge: Nature... and it lands on 16, with my mod of 2, it becomes 18."

"Okay, Miss Blanc, with that 18, Blunga is able to discern that the creatures that attacked this site are wolves due to the fur that was left behind, and some of the claw marks, but there are some that are similar to a bear slash."

"Lady Histoire, are there any other tufts of fur around or just the wolf ones?"

"Just the tufts of wolf fur."

"Okay, so we're most likely dealing with the same case then. An enraged wolf, but is it just one enraged wolf or multiple? I doubt they stayed here, if they did we'd already be under attack... if they've left, I seriously doubt they'll be smart enough to travel in single file line to hide their numbers, and if they're doing that we have more issues at hand. So now, I'd like to make a survival skill check to determine which direction they went, and how many of them there are, I'll just take 10, since I have 6 to my modifier, and I believe 16 would be enough."

Histoire responds with silence instead of immediately answering. She's on the fence whether to change the encounter or not. On one hand, the party seems to be more prepared this time around, they have leveled up, prepared new spells, obtained new gear, and then some. On the other hand, if the dice rolls badly, they're in trouble, as a dire wolf, can hit quite accurately with an 11 modifier to hit and 10 modifier for damage rolls. Shaking her head mentally, she decides that there should only be one Dire Wolf in the end, better they learn slowly than get almost killed.

"Lady Histoire..?" says Blanc, waiting for Histoire to respond.

"Ah! Sorry about that Miss Blanc, I was just thinking, um! Moving on, with that 16, Blunga checks the tracks and sees that there are multiple tracks going into and out of the site, wolf tracks and larger wolf tracks. You can continue following the tracks if you wish."

Blanc nods. "Thank you, Lady Histoire. Alright, we know at the end of this is possibly a fight, I wonder what we can do to prepare beforehand."

Vert holds up a finger, as she checks her sheet. "If we're only a few minutes away from the monster, I can cast a few spells to help us. They last an additional minute per cast, and according to Lady Histoire, each round is only 6 seconds, so even if the buff would only last 30 more seconds, that's 5 whole rounds of the buff active."

Noire, Blanc, and Neptune all look taken aback, as if just suddenly realizing the most obvious thing in the world. Neptune slaps a palm on her head. "Of course! Why didn't we do that before?"

Vert smirks slightly smug. "Of course, in MMOs, it's standard operating procedure to buff up before a big fight. At our level though, we only have a small amount of buffs available, and it's basically for one single fight, if we have to fight another time afterwards, we've basically used up all our buffs and will be at a disadvantage. In an MMO, buffs are basically freebies for those who can cast it, then you just either sit down, drink a quick a mana potion, or water, depending on the game. In Dungeons and Dragons... Lady Histoire, is it correct for me to assume that there is no such thing as a mana potion, something to restore Spell Slots on-the-go?"

Histoire shakes her head. "No, there's no such thing without homebrewing, and I believe the game is balanced around needing to rest for spell slots."

"Just as Lady Histoire says," continues Vert, "we'll have to make use of our spells as best we can. Looking at my list, I can cast Enlarge Person and Bull's Strength to Blunga, then she can charge at the monster, while raging."

Neptune looks shocked. "Now Vert and Blanc's Lily Ranks are going higher! I'm the only one whose rank isn't going up with anyone!"

Noire pats Neptune on the back. "Well, maybe if you can do something to help like how Vert is planning on buffing Blanc?"

"Soon! I'll have something! I'll make something with my feat one day!"

"So," Histoire chimes in, "what would the group like to do?"

Blanc speaks up first. "We'll proceed with that plan, we'll follow the tracks and keep an eye out if we're within sprinting distance of the large wolf. Once we are, then Vert will buff me, then I'll charge in."

"Hold on," says Vert holding up her hand, "no plan can be perfect. Can someone think of a way for this to somehow fail?"

Neptune taps her chin, and mindlessly speaks her mind. "Um, wouldn't we be kind of noisy, casting spells, all the clinks and clanks of armor? I mean, if I'm gonna be a wolf, I'd be really alert, and any sort of sound would put me on edge. Probably even attack whatever I hear."

Histoire quickly checks how Listen checks work, and see what kind of modifiers there would be. There's only a few modifiers that are listed in, mostly conditions, whether the listening is listening through a door, through a stone wall, distance, and whether if the listener is distracted. It's possible more kinds of modifiers that can be added in, and these are just examples. The dire wolf has a natural 7 modifier for their listen checks. Blunga can charge for a total of 60 feet, meanwhile a mounted Albedo on Soleil, would be able to charge for 100 feet, assuming mounted combat functioned the same way, Histoire would need to do a quick check on that, but certainly they could start 100 feet away, and the wolf's listen DC would increase by 10, but wearing armor immediately puts a negative modifier of 6 for Albedo and Burt.

Histoire rolls the listen check for the wolf. The table sees her roll, but does not see the result of 20. Histoire finds herself choking from slight shock, and coughs abruptly, shocking the rest of the table.

"Lady Histoire! Are you alright?" says Noire, offering water.

Histoire takes the glass of water, and takes a few gulps. She returns the glass of water. "Thank you, Miss Noire. I apologize, some spit just slid down suddenly."

"Oh! I know what you mean Histy! You're just minding your own business, all of a sudden you're just coughing trying to get that spit out."

"Yes, exactly... Neptune."

Histoire mentally sighs, there is no way for them to sneak up and enact their plan, but she would gladly allow them to cast one buff before the wolf would charge into combat. It feels a bit bad breaking their plan like this, but the dice rolls say otherwise. She then realizes that she could simply ignore that roll, and ask them to make a Move Silently check, as a group, reason out that the one with the lowest modifier would logically be the one who needs to roll, using the thought that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Nodding to herself, she decides she'll do just that.

Blanc scratches her chin. "Hm, what Neptune said makes sense. No way a wolf would simply let us cast these buffs. I wonder how far the territory of a wolf is? I'm sure it could be noisy but when it's outside its territory, why would it care? Now, let's see what's the usual size of a wolf territory?"

"Let's check the Internep!" suggests Neptune. "According to Nepupedia, it's about 200 to 500 square miles! Or about 2.6 million feet! Wow that's a lot of toes!"

Blanc looks defeated. "That's ... ridiculous, we're basically in its territory at this point. Then we'll just have to make sure we spot it far enough. Are binoculars an item in this game?"

"Um, there is a thing, called a spyglass, but..."

"But...?"

"It's woefully expensive, Miss Blanc. It's about 1000 gold pieces."

"That's even more expensive than Noire's horse, what kind of upside-down economy is this?"

Histoire shrugs with an innocent smile. "It's definitely a weird system, but think about it, working with glass might be an extremely difficult task."

"I suppose that's true. Blech, let's just track the wolf down, we can keep discussing this all night, but won't have anything done. Who has the highest spot check in the group? I don't have a modifier for that."

"Sir Puddington has a minus 1 modifier..."
"Burt has a positive 1."
"Albedo also has a positive 1."

"So we're all basically blind," Blanc sighs. "Well, Lady Histoire, with my tracking skill, is it possible to determine if we're getting near?"

"Um, I would say yes, but it's not perfect, of course."

"That's fine, alright let's start tracking the thing."

"Is that acceptable to everyone in the group?" asks Histoire.

The rest of the table nod their head, and with that Histoire begins to wave her hands, removing the forest diorama and replacing it with the usual flat map, with trees dotting the area. The table looks worried, especially since they see the large wolf token at the edge of the map. Histoire places the player tokens at the other edge of the map. There's a wide gap between the players and the wolf, 20 squares. She decides in the end to possibly let them have this, see what kind of power the group has when given a chance to prepare, let them have their fun.

"So, this is where my tracking led us then Lady Histoire?"

"Yes, that's correct Miss Blanc. The group sees the large wolf is resting. Please roll initiative just for simplicity."

Histoire rolls behind the screen for the wolf, landing on 18, and with the wolf's innate 2 initiative modifier, bumps it up to 20. The four goddesses roll their dice, the black die landing on 8, the green die landing on 9, the purple die landing on 5, and finally the blue die landing on 14.

"Sir Puddington gets 7..."
"Albedo got 12."
"Burt has 13."
"Blunga's initiative is 15."

"Okay, Miss Noire, Soleil basically has the same initiative as you. Soleil and you are basically one unit, but enemies can target you or Soleil... assuming they can reach you."

"Alright, thank you for that Lady Histoire."

"Lady Histoire," starts Vert, "since the wolf is inactive, or rather resting, would it be fine for me to buff Blunga?"

"Sure, that should be fine Miss Vert. Just tell me how long they should last, and I'll make sure to track it properly."

"Thank you, Lady Histoire. Okay, I shall cast both Bull's Strength and Enlarge Person on Blunga. Bull's Strength increases the person's strength by 4, and Enlarge Person, well, makes them larger, but for stats, it increases Strength by 2, minus 2 to Dexterity due to size, and minus 1 to both AC and Attack rolls due to size as well. The attack roll deficit basically becomes zero due to the increase in Strength, unless the person uses ranged weaponry."

"Vert, can you give me the total increase to my attack rolls?"

"Sure, for Bull's Strength, that would be +2 to both damage and attack rolls, and due to Enlarge Person's quirks, you only receive a +1 to damage rolls."

"So, without Rage and without Charging, I have a +11 to attack rolls, and a +10 to damage."

Histoire's attention perks up hearing the modifiers they have. She checks the stats of the dire wolf and realizes they've basically equalized the damage it can do. If the group can keep this up consistently, it's possible that she can bump up the difficulty if they're given the chance to prepare like this, though, due to the nature of dice, it's possible they may just naturally roll the dreaded 1s, and have a battle they're supposed to win with no issue, go terribly, terribly, wrong.

"...so the plan is, I'll go try to sneak up, and once there's less than 60 feet between me and the wolf, I'll charge at it and attack. Albedo and her steed should be able to catch up. Burt, well, you've buffed me already so just try to catch up, and Sir Puddington... uh... hm..."

Neptune hangs her head. "I'll be emotional support... I don't think I have anything I can do to buff Blanc..."

Blanc puts a hand on her chin. "Hm, it shouldn't matter if the wolf is aware of us now or not, I'll begin moving towards it, not caring if I make noise or not." She moves her token 12 squares closer.

"Burt will try to follow Blunga so we're not left behind."
"Same with Sir Puddington, with his stubby legs."
"I hope Soleil doesn't make too much noise..."

The rest of the goddesses follow Blunga's lead in the map, ensuring they're behind Blunga, with Sir Puddington and Burt trailing behind due to their stature and armor respectively. Histoire begins to wave her hands to manipulate the wolf token.

"As the party moves closer, it's now the wolf's turn. It hears the rustle of leaves and the clinks and clanks of armor, and is now standing, growling, towards the group's general direction, and it howls."

At this point not even Histoire is sure if this would be a valid challenge or an impossible task, but she has to make sure that they don't get complacent. She rolls a d4 to see how many wolves should appear. It lands on 3. Three wolves would appear in a few rounds. Another d4, and it lands on 2. In two rounds, if they are unable to end the dire wolf within 2 rounds, they may become overwhelmed, but Histoire is confident that they'll tackle this appropriately.

Vert looks a bit worried. "It howled? Then there may be more wolves than this one..."

"Whose turn is it now Lady Histoire?" asks Blanc.

"Let me see... it would be Blunga's turn."

"Then I'm charging in, along with rage, and whacking that wolf down. Moving towards it, charging adds +2 to my attack roll, raging adds another +2, so a total of +15, rolling now, and it lands on 3," Blanc growls, "but with my modifier, it goes to 18. Does that hit Lady Histoire?"

Histoire nods, as Blanc continues. "Then I'll attack. It lands on 5, and with all my bonuses, it's an additional 13 damage. So 18 total damage."

Vert moves her own token by 4 squares. "This is the furthest I can go, and it seems I will only be able to use my crossbow. Even with the hit deficit, I'd rather risk it than do nothing. I rolled 14, with that minus 4 and my base attack bonus of 2, it becomes negative 2. So it's 12. Does that hit Lady Histoire?"

"No, it does not."

"Then now we know its AC is between 18 and higher than 12. Noire, it's your turn now."

"Okay, Albedo will charge. Let me move myself near the wolf now... So that will increase my attack roll by 2... and I rolled 13. That's a total of 22. We still don't know the minimum to hit, but for damage, I rolled ... 1," she says as she hangs her head. "That's for a total of 3."

"I guess it's Sir Puddington's turn now. I'll ... move and do what Burt did. And that landed on 9, I'm not gonna even bother with the modifiers, that's a full miss."

"It's now the wolf's turn, and it will attack Soleil."

Histoire rolls her dice in plain view of everyone. It lands on 1, everyone in the table cheers as the wolf fails spectacularly on its attack. Blanc starts to roll her dice in anticipation for her turn.

"I rolled a 7 to hit, with 13 modifier, for a total of 20. And my damage is 3, also with a 13 modifier. So 16. Is the wolf dead yet?"

Histoire shakes her head, as Vert rolls her dice.

"Sigh, I got a 5, and with that pesky ranged to melee modifier, it goes down to 3."

"Now it's Albedo's turn, and let's see what I get.. 11, and with my 7 mod, it's 18! Definitely a hit, so for damage, I get 5, and my 2 mod, total for 7! How's the wolf, Lady Histoire?"

"It's still alive, but it is heavily wounded."

"Maybe it's Sir Puddington's time to shine! Let's try to hit it even though I'm in an extremely disadvantageous position because of ranged to melee modifier... um, 12, and 5, but minus 4... 13! Does that hit the wolf, Histy?"

Histoire shakes her head. "Sorry, Neptune, it doesn't."

"I wish I had SOMETHING to use freely at range!" Neptune laments.

"As Sir Puddington finishes his attack, 3 wolves appear from the side, they dash towards Sir Puddington and Bgurt, as they are away from Albedo and Blunga. Sir Puddington looks tastier than a half-orc. The three wolves roll... 5, miss, won't even bother with the 3 mod, 18, which goes 21, and 17 which goes 20. Two of three attacks hit. 1, and 4, both attacks have a modifier of 1, so you get hit for a total of 7."

"Oof! Sir Puddington is still alive atleast..."

"It's the large wolf's turn now, it will attempt to hit Blunga this time. It gets a 6, with it's modifier of 11, it's 17. Does that hit, Miss Blanc?"

"Yes," she says with a scoff.

"Damage is, 8, with a 10 modifier, 18 in total."

"I'm gonna kill this thing!"

Blanc angrily rolls her die, it lands on 18, she then immediately rolls her damage die, and lands on 7.

"That's a 31 to hit, and 20 damage! That thing better be dead!"

"Relax Miss Blanc, yes, with that 20 damage, it's defeated."

"There's still the other wolves," says Noire. "Let me try to charge at them."

"Hold on Noire," says Vert, "it's my turn still. I'll attack this wolf. I shall drop my crossbow and pull out my flail as part of my action to attack."

"That's right, Miss Vert. Go ahead."

"I shall attempt to use a power attack, I'll decrease my attack roll by 5. Let's see, that's an 11, and add 2. Does a 13 hit, Lady Histoire?"

Histoire shakes her head. "No, it doesn't Miss Vert."

"That's a shame. Noire, it's your turn."

"Ah, Miss Noire, I didn't mention this before, but since riding your mount, you have the high ground, so you get an additional 1 modifier to your attacks if you're attacking those a size smaller than you. The large wolf, was, well, large, hence there was no bonus and did not bother mentioning it."

Noire moves her token. "That's good to know, I'll attack this wolf, with a charge. I only got a 5, but with charge and the high ground, my modifier becomes 10, so 15. Is that a hit?"

"Yes, go ahead and roll damage."

"Alright, so 15 above is enough for these wolves, at the very least. Damage lands at 8, and adding 2, for a total of 10!"

"Sir Puddington, will also drop his crossbow, and attack the same wolf that Noire slashed! And... roll!"

The d20 that Neptune rolls, lands on 1, much to her chagrin.

"Why does this keep happening!?"

"The wolf who got slashed by Noire, is attempting to run."

"Wait, can't we get an opportunity attack off that?" asks Vert.

"No, there's an action called Withdraw that you can do in combat. It does not provoke attacks of opportunity, but that's basically all they can do, is run away. The other two wolves do the same after seeing the larger wolf fall."

"Does that mean we've won Histy?"

"Yes."

"Phew! Perfect time for a break then!"

"Sure, let's all take a break for now then, it feels like this part of our session took longer than normal."

Chapter Text

Blanc takes a sip of her drink. "So that's the power of buffs. We barely took time in taking out that wolf."

"You're welcome Blanc, but now Burt has doesn't have his spell slots. Those spells are from my Strength Domain. While we aren't in danger, I do suggest we ask Lady Histoire that we return back to town after we search the immediate area for a stone."

"Hey," says Noire, "do you think Lady Histoire would bump up the difficulty of our fights because of that little demonstration of buffs?"

Vert's eyes widen slightly. "Oh... you're right, unlike a video game or MMO, changes can literally be made on the fly... in other games it would take weeks or even months before the developers would announce, not change, announce they would be making changes, even then it could be something that's unrelated to the current issues players are facing."

"Oh I'm sure it'll be fine," says Blanc, "unlike MMOs, massively multiplayer, we're only 4 players, with one gamemaster. If we do have any issues we can tell her and it'll be fine."

"You're quite right Blanc. I remember reporting multiple issues in 4 Goddesses Online, but it took them so long to even respond, sometimes, they don't even respond!"

Vert sips her tea aggressively, shaking her head. The others shrug with a slight smile as Vert lets out her grievances during her online gaming. The four of them continue to chit-chat in the kitchen, while Histoire is reading through her notes once more and scribbling on, and over them.

"One dire wolf would give 225 experience points, per player, which means it's 900 in total, but there were 3 wolves that appeared as well, they didn't do much, but I'll add in an extra 300, so they get a nice even, 300 experience points each. I wonder if I'm leveling them up too fast, perhaps not... Well, they've definitely shown they can hold their own... I'll hold off on increasing the difficulty a bit longer... I should allow them to delve into a small dungeon by now, or atleast next session, so they aren't fatigued."

Histoire continues to talk to herself, "I'll hand them the experience after they discover the rock and return to town, as usual they would need to make a saving throw for it as well, they'll discover that this is a similar rock, and the mayor will say that with two of these rocks, it will be easier for them to find out where these are all made and possibly why they're suddenly scattered about. I should try to look for inspiration on the dungeon they'll visit, and read up how to appropriately balance them... along with what kind of creatures would be living in an abandoned laboratory where madness inducing crystals are made... even the idea of it makes it sound like they'll be within the range of 5+ challenge ratings..."

As she continues to think and talk to herself, she hears the laughter of Neptune coming from the kitchen, and see them walking out. She quickly organizes her notes to ensure they aren't seen, and the illusion of preparedness is intact. The four goddesses return with Neptune and the others having a good laugh, with Neptune holding the N-Gear, seemingly showing the rest something.

"That was great when it started singing about the wizard archetypes! Too bad we don't have a wizard in our group, lots of things would've been solved by Fireball. Histy! We're back!"

"Yes, Neptune, I heard. What are you all laughing at?"

"Here!" Neptune shows Histoire the N-Gear showing a muscular man, wearing nothing but chaps and an odd long wiggly looking headpiece, that has large sewing buttons for eyes. A voice-over is heard accompanying the video.

"...make up an entire party full of priests, call it 'The A-Men' and bust down Tiamat's door demanding her lunch money," says the video.

Histoire knows all to well now the veritable power of cleric buffs, especially after the dire wolf encounter being completely bulldozed in a few rounds. The video continues to describe the power of Clerics she doesn't recognize from what she's read in the Player's Handbook. The video finishes with a standard round table filled with Dungeons and Dragons figurines and DM screen with the wiggly hat wearing man behind it.

"Quite an interesting video, Neptune. Were you all watching it?"

"Yep! All of the classes were covered, but, it's a bit different than what I remember for my own class! Then I noticed that it's for Fifth Edition, what edition are we using Histy?"

"Um, let me see..." Histoire picks up the Player Handbook and checks the introduction page. "It says here that we are using Third Edition, Revised, or simply 3.5e."

"Huh, why aren't we using the most recent one?"

"Well, these are the books you gave me Neptune."

"Oh! Right... ahaha, yeah these are the only books we had... should we switch to the 5th Edition?"

"Neptune..." says Vert, "Switching editions would mean re-learning the rules of the game, along with Lady Histoire needing to recreate the details of our adventure. We've already spent weeks learning the game."

"Aw, yeah, you're right. Maybe next game, we'll use Fifth Edition!"

Histoire closes the Player Handbook and places it back to its original location. "Let's finish this game first before we plan another one, at the very least. Now, is everyone ready to reconvene the session?"

Neptune puts away the N-Gear before nodding along with everyone else. Histoire nods once, and conjures the forest diorama once more, before settling back her notes. "Alright, everyone please add 300 experience points for succeeding in the wolf encounter."

Neptune excitedly adds the 300 to her current experience. "Nice! One step closer to 4th Level!"

"After that," Histoire continues, "I believe that's it in terms of rewards at the moment."

"Lady Histoire," says Vert, "now that we've subdued the wolf, I would like to search for a similar stone as before. That red stone that drove the boar to madness."

Vert begins to shake the dice in her hand, and Neptune follows suit. "I'll help out Burt, with this magnificent... 6. Even with my 2 modifier it won't even push it to 10. Nevermind."

Vert rolls her d20, and then realizes something. "Wait, you had a modifier?"

"Y-yeah, but hey, look you got a 14! Histy does that get us somewhere?"

Histoire knows from reading the sample difficulty checks that a 10 for Search would be the equivalent of ransacking a chest full of junk for a certain item. Seeing as this is a forested area which is dominated by green, looking for a glowing red item would be simple enough, and as such Histoire has decided...

"Yes, Burt does locate something glowing red within a bush."

"Perfect. I'll go ahead and just like last time, use a sack to try and grab hold of it. I'll roll my Will Save like before... but before that I shall cast Resistance on myself to add a small layer of protection."

Vert then rolls her d20 for a Will Save. Her green die lands on 16, with a base modifier of 4, it becomes 20 and adding in the Resistance spell, it becomes 21.

"There we go, a 21. If I recall, this is more than enough, and now we have proof of the existence of more than one of these crystals. Now, let us get back to town."

Histoire claps her hands once. "Okay, Burt stows away the crystal into a sack and is now in possession of the crystal. Does anyone else want to do something in the area, or does everyone accept returning to town?"

"I'm fine with going back, Blunga needs to tend to her wounds." states Blanc.
"I'm sure Soleil would like some rest back in town."
"Yep, let's go back, don't want to get attacked again."

Histoire dismisses the forest diorama and conjures the town once more. "Okay, the party returns to town."

"While Blunga would prefer to rest, let's get the crystal to the mayor, maybe it would speed up the process of their research."

"Any objections to Miss Blanc?"

The rest of the table shake their head, and Histoire conjures the office of the mayor like before. Vert immediately speaks up afterwards.

"Burt will say to Mayor Manual, 'Mayor Manual, we have news, we've found another crystal, that means it's not a unique entity, but at the same time, it's not a unique entity, if you catch what I'm saying.' Then I will handover the sack with the crystal inside."

"Okay, so Burt hands over the sack containing the crystal. Mayor Manual gladly takes it, thanks him and stores it in his safe. He tells the group, 'Getting this extra crystal would speed up the process of finding the source.' And with the group returning the stone, everyone in the group also receives an additional 750 experience each."

"Wow Histy, that's a lot of experience, but also we need a lot of experience, so I guess it works out!" says Neptune, writing down the additional experience. "I'm looking forward to what would be next after they find out where we'll go next!"

Histoire nods in response. "Yes, I'm also quite looking forward to the next few sessions. Now, Mayor Manual says as well, 'We should have our results within a few days. We would like to ask for your further assistance once we get the results.' What does the group say?"

"Sir Puddington is fine with it, but now that I'm looking at my sheet, I really need some healing and rest."
"Blunga's fine with it. More things to test her mettle on."
"Albedo will gladly do so."
"Burt as well."

Histoire mentally sighs in relief, she wouldn't know what to do if one of the players suddenly decided to not follow through. Perhaps bring down hellfire on the town forcing them to traverse it, or something along those lines, but even that situation sounds like an extremely high level situation.

"Okay, the mayor says, 'Fantastic, please rest up and return here after a few days. I shall see you then.' He is then seen writing a letter."

"I guess," says Vert, "the party will rest up and as such return a few days later, I'd like to use my spell slots to heal Blunga and Sir Puddington appropriately, would we have to roll for them?"

"Oh! Albedo will also use Lay on Hands."

"If that's the case, I wouldn't need any rolls as the combined healing of you two over the course of even 2 days is enough to recuperate all wounds on both Blunga and Sir Puddington."

Blanc and Neptune write on their sheets to update their health back to full. Neptune speaks out first, "Alright, now I'm healthy and ready to take on the world!"

Histoire claps her hand to get everyone's attention. "Okay, I believe with Blunga and Sir Puddington basically needing bedrest; Albedo and Burt providing the necessary healing, the 4 of you wouldn't have been able to do much in the past few days, is that fair for you all?"

Noire puts a hand on her chin. "I suppose so, and really not much we can do in that time."

The rest of the table nod their heads in agreement. Noire continues, "So a few days have passed, and more or less we've returned to the mayor's office, is that correct, Lady Histoire?"

"That's right, Miss Noire. Okay, the party has returned to the mayor's office, and he welcomes you all. He says, 'We have good news, they've been able to discover the source of the crystals that are plaguing our countryside.' Then he brings out the map."

Histoire knows this is the moment, the time how she'll decide where the dungeon would be. She's already planned for this, but at the same time there were other good ideas over the weeks of thinking about it. She was able to condense it into two ideas, a hidden laboratory in the forest or she can re-use the giant sprawling mines she worked on before, and just insert it in there.

"The mayor," continues Histoire, "then places his hand on a familiar location. It's back in Keydento."

Vert looks slightly taken aback. "Oh? Back in Keydento?"

"The mayor continues, 'Apparently there is something deeper within the mines. It must be some kind of laboratory, or perhaps the remnants of a cult. There hasn't been any incidents outside of the rats in Keydento Mines, so we believe there shouldn't be any absurd danger inside there. So, please take this, show it to Albrecht. He'll have someone to guide you through the mines.' He then hands you a rolled up parchment tied up with a ribbon."

"Sir Puddington will take that," says Neptune writing down the parchment as as an item.

"Alright, Neptune, rather Sir Puddington takes the parchment."

"Lady Histoire," says Vert, "we wouldn't need to roll knowledge in order to get out of the miens do we? I kind of doubt the person guiding us would wait outside for us."

"No, you wouldn't need to, that would be a bit much. Either way, I believe it would be best we do the next part, next week."

"Aw," cries Neptune, "but, okay. I'm guessing the next session would be Keydento two, Electric boogaloo?"

"What? A-anyway, yes, next week would be dedicated for the mines."

"Okay, have a good night Lady Histoire," says Vert yawning slightly.
"I better get back to Lastation, I wonder if we'll level to 4 after the mines!"
"See you all again here next week, Lady Histoire, Rom and Ram are asking if they can watch us play, would you mind?"

"Um, that should be fine Miss Blanc. Just tell them what to expect, at the very least."

"Okay, thank you Lady Histoire."

Neptune, Noire, Vert, and Blanc stand up from the table, clean up the remains of their snacks, leaving Histoire with the DM screen and her notes.

Chapter Text

Neptune takes her seat by the table, where Histoire is concentrated on preparing the game. Histoire doesn't even notice Neptune take her seat as she continues to give her notes a scrutinizing glare. Neptune tries to crane her neck to see what kind of notes Histoire is looking at but stops herself midway, and decides to just try and call out to her.

"...Histy! Planeptune to Histy!"

"Huh? Neptune, what are you doing?"

"I've been calling out to you for a while now! Okay, not really, maybe just a few calls. What are you up to?"

"Preparing Dungeon Master things, making sure things are prepared."

"Histy, is it hard to DM?"

"What brought that question up?"

"Just a random thought, so how is it?"

"Well, it's not easy, there are many factors to consider. I've heard there are these things called modules that basically provide a story outline, and content, along with encounters, so a lot of the work in handling story encounters, ending, and so on is mostly done. In our case, we are not using a module, so I have to build everything from scratch."

"I see... I can't imagine having to make up a whole world, or dimension!"

"Well, you don't need to imagine, because I'm doing it, and the other thing are the players themselves."

"Huh?"

"That just means because every person is different, they have different ideas on how they want to tackle an encounter, or a problem, and I would have to account for that. For example, let's use the previous wolf fight, what if none of you decided to use buffs like you did? The fight may have gone awry, or maybe in the end, there was no wolf fight because everyone decided to simply just wait for the results."

"That's only the in-game issue, there are also out of game issues, what if Miss Vert for example couldn't make it tonight? Though that doesn't automatically mean we can't play, it would put a hamper on things because either someone needs to suddenly learn how to make use of her character. Or I suddenly need to create something for us to play while Miss Vert is out, but at the same time that might put a power gap between all of you if it would reward items. In my opinion, it might be best to just suspend that night, but my opinion might be different from yours and you'd want to continue either way."

"You're right, I would've preferred to do something instead of nothing..."

"There are other nuances as well, but we would literally be using up all our time in discussing that, I hope that gives you a small idea of how things are, but overall, I don't dislike it."

"So, Histy, why not just use a module?"

"Well, normally that would be good, but in our current situation, that would be akin to plagiarism."

Neptune's eyes dart left and right as if looking for an entity that isn't there. "... You're right, let's keep it like this."

"I'm glad you understand. Now, we still have a few minutes before they all arrive, so allow me to finish up my preparations."

"Okay, Histy!" Neptune leaves the table and heads to the couch to lounge about.

After deeply deliberating about it, the theme of the dungeon would be an abandoned laboratory, and to mix things up, instead of physical combat, it would be puzzles. It would be riddles and puzzles, since thinking about it, the only creatures that would realistically be guarding an abandoned laboratory are ghosts, mechanoids, golems, or other magical creatures that don't require food, water, air, and simply exists. Those kinds of creatures might be a bit much for them to tackle at the moment, and this place would serve as a nice change of pace.

As she double-checks the few puzzles and riddles, she hears the usual ding of the elevator. She hears more chatter than normal, then she remembers that Blanc will be bringing both Rom and Ram. She hopes that they would behave, since she doesn't believe that Dungeons and Dragons is something most children would find interesting.

"Now," says Blanc, "Rom, Ram, remember to behave, you two were curious what we're doing each week, so now you can watch."

The two of them nod. "Uh-huh!"

Noire continues after Blanc. "Just imagine that Histoire is telling us a story, and unlike most stories we can participate in it! If you can remember the times when Mina would tell you a story, sometimes you'd tell yourselves, why didn't they do this instead or maybe they should've tried that!"

"Yes! So many times!" says Ram.

"Then," continues Noire, "this should be fun for you two to listen to then."

"Do you think we can help?" asks Rom.

"We'd have to ask Lady Histoire if she wouldn't mind," says Vert.

"Okay!"

Histoire sees the 6 of them finish their conversation as they take their seats, while Rom and Ram get extra chairs to sit beside Blanc. They look at the table with curiosity, picking up some of the oddly shaped dice, such as the d10s and d12s. They inspect them looking at their numbers, slightly surprised and confused.

"What are these dice for? I've only really seen these kinds, the square ones with 6 sides and the dots," asks Ram to no one in particular.

"Miss Rom, Miss Ram, those dice are for playing the game. They're mostly used for dealing damage and healing."

"Damage and healing? So this," says Ram picking up the d20, "this would be doing a lot of it then, right? It has 20, and this is the biggest number here!"

"Well, that would depend. There are many rules, and the rules dictate which dice is used for doing damage."

"Eh? So there are rules even here?"

"Yes, Miss Ram. Every game has rules, and these are the rules for the game we're playing," says Histoire pointing at the three books, Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide.

Rom's eyes widen. "W-wow! So you've memorized all the books? That's so cool big sister!"

Rom and Ram look at Blanc in complete awe. Blanc's eyes dart between her sisters and Histoire, hoping for an answer. Histoire cleared her throat, grabbing their attention.

"Miss Rom, Miss Ram, there are some books here that your big sister, or the others aren't allowed to read. I believe, um... Miss Blanc, have you ever let them play an RPG?"

"I think they've played Paper Maryo... have you two? I know I've allowed it."

"Um, yes, Miss Mina helped us when we were having some trouble!"

Histoire nods. "Okay, so you know how there are enemies there right? And you don't know how strong or what kind of attacks they have, it's like that. The books that they're not allowed to read have that information."

"I think... we get it... um, Miss Histoire... do you think we can play?"

"Um..."

Histoire knows that character creation would take too much time, but it would feel unfair if she just says they can join in the conversation. She holds up a finger, telling them wordlessly to give her a minute or two, while she opens the Monster Manual. She quickly flips to the appendix and looks for small creatures that can accompany the party, a small flying creature that can instinctively hide sounds like a good set of characteristics to have. She spots the pixies and sees that they have natural invisibility, which is good, and they're natural born tricksters, which is appropriate for them, she'll conjure the stat blocks appropriate for a Level 1 pixie, which means they have a small amount of health, and they'll most likely prefer staying with their big sister.

"Miss Blanc, would you mind them joining you as pixies?"

"Um, as long as they behave, I don't think it would be a problem, but not sure about the others."

There are no objections from Neptune, Noire, or Vert. Histoire conjures the character sheets for Rom and Ram, she preemptively filled it with average stats fitting with the pixie race. The two of them excitedly accept and look at their sheets.

"Neptune, Miss Blanc, Miss Noire, Miss Vert, I'll take some time to quickly explain in the simplest terms to Miss Rom and Miss Ram, you may go ahead and grab some snacks now."

"Um, I think we're okay staying here while you explain, Histy."

"If you're all quite sure, that's fine too."

The four of them stay in their seats as Histoire explains the basics of the game to Rom and Ram. She tells the two about the usage of dice, which excites the two of them and the things they can do. It boils down to Histoire explaining that all they need to do is tell her if they want to do something and she'll say if they need to roll something or if it's not allowed. The twins whisper something to Histoire, and she nods with a shrug. The rest of the table raise an eyebrow in response.

"Okay, let's begin the session then, we've spent a good chunk of time already with just this, but I don't think that's an issue. Where did we leave off last time?"

Vert rubs her chin. "I believe we were on our way back to Keydento."

"Alright. On the way to Keydento, Blunga suddenly finds herself tripping. Please roll a reflex save."

"W-what?!" Blanc rolls her d20. "I got a 9, for a total of 10."

"With that 10, Blunga easily gets her footing back. She also feels a slight weight on both her shoulders and the giggles of child-like glee."

"What's going on?"

"Miss Rom, Miss Ram, your characters have unsuccessfully played a prank on Miss Blanc's character, Blunga."

"Aw!" says Ram, slightly dejected.

"What are you two doing!?" says Blanc angrily.

"The rest of the party see that Blunga has almost tripped, but has kept her balance," states Histoire. "They also hear the giggles."

Histoire worries to herself, that this could cause unnecessary problems, knowing Blanc's temper, but perhaps she wouldn't explode, much. She mentally sighs and prepares herself for the results.

"Sorry, big sister, we just wanted to try out if we really can do anything here," says Rom, apologizing.

Blanc's eyebrows and mouth relaxes as she goes back to her usual demeanor. "Just don't do it again, or try not to overdo it."

"Okay!" says Rom.

Ram then says, in a voice unlike her usual voice, "It seems you have pretty good reflexes there! We've come to like you and we'll be with you for a while!"

The rest of the table look at Ram as if she grew a second head. Vert breaks the silence first. "It seems Ram is enjoying the roleplay part of RPG... that's good."

"Well, that's what you hear from the voices, Miss Blanc. It sounds like you are quite liked."

"Do I even see where the voices are coming from?"

"No, you don't, but you can tell it's coming from your shoulders."

"I try to swat whatever is there."

"Um... I don't think an attack roll is necessary... it's quite difficult to hit what you don't see."

Ram laughs. "Good try, but we aren't that easy to hit!"

Rom looks around at the table, her eyes darting back and forth in this seemingly odd situation. "Um, doesn't big sister know that, that's us on her shoulders?"

"Miss Rom, that's called out-of-character knowledge. In-character, they only know what their character has seen. For example, in a TV show, you know who the villain is because the show usually shows you, right? But the protagonist usually doesn't know."

"Uh-huh... I think I'm getting it... but, is the opposite true as well?"

"Yes, there are things your character would know, but you don't."

"Um, but, how does that work?"

"That responsibility would fall on me, if there's any knowledge that your character would know that's beneficial at the moment, I will tell you."

"So, is there anything we know right now about what we're doing?"

"Let's see, as pixies, the two of you are merry pranksters but means no harm. You've both seen this group, which is to say, Blunga, Albedo, Sir Puddington, and Burt, travel to and fro the forest and fight great monsters that have been making a mess of the forest you two live in, but you don't know if they're doing this for money or just for the sake of a good deed. Pixies dislike misers on principle."

Histoire knows that this really wasn't the case and that she's simply adding in details that can easily work well. She wonders now, if the twins would continue playing, and if it would ever end up that even the other candidates would join in. A table of 8 sounds like a nightmare to balance. She shakes her head slightly, and returns to Rom and Ram getting in to roleplaying their characters.

"Ho, ho!" laughs Ram haughtily. "We've been watching the 4 of you go back and forth our forest, defeating those monsters making a mess!"

"Uh-huh! We have! And now, we wonder..."

"What do you wonder?" asks Vert.

Rom continues, "Do you do it for promises of gold and treasure? Or are you simply doing this for pleasure? Don't answer! We'll be sticking with you to find out!"

"Okay so, Pixie Rom and Ram will stay with the group, is that right Miss Rom?"

"Yes! We'll be staying on big sister's shoulders."

"Okay, the two of you are still invisible, and Miss Blanc, you still feel the weight on your shoulders."

Blanc grumbles a bit. "I take it I don't see whatever it is on my shoulders? Well, Blunga will say, 'Show yourselves! How can we even trust something that we can't see!' I'll say that while looking at my shoulders."

Rom looks a bit confused. "Um, what now Miss Histoire?"

"Well, would you like to show yourselves to Blunga? Or stay invisible?"

"I'll show myself! What do I look like?"

"Well, we can say, for simplicity's sake, let's say they look very similar to you two? Rom's pixie would have short brown hair, a blue cap, and blue overalls."

Ram responds immediately, "I'll show myself too, and have it look like myself!"

"Alright, Miss Ram. The two of you dispel your invisibility, and show yourselves to Blunga. Miss Blanc, you see two small humanoid creatures appear on your shoulders, actually, everyone else also sees the two of them materialize on Blunga's shoulders."

Neptune rolls a d20. "What does Sir Puddington know about these strange humanoid creatures? Bardic knowledge."

Rom reads out the results. "8. What does that mean, Miss Histoire? 8 what?"

"She got an 8 for Bardic Knowledge. Remember when I said you would need to roll dice? This is part of it, when your character has to do something like trying to remember or recall things, you would need to roll a d20 and tell me the results, then I would tell you if it succeeded or not, and proceed from there."

Neptune nods. "That's right Rom, also I have a +5 modifier to my Bardic Knowledge. 3 from my Bard Level, and 2 from my Intelligence Score. So my result is 13. What do I get from that?"

"Neptune, with that 13, Sir Puddington knows about pixies from various stories told around. He knows that pixies are mischievous creatures, that detest misers. They enjoy playing tricks on unsuspecting people, and would reward those they like."

"I'll tell the group that."

"Oh!" exclaims Noire, "So I guess it won't be a big problem if they hang around, but it could impede us slightly. I guess if they stayed invisible, it should be fine..."

Ram responds immmediately. "We'll go invisible again Miss Histoire!"

"The two pixies on your shoulders vanish, but you still feel them on your shoulders Miss Blanc."

Blanc takes a deep breath. "I feel like tonight's going to be a long session, are you two ready for that?"

Rom and Ram nods, their hands balled into fists. "Yes, we are!"

Blanc exhales as deep as her breath. "I think we might need to go on a quick break right now so I can prepare for this... I didn't think they'd join. Would that be alright, Lady Histoire?"

"That would be fine with me, I can use this time to teach give samples to Miss Rom and Ram, so it doesn't interfere directly with the game."

"Sounds good Histy!" says Neptune, standing up, along with Noire, Vert, and Blanc.

"Rom," says Vert, "and Ram, do you want me to get you a drink?"

Rom replies, "Um, maybe some chocolate milk?"

"Same here!" adds in Ram.

Vert smiles sweetly. "Alright, I'll get some chocolate milk for you two."

"Oy Vert, don't try to take my sisters from me again..."

"My, my, what gave you that idea?"

The two continue to bicker as they entered the kitchen, with Noire and Neptune shrugging and giggling as they follow. Histoire stays with the twins, and continues to explain to them the intricacies of the game, giving more concrete examples, and letting them try it out without affecting the game.

Chapter Text

Rom takes a deep breath and sighs as deep. "This is a lot to take in, Miss Histoire. So does big sister and the other know all of these rules?"

"Yes, but, they don't really think about the rules when they're using it. It becomes second nature to them especially after a few weeks of playing. When there are things we're unsure of, we all discuss how to manage the situation."

Ram tilts her head. "But, aren't you the dungeon master, which means what you say goes?"

"Yes, that's true, but at the same time, if I do that frequently, it would feel unfair to everyone, especially if they had a strong argument to back it up. For example, what if Rom doesn't listen to you?"

"But," Rom quickly intercepts, "I wouldn't do that!"

Histoire pats Rom's head. "That's just an example Miss Rom, I know you're not the type to do that without reason. Do you two have other questions?"

Both Rom and Ram shake their heads. Histoire smiles at them as she closes the Player's Handbook. She looks around and sees the four goddesses return. Neptune enjoying a pudding cup, Blanc holding a tray of snacks, glasses of milk and cookies, Noire with a steaming mug, and Vert chuckling, holding her usual tea set. Rom and Ram happily greet their big sister, as she serves them the milk and cookies, which they happily nibble on.

Histoire clears her throat. "So, is everyone ready to begin once more?"

The rest of the table nod in unison, all the while they continue to eat and drink their snacks. Histoire conjures the town of Keydento, much to the amazement of Rom and Ram. They try to put their hands on the conjuration, but to no avail, their hands simply go through, and the image distorts slightly.

Noire perks up. "Oh, I was curious what would've happened if we did that, um, anyway! Please continue, Miss Histoire!"

"Thank you, Miss Noire. So, the two pixies relax on Blunga's shoulders, while the group continues to go to Keydento."

Vert tilts her head. "Do we get interrupted on our way to Keydento?"

Histoire thinks for a moment, and decides that she would like to get the party to the mines, and introduce them to the puzzles. She shakes her head, with a small smile. "No, Miss Vert, the party arrives to Keydento unimpeded. So, now the party is in the town. It looks like before, life in these parts don't change that much. There are still children playing, the sounds of a blacksmith working, and various people going about their day."

Ram raises her hand. "Oh! Miss Histoire, what are the children playing with?"

"Um," Histoire tries to rack her head if there would be such a thing as a ball in this setting. After a moment, she realizes that there would be toys made of leather, and it wouldn't be far-fetched to have one. "Yes, Miss Ram, the children are running around, throwing a small leather ball to one another."

"I'll make it invisible!"

"Uh... you would need to be able to touch the ball."

"I'll grab unto it while they tossed it!"

"That would require a check, because that's not a completely easy thing to do."

"Okay! Um, what kind of check do you need me to make?"

Histoire checks and realizes her mistake, pixies naturally have a ridiculously high modifier for dexterity-based checks. She feels she's reading this incorrectly, but it clearly says they have a +8 bonus to Dexterity, which would mean they have a natural +4 modifier to every dexterity check, not counting skills.

"Miss Ram, um, for your situation that you want to touch a leather ball being tossed... Just make a regular dexterity check."

"Okay!"

Ram excitedly rolls the d20 on the table, and sees the result land on 13. "I got 13! Do I have modifiers for this?"

"Um, 4, so your roll is 17. And with that, Ram the pixie has successfully touched the leather ball, and it is now invisible. The children are suddenly wondering where their toy has gone."

"Ram!" blurts out Rom, "Why did you do that?"

Histoire continues, "One of the children, a little girl in particular started to tear up, saying 'Papa worked hard to buy us the ball... now it's gone...' and now she's sobbing, and a boy, that looks to be her age, who was about to catch the ball, runs up to her and tries to calm her down."

Ram looks surprised at the sudden consequence of her action and looks around the table as if the answer to her problem is hiding in plain sight. She looks at Rom, waiting for an answer. Rom replies with silence.

Ram sighs, "Um, I'll dispel the invisibility... and place it beside the children..."

"Okay Miss Ram, you'll place the ball beside the kids, and make it visible again, is there anything else you'd like to do?"

"Um... I'll apologize, but stay hidden..."

"Okay, the ball appears beside the kids, and they hear a voice that apologizes to them. Both children hear the apology, but they've noticed the ball first. The boy says, 'Look! There it is! Maybe the sun was just playing tricks on our eyes! Let's play again!' He helps the girl up and picks up the ball, ready to play with her once more."

Ram looks a bit distressed, but slowly calms down. "Um, so, let's move on."

Histoire nods knowingly. "Alright, the party proceeds to Albrecht's home. He welcomes the party, 'Welcome, friends, what is the purpose of your visit?', he then motions to seats by the table."

"Sir Puddington will take a seat."

The rest of the table repeat the notion.

Noire clears her throat. "Albedo will say, 'We're here to further investigate the mines. Sir Puddington, would you please give him the letter?"

"Letter? Oh, right! Ahem, 'Here you go!', then I give him the letter from the mayor."

"Albrecht takes the parchment, and reads it with a nod. He then says, 'So there is something deeper within the mines? I'll get one of my men to lead you to the site this letter describes. After that you will all be on your own. They'll make a trail so you can follow it out when you're all done there.' He then rolls up the parchment and stows it away."

Vert looks around the table. "I believe we're all ready."

Everyone else nods in unison.

"Okay, Albrecht stands up and asks everyone to wait for a bit. A few minutes later, he returns with a miner. He introduces the party to Hendrick. Hendrick greets everyone and says, 'He tells me that I would need to lead the four of you into a certain section of the mine. Let's all head out there.' He motions to follow him."

