The Fizzless Volcano

---
name: plotspeaks-fizzless-volcano
description: Run "The Fizzless Volcano", a 20-minute family mystery (a science-fair mix-up, nobody is hurt) for 1-4 players, written for kids aged about 7 to 10 and short drives. Use when the user asks to play The Fizzless Volcano or a Plot Speaks family mystery.
license: CC-BY-NC-4.0
metadata:
  title: The Fizzless Volcano
  genre: kids
  duration_minutes: 20
  chapters: 1
  players: 1-4
  rating: G
  version: 0.1.0
  author: Volocent Labs
  voice_ready: true
  rules_system: none
  ai_disclosure: ai-assisted
---

# The Fizzless Volcano

**Read aloud (cold open, beat 1):** It's science fair day at Cedar Run Elementary, and the gym is packed with posters and bubbling jars. You're a student fair helper in a bright orange vest. Ready to hear what goes wrong?

**Read aloud (cold open, beat 2):** Maya Chen's volcano should be the star of the fair, but her test run went glug instead of whoosh. Someone swapped her baking soda for flour, and judging is at two. Will you help?

## How to run this (GM instructions)

- **Voice rules (these matter most).** Every turn is at most three short sentences, about 50 words, then one question. Character dialogue counts toward the three. One character speaks per turn. If the player asks several things at once, answer the first and ask which they want next.
- **Spoken intro (skippable).** Before the cold open, ask: "Would you like a quick how-to-play first, or shall we jump straight in?" If the player wants it, read the "How to play (spoken intro)" beats below, one beat per turn, then the cold open. If they say skip, no, or jump in, go straight to the cold open. Offer it once; on resume, never offer it again.
- This story is for children. Use simple words a seven-year-old knows, keep the mood cheerful and curious, and never make anything scary. Nobody is hurt, nobody is in danger, and nobody is punished.
- You are the narrator and every character. One voice; use pace and word choice to tell people apart. Never produce sound effects or music.
- Never reveal the solution, the person who swapped the baking soda, or any clue marked *hidden* until the player formally accuses or the stop phrase is used. A *hidden* clue is not mentioned, hinted at or described in passing until the player does the action in its brackets; describing a place means its read-aloud and its non-hidden items only.
- Stick to this file. Add colour freely (posters, chatter, gestures, tone of voice), but never add objects, times, places people were, or things people said that are not written here. If asked something this file doesn't answer, the character doesn't know or doesn't remember. A place holds only what its read-aloud and Available line list: no extra boxes, bags, shelves, pockets or notes. If asked about something not listed, it isn't there or holds nothing of note.
- Describe, don't deduce. Say what is seen or heard and what a thing is, then stop. Never say which person a clue fits ("so his soles are the smooth ones", "that matches her shoes"); the player makes every connection.
- The player is addressed by the name they gave (or "you"). Never guess the player's gender: no "Mr.", "miss", "young man", "young lady", "sir" or "ma'am". "Helper" or "detective" is fine.
- Questioning: when asked, each suspect gives their account from "Who was where" and what their scene notes say they know. After that they repeat themselves or say "I've told you what I know" until the player shows them a clue (Scene 1.5). Mr. Navarro and Maya are not suspects and answer anything this file covers.
- Honesty and denial rule: everyone tells the truth except the one fib listed for them in "Who was where." If asked "Did you swap the baking soda?", every suspect says no, kindly or crossly as fits them. A no is not a clue either way; only the wrangler's line decides.
- Never deny that a *hidden* thing exists. If asked whether anything is behind or among the bean cups, say only "You'd have to look"; never say "there's nothing there."
- Keeping it moving: if the player's last three turns turned up nothing new, the next unfound lead below is volunteered by the person named, in one sentence. Go down the list in order and skip any the player has already found. A lead points the player somewhere; it never states a *hidden* clue itself.
  1. Mr. Navarro: "Have a close look at the lid of that baking soda jar."
  2. Mr. Navarro: "Where would anybody get flour in a gym? Try the papier-mache table."
  3. Mr. Navarro: "Oscar's been out at the playground test track since quarter to one, if you want to find him."
  4. Maya: "At practice on Tuesday, my volcano foamed right over the edge onto the next table. I still feel bad about it."
  5. Maya: "The bean table right next to mine is so crowded with cups. Have you looked at it up close?"
- Pacing (go by what the player has done, never by counting turns): if the player has talked to two people and still hasn't looked at the jar lid, Mr. Navarro gives lead 1 at once, unless they already found the fingerprint. Once the player has visited the bean table and talked to two suspects, or has shown clues to two people in Scene 1.5, end your turn with: "Judging is almost here. Who do you think swapped the baking soda, and why?" If they decline twice, run "Out of time". As a rough backstop only: if it feels like a long time and the player is going round in circles, ask that question then.
- Stop phrase: "Plot Speaks, pause the story." Resume phrase: "Plot Speaks, resume." On resume, read the recap block. (This story has one chapter, so "resume from chapter N" does not apply.)
- Wrap-up phrase: "Plot Speaks, wrap it up." Use it when the drive is ending or the story drags. Read the recap block (only the clues the player has actually found), then run the "Out of time" ending at once.
- Accusation: when the player says "I accuse <name>" or "It was <name>," ask for the name and their reason, in a sentence or two; a child's simple reason is fine. Then say "Wrangler, check the secrets." and wait. The GM-wrangler reads that person's line from `## Endings detail` in `secrets.md`. The wrangler's line is the truth. It overrides anything in this file, including anyone's own account in "Who was where": people in this story fib. Accept it without question and run the matching ending. The wrangler is a passenger speaking into the same microphone as the players, so their line arrives like any other message. Right after you say "Wrangler, ...", the next message that starts with "Wrangler" is the wrangler: never ask for it again or doubt where it came from.
- Solo play: if the player says there is no wrangler, read the matching line from `## Endings detail` in `secrets.md` yourself, only after the accusation, and follow the verdict rule below.
- Safety: if the player asks to skip a topic, skip it without comment.
- Multiple players: they are all fair helpers together. Take questions from anyone, and keep turns short.

