Gideon Gaius arrives at the legion encampment as bronze trumpets fade. Beneath the command pavilion, gathered voters crowd the dusty ground while the emperor's informer distributes heavy purses of coin.
Hungry camp followers and local petitioners press against the voting rails, their feathers and worn tunics dulled by dust. Officers watch from shade, silent beneath standards snapping in the hot wind.
The informer is a narrow-faced middle-aged ibis man in a white-bordered crimson tunic, his black beak polished and his fingers jeweled. He freezes as a purse vanishes from his hand.
A furious broad-shouldered voter, a middle-aged raven man with a ragged gray cloak and one clouded eye, lifts the purse high above the muttering crowd.
the furious voter
There is your emperor's truth, tied in leather! Tell us why this election is not bought before Rome hears every voice here!
the emperor's informer
Mind your beak, citizen. These are lawful gifts, offered freely to men who honor order and the emperor's generosity.
Boos collide with hungry cheers. One officer, a broad-shouldered middle-aged crane man with a square beak, close-cropped gray feathers, and bronze armor over a dark tunic, steps from the pavilion, hand resting near his sword, while the informer raises both palms and waits for the crowd to decide whether to erupt.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the mob's loyalty
“Duel the most threatening member of the mob to quell dissent”
SUCCESS (Superb Melee Combat, rolled -2)
Gideon Gaius advances through the rails, gladius drawn and scutum raised. The furious raven voter turns toward him, clutching the stolen purse like a challenge.
the furious voter
So the emperor sends a rooster to silence Rome? Come, soldier. Let the sharper beak speak.
The raven lunges with a rough iron blade. Gideon catches it on the shield, pivots, and drives the gladius hilt into the voter’s weapon wrist.
The blade drops. Gideon hooks the raven’s ankle with his own, slams the shield edge into his chest, and pins him against the dusty rail without drawing blood.
the furious voter
Enough! I yield. The purse is yours to inspect, and no citizen here can call this contest bought.
The purse strikes the ground as the subdued voter releases it. In the exchange, a jagged buckle tears Gideon’s left forearm, leaving a bright line of blood beneath his bracer.
the emperor's informer
Centurion, you have won a spectacle, not loyalty. Every eye here now measures whether your blade serves Rome or merely power.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the bought election
− Scene Quest Removed
Secure the mob's loyalty
“Expose the voter's bias/lies through deduction”
FAILURE (Good Reasoning, rolled -2)
Gideon lowers his gladius and studies the fallen purse, the raven’s discarded blade, and the bloodless marks of restraint. The crowd leans closer, awaiting judgment.
Gideon Gaius
The purse changed hands before the challenge, but it is not in my possession.
Before Gideon can reach the evidence, the narrow-faced ibis darts from the pavilion and snatches the purse from the dust. His jeweled fingers close around it.
the emperor's informer
You see? The rebel carried stolen coin and raised a weapon against Rome. His own violence proves his guilt.
A few hungry petitioners murmur agreement, but others point toward the empty rails. The purse’s contents remain hidden, and the emperor's informer’s haste makes his claim appear carefully managed.
the broad-shouldered crane officer
You handled him cleanly, centurion. Yet deduction needs proof, and proof now rests in the informer’s hand.
The failed exposure leaves the crowd divided rather than convinced. The unconscious raven lies against the rail, while every watching voter now measures the ibis’s possession of the missing evidence.
“reclaim the purse by force”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +2)
Gideon surges across the dust before the emperor's informer can retreat. His scutum knocks the ibis’s arm aside, and his talons clamp firmly around the jeweled wrist.
The emperor's informer cries out as Gideon twists the hand downward. The leather purse slips free, striking the ground once before Gideon catches it against his shield.
the emperor's informer
Unhand me, centurion! You assault an imperial officer before witnesses!
Gideon releases the ibis only after reclaiming the purse. The emperor's informer stumbles back beneath the pavilion, clutching his wrist, while the gathered voters surge against the rails.
the broad-shouldered crane officer
The purse is in the centurion’s keeping again. Now let Rome see what was hidden inside it.
Dust settles around Gideon’s sandals. He holds the recovered purse high, its weight intact, while the unconscious raven remains motionless beside the rail and the crowd falls sharply quiet.
“expose the contents of the purse”
FAILURE (Fair Perception, rolled +1)
Gideon brings the purse toward the light and works its fastening with his talons. The leather will not open; its drawstring is cinched beneath a bronze seal bearing the imperial mark.
the emperor's informer
That seal is lawful authority. Break it, and you profane the emperor’s trust before every witness.
The informer steps close enough to seize the purse’s trailing cord. It jerks from Gideon’s reach, though the leather catches against his shield rim and splits along one seam.
Coins do not spill. Instead, a narrow wax tablet slides halfway from the torn lining, stamped with several abbreviated names and figures before the informer snatches the purse away.
the broad-shouldered crane officer
You failed to open it, centurion, but we all saw a ledger hidden beneath the imperial seal.
the emperor's informer
A private account is not proof of bribery. No citizen may condemn what he cannot read.