The rest of the table nod in confirmation, with Vert voicing out a comment. "It seems that since they're non-chalantly letting us through, that means there isn't a threat there that would hurt a regular person. So Neptune's idea worked out really well."

Neptune grins in victory, as Histoire continues to describe the scenario. "Hendrick leads the group into the mines, and as he does he uses a metal rod to make a trail on the ground. After a while, Hendrick eventually halts to a stop. This section of the mines aren't as... lived in, as the entrance. There are no tracks or signs of people who have worked here. He then says, 'End of the line, heh. This is where we part ways, this is where I was instructed to lead you all. Beyond this, we don't know what's here. I've made a trail back to the entrance of the mine if you suddenly find yourselves needing to head back. Good luck out there.' He waves, and starts to leave."

"Albedo will thank him, and then we'll proceed from here. Lady Histoire, how dark is it here?"

"There are still remnants of the light sources from behind, so it's not pitch dark, but it will get there in a few feet."

"I'll open a torch then."

"Alright, Albedo has lit a torch. And now, it is no longer as dark. The party sees a continuous path which ends in a wall."

Vert smirks slightly. "Well, every gamer knows that a wall like this needs to be investigated. What roll would I need to do that Lady Histoire?"

"I believe a search check would be sufficient."

Neptune perks up. "Oh! I have a plus 2 for my search, what about you guys?"

The rest read their own sheets and grimace slightly, whilst shaking their heads in slight dismay. Neptune rolls her d20 in hopes of getting a good result.

"Oh! A 16! Now with my modifier, it's 18. Did I find something here Histy?"

"Ah, yes, Sir Puddington was able to dust off the wall, and he finds writing. It's written in Common, and it says, 'What walks with 4 legs in the morning, 2 in the noon, and 3 in the evening?' Attempting to dust off more of the wall produces no further discoveries."

"Lady Histoire, Burt would use Detect Magic. And here is my spellcraft roll to see if I can find out what school of magic it is, if there is any."

The d20 lands on 2, much to Vert's chagrin.

"...I suppose I won't be finding out what kind of magic it is, but at the very least we'll know if there is any. So, Lady Histoire, is there any?"

"Yes, Miss Vert. Burt definitely detects magic within the area."

"So, I'm thinking that if we correctly answer this ... question that it poses, we'll be able to get through, what I'm curious of is what would happen if we answer wrongly..."

Neptune raises her hand. "Histy, do we just roll intelligence here and see if we get a high enough roll?"

"No, Neptune, there's no rolling here, you would need to answer it on your own, and no, looking for hints and such on the Internep would ruin the point."

"Aw, but you're right. Now, let's see..."

Blanc claps her hands together suddenly. "Ah, I think I got it. Morning, Noon and Evening, doesn't necessarily mean literally, morning, noon, and evening. The answer is a person. Morning, would be when they are born, the beginning, they would be a baby, crawling, on four, quote-unquote legs. At noon, the middle of life, they would be walking upright, on two legs. As for evening, near the end, is when they would mostly use a cane to support themselves in walking. So, Blunga will say, 'A person.' Then ready herself for anything that would happen."

Rom and Ram look quite pleased after hearing their big sister. "Oooh! That's our big sister for ya!" says Ram.

"Miss Blanc, with that answer from Burt, the whole group hears and feels rumbling. It's only mild rumbling, and they see a gap on the wall where the writing was, slowly grow in size and light is pouring out of it."

"Ah! Histy, does something suddenly come out?!"

"No. The only thing that comes out is light. Eventually the wall opens and the group sees a room, the floor tiled with white blocks, and illuminated by crystals, floating by the walls. There is another door by the north end of this room, and beside it is a large humanoid shaped stone."

"Lady Histoire," begins Vert, "is that all there is in the room? Crystals illuminating, a door by the end, and a large humanoid shaped thing? Um, is the place clean?"

"Uh... in comparison to the rest of the mines ... yes. It's not as dusty and dirty."

"Hm, okay. Well, Burt will be cautious, but, we're here, I'll move forward towards the door."

"As Burt moves towards the door, the large figure suddenly moves and blocks the way. Two red lights begin to glow where its head is, like eyes. The group hears a voice, that bellows out, 'HALT. CURRENT LIFEFORM COUNT ... SIX. UNRECOGNIZED LIFEFORMS. ANSWER QUANDARY FOR ENTRY. PROCEED?' The voice stops there."

"Oh my. Six? So it was able to detect both Rom and Ram's pixies... now I'm guessing it will ask us more ... riddles... or quandaries. Burt will reply with, 'Yes. Proceed.' And then, wait for its response."

Neptune claps her hands to her face. "Wait! That means we're going to be solving puzzles this whole time, instead of doing combat?!"

Noire chuckles. "That seems to be the case. It's nice to have a different experience, it would be a bit repetitive if every encounter became combat."

"So Neptune," Blanc continues, "you're not saying that you can't use your noggin' to solve some problems, right?"

"O-of course I'm smart enough! Bring on the riddles!"

"The voice continues, 'QUANDARY LOADED. SCENARIO: A LARGE RIVER, DIVIDING TWO LAND MASSES, LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE. LEFT SIDE, CONTAINS SIX LIFEFORMS. THREE CARNIVORES, AND THREE HERBIVORES. RIGHT SIDE, CONTAINS NOTHING. RIVER, CONTAINS ONE RAFT CAPABLE OF CARRYING TWO LIFEFORMS, CURRENTLY DOCKED ON LEFT SIDE. ISSUE INSTRUCTIONS TO SAFELY TRANSPORT ALL SIX LIFEFORMS ACROSS RIVER TO RIGHT SIDE. CARNIVORES MAY NOT OUTNUMBER HERBIVORES AT ANY TIME.' The voice then falls silent."

Rom raises her hand, "Um, Miss Histoire... what are carnivores and herbivores?"

"Oh, carnivores would be... something like lions, they only eat meat. Herbivores would be something like, sheep, or cows. They only eat plants. So, carnivores, or lions in this case would attack the sheep, but in this case would only do so if they outnumber the sheep. So if there are only 2 sheep and 3 of them, they would eat the sheep. Any more questions Miss Rom?"

"No, I think I get it! So we just need to figure out how to properly get from one side or the other right?"

Histoire nods, while the others are already trying to figure out how to solve the puzzle. Neptune is gritting her teeth, along with Noire, while Blanc and Vert are giving out ideas then finding out it doesn't work. They've brought out pencils and paper. Ram is helping out her big sister and Rom joins in after asking Histoire to clarify what those terms she wasn't sure with meant.

"Uh, Histy, this might take us a while, maybe you should take a break while we think about this?"

"Okay, Neptune, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Chapter Text

Histoire makes sure to bring her notes with her as she leaves the table to get herself something to drink, while the rest of the table solve the puzzle. It's a relatively simple puzzle, made easier since they don't have a time limit for it. She hopes that this would change the current flow of the game from full on combat to something else for a while. As she does, she prepares herself some tea. The refreshing scent of tea enters her nose and lets Histoire relax for a bit. Although, she finds that this relaxation is short lived as she hears the cries of Neptune back at the table.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhh! What even is this? Can't the lions just SWIM? And why do we need to have all 6 of them to the other side!? Just bring the sheep in or something!" laments Neptune, as she pulls her hair.

Histoire sighs as she sips on her tea in the kitchen. "Well, this was the expected reaction I would have Neptune to have over this puzzle," she says to herself. "I'm sure the others would have a better experience with it." She finishes off her tea, and cleans her cup before returning to the table, where currently sheaves of paper are scattered about, with big red crosses on majority of them, all in Neptune's handwriting. Neptune is currently resting her face on the table, both her hands on the back of her head.

Vert looks up and sees Histoire returning. "Ah, Lady Histoire, welcome back. As you can see we're still discussing the solutions here. Neptune is attempting a brute force method... we're trying to see perhaps there's a method to the madness. Although, she is going through paper at an astonishing rate. I'm sure we should have a solution right now."

Noire takes one of the papers and looks at the crossed out solution. She sighs. "Neptune! Make sure to atleast use the whole sheet of paper and not just use one part and toss it out!" She shows the back of the paper, completely blank.

Neptune looks up from her current attempt at an answer. "S-sorry Noire! Just seeing my old solutions even at the back... might distract me!"

Blanc slumps with a sigh upon hearing Neptune's reasoning. "Neptune... never say something like that ever again. How are you even the goddess of anything, I'd like to know..."

Vert takes a deep breath and sighs just as deep. "Let me just grab one of her sheets, I thought Neptune would have this by now, but apparently not." She takes a sheet, a pencil and begins to write down possible solutions. Meanwhile, Rom and Ram watch their big sister try to do the same as Vert. Neatly writing down possible solutions and crossing them out. They both try to suggest solutions, but find that Blanc has the same solutions as them.

"Vert," says Noire, "I think I'm almost getting it, but..."

"But? Here let me see that," Vert looks at Noire's proposed answer. "Oh! Interesting... I think if we do this..."

Histoire looks at the whole table going through the riddle and checks to see how long they've been at this. Her timepiece indicates that it's been half an hour. She looks at Vert and Noire, working together, gradually getting excited as they keep scribbling on the paper they're writing on.

"Lady Histoire! We got it!" proclaims both Vert and Noire, showing the piece of paper with all lions and sheep at the other side.

Histoire smiles. "Oh? Have you? Then please, for the answer to be properly accepted, tell me step-by-step, starting from the beginning."

Noire looks down, doing a final check, before looking back up to Histoire. "Gladly, Lady Histoire. Okay, first all of them are on the left side. First we'll be sending 2 of the lions to the right side, after that, we send one back, then we send two more lions to the right, so now all the lions are on the right, and all the sheep are on the left, and the boat or raft is on the right. One lion returns to the left, and two sheep go to the right, afterwards, one lion and one sheep return to the left, so now there are two sheep and two lions on the left, and one of each on the right. Now, just transfer two sheep from the left to the right. Now there are three sheep and one lion on the right, and 2 lions on the left, with the raft on the right side. All that's left is to ferry the remaining lions to the right, and that job will be done by the lion on the right, at this point it's just moving the lions, there's no more danger remaining."

Histoire claps. "Congratulations Miss Noire and Miss Vert. You got the solution. Now, let's continue. Neptune, clean up the sheets of paper you've used, okay?"

Neptune nods and hangs her head. "Sure Histy..." She starts picking up the pieces of paper and stacks them up in a neat pile. "I'll listen don't worry, go on ahead."

"Alright Neptune. Ahem, so Albedo and Burt relay their answer to the golem. Its eyes shine as it listens to the answer. After a while, the eyes dim and it begins to vibrate. Then it says, 'ANSWER ACCEPTABLE.', then it walks to the side, no longer blocking the door."

Vert looks excited, but quells it quickly, keeping herself on guard. "Okay, Burt will cautiously go towards the doorway, what does the golem do?"

"Nothing. It stays still like a statue. Burt is already at the doorway and slightly beyond it, but the golem continues to be still."

"Then Burt will go through the door. What does she see?"

"Burt sees what can easily be described as an alchemical facility, filled with different glass containers, tubes, and what not, but it all looks abandoned. There are various cupboards, and drawers all around, and the rather large room is lit with floating spheres, which are on fire."

Neptune's eyes pop up slightly. "Wait, on fire? I want Sir Puddington to check it out then."

"Um, okay. So Sir Puddington enters and sees the same things that Burt saw. He takes notice of the fire and checks it closely. He notices that the fire does not feel warm."

"Oh! So they're just there as light fixtures. Okay. Alright, what about the cupboards, what's inside them?"

"Sir Puddington opens the cupboard, only to find out that he cannot. Try as he might, the doors are stuck in place. As he struggles to open it, he notices a small indentation just beside the handle. Placing a finger or a thumb on that indentation produces a small 3-by-3 grid that has green lights and red lights."

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" screams out Neptune. "Don't tell me I have to figure that out personally! Pleaseee Histyyyy!"

"C-calm down Neptune. You won't need to figure it out personally. It'll be difficult for me to make a Lights Out puzzle. Go ahead and roll an Intelligence check."

"Yay!" Neptune's demeanor quickly changes as she rolls her d20 out, which promptly lands on 11. "I got 13! Is that enough Histy?"

"Yes, that's enough. Sir Puddington taps on the lights, realizes what needs to be done, and solves it in a minute or so. Upon turning all the lights to green, there is a small click, and the cupboard opens. Inside are books and bowls filled with gems of different colors. What do you want to do with that?"

Blanc clears her throat. "Lady Histoire, don't mean to intrude, but I'll just say that Blunga and Albedo followed Sir Puddington."

"Oh, yes, that's right Miss Blanc. The rest of the group follows into the room. They see Sir Puddington pressing on a cupboard and him opening it. For now, let's hear what Neptune will do upon seeing the books and bowls."

"Uh, Sir Puddington will... um, the gems, so they're different colors, which means maybe they have different effects if touched. I don't want to touch them, so I'll check the books! What can I skim from this Histy?"

Histoire goes through her notes and reads through her relatively easy list of gems and their effects. She decided simplicity would be the best solution, and went through colors and different theories on them, which in turn actually worked out very well, since the first gem she handed out was red, which made things extremely aggressive, and red being a color most animals, or beasts would pick out first in a green environment such as a forest. It really eerily sounds like she's using something she probably saw before about different characters using rings of different colors, but she shakes off that feeling.

"Going through the books, Sir Puddington notes that there are 9 gemstone colors mentioned in the book. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Black, and White, and each of the colors are experimentation logs on their effects. Most of the book seems to be written in a simple cypher, so I would need you to roll another Intellect check for Sir Puddington, Neptune."

"Uh... okay... 18! Adding in my modifier, for a total of 20!"

"Well, with that 20, Sir Puddington was able to properly discern the cypher used in the book describing each color of a gemstone. The book says, for red gemstones, physical form of test subjects found to be changed dramatically. Bodies have grown twice to triple in size, physical prowess increased equal to size. Test subjects found to attack one another, including the control group. Tests halted to reduce damage. Autopsy of test subjects found amygdala to be overstimulated and effectively destroyed. Receptors for both serotonin and dopamine in a similar state."

"Um, Miss Histoire," says Rom suddenly, "what's... ah-meeg-dah-lah, se-roh-toh-neen and that ... other one."

"Oh, um, to put it simply Miss Rom, for the last two, it's chemicals in the brain that makes us feel happy. For example, when we're hungry then we eat, our brains make the dopamine and our intestines get the serotonin... um, this may get a bit complicated, but just know they're things that generally give us feelings of happiness. For the amygdala, it's a part of our brain that controls our emotions."

"So Histy, what you're saying is, the red gem, makes the user extremely aggressive, but it makes them extremely happy? At the same time it transforms them to those things we fought?"

"Yes, that's right. I can keep explaining the rest as how I did the red gem, but would you like me to just condense it all quickly? It's a bit immersion breaking doing so, but it may keep information which is important easier to digest."

"I'd say keep it how you're doing it Histy, it feels like we'll remember it better in the long run."

"Okay. Going through the notes, it says, orange gemstones, no massive physical changes to note, but test subjects found to be consistently taking food from control subjects. Both subject groups are given the same amount of food, although test subjects have also been recorded taking from other test subjects. Instances of hoarding food found unlike in control group. Test subjects are also found to be more active, unable to seemingly stay still. Length of sleep between both groups show that test group is sleeping for significantly less. Perhaps theft of food is connected to less sleep? More tests required."

They all collectively tilts their head and crosses their arms. Histoire feels a bit worried, was her explanation a bit too esoteric for the group? Her intent was to show that the ones subjected to the orange gemstone became hyperactive and suddenly became subject to greed. She looks around to see if someone has gotten it, or not. She decides that perhaps after hearing all of the descriptions they can put it all together, especially since they don't have the full picture and only she does.

"Moving on, Sir Puddington checks the notes regarding the yellow gemstones. Test subjects found to scatter from one other and even from their food source. Control group does not display the same reactions. Further observation shows that heart rate and breathing of test subjects are incredibly high and no external stimulus is present aside from yellow gemstone in the vicinity. Test subjects would frequently attempt to hide. Correlation between distance of gemstone and test subject's heart rate and breathing highly possible. Test subjects expired after extreme undernourishment as subjects refused to approach food. Autopsy of test subjects show the amygdala to be stimulated."

"What, were they afraid of food?" scoffs Neptune. "Who hides because of food?" She chuckles after Histoire describes the yellow gemstone.

"Then, will you eat your eggplants now, Neptune?" asks Histoire.

Neptune immediately hides behind her own seat. "N-n-no! You can't make me!"

The rest of the table chuckles a bit as Histoire sighs. "Exactly. Either way, moving on, Sir Puddington continues to read the green gemstone section. It says, no major physical changes found in test subjects. Test subjects would frequently handle gemstone, and nothing else. Test subjects would not socialize with other test subjects even those within vicinity, and refuses to participate in any other activity. Test subjects expired after refusal to eat. Autopsy results show overstimulated dopamine receptors."

They continue to nod their heads. Histoire is unsure whether they understand or not, but perhaps after she continues to describe the rest of the colors, they would be able to make a connection to what this all means. She takes a deep breath and hopes for the best.

"Is everyone still alright? If so, next one is the blue gemstone. It reads, no initial difference found between both test subjects and control group after time has passed. Physical trauma administered to both groups, both groups survive. Control group expires shortly after seemingly accepting the condition, while test group continues to thrive amidst current conditions. Further observation of test subjects indicate symptoms associated with rabid lifeforms before expiration. Autopsy reveals heavily deteriorated brain functionality, unrelated to physical trauma administered. Results similar to those with affliction."

"Who..." says Rom out of the blue, "who is this person who recorded all these bad things?! These gemstones are bad!"

"You may found out soon, Miss Rom. For now, Sir Puddington continues to peruse the effects of the Indigo gemstone. It says, no initial difference between groups. Difference arises after initial application of physical trauma. Control group audibly reacts to application whilst test group seemingly does not react, in addition, control group would seemingly ignore the subject, whilst the test group would actively attempt to assist. Results repeat consistently."

"This almost sounds like the first ... positive effect we've seen..." says Vert. "What other colors are there remaining, Lady Histoire?"

"Oh, the remaining colors are Violet, Black, and White. Speaking of, the violet entry states, a strange social behavior immediately made apparent in the test group. Test subjects found to be pairing with one another in their living quarters. Attempting to separate subjects from one another results in both getting affected by extreme lethargy. Further testing produces no other results."

"Wow!" exclaims Neptune. "Sounds like the perfect gem to increase Lily Points with!"

Histoire continues. "Sir Puddington reads out the two final entries, and they're strangely short in comparison to the other entries. Black Gemstone entry states, test subjects expired immediately. Cellular death occurred on entire subject. Afterwards, the White Gemstone entry is below it. It states, found no effects on living test subjects. Reanimation occurs on expired test subjects. Test subjects retain previous memories of expiration. And the pages afterwards are all blank."

Noire puts a hand on her chin. "I guess we should figure out what each of the gemstones mean, huh? We know what red does, we've seen it, but some of these gemstones are really dangerous... Lady Histoire, what colors do we see in the bowl?"

"The group sees all the colors, except black and white."

"Hm... this might take us some time to think about... do you think we should report about the gemstones?"

Neptune shrugs. "Of course we should, but, we need to know exactly first what they all do, we could just give the book, but these sound unbelievable so we should bring samples of the gemstones."

"Yes," adds Vert, "if we just handle the gemstones without first figuring out what they do, it would be dangerous. Lady Histoire, give us some time to think about the gemstones, please."

Histoire's eyebrows rise up a bit. She planned on giving them the actual effects, but it seems they've gotten quite into trying to figure out what the gemstone effects are before handling them. Looking around, she sees that Rom and Ram seem to be falling asleep, not too surprising as it's quite late at night.

"I believe we can end our session here, Miss Rom and Miss Ram are falling asleep, I can write down the details I've said about the gemstones, and you may think about them for our next session."

Blanc looks at her two sisters. "Ah, sorry about that, Lady Histoire."

"It's no problem, Miss Blanc. It does seem they've enjoyed spending time with you. Will you bring them again next week?"

"I'll talk to them about it, but I think I would. Have a good night everyone."

The rest of the table stand up, Vert lifts up Rom and cradles her in her arms, making Blanc give her a look.

"Nothing wrong with me helping you out in carrying your sisters, is there?"

Blanc sighs. "No, I guess there isn't. Thanks."

Author's note: Any scientific jargon used in this chapter is to be taken with a grain of salt.

Chapter Text

"Histy! I got it! I finally got it!" says Neptune excitedly.

Histoire floats towards the source of the voice. "Huh? What did you get Neptune?" She sees Neptune looking up at her, with her hands balled into fists, shaking up and down in excitement. Histoire is taken aback when she sees Neptune's face, dark circles under her eyes and what looks to be a slight slip towards insanity. She gets even more worried upon spotting the corkboard covered in paper and interconnecting, multi-colored strings, behind Neptune.

"Neptune, are you ... okay?"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm okay, I've finally got it," she replies with a slight unnerving chuckle. "And just in time before our game this week!"

Histoire tries to recall what has happened in the previous week after they finished playing the game, and checks to see if Neptune has ignored her actual goddess duties to work on the question she left for the players. She doesn't recall Neptune slacking off, more than normal, at the very least, and judging from the bags under her eyes, she must have sacrificed sleep for this, and while it does make her happy that Neptune is getting very immersed into the game and story that she's telling, it makes her feel uncomfortable to see Neptune sacrificing her well-being for it.

"I finally got what the colors mean, I'll tell everyone what I've found out when we start the game."

"Um, okay, Neptune. How about you take a nap before the game? We wouldn't want you to fall asleep suddenly."

"What are you talking about Histy? I'm feeling great!" she says as an empty bottle of Nepbull rolls across the floor. Histoire responds by looking at Neptune with a grimace and a sigh.

"You're taking a nap, no ifs or buts about it."

"Noooo~! Histy I don't want to miss the game, I might oversleep!"

"I'll wake you up when it's time for the game. Now go to bed."

Histoire escorts Neptune to her bedroom and makes sure she's on the bed before leaving. Leaving Neptune to sleep, Histoire returns to the room where Neptune was busy with that corkboard. She looks at the overall scene and can't help but be taken aback on how ridiculous it looked. Placing a hand on her chin, she takes a deep breath and re-thinks the information she left the players with to mull over.

"Was it perhaps too difficult? Or maybe this is just a Neptune-thing," she says to herself.

"Um, Histoire?"

"Huh?" Histoire looks around to see the source of the voice. She sees that it's Nepgear, fidgeting slightly. "Hello, Miss Nepgear, is something the matter?"

"Oh, just, big sister, I saw her sleeping. I don't think I've seen her take a nap for a while now. What happened?"

"Ah, that. Well, you know we play a game each week with the other goddesses, right? It seems that she got a bit too engrossed with the puzzle, well if you can even call it that, I suppose you can call it a cliffhanger in some way, anyway, we basically ended the session with some unknown information. I've given them a journal of sorts that details the effects of each thing, it's vague enough that it takes a bit of thinking on what it does, and I've worded it like a scientific paper... at least as best as I could."

"Oh, I see... do you think you can tell me what you've told them? It sounds interesting..."

"If you're sure, I don't think that's a problem, although I won't tell you if you're right or not, is that okay, Nepgear?"

"Mmm, that's a bit of a tease Miss Histoire... but okay, how about you tell me if I was right but after they've finished their game, instead?"

"I suppose that wouldn't be a problem... okay, let's go to the table and I'll tell you about it."

Nepgear nods and follows Histoire to the table where they usually play. Nepgear takes a seat, while Histoire goes to her usual spot, and looks through her notes to read out to Nepgear. Beginning from the red, Histoire describes all of them word by word including her intonation, just in case it could change things. Nepgear nods along, listening intently.

"And I believe that's all of it. So do you have an idea, Miss Nepgear?"

"Um, the black and white gemstones are easy enough to figure out, the black gemstone was observed to cause 'subject expiration' immediately, so it would be killing them immediately... while the white gemstone is resurrecting them. Although, I'm curious if the ones afflicted by the black gemstone would be resurrected by the white gemstone."

Histoire listens to Nepgear's thoughts, and while she has not mentioned whether the white gemstones would work on those affected by the black gemstones, it would be the same effect as a resurrection, so it would work.

"The other ones, I have some minor ideas for but... um, I want to think about it more Miss Histoire. Thank you for telling me, I'll see you later okay?" Nepgear stands up and walks off quickly.

"Wait, Nepgear! Not you too!" yells Histoire, but to no avail. "I really hope she doesn't repeat what Neptune did... well, it seems my little tangent with Nepgear has been a nice timesink, I should wake up Neptune as it's almost time for the others to arrive."

Histoire organizes her notes before floating off to Neptune to wake her up. She finds Neptune still sleeping comfortably, and while it feels bad to wake her up, Neptune would be more upset if she didn't. Sighing a bit, she shakes Neptune's shoulder.

"Neptune, time to wake up."

Neptune doesn't budge. Histoire sighs with a bit more exasperation. Nudging her harder isn't doing anything either.

"Neptune! You've missed the game already!"

"Waaah! Nooo! Histy why didn't you wake me sooner!?"

"Oh, good, you're awake now. Wash your face before the others get here."

"Huh? But didn't you ..."

"No, of course not. Neptune, you have a few minutes to make yourself presentable. Go on."

"...Oh! Okay! I'm picking up what you're putting down... thanks Histy!"

Neptune runs to the bathroom to wash up quickly, while Histoire returns to the table to take her seat once more. She finds herself doing nothing as she remembered that she has just recently organized her notes. Resting her head on her hands and closing her eyes, she hears the usual elevator tone indicating the goddesses' arrival but is slightly surprised as she hears bickering among them. The bickering stops as soon as the door opens, making her wonder if they've been speaking like that the whole ride up. She hears them take their seats and opens her eyes as they do.

"Um, hello everyone," greets Histoire, "how has everyone's week been?" She looks at them, and aside from Rom and Ram, all of them remind her of Neptune's fatigued face. Dark circles are seen below their eyes as they all look like they haven't had a wink of sleep. She debates with herself if she should make all of them take a nap like Neptune, or simply carry on with the game. She definitely did decide that she wouldn't be re-doing a puzzle or however this can be called again.

"I'm fine, thank you Lady Histoire, same week as usual."
"Same here."
"Uh-huh."

"...would you all please explain why you all have dark circles under your eyes?"

"Um, uh, my guild was struggling on this new raid released in 4GO, you know, well, you might not know, but in, Nyarlatep, the City of Wakening, we needed to finish up the last corrupted goddess of that raid so we can get our purified gear, so I can get my best-in-slot weapons, just spent a few too many nights progressing, last week, definitely."

Histoire does not look convinced, whatsoever. "Uh-huh, okay Miss Vert, what about you Miss Blanc?"

"...I was busy writing reports..."

Histoire nods. "And you Miss Noire?"

"...I was busy hanging out with friends!"

Vert and Blanc's eyes rolled in their sockets as they heard Noire's excuse. Histoire had to stifle a giggle, and after a moment, she coughs and dons a cool and collected face, which hides her inner thoughts. If the goddesses became this preoccupied, would this have dire ramifications for the countries? Is she inadvertently damaging the countries due to this game? Histoire looks at each of them, firstly Vert, and upon retrospect, she does frequently play her MMOs, yet her country continues to flourish, so that's not an issue, it's easy enough for her to simply exchange the time of her playing her games to this, even for just a week; afterwards is Noire, she's a known workaholic, surely her steadfast nature in working would have allotted her plenty of leeway, although her hobby is still very much unknown to Histoire; and lastly is Blanc, if she recalls correctly, Blanc's hobby is to write novels under a pen name and submit them to different groups or contests of aspiring writers, if she would simply use that time to partake in brainstorming for the conundrum that was left to them last week, that shouldn't be too big of an issue.

"..dy Histoire? Lady Histoire? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, my apologies. It seems I was a bit lost in my thoughts, Miss Noire. Anyway, is Neptune here now?"

As she says that, they hear Neptune humming to a tune reminiscent of a commercial for a giant pudding. She takes her seat and places a pudding cup in front of her before greeting everyone.

"Heya, everybody... woah! What happened to all of you?" Neptune sees the exact same haggard looking goddesses as Histoire did a while ago. Meanwhile, Neptune, thanks to Histoire, was able to take a nap and wash her face beforehand, masking her own tired look.

"Everyone," says Histoire, "it seems in our current situation we've all forgotten ourselves slightly. How about we all wash up first before we start the game?"

Noire blushes slightly. "You're right, I got a bit too immersed in the game, I kinda forgot to make myself presentable, be right back!" As soon as she stands up and leaves, both Vert and Blanc follow suit. Histoire looks at Neptune enjoying her pudding cup, who shrugs nonchalantly.

"Hey Histy, feels like we've been here for a while now since you've... um, caught me and made me take a nap. I guess we gotta wait for them to finish washing up. So what are we gonna do in the game today?"

"Well, from what you've all told me last time, you want to discuss what the effects of the gemstones are in relation to their colors."

"Uh-huh, I think that's right, and I know I'm right after spending all that time mulling it over! I definitely know which ones are which!"

"For your sake I hope you're right. So for now, let's wait."

"Mmhmm! I'm done with this pudding, just gonna toss this away."

"Alright Neptune."

Neptune gets up to throw away the empty pudding cup, while Histoire sighs. She has almost forgotten that Rom and Ram are at the table looking at her with curiosity. Both of them look quite awake, no dark circles under their eyes unlike their sister. This has at the very least made Histoire relax, albeit slightly.

"So, Miss Rom, Miss Ram, what about you two? How has your last week been?"

Both Rom and Ram began telling Histoire about their week, and the things they've learned while Mina Nishizawa was tutoring them. They list down the things that they've learned, and Histoire gets increasingly worried as the terms they've been taught were the terms she used last week. She knows they're smart kids, but these aren't the things they would be learning in the current curriculum.

"Um, did Miss Mina teach you those?"

"Yes! She did, although she was surprised when we asked her to teach us those!" says Rom.

"I... I see," says Histoire, growing uneasy.

"Lady Histoire, we're back, my golden hair is once again at its prime." Vert, Noire, Blanc, and Neptune take their respective seats.

"Oh! Welcome back, all of you. Now that we're all here, let's begin the session. Now, where did we ... um," she looks at them and all of them seem to be almost bursting in anticipation to say something. "Is there something you'd all like to say?"

"Yes!" blurts out Noire. "We were just at the room with the gemstones, and we're trying to figure out what each gemstone color did, before reporting it."

"And, I, Neptune, have totally figured it all out."

"Pfft. You? No way, it's me!"
"All my experience with figuring out game hints have prepared me for this moment!"
"Do you all even write books?"

It feels like an argument is about to start, so Histoire slams her hands on the table to grab their attention. Everyone stopped immediately, and Histoire cleared her throat.

"Okay. We already know what the red gemstone does, that leaves 8 unknown gems, there are six of you, Neptune, Miss Noire, Miss Vert, Miss Blanc, Miss Rom, and Miss Ram. So, let's all roll a d20 if you want it. If you're the only one who wants to explain the gemstone, then no matter your roll, you'll get it. But if all of you want it, the highest will get the chance to explain it, and to be fair, once you're done explaining a color, you can't explain another one, until everyone has explained at least once."

The goddesses nod their heads.

"Okay, for the orange gemstone..." says Histoire, feeling like she's managing an auction, and as she finishes the color name all of them aside from Rom and Ram roll their d20s immediately. Purple, Black, White and Green dice roll on the table and collide with each other. The purple die lands with a 15, the black die lands on 11, the green die on 1, and finally the white die shows 7.

Neptune pumps her fist in glee. The others don't look as pleased but acquiesced the results all the same. Neptune pulls out sheets of paper all stapled together and looks through them, looking for something using her finger to guide her. She presses on the paper, locating the section she needed. Clearing her throat, she reads out the section.

"So! For the orange gemstone, as Histy has told us, the test subjects don't have any obvious physical changes like the red gemstone, so everything has to have been a mental change, or a change within their bodies. Now it looks like they've been stealing food from the other group and even hoarding it, so looking at this, if they were given different amounts of food then it wouldn't be too strange, but, they were given the same amount, therefore it's reasonable to deduce that the gemstone has somehow triggered them to steal, or they've become greedy. They wanted more, I'm sure there's probably some excerpts there about the test group stealing from one another. Another thing, they've been getting less sleep, I think? I'm not too sure about that, but I know if I can't sleep I'm probably getting hyper, getting that adrenaline rush, too excited."

Histoire listened to her explanation, and realized an adrenaline rush would have been a good postmortem note to add. It's a bit too late to do that, but she's surprised Neptune has more or less got the orange gemstone correct. She has high hopes that the rest would have the correct assumptions to the other colors. She nods as Neptune looks at her, almost waiting for approval.

"Histy! Was I right?"

"Hm, let's wait for everyone else to say their ideas and then I'll say."

"Aw! Histy! Pleaaaseee!"

"Neptune!" Histoire yells out, making Neptune flinch back to her seat. "Ahem, now let's go for the yellow gemstone. Please roll for them."

5 dice roll down the table, and Histoire sees Neptune rolling again, which landed on 5 before Histoire picks it up and returns it to Neptune.

"S-sorry..."

The four remaining dice were the black, white, green, and light blue. It seems Miss Rom wants to try her hand. She wishes Miss Rom the best of luck. The dice stop on the table and in the same order as she looked at the dice, were the results, 11, 14, 19, and then 20. The fact that the dice landed in an ascending order and with 20 being Miss Rom's result sounds like a well crafted story falling perfectly into place. Truly, reality is stranger than fiction.

Rom looks at her result, and seeing that 20 is much higher than everyone else's realizes that it's her chance to explain. She looks quite excited, and seems to be trying to remember what the yellow gemstone was about. The goddesses look to be more accepting of the result this time around.

"Um! The yellow gemstone, if I remember, um, I think it made the test ... subjects, run around, and um, their heart rate? I asked Miss Mina what that meant exactly, and it's just how fast your heart is beating. It was going up and I think they were also trying to hide from each other. So maybe they were confused, like they didn't know what was happening so they got scared, maybe the gemstone made scary things appear!"

Histoire nods to Rom's explanation, and even while simple, she was able to properly convey the correct assumptions. She gives Rom a smile, similar to how a teacher might give her student on a job well done. Rom meekly smiles back.

"Thank you Miss Rom, now, let's go for green."

Only one die drops when Histoire called for the green gemstone, and it's from Vert. Much to both their surprises. Histoire is unsure whether the green gemstone was too esoteric or too simple, that no one bothered to really put the time in to study it. All the same, the green die lands on 13, but it would be useless as no one else wanted to explain green.

"Hmph. It seems no one would like to even attempt to explain the verdant gemstone. Very well, I'll do it then. So, for the green gemstone, it was a rather short entry, I believe it stated that the test subjects would simply handle it, or keep touching it. We know the effects of the gemstone seems to be activated upon touch, if it wasn't, just seeing it would have immediately made all of us become afflicted by all the effects we've been reading about. Now, I've read in a few real life experiments that seems quite similar to this, which is where I'm basing this information on. Apparently, they had the test mice wired up in their brains, and what's connected there are their dopamine receptors, I think, anyway... they kept pressing the switch that fires up their receptors, and they kept doing it, ignoring everything else. This is quite similar to what we've read, so I believe that's what the gemstone does, touching it is the equivalent of this, experiment."

Histoire nods as she has to the other explanations. The explanation was correct in all aspects. A good sign that things are going well, and that their sacrifice to research these were not in vain.

"Thank you Miss Vert, now let's go for the blue gemstone."

Noire, Blanc, and Ram, roll their dice. Histoire looks at the results, thinking how funny the results came out to be, allowing the little ones have their chance whenever they want. Noire picks up her die, sporting a 13, looking slightly smug, when she peeked at Blanc's 5, but quickly got humbled when she saw Ram's roll of 16.

"Miss Ram, go ahead, you may explain the blue gemstone. Would you need a refresher on what was said?"

"Um, yes, please! I just want to be sure before I might make a mistake."

Histoire picks through her notes, and relays to Ram the section regarding the blue crystal and its effects on the test group. She sees that Ram is listening intently, even though she feels that she's stating words that wouldn't be in a child's lexicon. After the quick refresher Ram nods, looking certain that she has the answer.

"Okay, I asked Miss Mina, about some of those words that was said there, she said that trauma can mean anything that causes, um, really bad feelings, I think? It's something that means a really bad time, so when I asked her about physical trauma, she said that it's a really bad wound. Since it was said that both groups have been hurt, and only the group that was affected by the blue gemstone continued on... I was thinking that maybe the first group thought things would just be bad and gave up, while the others stayed thinking things might get better and kept going, like they were hopeful."

Ram pauses and tries to gather her thoughts more.

"Would that be all Miss Ram?"

"N-no! Although I was just thinking about the last part, during the autopsy, the affliction on their brains. I learned that affliction means that it's something that causes hurt, I asked Miss Mina what could that mean, then she said some big words... like what you said, um, 'dee-tir-yo-ray-shun', so I think, maybe the blue gemstone was actually breaking their brain which is why they kept going, but eventually it gets bad enough they can't go on."

Histoire listens, and thinks to herself, that perhaps the example for the blue gemstone was quite esoteric, yet somehow Miss Ram was able to theorize appropriately what it does. She did plan on the blue gemstone signifying madness and hopefulness, but Ram was able to add those two concepts in a way that would make sense.

"Thank you Miss Ram. What's left is indigo, violet, and lastly black and white, please roll for Indigo."

Blanc and Noire roll. Noire makes a sobbing moan when she sees her 12 beside Blanc's 20. Blanc clears her throat, preparing to explain the indigo gemstone.

"Whenever you're ready Miss Blanc."

"Thank you, Lady Histoire. The indigo gemstone entry was a bit short, but that's fine. It's possible that the testing procedure got more sophisticated, or the tester knew exactly what was supposed to happen and this is just a record of them confirming it. So, it seems like the indigo gemstone is inhibiting something on the test subjects. I mean if I saw someone have ... physical trauma applied to them, and assuming I was truly powerless to do something, I'd be afraid and would want nothing to do with it, yet at the same time I'd like to help. So I was thinking the indigo gem was inhibiting their fear. It also works out that it's inhibiting their pain, like some weird calmness."

"Thank you Miss Blanc," says Histoire. "Would you like to add more or is that all?"

"Wait, it said that the results kept repeating right? So that means no matter what the test subject was probably thinking... even if they're evil and thought that whichever test subject got hurt, they'd help... then maybe it's forcing some weird compassion compulsion. I think that's all."

"Interesting," nods Histoire. "Miss Noire, go ahead and explain the violet gemstone, then afterwards, you'll all roll for black and white."

"Um... did it really have to be me for the violet gemstone... well... it seems that the gemstone makes the test subjects, really friendly to each other, like a ... couple. To the point they would be sharing living quarters to one another... and if they're separated, it's like they can't live without each other anymore to the point they won't do anything if it's not together... like being tired of life."

"Thank you Miss Noire," says Histoire. Noire looks slightly red after explaining the gemstone.

Histoire mentally cheers after hearing everyone's explanations knowing they all got it right. It seems their time spent thinking about this did not go wasted. Now, she'll see if this keeps going to the black and white gemstones, considerably the most simple ones.

"Now, who would like to try the black gemstone?"

Vert speaks up. "Lady Histoire, how about we select the two highest rolls for black and white? They're quite simple."

The rest of the table seem to agree on the suggestion and they all start shaking their die in their hands. Six dice roll to the table, each goddess rolling quickly one at a time. Neptune bemoans her low roll of 3, along with Vert and her six. Blanc sighs at her 8, along with Rom's 11. Ram and Noire look happy with their 18 and 17 respectively.

"Okay Miss Ram, go ahead and say what the black gemstone means."

"It, um, makes whoever touches it die. That's it."

"Miss Noire?"

"The white one, resurrects the dead, it seems they retain all memory as well."

"Okay, that's all the colors of the entries. Finally, I'm more than happy to say that everyone has gotten the color effects correct."

The table erupts into a cheer, and everyone high fives one another. After a few moments of elation, Histoire waits for them to calm down before continuing. They all calm down and take their seats after a few minutes. Clearing her throat, Histoire continues the game.

"Now that the group has found out what each gemstone does, what do they want to do?"

"Well, Histy, after reading these experimental logs, I'm wondering, where are these experiments held? Is there more to this laboratory? I'm calling it a laboratory because obviously this is why there are experimental logs written around here. This isn't exactly a kitchen."

"Roll a search check for me please."

"Let's see here... and 16! Adding my mod of 2, makes it 18. What do I find?"

"Searching around the room, on a blank wall, there is actually a large door, flush to the wall, that looks exactly like a part of the wall, but was only seen after pressing a hidden panel that Sir Puddington found. The door that slid upwards, leads to a series of short hallways. It smells like it hasn't been aired out for a long time. The hallways are all lit with the same kind of illumination in the previous rooms, and upon observation, there's no one around."

"So, we're safe to roam around then Histy? Alright, let's check each hallway! In fact, how many hallways are there?"

"There are 8 hallways in total, four on the left, and four on the right. The hallways are quite wide and tall, but they're short. Let's say about 10 feet wide and 15 feet tall. The group sees that there is a door at the end of each hallway, each of them with a clipboard. There is one thing that the group finds odd, the doors and hallways don't seem to have enough spacing from each other that there would be a room behind each door."

Vert tilts her head slightly. "Can we open a door?"

"Sure. Burt going into a hallway, opens a door. She finds that the door opens with no issue, but behind it is simply dirt."

"...I would like to check all the doors."

"Checking all 8 doors, they all end up the same, more dirt behind it."

"Sir Puddington will read whatever it is on the clipboard!" Neptune blurts out.

"Which one? There are 8 doors and so, 8 clipboards."

"Uh, the nearest one to the left!

"Sir Puddington, looks at the clipboard on that door, and reads, 'Red Gemstone', afterwards it seems to be words such as weight, height, gender, and a portrait."

"Wait... a portrait?"

"Yes, you know, a picture?"

"Histy, even I know what a portrait is, pssh, so, uh, what's on the portrait?"

"Sir Puddington sees a man. He doesn't know who this is."

"Wait... a person? Are you telling me all the test subjects in those test logs were people? I'm going to go through all the clipboards on each hallway."

"Sir Puddington goes through each hallway and reads the clipboards. Some of the clipboards are more filled than others, yet all of them are clearly showing the statistics of men and women."

"...Histy, this is a bit sudden to take in... um, I thought these would be ... um, can we take a break for a bit?"

The other goddesses seem to be agreeing on the notion, as they all nodded when Neptune suggested the idea. All of their eyes have widened in surprise. Histoire looks at all of them and agreed as well.

"Alright. We've spent a good amount of time in the explanation, let's all take a quick break."

"T-thanks Histy."

Chapter Text

"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."

Chapter Text

"Okay," says Histoire to herself, "I believe the end goal for their search needs to be a monster in the manual that is highly intelligent, and has a propensity for evil. A Lich, or a beholder might be a good candidate for them."

Histoire pores over the Monster Manual, somewhat confused. She looks through it multiple times, even checking the page numbers if she's somehow missing a page.

"That's odd, there's no statblock for a Lich, but all it says here is that a creature becomes one, so whatever stats it had will be the base, then the Lich process will add more to the current stats. So does that mean any creature can become a Lich? I guess that would include players... that's quite interesting. Perhaps in the far future, they might think of doing an evil campaign..."

She reads up the process of becoming a Lich, and while there's no concrete step-by-step manner into becoming one, the general idea seems to be doing vile and evil acts, enough to send one's soul to eternal damnation, the usage of a phylactery, to store their soul, and high amounts of necromancy. There's also the Demilich variant, in which uses soul stones, which upon retrospect, seemingly fits almost perfectly to the gemstone usage and experimentation. Histoire nods and makes notes, she knows that she can't very well send a Demilich at the party immediately, the threats would need to scale up so to speak.

Histoire continues to write down notes for the future, only to be interrupted by Neptune calling out to her.

"Histy! I have good news and bad news."

"Huh? ...Okay, how about the good news first so it can saddle the blow of the bad news."

"The good news is we're all enjoying the game!"

"Well, that's good to hear."

"The bad news is, Nepgear wants to join in."

"What. So there's going to be 7 in total if Miss Rom and Miss Ram are still going to join?"

"Yep!"

Histoire can feel her will dropping, she thinks to herself that she might need to make a Will Save of her own, making her chuckle slightly.

"Is something funny Histy?"

"N-nothing. I suppose, this is a good time as any to actually let Miss Rom and Miss Ram roll actual characters, along with Miss Nepgear. What next, would Miss Noire arrive with Miss Uni asking to join as well?"

The elevator bell indicating the arrival of guests ring in response to Histoire's rhetorical question. The doors open, and inside the elevator are Noire, Vert, Blanc, Rom, Ram, and Uni. Histoire finds herself biting her lower lip upon seeing Uni.

Noire jogs towards Histoire as soon as the door opens. "Um, Lady Histoire... Uni wanted to join... I think when they all played together, Rom and Ram talked about our game and she got really curious. Would that be alright?"

Histoire thinks to herself, perhaps it is time to make it into two Liches if they'll all stay playing like this, or they'll just want to play for a few sessions, and they'll branch off to their own game. She hopes for the latter in her heart, as she watches the 2 additional players take their seats. Uni and Nepgear look excited to see the sheets of paper scattered about, along with the multicolored dice of different shapes and numbers.

"Histoire!" says Nepgear, looking at the dice as if they were new parts for her mech, "C-can I make my character now?"

Uni, Rom and Ram, pipes up a swell, asking the same thing. "Can we do that too?" they all say in unison.

"We know we already have pixies, but I think they were just stand-ins, right Miss Histoire?" adds in Ram.

"Yes, that's correct. You may roll your stats, I'll explain how, and make sure to level to... 4. Is that alright with you?" Histoire says to Neptune, Noire, Vert and Blanc.

"Um," Noire places a hand on her chin, "I think it's fine, but..."

"Wouldn't they get confused with the sudden influx of information they have to understand?" adds in Blanc.

Histoire looks at her new players, namely Nepgear and Uni, not so much for Rom and Ram since they've watched how to play, though not much combat. An unfortunate circumstance, but nothing she could have done since the goddesses have just gone through a few battles already.