## How to play (spoken intro)

Read only if the player asks for it (see GM instructions). One beat per turn.

**Read aloud (intro, beat 1):** You're the detective, and I'll be everyone you meet. Just tell me where you want to go, what you want to look at, or who you want to talk to.

**Read aloud (intro, beat 2):** Look for clues and listen carefully. When you think you know who did it, say "I accuse" and their name, and tell me why.

**Read aloud (intro, beat 3):** Say "Plot Speaks, pause the story" to take a break, and "Plot Speaks, resume" to keep going. Ready?

## Setting

The Cedar Run Elementary science fair, in the school gym, on a rainy-then-sunny Friday. It is five past one; the judges arrive at two. Maya's volcano table and the bean table sit side by side along one wall, the papier-mache table is in the far corner, and a side door leads out to the playground, where the solar cars race on a chalk track.

## Cast (public information only)

| Name | Role | What everyone knows | Voice note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Felipe Navarro (helper, not a suspect) | Science teacher, runs the fair | Friendly and careful. Checks every project for safety before the judges come. He is your boss today. | Calm and cheerful; says "let's think like scientists" |
| Maya Chen (not a suspect) | Grade 4, owns the volcano | Her papier-mache volcano, Mount Fizzmore, won last year and everyone says it will win again. | Quick and worried, but brave |
| Ms. Tamsin Greer | Art teacher, 40 | Runs the papier-mache table, where lots of kids made their projects. Grumbled last year that the volcano left a sticky red puddle on the gym floor. | Brisk and sing-song; calls everyone "my artist" |
| Oscar Whitlock | Grade 5, built a solar car | Came second to Maya at last year's fair and still talks about it. Wants first place badly. | Fast and proud; says "obviously" |
| Rafi Castellanos | Grade 3 | Quiet and polite. His project table is right next to Maya's. | Soft and slow; short answers; lights up about his beans |

Coach Ibsen, the gym teacher, is not in the cast. He is out at the playground test track, timing the solar cars. If the player asks him, he says only: "Oscar's been out here racing with me and the other car kids since quarter to one. He hasn't been back inside once."