The crowd surges against the rails, no longer demanding the purse alone. Their eyes fix on the visible tablet, while the informer retreats with its torn leather covering.
“forcefully assign an available orator to read the contents of the tablet”
FAILURE (Good Intimidation, rolled +0)
Gideon Gaius
You, the available orator. Read the tablet aloud, now.
A lean middle-aged parrot man in a faded blue toga steps from among the petitioners, bronze spectacles perched on his hooked beak. Gideon’s command drives him toward the informer.
The informer retreats beneath the pavilion, clutching the torn purse against his crimson tunic. The wax tablet remains inside, beyond the orator’s reach and not in Gideon’s possession.
the available orator
I cannot read what I cannot see. Imperial seal or no seal, he keeps the evidence covered.
the emperor's informer
This is coercion disguised as civic duty. No appointed reader may handle imperial accounts without authorization.
The crowd answers with angry noise, but the orator stops short of the pavilion steps. The informer’s body shields the purse, turning Gideon’s order into a public demand for lawful access.
the broad-shouldered crane officer
The tablet must be produced before it can be read. Centurion, the witnesses now know exactly what remains withheld.
“demand the informer read the tablet”
SUCCESS (Good Intimidation, rolled +1)
Gideon Gaius
Read the tablet aloud yourself. Let every witness hear what the imperial seal conceals.
Gideon’s demand cuts through the uproar. The emperor's informer’s grip tightens on the torn purse, but the crane officer steps beside the pavilion stairs, blocking retreat without drawing his sword.
the broad-shouldered crane officer
You heard the centurion. Produce the tablet and read it before this assembly.
Under the weight of hundreds of eyes, the emperor's informer exhales sharply. He draws the wax tablet from the split lining and holds it where the sunlight reaches its marked surface.
the emperor's informer
Very well. These are recorded disbursements for civic support: names, offices, and sums assigned by imperial authority.
the available orator
Read the names and figures, not merely the heading. The people can judge whether these gifts were lawful.
the emperor's informer
Marcus Valerius, two hundred denarii. Lucius Cornelius, one hundred. Gaius Fabius, fifty. Each payment precedes today’s vote.
“golf clap”
Gideon Gaius brings his talons together in a measured golf clap, each restrained tap carrying farther than the informer’s last boast in the sudden silence.
The gesture turns the assembly’s attention from the tablet to the man reading it. A ripple of amusement passes through the petitioners, then hardens into expectant approval.
the broad-shouldered crane officer
A fitting welcome for figures already marching into the light. Continue, informer.
The informer’s black beak tightens. He lowers the tablet a finger’s breadth, but the crane officer’s stance and the crowd’s renewed murmurs leave him no honorable retreat.
the available orator
The centurion applauds the record. Let us hear whether the record deserves applause.
the emperor's informer
There is nothing improper in authorized support. I will read the remaining entries, and this spectacle will not change their lawful character.
He turns the wax tablet toward the sun and begins again. Gideon’s quiet rhythm has ended the informer’s control of the moment, leaving every witness listening for the next name.
“stand firm and stare down the informer as he continues reading the names”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Gideon stands firm beneath the pavilion’s shadow, shoulders squared and fire-bright eyes fixed upon the informer. His wounded forearm tightens beneath the bracer, reopening the cut.
the emperor's informer
Publius Septimius, three hundred denarii. Sextus Aemilius, one hundred and fifty. Decimus Varro, two hundred.
The informer’s voice remains formal, but his gaze keeps returning to Gideon’s unblinking stare. A dark thread of blood slips along the centurion’s wrist and stains the dust.
the available orator
Those sums rise sharply. Read the recipients’ offices as well, so the assembly may judge what influence was purchased.
the broad-shouldered crane officer
Continue exactly as written, informer. The centurion’s silence gives your words no shelter.
the emperor's informer
Aulus Cassianus, four hundred denarii. The names and sums are before you all. They are authorized support, nothing more.
“question the authenticity of the authorization”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +0)
Gideon Gaius
What proves these payments were authorized? Show the mark, record, or witness that makes this tablet genuine.
The question strips ceremony from the pavilion. Gideon points toward the tablet, and the crane officer takes it from the informer before the ibis can lower it.
the broad-shouldered crane officer
Here is the writing. No imperial archive mark, no clerk’s countersign, and no witness named for this authorization.
the emperor's informer
The seal authenticates the account. The emperor’s spoken authority needs no common clerk’s scratch.
The crane officer turns the wax tablet toward the sun. Beneath the listed payments, a fresh line bears the imperial initials, but its wax is softer and brighter than the older entries.
the available orator
The seal belongs to the purse, not necessarily to these figures. This added line was pressed later, and no archive mark supports it.
The informer’s claim of authenticity collapses before the assembly. Gideon’s reopened forearm drips steadily, and several witnesses now stare at the blood as well as the altered wax.
Secure the mob's loyalty
Quest Complete
Expose the bought election
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Good→Great