"I believe, it should be fine, you four will be able to give them tips on how to play, my only concern is that battles may take more time to simulate. Other than that, let me spend some time familiarizing them with how to roll a character."

The four younger sisters listen intently on Histoire's lesson in creating a character and the common pitfalls in creation. She assures them that she will be there to double-check on their sheet if they're unsure. Rom and Ram's eyes open wide on how much they have to do to even create a new character. After a while Histoire asks them if they have any questions, to which they all reply with a shake of the head.

Nepgear pulls out a pouch, and empties it, revealing lilac dice. She takes 4 d6s and begins to roll.

2, 1, 3, and 5, for 10.
4, 5, 5, and 6, for 16.
4, 4, 5, and 4, for 13.
5, 1, 6, and 6, for 17.
4, 4, 5, and 2, for 13.
6, 1, 2, and 6, for 14.

"I've made my choice for what race and class as well Histoire! I'll be a human sorcerer, my familiar will be a small snake, and I'll name him Mr Snakington!"

Nepgear's statement made Histoire raise an eyebrow. "Okay, what about your character name?"

"Janette Argyle! Now, let me fill up my sheet, it's up to level 4 right? I'll have to make sure the skills I rank up are those that are both helpful to the party and something I can naturally do." Nepgear opens up the Player's Handbook and flips to the Sorcerer section. "Unlike the other classes, it doesn't seem I get anything too special per level, just the base bonuses everyone has, like the feats every third level, and an additional attribute point every 4th! So, with this I can actually make my 17 into an 18. Strength at 10, Dexterity on 13, Constitution with 13 as well, 16 Intellect, 14 Wisdom, and finally 18 Charisma."

"Wait, hold on, Miss Nepgear, did you just say every 4th level?"

"Yes, Histoire."

"Ah, Neptune, Miss Noire, Miss Vert, and Miss Blanc, I believe, that's one thing we've forgotten to implement when we've gone through the leveling process last time. Thankfully, that's just a quick fix."

Neptune looks at her sheet. "Hm, I should increase my constitution so I'm not a wet piece of paper in combat. My health should increase from 19, to 23, right, Histy?"

"I believe so."

"Blunga will increase her strength further to 20, just have to update my attacks, grapple, and some of my checks to make it plus 5."

"Albedo will also increase her strength, but it really won't do anything since it will become 15, and it only changes every even number..."

"Burt will add into the pile of strength to 20."

Histoire thinks to herself that she's glad Nepgear is rolling a Sorcerer amidst all these muscleheads stacking strength. After everyone is done updating their sheets, Histoire returns back to Nepgear, who is currently writing on her sheet. It seems she's writing in her skills.

"So, Miss Nepgear, let's continue on your character."

"Goodness, there's so many feats available. Um, I'll go with the recommended one in the book! Toughness, so my health goes to 8 from 5, and my bonus feat is going to be Combat Casting. I'll level it up like normal Lady Histoire. Just so it's not as confusing. Let's see, Bluff, Concentration, Spellcraft, Arcana Knowledge, all at 4, which leaves me with 4 skill points. The book recommends I place it in Gather Information, but I think Neptune already has that in spades, so I'll just choose Sense Motive, for two points, using up 20 points for Level 1. For spells, I'll go with the recommendation too! Detect Magic... Ghost Sound... Light... and Read Magic for Level 0 spells, then Magic Missile and Sleep for Level 1. Let me write my items, oh and starting gold! It says 3d4, so, 3, 2, and 4, for 9 gold starting. I've added the normal things now, a backpack with waterskin, one day's trail rations, bedroll, sack, and flint and steel. A hooded lantern, with five pints of oil. A spell component pouch. And oddly, a case with 10 crossbow bolts, but no crossbow here..?"

"Miss Nepgear, go ahead and add a light crossbow."

"Okay! Now to level up to 4. I'll leave the spells for last... For level 2, I don't get much outside of skill points, 2 plus my intelligence modifier of 3. I'll keep increasing my Spellcraft, Arcana Knowledge, Concentration, and Bluff, leaving me with an extra point, but since I'm going to level 3, for my feat, I'll take Iron Will! My will save now has a 5 modifier. I'll add more to my Spellcraft, Arcana Knowledge, Concentration, Bluff, and this time Sense Motive. For my 4th level, I'll increase my Charisma, and keep adding to my usual skills. Leaving one more skill point. Now, for my spells, it says here at Level 4, I know... six cantrips, three first level spells, and one second level spell."

Nepgear is writing down a spell list on a separate sheet of paper. "Um, Lady Histoire, this might take a while, so go check up on the others first..."

Histoire looks at Uni, Rom, and Ram, it seems that Uni is beaming for her turn. "Okay, Miss Uni, how about you? Have you rolled for your stats at the very least?"

"Oh! Yes, Lady Histoire! Although, it took me my 3rd set to have decent ones. My spread is 10, 13, 10, 14, 15, and 13. I got a few 8s and 9s on my last two spreads... So I decided I want to be a rogue! The recommended race is halfling, so I'll go with that since it adds an extra 2 for my Dexterity, but a minus 2 for my strength. So my stats will look like, 8 strength, 16 dexterity, 13 constitution, 15 intelligence, 13 wisdom, and 10 charisma. For my feats, Improved Initiative at Level 1, and Investigator at Level 3. For my skill points, I get 40 at level 1, wow, that's ... a lot. By level, 4, I'll also be increasing my Intellect. Lady Histoire, when I increase my Intellect, would it come first or the skill points?"

Histoire thinks about Uni's question. "Um... I would say they go together... uh, we'll use the increased intellect from the attribute point."

"Alright. So by level 4, I have 16 Intelligence, and a total of 71 skill points. And a whole bunch of other bonuses, like Sneak Attack, Trapfinding, Evasion, Trap Sense and Uncanny Dodge. I think I'll put down my skills now, perhaps you should check on Rom and Ram for now, Lady Histoire."

Noire scoots over to Uni. "Let me help you out Uni."

Histoire looks over to Rom and Ram, and sees that Blanc is helping her sisters out.

"WHAT ARE THESE ROLLS!?" Blanc blurts out.

Rom looks a bit afraid as Blanc looks at the results that have happened. "Um, big sister, I got, 2 seventeens, 2 eighteens, and 13, and 14. Are they bad?"

Blanc wipes the non-existent sweat off her brow and blows air out in disbelief. "No, these are just... TOO GOOD. No, you don't need to re-roll them. Keep them. Have you decided what you'll be?"

"Um, I wanted to be like a Samurai when we played 4GO..."

"Ah!" Vert blurts out suddenly. "Rom, you don't want to be a Samurai per se, they're basically Fighters except somehow worse. You can re-create most of their bonuses without any of the downsides by just selecting certain feats."

Blanc stares at Vert. "How do you know that."

"Um, I, uh, was just, curious about more of the game! So I read up some... classes, about them! So, um, just go with Fighter, I'm sure Lady Histoire can simply say your two-handed greatsword is a katana. Is that alright, Lady Histoire?"

"Uh, that's fine, I don't see much of a problem, if it's just a flavor change..."

Vert smiles. "There you go, Rom."

Rom looks back to her sister. "Um, should I go as a fighter? Or should I go as something else?"

"Well, Miss Rom, to make your decision easier, we're not using any outside books aside from these 3 we have, the Monster Manual, Dungeon Master Guide, and the Player's Handbook. There's no samurai in the Player's Handbook, hence Fighter may be the nearest experience you'll have with Samurai."

"Okay then Miss Histoire! I'll make a human male, and name it JC."

Histoire tilts her head. "JC? What does JC mean?"

"Nothing really, but it's a simple enough name for me to remember!"

"Um, that's fair."

"So, with what big sister told me, I'll put, 18 on Strength, 18 on Constitution, 17 Dexterity, 17 Wisdom, 14 Intelligence, and last, 13 Charisma. At level 1, I get my bonus human feat, my regular feat, and bonus fighter feat. At level 2, I get another fighter bonus feat, at third level, I get my regular feat, and at 4th I get one more fighter bonus feat, and my attribute increase... which I think I'll put on Dexterity so it's 18 like the others!"

Vert looks like she just had a sour candy after seeing Rom's stats. Histoire thinks she's probably jealous upon seeing Rom's stats. She chuckles to herself while Rom continues to list down her character.

"Um, my weapon will be a Katana."

"That's okay Miss Rom. It will be a reskinned Greatsword. So that is 2d6 damage, two-handed."

"For my feats... I get 3 regular feats, and 3 fighter feats. So, it recommends here... Weapon Focus, Blind-Fight, and Power Attack, since I have 18 strength! Two more fighter feats, and one more regular feat. For my regular feat, I'll take Iron Will, just like Nepgear. And for my fighter feats, I'll take... Combat Reflexes... and Cleave! I think that's all as a fighter."

"How about you Miss Ram?"

"I'll be a Monk! Human male, named Paul. It's the nearest I have to being a ninja! I can use weapons like kamas, nunchakus, sais, shurikens, all ninja weapons! Definitely."

Histoire looked at Blanc almost by reaction, who shrugs in reply.

"Now then," Ram continues, "I'll put in 18 strength, 16 dexterity, 14 constitution, 11 intelligence, 15 wisdom, and 9 charisma. JC and Paul are brothers, so he usually lets JC talk instead, right Rom?"

"Um, right!"

"So, let me see here, by level 4, I get two bonus feats, while my other feats are given due to me being a monk. Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike, Evasion, Fast Movement, Still Mind, Ki Strike for Magic, and Slow Fall for 20 feet. Oh, looking at it more it seems my bonus feats are just choices like Improved Grapple, or Stunning Fist for the first one... oooh, that sounds like a ninja, punching someone then they get stunned! I might get that one! For the second one, combat reflexes or deflect arrows... I want to deflect arrows! Oh, and for my regular feats... I'll follow the recommended ones, Dodge and Mobility... which allows me to gain additional AC against attacks of opportunity. For my third level feat... um..."

"Ah, Lady Histoire..." says Vert, "you said that we'll only use the 3 main books, correct? Which means we'll be using them all? You won't ban anything from there, right?"

"... I don't like where this is going, Miss Vert, but, in general, yes."

"Thank you, I just wanted to be sure."

"...I still don't like where this is going... either way, Miss Ram, have you made a decision?"

"Lightning Reflexes! So I can dodge out of stuff better."

"Thank you Miss Ram. I believe now the only thing remaining for the four of you are your skills, sans Nepgear, who still needs to tell me what spells she has."

Uni looks at her sheet. "Um, at Level 4, I can only increase my ranks to a maximum of 7 right?"

"That's right Miss Uni."

"Then, here's my skill list... everything I'll mention here is rank 7, except for Jump, which is at just 1. Appraise, Disable Device, Forgery, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sleight of Hand, Spot, and Tumble. That's 71 skill points."

Histoire looks at the long list of skills, and compares it to Sir Puddington, whose list she used to think was already quite long. "Rogues are quite ... skilled, aren't they..? Also, Miss Uni, don't forget about skill synergies for Tumble." As soon as Histoire said that Uni double checks her sheet and begins to update it.

Rom raises her hand. "Miss Histoire, do you think I can use a Chain Shirt, instead of Scale Mail for JC?

"Um, sure, that would be fine Miss Rom."

"Thank you! Also, for my skills, since I don't have many, I just put 7 in Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, and Swim!"

"What about you Miss Ram?"

"Um, I chose Balance, Climb, Jump, and Tumble! So I can move around like a ninja."

"Okay, miss Nepgear, what about the last remaining spells?"

"I've decided to put in Disrupt Undead, and Prestidigitation for my cantrips, Burning Hands for my 1st level spell, and Scorching Ray for my 2nd level spell!"

Histoire notes that the two non-cantrip spells are both fire based. "Thank you Miss Nepgear, I do believe that's character creation done. And now, there are ... eight ... of you all... ah, goodness. Okay, let's somehow, begin the game. Everyone, please take your seats, thankfully this table is large enough to accommodate all of us. Everyone, where did we end from the last session?"

"Histy, we ended after the mayor talked about him wanting to investigate further. We should be at the mayor's office."

"Thank you Neptune. Okay, now the mayor... ahem, 'Now, I wouldn't send you four alone to investigate, the dangers may overwhelm you. You'll all be grouping up with a second group, tomorrow you will all meet together here.' He is then seen writing down on a piece of parchment, before stamping it with his seal and rolling it."

"Burt will say, 'Thank you Mayor Manual, we'll meet here tomorrow morning then.' How does he respond?"

"The mayor nods. 'You're all free to go, and thank you once again.' He continues to work."

"Hrm," says Blanc. "I suppose we'll just get a long rest and meet up tomorrow. I don't think we can do much."

Histoire looks around. "Is that acceptable with everyone?" The rest of the table nod in reply, and await for Histoire to continue.

Histoire clears her throat. "Alright, everyone gets a long rest, Sir Puddington, Albedo, Burt, and Blunga return to the mayor's office. Oh right, one more thing Miss Blanc, you hear the pixies tell you, 'It's been fun! Thanks for accommodating our selfish requests!' then you feel the weight from your shoulders disappear. Continuing on, the mayor welcomes the party back, and says that the other group will be here shortly."

Blanc shakes her head suddenly realizing what just happened. "Wait a minute, the pixies are gone?"

Histoire nods. "Yes, that's right. Out of character, that's just for your sisters so they may join in without feeling too left out, now that they have fully fledged characters, there's no point for them to stay. In character, pixies are very fickle."

"I see, alright..."

"Okay, after a while, the door to the mayor's office opens once more and 4 people enter, 3 humans and a halfling. Two of them humans are male, one is female, and the halfling is also female." Histoire looks at the four younger sisters before continuing. "Those 4 are you. Okay, so both teams of four have physically met each other. The mayor then says, 'Ah, here they are. Here is the second group that I've mentioned yesterday. I'll quickly introduce you to one another, the two men are named JC and Paul. The two women are named Janette Argyle, and Poppy.' He says this while pointing at the corresponding person." Histoire exhales, as if she just finished saying a speech in front of a crowd. She thought to herself that making all eight of them naturally meet would be a difficult task, but thankfully, this is as natural as it can get in this situation.

Neptune claps her hands together. "Alright, so we get to see them now, and I see that Poppy is a fellow halfling like my good self! So what's her charisma score again, 10? Well, that doesn't mean not attractive immediately. So, Uni, is your halfling a pretty halfling?"

"Neptune, please don't try to hit on my sister."

"Ahahaha, sorry Noire."

"Hold on," interjects Nepgear, "there's a description box for our characters, did you fill those out Lady Histoire?"

"Erm, not really Miss Nepgear. I believe they've at the very least filled out gender, and age. Sir Puddington is about ... 40 years old. Apparently?"

Nepgear looks slightly disheartened. "Oh, I see."

Neptune pats Nepgear's back. "Don't worry Nepgear! It's everyone's first game, it's like any RPG game with a character creation screen! Everyone goes for a default, learn how the game goes, and on the second playthrough, that's when you spend 8 hours trying to perfect that character face, only to remember you wear a helmet 90% of the time anyway!"

"Um, that's really specific... big sister..."

"Ah, believe me, that's a real common thing in RPGs where they allow you to do that. Anyway, that's pretty much why. Maybe in the second game."

"Okay, that's a good idea, I wouldn't want to be so invested in the game only to get myself killed because I didn't know how to play..."

"Alright Histy, does the mayor say anything else?"

"Oh, I was waiting if there was anything else you wanted to say for rolelay, but, ahem, okay. So, the mayor continues, 'Now that you're all acquainted with one another, you shall all be going to a certain town. One of the names listed in the experimentation log that Sir Puddington's group uncovered used to live there. The thing is, that town has been considered cursed, and the whole area abandoned for years after multiple reports of the ones living there becoming crazed and uncontrollable.' He flips through some papers."

"Wait," Noire interjects, "ahem, Albedo will add in, 'Are you saying that the reason why this town became abandoned was because of the experiments?' Also what's the name of the town Lady Histoire?"

"He's getting there Miss Noire, hrm, 'Yes, Albedo, it's highly likely. The experimentation log where the name is from, is the orange gemstone. This used to be the town of Haneda, but now it's just a forest, where no one dares to settle in. There were reports of a high amount of banditry in the past, but it has settled down after less people began to pass by the forest. The trip to Haneda Forest will take a few days using a carriage. We'll provide the transport, and supplies such as rations.' As he says that he continues to sign various documents."

"So, Histy, what are we waiting for? Let's go to Haneda!"

"Not yet, I, myself, need a break before we continue. We've blasted through character creation, and set up the stage for the next part of the game. I'm going to need a drink of water and some time to breathe."

"Ehehe, okay Histy."

Chapter Text

"Phew," sighs Histoire as she finds herself alone in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water. "Well, the sudden addition of players throws a wrench in the plans a bit but, it should be fine. I'll just have to increase the amount of monsters and traps..."

She peers through the doorway to see the rest of the table chitchatting, it seems they're happily talking about their characters and discussing their options. The sight brings a smile to her face, seeing all of them having fun with the game. She steels herself and goes over her plan for Haneda Forest, even though she knows that this won't go without a hitch, it's still important to have a basic plan instead of winging it the whole time.

She plays through a possible scenario in her head. The party already has a general goal of where they need to go, which is Haneda Forest, and they have been told that there have been old reports of banditry. They'll be heading towards there, get attacked by bandits on their way there, because a carriage trip where nothing happens would be too boring. After reaching Haneda Forest however, it would be odd if they were attacked by bandits, since it has long been abandoned.

Perhaps not too out of place if they were attacked by skeletal bandits. It's a slight retrofit to the orange gemstone, but, it makes sense, overexposure to the magic of the orange gemstone, it would eventually stimulate even corpses to steal, or in this case skeletons. Now instead of simply a few skeletons, it would be more to accommodate the increase of players. Although, if the magic of the gemstone is so pervasive, it wouldn't make sense that they aren't affected by it.

Histoire looks through some of the spell effects in the handbook, and sees the Haste spell effect. Everyone would be affected by it, since it's basically the same as being stimulated, she reasons to herself, and it would add a layer of complexity. For the other part, the urge of theft, perhaps not too important, as the area they're in has been abandoned for years, taking anything from there wouldn't be wrong, although perhaps making them see items as valuable goods, and then after the effect wears off, they find out it's all useless trinkets, sounds like a perfect plan. Histoire congratulates herself for that perfect idea, as logically, the Lich who was conducting the experiments wouldn't know why exactly they've been stealing, but only that they have been stealing.

"Perfect."

"Hey, Histy, what's perfect?"

"Neptune! You startled me."

"Sorry! You were taking a while so we got worried you got stuck in a bowl or something."

"I am not that small and weak!" retorts Histoire with a puff. "Anyway! I was just about to head back, so let's go."

Histoire and Neptune return to the table. The rest of the goddesses and their sisters continue to discuss about their characters and how to play the game, mostly minor details that get glossed over, but becomes important for very niche events. As Histoire takes her seat, everyone falls silent, waiting for her to speak. Clearing her throat, she waves her arms and begins to conjure an isometric map covering the whole table. There are forests, roads and different towns and other small settlements dotted all around in the map that Histoire conjured. Small speech bubbles with the portraits of each goddess are there as well, all coalesced in the same city. Histoire then opens her arms, gasps of surprise are heard throughout as the map expand, and sighs of relief as soon as it shrinks along with Histoire closing her arms. A small pulsating red dot appears a small distance away from the city they're all in.

"The mayor points on the map where you'll be going, and he says that there's a caravan going there in an hour, or did I say carriage?"

"I think you said carriage, Histy."

"Alright, ahem, 'Now there is a carriage passing by that area, they're headed to a different town, but it'll pass by there. That would be the quickest way to get there. The carriage will be at the gates, just show them this document and they'll let you know when to get off. Afterwards, you would need to go on foot for the rest of the way. We'll provide you with a week's worth of rations.' The mayor then hands Sir Puddington a sealed scroll."

"A week's worth Histy? That's a lot of rations, wouldn't this be like any dungeon romp, just a quick dip, twenty minute adventure?"

"Well, you'll see Neptune."

Nepgear raises her hand. "Um, Lady Histoire!"

"Nepgear you don't need to raise your hand like that, we're not in a classroom, but, what is it?"

"So, a week's worth of rations is 7 right? Or would it be 21, because usually people would eat 3 meals a day, and how heavy would they be?"

"It's 7. Rations are usually for the whole day, and they're 1 pound each."

"Okay!"

"Alright, is there anything else anyone wants to do?" Histoire looks around at the table, and sees that no one wants to speak up. She's not sure if she should be railroading them like this, but, there are four new players, so they would need to learn the ropes before throwing them to the den. Histoire continues, "Okay, if that's the case, the party then moves to the gates of the city, where there is a plain looking carriage seemingly waiting. The carriage is one of those enclosed carriages that have windows on them, but it looks rather plain."

Neptune excitedly pipes up. "Sir Puddington will go to whoever looks to be the guy in charge of the caravan and ask him if the mayor sent him."

"Sir Puddington approaches the well-dressed man nearest to the caravan. The man says yes, as he was called here by the mayor."

"Ah, then, ahem, 'I am Sir Puddington, and have also been sent here by the mayor, I believe these documents will explain it all.' Then I'll give it to him."

"The man takes the document from Sir Puddington, and unfurls it. He takes a moment to read it and as he does, he looks over the party as if confirming the contents of the document. Then he says, 'Looks like everything is in order. We'll head out soon, if you have any last minute preparations please do so.' He is then seen tending to the horses."

"Ah, right! Lady Histoire," says Noire, "Soleil will go with us, of course, right?"

"Of course, Miss Noire. You and Soleil will be traveling along side the carriage."

"Miss Histoire, I think we're ready," says Rom.

"Everyone agree?" asks Histoire, looking around the table, to see everyone nodding. "Okay, I just want to make sure, I don't want any sudden last minute changes, there are 8 of you now. Moving on, the party boards the carriage, while Albedo gets on Soleil and the carriage begins its journey."

Histoire waves her hands and the collection of speech bubbles begin to move as a group. There are 'oohs' and 'aahs' mostly from Rom and Ram as the bubbles move through a road. For further immersion, Histoire decided to add in the sound of wheels and the horse clops.

"The carriage trip is going well. The road is slightly bumpy, but it's comfortable in the carriage. And yes, Miss Noire, you're also comfortable on Soleil. Now, after a few hours, Albedo hears the carriage driver suddenly stop the horses, and looking at the road, she can see why, there is a felled tree at the middle of the road, blocking the way. None of the other party members know this, as they are inside the carriage, all they know is that they suddenly stopped."

Noire taps her forehead for a moment. "Ah, I'll do a spot check, to see what I can ... see!"

Histoire rolls a d20, hiding the result of 16 from everybody. Mentally noting that bugbears have a 4 modifier for their hide skill, Albedo would need to roll 20 or higher, in order to successfully spot that something is amiss.

Noire looks slightly perturbed when she heard Histoire roll a die, but nevertheless, she rolls her spot check. Histoire mentally winces, as she sees the result of the roll, which landed on 16. She remembers that the party as a whole seems to have poor spot check modifiers, but now with Uni and her rogue is there, they should have a better chance, but her rogue is in the carriage.

"Okay, I got 16, and adding 1, that's 17, so Lady Histoire, what do I see?"

"You see nothing amiss in the forest. Wait, give me a moment. Everyone else, please roll spot checks as well, but with a negative 2 modifier, due to the windows of the carriage being your only way to see outside, and the fact that none of you are actively looking, I think that's fair for everyone. Meanwhile, I'll be checking something."

Histoire looks through the Player's Handbook, checking how to handle surprise rounds. It says that there is a surprise round comprising of those aware and those unaware. Those who are aware get a free round to beat up anybody who is caught unaware, after that round, the regular round begins. She looks up and sees 7 multicolored d20s roll by each player.

Histoire purses her lips trying to recall each player's modifier. "Um, just so it's easier for me to keep track, would you please write down the roll result, then the total result, adding in your base modifier and the negative modifier?"

The rest of the table begin to write their results with varying penmanship, but all of them readable.

Vert rolled 4, for a total of 3.
Ram got 7, for a total of 7.
Nepgear rolled 18, for 18.
Rom got 9, for a total of 10.
Neptune rolled 19, but drops down to 16.
Uni got 11, and rises up to 17.
Blanc gets 15, for a total of 13.

Histoire notes that none of them have succeeded in making it past the 20 DC, so everyone will be surprised. Steeling herself, she clears her throat and looks at Noire, who is now feeling the burning gaze of Histoire.

"Um, Lady Histoire, what's going to happen?"

"What happens is this..." Histoire rolls 8 d20s, as Noire's eyes grow to the size of saucers. The d20s land on 16, 11, 10, 6, 12, 8, 5, 8. Even with their modifier of 3, only one attack hit Albedo, and that's already considering Albedo is flatfooted. "Well, that was... hm. Ah, anyway, Miss Noire, a rain of javelins fall from the heavens and one of them hits you. That 16, adding in a modifier of 3 is 19, I believe that's higher than your AC."

"Um, yes."

"That would be for a total of ..." Histoire rolls a d6 which lands on 2, and adding in the modifier of 2, "Four damage. And as that happens, 8 brutish bugbears appear. The whole party sees this happen, as they have the caravan surrounded."

Histoire waves her hands and conjures an image of a bugbear. A medium-sized humanoid creature, covered in fur, wearing leather armor, wielding a mace and a wooden shield. It looks angry and vicious.

"The caravan driver has rolled himself into a ball, terrified at the situation. One of the bugbears is heard speaking in a loud voice. 'Now we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way, just leave all of your valuables to us, and we'll let you leave with your lives. Hehe.' That's what the bugbear says and they're all brandishing the same equipment."

"Miss Histoire!" says Nepgear, "I want to burn them all!"

"Um..."

"Yeah! No way we'll be letting them away with this, there's 8 of us and 8 of them!" adds in Uni.

Histoire nods. "If that's the case, everyone roll your initiative."

"...I rolled 5. So, that's 9," says Noire looking sullen.

"Blunga got 8, so it's ... also 9. Who would go first Lady Histoire?"

"Albedo has a higher initiative modifier, so that's how ties work."

Blanc nods, as Vert rolls her die. "I got 10, so that would be 14."

"Oh no!" blurts out Nepgear. "I... rolled 4. So, with my initiative it's 5."

"Let me show you how it's done Nepgear," says Neptune, patting her sister's head and rolling her die. "ACK! NO! Why?!"

"I-it's alright big sister... I'm sure your initiative modifier can carry that 2 to higher numbers..."

"It's ... 2. So it's for a total of 4." Neptune sighs heavily.

Rom and Ram quietly roll their dice. "JC got 9, which gets increased to 13, and um, Paul rolled 18," reports Rom.

"That 18 goes to 21!" adds in Ram.

"Poppy gets, um, 18, and with my modifier, it goes to 25!"

Histoire takes note of all their initiative rolls, and rolls a single d20 for the bugbears. She got a 9, and with the bugbear initiative modifier of 1, it's now 10. She waves her hands and conjures the battle map for the fight. The seven other player characters are stuffed in a carriage, with Noire outside, on her horse, and surrounded by bugbears. Four bugbears on each side, and to lessen confusion, she labels them from letters A to H. Seeing as Uni has the highest result out of all of them, she looks at Uni first.

"Okay Miss Uni, what does Poppy want to do?"

"Uh... did we discuss if the carriage is opened by a door or...?"

"It's an enclosed carriage, Miss Uni, so yes, it has a door. Opening the door and getting out of it is an action."

"Wait, are you saying just getting out of the carriage, will invalidate me from making an attack?"

"No, it says here, you can do a move action, and a standard action. Your move action, would be opening the door and getting out, correct?"

"That's right, then I'll attack the one that was talking smack."

"Okay, that would be Bugbear A, so Poppy exits the carriage, weapon drawn, aims at the bugbear, and ... go ahead and roll your attack roll, Miss Uni."

"I got, 19, with my modifier that's 26! That's a hit right? So Poppy aims with her crossbow, straight into the bugbear's -"

"Miss Uni, you have a crossbow, correct? 19 means, you are threatening it with a critical hit, please roll another attack roll."

"Wait, what if I miss?"

"Don't worry, this is just to see if you'll hit a critical or not."

"Um... 1."

"Nevermind then, please roll your damage die, ah, you're a halfling, as well... your damage die is 1d6, instead of the usual 1d8."

"Oh, okay, I sorta didn't realize that, but, it's a 5."

"Poppy, opens the door and rolls out of the carriage, pops a shot off directly at the bugbear and hits him square between the eyes. It reels in pain and screams." Histoire moves Uni's token out of the carriage. "Miss Ram, it's your turn."

Ram takes a look at the map. "The door's definitely open right? That means I don't need to make use of an action to open it and I can move directly towards the bugbear Uni shot? Then smack the bugbear?"

Histoire thinks about it for a few moments. "Yes, I think that makes sense being able to get out of the carriage since the door is already open."

"Then I'll go to the bugbear that Uni, I mean, Poppy shot, and punch him lots!"

"Sorry to disappoint Miss Ram, but that would require a full-round action. Your Flurry of Blows require a full-round action to enact, but you can punch him once."

"So that means I can't move and punch him multiple times?"

"No, I mean, somewhat, if it's only 5 feet worth of movement, yes, but carriage to the bugbear is more than 5 feet."

"Aw. Okay, I punch him then. 13! And, that goes up to 20, with my modifier! Did I hit?"

"Yes, you did, roll your damage die."

"That's a d8, and ... Pow! 7, adding in my strength of 4, that's 11! My fist is augmented!"

Histoire raises a finger to Ram's last bit, but decided against it. "So, Paul runs out of the carriage and delivers a right straight at the bugbear. It falls over, uh, dead."

"That's one down and um, 7 more to go!"

"Yes. That's right Miss Ram. Let's see, Miss Vert, it's your turn."

"I believe I will copy what Ram did, except on a different bugbear, I'll attack the nearest one next to the downed bugbear. I shall trip it, with my flail. I roll a 6, and with my modifier goes up to 15. Is that enough?"

"Um, let's see, trip attack with your flail, so it doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity, and it's a touch attack, hmmm, yes. Now I need you to make a strength check, which I will pit against the bugbear."

"15, and with my modifier, it's 20."

"...and the bugbear..." Histoire rolls a d20, hidden from the group, and it rolls poorly, at 3, which goes up to 5, which is still a far cry from 20. "Is now tripped. It's prone now."

"Perfect. A bit of a shame I don't have a second attack just yet, but, ah well. Unless, it's the bugbear's turn now, I think it's Rom's turn."

"That's right, Miss Vert. Miss Rom, what would ... JC, want to do?"

"I'll attack the one that Miss Vert has tripped! I'll move... and um, does it make it easier for me to hit them if they're on the ground like that?"

"Yes, it does. They lose 4 AC to melee attacks, but gain 4 AC from ranged attacks."

"Okay, I'll do a power attack against it! I'll subtract 4 from my attacks. And... aw... um, does 2... turned into 7 hit?"

"No, Miss Rom. It's the bugbear's turn now. There are 7 of them remaining... 4 of them on one side of the carriage, and 3 of them where the fight is happening. One of them is prone, the other two are still upright. The one prone takes a look at their surroundings, and barks out an order as he swings his weapon at ... Burt. He stays prone as he does." The die lands on 17, which increases by 1 in total, due to the negative 4 modifier from being prone. "Does an 18 hit, Miss Vert?"

"...Yes."

Histoire rolls the d8, and it lands on the highest possible, at 8, adding in the modifier for bugbears, it becomes 10. "The bugbear's morningstar hits you for 10 bludgeoning."

Vert hides her slight surprise as she updates her character sheet, as Histoire continues. "As the bugbear bashes Burt, he barks out 'Get them!' It's still the bugbears' turns. Two more bugbears gang up on Burt." Histoire rolls two d20s, 11 and 3, adding in their modifiers of 5, only the 11 will hit, so she rolls a d8 for damage, which lands on 8 again, dealing 10 damage. "Miss Vert, two bugbears swing their morningstars at you, one of them connects for 10 bludgeoning damage."

"Lady Histoire! Are you bullying me for this..?!"

"W-what? N-no! Put it this way, Burt was able to easily trip one of them, and looking at the diagram here... you are the closest one. These aren't random creatures, of course they'd want to win too, uh, not to mention, you look like a big threat, being a half-orc and all. Um, anyway moving on, the other 4 bugbears on the other side move in closer. Seeing as they have successfully injured one of their victims, the other 3 continue to move in surrounding Burt."

Blanc smirks slightly. "Is this the end of Burt, I wonder?"

Histoire rolls 3 d20s as she moves the tokens to surrounded Burt further. Vert meanwhile is getting more and more agitated, watching Histoire intently to hear the results. She rolls the first d20, and it lands on 14, with the modifier it rises to 19, making it a hit. Rolling the d8 for damage, she feels her stomach drop as it lands on 8, which goes to 10, making it the third maximum damage hit in a row towards Burt. She swallows her worry, as Burt is quite literally 11 steps away from death's door, and rolls the 2nd d20. Her worry goes straight to her heart as she sees it land on a natural 20. She rolls the confirmation d20, and it hits with 18, from 13. The damage dice lands on 11, as if confirming that death is more than welcoming Burt at its door. She knows that the table has definitely heard her roll at the very least 3 d20s, now the difficult decision of announcing Burt's death, or not. Her mind wanders if she should fudge the dice, or let them all know that sometimes life is just not fair, and even doing everything correctly, things may not work out in the end.

"Miss Vert, I don't know how to say this, but..."

"...but?"

"The first of the three, hits you with a 19, and the damage is 10 bludgeoning. The second, got a 20, and it confirmed with 18. It hit you for exactly eleven damage. Burt is dead."

Silence envelopes the table and Vert looks like she's been punched in the gut. Her eyes are starting to tear up but she tries to keep up a facade of a smile. "S-surely you're joking... right? Burt can't be dead... No way I'd die from..."

Histoire shakes her head.

Vert continues her plea as she shakes. "C-can we get a d-do over? P-please?"

Histoire shakes her head once more. "I'm sorry Miss Vert, but that's how it is, it would be unfair for the others if I give you this special treatment."

"Reminds me of one of the games we released recently, Crest of Flames, or something, every story character there had permadeath," stated Blanc, as Vert's tears begin to run down her face.

"Miss V-Vert..." says Nepgear, trying to console her. "I-it's okay."

"Aaaaahhh! Nepgeeaaaaaaar!" Vert grabs hold of Nepgear into a tight hug as she sobs.

"Ah! It's okay... Um, Lady Histoire, maybe we can have a short break while Miss Vert..um..."

"Is, uh, everyone okay with that?"

"That's fine with me Histy, though we've already had a break, normally this is when we stop for the night."

"Well," Noire adds, "I'm fine with extending it a bit, it's Blanc I'm worried about."

"Rom, Ram, are you two still okay?"

The twins both nod their heads in response.

Histoire purses her lips and nods. "Alright, it would be troublesome if we forget where we all ended at once we reconvene next week, so let's take a quick break then get back to combat."

Vert stands up with a sob as she drags Nepgear along into the kitchen.

Chapter Text

The rest of the table, sans Vert and Nepgear who went to the kitchen, sat in silence, as Vert's sobs are heard, while Nepgear tries to calm her down. Everyone is looking at each other awkwardly, unsure how to proceed. It takes what felt like forever until Rom breaks the silence with a question.

"Um, Miss Histoire, why is Vert crying?"

"It's because her character, Burt, died."

"But can't Burt just come back later?"

"Erm, the thing about it in Dungeons and Dragons, you would need your character to be resurrected, and according to this edition, is a 7th Cleric level spell, which can only be achieved at Cleric Level 13. It also costs 10,000 gold pieces worth of diamonds."

Vert's sobs and Nepgear's attempts at calming her down is still heard as they discuss the requirements for resurrection, which was met with wide-eyed surprise. Neptune checks on her sheet, but Histoire knows even combining all their iems, and attempting to sell it wouldn't even scratch the 10,000 GP price tag. It is sad that a character dies, but that's the nature of the game. Histoire tries to reach Vert's character sheet for safekeeping until remembering she has magic, and summons it towards her. She stores it in a folder.

"Hey Histy, what are you gonna do with Vert's sheet?"

"I'll store it for safekeeping, perhaps in the future you'll resurrect Burt, so having the sheet ready would be good."

"Oh, I see! Yeah, maybe that would be a good goal in the future."

A few more minutes of silence at the table passes as the sobs of Vert slowly lower in volume. Histoire sees that both Nepgear and Vert are finally returning to the table. Vert looks like she just bawled her soul out, while Nepgear continues to console her. Nepgear takes her seat, while Vert looks at the table with melancholy before turning her back which prompted Histoire to call her out.

"Miss Vert! Are you leaving?"

Vert takes a step forward away from the table in response.

"Wait a minute, I think I know what's going on here... Miss Vert, dying in the game doesn't mean you have to leave in real life, you'd just have to wait for the battle to finish and we can discuss how to get you back into the game."

Hearing that makes Vert pause in her tracks and turn her head towards the table.

"Did you really think that you'd get removed after Burt, well, um, died?"

Vert's face goes through the five stages of grief in a second as she tries to process what Histoire just told her. She quickly slaps herself with both hands, and shakes her head to focus.

"Um, I..."

"Go back to your seat Miss Vert, I won't kick you out for something like that, in fact, getting your character killed isn't really a reason to be removed in the game. I've heard of stories of people leaving the game or even getting kicked out because their character died but, that won't happen here."

Vert sheepishly returns to her seat, turning red as she tries to shrink her presence, seemingly wanting to be removed from this dimension from sheer embarrassment. She closes her eyes as she hears some giggles.

Histoire sighs, feeling like a kindergarten teacher. "Alright, where did we leave off... Bugbear F is the one that dealt the killing blow, it should be Bugbear G and H now, they will attack JC." Rom flinches a bit as she hears that JC will be under attack from the bugbears and covers her eyes as Histoire rolls the dice. The dice lands on 17 and 9, with 17 turning into a 22 for a clean hit, while the 9 misses entirely. Histoire rolls a d8 for damage, and it lands on 6, adding in their 2 modifier, for 8.

"Miss Rom, the two bugbears attack JC and only one hit him for 8 damage. It is now Albedo's turn."

"Oh! Okay, I'll avenge my fallen comrade and attack the one that dealt the killing blow to Burt!"

"That would be, this Bugbear, Bugbear F."

"Hiyah!" bellows out Noire as she rolls her die, but as heroic as her warcry was, the dice did not play along with her, as it lands on 3. Noire hands her head as she takes her seat again as she found herself standing up in a rush of adrenaline.

Histoire grimaces a bit at the current situation. "Um... it's Blunga's turn now."

"I'll assume I saw Burt get offed. So I'll fly into a rage and slash at the bugbear." Blanc rolls her die and immediately grits her teeth, clearly upset at the result of 3. Histoire is getting more worried, even with Blanc's 13 modifier, a 16 isn't enough to hit a bugbear.

"Miss Nepgear, or rather it's Janette Argyle's turn now."

Nepgear looks like she was preparing for this moment. "Okay! I've looked at the map, and Burning Hands won't do, it will cause too much collateral damage... Scorching Ray sounds like the best choice, and I can fire two of them! Lady Histoire, would I be able to fire a ray, see if it's enough to take down a Bugbear then fire the next?"

"No. The spell specifically says all rays fire simultaneously. So there's no checking if it's dead or not."

"Oh... um, I'll fire the ray at the 6th one, and Bugbear B! Burn!"

Histoire's grimace grows grimmer as she sees the results of Nepgear's rolls. Three and One, those are both misses, and that's not even accounting for the fact it's in combat with melee. Are the dice cursed, she wonders. Nepgear looks sullen, as if her ice cream got stolen in front of her face.

"Histy, I think it's my turn now right? Surely we can't ALL miss? Wait, a ranged attack would be stupid, it's within melee combat of other combatants. I'll just use something that can't miss. Definitely."

"What will you do Neptune?"

"I'll cast Daze. That should control it, and I'm sure it's humanoid. Do I need to roll anything?"

"No, I just need to roll for the bugbear. What's the save of your daze?"

"It's based on the spell level and my charisma modifier... so that's zero and three. The save is 13!"

"A will save, I'm guessing, so let's see, the bugbear has... 1 for its save."

"Hah! We got this, he won't be able to attack next round!"

Histoire rolls the save for the bugbear, and it lands on 12. "The bugbear succeeds on its save. That's 12, with 1, so it's 13." Neptune's smirk was quickly wiped off her face.

"Miss Uni, it's Poppy's turn."

"Um... I'll shoot the same bugbear."

"He's still in melee combat, so that's on a negative 4 modifier, also everyone has been missing to this particular bugbear, are you sure?"

"Um... yes."

Uni rolls her die and it lands on a 16, much to the joy of everyone at the table. "That's 16... and I would have 7, but minus 4, so 3, that's 19. That's a hit right? And my damage is a d6... and... oh." The d6 lands on a 1.

Histoire clears her throat. "Erm, I guess it's Paul's turn now. Miss Ram. If you will."

"Ah! Am I near enough that I can punch him multiple times?"

"Checking the map... no. You are actually being blocked by the other bugbears who are surrounding Burt."

"Oh... I see, I guess I'll move around and attack the one on the ground."

"Wait, you'll be moving away from a few of them, which means they have an attack of opportunity on you."

"What does that mean?"

"That means they can attack you even if it's not their turn. Most creatures can only do one attack of opportunity per round, and it seems that trying to go around the bugbears would incite two attacks of opportunity."

"Well, I'm a monk, and I have that ability that increases my AC against attacks of opportunity, so I'll take those attacks then!"

"Alright, as Paul repositions himself, two bugbears make attacks at him."

Histoire rolls the two d20s for attacks, mentally increasing Paul's AC to be 19. The results come out as 15 and 8, making one of the bugbears hit Paul. The damage according to the d8, would be ... 6, and the modifier of 2, making it 8 in total. "Miss Ram, Paul gets hit once, for 8 damage."

"Hrmmm, that's okay, I've moved and I'm near the one who's on the ground now right? If so, I'll punch him!"

"Alright, yes, Paul moves towards the prone bugbear, and that would increase your attack roll by 4 due to it being prone. That's an easier way to think about it, but in actuality it's AC gets lessened by 4."

"Haha!" says Ram as she rolls her d20 and lands on 6. "Does it hit?"

"Let's see, your 6 adding 7 turns it into 13, and due to it being prone, the AC is also 13. That roll hits, Miss Ram."

"I see... for damage that's a d8... and 3! Adding 4, makes 7!"

"Okay, so Paul punches the bugbear for 7. Now, it's the bugbears' turn. And they've seen all of you attempt to take one of them down, which they will mirror."

The entire table watches in suspense as Histoire prepares the dice for the bugbears. Neptune covers her eyes, as if there's a horror movie being broadcast. The others grit their teeth and prepare for the worst.

Histoire clears her throat. "The bugbears see that Paul was able to hit them, hence he is now, in their perspective, the most dangerous one, because for them what does it matter if someone can cast spells if they can't even hit?"

Nepgear shrinks slightly in her seat, while Ram's eyes grew large in fear for her monk. Histoire continues, "Bugbear B is still on the ground and seeing as how the party has performed so far, he has grown confident, and attempts to stand up."

Histoire pauses, to give the players time to realize what was going on, but there doesn't seem to be one. She's about to lose hope and resolve the act of standing up without an attack of opportunity, but then Vert speaks up.

"Lady Histoire, doesn't standing up provoke attacks of opportunity?"

"Yes, it does."

"And I believe this bugbear is surrounded by a few of our party members... well, JC and Paul."

Rom and Ram perk up upon hearing their characters names. Ram speaks up first. "Oh! Does that mean me and Rom and hit the bugbear standing up?"

Histoire nods, much to the delight of the twins. Rom continues her sister's question. "Can we roll our attacks towards it now?"

Histoire nods, and as soon as she does, both twins roll their d20s. All their joy drain from their face as they see the results. Histoire's blood runs cold as well as she sees the result. Both twins rolled 3. Both attacks missed.

"Lady Histoire!" protests Vert, "Are you sure the dice aren't rigged against us?!"

"I'm actually starting to think that myself! Besides those are your dice!" retorts Histoire, as she feels her stomach reel. Taking a deep breath, she continues the bugbears turns as how they logically would function. "The bugbear stands up, and attacks JC." Histoire rolls the die, and it lands on 20. She feels her sanity slipping slowly, yet she must persevere and roll the confirmation roll. Another 20. She grits her teeth, yet feels slightly thankful there is no such thing as getting a double critical strike for quadruple damage or such. The damage dealt would be 2d8, and doubling the modifier, which is now 4 from 2. The dice has decided that JC will be taking 11 damage total from that critical strike.

"Miss Histoire... just roll all the bugbears at this point, I... I can take it..!" says Rom with a brave front.

Histoire gives her a melancholic smile, and continues to roll. She wonders if Rom knows there's 4 more bugbears that are out for blood. Bugbear C, F, G, and H are all within melee range of JC. Rolling for C, it rolled 15, which turns into 20, which definitely hits. Damage comes out to 5 in total. Next up is Bugbear D next to Ram's Paul. It also hits cleanly with 19, getting increased to 24, and thankfully only for 4 damage in total.

"Miss Ram, as with Miss Rom's request, I'll announce the total damage done to JC all at once, but this next Bugbear is attacking Paul, it hits him with a 24, and for 4 damage."

Ram writes down the damage on her sheet with a slight shake of her head, while Histoire continues, and sees that the next bugbear is the one near Albedo. "Miss Noire, this bugbear is going to attack Soleil."

"If it hits, I'll use my reaction to do a ride check and deflect the attack!"

"Okay. Does a 10, turned to a 15 hit?"

"Yes, I'll do a ride check to deflect that! And it's 18, without mods!"

"Okay, then the attack was cleanly deflected. It's the bugbears' surrounding JC now. I'll roll all of them." Bugbear F, rolled 5, a complete miss. Bugbear G, rolled 14, turned into 19, a hit. Damage turns out to be 9 in total. Bugbear H rolled 18, for 23, and damage ends up at 8 total. "Miss Rom, the total amount of damage you've received is, 11, 5, 9, and 8, for a total of 33 damage. I believe JC is still alive, but he is gravely wounded."

Rom writes down the damage taken, and it adds up to 41 in total. Just 3 more points of damage and JC is knocked out, while 13 points more would outright kill JC.

"Okay, Miss Noire, it's Albedo's turn."

"Albedo will retaliate to the one that attacked Soleil. Um, does 18 in total hit?"