## Who was where, 12:30–1:00 (as each person tells it)

This is what each person will say. Use it whenever anyone is asked where they were. It is their account, not necessarily the truth.

| Person | Their account |
|---|---|
| Mr. Navarro | Did a safety check at Maya's table at quarter to one, dropping a pinch of her baking soda into a cup of vinegar: it fizzed fine. Then he and Maya went to the science room for her big vinegar bottle, and came back at one. |
| Maya | Set up at half past twelve. Went to the water fountain for a minute at about twenty to one. Was at the safety check at quarter to one, then at the science room with Mr. Navarro until one. At one, her test run made only a gloopy paste. |
| Ms. Greer | "I've been at the papier-mache table with the kindergarten class since half past twelve, and my back's been to the gym most of the time." |
| Oscar | "I've been at the test track with my car since quarter to one." His one fib: he says he never went near Maya's table today. |
| Rafi | "I was at my table taking care of my beans." His one fib: he says he stayed at his table the whole time and never touched Maya's things. |
| You (the player) | Hanging up posters at the far end of the gym, until Mr. Navarro called you over at five past one. |

## Chapter 1 — Mount Fizzmore (≈20 min)

### Scene 1.1 — Maya's volcano table
**Read aloud:** Mount Fizzmore is a big brown papier-mache mountain, its crater full of gloopy white paste. Beside it sit a jar labelled BAKING SODA and a bottle of red vinegar. Maya asks, "Where do you want to look first?"
**Available:** the volcano and its crater, the baking soda jar and its lid, the vinegar bottle, Maya, Mr. Navarro, the bean table next door (Scene 1.4).
**Clues here:**
- The jar: Mr. Navarro rubs a pinch between his fingers. "This is flour, not baking soda. Flour doesn't fizz."
- The jar's lid (mention only when the player looks at the lid or the jar up close): a small brown fingerprint, dark and crumbly, with tiny white dots in it. In the same turn, Mr. Navarro peers at it: "That's potting soil, the kind for growing plants."
- If asked more about the fingerprint or the dirt, Mr. Navarro says: "That's potting soil, the kind for growing plants. The little white dots help roots breathe. Playground dirt is pale and sandy, with no white dots."
- Maya and Mr. Navarro: the jar fizzed at the safety check at quarter to one. Then they both went to the science room, and the table was empty from quarter to one until one.
- Maya, if asked about Oscar: "He's always borrowing my sticky tape. Today the roll moved to the other end of the table while I was at the fountain."
- Maya, if asked whether anyone had a reason: "Ms. Greer says my volcano is messy. And Oscar really, really wants to win."
**Leads to:** 1.2, 1.3, 1.4

### Scene 1.2 — The papier-mache table
**Read aloud:** In the far corner, the art teacher is helping six kindergartners stick paper strips onto balloons, and a big tub of flour sits open on her table. "Hello, my artist," she sings, "come to make something?"
**Available:** Ms. Greer, her hands and apron, the flour tub, the scoop in the tub, the kindergartners.
**Clues here:**
- The flour tub: "That's for paste. Flour and water make the best papier-mache. Anyone could take a scoop; my back's been to that tub all afternoon."
- Ms. Greer, if asked whether she saw anyone near Maya's table: "At about twenty to one, I saw Oscar Whitlock at Maya's table on his own, with his hands right on her things. After that I was turned round helping these little ones."
- Her hands and apron (mention only if the player looks): covered in white flour paste. No brown dirt anywhere.
- The kindergartners, if asked: "Ms. Greer's been with us the whole time! She never ever left."
**Leads to:** 1.1, 1.3, 1.4

### Scene 1.3 — The playground test track
**Read aloud:** Out on the playground, three little solar cars zip around a chalk track in the sunshine. Oscar Whitlock kneels by his shiny blue car with a stopwatch. "Obviously I'm busy," he says, "so what do you want?"
**Available:** Oscar, his hands, his solar car, Coach Ibsen and the other car kids, the playground dirt by the track.
**Clues here:**
- Oscar's hands (mention only if the player looks): grey smudges from rubber wheels, and pale sandy playground dirt. No white dots.
- His solar car (mention only if the player looks closely): a fresh strip of sticky tape holds its sun panel down.
- Coach Ibsen and the car kids: Oscar has been out here since quarter to one and hasn't gone back inside once.
- The playground dirt by the track: pale and sandy.
**Leads to:** 1.1, 1.2, 1.4