"Yes, it does. Go ahead and roll damage."

"I got 6, and adding two, makes it 8."

"Alright, 8 damage in total, and it's Blunga's turn."

"I'll continue to slash at the bugbear that killed Burt."

"Rolled 6, but with my 13 modifier, it becomes 19, seeing as 18 hit a while ago, I'm rolling my damage. I hit it for 11, and adding in 10, 21 in total."

Histoire sighs in relief, seeing as the party seems to be having better luck this time around with the dice. "That 21 damage is enough to take down the bugbear completely." The table is slowly regaining their confidence that they may be able to win this battle without further casualties.

Nepgear picks up her dice. "It's my turn now, right Lady Histoire?"

"Yes, Miss Nepgear, go ahead."

"Um, I'll just use Magic Missile, that definitely won't miss, right?"

"Yes, that's right. So which of the bugbears will you be targeting?"

"I'll just target one of them, for, um, let's see... both of my magic missiles. According to the manual, I can fire multiple magic missiles, according to my level, at 3 I get an extra missile. So I choose the one that stood up and acting all haughty."

Nepgear rolls 2d4 and the results end up as 1 and 4. "Okay, that's a total 7 damage to the bugbear, is it still up?"

Histoire nods, as Neptune checks her character sheet. "Uh... I'll try this, I guess? I'll use Summon Creature... and according to this it's a Celestial Badger... Histy! What are the stats of a Celestial Badger?"

"Um, give me a moment."

Histoire flips through the Monster Manual, trying to look for a Celestial Badger, only to find nothing. She decides that it must be just a regular badger with Celestial flavoring. Looking back to the Badger entry, she conjures a small sheet mirroring the entry, albeit with a slight change, renaming the entry a Celestial Badger. Histoire gives the sheet to Neptune who then proceeds to read it and groan in dismay.

"These stats are awful! 1d2-1 for damage? What even is that? A coin flip? Can you even hit for 0 damage?"

"Uh, I would have to say... um... huh." Histoire goes through the handbook. "It says here, no, you can't hit for 0 damage, it will always do a minimum of 1 damage."

"So as long as the badger hits, it will deal 1 damage. I mean... I guess? Well, it says here as well after I summon it, it can attack immediately... so, uh, let's, um... summon it right beside the one Nepgear attacked, and see how it goes."

"Oh, Neptune, wait, don't forget, since it did appear directly near the target, it can do a full round attack instead of just one."

"Oh, you're right! So it can do 2 claw attacks and a bite. Well, with 3 rolls, hopefully it hits with one of them, but I'm not too hopeful. So, Claw, Claw, then Bite."

Neptune rolls her d20 three times, 18, 4 and 8. She shrugs. "Well, the first claw hit. So that's ... one damage..." She places a hand on her forehead and laughs a hollow laugh whilst shaking her head.

"Erm... Miss Uni, it's your turn now. I think Neptune is just wallowing in some despair."

Uni takes a look at the map, and sees that all of the enemies are still in melee, which means she's still going to be under the disadvantage in hitting targets. "I'll continue to use my crossbow. I'll attack the one that Neptune's badger hit, so maybe to finish it off."

Uni rolls her d20 but hung her head immediately. "A nat 1..."

Ram begins shaking her d20 in hand. "It's my turn now! I can do a full round attack now right?"

Histoire nods. "If you don't move, that's correct."

"Um, can I attack two targets since I have two attacks?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll attack the bugbear we've all been trying on, and if he falls down, I'll attack the one in front of me."

Ram rolls her d20, and clicks her tongue as it landed on 9. "Guess I'll have to use both attacks. Come on, hit!" Ram yells in dismay as the 2nd result landed on 2.

Histoire scratches her chin and decides that she may have overtuned the fight, and that she would need to make some amends for Vert's unfortunate demise. After the fight is done, she'll just place someone there and somehow make it fix Vert's demise. "Miss Rom, it's your turn."

"I'll attack Ram tried to hit..." She says, rolling her d20. The die lands on 17. "It hits right? Here's the damage..." 2d6s roll on the table and come up as 2 and 6. "That's 14 in total."

"That's enough to kill it Miss Rom."

"Ah!" blurts out Vert. "Lady Histoire, Rom can make another attack because she was the one who dealt the killing blow."

Histoire tilts her head slightly as Vert continues. "Her cleave ability."

"Oh!" Histoire perks up. "Yes, Miss Rom, go ahead and roll another attack, you may choose whichever bugbear is close to you."

Rom looks surprised and unsure of what is going on. "Um, I'll choose this one then." She points at Bugbear C, and rolls a d20. The d20 lands on 12. "Is that a hit?"

"Um, with your modifier, it should be."

"It's 9, so yes. And the damage is... 5 and 4... 15 in total."

"The bugbear is very wounded from your cleave attack, but it is currently their turns now. It will attempt to bring you down."

Histoire rolls a d20, with the hope that it will miss, but that hope is quickly dashed as the die lands on 17. She rolls the damage die and it lands on 2, much to her relief. "Miss Rom, the bugbear you cleaved retaliates and hits you with a 22. JC takes 4 damage in total. JC has fallen and is currently dying."

Rom starts to tear up slightly, as Histoire continues to manage the bugbears' turns. "Now it's Bugbear D who will attack Paul. It attacks for 17, and for damage it hits for 8 in total. Next up is Bugbear E, who will attack Soleil once more... and I don't think a 3 even adding in modifiers would hit, moving on... Bugbear G will be attacking Blunga."

"Wait a minute," interrupts Vert, "why aren't they focusing on JC who's dying to make him be dead?" Vert sounds a little upset.

"Well, before the killing blow to Burt, you had I believe, 1 health remaining before you would be considered dying, which means bloodied and bruised but still standing upright and able to attack, it was unfortunate that the damage dealt to you while you had 1 health was 11, which was the threshold for death."

Vert relents, but doesn't seem too happy all the same. Histoire continues to roll the die for Bugbear G. "Okay, Blunga gets hit with a 19, and is hit for 10 damage. Bugbear H moves towards Poppy, and... hits her with a total of 16, Miss Uni, you take, um, 4 damage. And it is Albedo's turn."

"I'll be retaliating back to the bugbear that keeps trying to hurt Soleil. That's 13, for a total of 21! And for damage, 5... so 7. Seven slashing."

"Just for future reference Miss Noire, you forgot to add a 1 modifier to your attack roll since you are on Soleil, you have the high ground. Miss Blanc, it's your turn."

"I'll do the same to the bugbear and slice him. 9, but it gets increased to 22. For damage, tch. 3. For 13."

"Miss Nepgear, how about you?"

"Um, I'll use Magic Missile again, on two separate targets. I've been keeping mental note of their damage... so I'll target bugbear C and E. 2 ... and 1, though that shouldn't matter, they both should've fallen down, right?"

"...Yes, that's right." Histoire makes a mental note of Nepgear's sense of bookkeeping. "Uh... it's Neptune's turn now, along with her Celestial badger."

Neptune perks up slightly. "Ah... the badger, uh, I guess he's near Bugbear D... let's let him have at it. Then I'll try to Daze something, lemme roll the badger first though. Claw, Claw, Bite as usual. Annnnd, that's 5... 14, and another 14. I think only 1 claw hit... yeah. Anyway, I'll cast Daze on... the one that's attacking Uni."

"Okay, Neptune, Will Save of 13 to pass... and it rolled 8, for a total of 9. It failed, so now it's dazed. It will do no action, but it's not considered stun for the duration, so no advantages on attacking it, but it won't do anything."

"Finally! I've done something useful in combat!"

"Miss Uni, it's Poppy's turn now."

"Since this Bugbear isn't moving... um, would I be able to make use of Sneak Attack..?"

"No, Miss Uni, but I'll say this atleast, it's not in melee combat with anyone so you don't have a negative modifier."

"Oh! I'll move back, maybe 10 feet then, since it can't make reactions I'm sure. After that I'll shoot it... Noooo! I got a 2..."

"Miss Ram, go ahead."

Ram holds her d20. "I'll attack the same one... Miss Histoire! My d20 is bad! I got a 2 and 7!"

"This encounter is really showing the best and worst of the whim of the dice... Miss Rom, I'll be rolling your death dice."

Rom tilts her head. "My what?"

"Basically, JC is bleeding out, and we're rolling to see if JC stabilizes. If he doesn't he loses 1 HP per round. That would be a 10% chance to naturally stabilize if no one helps you. Would you like to be the one to roll it? It's a d100, basically just roll these specific d10s."

Histoire shows Rom another variant of the d10. It has 2 digits on them, 00, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90. "This die is the tens, and the one we're all familiar with is the ones. So, as I've said, it's a 10% chance, we have to roll either 91 to 100 or 1 to 10. Which would you like more?"

"Um... we've all been rolling quite low, so I'll select stabilize at 1 to 10. Can I roll them now?"

"Go ahead."

The d10s drop as 50 and 0. Rom looks a bit sullen at the result. "I guess, that wasn't it..."

Histoire shakes her head. "Now it's the bugbears' turns. Hrm..." She looks at the current situation and the bugbears are in a position of danger. She thinks of rolling a d20 for a morale check, to see if the bugbears are willing to keep fighting. A few negative modifiers such as the fact that most of their comrades have already gone down, minus 1 for each downed comrade, so -5 in their morale modifier. Doing a Will Save for the bugbears as a whole, the number comes up to a 7, which turns into a 3. Definitely not enough for the bugbears' to keep fighting.

"Histy? What's up? You've been staring at the table for a while."

"Oh! I, um, didn't realize. Ah, yes the bugbears. So, seeing as they are in an unfavorable position, they all withdraw. As in, run away. Flee. Well, atleast the two who aren't dazed do."

Neptune perks up a bit. "Does that mean they'll get attacked with attacks of opportunity?"

"Uh, better check the map... If they move from here ... to here, then ... um... hrm... yes. It seems that Paul will be able to do an attack of opportunity on Bugbear D as it runs."

Rom starts to shake her dice. "I'll do the attack then! Is it both fists?"

"Um, no, just one punch. Ah, yes, since you did use Flurry of Blows, your next attack will also have that slight disadvantage. So instead of your 7 it will be 5."

"Oh, okay, well, let's let the fist fly! Aw... 6. That misses completely."

"So, this is what happens. Bugbear D makes a run for it towards the forest, Paul attempts to punch him but the bugbear's armor easily supresses the punch. Bugbear G withdraws from Albedo and Blunga's melee range and goes towards the forest as well. Bugbear H is, well, dazed. The party is still free to take him down. So let's move on to... Albedo's turn."

"Oh! Um... didn't expect them to run... but, I'll move and attack the dazed bugbear. I rolled 9... hrmmm... oh! Does an 18 hit? I think it does. I hit it for 5 damage in total."

Blanc rolls a d20. "I'll finish the bugbear off. D20 says 14, so that's 27. Damage goes to 15 in total."

"Okay then," says Histoire, "as the party finishes off the last remaining bugbear, they hear the shouts and screams of pain from within the forest. It sounds like the bugbears."

The rest of the table make quizzical looks in reaction as Histoire continues. "The sound of steel clashing on steel is heard along with the screams, afterwards, a man emerges from the forest. He looks slightly surprised to see everyone, along with the bodies of the bugbears."

Histoire conjures an image of the man. The man is wearing a forest-green cloak over his leather armor. His facial features are sharp and well proportioned. His skin is black in contrast to his stark white hair which was long, thick, and flowing. His eyes are blocked by a pair of black spectacles. On his hands are two scimitars, freshly coated with blood. Upon closer inspection, there is a necklace with the insignia of a white unicorn, and on his chest is a rather large pin with unknown writing.

Noire raises a finger. "Uh, Albedo will ask who this man is, and what is he doing here? Also what is on his pin? What does it say?"

"It says, 'Witness Protection Program'. The man sheathes his blades, and lowers his hood, revealing his pointed ears."

"Lady Histoire, is he a drow?" asks Vert suddenly. "The drow have obsidian skin and are known to be violent, this man might be hostile against us..."

"Wait? Hostile? But he clearly sheathed his blades Vert," Noire responds. "Anyway, would my character know that? And my question still stands."

"Hm, yes, Miss Noire, I would say that's the stereotype of drow, and the man continues to walk towards the party, as he talks. Ahem, 'Ah, apologies, my name is Mrizzt Mo'urden, and I was on my way to the supermarket, when these two bugbears started rampaging towards me. I had to deal with them swiftly, of course."

"Huh, erm, Albedo replies, 'Ah, thank you for your help, it would have been troublesome if they returned with reinforcements.' Lady Histoire does he sound like he's trustworthy?"

"Uh, roll for Sense Motive."

"14, and wisdom... 15."

"Yes, he's being truthful in his words. Continuing on, Mrizzt says, 'It is of no consequence.' Then he continues to walk."

"Okay, glad to see that this isn't an extended fight, wait a minute," Noire suddenly looks like she just realized something amiss. "Albedo will say, 'Wait a minute, Mrizzt, what are you really doing in the forest? The nearest town is miles away!' I want to interrogate him."

"As Albedo hardens her question, Mrizzt looks extremely nervous, as if he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar."

The rest of the table is intrigued as they hear how Mrizzt reacted. Histoire clears her throat, "As the whole party is looking at Mrizzt, 'Ah! Look over there more bugbears are coming out of the woodworks!'" Histoire completes this by pointing at a random point in the room they're in as well.

"What?!" Neptune blurts out. The whole table also inadvertently follows Histoire's finger and looks away.

"The party looks towards where the man was pointing only to see there is nothing there except more trees."

"Ah!" Noire blurts out, "He tricked us! Albedo will look back, what is he doing!?"

"As Albedo looks back, she sees that Mrizzt is no longer there. She hears the sound of a small vial falling to the ground."

"He's gone! And what is that small vial? Albedo will take it and look."

"Albedo looks at the vial and sees there is a label on it, with unknown writing... wait, oh Albedo can read it fine. It says 'Resurrection' on the label."

"Hold on," says Blanc suddenly, "not wanting to interrupt but Rom's JC is currently dying. Combat is already finished, would he be fine now or?"

Noire looks like it's her time to shine. "I can use Lay on Hands to get him back up! I have ... 16 points of healing available. I'll heal JC for 5. It's really just to stabilize him. What's his health now?"

Histoire looks at the calculations for damage she has wrote down. "That would be 3 health I believe, JC was at -2 health, so healing for 5, he would be at 3, and stabilized."

"Alright so after Albedo heals up JC, she is going to look at that 'Resurrection' vial again. I'm assuming it has a stopper on it, because you would have said something about it spilling if it wasn't... is anything inside of it?"

"Inside the vial is a clear liquid, it's very clear, almost like water, but it's very viscous. It doesn't move around as much as water."

"Ah! Histy! I have Detect Magic, let me use it on the vial! It'll need a spellcraft check right?"

Histoire checks the handbook and finds herself at the spellcraft section. "Wait, speaking of Spellcraft, it says here... at a certain DC, you may simply identify a potion, but no retry. So, we're going with that."

"Ugh, my Spellcraft is awful. Only at +2..."

"Oh! Big sister!" Nepgear pipes up, "My Spellcraft is at +10, so that should help!"

"If that's the case, Histy, can I aid Nepgear in doing that Spellcraft?"

"Uh, sure. Go ahead and roll a spellcraft check, and it better be 10 or higher."

"And 17! For a total of 19."

"Then that means your sister gets an additional +2 to her next Spellcraft check. Now, go ahead Miss Nepgear."

"Let's see... ah! 14 and adding in the 10, and the additional 2, that would be 26. Is that enough to know what the potion is?"

Histoire checks the DC placed in the table for potions and sees that the DC is 25. Nepgear got a 26, so she passed it. "Yes, Miss Nepgear. The potion is indeed as what the label says."

Excited murmurs are heard around the table as the potion was indeed for resurrection. Neptune speaks up first, "Guess this is a good thing to have when someone bites the dust later!" She laughs.

"Neptune!" Vert somewhat loudly states.

"Hahaha! I'm just kidding, we'll get Burt back up."

Histoire clears her throat. "Alright, the potion is used on Burt as Albedo administers it. The wound on Burt is closed off and the color of life returns to them. Alright, let's end this session right now, we'll reconvene next week. Let's let this combat scenario be a lesson to all of us. I'll see you all next week."

Histoire hastily fixes her notes and leaves the table, leaving some of her conjurations still active. The table is a bit stunned at the sudden departure of Histoire, but eventually they all say their evening farewells, whilst the twins are seen yawning and their fatigue catching up to them. Meanwhile Histoire returns to her own room, and plops herself down on her small, Histoire-sized bed, red with embarrassment.

"How could I have mistuned a fight that badly, and I had to throw in a random event to let Burt get back up... I would've let it be if it was just that but... ohhhh, that was too much..."

Chapter Text

Histoire faces herself in front of the mirror. She looks sternly at her reflection, as it stares right back. She turns on the faucet, cups the cold water and splashes her face with it. She wipes her face dry with her towel and starts talking to herself.

"It's alright. none of them have asked within the last week what exactly happened at the end there. Let's just get to the next part of the story, give out the appropriate amount of EXP to everyone. And they'll be on their merry way."

She returns to her room and checks her wall clock, it's almost time for the session. Reflecting on the previous week, either everyone was too shocked to discuss it, or they're saving all their grievances for today. Her stomach feels like it's twisting itself. She takes a deep breath and sighs the same amount, before exiting her room and going to the table, where everyone is already waiting. Her eyes pan the entire table, all 4 goddesses and their sisters are happily catching up from last week.

As she arrives, everyone quiets down, as if the teacher has entered the classroom and it's time for class. This just makes her more nervous, as she takes her seat at the head of the table. Everyone is watching her organize her notes for the session today. Histoire grits her teeth, wishing someone would please break the overpowering silence.

"Ah."

"Yes?" Histoire immediately picked up on that small sound and answered. She looks around to see who made it, and it was Vert. She's holding up a finger, looking like she's going to ask something.

"I was just wondering, how much EXP did we get for the bugbears? And, would I still get EXP even though I fell in battle? Though I did get back up again."

"Ah, yes. Let me just check, I'm sorry I forgot about it last week. Let's see, the total EXP is 4800, divided that by 8, it will be 600 EXP for each of you."

As soon as she says that, everyone begins to tally their EXP, except for Nepgear who is raising her hand.

"Miss Nepgear, it's fine for you to just speak up, but all the same, what's the matter?"

"Um, I may have forgotten, but what is our starting EXP?"

"Oh! That would be 6000, adding in 600, you should have 6600 in total. In fact, everyone should have an equal amount of EXP at the moment."

"Okay! So 6600 in total... and this is the amount of EXP needed to become level 5. That's still a bit far away..."

"Alright, any other questions?"

"Ooh! I got one Miss Histoire!" says Ram enthusiastically. "That, um, person from before! I, uh, can't pronounce his name... but I think it was a drow, I remember that part. Can I have flashy swords like that?! I heard that monks can use monk weapons and still be able to use all monk abilities like normal!"

"Um... let me see..."

Histoire rifles through the book quickly, and sees that there are definitely monk weapons, but only a small handful of them, kama, nunchakus, quarterstaves, sai, shurikens, and sianghams. There seems to be additional rules for this as well, mostly to the strength bonuses when using weapons as part of the flurry of blows. Perhaps as a compromise, it will be best to just flavor it as unarmed attacks either way, but she'll have to ask the group if everyone is willing to do so.

Histoire clears her throat. "Well, there are, once we reach a town, perhaps you can find some." She realizes just before she spoke fully, that there are mastercraft weapons, and magical weapons, that might be more powerful than fists. If she just placed them as flavor then it would be a poor choice in the long run, and trying to balance and reason this out would be too much.

"Okay! That makes sense."

"Anyone else?"

"None from me Histy. I think we can start the session, yeah?"

There are no objections from the table even after waiting for a bit. "Alright. If that's the case, then, we all ended after the bugbear threat has been fought off. There were two bugbears that ran, but they were quickly taken care of."

"Yes, by that wandering drow, who somehow disappeared suddenly," says Noire, her arms crossed. "I'm still not convinced he's an innocent guy. Who looks for a supermarket in the forest?"

Vert claps her hand softly. "Now, now, Noire, it's quite lucky that he was there, and he dropped a potion to resurrect Burt."

"See, that's exactly it! Why would he be carrying something that potent, and carelessly drop it! Anyway, would Burt be ... um, 'alive' enough that he can cast Detect Magic? How did he escape? Lady Histoire?"

"Oh! Um, let's see... resurrection takes 10 minutes to cast... but it's a potion... these effects only happen if the person is 1st level, but Burt is Level 4... erm, nothing here says that they'll be incapacitated or dazed... So, Burt is ready to go, more or less."

"If that's the case, I'll cast Detect Magic then, around the area of the drow, and for my roll... 13. Adding 7, that's 20. What do I find out?"

"Burt manages to find out that there was a spell cast, and it's school is of Conjuration, under the subschool of Teleportation."

"Would it be possible for me to know which spell in particular?"

"Um... I believe I've let Janette find out what a potion was, but this is a spell, but you've already detected it... ah, okay, there is one. I'll give you a small +2 bonus on your roll, since you already know that it's Conjuration. You may only try it once." Histoire mentally locks in the DC 24, as Dimension Door is a 4th Level spell, and the base amount is 20.

"Okay. So my Spellcraft is now +9... I don't know what the DC would be but..."

Vert rolls her d20, as it bounces a few times on the table, but stays within the confines of it. The d20 lands on 20. The table erupts in cheers.

Histoire motions her hands for everyone to calm down. "Calm down, a 20 is bound to appear eventually... moving on... with that 29, yes, you are able to figure out what was the spell used. It's Dimension Door. It's a spell that allows instantaneous travel, within a distance of 400 feet, adding in 40 feet per caster level. Casting time is 1 round, so very quick."

Noire puts a hand on her chin. "So, he most likely disappeared immediately... and we don't know which direction he even went to, unless?"

"No, Miss Noire, imagine if you were using a teleportation spell to escape and they knew where you went. You'd scream bloody murder."

"...Um, true..."

"I guess, we'd just need to be careful... hopefully he's not an actual threat... Oh no! We used something that's his! What if he tries to get back to us, because he realizes he dropped something that valuable!?"

Histoire hasn't even thought of that possibility, mostly because she has planned Mrizzt to be a one-time done character, a flimsy excuse to give Vert her character back. Depending on the decisions they make, she may need to actually flesh him out as a real character. She hopes that she wouldn't need to do that.

Vert raises a finger. "I'm sure we'll be fine. Probably. I believe JC's health is quite low, so I will be using some spell slots to heal his wounds, though I'll do that once we're back in the carriage. How is the carriage driver, Lady Histoire?"

Histoire jolts slightly. "Oh! The carriage driver, he's, uh, fine. The bugbears didn't attack him since he didn't look like a threat and he basically rolled himself into a ball."

"Alright, let's get the small talk out of the way, and let's get the carriage ride back. Is everyone alright with that?"

Everyone on the table nods, except Noire. "Well," she says, "I'm going to check on the carriage driver, and tell him that everything is okay now and to get on our way. Wait, wasn't there a blockade on the road in the first place which is why we were stopped?"

"Yes, that's right Miss Noire."

"Well, Burt is back up, Blunga is still alright, I'm more than certain, that half of our party has a high amount of strength to be able to move the blockade away."

Histoire nods. "Yes, that's also right. Health points have no bearing with how well someone can do a task. So even with JC being this wounded, he can help without issue. And since it's the 4 of you, it would be needless to have a roll, unless all 4 of you simultaneously get body cramps, you'd all be moving the logs out of the way."

"So, Burt, Blunga, JC, Albedo, and Paul..."

"So the 5 of you..."

"...will move the logs out of the way. How long will that take us?"

"Um, with the 5 of you, since it's not being moved to a far area and just being moved out of the way, it takes about 10 minutes. By that time, the carriage driver has calmed down and ready to keep the carriage moving."

"Great. We'll move out then. Lady Histoire, where exactly will the carriage take us? It's been a while..."

"It will be taking you to Haneda Forest, which is where some of the people in the logs you've found in the lab are from."

"And that's why we have camping supplies, so I'm guessing we're just a few more hours away from it... Right, assuming nothing... extreme happens, like another encounter... Would there be one?"

"Erm, the party continues on with the trip, Albedo notices that the carriage driver, is constantly looking around, scanning the area, obviously rattled from the experience. The trip is, thankfully, uneventful, and from the far distance, Albedo can see a town, but, the carriage driver stops the carriage. Then he says, 'This is Haneda Forest. The old town that was in Haneda Forest is in that direction. You might see some abandoned signs of the old town that would lead you there. It shouldn't take too long to reach the town on foot.' He points towards deeper the forest."

"I guess this is the end of the line," says Vert. "Well, Burt will exit the carriage, along with everyone else. Oh, right! During the trip, I'll cast, uh, what Cure Spell is Level 2? Or is it just Level 1?"

"Um, there is ... Cure Moderate Wounds. Level 2 Cleric spell, heals for 2d8 and your caster level, up to a maximum of 10... so that's 2d8+4 healing."

"I'll use up my 2 Level Two slots then, just in case something happens, and even if there wasn't, getting a long rest would restore them back. Alright, let's see, so 4d8+8, for two casts, just to simplify things."

"Go ahead, Miss Vert."

"Let's see... 5, 7, 6, 3, adding 8, for a total of 29."

Rom writes down the numbers, using her fingers to add them all up. "I have 32 out of 44 HP now. Almost fully healed!"

Vert nods her head. "Well, let's head out of the carriage now, and start heading towards the direction he gave."

The rest of the table nod their heads, as Histoire waves her hands to change the scenery. A forest with an abandoned looking path cutting through. Even though years have passed, there is still a gap between some of the trees that was obviously used as a path before.

"Oh! Right, Lady Histoire," interjected Noire, "what time is it?"

"Ah, it's turning evening."

"Then, Histy, can we camp out for the night then?"

"If that's the case," Vert adds, "since you mentioned before that having the four of us would have made a proper long rest impossible, which means my spell slots becoming available, impossible by proxy, now that there are 8 of us, we can easily, split the guard duty to our melee fighters, who, I believe do not get much benefit from long rests, outside of health regeneration."

"Are you telling our fighters to not sleep, Vert?" asks noire.

"No, of course not. I'm saying, our non-casters, which would be... JC, Paul, Poppy, and Blunga. I don't think they have any benefits for a long rest, and a short rest is sufficient, which is 6 hours, of sleep, and 2 hours of keeping guard. That won't incapacitate them, and would give our casters, enough time to replenish our spell slots."

As Vert continues to explain her plan, Histoire checks on their character sheets, namely Nepgear and Neptune's spell sheets as they are both casters. She sees that neither of them have bothered learning the Alarm spell, which would have solved this entire conundrum, but alas, neither of them have it. Did they perhaps purchase a scroll of Alarm, or did she provide them with one? Looking through their inventory, the answer is a clear no.

"...Lady Histoire!"

"Huh? What?" Histoire's concentration on her thoughts were interrupted, by Vert. "So, have you all decided what you'd want to do?" It seems that Vert was the one who has called out Histoire from her thoughts.

"Yes, we'll be resting somewhere to the sidepath, to rejuvenate from our injuries. I'll be using the rest of my spell slots, and Noire will also be doing the same for Lay on Hands, while Blunga, JC, Paul, and Poppy will keep watch. This is so the casters can replenish their spell slots."

"Miss Histoire..." asks Rom, "can't we just put up some alarms that would let us know if someone will come near our campsite? Like, um, put some rope around, and hide it, so when it gets touched or tripped we'll be alerted?"

"Um, that's possible as well, I don't see why not, that will require a survival check and various items, such as rope, and an item that can produce sound for an alarm, like a bell. Does anyone in the party have such an item? I know that all of you should have some rope, but I don't think anyone has purchased a bell." Everyone by the table looks at each other, hoping that perhaps they did get a bell, but alas after a few minutes of silence, they all collectively shake their heads.

Vert clears her throat. "Well, I suppose that settles that. Is there anything that we would need to do Lady Histoire? Any rolls?"

"Erm, let's see, no, I don't think a roll would make sense here. You've all been provided tents and appropriate rations to last a few days. So, just to be sure, the casters will be getting 8 straight hours of sleep, while the non-casters will have a guard schedule. Is that right?"

"Yes, and before we all fully rest, I'm going to use the rest of my spell slots to heal their wounds. I'll heal Ram with my Level 1 spell slots, one by one, just in case I over heal. Let's see here... how much health is Paul missing?"

Ram looks at her sheet. "He's missing 20 hit points."

"Let's see, that's 1d8 + 4 for each cast, first cast is 6, so that's 10, already half-way there! Second cast is 3, so that's 7."

"Miss Vert, I think that's enough for now, I'm only missing 3. What about big sister and Rom?"

"Well, if you insist. I'll heal Rom next with this cast, which is 7, so that's 11. For Blanc... that's 4, for 8." Rom and Blanc both update their sheets, as Vert continues. "Rom, how much are you missing still?"

"Just 1 more hit point."

"I'll use Cure Minor Wounds, which is exactly 1 hit point. Now, I have 3 more hit points left to give."

Blanc immediately replies. "Give the rest to Ram."

"Alright. That's 3 points. I believe the two of them should be fully healed."

Noire looks through her sheet. "Ah, Albedo still has 4 charges of Lay on Hands, I'll use the rest of it on Poppy. Does that heal you to full, Uni?"

Uni nods in response. "That's right, thanks Noire!"

As the table discuss their healing, Neptune and Nepgear just look at each other with a blank expression. Breaking the ice, Neptune speaks up first. "Uh, we weren't really hurt in combat, and we'll both be able to sleep through because we're both ... casters."

"Um, that's right big sister... it does feel like we've been left out a bit, ahahaha..."

After a short while, the healing discussion has quieted down, giving Histoire a chance to continue. She clears her throat, and the table looks at her. "Alright, so, the party decides to camp out by the side of the path towards the abandoned town in Haneda Forest. Since, all of you have the appropriate materials and equipment to actually create a campsite, there's no survival roll required. As for, the, uh, rotation of rest, 4 of the non-casters, namely Miss Blanc, her sisters, Rom and Ram, and finally Miss Uni, will all be on guard. I believe Miss Vert has discussed how it works, in a role-play aspect. Let's see..."

Histoire rolls a few d20s to herself, about 4, just to see if something would happen in the evening, or would it be uneventful. Perhaps, something higher than 10, would ensure something, and 20 would invite actual danger. The results come out as, 4, 1, 8, and 10. Perhaps she would just make them slightly paranoid and ask them to roll spot and listen checks, with no real consequence. That might be best.

"So, who will be the first one to keep watch?"

Ram raises her hand. "It'll be me, then Rom, then big sister, and then Uni."

"Alright. So, the other 7 members of the party begin to rest. The 4 casters, enter the tents and rest there, while the vanguard stay outside for ease of changing shifts. For the first two hours, it's Paul's turn to keep watch. He sees the rest of the party begin to rest. It's only turning nightfall, so there's still light aside from the campfire."

Histoire waves her hands and conjures an appropriate image to set the mood. She even changes the thermostat in the room, unbeknownst to anybody, she sets it to a slightly colder setting, all the while keeping the table area slightly warmer, to give the feeling of being around a campfire.

"Miss Ram, go ahead and give me a spot and listen check."

"Um... I got a total of 7 for my Spot check... and a total of 15 for my Listen check."

"Paul is unable to see too far from the campfire, but he can clearly hear the sounds of the forest. He can hear the rustling of leaves, and the beginning of night cover the forest." Histoire dims the conjuration slightly, and begin to play the hooting of owls and rustling of leaves.

Ram looks around in response to the sounds suddenly playing around the table. Histoire chuckles a bit. "Don't worry Miss Ram, there won't be any sudden owls swooping down by our table. Continuing on, Paul's shift is uneventful, most likely a good thing."

"If that's the case, then I'll wake up JC. Then after that, get some sleep!"

"Paul wakes up JC, and promptly takes his seat and sleeps. Also, I just remembered, sleeping in heavy armor, this is mostly for Miss Noire, would impede actually getting rest, so it's heavily implied that Albedo will be removing her heavy armor."

Noire nods her head, as Histoire continues. "JC, wakes up, sees his brother sleep, and prepares himself for his watch shift. It's getting much darker now, the only sounds that can be heard are the crackles of the campfire. Fog is slowly rolling in."

"Miss Histoire, I want to make a spot and listen check as well to see if something is there... oh. Nevermind, I only got 5 for Spot and 9 for Listen in total, too."

"Ah. It seems the fog has made it difficult to properly ascertain anything further out than a few feet from the camp. JC feels he is being watched. He looks around, and there seems to be shadows moving about."

Rom looks a bit scared from Histoire's descriptions, along with Histoire actually conjuring small shadows that are skittering about, and slowly making the area darker. Rom is looking around, and seems to have jumped slightly in her seat when she saw one of the conjured shadows. Blanc puts a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Other than the sensation of being watched, JC's watch was uneventful, he then wakes up Blunga. She wipes the sleep off her eyes, while JC starts to rest once more." Histoire feels that there is some tension in the table, especially knowing that in this same situation, anyone who's played games, there has to be something that would happen, otherwise, why spend so much time in the roleplay?

Blanc rolls her d20 twice. "I'll roll my spot and listen checks. A flat 9 for spot, while a total of 21 for listen. Guess I'll just close my eyes, and it'll feel like nothing's changed at all."

"So for Blunga, she closes her eyes to focus on the sounds of the camp. As she concentrates, an unknown sound is heard in the direction of their destination." Histoire conjures the sound of rattling bones, and walking on grass and dirt, but doesn't describe them as such.

"Are the sounds coming closer to us, or...?"

"After listening to it for a few more minutes, the sounds seem to be content to staying in its general area."

"...Right. Those sounds... they sounded like... uh..."

"No, you can't ask anyone else on the table, they've heard it out of character, but in character they're all asleep."

Blanc frowns slightly, seeing as her plans were immediately shattered, or atleast that's what Histoire thinks. "Alright, sounds like something walking, but I can't tell what. This place is supposed to be abandoned, so maybe just an animal. Hrm, I guess Blunga will keep her axe closer to her then. Just in case."

"Blunga keeps her axe close. The sounds that she heard continues, sometimes she hears it twice. Also, not to break the mood though, I would need a quick break. Miss Vert, Miss Noire, please use this time to decide which spells you would be preparing." Histoire takes a deep breath before stretching a bit and floating away from the table.

Everyone on the table seems to have all at once been released from a slight trance. They collectively shake their heads, as Neptune and the others stand up to stretch.

"Some snacks sound good right about now," says Neptune, heading to the kitchen.

Chapter Text

Histoire enters the kitchen, and sighs out the weight off her shoulders. Wiping off the non-existent sweat off her brow, she gets a small glass of water and slowly drinks. She still feels anxious even though no one has really mentioned last week's mess. Continuing her thoughts, with this long rest, everyone should be fully healed, and their next encounter would be with a few skeletons, and all of them will be affected by Haste, due to the nature of the gemstone, in addition they'll be facing some hallucinations, but only if they fail their will save. A DC of 15 should be fair, and it's not really dangerous, unless they get exposed to it for years, which really shouldn't happen.

Looking around, she notices Neptune also approaching the kitchen. Neptune waves at her, and Histoire waves back, after putting away the glass of water and wiping her mouth. Histoire mentally prepares herself to whatever she might say, perhaps during the break is when they'll offload their grievances.

"Hey Histy, want some snacks as well?"

"Huh? Uh, yes."

"Something sweet or salty? Maybe both? I think we have some of that sweet and salty popcorn."

"Yes, just a few pieces should be fine."

"Alright! Gonna grab you a small bowl then."

"What about the others?"

"Eh? They're busy, but I know what they want though, so I'm picking some of their snacks for them too."

"Um, what are they talking about?"

"Ah, just their spell slots really, and they're wondering what that noise was."

"Is that really it..?"

"Yeah. Why Histy? You look a bit anxious. Well, I guess I'd be anxious too if I was the Dungeon Master, hahaha."

"Uhm... it's nothing."

"Later Histy!" Neptune exits the kitchen, carrying a rather large tray full of snacks and drinks, perfectly balancing them in her hands.

"Ah, if only she could balance her work like that..." says Histoire, drinking another glass of water before suddenly finding herself hurrying to the bathroom.

Washing her hands, she looks at herself in the mirror once more, just like before. She sighs deeply and nods before returning to the table. A lot of discussion is heard from the 8 girls, some about the game and some about random mundane things, and sharing of snacks. As soon as they see Histoire, they all slowly quiet down. Taking her seat, Vert immediately breaks the silence.

"Ah, Lady Histoire, here's my spell list of prepared spells. Two casts of Create Water, Detect Magic, Purify Food and Drink, Resistance, for Level 0, and for Level 1, it'll be Cure Light Wounds, Divine Favor, Magic Weapon, and Shield of Faith. Level 2 would be Aid and Lesser Restoration."

"Thank you Miss Vert, in the future, I know your spell list will get larger in the future, so a list would suffice."

"Alright, Lady Histoire. Also, my Domain spells are still the same from before, I believe I don't get new ones until much later anyway."

"Ah, now for me Lady Histoire," says Noire, looking at her sheet and the Player Handbook, "As a paladin ... with my stats, I only have ... uh, one spell. I'll make it Bless Weapon."

Histoire nods and takes note of their choices. "I noticed you two chose Magic Weapon and Bless Weapon, I'd just like the two of you know, or rather a reminder, that you can't enhance Masterwork weapons, but oddly enough you can use it on ... Monk fists. Some of these niche cases are quite odd... Ah, anyway... where did we leave off?"

"Blunga has kept her axe close and is currently wondering what those sounds are, does something eventually pop out?"

"Hmmmm...." Histoire herself knows that nothing would appear, as it rolled 8 for the situation, but she conjures the appropriate darkness and chill of the night all the same. "The sounds continue throughout the night, in irregular intervals, but that's all there is to it. Blunga notes the passage of time and realizes her shift is over."

"Hrm, right. I'll wake up Poppy."

"Blunga wakes up Poppy and begins to take the rest of her sleep. Miss Uni, it'll be your turn to keep watch now. Hrm, this is the last two hours, and at this point it's nearing dawn."

Uni grins as she hears this. "That's good, that means I get the least scary part of the watch!" The rest of the table does not share her enthusiasm, much to Uni's surprise. Noire purses her lips and shakes her head slowly.

"Um, Uni, we've played games before, right? Especially horror games? I mean we have a lot of games about zombies and stuff."

"Yes...?"

"You know how when nothing happens for a while, you definitely know that something has to happen?"

"Um... Lady Histoire wouldn't do that... right?" she says, as she looks towards Histoire.

"Oh! Um..." Histoire knows that the result was a 10, but only 20 would've been an invitation to actual danger... perhaps a small animal, wandering around during the dawn, with Uni's high spot and listen checks, Poppy would be able to easily discern what's going on. "Ah, was I perhaps that transparent? Anyway, um, as Poppy keeps watch, please roll a spot and listen check."

Uni rolls her d20 twice and happily reports the results. "20, so 28 for Spot and 17, so 27 for my Listen! There's no way I can't not see or hear what's going on!"

"So, with those results, Poppy has a very good grasp of anything corporeal. She can even see a small earthworm jutting out of the ground." Uni nods with a smile as Histoire continues. "She continues to keep watch and as she does, she hears the rustling of a nearby bush. Turning her head towards--"

"I ready my crossbow!"

"Um, okay, Poppy readies her crossbow, aims towards the rustling of the nearby bush. As she aims at the rustling, out pops the head of a doe."

"A doe?"

"That's right." Histoire conjures a bush and out of it is the head of a cute looking doe. "It looks around, looks at the party, then hides back. A few tense minutes later, nothing else happens."

"Hm, well, everyone has rations for meals...well, nothing else to do but keep my watch up until I have to wake everyone up. How's the current weather?"

Histoire nods. "There's still some fog lingering about, but with Poppy's keen eyesight and hearing, she'd be able to catch almost anything not hiding their presence. Speaking of..." Uni flinches upon hearing those two words while Histoire conjures the sounds of rattling bones. "These sounds are getting louder, as if it's approaching, and it stops, and it gets softer, as if getting further away."

"Please say that nothing else happens, Miss Histoire... it's getting tense..."

Histoire smiles softly. "Alright Miss Uni. Poppy's shift ends without much trouble, only those sounds are constant, yet they never grow louder than what was heard."

"So I can wake everyone up now? Right? Great. I'll do that."

"Okay, so Poppy wakes everyone up, the casters have all their spell slots restored after their fruitful sleep."

Everyone stretches their arms out as if they did sleep, with Noire yawning as well, before looking like she just remembered something. "Ah, Lady Histoire, Albedo will of course put on her armor."

Histoire nods, and Vert adds that her Burt will also be wearing her armor. Histoire gives everyone a minute or so to get back to focus before dismissing the conjurations by the table. Clapping her hands, everyone flinches to attention.

"Alright then, everyone has had a fruitful long rest, now what would you like to do?"

Rom pipes up. "Well, we'll be having breakfast Miss Histoire. We can't go adventuring on an empty stomach."

"Okay, everyone has their breakfast, and have been properly fed and watered. The sun is rising up and the fog is slowly disappearing, showing more of the forest."

"Lady Histoire, does Poppy see a clear path towards the old town?"

"Yes. There is a slightly open path where there are no trees."

"Then, we should follow that path, but carefully. Can we stealth as a group?"

Histoire chuckles a bit. "Have you ever tried hiding while a few people in the group are wearing plate armor? They're not exactly quiet."

"Big sister! Remove Albedo's clothes! Armor, I mean!"

"What?! That will leave me defenseless!"

"But if we sneak up on them, we won't need defenses!"

"No! Besides I'm not the only one wearing heavy armor!"

"But! How can we sneak by them..."

"You know you can sneak alone, right? Then just tell us what you find out?"

"Oh."

It seems that Uni has not thought about that and got stuck to the idea that she has to be with everyone all the time, thinks Histoire to herself. She sees Uni make a variety of facial expressions, as she places a hand on her chin and thinks about things. Speaking of thinking, if Uni decides to sneak, the DC for sneaking by skeletons needs to be determined. While the table stares at Uni as she makes a decision, Histoire checks on the stats of a regular humanoid skeleton, and looking at it, they have a flat 10 for Wisdom and nothing special for any kind of perception, so Uni would just need to not roll 1 or something and she'd be fine.

A few minutes of Uni going 'hmmmm' pass by, and Histoire decides that she needs to make a decision now. Clearing her throat, it makes Uni flinch in her seat. "So, Miss Uni, have you made a decision? We can't stay here all night."

"Oh! Um... ah...y-yes... I'll sneak by and report what I find there. What would I need to roll in order to sneak?"

"That would be Move Silently. I believe a single roll should be enough to encompass the whole ordeal."

Uni looks pale. "Wait... a single roll would seal my entire fate?"

"Well, would you rather an average of 3 rolls to make you feel better?" says Histoire rolling a d20 behind her screen to be the single DC that Uni has to beat. It seems she's so pre-occupied about the notion of having only one roll she didn't even notice the sound of the die, which returned 16. Histoire tries to remember what Poppy's modifier was, especially since she is a halfling rogue. Looking through her notes, Poppy has a 12 modifier to her Move Silently, so she would literally need to roll 3 and lower to fail.

"Um, yes, sure, 3 rolls and getting the average sounds good."

"Alright, go ahead and roll 3 d20s and remember to add your modifier."

"Ya!" Uni energetically rolls her d20 at the table 3 times, taking note of the result each time. 15, 4, and 2. Uni looks extremely worried at the results, and so was Histoire until she quickly calculates the average of those 3 rolls was 7, which is higher than 4. 

Uni puts both her hands on her head in panic. "Oh no! I should've just let that first roll decide everything! Those two other rolls might've made me fail already... So Miss Histoire, did I succeed? That's 27, 16 and ... 14."

"Well, let's see. After Poppy eats breakfast, she stretches a bit, to ready herself to sneak towards the path and scout the area ahead. Ah, right, please roll a Spot and Listen check as well for this. Would you like an average roll again?"

Uni shakes her head. "Um, I'll do the single rolls... I think the fear of seeing a first good roll then two bad ones is going to gnaw at me." Shaking the die in her hand, she rolls it twice as it lands on 18 and 15. Uni gets visibly excited seeing the high results. "Oh! That's 26 and 25 for Spot and Listen!"

Histoire nods. "Okay, so Poppy moves out after telling the group she'll scout ahead. She uses the trees for cover, and due to her small frame, even in the morning, the shade of the trees are used in great effect. The sound that she heard while she was on guard duty is still heard, along with the usual sounds of the forest, such as birds chirping, the rustling of leaves and what not." Histoire conjures those sounds as she lists them down.

"So I'm still being stealthy... and then what? How long does it take me to reach the source of those sounds?"

"After a few minutes of sneaking by, and following the path, the sounds are finally clear, and she spots what looks to be a town, or the remains of it. Hiding herself in a small bush, a bit of distance from the town, she peers through and the first thing that she notices are, moving skeletons." Histoire quickly shows a number of skeletons moving about, and tries to conjure the first piece of music she thinks of when there are skeletons about.

The musical choice leaves the table stunned, mostly from surprise. Histoire realizes she conjured the incorrect choice and promptly puts a stop to it. She blushes in embarrassment, and coughs loudly to try and get things back on track.

Neptune is laughing in her seat. "Histy! That song sounded like a children's Hallow's Eve song from 1996!"

"Ahem! Let's move on from that Neptune. Anyway, that's what Poppy sees. She sees skeletons moving about. Their movements seem random and erratic."

Uni takes a moment to think. "Ah! What about the surrounding area? What does that look like from what I can see?"

"Looking around, it looks like an abandoned town. Dilapidated structures, some walls are cracking and crumbling, rotten doors, and such. Some of the skeletons are shambling to and fro. In fact one of them is moving towards the path that you came from."

"I'll observe that one..."

"Poppy marks her target, and sees that after shambling about it returns to where it began, almost back and forth."

"That explains that constant sound, it was this guy... I wonder if he's like a scout to see if anyone is too close. Are skeletons smart enough to do that? What do I know about skeletons?"

"Well," says Histoire pulling out an anatomy book, "everyone has one."

"Miss Histoire, you know that's not what I meant!" she says chuckling slightly at the attempt at humor.

"On a more serious note, I would say that Poppy, does not know much about skeletons as undead."

"Aw. Hm, I think that's everything I can get from this little scouting mission. The town is infested with skeletons, I'm sure they won't take kindly to intruders but there's really not much I can do here... how many skeletons did I see?"

Histoire thinks for a bit, knowing that this number would basically be their combat encounter. She knows that skeletons are rather frail, having 6 health points only, but a swarm of anything is always deadly. At a challenge rating of 1/3, their stats are extremely weak, perhaps a large number of them would be fine, about 20 just as a show of threat, even though if they try to fight them, they'll most likely overwhelm the skeletons anyway.

"There are about 20 of them from what you've seen," Histoire notes their reactions of unease at the table as they hear the word 20. "That's what Poppy saw from her vantage point."

"Oh... 20. I think Poppy will return to the group and tell them about this."

"Poppy returns to the group, unscathed. She reports to the group what she's seen. So now, in-character everyone knows what Miss Uni has seen."

"Oh!" blurts out Neptune, her eyes sparkling. "Let me use my bardic knowledge to check if we can know anything about the skeletons! That would be my Bard Level of 4, and my intelligence modifier of 2... and let's roll!"

The d20 lands on 12, and with her 6, it becomes 18, much to her satisfaction. "So, Histy, what do we glean with that 18?"

Histoire thinks about the result, and decides that 18 is enough to know enough about the skeletons, since this is a magical realm; Sir Puddington, logically would have at the very least heard about other adventurers talk about skeletons, or some rumors about the undead. Noddding, Histoire clears her throat to let the group know what Sir Puddington knows about skeletons.

"So, Sir Puddington, with that roll of 18, knows that skeletons are undead, obviously, mindless automatons that obey the orders of their masters. It can draw no conclusions and it only continues to live, or what can be called living, to serve out its instructions. It's also immune to the cold, and of course, lacks flesh or internal organs."

Neptune scrunches up her face, trying to digest the information that was given to them. "Um... how strong are skeletons ... generally? I mean in video games they can be the first monsters you see, or heck even the last few monsters, like that boss fight with the castle and the vampire, with the whip, and the 'DIE MONSTER' line."

"Pretty sure you didn't play as the whip guy in that game... though I guess you could have with a New Game Plus..." adds in Noire.

"Well, Neptune, you've described it actually. Their strength varies on whatever they are, or rather, were, that means they can be very powerful or very weak. For Miss Uni's case, Poppy saw that the skeletons were all humanoid. Nothing like wildbeasts or advanced megaraptors."

"Advanced what now?" says Vert, her lips pursing in worry.

"Uh, don't mind that. Anyway, how would you like to proceed with this information?"

"Erm, do we just go in guns blazing?" shrugged Neptune.

"Oh! I think I have some spells that can do area of effect... or at the very least hit multiple targets," adds Nepgear.

"We have cleave?" says Rom. "That should help a bit..."

Ram shares her thoughts. "But, what if there are hidden skeletons around, like behind the doors and stuff?"

"Huh," says Blanc, "did they have any weapons on them at all? If they're all unarmed, maybe we wouldn't have any trouble with it, besides, what exactly are we looking for here?"

"I'm thinking," says Vert, "we're looking for proof that there was magical shenanigans happening here. I mean, this is proof enough that there are skeletons, but I'm sure we'd then be tasked to clear the place out, so we better clear the place out."

Noire claps her hands together. "You're a cleric, right Vert? Can't you just destroy these undead or something?"

"Uh, I can Turn Undead..."

"Wait you can transform into a zombie?" asks Noire, looking surprised. "What kind of..."

"No, not that kind of Turn. As in, I make them turn away, in fear, or into dust, if they're weak enough, but I only have a few uses of it per day, and like what Uni saw, there's more than 20, and it's possible there are more skeletons hiding about. Maybe, we need to scout this area more, by we, I meant Uni, because none of us can be stealthy."

Vert stands up from her seat and rubs Uni's shoulders. "You'll do it for us, right Uni?" She lightly caresses Uni's nape with skillful fingers, making Uni shudder slightly.

"Aaaahhh..."

"Vert! Stop that! Don't butter up my sister like that! That's her choice if she'll be sending her rogue back into the fray to scout."

Vert pouts, but stops rubbing Uni's shoulders. "Alright. Well, Uni?"

"Um... uh, can I have more time to think?"

"Ahem!" says Histoire loudly. "Well, Miss Uni, actually everyone, I believe it's time for the session to be over."

"Huh?" says Neptune, confused. "But, it feels like we haven't even did combat!"

"If we did combat, we'll be here until dawn. We all still have our regular work to do. We can reconvene next week. Miss Uni, you can use that time to think what you'd like to do. That goes for everyone as well, though hopefully this wouldn't be the only thing you all talk about..."

"Aw, okay Histy. I guess we'll see what our decision is next time we play."

Chapter Text

Histoire takes her seat at the end of the table, watching Neptune play around with the dice while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. It's still a bit before the others would arrive, and no one else is at the table, even Nepgear is currently elsewhere.
 
"Neptune."
 
"Huh? What's up Histy?"
 
"I want to talk about, uh, what happened, a week or two ago, about when the dice decided to off Vert's cleric."
 
"Oh, yeah, she didn't take that too well from what I've seen. She did get happier after she got resurrected."
 
"Well, yes, I suppose anyone would, but, not that, did anyone say how they felt when that happened?"
 
"Huh? What do you mean? Explain."
 
Histoire looks slightly annoyed. "When the drow arrived and dropped the potion, did anyone think it was weird or..?"
 
"Oh, well, just a bit, I mean now we're worried that a drow is going to be on us, I don't even know what a drow is, but does Sir Puddington know? Can I get that lil' bit of knowledge?"
 
"I feel like I have mentioned it before... but maybe I haven't... a-anyway! That's not what I mean, what I mean is ..." Histoire finds herself at a sudden pause. Perhaps, this whole time, she's the only one who's been overthinking this whole ordeal? Maybe, they don't actually think, this was some massive plot failure she tried to cover up? This whole time, she was worried about nothing, that everything is completely fine?
 
Neptune is staring closely at Histoire. "What you mean is..? Histy? You cut out on me... are you alright? Has the stress of DM'ing gotten to you?" Neptune suddenly gasps. "You're not thinking of calling off this week are you?! Nooooo!"
 
"What? No, no, nothing like that Neptune. Just, uh... nevermind, it's okay now. Anyway, you want to know about the Drow?"
 
"Are they evil? Or something?"
 
"Erm, let me read it verbatim... or as best as I can..."

"Wait, I don't need to roll?"

"I can give you the most basic knowledge for free."

"Free sounds good. Lay it on me, Histy."

"Let's see here... drow are also called dark elves, and their most common alignment is, neutral evil. They don't like the light and prefer the shade. I think that's more than enough as an overview."

Neptune looks aghast when Histoire mentioned that the drow are neutral evil. "Histy, wouldn't that mean we're totally gonna get ganked? We took his thing! His precious thing!"

Histoire chuckles a bit. "Well, we'll see... ah, you should call your sister to the table, I believe it's almost time for the session to start proper."

Neptune leaves the table, but not before looking back, with a pleading face. "Okay... Histy, please don't gank us, not like this!" As soon as Neptune is out of sight, Histoire sighs, collapses on the table, and chuckles a hollow laugh to herself. Loud enough to echo in her body, but soft enough to not actually be heard by anyone else.

Pulling herself up, she places her palm on her face, shaking her head. "Was I honestly worried for nearly an entire month, for literally nothing? If they have problems, they're not the type to keep it to themselves... even with Vert most likely meta-gaming subconsciously, the fact she can't find a real pattern to the events, she can't be sure... No one has gotten the idea that I literally put that event in just to resurrect Burt..."

She rubs her temples whilst gritting her teeth, trying to get rid of the accumulated stress in her body. After a while she hears the running footsteps of Neptune. Shaking her head, Histoire sits upright as if nothing happened at all. Neptune takes her usual seat, and Nepgear does the same.

"Miss Histoire, what's this week's plans?"

"Well, um, that's for Miss Uni to decide, and the group I suppose. They should be here in a bit."

Nepgear and Neptune nod, and as they do, almost on cue, the elevator chimes to indicate that there are guests on the way. The doors open a few moments later, and the other goddesses with their sisters arrive. They're all chitchatting still as they file into the room and take their seats, and slowly quiet down. Histoire hands them all their character sheets as usual, and they all take a few minutes to get reacquainted with their sheets.

Histoire clears her throat, and everyone looks towards her. "Alright, everyone is here, so, does everyone remember what we did last session?"

Uni speaks up first, "Yep! I've made my decision. If I recall, we should have enough rations for a few days. So, I want to spend the next few days scouting around, I believe I'm more than stealthy enough to not get their attention. I want to know why they're here and maybe, they're protecting something!"

The rest of the table nod in agreement. Noire is patting Uni's head, to which Uni seems to be enjoying a bit too much. Histoire checks her notes and goes over the effects of the orange gemstone. Now, she's in a slight conundrum, would she make Uni roll a Will save, or should she just roll it for her? Or perhaps she should just make her roll now, so she doesn't know exactly what they're for? Uni has also mentioned the next few days, that would mean she would need multiple rolls for it then.

"If, that's the case, Miss Uni, please roll your stealth, rather, Hide and Move Silently rolls." Histoire decided to roll the Will Save on behalf of Uni, in secret. Rolling a d20, without even letting anyone realize it, the die lands on 13, and glancing at her notes, Uni has a +3 to Will Saves, which means she has effectively nullified the effect, for this day.

"Okay! Let's see, a 15 for Move Silently, total of 27, off to a good start, and 20! Total of 34 for my Hide! I'm basically invisible then!"

"Okay... wait, let me just recap what was done last week..."

"Ah, I think we were discussing my first foray into the village, I was just looking far from it, but I never actually entered the village. I saw the skeletons roaming around the town."

"So, this is still the same day then more or less..."

"I think so Miss Histoire."

"I'll say that Uni, rather Poppy's scouting does take an hour or so. I believe you all have experience with actual recon missions."

Uni nods. "I think that's fair."

"Well, that's the thing, it's morning still, what does the group want to do next?"

"Um," says Rom, "can't Uni visit the town again?"

"Erm, that's ... fine? I guess? Although, what will the rest of the party do?"

The rest of the table suddenly shift their eyes all around and begin to twiddle their hands. Histoire's shoulders slump slightly as she sighs. She did expect this, this is one of the challenges when there's only one player who is able to do the task does it, everyone basically just watches. Everyone else is going to be stuck in stasis while Poppy scouts ahead, while it does make sense for everyone to just be waiting with bated breath for scouting results, it might be a bit boring.

"Oh! I know Histy, um, Sir Puddington, will tune his ... um... instruments?"

"Wait a minute, do you even have instruments in your inventory?"

"Uh..." Neptune flinches as she looks through her character sheet.

"I'm taking that flinch as a no. Well, it's just a minor flavor instrument... I'll let you have a lute, since that's your skill is based on, stringed instruments."

"Yay! Thanks Histy!" Neptune quickly scribbles the Lute into her character sheet.

"Right, so Sir Puddington will be tuning his ... lute, what about the others?"

"Albedo will ... maintain her armor?"

Histoire shrugs. "I guess that's something for everyone to do basically, do maintenance on their gear."

The rest of the table nod their heads. Taking a deep breath, Histoire steels her resolve and turns towards Uni. "Alright, the rest of the party will be doing maintenance and making sure they're in tip-top shape. Miss Uni, are you ready for a deeper dive into the den of evil?"

"D-den of evil?"

"Erm, just a moniker. It doesn't mean anything, well, not that much, just easier to say."

Uni seems to be breathing shallow breaths as she nods, waiting for Histoire to continue her adventure into the village. "Okay Miss Histoire, I shouldn't worry ... I've gotten really good rolls for scouting..." She tells herself.

Histoire clears her throat and begins to wave her arms and hands aronud, conjuring the green scenery they've all grown accustomed to. "Alright, let's see... Poppy after triumphantly returning to tell the group what she saw, and she saw from afar, a dilapidated village, and skeletons roaming around like they own the place. Seeing as that wouldn't have been enough information, Poppy has decided to go deeper into the fray, and return to the village, but instead of just looking from afar, actually going in, sneaking around silently, and investigating as best as she can..."

Histoire suddenly pauses, causing the table to be silent for a few moments that felt longer than it should. She knocks on the table suddenly, and looks at Uni once more. "Um, I forgot to ask you to roll for a Spot check. Would you please roll one, Miss Uni?"

"Wait, can't it be a Search check instead?"

"Oh, sure. That makes more sense. Go ahead, Miss Uni."

"Can I take 10 instead?"

"...Hrmm... no. We're still in the assumption that you're rolling all skill checks at once, so you're still considered to be in danger, you may only take 10 if you're not threatened or distracted, and there's a lot of distractions and threats abound in the village."

"Okay. I hope the roll is good... 14! Adding my modifiers of 12, that's 26 in total! Nice. Maybe we won't need a second trip!"

Histoire nods, all the while thinking that perhaps it would be too boring if everything here were just skeletons. Perhaps something even more dangerous would have taken hold in the village after all these years? Although, the challenge rating may become an issue... Mentally shaking her head, she decides that she'll think about it more during the break.

"Okay then Miss Uni, continuing from before... Poppy tiptoes around, as light as possible, ensuring any trail is as small as possible and can easily be considered negligible. Every movement, expertly made to make sure even the rustling leaves sound natural. Since she knows exactly where the village is now, she's able to make her way there quicker than the first time. Upon arrival, she steels her mind and body to enter from the side. As she enters, a slight chill goes down her spine, as if something felt amiss, but she perseveres and proceeds. For some reason, she feels slightly lighter on her feet as well."

"I feel lighter on my feet? Like, I'm faster or something?"

"That's right. Moving feels easier, Poppy can easily move at walking speed even while sneaking."

Uni grins in excitement. "Oooh, that's good," she says, while Histoire unconsciously finds herself looking at Vert's reaction, who is currently pursing her lips, while her eyes grow wide.

Histoire waves her hands and conjures an overhead map of the village. "This might make it easier," she says as she finishes the conjuration. Dilapidated, broken houses, with holes in either the walls or roofs, dot the area. "I do fully expect you to basically try and search each house, so I would say you can only search up to 5 houses before you have to return, because you'd need time to properly search the place."

Uni is counting the houses using her finger as she nods from Histoire's ruling. "Okay Miss Histoire, um, so there's about 20 houses here... I feel like I won't need to visit all of them... ah! The best buildings to visit first would be something close to the Basilicom! Then after that, one of the bigger buildings, similar to the mayor's office. For the last 3 buildings... um, maybe just the ones near the office and Basilicom. I'm highly confident that I'll find clues in the first two buildings."

"So, is that your decision? Two certain buildings and 3 random ones, somewhat nearby the main two."

"Yes, that's right, let's go to the Basilicom building first. I'm sure a village of this size would have something like that, I read about it in the Player's Handbook that there are plenty of people who worship different deities in this game."

"Well, what do you expect to find there, what kind of clues? Just so Poppy could possibly concentrate there." In truth, Histoire has no idea what could possibly be in the building, at the very least, anything unique. There would be plenty of trash there, placed in a way that would be like piles of gold, if Poppy failed her save, but she didn't. The building would be the house of Bahamut, a Lawful Good deity, which would imply this village be a good-natured village, just to add to the tragedy that befell this place.

"Uh, I don't know, I guess... um... maybe some kind of clue about foulplay involved? Maybe there's a secret basement where there's malevolent experiments involved?"

Histoire's eyebrows subconsciously rise up from the idea. "Alright, as Poppy enters the town, she looks around for a Basilicom-like structure. Luckily for her, it was quite easy, as it is one of the taller structures around. Upon entering, there is an awful stench in the air. It's bad, but not enough to be detrimental. Looking around, Poppy notes that the deity of this village seems to be Bahamut."

"Bahamut?" Neptune pipes up. "Isn't he like, a summon in most games? Or a boss fight? Like that one where you have to cast reflect or else he roasts your entire party alive?"

"Ahem, no. Neptune, Bahamut is a deity here, commonly known as the Platinum Dragon, or Angel of the Seven Heavens."

The table 'ooohs' in response from hearing the title of Bahamut, and they all suddenly look like they're thinking about something. Histoire clears her throat to get their attention back. "Let's not think about trying to make up new titles for yourselves."

The table 'aawws' almost immediately, making Histoire chuckle slightly. "Moving on, let's go back to Miss Uni's Poppy. So Poppy first notices the emblem of the Platinum Dragon, before looking around and seeing piles, upon piles of garbage all around."

"Um, is there something special about the garbage?"

"Poppy, bracing her nose, approaches the garbage. She sees that there are frayed clothing, remnants of rotten food, mold, rusted scraps, broken tools, rotten wood, even rocks."

"What kind of trash seems to be the most numerous? Like is there a lot of wood or something?"

"Ah, that's what you meant, Poppy looks around the other piles of garbage as well to get a better idea, and with her sharp vision, was able to determine that among the piles of trash, there seems to be more scraps, rocks and tools all around."

"Is the trash somehow piled around in a special way...? Maybe? Can't you conjure the image for us and I'll see how it goes?"

"Oh. Sure, that makes sense." Histoire suddenly realizes she literally has the power to conjure any image she would ever need without even prior preparation. "Give me a moment..."

Waving her hands and arms, Histoire dismisses the map and conjures the inside of the building. Pews are lined up inside, still properly set up, a stained glass image of the Platinum Dragon at the back, being illuminated by the light from the outside, with an altar presiding as well, all the while piles of garbage begin to appear, on the sides of the pews, and at the sides of the stained glass, making sure to not actually block the glass. Histoire mentally voices her grievances, thinking if Poppy failed the saving throw, these would have all been piles of gold.

Uni stands up to inspect the conjuration, until Histoire motions for her to sit down. "Miss Uni, you can rotate the conjuration, if you want. No need to stand up."

Uni tries to wave her hand towards the image on the table as if she was rotating a sphere. The conjured image moves around as if it had weight to it. She plays around with it for a few minutes, then Rom and Ram try to move the image as well, waving their hands at it, but it does not respond.

"Miss Histoire! Why doesn't it work for us?" protested Ram.

"It's been set up that only Miss Uni can move it so she can concentrate. Oh, and Miss Uni, don't scrutinize it too much, I didn't make it so it's like that game where you find that red-and-white stripe wearing fellow. This is just a basic image of the area."

"Ah, okay," says Uni, sounding slightly disappointed. "It looks like the garbage piles are somewhat arranged all around, it's not a massive mess. It's almost like they're carefully piled... but why? They're using this place as a landfill? Then, why is it organized to some degree? The garbage pile consists mostly of metal, right Miss Histoire?"

Histoire nods. "Yes, that's right Miss Uni. Is there anything else you'd like to check?"

"Uh... what about that altar? Maybe it leads to a secret basement or something!"

Histoire wiggles a finger, and moves the altar, showing there's nothing beneath. Uni purses her lips. "That's a bit disappointing... but I suppose that's good that there suddenly isn't an evil cult or something working beneath the Basilicom. Okay, I think that's all I might get out of this place. Aside from the walls and roof of the place, are there any more holes, maybe?"

"Um, no, Miss Uni. Would you like to go to the next mayor's office... building, next?"

"Yes... wait a minute, were there no skeletons in the building?"

"No, there weren't. Would you like to wait a bit longer here, perhaps they would appear? Or would you like to proceed with going to the mayor's office now?"

"Um, I think I'll go to the mayor's office now. Hopefully I still have a vantage point towards this building while in the mayor's office. Also, have there been a lot of skeletons roaming around while I was on the way here?"

"To answer your question, yes, there have been a number of skeletons roaming around the dilapidated town. There are definitely more than the ones you scouted from afar. Okay, after a few minutes, Poppy sneaks by and finds herself inside an office somewhat similar to Mayor Manual's office. It has shelves, a table with drawers, and such, but just like the Platinum Dragon's Basilicom, it's filled with garbage, small piles of it all on cupboards, shelves, some on the floor. Opening a drawer reveals, more garbage, but this time it seems majority of it are stones, and looking closer, it's lumps of rusted iron."

"But it's all ... trash in the end. Wait, do these look like they've been here for a long time or what?"

"It looks like these lumps of rusted iron, has actually been recently moved."

"What? The skeletons are collecting these? Wait, can I check if the place is dusty or is it relatively clean, all things considered?"

"I wouldn't ... call it clean, but you could say it's organized."

"Are you telling me, that something is keeping this place organized? But... again, why garbage? This is confusing me... Maybe I just don't have enough information. I thought it would be enough for me to just visit and look around, but maybe I would actually need to stay and observe for longer. What if there are more than just the skeletons here?"

The table watches and listens to Uni continue to muse about the current situation, much to Histoire's inner delight. Uni continues her voiced train of thought.

"I think you mentioned something about skeletons being basically mindless creations... so there has to be something or someone controlling these... Miss Histoire, I'd like Poppy to stay here for a few more hours, just observing on a rooftop or anywhere I can have a decent vantage point."

"Alright then Miss Uni. Poppy looks around from the mayor's office for a vantage point, and sees that the top of the Basilicom would be best. Although, I've described enough at the moment, and I'm feeling a bit parched. Let's take a quick break and you can all muse about the events and information that Poppy has gotten."

Everyone stretches their arms, as if they just listened to a lecture and the school bell rang indicating a break. Before going to the kitchen, Histoire asks the group, "Is everyone alright with this session being basically Miss Uni's time in the limelight?"

"S'fine with me Histy! I just wanna know what's gonna happen next!"

The others nod in agreement, and with a sigh of relief, Histoire floats to the kitchen, wanting a nice glass of water to drink.

Chapter Text

"Alright, let's use this time to quickly decide if there should be a greater threat in the village or not... let's weigh the pros and cons..."

Histoire sighs heavily as she mentally goes through a checklist; she herself knows this is a terrible, terrible idea, especially since she's looked through so many forums about being a Dungeon Master during her free time over the weeks. Although, the entire game is about 50% improvisation, her basic plan for this village was to simply be a skeleton fight, but that might be a bit boring for them, then again, does it need to be exciting?

"If I were a player to my own game, would I be excited for this? It's ... extremely difficult to judge that since I have the bias of being the DM... Oooh I can't even imagine being both a player and DM..."

Shaking her head a bit, the main issue is how to introduce this adversary, if she would go with it, and how difficult should it be? Should it be a simple beast? Suddenly a synapse in her head connected that cemented her decision to ensure a wild mutated creature should be here. The first encounter with the gemstones had a beast who dug it up, hence it wouldn't be too out of place to have a beast. She nods, convincing herself that this is a good idea.

"I should look up a creature while they're still discussing Uni's adventures... maybe it doesn't need to be from the book, but I'll just make one up, based on another creature..."

Just as Histoire was getting comfortable with her thoughts, she hears the a set of footsteps headed towards the kitchen. She looks out and sees that it's Uni on her way to the kitchen. Histoire looks around almost as if trying to hide notes that were never there, seeing that there were none, she composes herself.

"Miss Uni, is that you?"

"Ah, Miss Histoire, yeah, it's me, just getting some water to clear up my thoughts."

"Yes, making sure you're properly hydrated is important. Anyway, I shouldn't interrupt your thoughts. I'll be heading back to the table now, don't take too long."

"Okay Miss Histoire."

Histoire leaves the kitchen and returns back to the table where the rest of the goddesses are chatting about their week before the game. She's hearing small quips about a burger chain in Lowee and Neptune dreaming about turning into a frog. After a few minutes, Uni returns to the table, which Histoire  takes as her cue to start the game proper once more.

"Okay everyone, let's get back to the game. Well, actually more for Miss Uni. Okay, Poppy is currently in the mayor's office, where she found a lot of debris and trash, but oddly enough it looks like things are organized even though it's all made of trash."

The table quiets down and Uni nods before speaking. "Okay, Miss Histoire, I didn't encounter a skeleton when I went here right? If so, I wanna keep observing this general area, see if there someone or something comes here. Actually let me disorganize a few things here, something obvious... uh, let me open the drawer and pick out the largest thing there and put it on the table."

Histoire tilts her head slightly. "Okay, Poppy picks out the largest piece of junk she can find in the drawer and places it on the table. Is that right?"

"Yep! Then I want to hide maybe by the rooftop of this building and keep track of who or what will enter, is there a spot I can also see the inside of this place?"

"Well, since the village itself is dilapidated, then there's a hole by the roof that allows you to easily see the inside of this room, but not fully though."

"Um, can I see the table from that hole? Actually, maybe I can make my own hole on the roof."

"If you do that, I would need you to roll a... um, stealth? Wait... I guess the closest would be move silently...? Go ahead, roll a Move Silently."

"I got a 9, for a total of 21."

Histoire nods. "Alright, Poppy makes a small hole in the roof of the office, ensuring that she can see a good amount of the room without being spotted."

"Hey Histy, how is it that Poppy can just move around the roofs of houses without being seen?"

"Well, without a sudden noise from above, think about it, how often do you actually look up while walking around?"

The table perks up slightly, and puts on their thinking faces. After a few moments, Neptune shrugs. "You're right. I don't exactly look up, in fact I'm more concerned about the ground so I don't trip or fall..."

Histoire chuckles a bit. "See? There you go. Moving on, so Poppy just keeps observing until something happens at the office then?"

"Yeah, maybe if there's like a large gathering of skeletons somewhere suddenly. Last time I was here I was just scouting from afar right? Now I'm in the town itself. I'll use all the chances I have to gather as much info as I can."

"Poppy skulks the mayor's office roof and observes the town. After what feels like hours of nothing happening, she notices a skeleton shuffle into the building she's in."

"Has any other skeleton shuffled into a building? This one or otherwise?"

"Yes. Poppy has seen skeletons randomly moving about but it didn't seem different to her in comparison to when she was scoping the place out, it would go to a building, but just stand there, and then move about somewhere else. This skeleton in particular is shuffling towards the office with purpose, or atleast that's what it looks like... uh, would there be a door... erm, yes, I would say there was a door to the building of the mayor's office."

"So, this skeleton opened the door? I guess that's really suspicious and very different. Okay, what does the skeleton do? Let me spy with my lil' eye into the office."

"Poppy peers into the peephole she made for this exact purpose and sees the skeleton stay in the office. It turns its head around the room, seemingly looking around, looking for something. It turns towards the table, and walks towards it. It puts its skeletal hand on the table, and it slowly moves it in the direction of the large piece of junk Poppy took out."

Histoire glances at Uni and sees her eyes are growing ever slightly larger. She smiles to herself as she continues the description. "The hand lands on the large piece, and it picks it up, or tries to. After flailing about with it but failing to properly hold it for one reason or another, it decides to just open the drawer, and push the item into the drawer. The skeleton then closes the drawer, afterwards, it looks around a bit more, a few slow minutes pass of it looking around, before it shuffles out of the office."

Histoire finishes her description, as Uni's eyes suddenly widen, her lips thin and she puts both hands on her head, while mumbling something.

"Oh no, no no no..."

"Miss Uni, is there something wrong?"

"I just realized something... what if this skeleton communicates to the others that his stuff was moved? What if they think that someone else is here and become even more vigilant? Oh no... maybe I shouldn't have moved it..."

Uni continues to mumble to herself while Histoire thinks about what Uni said, realizing that she never even considered that possibility, and now that it was said, she should probably do it. Histoire looks back to Uni and she's still mumbling to herself, it reminds her of Noire somewhat. Knocking on the table she brings Uni out of her mumbling stupor.

"Miss Uni, well, now that you've realized what you've done, what else would you like to do? The skeleton is still shuffling out of the office, if you want to do something about it, or would you simply let the skeleton shuffle away?"

"Um... if they're cognizant enough to realize that something was moved to move it back ... if I take this one out, they'll probably notice this particular skellie is gone, and then it'll just cascade from there. Aaaaaaahhhhh....!"

"Well, um, Miss Uni, we can't dawdle all night with this decision, so if you can't make one, I'll have to say the skeleton slowly exits the office. What else would Poppy want to do?"

"I'll ... mark that skeleton, and see where it goes. I'll follow it around, from the rooftops."

"Okay, in order to properly mark your target without losing it in a crowd of literally similar skeletons, I'll need you to make a spot check." Histoire doesn't have a solid number in mind, but any high number should be fair enough for the roll.

"Right, spot check, that's +8 and ... oh no... I got a 4 so that's only 12 in total... Would that be enough?"

Histoire looks at the result, and even she wouldn't really let that fly, although it would be moving quite slowly. Perhaps, it might just be barely enough. "Alright, Poppy keeps track of the skeleton. It's shuffling slowly and seems to be minding its own business."

"Does it go anywhere in particular, a congregation of sorts? Maybe inside another building?"

"Poppy keeps her eye on the skeleton go about its business for the day. It brings Poppy to a different part of the town, it's near the opposite border of where Poppy started from. It's quite far from the camp. The skeleton is moving back and forth, almost unsure of what to do, it looks like it's about to exit the town, but suddenly goes back in the town, it does this for a few times. After a while it slowly shuffles back into town, and makes its way back to the office."

"Let me peer into the office, what does it do?"

"It once again looks around, and it returns to the table. It opens the same drawer, and it pulls out the large piece of junk. It's having issue picking it up, but eventually it's able to pick it up with its two arms. Two skeletal arms. After that, it slowly makes its way back to the edge of town, where it did an about-face. It now continues to exit the town, while still holding on to the large piece of junk."

"Um, Miss Histoire, did that particular skeleton bump into other skeletons, and if so, did the other skeletons do anything?"

"Erm, it did pass by other skeletons, but it seems like they all kept to themselves as far as you can tell. They seemingly turned their heads towards the one you've marked, but nothing more than that."

"Miss Histoire, I think you mentioned something about the whole area making me feel faster right?"

"Yes, that's how you're following the skeleton easily."

"Are they not being affected by it? You've been saying that all of them are shuffling slowly."

"Ah!" blurts out Neptune. "Histy, wait, you know how in our bodies, muscles are attached to our bones which give them movement right, and basically that's the limiting factor of our bone movement, oh and friction, I guess, but anyway, since skeletons are moved by magic, what exactly is stopping it from going insanely fast?"

"... Neptune, let's not go there, unless you all want to fight skeletons who do exactly that. Anyway, Miss Uni, you don't know if it's being affected or not."

"So, it's highly possible that these thing can go faster or not... or maybe they'll go slower!" says Uni, optimism brimming in her voice.

"Continuing on, Miss Uni, the skeleton continues moving out of the town, and into the forest. Does Poppy continue to follow it? It's already out of town."

"Yes. I want to know where it's taking it and why it's taking it there. Um, would I need to roll another check?"

"No need. You've already rolled quite well. Okay, Poppy continues to follow the skeleton into the forest. The forest gives her better hiding spots especially with her small stature. After a long while, the skeleton is shuffling quite slowly still, it eventually reaches a clearing. The clearing looks like it's been dug around, a lot of displaced earth, dirt, soil, and barely any grass, all concentrated around this rather large clearing. The skeleton is at the edge of this clearing and shuffles towards the middle, then abruptly stops."

"What happens next?"

"What happens next is... the ground begins to shake slightly."

"Miss Histoire," says Vert, "do we feel the ground shaking from where we're at?"

"No, Miss Vert. As the group in the camp goes about their business, they do not feel the ground shaking."

Vert nods, "I see. So it's not that powerful of a shake. Okay, I just wanted to know."

"That's alright Miss Vert, okay, carrying on. The ground shakes, and from the middle of the clearing, a gigantic worm like creature crawls out of the ground."

Histoire waves her arms around and conjures what might constitute as a horrid creature from the earth, that's been mutated by uncontrolled magic. A worm like beast, with 4 mandibles by its mouth, and its insides protruding with sharp teeth.

"Wow! Histy, that looks like that thing, from that game, with the graveyard boss fight, where using Acid Rounds against it was the most effective way to win, because you totally got enough Ammo Powder to create the Acid Rounds! Too bad it wasn't in the remake."

"That's ... uh, somehow really specific yet vague, Neptune. All the same, the creature emerges from the ground, then the skeleton hastily puts the large piece of junk it has been carrying around down, and backs away. The creature lunges forward and devours the piece of junk, it takes a full minute for the entire body of the creature to be underground once more. Afterwards, nothing else happens, and the skeleton leaves the area. Does Poppy follow the skeleton back or what does she want to do?"

Uni's face is frozen and her mouth is agape. Noire lightly taps on Uni's face with her palm to get her out of her stupor. Uni shakes her head and turns red. "I'm sorry about that ... um, uh... what should I do? Do I investigate this place but... if I do, then I'll alert whatever that HUGE creature was! It'll eat Poppy for lunch! Um! Poppy will... will! Just return to base camp! And tell everyone what happened here!"

"Okay Miss Uni, Poppy, goes back to the base camp, as fast as she can within stealth limits, which means a leisurely walk back. Due to Poppy's previous high rolls, she makes it out of the town safely. Are you sure you don't want to go back to the town and observe further?"

Histoire almost instinctively looks at Vert, who's almost failing to keep a straight face, especially when Uni was asked if she was certain that they didn't want to go back to town. Histoire notes an almost primal instinct being observed in Vert of wanting to go back in town, most possibly thinking, something has to be there, 'why would Lady Histoire suggest such a thing without something being there?' or at least that's what Histoire thinks what Vert is thinking.

"Um ... no, Poppy will, just ... continue to go back to the base camp and let everyone know what happened here. Am I back in the base camp? Does everyone know what happened now, because Poppy told them?"

"Hm..." Histoire is thinking about whether making Uni relay the whole town visit in her own words, or should she just let the fact that everyone was here to listen in to the whole event be enough. "I'd say, yes, the group does know the details of Poppy's ordeal."

Suddenly as quiet as the whole table was during Uni's solo expedition, it exploded to the complete opposite direction of silence. Histoire can hear Neptune rambling about the giant worm creature, Rom and Ram is in awe about the skeletons in town, Vert is saying something about needing another scouting mission, Noire is telling her sister good work, with Uni happily reciprocating, Nepgear looks to be thinking about something along with Blanc, perhaps how to take down the large worm creature that was shown at the end.

She lets them all talk over each other until they all naturally quiet down. It takes them a while but eventually the din of their conversation dissipate into silence. As the table calms down, Histoire clears her throat and obtains the attention of everyone at the table.

"Alright then, everyone's reactions and chitchatting over Uni's solo adventure took quite a bit of time, but I'm glad that it seemed to have been received positively with everyone. I was worried that this wouldn't be taken too well since it was only Uni getting the attention, but it seemed to have gone well."

"Yeah, that's alright Histy, it was fun hearing how things go, finally without Sir Puddington in danger, hehe."

The rest of the table share the same sentiment, clearly enjoying Uni's adventure, and the discovery of the secrets of the town. A weight is lifted from Histoire's shoulders seeing how well everyone took the session.

Histoire happily claps. "Alright then, it seems it's nearly time for tonight's session to be over, so next week, we can all discuss what you'd all want to do."

"I definitely would like to take down that giant worm creature," says Vert. "Even if it's unrelated, we can't exactly report that we left a creature of that magnitude alone."

"But Vert, what if that creature keeps balance to everything else here?" adds in Noire.

"What exactly can a giant worm like that balance?" states Blanc. "Looks like something that's actually causing a lot of damage."

Histoire meekly whispers to herself, "Or perhaps right now is alright too..."

The table erupts into another din of noise, discussing what they all want to do about the skeletal village and the worm. Nepgear is vehemently suggesting a scorched earth policy and just burn everything down, then sift through the remains. The others haven't been so accepting of that, but it's still on the table. Vert states another scouting mission would be best, at no risk in general, stating as well that they're not in any sort of time constriction. Neptune says that maybe they can somehow get the skeletons to be on their side, somehow. Rom is asking how effective melee attacks would be to the worm, and Ram is asking would punching the worm defer any kind of detriment on Paul's hands. Uni voices her worries that they may have lost their element of surprise and may suddenly be attacked at night. Noire eases her worries, or tries to.

The discussion continues for a lot longer than Histoire expected. As much as she would've liked to continue the discussion, she raised her voice and immediately the table quiets down.

"Thank you for that everyone. I appreciate all of you being enthusiastic about the game, but we're already quite past our usual end time. Miss Rom and Miss Ram, I know you may not feel tired but it's past your bedtime now."

"Oh, Histy's right, maybe we can just talk about this during the week, that's no problem, right Histy?"

"Um, no, not really. So I guess if you all want to still continue actually ... um, I'll be needing my own sleep," says Histoire with a slight yawn.

Chapter Text

"Oooohhh... last week for some reason felt like a blur..." says Histoire rubbing her temple. "What would today's session be, I wonder. I'm just glad they haven't asked me about the game while outside of our sessions, but I would still hear them talking about it every so often...."

Histoire drinks a glass of water, checking the time. It's almost time for the session, and she's still somehow on the fence about how to introduce their next major encounter. Perhaps this would be a decent way to introduce them to the notion of running away, properly this time, that not all battles are to be won and they can be fled from. She looks around the table to see who else is here, and it looks to be that Nepune will be arriving shortly, along with Nepgear.

The two sisters take their usual seats, and as usual, Histoire hands them their sheets. The two accept their sheets and read them again to refresh their memory about their characters. While Neptune only has a few sheets, Nepgear has a few more sheets in comparison, but Histoire knows both of them will have more or less an equal amount soon enough, once more magic becomes unlocked. Histoire lets the two of them read through their sheets in silence, while she herself mentally prepares for the upcoming session. Even though she has done this for a few months already, it's still nerve-wracking.

"Hey Histy, what do you think would happen this session?"

Histoire jumps slightly in her seat. "Ah, that would be decided by your decisions, of course. It's not like we stopped on a combat scenario."

"Oh, that's true. Last week was all about Uni, right? She saw that gigantic worm creature. Now, we've actually been discussing the whole week what we want to do about that."

"What's the consensus then, Neptune?"

"Absolutely nothing. Still can't get a proper agreement."

Histoire grimaces. "I see. Hopefully our whole session this week isn't everyone just discussing what wants to be done..."

"Miss Histoire," says Nepgear, looking up from her sheet, "I spoke with Uni a few days ago, and I think she mentioned something about wanting to check the village again."

Neptune sighs a bit. "Hrm, another solo session?"

"Well, I personally hope not," says Histoire, "Solo sessions are fun every now and then but not like this. And I don't want to host literal solo sessions. Just me and one of you. Either way, if that's the plan, it's possible to make it shorter for brevity."

Histoire says that but she remembers, that she would like to make use of that mind altering effect, although the effect of it would most likely be quickly meta-game'd, so she decides to scrap it, and leave it for another session. It would have been nice to suddenly introduce the skeleton infested town as a sudden, utopia-esque place, where everyone is rich and wealthy beyond comprehension. She sighs to herself, and as she gets lost in her thoughts, the sound the elevator indicating its arrival interrupts her.

"Oh!" Neptune jumps up from her seat, "That must be them!"

The elevator doors open and the rest of the goddesses arrive. Neptune tilts her head upon noticing that the usual black haired sisters are missing from the group. She tries to see if perhaps they're just hiding behind Vert, but there's no one behind her.

"Huh?" says Neptune out loud. "Where's Noire and Uni?"

Vert places a palm on her cheek and frowns. "Well, we went to pick them up, but Noire said that she won't be able to make it, because Uni caught a fever, and she wouldn't want to leave her sister alone."

"I see," says Neptune with a slight pout. "Well, I do hope that Uni gets better soon. I'm sure she'll be fine, Noire's there to take care of her."

"Huh, I was just with her a few days ago," muses Nepgear. "I hope I somehow didn't catch it as well..."

"Well, Miss Nepgear, do you feel any different recently? Actually, no, don't think about it, the nocebo effect might actually hurt you further."

"Nocebo?" says Nepgear, looking slightly pale, upon hearing the unknown word.

"It's just the opposite of the word placebo, Miss Nepgear. Just thinking about getting sick, you may actually get symptoms even if you aren't sick."

"Oh, okay, that's a relief, so, um, what do we do now Miss Histoire?"

"Honestly, I'm quite unsure. Something like this is expected with the amount of people we have playing, but it's quite unfortunate for this to happen during a critical moment. Would anyone want to do something else for now, try to continue with the game, or should we just call it?"

Neptune places a hand on her chin with a 'hmm'. The rest of the table follow suit. A few minutes later, Nepgear speaks up, breaking the silence.

"Oh! What if we make some Get Well cards for Uni? I'm certain she might be feeling bad that she got sick, and thinking that she's holding up the game."

"You're right," says Vert, "she knows that the story wouldn't proceed without her, and now she's probably feeling guilty."

Rom and Ram look excited, and brought out crayons, after fiddling about in their coat pockets. Blanc glares at them, making the two flinch, but they respond with a chuckle. Blanc sighs and gives up. Neptune stands up, with Nepgear following behind her.

"I'll grab us some papers and other materials!"

"Lady Histoire, I'll prepare some refreshments for us then," says Vert, headed to the kitchen.

Only Blanc, her sisters and Histoire are left on the table. Blanc once again looks at her sisters, and sighs. "I hope you two weren't just hiding your crayons when you kept asking Mina to get you new crayons."

"No! Of course not! Isn't that right Rom?"

"Y-yes!" nods Rom.

"Good," nods Blanc. "We should bring Uni some sweets from Lowee as well when we all inevitably drop by."

"But wouldn't we also get sick if we do that...?" asks Rom.

"We'll be making a get well card for Uni, hand it over to Noire, and when she starts feeling better, we'll be visiting her with the sweets."

"Ooohhh! That makes sense!"

Histoire looks around and see the rest of the goddesses return to the table. Vert has a pot of tea and biscuits to snack on; Neptune returns with a ream of paper, construction paper, cardboard, and all sorts of different colored papers as well, and Nepgear has a small box of arts and crafts materials with her as well.

"Neptune, why exactly do we have a lot of these materials almost ready on-hand?"

"Oh Histy, did you forget already when P-ko visits?"

"...right, you two do leave a colorful mess when she visits... that makes sense."

"Speaking of---"

"I don't think I can add more players!" blurted out Histoire.

"Oh, um, well, I guess that kinda answers that, but that wasn't what I was thinking, it's more of, should we make one large card for Uni, or should we all make individual cards?"

"I know!" says Ram nearly jumping off her chair. "How about we make one large card and inside are smaller personalized cards?"

"Hmm," muses Blanc. "As long as the initial card isn't unwieldy to hold... I suppose that could work."

"Yay!" exclaims the twins.

"Let's all work on our individual cards first then," suggests Vert. "Then once we all have those down to pat, we'll all work on the larger card together."

The table lets out a collective cheer and quickly began to work on their individual cards. Histoire looks at everyone meticulously working on their cards, and felt that she should also make one, but now she's feeling conflicted, whether she should use magic to make one, or should she manually create one with her rather small stature. She looks at the materials, and some of them are quite literally her size.

"Are there even any scissors I can use...? Wait, I can just conjure them, but if I conjure them what's the difference of me just making it..." she whispers to herself, her hands slowly gripping the top of her head as her brow furrows and her mouth clench.

A few minutes of her mental struggle pass by, all the while everyone else is happily snipping, humming, and drawing on their own little projects. As Histoire is still stewing in her thoughts, Neptune notices Histoire's silence.

"Hey, Histy? Anything wrong? You've been just staring at the table but it feels like you're not even looking at it..."

"Oh, ah ... um. I'm looking at all of you working on the cards, and I feel slightly left out, mostly because I can't use regular sized scissors or any of the materials, but then I realized I could just materialize a card from seemingly nothing, but at the same time, I felt that would feel greatly impersonal..."

"Is that why? Wait, can't you just make the materials we have here your size?"

"..."

"..."

Neptune and Histoire stare at each other in relative silence, Histoire pursing her lips and looking away from Neptune's eyes. Neptune takes this as her cue to continue working on her own card.

"Well, if you need any help with anything Histy, we're all here!"

"R-right," says Histoire, looking slightly red. She takes a deep breath and sighs her silly worries away, takes a few of the materials on the table, and pours her magic in them to change them to a more comfortable size. Joining everyone else as they create their own cards, she smiles with satisfaction.

Chapter Text

Histoire lets out a deep sigh. Last week was a nice break from the game, but now, she did hear back from Noire that Uni has recovered a few days after, and they were both surprised and happy about the cards. She hasn't heard of anyone else suddenly getting sick, and everyone always schedules time to make sure they can play for their weekly sessions. She is now thinking about what sort of sacrifices Vert may have made in order to join them weekly, she knows that Vert is quite an avid MMORPG player, and she always mentions a raid of some sort every so often. Histoire wonders if that would ever come into play eventually. Shaking her head; she thinks, probably not.

Taking her place at the end of the table, she checks the time, there's still some time before everyone should arrive. She reviews her own notes about what this session should entail. Assuming the group would attempt to fight the gigantic worm creature, it would have a small amount of health, relative to the fact they're 8 players, but it will only be affected by magic attacks, while the group is getting attacked by the skeletons. The skeletons will be very weak, as they are simply just there to harass the players. As she thinks about it, she realizes her mistake, especially remembering the battle with the 8 bugbears. It was a nightmare to navigate through, especially needing to keep track of so many things. Perhaps, they would just need to fight through the town, then attack the main worm creature. It sounds unfeasible for all of them to attempt to sneak to the large creature, although, they could circle around the forest in an attempt to find it.

All this sudden rationale in how they would tackle the situation just made her realize more possibilities that she would need to account for. "This is exactly why developers keep putting invisible walls at every inch of their game..." she says to herself as she sighs her heaviest sigh of the week. Maybe she'll catch a break and everything falls into how she wants it to be. Looking at the clock, it's almost time for all of them to arrive. She floats towards the kitchen to get a glass of water for her suddenly parched throat.

A few minutes later, she returns to the table, where she sees the others begin to take their individual seats. She sees Neptune, Vert, Blanc, Noire, and all their sisters, Uni, Nepgear, Rom, and Ram. Everyone is more or less accounted for attendance. Just as she was taking her place, Uni approaches her and holds both her hands. Histoire is slightly taken aback from the suddenness.

"Um, Miss Uni, is anything wrong?"

"Oh! Um, I just want to say thank you for the cards, I've thanked the others as well. And I want to say I'm sorry for delaying our game last week..."

"Don't worry about that Miss Uni, it's fine. Just remember to take care of yourself."