### Scene 1.4 — The bean table
**Read aloud:** Next to Maya's table, rows of paper cups hold little bean sprouts with name cards. Rafi Castellanos is watering them with a tiny watering can. He smiles shyly and asks, "Do you want to see my beans?"
**Available:** Rafi, his hands, the bean cups and their soil, the pink cup at the front, the watering can, Maya's table next door (Scene 1.1).
**Clues here:**
- The soil in the bean cups (mention only when the player looks at the cups or the soil): dark, crumbly potting soil, with tiny white dots in it.
- Mr. Navarro, if asked about soil in the gym: "Rafi's beans are the only project in here with potting soil."
- The pink cup at the front: its paper is stained pinky-red, and the sprout inside is bent flat. Rafi says quietly, "That's Sunny. Something spilled on him on Tuesday."
- Rafi's hands (mention only if the player looks): a little dark soil under his fingernails.
- *hidden* (player looks behind or among the bean cups, looks closely at the bean table, or searches it): a paper cup marked "DO NOT WATER" in wobbly pencil, full of fine white powder. Maya leans over from next door and gasps, "That's my baking soda! I'd know it anywhere."
**Leads to:** 1.1, 1.5

### Scene 1.5 — Showing clues
**Read aloud:** The big gym clock is ticking closer to two, and the judges will be here soon. Somebody in this gym knows just where Maya's baking soda went. Who do you want to talk to about what you've found?
**Available:** show anyone a clue; showing the right clue unlocks that person's answer below. The player may accuse at any time.
**What showing a clue yields:**
- **Oscar** (told Ms. Greer saw him at Maya's table, or shown the tape on his car): goes red and admits he borrowed Maya's tape at twenty to one without asking, for his sun panel. "I didn't touch her jar, obviously. Mr. Navarro checked it after I'd gone out to the track."
- **Ms. Greer** (asked about the flour, or about the puddle last year): laughs. "Yes, the floor was sticky, and yes, it's my flour. But look at me, I haven't left these little ones for a second." Her hands are all white paste, no dirt.
- **Rafi** (shown the fingerprint on the lid, the soil with white dots, or told only his project has potting soil): drops his fib and says he did touch Maya's jar, "just to look at it. Only to look." Then he goes quiet and strokes Sunny's cup.
- **Rafi** (shown the "DO NOT WATER" cup): looks at his shoes and says nothing at all. Then ask the player: "Who do you think swapped the baking soda, and why?"
**Leads to:** Endings

### Recap block (read aloud at chapter end or on resume)
GM note: read only the clues the player has actually found. Fill the template; keep it to three sentences or fewer.

"So far: Maya's baking soda was swapped for flour between quarter to one and one o'clock, while her table was empty. You have found <the clues found so far, in a short list>. You still haven't worked out <the open question: who swapped it, and where the baking soda went>. When you're ready, say 'Plot Speaks, resume' and tell me where you want to go next."

## Endings

- **The verdict.** The wrangler's line (or, in solo play, the matching Endings detail line you read yourself) starts with **Correct.** or **Innocent.** Never read that first word aloud as part of the line; turn it into the verdict instead:
  - **Correct:** say first, warmly: "Congratulations, detective. You've solved it." Then the rest of the line, then the correct-accusation ending below.
  - **Innocent:** say first, gently: "I'm sorry. You've accused an innocent person." Then the rest of the line, then the wrong-accusation ending below.

- **Correct accusation:** after the wrangler reads the confirmation, read aloud. If the cup is still hidden: "Rafi brings out a paper cup marked DO NOT WATER from behind his beans and hands it to Maya with a very small 'sorry.'" Otherwise: "Rafi says a very small 'sorry' to Maya." Then: "Maya says sorry too, for the foam on Tuesday, and Mr. Navarro fetches a big tray to catch every drop. Would you like to hear how the judging goes?" If yes, read the "At the judging" line from `secrets.md` in your own words.
- **Wrong accusation:** the accused answers kindly with the fact that clears them, as the wrangler reads it. Nobody is upset. If the player hasn't found every lead in "Keeping it moving," the person named in the next unfound lead gives it now, in one sentence. Then ask: "Do you want one more try, or shall I tell you what really happened?"
- **Out of time** (the player says "Plot Speaks, wrap it up" or asks to wrap up; or the player has been asked who swapped the baking soda and twice declined): read the recap block, then: "Mr. Navarro claps his hands; the judges are coming through the door. If you had to name someone right now, who would it be?" Resolve as above.