"Ooh!" pipes up Neptune, "Since last time got delayed, ya think we can extend the game today?"

"Well, I know most of you would be fine, but I'm worried for Miss Rom and Ram... Let's just make sure to get through everything as fast as possible, which means let's get started now."

Histoire waves her arms and the room begins to dim, and everyone shuffles into their respective seats. She waits for everyone to be seated comfortably before she clears her throat and speaks.

"Alright, so last time, the group has been in deep discussion on what they want to do for the gigantic worm creature that Miss Uni found. I vaguely remember something about a scorched earth plan... I hope you all remember you're in a forest. And that fire spreads. And trees are flammable."

Nepgear turns slightly red, as Histoire continues.

"So, has the group made a decision? Wait... let's just ... make it easier for all of us, each of you, yes, all 8 of you, give your idea, give a 2 or 3 sentence defense, or reason why this should be the idea the group goes with. Run-on sentences aren't allowed. Everyone agrees?"

They all look at each other, gauging their reactions, and no one seems to be outwardly against it. Some nod, which Histoire takes as a sign that in general, everyone's fine with it. She claps her hands twice, snapping everyone's attention back to her.

"Okay," continues Histoire, "since no one is disagreeing to it, let's start with Miss Nepgear, would you please tell the group what you suggested last week, or if you have a new idea this week?"

Nepgear flinches as her face turns slightly red. "Um, last week... um... I said that it would be good to have a scorched earth policy... just make sure nothing is left. It's a bit destructive, but I think it's a good thing to do to make sure that this issue won't suddenly crop up in the future."

Nepgear goes quiet afterwards, seemingly waiting for everyone to laugh at her suggestion, but she looks and sees that the others nod and are possibly considering it. Histoire sees Nepgear breathe a sigh of relief.

"Okay," says Histoire, sensing that Nepgear has said her piece, "next up, is Neptune, do you have any ideas?"

"Oh, uh... I wanna say, let's head back to town and grab some back up. I mean, I know we're 8 and all, but that worm's ginormous!"

"Neptune!" exclaimed Noire.

"Miss Noire, let's hear everyone first before reacting," interrupts Histoire.

"Oh... sorry Lady Histoire."

"That's okay, alright, Neptune, anything else?"

Neptune shakes her head. "S'all from me, Histy."

"Right. Next up, is Miss Noire. Go ahead."

"Thank you Lady Histoire, so my idea is to stake out the worm area further, maybe it's possible for us to place down traps or the like, or maybe even find out if there's a weakness to it. Maybe get an accurate number of undead in the area."

"Miss Uni?"

"Erm... I've already done so much in-game, the last few times it was all about my character so..." she continues with silence afterwards.

"That's okay, Miss Uni. Alright, what about Miss Rom and Miss Ram?"

"Um..." says Rom, "I think we'll go with whatever big sister would say!"

"Yeah!" adds in Ram.

Histoire shows a pained smile. "I ... see, but please try to think of something, this is for everyone's benefit, I've let Miss Uni off the hook, because her character has already done a lot."

Both girls look to the table as if expecting for the table to write down ideas. Rom looks up to the left, while Ram looks up to the right.

"Oh!" exclaims Ram, "what if, well, if we ever find ourselves having to fight the big worm, half of our party should be dedicated to keeping the skeletons in check. I mean we don't want those things bothering us while we're busy, right?"

"Alright, what about you Miss Rom?"

"Um... well, I want to look around more if maybe there's another giant creature just hiding."

"Alright, thank you Miss Rom, what about you Miss Blanc?"

"It almost feels like the good ideas are already getting taken. I would say, in-character, just bash the worm in. Even if we, actually let me just say, me, because Blunga's the toughest of the group, even if I get swallowed by the worm, it might be easier to kill from the inside."

Histoire mentally notes to look for the mechanics on players getting eaten whole by creatures much larger than them. She nods at Blanc then turns her attention to Vert.

"Miss Vert, what would be your suggestion?"

Vert puts a hand on her chin, and closes her eyes for a moment before speaking. "I believe that we should simply go in and see how it goes."

Noire sighs, "Just throw caution to the wind, huh?"

"Ahem," interjects Histoire, "I believe, that's everyone. I'll do a quick recap. Miss Nepgear would like to destroy the worm, and possibly everything around it with fire; Neptune proposes to obtain backup before fighting the worm; Miss Noire wants to further obtain information regarding the worm, and to place down traps if possible; Miss Ram states that if the worm would ever be fought, the party splits into two, one dedicated for the worm, and the other for keeping the skeletons at bay; Miss Rom wants to find out if there is the possibility that there is another gigantic creature in the vicinity; Miss Blanc and Miss Vert have nearly the same idea of just wanting to fight the worm."

Vert nods as she listens to Histoire. "It seems all of us would like to get rid of the giant worm. No one has said to retreat. So, I believe we can for the most part do everyone's suggestion, except probably Neptune, since that would require us to head back and I believe no one here has magic that allows requesting assistance from far away."

She picks up the Player Handbook, and flips through near the end of the book and skims through it. She sighs with a disappointed tone, before closing he book. "I keep looking hoping maybe it magically changed, but, it's still the same. Sending is a 4th Level spell, and the minimum level for me to have access to it is Level 7, that's 3 levels above what we're currently at."

The rest of the table continue to listen to Vert. "So, let's see, Noire wants to place down traps, I'm assuming that's for the inevitable battle with the worm. We've seen it get tribute and such, so it wouldn't be far-fetched to imagine that once we begin our encounter with it, all the other skeletons would attempt to assist it. Ram suggested to split up while we're fighting it, so that's a good suggestion. The problem is, if we split up incorrectly, then we'll have a lot of problems."

"Huh?" asks Noire, "What do you mean Vert?"

"Noire... please, you know what I'm talking about right?"

"Um..."

Vert sighs. "This is what we get when you keep focusing on single player experience RPGs... Anyway, Noire, that just means some of our party members will be more effective against specific types of enemies. Like, hold on, let me check on the Handbook..."

She once again picks up the book, flips near the start, skims near the bottom of the page, points at a section and presents it to Noire. Vert gives Noire some time to read the section, and Noire flips the book to near the middle.

"Anyway," continues Vert, "as you just read, as a Paladin, you have Turn Undead, I do believe we had some excitement regarding that ability, but it's been more than 2 weeks since that time and a lot has happened, it could've just slipped your mind. So, skeletons are by their nature, undead, and as a Cleric, I also have Turn Undead, so we can easily keep them at bay. Now imagine, if the two of us, for whatever reason, decided to not be the group fending off the skeletons."

"Um... that'd be a huge waste of our abilities."

"That's right. So, if we're going to split our party up, we'll have to make sure one of us, or even both of us, are on the skeletons."

"Albedo might need to be the one on that skeletal side."

"Hm? Why?"

"You're our Cleric, you'd be needed to provide support with the Worm group."

"Ah. Yes. I suppose that's true."

"I know I have Lay on Hands, but that really won't be enough healing. And, um, no offense Vert, but it says here the amount of times you can use Turn Undead is dependent on your Charisma modifier..."

"Are you calling me uncharismatic?!" retorts Vert, clearly miffed.

"No! Wait, yes! I mean, look at your sheet!"

"..."

"That's what I mean, so, I'll be the one dealing with the skeletons."

Vert clears her throat, attempting to save face. "Noted. So, that's one party member designated for each half. That's Ram's idea done. So now," she says looking at Uni, "Uni, we'd need your rogue again."

Uni flinches slightly. "Um, what does Poppy need to do?"

"Well, Poppy would need to place down traps to slow down the skeletons."

"Wait," interjects Noire, "if we'll place down traps to slow down skeletons, wouldn't it be enough for Albedo to be Turning them alone?"

"No," states Blanc flatly. "Remember that giant animal... creature... I think it was a boar? It's been a while, remind me later Lady Histoire. Anyway, it was alone, against the four of us, and the fight literally ended before it could do anything. If you somehow get unlucky, which is really frequent in this game for everyone, we'll find Albedo dead."

Noire bites her lip. "Right... Well, what do we know about skeletons?"

The rest of the table turn towards Histoire, who started going through the Monster Manual. "Well, um, they're skeletons. I guess I can give this as a freebie, somehow I feel like I may have already stated this, but sometimes, things just bear repeating, you know? Anyway, skeletons don't have flesh, so slicing, slashing, piercing, aren't very effective against them. They also aren't that different from when they were alive, so if a humanoid becomes a skeletal creature, it won't suddenly fly."

"Thank you Lady Histoire. Alright, so we have to make sure we have bludgeoning weapons then. I believe fists count as Bludgeoning, so Ram's monk, Paul, I think, would be part of the skeletal crew. JC wields a katana, so that's slashing, Blanc's Blunga wields an axe, so slashing as well. Albedo wields a longsword though... and I've invested a bit to focus on it... well, it has come to this, I'd need a bludgeoning weapon."

"Well," says Vert, "I do have a heavy mace still in my inventory, from what I can see. I feel like I would've sold this when I got my Flail... but anyway, I can lend Albedo my mace."

"Thanks Vert. Alright, for Neptune's bard, I think he's using a crossbow, along with Uni's rogue. So the worm group would be, Sir Puddington, Poppy, Blunga, and Burt, while the skeleton group will be myself, Paul, JC, and Nepgear's sorcerer."

"Wait, Miss Noire!" protests Nepgear, "Wouldn't my magic be better in fighting the worm?"

"Well, what spells do you have?"

"Oh... uh, I guess nevermind, I'll stay with the skeletal crew. I have a spell called Disrupt Undead, I can only cast it a few times, but I don't think those skeletons would be too strong so even this minuscule damage would be useful, and with the traps slowing them down, we'd be set."

"Man, Histy," interjects Neptune, "it feels like it's been forever since we started discussing this worm..."

Histoire wryly grins. "It definitely does feel like it has taken a while, but proper preparation will ensure things go smoothly."

"Anyway! Sorry about that Noire, go ahead and continue."

"Right. Okay, so, Poppy will need to set up the traps."

"One problem with that..." says Uni.

"What is it?"

"Do we even have traps?"

"Um. Lady Histoire, what are the mechanics of traps?"

Histoire opens the Dungeon Master Guide. "Let me check, I'm sure it can't be that bad." After a minute or so, she closes the book, a grim look on her face.

"Histy, I don't like that face. Please don't make that face, and tell us that 'Traps are simple to make, you just have to make a roll' then we'll all happily make traps to use against the skeletons."

"Neptune, we all know that's not the case with how she reacted," says Noire, grimacing.

"I know, but aaaaahhhh! I want it to not be the case!"

"So," says Histoire, "the most basic trap costs about 1800 gold pieces, in market price. Personally I might just be reading this wrong, because I just skimmed through it to check how difficult it is to make or what not. I've decided that the rules for these in our current state is codswallop, and we're homebrewing the rules, because there is no way that making basic traps would cost more money than an average peasant makes in a day. You'll have to give me some time to possibly check with other Dungeon Masters on the Internep, so, just let's just put the trap creation on hold, and once we're on break, that's what I'll do."

"Okay! Thanks Histy, you're the best."

The rest of the table agree on her decision, and Noire continues. "So now, the final thing is finding out if there's somehow more than one giant creature. It would be very troublesome, if while we're fighting, a second giant worm appears. I guess that's some more information gathering for you Uni."

"I'm starting to feel like that's all my character is good for... out of combat scenarios..."

"That's not a bad thing Uni, one character can't be good at everything."

"I guess so."

"Okay, Lady Histoire, I think that's our plan for now."

"Thank you Miss Noire. We'll take a quick break, I'll look up trap mechanics, and after we reconvene, we'll do the necessary rolls for information gathering, and all that, then you'll do battle with the worm, if you all so desire. If you'll excuse me... I need some water..."

Chapter Text

Histoire heads to the kitchen, grabbing the Dungeon Master's Guide as well. Taking a deep breath, she peruses the section regarding trap manufacturing. Her eyes move line by line, reading the introduction, and already she sees the main issue, that a mechanical trap can be constructed by a player character by crafting it as a trapmaker, which upon retrospect, no one in the group is skilled with. She lightly bites her lower lip as she rolls her eyes around, racking her head.

"Nope, Poppy is amazing at detecting traps, but not in crafting them."

Skimming through the whole long list of available basic traps, she reads the most important looking portion, that the minimum gold cost of any trap is Challenge Rating multiplied by 100 Gold Pieces, and the minimum Challenge Rating is 1, so it will always be a minimum of 100 gold pieces. The base cost is 1000 gold for a mechanical trap, which is what Miss Uni's suggestion seems to imply. Looking through here, there are a lot of ways to circumvent that 1000 gold cost, so it's highly possible to even have a negative cost, but as the minimum is 100, that's what they'll be.

As she thinks about it, a chill runs through her spine, as she suddenly remembers that crafting is based on a week by week system. She grits her teeth and her entire body reels as if hit in the gut as she remembers that entire system. On one hand, that means their little camping trip will last much longer than first anticipated, on the other, perhaps they'll enjoy it, and find more use for the skills they have planned. It's like working hard for something, it doesn't give the same satisfaction if you just snap your fingers and it's there.

Sighing, she calculates the minimum time to try and even make a trap. At 100 gold pieces, it will be 1000 silver pieces converted, the difficulty check is at minimum 20, it will need a total check of 50 in order to finish, and seeing as no one even has the appropriate crafting, she could veto this whole thing immediately, shaking her head, she continues her train of thought. Remembering that Poppy has a +3 modifier for her intelligence, it would need a roll of 17 or higher to even be considered a success at minimum, and for 50, it will take 3 weeks to create, one singular pit fall trap. Perhaps if they've hired a whole crew dedicated into making traps, and gave them sufficient time, they would have enough traps to make use of the skeletons they'll have to fight.

"I'm almost certain if I let them know about this, they'll just disregard using the traps and proceed with the fight..." she says with a veritable sigh.

Getting herself a glass of water, she quenches her parched throat, and floats back to the table, where everyone is eating a snack or two, just like a school recess. And exactly like a school recess, the moment Histoire returns, everyone quiets down and puts away their snacks. Histoire furrows her brow in slight confusion, but quickly shakes it off. She clears her throat, even though nothing was there and takes her seat.

"Alright, I've looked up the trap mechanics, normally it's for Dungeon Masters only, but players are free to ask the Dungeon Master for it and come to an agreement."

Uni looks hopeful at the prospect, and looks to be awaiting the good news.

"Now, before everything else, the most important part is the fact that it's a crafting check, I believe Neptune, is more than familiar with how crafting goes."

Neptune's face scrunches up as if a sour candy landed in her mouth. "Um, Histy, is that the fact that you would need to roll multiple times, which isn't as bad, but it takes a lot of in-game time, which, I don't think we have really."

"But," Vert pipes up, "is this village really a threat that we can't take our time with it?"

Noire purses her lips, then seems to have realized something, "Oh. Even if we do have weeks to actually create traps, the fact is, those skeletons will actually more or less visit that area, won't they? If all the traps we'll make will be simple, like a pitfall trap, they'll fall into them randomly, which would cause them to go on alarm."

Histoire hides it, but she didn't even actually think of that possibility. Noire continues her explanation.

"So, the best course of action would be to head into the forest, possibly wait for them to give out a tribute so the worm appears, then we attack. Maybe we'll get lucky and there's a bit of distance from the town and the tribute area, so maybe all 8 of us can attack the worm. Lady Histoire, what is the distance between the tribute area and the town? I recall it taking a while to get to."

"Big sister, it only took a while to get there because the skeleton was shuffling really slowly. It may just be maybe a few hundred feet, which isn't really a lot in the long scheme of things."

"Right."

"Ahem," interjects Histoire, "is that the plan then? Everyone heads to the tribute area as soon as they're able, and deal with the worm?"

"I'd like to think so Miss Histoire," says Noire. "Now, we won't be charging through the town, that's tantamount to suicide, if possible we'd like to go around, into the forest, and go to the tribute area from there, a less direct path, away from prying ... eye ... sockets?" she shrugs nonchalantly.

Histoire claps her hand to grab their attention. "Then to that end, I would need Miss Uni, to do a roll in order to lead the group into the forest. She's the only one who knows where the tribute area is located."

"Wait Lady Histoire! Are we all actually ready to actually fight the worm?" Noire asks to the rest of the table.

"Hm, I think we're good Noire," says Neptune. "We did get our rest, and I think we're all fully recharged. Spell slots and all that. Oh yeah, speaking of non-direct approach, that would mean having to leave your horse here, wouldn't it? We can't exactly sneak with a horse."

"Soleil is smart enough to stay put, I'm sure. Anyway, if everyone is ready, Lady Histoire, what time is it, is it the afternoon?"

Histoire nods. "Yes, also, Miss Uni, please roll an intelligence check, in order to make a map or be able to properly lead the group in a timely manner."

"Actually, Lady Histoire," says Blanc, "Uni was able to get back properly, so I think all she needs is to tell us the general direction, Blunga should have enough survival skill to lead the group. Does that make sense?"

"Hm, yes, I think that does make sense. So, Poppy, tells the group the general direction, and Miss Blanc, please roll a survival check."

Blanc takes her d20, and rolls it on the table.

"Okay, it landed on 11, for a total of 18 with my 7 modifier. I'm sure that's enough for basic navigation through the forest."

Histoire smiles with a nod. "Yes, you definitely won't have the directions the wrong way and find yourselves going in circles. Right, so the group makes their way towards the direction of the tribute area, making sure to indirectly go towards it so they won't be caught by prying eye ... sockets. As the group does travel, everyone please roll a Will Save."

Histoire thinks about it, and since Poppy has told them about it, they would be a little more resilient to falling for this trick, both in and out of the game. So, she'll modify it a bit, the difficulty check will be lower, from 15 to 10.

Everyone is a bit worried as they all simultaneously roll their dice, making Histoire's eyes dart around everywhere, but pausing on the very low rolls, especially that 3 in the corner. She counts her blessings that there wasn't a 1, and hopes that everyone has actually succeeded. The group tells their roll and total result.

Burt got 11, for a total 16.
Janette Argyle, 16, for 22.
Blunga got 3, for 4.
Albedo, 6, for 12.
Paul, 13, for 19.
JC, 7, for 13.
Sir Puddington, 9, for 12.
Poppy, an overkill of 19, for 22.

"I ... see. Alright, Miss Blanc, as the group traverses the forest, you feel a slight chill in your spine, but this does not deter you from navigating the forest. There's just a sense of unease now. Another thing, the group finds itself suddenly feeling a bit more limber."

"Oh! That means we're getting closer to the tribute area then," pipes up Uni.

"Miss Histoire, is this effect... Haste?" asks Vert.

"Yes."

"I see."

Histoire nods and continues. "Okay then, from a distance, the group can see a clearing, which matches Uni's description. And there's something in the distance, but it's not the giant worm at the moment."

"Can I roll a spot check to see if it's a skeleton, Lady Histoire?" asks Uni.

"Hm... okay, Miss Uni, go ahead and roll. The forest is dense that it is good cover for you all, but it goes the same way, it's difficult to see out of it without possibly blowing your cover."

Uni rolls her die and it lands on 1. She groans in disappointment, while Histoire looks at it with a frown.

"Well Uni, cheer up," says Neptune, "it's alright, you just got a bad roll out of the way."

"Neptune, that's not how random numbers work," states Histoire.

"Well, I mean... um, anyway, so does the group move in?"

"If the group wants to move in, sure."

"Alright, let's all move in!"

"Neptune! Wait!" yells Noire. "If we're actually smart about this, what if, we wait for the worm to appear, then we all attack it at the same time with full force?"

Histoire listens to this, and realizes that they can't keep using the same tactic to win, perhaps the next major encounter, she thinks to herself.

"Hold up, wouldn't that mean all our planning just went to waste?" asks Neptune.

"Well Neptune," says Vert, "if the opportunity presents itself that we can deliver a decisive blow like this instantly, that doesn't mean our planning was for naught. If our frontal assault doesn't kill this creature, then our planning can continue. Especially with Haste, I think we might actually kill this if we get clean hits on it."

"I mean, I guess this isn't like any video game encounter, where you touch the enemy and then take turns, you can actually sneak up on them like this with them none the wiser..." muses Neptune. "So, we'll all wait for the giant worm to appear, and THEN, we'll all charge in guns blazing."

"This sorta sounds anticlimactic with how long we've been at this area..." chuckles Nepgear with a slight morose inflection.

"Think about it this way Nepgear," says Neptune patting her sister on the back. "If we didn't over prepare and just waltzed right in, we'd be dead."

"I suppose that's true..."

"And just like what Vert said, if we don't kill it in one turn, then we can still continue with the plan we made of splitting up to make sure we don't get suddenly overwhelmed!"

"That's right... okay! Lady Histoire, I think we're in all agreement!"

Histoire looks over the table and sees that even Rom and Ram are quite excited to roll some damage dice as they play around with their d8 and d10. She smiles wryly as she goes through the Monster Manual for a suitable ... target dummy, at this point. She looks for any worm creature and found a Purple Worm, which would immediately decimate the group and has probably too much health for them. Settling for a Monstrous Centipede with the size Gargantuan, because there were multiple sizes, and the size after that is possibly a bit much.

"Alright, the whole group watches from afar for any major movement. After a while the ground shakes."

"Oh! That's it! Let's wait for it to get out of the ground and while that's happening, we're all going to attack it immediately before it begins to burrow!" bellows Neptune excitedly.

Histoire continues after Neptune's bellow, "The large worm begins to erupt from the ground."

"If that's the case, we'll all charge in and attack it," says Blanc.

Histoire allows this to happen, since she doesn't want to spoil their fun, and well, they already did a lot of preparation for this, even if things would go awry, they should be fine.

"Alright then, everyone please declare what attack you'll do and roll them appropriately."

"Wait, Lady Histoire," interjects Vert. "Could you please tell me the effects of Haste?"

"Ah, yes, hold on," says Histoire flipping through the Player's Handbook. "Haste... a hasted creature gains +1 bonus on attack rolls, +1 to dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves. Any condition that makes you lose your dexterity bonus to armor class, also makes you lose this bonus. Also, hasted creatures have increased movement, increased by 30 feet, to a maximum of twice their base movement. Also, when making a full attack action, a hasted creature may make one extra attack with any weapon they're holding, and this attack is made using the full base attack bonus."

"Oooh!" squeals Neptune, "does that mean I can shoot out two crossbow bolts?"

"No... Maybe?" says Histoire, opening the Player's Handbook. "Right, there's a feat here, Rapid... Reloading. It makes your reloading a free action, else you'd need to use a move action to reload... so if you want to fire twice, you would need to not move."

"Okay, so how far are we? My range with a Crossbow is 80 feet, so if we're about 80 feet, I can fire twice!"

"Um... yes. The distance between the party and the clearing is 60 feet. I suppose that would be fine. Although, due to the forest blocking your view, you would have a slight penalty in your attack bonus."

"Hrm, alright, that makes sense. And I don't have that feat that removes the -4 penalty for shooting while there's a melee on going... oof. Bard is definitely not a combat class..."

Histoire thinks about it as well, and Neptune's right, in a 4 man party, there's only 2 real combatants, and while not in a fight, someone needs to be the face and be basically the caretaker of the group. Although, now with an 8 man group, they've basically covered all the bases. With a nod, Histoire decides that the next encounter, she would need to somehow split them up properly.

"Well, that's it from me Histy. Since Uni also uses a crossbow, I guess this would've answered her question as well."

"Okay then, everyone please roll your initiative so we know who will attack first."

The table rolls their dice just like before, and tell Histoire their results.

Albedo gets 12, for a total of 16.
Blunga gets 4, for 5.
Burt gets 9, for 13.
Janette gets 15, for 16.
JC gets 12, for 16.
Paul got 11, for 14.
Poppy got 5, for 12.
And finally, Sir Puddington, gets 10, for 12.

"Miss Noire, you're up first. What will you do?"

"Well, we're all attacking, so I'll ... charge!" says Noire, shaking the d20 in her hand.

"Wait! Noire, if you do that you'll only be able to get one attack out," blurts out Vert.

"Eh? Don't we have Haste?"

"We do, but, if you do a charge attack, you will gain an attack bonus, yes, but you will lose all extra attacks from all sources."

"Is that true, Lady Histoire?"

"You may check the Player's Handbook to be certain," says Histoire, handing her the Handbook.

Noire flips through the pages, and after a few minutes, eventually finds the information she needs. She sighs, and closes the handbook. "Okay, so I won't charge, would I be able to reach it with just my regular running speed though?"

"Aren't you a human? So your base is 30," shrugs Vert.

"Yeah, but I'm wearing armor, which decreases my movement to 20."

"Wait, don't I wear the same?" frowns Vert, suddenly checking her sheet. "You know what, maybe charging IS a good idea."

"Okay Lady Histoire, I will charge, even if I do just do one attack, at the very least, I should be able to reach it, right?"

"Yes. 20 movement, charging doubles it, so 40, Haste adds another 30, or in this case 20. I think, but there shouldn't be a reason to not reach. Go ahead and roll your attack."

"Alright, so from Haste, I would have +1; from Charging, I would have an additional +2 on my attack roll, for a total of +11." says Noire rolling her d20.

Noire squeals in delight as she sees her d20 land on 20. She rolls a second d20 for the confirmation, and it lands on 13.

"Alright Miss Noire, you're able to hit the giant worm, and it is a critical hit."

Noire rolls her d8 twice. "Okay, 7 and 6, adding 4, for 17!"

"Thank you Miss Noire, alright, Miss Rom, it's JC's turn."

"Um... I can just run, right? My movement here says 30, and Haste adds 30, so 60. Let's see... two attacks in total, +1 from Haste..." says Rom, rolling her D20 twice. "I don't want to use Power Attack, I might miss..."

"Ah, wait Miss Rom, you can't do two attacks, I just double checked the Haste description, and you would need to do a full attack action, which you cannot do if you move further than 5 feet."

"Oh, okay, one attack it is then."

Her d20 lands on 3. Rom frowns and even begins to tear up slightly. Blanc begins to pat her on the back and console her. There's an awkward air in the table. Blanc motions to Histoire to continue, while she consoles her younger sister.

Histoire coughs quietly, and looks who's next. She turns towards Nepgear. "Miss Nepgear, it's your turn now."

"Um... I'll fire my Scorching Ray! Does Haste allow me to cast twice?"

Histoire shakes her head. "Sorry Miss Nepgear, Haste is powerful but not almighty."

"I understand, okay, I'll move in, and cast my spell, since it has a maximum range. And, my roll for it is... 10... for a total of 13. Does ... that miss?"

"It hits, Miss Nepgear, since your spell is a Touch ranged attack. Armor class shenanigans, basically. Touch attacks usually have a less than stellar modifier for hitting, but every creature, usually, has lower Touch armor class to compensate."

"So, basically um, for example, if I swing a sword, even though it would have physically connected, it hit someone's armor instead and doesn't deal damage, but since this is fire, all it needs is to touch you and it will hurt no matter, is that how it goes?"

"Yes, that's right. Go ahead and roll your damage now."

"Says here ... 4d6, so that's um... 2, 4, and two 3s. Total of 12."

"Alright, thank you Miss Nepgear, next up is Paul, Miss Ram."

"Ah, alright! I'll run in and attack! Will I be able to Flurry of Blows, or how many hits will I do?" says Ram excitedly, shaking the d20 in her hands.

"Let's see... oh. Even with Haste, you'd only be able to do 1 attack from where you are, since you have to move in. And you may only do an extra attack while you're doing a full round attack, or Flurry of Blows, in your case."

"Oh... right. Okay, one super punch, let's go!"

The d20 lands on 6.

"Uh!" Ram panics. "It's for a total of 14! Does it hit?"

Histoire shakes her head. "Sorry Miss Ram, it does not."

Ram pouts and folds her arms, clearly upset, and Blanc starts to console her as well.

"Lady Histoire," says Vert, "I do believe it's my turn, and I will ... cast Bull's Strength, on Blunga. I think her Berserker charge attack would deal more damage than anything I can do in a single turn."

"Sure, Miss Vert. Blunga gains the effect of Bull's Strength then. After that, would be Miss Uni's turn."

"Okay, there's already someone there in melee... so that's -4... but with Haste, that's atleast -3 only... this is technically a full attack Lady Histoire, and I'm not moving, would I be able to attack twice?"

"Yes, you would. Go ahead."

"Thank you, and with that my first attack is... 17! Adding 4, that's 21. I'm sure that's a hit, so let me roll my 2nd attack, and ... 5. I'm not gonna even bother... for my damage, it's 5."

"Alright Miss Uni, thank you, and Neptune, it's your turn."

"Same with Uni, gonna toss this one out! That's ... 4, boo. And 16! Adjusting the negative 3 penalty and adding my base addition, that's for a total of 19! Does that hit?"

"Yes, Neptune, it hits the worm."

"Great! And for damage, it's 2. Auugh, I really need something else for combat..."

"Miss Blanc, it's your turn now."

"Uh, Vert, would you roll for me? You almost already know how my own character plays. Somehow." says Blanc, still patting her younger sisters.

"Er, sure. Let me get your sheet," says Vert, taking Blanc's sheet and studying it for a minute. "Okay, I'll charge, so that's an additional +2,= adding Haste, another +1, Bull's Strength adds 4 strength, for an additional 2 modifier... and your base attack is +11, for a total of +18. This is ridiculous, you know that? Anyway, I'll roll it now... and that's 12. Total roll 30. And for damage... that's a d12... and 3, but with your modifier of +13, it's a total of 16. Lady Histoire... is it dead?"

"Uh... no, erm, the surprise round is done. The great worm shudders in pain as all these attacks technically land all at once. It's Miss Noire's turn again."

"Since I'm in melee now, I can do a full attack, which means two attacks! And I roll 17, for 26, and 19! Since I'm using a Longsword, that's actually a critical hit, and for confirm... 12, for a total of 21. 19 a while ago hit from Neptune, so this is a critical hit!"

"Miss Noire, I'm not going to have you roll. That critical hit basically sealed this worm's fate. It's dead."

"Oooh!" giggles Noire happily. "So what happens next Lady Histoire?"

"Well, all these attacks basically rend the worm into death throes, before collapsing... everyone in melee, which is Paul, JC, Blunga, Burt, and Albedo, please roll a reflex save to not get squashed by this giant worm falling down to its death."

"Ah! Of course it just had to get an attack in! Even while it's dead?!" panics Noire as she rolls her d20, along with everyone else.

"Think of it like a tree falling down, towards your direction," chuckles Histoire.

The girls, even Rom and Ram, after Blanc was able to calm them down, roll their d20s and say their Reflex save results.

JC got 11, for a total of 16.
Blunga 17, for a total of 19.
Burt with 13, for a total of 14.
Albedo rolled 1, an automatic failure.
Paul as well rolled 1.

Ram yells out loud, her hands in the air. Clearly upset. Noire as well, her happy face, clearly wiped off. Histoire picks up 2 d8s and rolls them on the table.

"Right. So, Albedo and Paul, both take... 7, and 6... for a total of 22 damage. The two are crushed by the worm, but alive... I hope. You two are still alive, correct?"

The two of them nod.

"Oh, Histy! Before we forget, what about that figure we saw from afar?"

"Sir Puddington approaches the clearing, and aside from the large worm corpse, there's a pile of bones."

"Ah, I see! Well, um, time to help Paul and Albedo!"

"Blunga, I'm assuming she's still raging, and have the effect of Bull's Strength... she should be able to hold the corpse up well enough that the others can pull Albedo and Paul out, right?"

"I'll use Enlarge Person on Blunga. Just to make sure of that," says Vert.

"Alright, then," says Histoire. "With those two buffs, I think I'll veto the roll requirement. Blunga can easily lift the corpse enough that they can pull the two out safely. I'm going to assume you would like to visit the town?"

"Ah," pipes up Uni, "I think I'll be the one to sneak around the town, it could still be dangerous for whatever reason, and Blanc's larger barbarian will stick out like a very sore thumb. I'll roll a Move Silently roll."

"Er, go ahead Miss Uni."

"That's 7, for a total of 19."

"Okay then. So Poppy, moves silently towards the town, and easily sees piles of skeletons all around."

"Huh, that worm was somehow keeping them all ... moving? That's really weird. Do I notice anything else?"

"Poppy notices that she doesn't feel as limber anymore."

"Oh? Huh... well assuming this place is empty now, I'll head back."

"Lady Histoire, while Poppy is heading back, I'll cast my healing spells on Albedo and Paul. 2 for each of them. So that's 4 Level 1 slots. For Paul... 2 d8s... and that's 4, and 4, total of 16. For Albedo, that's 3, and 7... total of 18."

"Albedo will use her Lay on Hands to heal the rest of our wounds. That's 4 for me, and 6 for Paul, total of 10. I think we're all healed up to full now."

"Yes... that's right." Histoire realizes how powerful this group is especially when given long rests. She would need to somehow make the future encounters not as punishing like the Bugbears from before, but nothing like this giant worm to which they all just killed before it even knew what was happening.

"Healing magic sure is swell, isn't it Histy?"

"That's right, Neptune. Well, it's been a somewhat long session, even though technically, it's only been 12 seconds, because of it being 2 rounds. I think this is a good time to call it here for now, and we'll reconvene, next week?"

The rest of the table agrees, as they all start to stand up and stretch, before they wish each other farewell, and that they'll see each other soon.

Chapter Text

Histoire takes her seat at the head of the table as usual, looks through her notes, and notices that she hasn't even distributed experience points for the worm. She'll distribute the points, then if the party decides to investigate the worm corpse, they'll find orange gems, hopefully they do decide to investigate it. After that they'll rest, and proceed with the next gem color, yellow.

"Hey, Histy," blurts out Neptune suddenly. "It almost feels like we're going through a rainbow with the colors of the gemstones. Would you make us go to yellow next?" she chuckles as she passes by.

A sensation of guilt twinges through Histoire as Neptune walks off towards the kitchen. Histoire finds herself scratching the back of her head, and immediately decided, that the party will be the one to select their gem color, she'll just have to balance every encounter, whichever color they'll use. Since they're done with red and orange, their remaining choices are yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, white and black. Looking through her notes again, she jots down basic encounter ideas for the other colors.

Yellow, is fear and confusion, and thinking about it, gets rendered moot by a paladin aura, atleast the fear portion. The confusion would have been difficult to see as an observer, but it's not immediately invalidated by their class choice. An abandoned keep sounds like the perfect place for this, it would be possible to separate the group, but she's certain they'd want to stay near Albedo.

Green, is pleasure, so perhaps, if somehow, they could harness its effects without abusing it, it could just be a regular city, albeit weird. Possibly.

Blue, is madness and hope, so while it would give the pleasure of hope; it's actually already slowly deteriorating one's body, but surely only after increased exposure. Perhaps an eroding miasma around the entire area, somewhat like a irradiated area, and only aberrations would be able to properly survive in such an environment, and slimes.

Indigo, numbs the affectee, both physically and emotionally. This may prove to be just a lesser form of death, if one would think about it that way.

Violet, is an oddity, atleast for a lich. Might be thrown away, or does not exist anymore. Or it's a large red-light district, which she would immediately have to think of something else, because she just realized that Rom and Ram are playing as well.

Black and White, the Lich would personally ensure it keeps it to itself. So, it won't be found like the other colors that the Lich has thrown away.

Histoire breathes a sigh, and looks up to check the time. It's almost time for the session. She tucks away the quickly jotted down notes, and goes to the kitchen to get some water. "Remember to stay hydrated, this is a threat," she chuckles to herself.

Returning to the table, she sees that the others are arriving and slowly taking their seats. She got reminded of the time everyone basically arrived as if they haven't had any sleep for days, and all because of the gemstones. She's glad she hasn't forced anyone's hand like that. Taking her seat once more, the idle chatter of the group dims down, and all of them look at Histoire.

"So, how was everyone's week?" asks Histoire.

"It's been quite good, same old, same old for the most part," says Vert, "4GO is getting a new update in a few weeks. A new scythe wielding class, a gun wielding healer, somehow that works, and we're going to the moon!"

"The moon, huh," comments Noire.

"Are you interested Noire? They've given it a free trial up to its first major expansion for free. No time limits, or strings attached. Just some, um, limitations to prevent abuse."

"Erm, maybe? Uh, I'll have to check my schedule for it."

"Well, if you ever do decide to play, just let me know so I can direct you properly."

"I've just been reading for the most part," says Blanc.

"What about you girls?" asks Histoire, facing Uni, Rom and Ram.

"Oh! Actually we've been asking Miss Mina to explain some of the big words you've been using when we're playing Miss Histoire," says Rom.

"Yeah! That's right." adds in Ram. "She's really surprised, and she said that she's quite happy we're getting to practice our math and language skills."

"That's good to hear from Miss Nishizawa," says Histoire with a nod. "What about you Miss Uni?"

"Erm, nothing too big, I mostly performed maintenance and improved on my weapon collection..."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of, proper maintenance of your tools and belongings are important."

"Thanks Miss Histoire."

"Speaking of belongings, here are all your sheets, and let's begin the session with distributing the experience points for the giant worm."

Everyone readies their pencil to update their sheet, already rubbing off their current experience values and waiting for Histoire.

"So how much we gettin' Histy?"

"All 8 of you will be getting 1400 experience points," reads out Histoire. "I don't believe you would be leveling up from this, so, now that you've all defeated the worm, what would you like to do?"

"Oh, um..." says Noire, rotating her finger around her sheet, "I'd want to, erm, investigate the town further. Just to check what exactly is in this town."

"Is that what everyone else wants as well?" asks Histoire.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," says Vert. "Let's check out the town, we can check the worm later, I mean what is it gonna do, run away?"

"True," says Blanc, nodding. "We should check out that house Uni was in, now that we aren't in a danger, we can check it out freely."

The rest of the table nod along with the current suggestion, as Histoire waves her arms around and changes the scenery to the village. She clears her throat, and begins to describe the village. "The village is in shambles, yet there is still a noticeable structure to the village that was once here. The pathways aren't completely eroded and covered with grass, attempting to open the doors, while somewhat more difficult than normal, proves that they aren't stuck in place due to rust on the hinges or that the doors are rotten in place. Taking notice of the smell, it's awful, it reminds one of a garbage dump, but not because of rotten perishables or refuse. It just smells like a room that hasn't been aired out for years."

"Oh? So just like what Poppy said, the denizens of this town do move around the town..." says Vert. "They don't seem to be taking care of the town as much but still better than absolute abandonment. Well, now that we're here, can we do a search roll?"

"Erm, sure Miss Vert, I'll ask everyone to roll, and take the average of everyone then, to simulate everyone looking around the town. Anything in particular you would like to look for? This isn't like a video game where the main character would just happen to know what to look for, so you have to give me some specifics."

"Oh, uh... maybe a diary? I feel like there would be something like that here, and there's nothing else I could think of that would give us the most information. So any kind of book, or log."

"Alright then, everyone, please roll your Search checks."

8 d20s roll across the table, with each one being carefully watched by their owner. Since individual rolls wouldn't matter, Histoire doesn't need to keep track of who rolled what, just that there should be 8 results, tallied together, and find the mean value.

"Um, Janette got, 23, total."
"Blunga got 7, big surprise."
"Poppy, 22 in total, I got a slightly low roll..."
"JC got 6... I think he's not feeling great..."
"Paul has 14."
"Burt ... 4."
"Sir Puddington has eagle eyes with 21!"
"Albedo got ... 6."

Histoire took note of their results, tallied them up and found the mean value to be at 12.875, or 13 rounded up. She thought that perhaps an individual roll from Poppy would've been a better choice, but she wouldn't give them a hard time.

"Okay," announces Histoire, "the average of your rolls is 13. So, moving on, after half an hour of searching, Janette found a rather ruined, but still readable book. Most of the pages are torn or stained, but there's enough pages and content to make sense of it."

"That's good," says Nepgear, nodding her head happily. "So what do I make out of the book?"

"Janette pored through the broken book, and sees that it's a diary. The whole book hasn't been filled in completely. Janette reads what she can..."

Histoire racks her brain on what she could place in the diary, as she was prepared for the orange gems in the worm, but not this in specificity. An idea passes through her mind, the entries would speak about the people getting abducted, and eventually, their deterioration as a village. It doesn't need to be fully fleshed out right now, and sometimes obscuring details will make them think ideas that would be more creative than her own ideas.

"A rather early entry states, 'Today, more people have disappeared. They should've returned a few days before, but nothing. It's getting difficult to restock the store.' The rest of the entry lists down a table of what looks to be inventory. There are plenty of corrections, and the numbers are just going down."

Nepgear places a hand on her chin. "Hm, so the place I found this book, did it look like a shop of sorts?"

"That's right. There's a dilapidated counter and equally dilapidated rotten shelves. The shelves are filled with trash and refuse, but not the rotting and really awful smelly kind. So it's not nauseating."

"What more can I read from the book?"

"The next readable entry reads as thus, 'Great joy! They have returned!' except, this entry was crossed out, or almost. As the entry continues, 'Something feels off about them, they seem physically whole but their minds seem addled... They attempted to trade using odds bits and ends instead of gold, yet when pressed... they truly believe they are trading with valuables.' It takes a while before you reach the next readable entry."

"Wait, hold on, 'they truly believe they are trading with valuables'?" asks Noire. "What did the orange gem do to the test subjects again?"

"It makes the subjects somehow greedy, and hyperactive, but I suppose you can control hyperactivity somewhat," says Neptune. "and more importantly, this entry doesn't make my previous theory on it wrong, since Histy said it was right."

"I'm sure she was just being nice," says Noire looking unimpressed. "Anyway, if they were suddenly becoming greedy, and this entry says that they truly believed they were trading valuables, then wouldn't that imply..."

"What they're suddenly seeing junk as actual gemstones and gold, and other knickknacks that are expensive?" says Neptune nonchalantly.

"Actually, that's exactly what I was going to say," replies Noire. "That would be the most logical conclusion. The stone most likely doesn't make someone greedy, but makes it so that it would be easy to fall into greed. Perhaps, some kind of mental effect, and continued exposure makes it harder to resist the mind alteration."

"Huh," says Blanc. "makes sense to me. Are there more to the entries?"

"Well, is there Lady Histoire?" asks Nepgear.

"Janette goes through the book further, and the next entry that has readable content takes multiple pages, and even then, it was only a scrap. Janette could only read, 'Looks like they finally got actual gold to pay.' Skimming further, more unreadable entries, and finally another entry. 'Another failed trade? They're calling my gold, junk? Seemingly randomly?' Further entries entail the same topic. The readable portion of the entries after that is the person seemingly attempting to make sense of which of his gold is getting accepted by the other merchants."

"Hm," muses Nepgear. "So, the junk he was getting eventually became valuables to his eyes, and when he was trying to trade ... he couldn't tell which was real so he would occasionally trade junk that no one else wants, and sometimes he would trade with real gold. What about the last readable entry?"

"Janette flips to the back and works backward. Eventually she finds a readable entry, it's not the last one, there are multiple unreadable entries after this one. The entry simply states, 'There was an earthquake last night it seems. Today, they're checking it out.' This is the last readable entry."

"I'm guessing that's the worm? Maybe? Or maybe the worm was just... something that happened, and maybe the gemstone had some effect to it... either way, it seems the worm was a by-product of the gemstone somehow. I guess let's check the worm now? Before that, I'll keep the book, and let everyone know what I found."

"Alright then Miss Nepgear. So, Janette read through the book, atleast to what was readable, tucked it in her inventory, and let everyone know what was in the book. Since everyone on the table already heard it out-of-character; in-character, should be the same."

"So, um," says Nepgear, "I think we've combed through the village enough. We all know that all the junk here, since this place has been under the influence of the orange gemstone, the villagers definitely see all of these as gold or valuables."

"Hold on. That still doesn't really explain why they're skeletons, or rather moving skeletons," says Noire. "Nothing about the entry states them becoming undead..."

Neptune chuckles smugly with a hint of triumph. "Silly Noire, can't you see? The testing logs were only for live subjects, and it was never on dead subjects. Obviously the hyperactivity that the living subjects were subjected to, under the influence of the gemstone, just manifested in such a manner as the subject expired."

"Big words for someone like you, where'd you steal them?" retorts Noire.

Neptune looks shocked, as if she was told she couldn't have anymore pudding. "Why, I never!"

"Alright now, you two," says Histoire, attempting to defuse the situation.

"Hahaha, it's okay Histy, we're just having fun. Anyway, I'm sure that's the reason why they can move about."

"Well," says Noire, "all the same, perhaps once we're back in town I'd like to ask around if that's possible... So, anyway, let's check out the worm."

"The party moves out of the town, and back to the worm. Or what remains of it, since you've all defeated it. What would you like to do with the worm though? You can't put it in your pocket."

"Blunga would like to roll Survival, in order to basically cut it apart. Like an autopsy, find out whatever it's been eating," says Blanc.

Blanc rolls her d20, it lands and she immediately picks it back up.

"Um, Miss Blanc? I wasn't able to catch that..."

"No! Nevermind! Blunga will not be cutting up that worm!" she blurts out, clearly annoyed.

"Erm... are you okay? Did anyone catch her roll..?"

"I don't think we need to ask her at all judging from her reaction..." says Vert. "I'm almost certain it landed on 1. You could've just taken 10. That's a thing. I'm certain we've used that before."

"...could I, Lady Histoire?" says Blanc meekly.

Histoire thinks to herself, and realizes, there's no real interesting result to a failure roll for cutting up the worm. "That's fine Miss Blanc. Go ahead and take 10."

"That'll be 18 in total. Thank you Lady Histoire. So, I'll cut open the worm then. After that, what do we find?"

"Cutting open the worm whole will take almost all day, due to its sheer size, or you can open up a specific portion."

"Erm, I think I'll cut open the whole worm, we're not in a hurry for anything, so after the fight, we'll just cut open the worm and study it overnight. I don't think there's a massive threat around anymore, so we can take our time."

"If that's the case then, I think this is a good time for a short break," says Histoire.

"Sure, Histy."

Chapter Text

"Right," says Histoire, gulping down a glass of water. "...Hold on, were they wearing gloves or any kind of protection for their hands when they cut open the worm..? Hrm, well they've already cleared the will save for the greed mechanic, so I suppose it should be fine."

Taking a deep breath she ponders further on how exactly they'll come back to the town. "Hm, have I mentioned if there was a nearby town? I did basically take them to their destination via a caravan. I suppose I'll just make them walk? It's been a while already... how long did the caravan ride actually take... ah a few hours... then they got into battle for less than a minute... then, I think a few more hours of movement..? And that's via carriage... so, walking wouldn't be out of the question. Maybe just two days in total, because walking is more tiring, unless they're all going to be in a breakneck sprint... oh right, their smallest member can't walk as much as the others, so their pace would also slow down..."

Histoire just voices out her stream of thoughts to no one in particular, as she sips her water.

"Hm... I sure do sort of wish, I had some outside help to check if I have some massive plothole already. Ah, I'm sure there isn't... uh. Hopefully. I guess I'll get back to them and get the worm result finished."

Finishing up her drink, she places the cup to the sink, before deciding to take it back and bringing a pitcher of water. As she returns to the table, the rest of the table is chit-chatting about their week, the different snacks they tried out and some complaints about their work. Taking her seat at the table, they notice Histoire and slowly quiet down.

"Alright, we left off with Blunga slicing open the worm, everyone is keeping a look out. Due to the sheer size of the worm, it takes her a while to do so, but eventually she is able to cleanly cut it open. As she does though, a strange sensation envelopes her, it's similar to when she first approached the area, yet this is a much more powerful sensation, it's almost like you're in a thick fog."

"Erm, would I need to roll anything..? Is it affecting me?" asks Blanc, looking worried.

"Yes, please, go ahead and roll."

"Wait, Lady Histoire, what about the others?" asks Noire. "We're somewhat nearby, and since this is so thick and prevalent, wouldn't we get affected?"

"Actually Miss Noire, looking back, only Miss Blanc has failed the roll, so she is actually under the effect, but she is aware of the effects, so it isn't too detrimental to her. Although, with such concentrated amounts, she would need a second roll to not get negatively affected."

"I see. Okay, that's alright, let's see how it goes. Will Save right? What's the DC, so I know to be mad faster."

"Uh... 15. Since Blunga is aware of the effects, you have a positive modifier of 2. So, add an additional 2 to your roll."

"I'm still not hopeful..."

Blanc lazily lets her die roll off her hand and unto the table, where it nestles neatly on the result 14. Blanc blinks in surprise, amazed at how the dice allowed itself to roll high.

"Well, looks like Blunga has been able to gather her will and concentrate on the task ahead. The fog has cleared from her mind. She notices that there are things glistening in the innards of the worm... wait, do worms bleed? Uh... um... I'll say, yes. This worm isn't mechanical, so, yes, although I don't think they'd bleed a lot, but then again this is a giant worm... uh. Anyway, I got into tangent there, ahem. There are glistening objects lining the innards of the worm. Taking a closer look, they're tinted orange."

"So this worm, has been consuming the gemstones, and I guess since it's a worm, that burrows, a gigantic earthworm... and soil is usually... yes. That makes sense. That must be why this effect is everywhere, it's basically been burrowing around the area. As to why it's eating debris, it must've been seeing it as food. So, greed can affect any species and it changes... hrm."

Histoire nods. She didn't exactly think that the orange gemstones would be specific but it makes sense. Yes, they're making their own theories and things are looking good. She continue to listen to Blanc collect her thoughts.

"How exactly are we going to collect this corpse? It's huge. We could collect some of the gemstones, and this little village is hidden, so we could do that? Anyone against the idea?"

"We should still have a burlap sack or something for it," says Neptune. "Thankfully, unlike the red one, the worst thing this can do for us is make us think we're looking at shiny things, or food. I guess. So we still need to be careful, but not that much. RIght, just pick off some of those gems and we can store it and travel. Histy, what time is it for us?"

"Almost night time. So, unless you wish to travel in the dark..."

"Uh, no. Maybe we can just sleep in the town. It's a roof over our heads. Is that possible Histy?"

"That should be fine."

"Well, we still have our watch order and such, so anything special for us to sleep through the night?"

"Not really, things are relatively calm. Blunga plucks a good number of orange gemstones and place them inside the burlap sack. The rest of the party sleep in the village. It smells a bit, but definitely feels safer than just the plain outdoors. Alright, everyone gets a full rest, since the party has more or less healed themselves to near full, everyone should be in tip top shape."

Suddenly Noire starts to panic, seemingly out of nowhere. "Wait! My horse! My Soleil!"

"C-calm down Miss Noire... Albedo took Soleil to the village before they slept."

"Okay. Phew."

"Geez Noire, anyone would think with how you panicked you lost an actual horse..." says Neptune with a shrug.

"Oh? How would you like it if your Sir Puddington bites the dust?!"

"Ack! No!"

"Exactly, now shush and let me have my horse. Anyway, how are we going to get back to Keydento?"

"We walk?" says Blanc flatly.

"Won't we get slowed down because ... well..." Noire's eyes shift towards Neptune's character sheet, which Neptune quickly notices.

Neptune scoffs in disbelief. "Did I just see your eyes pass by my character sheet? I know what you're thinking, it's because I'm short and my movement speed is less isn't it? Well, guess what, even Uni is an accomplice to that! So you can't pin the blame on me! And before you forget, you're wearing heavy armor, which means you're actually at the same speed as I am!"

"Alright! Fine, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I forgot actually... that heavy armor does that..."

"Well, now that that's settled, we're just going to take a while in walking, aren't we? You know, I just remembered, shouldn't the trip to this forest have taken days?"

"About that Neptune," says Histoire, "the whole ordeal would take days, not that traveling there would take a few days, I must have just gotten my thoughts and words mixed-up. You know how when you talk and have to think about your next sentence?"

"Oh, okay. That makes sense, yeah I know what you mean. Anyway, so it'll take us a day or so just flat out walking. Wait, what's closer? I feel like we should just go to the nearby town, then grab a carriage home."

"Wait, big sister, wouldn't it be dangerous to bring the burlap sack filled with orange gems in a populated area?"

Neptune raises a finger, opens her mouth, closes it, then puts her finger down. "You're right. We don't exactly know large the area of effect this stone has, is it touch only? It's definitely area of effect, otherwise this village wouldn't have gotten so ... affected by it. Unless everyone kept one in their pocket, definitely, this thing has an area of effect. Wait, how are we going to even properly bring this back to Keydento? Maybe, someone has to stay out of town? Should we even bring this back in the first place?"

Suddenly the table is in full discussion on what to do about the gemstones, after realizing that it would invariably cause panic if it ever steps into the town. Although, it's really just Neptune, Vert, Blanc, and Noire discussing what they want to do. Histoire feels a bit sorry for the their sisters, although looking at them, they all look happy enough to watch their big sisters go back and forth in discussion.

"If we leave this place," says Vert, "what's to say, oh, I dunno, some random bugbears appear here, and things get worse?"

"Oh, are you saying we leave someone here then?" retorts Noire.

"Of course not, but I'm just saying, that's a high possibility, and I would just like to cover our bases."

Their back and forth goes on for a good while. Histoire listens to their points, and mentally notes down ideas that she hasn't even thought of. Mostly the possibilities on what would happen if they did leave someone or half the group, what if they all left, the only thing they all agreed on, is that they can't just stay here forever.

"Alright, obviously," says Vert, looking a bit frazzled, "we can't really get into a consensus, we're going to need an arbiter." She looks towards Histoire.

"Erm, why are you looking at me Miss Vert...?"

"Lady Histoire, what should we do then?"

"You lot are the players, I can't force a decision on all of you... but if you cannot make a decision... perhaps letting the whims of the die do the decision for you?"

Everyone winces from the suggestion. Vert speaks up.

"I don't think that's a good idea in the end... we'll just have to make an actual decision and live with our choice instead of letting randomness take it from us and we'll all regret it in the end."

"That's good Miss Vert. I would suggest to make a decision soon, or else we will need to do the traveling segment for next session."

"...Ah. I will acquiesce then. I will agree on the decision that we should all return to Keydento. I will say, we should at the very least, ensure the gemstones we have gotten be left in the village, inside a chest, or inside a house, secure. Atleast as secure as we can get it."

Noire and Neptune nods. "I think we can agree to that," says Noire. "Fastest way for us to get back to Keydento is to walk to the other nearest town, since it took us a while to get here on carriage."

Everyone else nods.

"Alright then," says Histoire, "the party decides to hide the burlap sack in the village. Who will be the one responsible for hiding it?"

Uni raises her hand. "I'll do it! As a rogue, I'm sure I should know how to hide it properly!"

"That makes sense," says Histoire with a nod. "Please roll a hide check."

"And it's ... 17, adding in my modifier of 14, it's 31 in total!"

"So Poppy hides the burlap sack, that no one expect a fellow expert rogue would be able to spot it. After that, the group prepares to leave the dilapidated village. Taking note of where they originally came from, they continued the trek towards the supposed nearby village."

Histoire waves her arms around, and conjures what looks to be a simplified map, the faces of the party all bundled together, and a big red arrow pointed toward a nearby town.

"Traveling in this game is definitely much more enjoyable than just simply holding down my forward key on my keyboard," muses Vert. "A lot of mental preparation though..."

"The group continues to walk, the journey is thankfully uneventful, after the excitement of the village, everyone might have needed a break. It still takes a good amount of time before the group eventually reaches what looks to be a small village. Somewhat reminiscent of Keydento."

"What's the town called Histy?"

"Uh... sec, checking my notes here... New Haneda."

"I guess, why not. Sure. Makes sense, I guess that old village was originally called Haneda, which is why the forest is called Haneda Forest, wouldn't it have been awful if the same tragedy struck New Haneda because we decided to bring those gemstones with us?" says Neptune, somewhat mindlessly.

"Right..." says Histoire. "All the same, it's a town, and wanderers aren't that uncommon, so no one raises any kind of reaction to the group walking in. There are some sentries looking at the group, but otherwise the group is left alone."

"Alrighty, we should get a carriage ride back to Keydento, not sure how long that'll take but, it shouldn't be that bad. Sir Puddington will use his Gather Information to find out if there is a carriage passing by Keydento."

"Go ahead and roll Neptune."

"That's 8, and adding my 8 mod, that's 16 in total."

"Okay, since merchant carriages or even carriages in general aren't withheld information, Sir Puddington quickly finds out that, there is a merchant planning on passing by there."

"Neat, how much would it cost him to add in... uh, 7 others?"

"Wait, 7?" asks Noire.

"Oh come now, Noire, you have Soleil, you would more or less be just riding with the carriage. While, us, would need to be in the carriage, which would be less profit for the merchant."

"Oh. That's true. Right. So, Lady Histoire, how much would it cost for us?"

"Erm, let me see..." says Histoire attempting to quickly leaf through the Dungeon Master's Guide but failing to quickly find anything regarding traveling via carriage, which was why she specifically made the travel portion free of charge via that missive. "Sir Puddington would have to speak with the merchant, as they would charge different rates."

"Okay, I'll look for our merchant friend, and butter them up, maybe get a discount or two. Think I could roll some performance for that?"

"Erm... sure. But, not right now."

"So, Sir Puddington will go look for whoever the merchant actually is, and since like you said Histy, it's not withheld information, I'll assume the merchant is in a bar somewhere."

"Yes, that's a reasonable assumption. Sir Puddington was able to find the person, and it's someone, somewhat familiar."

"Oh? We've seen this merchant before?"

"Roll, uh, an intelligence check, to jog your memories, DC 10."

"Oh hey, rolled 10. Modifier makes it 12, so, who is he?"

"Sir Puddington recognizes the merchant as Creed."

"Who? Wait... uh... oh yeah! That guy from Chapter 6! He sold us the Arsenic for that rat poison! Been a super hot minute since then, huh. Well, does he recognize us, or rather me?"

"Well, Sir Puddington, introduces himself, and it seems that Creed does remember you, especially since you did help him out and his bodyguards."

"Neat! I'll tell him, 'I heard that you will be passing by Keydento, we don't want to walk all the way there, how much would it be?' then wait for his answer."

Histoire clears her throat, "Creed replies, 'Oh? Passengers today, I see, well, I still remember you helping me out during my time of need, so I shan't charge high. Hmmm... how many will there be? Just you?' he says."

"I'll reply, 'It'll be 7 of us, even though we're 8, one of us has a horse so not technically a passenger.'"

"Creed nods, 'Alright, I believe it would cost, 45 gold pieces in total for 7 people riding in the wagon.'"

"45 gold pieces huh. Yeah, I think that's fine, and having a reliable merchant friend would be good!"

"That's right, when a merchant knows that you're willing to purchase goods from them, you'll become more reliable in their eyes."

"Sir Puddington will tell him, 'I think that's a fair price, when will you be departing?'"

"Creed replies back, 'I was just about to finish my meal, we shall be departing shortly.' He finishes up his meal and cleans up. 'Shall we meet by the village entrance then?"

"Sir Puddington will nod, and gather the party."

"Alright Neptune, deduct 45 gold and, well, since all of you have consumed a good amount of time with your discussion, it's more or less time for the session to be done. We can reconvene back in Keydento. Sound good?"

Neptune nods, and everyone else nods after.

"Thanks Histy, see you all next week!"

Chapter Text

"Phew, another week, another session, ain't that right Histy?" says Neptune, sipping on some juice.

"Right. I think I said that we'll start back to Keydento."

"Yeah, you did. Though, wouldn't the gems continue to have effects while we're travelling..?"

"Well... uh... you did all hide it back in the village."

"Oh yeah, we did! We'll head back to town, grab some researchers or whoever, to figure out the gemstone."

Histoire nods quietly. She looks towards the clock, noting the time. The others should be here soon. She checks one more time the state of the table, and as usual, everything's there, she even placed their sheets ahead of time to their usual seating arrangement. Scratching her head with the butt of a pencil, she struggles to think of what to do in this session. She found herself busy the last week, and it was already too late to call the session off. Perhaps a lighthearted session, allow them to explore the world for a bit, while the gemstones are being investigated on their behalf?

"I guess that could work..." she whispers to herself.

"Did ya say somethin' Histy?"

"Nothing important, don't worry. Anyway, get yourself ready, we're about to start."

"Right, lemme just grab Nepgear..."

Neptune leaves the table, leaving Histoire alone with her thoughts. Histoire sighs deeply, and thinks about a nice small festival for their characters to relax a bit and possibly make this hook into the yellow gemstone, somehow.

A few minutes later, Neptune returns with Nepgear, wiping her face with a towel, some of her hair wet from, what Histoire guesses is washing her face to wake herself up. Nepgear waves slightly to Histoire as she takes her usual seat next to Neptune.

"So, how are you feeling Miss Nepgear?"

"Oh! Um, well I took a nap just so I'm sure I won't be feeling sleepy if the session ever goes too late...."

"I see, that's all well and good, your sheet should be there, and everyone else should arrive here soon."

Nepgear picks up her sheet, and looks over it. "Miss Histoire, do you think we could get new sheets, or maybe should we go with a soft copy of our sheets instead?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Well, if we keep erasing and replacing the numbers on our sheets, it'd get really dirty. A soft copy like on my..." Nepgear pulls out the small device on her thigh. "Well, this, I think it'd be easier to keep track of, wouldn't it?"

"That's true, erasing and replacing the numbers on your sheets would eventually make it dirtier, if that's the case I'll just re-print new ones. Regarding about using digital copies, it feels more ... erm, how do I say this? It feels more ... real? Like how it still feels better to be reading a book rather than an e-book? Or perhaps, I'm just old fashioned."

"Hm... I think I know what you mean..."

"Although, I will keep digital copies of everyone's sheets, that would make it easier to replace them if somehow we spill water on the sheets, but knowing that still be careful around your sheets."

As the two discuss, the familiar ding of the elevator indicating visitors interrupt their discussion. The elevator doors open, and in comes the others. They all take their seats, and as how Histoire organized their sheets, they take their seats accordingly. Histoire pumps her fist in her mind.

Histoire clears her throat, "Alright, everyone is here, so how is everyone?"

"We're fine, Lady Histoire," says Noire. "Just the usual work, papers, and all that."

"Same here," says the others, nodding their heads.

"Alright, now, where did we leave off from last week?"

"Ah, I do believe we would end up in Keydento, as the trip back would be somewhat uneventful," says Vert.

"Right, okay then, so the party is in Keydento, their caravan master, Creed, wishes them a good day, and he does his business. What does the party want to do now?"

"Well, Sir Puddington would like to return to Mayor Manual, and report what happened to that abandoned town."

"Okay, the party arrives to Mayor Manual's office, where he is seen signing off documents. He looks up and sees the party, he looks like he's looking for something from the group."

"Sir Puddington will greet the mayor, ahem, 'Ah, Mayor Manual, we just got back from the abandoned town, and cleared the place out, now you might be wondering why we got here empty handed, well, the thing is, the gemstones may easily affect the entire town if we bring them back here. Especially with how many there were, it seems that they may have a stacking effect, the more there are, the more dangerous they become.' Then I'll wait for his repsonse."

Histoire thinks about it, and that reasoning sounds quite good, and perhaps, the more different gemstones there are, they counteract each other, or at the very least somehow make it less dangerous to handle. Taking a quick mental note of it, she nods her head.

"The mayor nods his head, 'I see, so what did you all decide on the best course of action?'"

"Ah," says Noire, "Albedo will say, 'We left them in the village, in a secure hiding spot, at least, as hidden as we could make it. I'm certain the effects would still be permeating the area.' Wait... shouldn't we have at least brought one back???" says Noire, looking at everyone else, whose eyes are all growing larger in realization as well.

"Um..." says Rom, "Weren't we worried about the possible effects it has on people..? That even a single gemstone might be dangerous...?"

"I think, we were sort of unsure how big the effect or how dangerous the effect is, so even bringing one could have been a disaster," says Ram.

"Well, would you like to say that to the mayor then, Miss Rom, Miss Ram?"

The twins look at each other, nods, then turns toward Histoire. "Yes," they both say in unison.

"The mayor says, 'I see. Well, if you have cleared out the area, would you please report what you have found? I would be sending out a research team there if that is the case. And, include the effect of the orange gemstone as best as you are able to. We might bring clerics in order to counteract the effects on our men if possible.' He then gives the group what looks to be a report form."

"Well, that's convenient, and official looking," comments Vert. "Let's see, we'll fill it out with everything we know about the place, the skeletons, the fact that they were seeing trash as treasure whilst under the effects of the gemstone. Add in that gigantic worm... and erm, oh right, the sensation of feeling faster. Haste, I think. Is there anything else I've forgotten?"

"I don't think so," says Noire. "Alright, let's finish the report."

Histoire nods. "Alright, the group fills out the report, and hands it to the mayor. He thanks the group."

"So, now what?" says Uni. "What's next for our group?"

"Do you want to ask that to the mayor?"

"Sure."

"Mayor Manual says, 'No, not right now, we're still looking for confirmation for the other gemstone colors. Right now, we're going to have a celebration in the town in a day or so, that's why I'm currently entrenched in documents. It's quite fortunate that all of you have arrived by this time, perhaps you should join the festivities in order to rest. You may leave if you wish.' That's what he says before he returns to the documents, looking up every so often.

"Oh, a nice break in-game huh?" says Neptune. "Celebration means, music, and music means, bard, and I'm a bard, which means this is the perfect time for me to make some extra dough doing performance checks!"

"Well, that's Neptune's plan," says Histoire to the table. "What about the rest of you?"

"Hm... I'm a paladin, I think I'll go back to the guard post, and keep things secure."

"That's just like you Noire," says Neptune, with a chuckle, "you can't stop working even in a game."

Noire shoots daggers at Neptune, making her freeze in her seat, and then quickly twiddle her fingers, looking away from Noire's glare.

"I wonder if there would be some strength contests in the festival?" says Blanc, "Blunga could probably play some of those, or maybe even be the challenge that people have to beat... hmm, sounds like a good way to find strong challengers..."

"Burt would... hm, well as a cleric, probably make some money volunteering as for any medical issue. Or get more followers for Steve."

"Steve?" asks Noire.

"Yes, my patron deity," says Vert.

"Right... go on."

"I think that's it. I'll roam around the festivities, wait, I just realized, this might be the best time to perhaps get better equipment. Some magic equipment from merchants all around..."

Histoire purses her lips, realizing now she has to see if there are any common magical items. "So, what about you Miss Rom and Ram? What will Paul and JC do?"

"Uhhh... probably just enjoy the festivities!" says Ram.

"Janette will ... look for books! For magic! Is that how I gain more magic spells?"

"You are a sorcerer, correct, Miss Nepgear?"

"Hmmm.... yes, I am!"

Histoire frowns, much to Nepgear's surprise. "Well, Miss Nepgear, sadly, that's not how sorcerers work... wait, is that how it is? Uh... hold on. I may have misunderstood. Hm... ah. It says here... 'A scroll or spellbook detailing an unusual spell ... one that is not on the spell list of this book, could be selected as one of their new spells for attaining a new level.' Oh. So homebrew, I suppose."

"Erm, what does that mean?"

"Okay, so sorcerers can only learn a fixed amount of spells, and their spell list is based on the spell list in the handbook. It's because unlike wizards; sorcerers learn their magic, naturally. Due to ... whatever reason, the great cosmos, uh, dragon blood, or just pure luck, magic has entered a sorcerers life and they are naturally proficient at it, but only if they are attuned to it. I guess."

"Go on..." nods Nepgear.

"To be more direct... wizards learn their spells by reading and studying them, eventually they will have lots and lots of spells, but they can only ready specific amounts of spells and cannot change depending on the situation, meanwhile a sorcerer, they can only learn a specific amount of spells, but they can use it as much as they want, as long as they have the spell slots for it. Just like how Miss Vert can use her spell slots as all healing spells if the situation calls for it."

"Let me see if I understand Miss Histoire... mmm... so wizards have to prepare everything beforehand, if they know they'll be in a spot they would need lots of firepower, they would prepare maybe damage spells, and some defense, but if for whatever reason, they suddenly don't need it because of, of uh, reasons, then the wizard becomes basically useless that day."

"That's a bit harsh, but otherwise correct, Miss Nepgear. A wizard needs to be able to accurately determine what spells they would need for the day. Meanwhile sorcerers can cast any spell they've learned."

"And for sorcerers, well, if I learn nothing but damage spells, that's all I'll be, a turret spewing out fireballs. But if I learn a balanced spell list... I'll be useful for most situations. Wait, what's stopping a wizard from preparing a balanced spell list? Wouldn't that mean sorcerers are kind of useless...?"

"Uh, wizards require plenty of money and they are ostensibly frail. Wait, so are sorcerers, but they have the benefit of having their spells for free. Oh, now that I'm looking through the wizard section, they also have something called specialization, which would give them some bonuses for choosing it at the price of neglecting two schools of magic. Another thing, erm, wizards rely on their spellbooks to cast spells. If for whatever reason you lose your spellbook as a wizard, you cannot cast any spells."

"Books are expensive," comments Blanc.

Nepgear is taken aback from the spellbook clause of wizards. "So, sorcerers can cast their spells willy-nilly, no need to worry about spellbooks and such..?"

"None at all. They can cast magic that they learned through ... natural causes."

"Oh, I see... So there are pros and cons to both wizard and sorcerer... I think I'm happy with being a sorcerer instead... I think we got into a really long tangent."

"I believe so. So, uh, what were we talking about now...? Ah, yes, I believe you were wondering if there would be any spellbooks, and the simple answer to that is, sorcerers don't use spellbooks to learn their spells. Hence, there is no real need for Janette to look for spellbooks."

"Oh...um, maybe I can cast some entertainment spells instead...?"

"Prestidigitation should be usable in that manner... So depending on what you do, will determine the result along with some performance checks."

"Okay!"

"Um... did I forget someone?" says Histoire, scratching her head.

"Let's see, Histy... uh, Sir Puddington is done... Nepgear just got finished... Noire is working again, as a righteous paladin... Burt is going to do clerical things... Blunga will be performing as a strength contest, Rom and Ram will be enjoying the festivities, and Uni is... not yet done!"

"Miss Uni? What about you?"

"Oh! Um, let's see... as a rogue who specializes in ... uh... rogue things like hiding... what can I do...?? My appraise is pretty high... maybe I can make use of that as a way to get some quick money? Local appraiser, done cheap..."

"That sounds good, Miss Uni."

"Huh? Is it? Oh, okay! Yeah. I think I'll do that. I'm also pretty high up on forgery... so I could use that to check if something is a forgery... But I don't think I've ever seen a stall that would be offering appraisals like this... but uh... if it's alright with you Miss Histoire..."

"Erm... I think that's fine. Although for now, we did basically spend a good amount of time discussing tangent about sorcerers and wizards..."

"S-sorry Miss Histoire..."

"That's alright Miss Nepgear. Let's take a quick break before we continue the rest of the session for the festivities."

The rest of the table nod, as they stretch and get some snacks.

Chapter Text

"Hmm..." mumbles Histoire to herself, "Let's see, festivities, then introduce a fear mechanic... suddenly or overnight, I wonder? Though, it would make sense for it to happen while the festivities are on going... Hm... perhaps not, and just let them have some fun? Might be for the best."

She looks up, and breathes a sigh of relief, knowing she's alone in the table, and that no one could have possibly heard her plans. Continuing to wait for the rest, she twiddles her thumbs, deciding how to begin their session. She wonders how long before she'll finally be used to doing this. They've been at this for perhaps 4 or so months? As she ruminates, the sounds of chairs being pulled and pushed, pull her out of her thoughts and she sees all of them return to their chair.

"Ah, you're all back. That's good, then, let's get started, shall we?"

The rest of the table nod in response.

"Alright, the festivities isn't until tomorrow, does anyone want to do something or should we skip to the next day and get those festivities?"

"I got nothin' Histy. Can't say for the rest though."

Histoire looks at the players one by one, and all of them aside from Noire, shake their head after giving it some thought. She smiles at Noire.

"So what would you like to do, Miss Noire?"

"Well, I would like to make sure that Soleil is properly placed in the stables."

"Alright. After the group left the office, Albedo ensures that her Soleil is properly placed in the stables and brushes him. He enjoys it."

Noire happily squees in glee, as Histoire adds in a conjured animation of a horse being brushed and whinnying.

"Noire sure likes her horse... why not grab one for yourself?" says Neptune.

"Hm..."

"Uh... right. Anyway, Histy, I think that's that?"

"Right," nods Histoire, "the rest of the day passes without incident. The party from their individual accommodations, can see and hear the preparations for a festival begin. Platforms being built, stands being propped up, arguments regarding shop placements, various beasts of burden carrying and pulling different goods. After a rather tiring last few days, just being able to watch a real living town continue on with its life, is a comfort."

Histoire conjures the image of the town going about its day as it prepares for the festival, not only for their entertainment, but to somewhat stall for time while she decides what to do for the festival. Rom and Ram are watching with excitement as they watch her conjurations move about.

"The construction continues through the night. Since your characters have slept through worser things, I think it's safe to say everyone has had a pleasant night's rest. The next day occurs, and celebrations are in full swing. There are entertainers about, local and foreign merchants peddling their goods. Right, speaking of, just to be sure, Neptune, what did you say you wanted to do during this day?"

"Ah! I wanted to make some money doing parlor tricks and performance."

"Alright... Sir Puddington will do that... so roll your a perform check."

Neptune takes her d20, and shakes it in her hands, before letting it roll on the table. It stops almost unceremoniously on 10.

Neptune tilts her head, seemingly unsure how to feel. "Well... that would give me 19 in total. So, what happens next?"

"Let's see here... Sir Puddington, begins to play on his lute. It doesn't take long for a crowd of people to begin to gather around him. They clap and hum along to the rhythm and melody Sir Puddington is playing and singing."

"Oh man," Neptune laughs suddenly, "this reminds me of that time we all decided to be idols, but then you all left me in the rain."

"Neptune," says Noire, "let's not discuss about that page panel, pretty sure we've dealt a lot of emotional damage with that single page alone."

"Eh, it worked out fine, besides, that wasn't my fault in any capacity."

Histoire, sensing the possibility of an argument brewing, loudly clears her throat. "Alright, so Sir Puddington plays his song, and a noble looking man approaches him after his performance, and the man says, in a somewhat pompous voice, 'Marvelous performance, what say you join my traveling entourage and become famous all over?' he then waits for your response."

"Uh... wait, before that, do I get any money from doing this performance?"

"Oh, 19 roll... uh, eh, sure, why not, 19 gold. Just to put in perspective, 1 gold is a lot of money for a regular person."

"Alrighty, uh anyway, hrm... I will tell him, 'My apologies milord, but I prefer to be free to move about as I please, I appreciate your offer but I must respectfully decline.' Oh, I'll roll diplomacy, because I know these noble types. I've read enough about them."

Noire looks like she just heard the most outrageous thing. "You literally just read those 'I was transported into another world and now I have a railgun for a finger' kinds of deals. Those things aren't exactly the most accurate representation of the noble class."

"Well, Noire," says Vert, "as, uh, out of this world, those stories usually are, there is a grain of truth to how the noble class is represented. Some are mean spirited and act like the world owes them, but there are those who are kind and willing to listen to reason. Wealth and social standing does not immediately dictate how someone would act."

"Gotta admit though," adds in Blanc, "there sure are a lot of those that always seem to represent nobles as those who are incorrigible people. Is that the case for our own nations? I ... personally can't check every family or person in Lowee..."

Histoire clears her throat. "Ahem, we're going on a tangent here, let's continue this discussion at another time, besides, we play this game in order to relieve ourselves of our weekly duties, not to continue them."

The rest of the table come to the same realization and quickly nod their heads, while their sisters are absorbing everything they can.

Histoire continues, "Going back... Neptune, please roll that Diplomacy check."

Neptune rolls her d20 once more, and this time stops on 17. A smile of relief forming on Neptune's face.

"Phew, that's a 24. Now with my honeyed words, this noble guy should be fine with that and let Sir Puddington be."

"Wait, big sister, I just realized something," says Nepgear. "You said you wanted to move freely, but aren't we technically employed under the mayor?"

"Well, Nepgear, the thing is, if I become employed by that noble guy, I can't exactly say that I want to go to another town, while under the mayor, I can say that, and be allowed to. Although, if the mayor says I would need to go to a different place, then you know, I gotta go there. You know what I mean?"

"Um... no."

"Uh, basically, I don't want to be employed under that guy, that's all."

"Erm, okay... sorry, Lady Histoire..."

"That's alright, Miss Nepgear... anyway, that's what Sir Puddington does, and yes, with that 24 diplomacy the nobleman leaves you well alone to continue playing the lute. So, let's get to someone else, hm... Miss Noire, you wanted to patrol, is that right?"

Noire nods. "That's right, Albedo will patrol and, uh, keep the peace?"

"So, how will you do that, Miss Noire?" replies Histoire.

"Oh! Um, uh... way to put me on the spot, but uh... ah! Albedo will walk around the town, checking the gaps between buildings, if any, and... uh... wonder if there's anything on my sheet that could help..." ponders Noire, as she looks through her character sheet.

A few moments of silence, Noire, looking victorious, points to her sheet, the words, 'Sense Motive'. She smiles saying, "Miss Histoire, I see this skill, called Sense Motive, so obviously I'll just roll this and I'll be able to know if there's any bad things happening."

Histoire purses her lips and stops herself from making a face. "Not to be the bearer of bad news, but that's not how that skill works. I mean, I guess? But not in how you think it does. You can't use it to basically scan an area, it only works with conversing with someone. For example, if you were, uh, speaking with... actually let's put this on a meta level as well... okay, let's say you were speaking with Neptune's character, Sir Puddington."

"Say what now Histy?"

"I'm using your character as an example, be glad, anyway -- So you're speaking with Sir Puddington, and out of character, Neptune says, 'I'm going to lie to Albedo about this thing I found,' and then Neptune rolls a Bluff check."

"Okay, I got 4, for a total of 12," says Neptune.

"But I didn't -- okay, you know what, sure, why not, she rolls a 12. Not a great roll, but that's beside the point. So now, Miss Noire, will roll Sense Motive, because it's almost impossible to stop this kind of metagame."

"Erm, I got... 11 ... for a 12," says Noire.

Histoire looks at the black d20 on the table, and just like what she said, it stopped on 11. "Makes this slightly complicated, but, that shouldn't matter too much. Anyway, so since both results are equal, what happens is, Noire, or Albedo, in this case, will sense that something feels odd, but really think nothing of it. I suppose... something along the lines of, asking a friend what they did last weekend and they shrug and say nothing. Obviously they did something, but there's no real cause to dig into it. Or maybe they really did nothing that weekend and just slept all the way through."

Noire purses her lips, and sternly nods. "So, basically, it just allows me to know if someone is lying or hiding something from me? But we have to be interacting with each other?"

"That's correct, Miss Noire. A few more details are there but, that's the general use of it."

"Hrm, alright, if that's the case, I'll just walk around the town like I said, and um, maybe my presence would reduce the chances of anything bad happening."

"Alright, so Albedo walks around, as a, uh, oh, right, female knight... with... 18 Charisma, she is, almost unsurprisingly popular with the local populace. I ... don't think I've gotten a description of your character, Miss Noire. All I can say is, 10 is the average for regular people, so having 18, Albedo is very ... charismatic. Let me check a thesaurus for that -- actually nevermind. Anyway, she's very pretty, and carries herself in a very dignified way, that she exudes elegance, and looks like a model knight."

Noire looks quite pleased with what Histoire said. "Ah, that means my Albedo is a very pretty knight, and obviously with a beautiful owner, Soleil is also a handsome horse."

"Erm... right. Anyway, Albedo walks around the town, her presence calming the citizens down, and any ne'er-do-wells quickly scurrying off."

Noire happily nods, seemingly content with what Histoire gave, as Histoire herself, proceeds to look at Vert.

"Alright, Miss Vert, as for ... Burt. I believe you've said you'll happily station yourself as a volunteer for the festival in case of any medical emergencies, or spread the word of your patron deity, is that right?"

Vert nods. "That's right, although I think I'll stick with the volunteer portion, I don't think my 8 Charisma would go too well, and the fact that I am a half-orc."

"Okay then, Miss Vert, please roll a Heal check, this would basically count as your overall skill for the day."

Vert prepares to roll her d20, but then slowly puts her hand down. "I'll take 10. I'm not risking a 1. So, it would be 18."

"Oh, that's a bit surprising, but that's fine. So, most of the patients Burt received were those with minor injuries, like scratches or bruises, and the worst of it was someone with a bout of food poisoning. Some of the patients were slightly taken aback from Burt's appearance and gruff exterior, but stayed put in order for Burt to apply treatment. He has successfully, received the goodwill of the town."

"I see.." nods Vert. "Sounds good. I think that's good enough for Burt."

"Alright then, Miss Blanc?"

"Any strength games, like those things you whack a mallet with and a bell rings?"

"Erm... I don't think anything like that would be in a somewhat medieval setting... although, a strength contest between men, like wrestling should be a thing. So, with that in mind, Blunga, as a half-orc herself... sadly had most of the challengers ward her off, because they knew they'd lose."

"Really?" says Blanc, sounding a bit upset. "I guess it makes sense, you wouldn't want to go toe-to-toe with a half-orc... ugh."

"Well Blanc, just think about it this way," says Vert, "this is how those super powerful guys in stories feel like all the time, no one wants to challenge them, or rather no one can give them an appropriate challenge. So now, you're one of those guys. Or gals. I suppose."

"Argh! Fine! How about this then, I put up a challenge stall, 1 gold, a prize of 100 gold if they can beat me?"

"Oh, um, I think that's fine... actually knowing that... Burt's patients are now mostly Blunga's challengers. Miss Blanc, roll an attack roll, rather grapple, but they're both the same roll anyway."

"Alright..."

As she rolls, and the die lands and stops, Blanc immediately roars in frustration, much to everyone's surprise. Their question of why was immediately answered as the blue die is shown to have landed on 2.

"Erm..." Histoire looks a bit unsure how to proceed. "Well... 11... um... time to roll a d20 to see if Miss Blanc loses... I guess?"

Histoire manipulates a d20 into the air, and lets it fall down the table. It lands on 11. Silence blankets the table. Histoire clears her throat, "Well, um, Miss Blanc, seems it's a tie. We'll go on ahead and roll another grapple contest."

Blanc rolls her d20, and grunts upon seeing the results. "It's 9. For a total of 18, not too bad, I suppose."

Histoire rolls the opposing d20, and it lands on 10. "Alright then, so Blunga easily overpowers the challenger. Hrm... right. I think this is fine..."

Blanc nods in approval.

Histoire places a hand on her chin. "Right, I would say... um... 6 people challenged Blunga and lost, so Blunga gains 6 gold. Now, moving on, um now Miss Nepgear, what did you want to do? If I recall, we had a lengthy discussion about how magic for sorcerers and wizards worked, and how they didn't work."

"Yes... that's right. I didn't know how fundamentally diffferent they are..."

"Well, magic is weird, Miss Nepgear... let's just say that. All the same, would you remind me what you wanted to do?"

"Ah! Yes, I would like to use my presditi -- presgitid -- um..."

"Prestidigitation?"

"Yes! That one, I'm sure I was able to pronounce it before but now it just has me twisting my tongue all around... I would like to use my magic to perform tricks and entertain."

"In that case, please roll a spellcraft check, just so we have a basis of how well your performance goes."

"Um... 10, for a total of 20!"

"Alright then, so Janette finds herself a suitable spot to begin performing using Prestidigitation. She performs a small re-enactment of a battle with a dragon complete with sounds and visuals."

"Oooh, is it kind of like a TV?" asks Nepgear.

"Erm, yes. A crowd of people watch and Janette makes a hefty sum of 20 gold."

"Yay!"

"Right, now with Miss Nepgear finished, what about you Miss Uni?"

"Oh! I wanted to appraise a few things, well for people. Although... hmmm... I don't think an appraisal shop would work that well in a festival like this, that sounds like more of a long term thing... um... I think I'll just enjoy the sights and sounds of the festival."

"Erm, okay, what about you Miss Rom and Miss Ram? If I recall correctly, the two of you would simply like to enjoy the day as well. Is that still your plan?"

The twins nod. "Yep! We're happy to just watch the festival!" they both say at the same time.

Histoire nods, sensing that they may want to have another conjuration shown to them. Waving her arms and hands, she conjures the festivities occurring. She conjures the strength contest that Blunga was hosting, before switching it to Burt healing and tending to those that Blunga wounded. Histoire then switched it to Sir Puddington playing his lute, and then his discussion with the noble, while just somewhat a few dozen feet away, is Janette using her magic to show off conjurations of a dragon fight. Almost unbeknownst to everyone, but she has placed Albedo by the background of each scene, doing her patrol.

Histoire sighs in relief as she finishes the conjuration, after it lasts for a few minutes. "Alright, looking at the time, I think we've gone over slightly for a few minutes. We'll reconvene next week, hope everyone had a good time this week."

Chapter Text

"Today... I believe after the festival... hm... should I think I'll place them in a castle area, finally put them in a proper dungeon. A town, that's surprisingly still active, except there's a big spooky scary castle. Hm, I wonder what kind of fear effects there are, if I recall, it's as simple as just wanting to run away, but I wouldn't want that, though it would be easy to just modify to remove the urge to run away."

She flips through the Dungeon Master Guide, looks through the Glossary and finds interesting things, but she's wants the Fear section. She makes a mental note to look back especially at the Death Attacks section. Reaching section F, she quickly finds Fear, and finds that there are multiple levels to it, and not just an overarching term for Fear, but in general even at the weakest level of Fear, they would have a penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill and ability checks.

"Interesting, albeit it would be immediately removed by a Paladin's aura... ah, well perhaps I'll force them into a situation where it would be dangerous to stay with Albedo..."

"Hey, Histy, what's up with staying with Albedo?"

"Gah! Neptune! Since when have you been here?!"

"Oh, I just got here, heard something about 'stay with Albedo', then you went 'GAH', now we're here."

Neptune is sipping on a juice box, blissfully unaware of what Histoire was discussing with herself. The telltale sound of an empty juice box is heard shortly after, as Neptune finishes up the juice.

"Well, Neptune, go and throw that away, we'll be playing soon."

"Okay! Give me a sec..."

Neptune happily skips and throws away the juice box just as Histoire told her, and quickly returns to take her usual seat.

"So, Histy, what's the plan for tonight?"

"Well, it feels like it's time for a more ... um, how do I say this... uh... let's just say there would be a lot more to do, for little. If that makes sense."

"Uh... not really, but I guess you'd know... well, it's almost time for them to arrive."

As she says that, a few moments later, the elevator chimes its telltale chime of arrival.

"Funny, how that works Histy, it's always so... on schedule."

"Neptune, what are you talking about?"

"Well, you know, it's like, I say it's time for them to arrive, then moments later, ding, the elevator says they're there!"

"...Neptune that's just called being punctual. Nothing magical about that. We've always had the sessions at the same time, each week."

"Oh. I guess that's true. Sorta feels like we're getting delayed somewhere though."

"Eh?"

"Uh, nevermind that. Do you smell pizza?"

"You didn't ... oh, you're right. It seems Noire and Uni is carrying a rather sizable stack of them."

"I should probably help."

Neptune stands from her seat and helps the group carry the pizza boxes unto the table. Vert and Blanc are carrying different flavors of fizzy drinks, or soft drinks, along with bags of ice. They place them all on the table, with the ice in a large bowl that Nepgear procured from the kitchen.

Histoire looks at the table full of food and drink, reading the pizza boxes, 'Pizzstation Network - Home of the Extra Large Pizza for Singles', she knows that there are 9 of them here... Neptune, Nepgear, Noire, Blanc, Vert, Uni, Rom and Ram, and herself, but she doubts she could eat even one slice alone, without already feeling full. Opening two boxes to take a peek, each pizza has different toppings.

"Ahem..." says Histoire, slightly taken aback, "This is quite a large amount of food and drink..."

"Ah..." chuckles Noire, "well, we thought it would be a good to eat while playing. Our breaks are usually just us taking a few minutes to drink and nibble on food, so, why not eat and play, and pizza's usually a good food to do that with."

"Well, that's not entirely incorrect... and seeing as everyone has seemingly pitched in," eyeing Vert opening a large bottle of a lemon-lime drink, "I don't see why not, just remember to not spill or get your sheets oily, wet, dirty... just make sure to keep them clean, okay?"

"This is a lot of pizza, Histy!"

"Wait, is this why you were so adamant in skipping dinner?" asks Histoire.

"Uh..."

"Um... Miss Histoire," interjects Nepgear, "it would be rude to not eat the food that was brought... that's why..."

"I suppose the two of you atleast pitched in the cost."

"That's why we got a National Budget, Histy!"

"What?!" yells Histoire.

"Ahaha! Kidding, I'm kidding! It's fine. Don't worry, why not have some Dew Green Spring Water?" laughs Neptune, offering her a small glass of the same drink that Vert opened. "I prefer some Nepsi Max myself, but, this is pretty good too."

"I will... have some later, for now, let's get started with our session?" says Histoire. "Seeing as how things are, I suppose we can keep going until our usual end. Just go on a bathroom break when you can, hopefully not when we need you, but, I'll see what I can do."

"Miss Histoire," asks Rom, "what are we going to be doing tonight?"

"Well, you'll see soon... let me see... if I recall, last session was the festival, and it has ended on a peaceful note," Histoire notes the nods of the players as they begin to eat the pizza, noting that Neptune has taken two slices immediately, "so, if everyone is fine with it, we can skip the hangovers and return to Mayor Manual's office."

"I'm ... fine with it Histy, mmm, tasty," says Neptune, enjoying her pizza slice, as the others agree with her sentiment.

"If everyone is fine with it, the 8 of you return to Mayor Manual's office, he's still working with documents, but seemingly less so this time around, in comparison. He looks up, and sees the group, afterwards, pauses his work, 'I hope you've all gotten proper rest, and had fun with the festival,' he says before opening a drawer and pulling out a document."

"How big is the document?" asks Noire.

"The document is few pages, and Mayor Manual looks over it quickly, almost to check if this was the correct document. He nods, and afterwards, he says, 'Today, I've gotten the report for the next gemstone. It seems to be surprisingly, near a populated town of Zeca."

"Wait," says Uni, swallowing her bite of pizza, "wouldn't that be bad? The gems are inherently dangerous, even just being near it caused that last town to be ... um, undead?"

"Yeah!" adds in Neptune, sipping her drink, "I say that to the Mayor, to let him know of our worries."

Histoire nods, "The party lets their worries be known to the mayor. He says, 'I understand your worries, but Zeca town is just the nearest landmark. Your journey would actually be a somewhat popular hotspot for the locals as a ... what does it say here... [A Test of Courage]. While dangerous sounding it seems that they are challenging people to get as near as they can before fear overtakes them and they return.' He then waits for the party's reactions."

"Mmmfhh," says Blanc.

"Miss Blanc, please hold your excitement and don't talk with your mouth full."

"Geh," Blanc downs a swig of her drink, "Anyway. I was going to say, 'So, how is this a problem? People get too scared to even go closer, people have their ... fun, unless you'll tell us someone actually got in and never got out.' That's what Blunga says."

"The mayor responds, 'No, nothing of the sort, but what we're concerned about is the fact of your previous report, a gigantic worm creature was there. It would be preferable to somehow keep things as they are, but if there is a much larger threat there, then we would need the 8 of you to investigate further.' He starts to stamp documents again."

"Oh! Janette will," says Nepgear, "um, ask the mayor for some details... namely, 'Mayor Manual, have there been further developments regarding the area of the orange gemstone?' ahem, I'm curious, if they've found proof that there's something the worm did outside of its area, or did it stay there somewhat content, somehow."

Histoire flinches slightly, "Ah, um, Mayor Manual replies thus, 'It has only been a few days since you've reported it. Currently I believe, we are ensuring that the lingering effect of the gemstone will not impede our investigations. Last thing we need is for them to return here afflicted by it.' That's what he says."

Nepgear puts a hand on her chin, deep in thought, as she takes a bite of pizza. "Hrmmm..."

"Miss Nepgear, please eat your food before you speak more."

"Shorry..."

"Right... either way, Mayor Manual continues, 'As before, we would like you to investigate the area where they hold this Test of Courage they have, and check if there's a real threat there or not. This could simply be a mass hallucination, or there's a real threat lurking there that's just biding its time. Now, the actual area where they're doing this Test of Courage is actually an abandoned castle. Normally, it would have been demolished or be taken in by some royal or another, but there have been plenty of unfounded rumors about no one being able to stay there for one reason or another.'"

Histoire takes a Histoire-sized cup, gets herself the same drink Vert is enjoying, and takes a swig before continuing. "Mmm, that's quite good... ah, ahem. He continues... 'No one wants to live there due to sudden bouts of fear, trying to demolish it was also a no-go. Only due to your recent discovery of the gemstones do we have a posit in why these rumors started in the first place.' He then clears his throat and waits for the group's reply."

Noire nods her head, "Albedo will say, um... 'If that's the case, then, let's get there, where is the town of Zeca located? Can't we go to the castle grounds directly?' I just remembered, we'll probably have a real easy time with this one."

Neptune perks up as she chomps on a pizza slice. "Oh?"

Noire looks slightly miffed, "Neptune... augh, whatever, anyway, Albedo is a paladin and she has the Aura of Courage, which renders fear effects! So we'll all be safe, easy."

"Well... about that Noire, dear..." says Vert, "I don't want to burst your bubble but only you're immune to the fear effect. Everyone else simply has a slight advantage to prevent fear overtaking us."

Noire tilts her head. "Wait, that can't be..." she says as she picks up the Player's Handbook and quickly skims the pages. "Oh no... Vert's right... but... it's not all bad... any advantage against the effect is good."

Vert nods in agreement. "That's true, I just didn't want you to overestimate your own class. Always have realistic expectations."

"Right... okay, now that you've pulled me down back to the ground..., what does Mayor Manual say about Zeca?"

"Mayor Manual replies, 'The town of Zeca is a few days away on foot, there have been plenty of merchants and visitors wanting to return to Zeca, so, travel should be more or less safe, if you'll be going along with the merchants.' And that's what he says."

Neptune quickly eats her slice of pizza, gulps down her drink, and speaks, but not before coughing slightly. "Maybe, that Creed guy is there and he'll take us to Zeca."

Histoire rolls a d20, inconspicuously, to help her make a decision. It lands on 19, helping her solidify the decision to let them ride with Creed, though, as the d20 fell, she did already hope for it to land on a high number to somehow defend her decision.

"Mayor Manual says, 'If you have other means of transport, such as acquaintances, you may go ahead and prepare them. Stay safe and good luck.' He then returns to his work. So, what does the party want to do now?"

Nepgear speaks up, "Well, just like what big sister said, I think the party will try to look for Creed, and check if he'll be making his way to Zeca. If so, then that's great. If not, uhm..."

"Well Nepgear," says Uni, "If Creed isn't available for whatever reason, that's when we think about a different way, for now, let's go look for him. Lady Histoire, would we have to roll anything to find him or...?"

"Neptune, since it's your idea, go ahead and roll Bardic Knowledge."

"Alrighty, Bardic Knowledge... Intelligence Modifier, and my bard level. So, +6 in total. And the d20 giveth... 16, for a total of 22!"

"Thank you, Neptune. Alright, the group exits the mayor's office. And quickly, Sir Puddington, gets to work and scurries away, bolts out like lightning, looking around town, and asking around with the right questions on where Creed might be located."

Histoire waves her hands and shows various imagery of Sir Puddington asking around town. Even a quick image of Sir Puddington asking a cat. After a few minutes of it, Histoire cuts the silence as she clears her throat.

"Alright, Sir Puddington was able to locate Creed with little issue, he's currently in a tavern enjoying his meal. He sees Sir Puddington, and greets him. 'Ah, hello my small friend, how fares you today?' he says."

"Ah, Sir Puddington will reply with... 'Ahem, I am doing quite well, I would like to know, if you are en route to the town of Zeca.' and then I'll wait for his response."

"Creed replies with, 'Ah, yes I am. I'm just finishing my meal and then looking for the possibility of additional escorts. Even if most of the merchants are going as a group, I would rather have some extra security.' And then he continues his meal."

Neptune's eyes sparkle as she puts a finger up and begins to speak. "Oh! Sir Puddington will say, 'Well, in that case, we're more than glad to put out our services to escort you.' Then time to wait for a good response."

"Well, with that, Creed repsonds, 'Oh? That would be quite good. Nothing better than having a trusted group protect you. I am assuming that you require passage to Zeca, since I have sold most of my goods here, I would be leaving on an empty carriage, but now that you will be escorting me, then I will have something to bring, but you will also be protecting me. Hm... Ah, I believe it would be a fair exchange if in lieu of payment for your protection, the carriage fee will be waived. I believe that should be fair.' He says with a smile."

Neptune puts her hand on her chin, deep in thought, or at the very least in deep in thought as she can muster, and stays like this for a minute or so, before nodding. "Sir Puddington will say, 'I believe that is a fair exchange. When will we leave? As soon as possible? If so, let me get my group. We're 8 people, would that be a problem?' Then I look at his initial reaction, is Creed surprised, or what does he look like?"

"Ah, Creed's eyes widen a bit as Sir Puddington says that there are 8 people. He then says, '8? Ah, just like before then, I believe one of you is on horseback, so 7 in total in the carriage. That should be no problem. Almost as before, you've caught me during my meal, so once I'm done eating we can depart. We can reconvene at the exit later.' Is there anything else that Sir Puddington would like to do?"

"Hm, I don't think so, for now I'll say farewell to Creed, then return to the party, let them know that we have a ride to Zeca."

"Alright, so Sir Puddington returns to the party and he tells them of the plan. Any violent reactions, although, out of character everyone's just been nibbling and sipping on the food, including myself... Speaking of, I would need a small bathroom break."

Chapter Text

"Phew, alright then. I shouldn't have drank so much, but it was quite sweet, and all that talking does make one's throat quite parched..." says Histoire, closing the bathroom door behind her.

She returns to the table and sees that there are some of the players missing from their respective seats. She looks at those who are left, and they're either playing with the dice they have or pacing about the room. Namely, it seems Neptune and Vert are missing from their seats, while Noire is pacing about, Blanc is spinning the d20 around her hand, and the twins are making a tower of dice. Nepgear is sitting on her chair like a model student, and Uni is looking at Noire pacing about. It seems nobody, sans Nepgear, has noticed Histoire's return.

As if reading her mind, Nepgear speaks up, "Ah, Neptune and Vert followed suit after they drank too much as well."

"Oh, I see, thank you Nepgear," says Histoire, taking her usual place at the table, and as she does, the rest of the players began returning to their seats and paying attention to her. It always feels anxiety-inducing to have everyone look at you like this, Histoire thinks to herself, trying to get comfortable. She looks around, and sees there are still plenty of pizza boxes still unopened, and drinks.

"So, once Neptune and Vert get back, let's get back to the session. While we do that, why exactly did you all get a cartoonish amount of pizza and drinks?"

"Oh! Um..." Noire responds, "there was a special offer, a buy one take one deal, and, well, it just got a bit out of hand."

"I see. Well, that's reasonable enough... I think," says Histoire, a hand on her chin. "The drinks, well, equal amount of drinks to match the food, I suppose. Right, well, I expected the explanation to have somehow lasted longer, but here we are."

The rest of the table waits around for a few minutes for Vert and Neptune to return, and after a while, they do come back, looking refreshed. Neptune takes her seat, and so does Vert.

"Well, now that we're all here once more, let's begin the session proper. We've left off with Sir Puddington returning to the party, and telling them about Creed's offer."

"That sounds about right Histy, so what happens next?"

"Well, does anyone have anything they want to do before they step on the carriage into the town of Zeca?" says Histoire, looking around the table. She sees that Uni was about to say something, but seemingly decided against it.

"Miss Uni? Were you going to say something?"

"Oh! I was, but it suddenly slipped my mind..." she says sheepishly.

"Ah. Well, that happens to all of us sometimes, that's alright. If there's nothing else, the party will meet up with Creed, and of course, Albedo will get her horse, Soleil," she adds in as she sees Noire prepare to say something. Noire then nods her head with a smile.

Histoire waves her hands and creates the image of the party entering the carriage, each of them stepping inside, whilst Albedo is at the side tending to her beloved horse. Once everyone's seated and Albedo has mounted her horse, they start to move out, along with the other merchants leaving as well.

"That's a big group of people leaving the town!" comments Ram, as she watches the imagery that Histoire is channelling. "I wonder if a fight would happen here..."

"Oh, I'm sure there wouldn't ... probably!" says Neptune. "If I were a band of thieves or something, seeing a group this big is a bit intimidating. It's basically why herbivores travel in larger groups, they're less likely to get attacked."

"Ooooohhh, that makes sense..." nods Ram. "So I guess we'll be more or less safe in this journey to Zeca, right?"

"Yes," says Histoire. "Due to the sheer number of people traveling in the same direction as you all are, the trip towards Zeca is relaxed. It's quite a distance away, and the group will arrive at sunset. Does any want to do anything during the trip? Albedo is, as usual at the side, riding her horse Soleil."

"Nope, not really." says Neptune.

"Hmm... I don't really feel like doing much myself," says Noire. "Just kind of wanna sit back and relax. Of course, I'll be making sure Soleil is okay."

"Well, I could use some air, but it's fine with me too," adds Blanc.

"Well, if that's the case, Blunga will look outside and take in the fresh air. It smells nice," says Histoire. She waits for any further answers from the rest of the table, but it seems that everyone is looking forward to reaching Zeca. So with that, Histoire summons up the imagery of the party moving along the road towards Zeca, and eventually arriving to it.

"So, Histy, it's sunset right? Isn't that the perfect time to check out this haunted castle?" asks Neptune. "If we stay at an inn tonight, we'd probably be forced to wait until evening again before we even continue."

The rest of the table nods in agreement.

"Right! That's true! We should go ahead and investigate!" exclaims Noire. "It might be a waste to spend two days at this old castle just sitting there waiting for the sun to set again."

"So just to be sure, we're here to find out if the cause of all this phenomena is the yellow gem? And then retrieve it if we can?" asks Blanc.

"Wait, isn't the yellow gem sort of being used as a tourist attraction?" asks Nepgear, raising an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it cause problems for the town if we took it?"

"That's right, we'd be destroying a source of tourism for Zeca," adds in Vert. "So, our main task is to just ensure that there's no major monstrosity hiding behind it."

"And the rest?" asks Ram.

"Well, maybe we can just leave it alone, if it's not really harming anybody. A little bit of fear never hurt... right?" says Rom.

"I don't think that would be good..." says Uni, rubbing the back of her head with a sigh. "What if something eventually grows and destroys the town..?"

"Well... I guess it's possible," says Neptune, tilting her head. "Though we're probably gonna see if we can retrieve it first, before we decide."

"I see," says Histoire, nodding. "So what's the consensus among the group?"

Everyone in turn nods at Histoire's question. The group agrees to explore the castle first, with everyone excited at the prospect of finally reaching their destination. HIstoire conjures up a map of Zeca on the tabletop, with the party exiting the carriage.

"Oh, of course, Sir Puddington will thank Creed for the ride. He'll say 'Thank you Creed, for the ride.' What does he say?" says Neptune, towards Histoire.

"He nods and says, 'Well, I hope we meet again.' He dismounts as well and goes his own way," says Histoire.

"Now... will the party go and explore this castle?"

"Yeah!" exclaims everyone else.
"Right. Shall we?"
"Of course!"
"Yes!"

With that said, all eyes turned to Histoire who begins to wave her hands and conjure up images of the party going towards the gate of Zeca Castle. Before they even reached the gate however, there are two armed guards who stop them.
"There are two armed guards, as you can see who stops the party, they say, 'Halt, who goes there?' how does the party respond?" says Histoire.

"Uh... oh! Since this castle is being used like a playground for a test of courage, like some horror attraction, let's just say we're here to try it out! Sir Puddington will say, 'Oh! We're here for to try out the [Test of Courage]! We're kinda tough guys ... and gals, so...' Yeah, that's what he would say," says Neptune with a sage nod.

Histoire looks at everyone else, and it seems everyone is in agreement, so she nods and conjures up the image of the group walking up to the guard and introducing themselves as such. The guard bows politely and introduces himself as, Gustave.

"He then says, 'If that's the case, then please fill out this form,' showing a scroll to the party. It looks to be some form of contract that states the town will not be responsible for any possible harm that may occur whilst going in," says Histoire. "Looking at it further, it looks to be official, stamp, and all."

Vert raises an eyebrow, "They've really made this a part of their tourism then if they're doing this... It's pretty scary though..."

"I mean... It's like they know this castle is dangerous." shrugs Ram. "We might as well sign."

"Oh! Right, I'll go and sign too," says Blanc. "I mean, unless we're gonna sneak in, but like, what's the point of doing that?"

"So everyone agrees to sign then?" says Histoire. "Alright then... Once everyone has signed the form, Gustave lets the party pass through, and into the courtyard of the castle. There are several buildings around the castle, including a stable for horses."

Noire immediately perks up at the mention of the stables, "Oh! I'll place Soleil there, are the stables clean looking?"

"Um... I would say... uh..." stammers Histoire, quickly going through the possibilities of her saying no. If she says no, Noire will just say that Albedo will take Soleil back to the inn, if she says yes, Noire will station Soleil here. There is no difference between either answer from Noire's perspective, so if she says yes, she'll be getting her horse back quicker than if she said no.

So, without further ado Histoire shrugs, and quickly conjures up images of Albedo placing her horse in the stable.

"Thanks Lady Histoire!" says Noire happily. "They really are making this place into like an attraction..."

"Erm, yes, I suppose they are," says Histoire. "Ahem, anyway, as the group approaches closer and closer to the castle entrance, and everyone roll a Will Save." In her mind, a DC of 13 sounds reasonable.

Everyone on the table looks a bit surprised, but otherwise prepares to roll, while Noire's face lights up and says, "Wait, is this a fear effect? If so, then everyone gets ... um... a +4 to their rolls!"

"Yes, with your aura, everyone within 10 ft. of Albedo gets a +4 morale bonus to their Will Saves," confirms Histoire with a nod, as everyone rolls their dice.

Noire suddenly wails in lament, when she sees her die land on a 2.

"Um, Miss Noire, you're a paladin, have you forgotten you're outright immune to fear effects? You don't need to roll..." says Histoire.

"Oh..." says Noire sheepishly, shrinking in her chair slightly. "T-that's right.... ahahahaha..."

"Silly Noire," says Neptune haughtily, as she rolls her own purple die. She smirks as she sees it land on 15. "There we go, 15, +3 will save, and adding in that +4 morale, means 22. Unless this is some insane check, I'm sure I've passed."

"I'll let everyone else roll theirs before I say the result, alright, Neptune?" says Histoire. "Everyone else, please roll."

Uni rolled 7, for a total of 14.
Ram rolled 10, for a total of 20.
Rom rolled 15, for a total of 25.
Nepgear rolled 6, for a total of 16.
Vert rolled 12, for a total of 21.
Blanc rolled 18, for a total of 23.

Histoire nods, and chuckles to herself, noting the irony that Albedo, the source of the Aura of Courage is the only one who would have been stricken with fear, if not for her outright immunity to it. She smiles and nods towards the group, "Alright, everyone has passed their Will Saves, and are unaffected. The castle definitely has a frightening presence, but you won't suffer from its effects."

Histoire begins to conjure an image of a basic top down view of their current location, but conjures it as a very dim image, owing to the fact that this is a dark area with no source of lighting. She then remembers that there are such things as racial traits, and quickly checks if anyone has any racial traits that help them with darkness or low light conditions. In 3 seconds, she remembers that only Sir Puddington, Blunga, and Burt, the gnome and half-orcs, have low-light vision, so she modifies the conjuration to be clearer for Neptune, Blanc, and Vert. They would be able to see the dilapidated furnishings and stone walls with relative clarity, while the others would still continue to see a dim image.

"Oh, I guess it took a while for the image to load, huh, Histy? Everything here looks abandoned." comments Neptune, much to the confusion of everyone else on the table.

"I'm surprised how this place is still standing," adds in Blanc. "You think they added these decor after the fact or was this here before?"

"I'm pretty sure they'd keep it as authentic as possible. We're probably the first people who've actually gone inside for a while, judging from the immediate Will Save necessary to even enter," says Vert.

The others on the table are confused as they could only see a dim image with barely any detail.
"But we can't see anything," says Uni. "How do you know what's there? It's dark here..."

"Wait, you three have some sort of night vision don't you?" says Noire. "I can't see anything. Lady Histoire, I'll light a lamp."

"Alright, Albedo lights her oil lamp and illuminates the area," says Histoire, changing the conjured image to be clearer for everyone, so that now they can all see what the other 3 has seen before. An entrance hall filled with dilapidated furniture and a few broken statues stands before them, along with several doors leading off into different rooms.

"So... what's our next move? Do we go exploring the halls? I mean, it's like a haunted house, so I guess we should start there," says Uni. "I mean, for the orange gemstone, it was kind of... in a gigantic monster. So, do we split up or stay together?"

"What about the rest of us?" asks Rom, who looks like she's about to be sick at the thought of splitting up. "I mean... we're just gonna walk into a room where there's like a giant snake or something waiting for us, aren't we?"

"I'm sure Lady Histoire wouldn't do that," says Vert confidently before quickly faltering, "...right?"

"I mean... she did put that gigantic worm... last time... so anything is on the table," says Uni. "Though, I'm sure she doesn't want us getting eaten by some monster..."

Histoire smirks, even though in reality most of what she has in store has already been easily foiled by Albedo's aura. She wonders how investigative sessions for D&D would go in comparison to ones in video games. Especially since in video games, the answers are all set in stone, so it would take a lot of foresight if there would be other solutions, otherwise the developers would have to put in the proper clues and hope that those clues would steer their players in the right direction, but in tabletop, it's possible to be flexible about the solution and how they got there.

She even heard of some instances where there was no real answer, and that the best sounding solution would be met with acceptance, quite literally just pretend that that was the intended solution all along. Or perhaps, there's no need to make this overly complicated, and just have a simple abandoned castle, where most of its fear factor is from the aura itself. She's not even doing anything, perhaps they will just scare themselves enough, sometimes the idea that there is something there is more terrifying than the thing itself.

"Well, what do you all want to do? Currently the group is in the entrance hall of the castle," says Histoire, interrupting her own train of thought. "It looks as if the majority of the group wants to explore the castle. There seems to be some disagreement among some of the party members if they want to be split up or be together, however..." she looks at Blanc and Vert, who both look at each other sheepishly, and then at Histoire, before looking away, as if embarrassed of what the other person might say.

"...so I'll leave that up to your discretion," says Histoire. "If you wish to be in the same group, I'll try my best to accommodate. Although, try not to metagame too much when I show you what the other group is doing if you will all split up."

"Then, if that's the case..." says Neptune, "We'll split up, it'll be um... me, Noire, Vert, and Blanc, then the other group is Nepgear, Uni, Rom and Ram. That sound good to everybody?"

Noire, Blanc, and Vert nod their heads at this while Uni frowns.

"Hold on," says Uni, "I don't think splitting up is a great idea. Noire has the aura, which means if we split up, it's possible for us to succumb to fear much more easily."

"That's true, Noire's Albedo, does have that aura," agrees Vert.

"So, we should all just stick together in the end," says Neptune.

"Oh! Right, yeah," says Blanc, "Looks like we'll be together roaming through this castle then. I don't really have any objections."

"So, is that everyone's final decision then? Everyone will explore the castle together then?" says Histoire to everyone at the table. The rest of the table look towards her and nod in agreement. "Great! Well then... everyone is still in the entrance hall, so I suppose let me describe it, but before that, since as a group everyone is going to investigate this hall... everyone please roll a Search Check. I'll just take the average, or someone can roll for it to count as the entire party."

"Um... who has the highest search check?" asks Neptune.
Everyone immediately looks at their own character sheets to check. After a few moments, Uni excitedly goes, "Oh! I think I do, I have a 12 modifier on mine, unless someone has 13 or higher."

"Then, Uni, go ahead and roll for us!" says Neptune.
Uni rolls her die, and it lands on 10, for a total of 22. She's not too pleased with the result, but shrugs it off. "So, Lady Histoire, what do we find in this room?"

"Well, with that 22," says Histoire, "nothing can hide from your senses here. In this room, at least."

"So, there aren't any monsters lurking around that could surprise us? Or traps?" inquires Noire.

"Poppy has searched high and low in this entrance hall, it's as normal as it can be. The only thing that seems out of place are the various objects scattered about," says Histoire, waving her hands to conjure the images of said objects, which are all objects that can be easily held on their hand, such as broken lamps, torches, and some chipped daggers.

"Torches, lamps, and small weapons are scattered about, most of which are broken or chipped. Some of them look new, but still broken."

"So we can't make use of them, but they're not cursed either?" says Blanc.

"Um," says Histoire, "that's ... a bit random, but... hold on, let me see..."

Histoire then looks through the book for any rules about cursed items, and it seems that Identify has a 1% chance to show if an item is indeed cursed, otherwise it's a hidden property. Although in the same vein, why would random people drop cursed items and be mundane looking items as well? There's definitely no cursed items in this room, decides Histoire.

"Well, you don't know," says Histoire. "As far as you know, these are ordinary items."

"So there's no way to find out if an item is cursed?" asks Blanc.

"If you use an item, and weird things happen, then that could be a sign of a curse. Cursed items force me to be secretive, sorry," apologizes Histoire.

"That's alright, Lady Histoire," interjects Vert. "I can see where you're coming from."

"Right," says Neptune, "so there's nothing special in this room atleast, so let's move on to the next room. How many exits did you say there were here Histy?"

"There are several doors, here, here, and here, so not counting where you all entered from, there are 3 entryways," says Histoire, pointing at the north, west, and east doors.

"Alright, can I try all 3 doors, to see if they open?" says Neptune. "Do I need to roll anything?"

"No, it's alright, so, Sir Puddington tries out every door, and two of the three doors, fail to budge. It seems they are locked, or blocked off, as they do not open. The one that does open is the one to the west," says Histoire while she conjures images of Sir Puddington trying to open the doors.

"Huh, well, I guess this is where we'll go, so, Histy, what's behind our door? A goat or a car?" asks Neptune with a chortle.

"We're not playing Monty Hall today, Neptune. Anyway, behind the door looks to be sleeping accommodations. Plenty of bunk beds, and rusted weapons on display," says Histoire as she conjures the room, getting more detailed as she continues to describe it. "There are some dirty and ripped bedsheets on the bed, and a few more weapons scattered about."

"Sounds like a place that would have been a barracks for a small army at one point," says Neptune. "But, is there more to the room, like, is there another way out of here or is this a dead end?"

Histoire shakes her head. "Looking around the dilapidated barracks, the only way in and out is one and the same."

Neptune scrunches up her face, trying to think.

"Well, if that's the only way open to us... Hmmm..."

The rest of the table is waiting for her to get an answer. It's been a few minutes, but all the table gets is silence. After another minute, Neptune finally speaks up.

"... I got nothing."

Histoire sighs, "Does anyone else have an idea?"

"Lady Histoire," says Blanc, "can't we just bust down the door in the previous room?"

"Blanc! How uncouth," says Vert.

"Well, you know what with all the open world games we aren't allowed to break down doors unless it's a QTE or something," she retorts back.

"Ahem, anyway, yes, Miss Blanc, you can break down the door if you wish to do so." says Histoire. "Which door though?"

"Uh, the one directly in front of us, exiting this barracks, so... I think the east door."

"Ah! Hold on," says Vert, "doesn't Noire have a hammer? Can't we use that instead of breaking it down?"

"Alright, I'm rolling to attack the door," says Blanc, ignoring Vert, and grabbing her die and throwing it on the table. She quickly covers it hiding the result from everyone.

"Wait, let me add a few things, I want to charge at the door, so that would add an extra +2 to my attack, no one has seen the result yet, so is that alright, Lady Histoire?"

"That should be fine," nods Histoire.

Blanc moves her hand, revealing a 19.

"Okay, I rolled a 19," she says, "So adding in my proficiency, strength, and that charge attack... surely that's enough to hit the door, right? I swear if this doesn't hit..."

"Let me check Miss Blanc," says Histoire opening up the Dungeon Master's Guide for the armor class of a door. Histoire makes a mental note that the full result of Blanc's attack is 30, and a little in the book has a list of difficulty classes for the doors. Judging from the dilapidated nature of this area, even the base roll of 19 is enough to destroy the door to smithereens. No need to make them roll damage on a dinky door.

"Ahem, so Miss Blanc, with that roll, Blunga charges towards the door, her great axe in hand, and swings with everything she's got, the moment her great axe hits the door, the door explodes into thousands of pieces, creating a cloud of dust, from the sheer force of her attack. Everyone else shields themselves from the splinters of the door, and coughs as the dust spreads through the room."

Histoire waves her hands and conjures her description of the scene.

"I swear, Histy, you being the GM and being able to conjure stuff like that, makes for the most fun tabletop sessions," says Neptune, taking a bite of pizza.

"Well... If anything is literally here, there's no way for us to sneak by anymore," says Noire. "We better prepare for a fight if need be."

"I concur," says Vert. "Let's see, the most vulnerable party members would be... Janette, Sir Puddington, and possibly Poppy... Wait why is the party actually an entire team of muscleheads?"

"I see you've finally noticed," comments Histoire.

"All the same, we'll make sure Janette, Puddington and Poppy are all in the middle, with Albedo, Blunga, Burt, JC, and Paul, surrounding them."

"We're all dead if a fireball hits us," scoffs Blanc.

"Sssh! Blanc! Don't give Lady Histoire any ideas like that..!" hisses Vert.

Histoire chuckles from Vert's panic, taking a swig of her drink. "Mmmm, very fizzy. Lemon-lime is quite a nice flavor. Anyway, so the party proceeds to the room where Blunga destroyed the door, would that be correct?"

"That's right, since I destroyed the door, I'll lead the way," says Blanc. "So, what's beyond the destroyed door, Lady Histoire?"

"Well, after Blunga enters the room, she sees it's filled with chests, and various other weapons. It looks to be an armory, but don't be too excited. Just like the previous room, this is dilapidated. The weapons are all covered with rust."

Histoire secretly rolls a percentile die, and decides if it lands on a single digit result, she'll add in a magic weapon. The pair of d10s land on... 30 and 08. Well, no magic weapon for them today. A cellar beneath the armory sounds like a good idea for them to explore and have a discussion on deciding who goes down first, and would make it a plausible spot for the yellow gemstone.

"Um, well, Poppy will look around. So, let me just..." says Uni, rolling her d20 on the table. It lands at an unexpected 4, making her eyes grow in slight disbelief. "Uh, well this is just, a search check, so, that'll be a total of 16. Phew, glad this wasn't combat related."

Histoire conjures images of Poppy rummaging through the armory, opening chests, inspecting armor stands, weapon racks and such, but always tossing them to the side each time.

"As much as Poppy rummages through the items, none of them are particularly special, either rusted, bent, chipped, or outright smelly even," describes Histoire seeing the frown slowly forming on Uni's face. "But, upon looking below a pelt rug, there's a door on the floor."

"Oho! That's what I'm talking about! Is this hatch, door... Can I open it?" asks Uni.

"Go ahead and roll a strength check to pull it open," says Histoire seeing Vert stop Blanc while Uni rolls her d20.

It lands on a 10.

"And with my stats it ... oh. It goes down to 9," says Uni, hanging her head.

"Well, Poppy is unable to open the hatch, it feels like the hatch is stuck," says Histoire. "Poppy knows she's not the strongest of halflings, but even she should be able to open a hatch."

"So that means the hatch is sealed with... something," says Vert. "Or something's holding it down, or it's been sealed for a reason."

"Well, no time like the present, strength check was it, Lady Histoire?" asks Blanc, shaking the d20 in her fist.

Histoire nods, as Blanc rolls the d20. It lands squarely on 11, making Blanc click her tongue. "Tch, 16 in total, that enough?"

With a smile, Histoire nods. "Blunga pulls up the hatch, and as she does a squelching noise is heard, and the party sees the hatchway sticky with a somewhat strong smelling ooze."

Histoire conjures an image of the hatch underside, completely covered with the ooze, long strands stretching between the hatch and the unseen floor.

"Should I simulate the smell?" asks Histoire, a slight smile on her face.

The whole table collectively shake their heads and hands, making Histoire giggle a bit to herself.

"Okay, everyone, I believe that's a good spot to call the session. Hm, for some reason this half of the session has felt like it's been more than a year," says Histoire, clapping her hands. "I'll see you all next week, okay?"

"Alright Histy, see you next week!"

"Oh no, not you Neptune, you still have work to do."

"Nooooo! Histy! Pleaase...."

The rest of the table aside from Nepgear stand up and say their thanks and farewell to Histoire.

Chapter Text

"Histy! Terrible news, or great news, maybe! Depending on how you look at things." says Neptune, waving her arms around towards her Oracle, Histoire.

"And? What news is that exactly? And speaking of which, have you done your work? I sure hope it’s done at the very least. I’ve given you a week."

"A week? Histy! It’s been more than two years! What are you talking about?"

"Two years? What are YOU talking about? Anyway, what are you excited about? Mind at least telling me about it?"

"So, you know how we’ve been, uh, using 3.5e? Uh, might be better if we just change systems, you know, for our safety. And the safety of others. Like Pathfinder! Second edition, specifically."

"What are you talking about, we’ve always used Pathfinder 2e."

"Histy! Please!"

Histoire chuckles a bit and clears her throat. "Alright, I’ll break kayfabe for a bit. Yes, we’ve been using 3.5e for the past 35 chapters, yes, it has been two years. What else would you like to do then?"

"Uh, maybe, let’s re-create everyone’s sheets into Pathfinder 2e equivalents from their 3.5e sheets? All… eight of us. And I heard there’s enough feats for everyone to live out their fantasy characters."

"Alright, are you going to buy us the books them, with your allowance?" says Histoire, a slight scowl on her face.

"Ah! That’s the beauty of it, Histy! Everything about Pathfinder 2e and official contents are all on Archives of Nethys!" says Neptune, wiggling a finger in a knowing manner.

"So we’re going to be using unconventional ways to get our information then. Neptune, atleast with 3.5e we used the open System Reference Document. Now, you’re telling me we’ll just… do crime?"

"No! Histy, the Archives of Nethys is an officially licensed source for Pathfinder! Like, it’s official-official, not wink-wink, nudge-nudge."

"So, how exactly do they do business if everything from their books is already officially free…? Perhaps this isn’t the time to discuss that. Alright, let’s move on from that. Let’s spend time recreating everyone’s sheets to this new system then. It might be a bit of a shock to them, but, before that, why suddenly switch systems?"

"Well… First, we’ve only really been working with reference documents, and unless we’re comfortable with, uh, ‘homebrewing’ our feats, from resources, then it might be difficult to keep it up. Second, we’re going there but, the author is basically running their game with Pathfinder so we’re basically casualties on that change."

"…I see. The second part is more than likely the real reason. Regardless, we’ll have to contact the others and tell them about this change. But what about the plot though?"

"What about it Histy? You’re the one writing it. If I recall you haven’t exactly put in anything that would implicate one setting or another… So, we should be fine, yes?"

"I suppose that’s true… Okay, do you think you could call on the others and tell them tonight’s session is going to be, transitioning to Pathfinder 2e? I’ll have to review the rules… and honestly, after going through 3.5e, this looks simpler to a degree. We’ll see I suppose."

"Great! I’ll tell Nepgear first, and let’s change her character to Pathfinder! Then we’ll find out how difficult it would be to change for everyone else!"

"That’s a fair point. Go ahead and call Miss Nepgear here."

"Gimme two shakes and I’ll be right back!"

Histoire watches Neptune fetch her sister and she accesses these archives to see what she can gleam from them. Her eyes widen at the smorgasbord of rules and spells. A lot of these names are very similar, yet somewhat legally distinct. Flat-footed, is called off-guard, and it imposes a -2 circumstance penalty instead.

"Huh, circumstance penalty? Why such... exact wording?" she muses to herself.

A few minutes pass by and Neptune returns with her sister, looking quite excited and giddy.

"Lady Histoire, did you need me for something?"

"Ah, yes Miss Nepgear, did Neptune tell you what we're doing? I'll just assume, she hasn't, and tell you anyway. So, your sister has had the idea for us to switch to a different system altogether. So that means we'll be recreating your character from scratch. Ish. You'll still be Level 4. And a caster, but now you have choices on what kind of caster you wish to be."

"Oh! Um, there's still a Sorcerer in there, right?"

"Uh..." says Histoire quickly searching the archives. "Yes. There's a Sorcerer. There are also other spellcasters available, if you wish to check them."

"I think I'm happy with staying as a Sorcerer," replies Nepgear.

"Alright, what about, um... Ancestry? Basically do you want to stay as Human, perhaps you want to be... a cat? They have cats here? Or a Leshy, which is a plant?" says Histoire, showing Nepgear the available choices.

"Goodness, there's so many choices... wait, don't we have to roll for our stats before all of this?"

"Ah, about that. It seems, that you don't. They instead just outright give the players boosts so you can't feel bad about rolling your stats poorly. Which means, even I, would be able to ascertain at a quick glance, just knowing your level, how sturdy you all can be. Atleast, that's what I think is the intent."

"Oh, if that's the case, I'll just... Oh, that's interesting, now that I look at it."

"What is it, Miss Nepgear?"

"I remember when I first made Janette, my class would dictate my health, but it seems here, your ancestry determines your health. A bit strange, but perhaps it's just because we're switching systems so everything feels weird."

"You're right. A dwarf has 10 HP, while a goblin only has 6. Well, humans have 8 HP baseline. So, will you stay as human?"

"Yes, I think I will."

"Alright, now that you've selected your ancestry, you'll have to select your... Um... Heritage?"

"What does that mean?" asks Nepgear, scratching her head.

"Um, mechanically, it seems you get a bonus depending on what you select. This system seems to be quite generous with giving players bonuses... Let's see, 'aiuvarin'."

"Bless you," says Nepgear.

"Um, no, Miss Nepgear, that's the name of it."

"Oh! Sorry. What does that mean then?"

"So Aiuvarin, is an elf trait. You're basically a half-elf. You gain, low-light vision, the Aiuvarin trait, and the Elf trait. And anytime you gain an ancestry trait from leveling up, you may select from both your base, Human, traits and Aiuvarin and Elf. So it gives you more options."

"Um, I saw on the archives there are more than just these, like Nephilim?"

"Did ya call me Nepgear?" says Neptune, poking her head into the conversation.

"No, big sister, I said Nephilim. So, what do you think, Lady Histoire?"

"Give me... A couple of minutes to review that..." says Histoire, going through the archives further. "So, it has the uncommon trait... and others have the rare trait... What do those even mean?" whispers Histoire to herself.

Both Nepgear and Neptune watch as Histoire accesses the archives, and find it amusing the various faces Histoire is inadvertently doing as she reads the resource. A few minutes pass and it looks like she's done.

"Ah, it seems uncommon means I need to be careful in handing this out. Rare means I REALLY have to be careful handing this out. So, I'll just say, please select only from the common heritages," says Histoire with a curt nod. "So among the common options, which would you like, Miss Nepgear?"

"I think I'll go with Versatile Human. It allows me to select a General Feat that I meet the prerequisites for anytime during character creation."

"Ah, let me preface that with, Level 1. Only a Level 1 general feat. I know we're going to Level 4, but character creation is only Level 1."

Nepgear nods, and Histoire continues. "Also, for simplicity... Let's keep the feats, and backgrounds, erm... limited to a few books. Otherwise we might be paralyzed from all the choices possible."

"That sounds fair, sure, Lady Histoire."

"Alright, with that in mind, these books would be... Guns and Gears, Secrets of Magic... The GM Core... Both Player Cores and, I suppose, we can take the Treasure Vault book as well. Now that that's out of the way, you chose Versatile heritage, now go ahead and select your boosts."

"Boosts?"

"Yes, as mentioned, instead of rolling for your stats, they just give you the modifiers. So, choose which stats will you boost, because of your Human Ancestry. Since you plan on being a Sorcerer... their casting modifier is Charisma, just like before. I think."

"Then, I'll put in Charisma and Constitution. Actually, now that I think about it, those extra books seem rather random, Lady Histoire, any reason? Guns and Gears along with Secrets of Magic in particular. Treasure Vault, I sort of get, but why those two?"

"Oh! I can answer that!" blurts out Neptune suddenly. "That's literally the books they have on hand."

"Huh? Who has what on hand?" asks Nepgear.

"Um, don't worry about it Nepgear. Anyway, so what background are you choosing?" says Neptune, waving her hand dismissively.

"Erm, okay. Oh! I see Gunsmith... Uni might be interested in that once we remake her character... Ah! There's a Mechanic background here!"

"Miss Nepgear, are you selecting your background to fit your character, or are you just choosing that because you like creating things?"

"Oh... um... both? I think?" says Nepgear giggling and acting innocently.

"Well, either way, so Mechanic background? A Mechanic Sorceress... well, we'll probably see weirder things. According to this, you get either a Strength or Intelligence boost, along with another free boost, that isn't what you chose a while ago."

"Intelligence, definitely, and more Charisma."

"Oh, it seems I was mildly mistaken, Miss Nepgear. About your health. I was wondering for a moment why both Ancestry and Class had health points. It seems you add them together, then add in your Constitution modifier. So, as a Human Sorceress, you would have 14 health baseline, and with your current 1 Constitution Boost, brings you to 15."

"Oh wow, that's a lot of health at Level 1... I didn't think I'd reach double digits immediately like that."

"Well, at the very least this system avoids the entire, 1 HP Wizard conundrum, but I digress, now that you've selected Sorceress, what Bloodline will you choose? We have about 18 to choose from."

"Eighteen?! Um... was it this much back for our previous system? Probably not... Um, I'll just take what looks nice and say Angelic."

"Alright, Angelic it is. Now, as a Sorceress, you do get a free boost to Charisma, outright, so you should have 3 boosts to Charisma, 1 to Constitution, and 1 to Intelligence. So, as the final step before we do feats, you get 4 free boosts. To different stats."

"More boosts?! Goodness. I can hit +4 to Charisma from the get-go, without hoping to roll 17 or 18... OK, I'll select Charisma, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence."

"Great, now, please select... uh... as a Sorcerer you get 2 skills baseline, and 2 boosts to Intelligence, so you have 4 additional skills, not counting the skills you gained from your Background and Bloodline. Which... according to the archives... as a Mechanic, you're trained in Crafting and Engineering Lore, you also gain Quick Repair as a free skill feat. For your Angelic Bloodline... you gain Diplomacy and Religion."

"Lady Histoire... my head is kind of spinning from how many things I get at Level 1..."

"Don't worry, it's worse for me who has to keep track of 8 character sheets," says Histoire with a dry chuckle. "Moving on... please select 4 additional skills."

"Erm... Society, Arcana, Intimidation, and... Medicine!"

"To be clear, Miss Nepgear, it's only at the 1st Level does it feel severely front-loaded. Next levels, they're basically just one or two things. So, now, we need a General Feat, and your Ancestry Feat."

"Okay... for my Ancestry Feat, I think I'll select Cooperative Nature, gain +4 circumstance bonus to Aid actions."

"So, for your General Feat..."

"Oh my Goodness, there's so many!"

"Take your time, Miss Nepgear."

"Um, okay! Please give me a few minutes to read through all of them."

"Please try to only select Common feats, as in, it's not marked as Uncommon or Rare. Okay? Unless you have a really good reason why you want it."

Nepgear nods, and after a few minutes of reading through the what she has access to, she looks at Histoire with a firm, and resolute stare.

"I will take... Intimidating Glare."

"So, I guess you plan on Demoralizing enemies that can see you, alright. Great, now, one last thing. Since you are a spellcaster, please select the appropriate cantrips and spells. At 1st Level, up to 20th Level... you can know 5 Cantrips, which is made up of 4 selected Cantrips, and 1 Bloodline Cantrip. You have 3 Level 1 Spell Slots, and you may select 2 of them, as your third spell is a Bloodline Spell, which in your case is Heal."

Nepgear's face goes pale, seemingly in duress, from the sudden onslaught of spells to choose from. Histoire pats her head reassuringly and says, "Don't worry, you may change these spells whenever you level up, or if during downtime you wish to retrain. Just let me know once you're done choosing. Okay? Let me make it easier, you may only choose Divine spells, since that is your Bloodline."

"Um, okay..." says Nepgear, the color of her face returning to normal. "I'll let you know once I'm done choosing..."

Histoire leaves Nepgear to go through the archives, and speaks with Neptune.

"So, I do hope you've been following along for your Bard, Sir Puddington."

"Of course I was! I wasn't just watching, but, I'll show it to you after Nepgear is done, because I too, am paralyzed by my spell choices."

Histoire can only purse her lips. "Of course. I'll just read more of the books and see how it goes."

What feels like half an hour has passed and Nepgear finally speaks up with her choices. She looks like she just ran a marathon, with how exhausted she looks.

"Miss Nepgear, are you okay?" asks Histoire.

"Yes, I'm ... okay. I have my spells. For my cantrips, I chose Detect Magic, Divine Lance, Shield and Stabilize, with Light as my Bloodline Cantrip. For my 1st Level Spells, I'll take Fear, and Cleanse Cuisine, with Heal as my Bloodline Spell."

"That's great, now, we'll have to level your character up to Level 4. To match our previous system, I don't think anyone would like regress in levels."

"Got it. What do I have to do for Level 2?"

"Let's see, first we add your class health points plus your Constitution boosts, which is six plus two, so a total of 8, to your current 16, a new total of 24. Then, you select a Class Feat, and a Skill Feat. That's it for Level 2."

"Huh, that is quite simple in comparison to Level 1. Oh, my table here says I get an extra Level 1 spell slot. I guess as a rule of thumb, I have to check my table to see how many slots I have in total... and it says here, the amount of slots I have is basically also the amount of spells I know. Ah, a small caveat here basically says, even though I gain spells and spell slots at the same time, they're very much separate. If I get something that gives a spell slot, it won't let me learn a new spell, and vice versa."

"Oh, and since you're a sorcerer, if I'm not mistaken, a Level 1 Fear, is not the same as a Level 2 Fear. So, if you wish to cast a higher version of it, you must add to your repertoire that specific spell and level."

"I see... and regarding my class feat, I'll take Cantrip Expansion, so I learn two more Cantrips, which I'll take Haunting Hymn and Read Aura. For my Skill Feat, I'll take Improvise Tool."

"Great, Miss Nepgear," says Histoire, beaming. "Since you seem quite confident, please continue for Level 3."

"Sure, I have that in my head now. For Level 3, my AC increases to 16 due to my proficiency bonus going up along with my level, my health goes to 32. I also become an Expert in Intimidation checks. For signature spells... I choose my Bloodline Spell of Heal. And I'll take Robust Health as my General Feat. Now, for my spells 2nd Level spells, they would be Spiritual Armament, as my Bloodline, Sudden Blight, and Water Breathing as my chosen spells."

"Looks like everything's in order for Level 3, go ahead for Level 4."

"My AC goes to 17, health goes to 40... I learn a new 2nd Level spell, which I'll declare as Resist Energy. My Class Feat would be Split Shot, and Skill Feat would be Terrifying Resistance. And... wow, you're right Lady Histoire, only at the 1st Level does it seem daunting. Every other level has been relatively simple."

"That's good to hear Miss Nepgear. Alright, Neptune, let's see what you have."

"So, since I'll be a level 4 Gnome Bard, I am a Musical Prodigy. I'll be selecting Intelligence as my chosen Ancestry Boost, Charisma and Constitution as my Background Boosts, and Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, and more Charisma, as my free boosts."

"Alright, Neptune, what about your skills?"

"Since I have a modifier of 2 on my Intelligence, that'd mean I can select an additional 6 skills! Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Diplomacy, Intimidation, and Society. I gotta be able to duck, dive, dip, and dodge if my performances go bad, of course."

"Uh-huh. What about your Heritage?"

"My favorite, I said my Sir Puddington had pink hair, and while that sounded a bit weird for our previous system, now I have a legitimate reason for that, I am a Chameleon Gnome, so the color of both my hair and skin is changes on demand! Speaking of, my Ancestry Feat will be Animal Elocutionist, finally, I'll be able to speak with Noire's horse, for free!"

"Wait, what? Hold on. Animal Elocutionist... animal sounds as conversations... and you can respond in turn. I mean... I guess?" says Histoire, slightly dumbfounded. "Alright, who's going to be your muse? Enigma, Maestro, Polymath, or Warrior?"

"Of course, it'll be a Polymath! It'll give me Versatile Performance as my feat, and Phantasmal Minion."

"Ah, right, Neptune, you get one more free skill, because your background trains you in Performance, but your class already gave you Performance, so, you get a free skill to make up for it."

"A free skill? For me? You shouldn't have. I guess, Arcana sounds cool. Should I just rapid-fire everything from now to Level 4?"

"As long as those at home can follow, sure," shrugs Histoire.

"Those at home?" asks Nepgear, confused.

"Don't worry about it Nepgear," says Neptune, patting her back. "I'm sure whoever is following along has to be using an automated sheet maker."

"Automated... what?" says Nepgear, even more confused.

"I'll give you my pudding later, okay?"

"Sure, big sister."

"Anyway, I'll put my spells last, so lemme just see, everything should be done for Level 1... I'll grab Esoteric Polymath and Bon Mot, so I can legally insult my enemies and have it do something, for my Class and Skill feat respectively. Get Distracting Performance for my General feat, increase Performance to Expert, then finally get Combat Reading and Quick Disguise for my Class and Skill feat. For my Cantrips, I wanna get... Figment, Haunting Hymn, Void Warp, Summon Instrument, because I gotta play my tunes, and finally, Daze."

"Alright, spells then?" says Histoire, noting down her choices.

"First Level spells, Force Barrage for my signature spell, Phantasmal Minion is my Muse Spell, and my other two spells would be Bless and Sure Strike. Second Level Spells, I guess, Signature spell would be Phantom Crowd, but I don't have a third spell level yet, so, anyway... add in Sonata Span, and Phantom Pain, heightened, because it's originally a first level spell."

"Well, I think that's all of it Neptune, just gear now here and there. I'll just give everyone their basic adventuring set, and once we're out of that dungeon... from last session, that's when we would discuss items. Does that sound fair to you as well, Miss Nepgear?"

"That sounds good to me. So, would we call for the others and tell them to recreate their character sheets too?"

"That's the plan, Miss Nepgear, so for now, if you would, please, call on them, and I'll prepare new sheets and instructions so they can all create their characters easily. I'm sure Miss Blanc would help her sisters if they're confused..."

"Okay, Lady Histoire!" says Nepgear, picking up her N-Gear on her thigh, and calling the others. Histoire takes a deep breath and begins to prepare the new sheets.