The voided tablet remains wrapped in Valeria’s hands, her irritated palm protected beneath clean cloth. Claudia Varena and the eastern witnesses have stayed behind at the records stall, while Marcus accompanies her to Lucius Fabius.
Lucius unlocks a narrow cabinet beneath his records table. Dust lies undisturbed along its hinge, and the retired official draws out a sealed disciplinary file bearing two faded complaint marks.
Lucius Fabius
These complaints concern Marcellus. Each names a witness reference, but neither reference was followed, and no judgment was entered.
He opens the file without breaking its older seals, revealing allegations of drawn steel during contract disputes. The witness locations are written in cramped marginal notes beside each complaint.
Marcus Flavius
This place is familiar. One reference points toward the Campus Martius training yards, near the old colonnade and the route to the baths.
Lucius Fabius
Then it is a lawful lead, not proof. You may seek the witness, but do not turn an unexamined complaint into a verdict.
Marcus studies the second reference while Lucius sets the file beside the wrapped tablet. The records offer a path forward, but leave Valeria to decide what question comes first.
“"Perhaps we should talk to these witnesses."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Valeria Asiaticus
Perhaps we should talk to these witnesses.
Marcus Flavius
Yes. We will ask what they saw, record their words, and claim nothing they cannot support.
Marcus returns the older file to Lucius’s keeping. Together, he and Valeria follow the first reference toward the Campus Martius colonnade, carrying the wrapped tablet openly.
Near the old colonnade, a middle-aged woman in a faded green stola emerges from a doorway, broad-shouldered and silver-haired, with a scar crossing one eyebrow.
The Witness
I am the witness named in the first complaint. Marcellus drew steel when a fighter questioned an indefinite contract, then ordered us silent.
An elderly man with a narrow frame and a red wool cloak waits beside her, leaning on a polished staff. He identifies himself as the second witness.
The Witness
I saw the same dispute from the bath route. No one was wounded, but Marcellus used the blade to end the questioning. I will repeat this before a magistrate.
✓ Quest Accepted
Obtain a lawful inquiry into Marcellus’s coercive acts
“"I will record your statements, and when sufficient evidence is collected, bring the matter before a magistrate. Swords are for the arena, not for threatening unarmed civilians."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +0)
Valeria Asiaticus
I will record your statements and, when sufficient evidence is collected, bring the matter before a magistrate. Swords are for the arena, not for threatening unarmed civilians.
Valeria keeps the wrapped tablet visible in her uninjured hand while Marcus produces a wax tablet. The two witnesses stand beneath the colonnade, prepared to speak formally.
The Witness
Record that Marcellus drew steel during a dispute over an indefinite contract, then ordered those present to remain silent. I will make the same statement before a magistrate.
The Witness
Record that I saw the blade from the bath route. No one was wounded, but the weapon ended the questioning. I will add my name and witness mark.
Marcus Flavius
That gives you two independent accounts, the disciplinary file, and the altered bout tablet. I will witness the record and testify to its custody.
Marcus writes each statement without embellishment. The witnesses sign beneath their words, and he seals the tablet beside the preserved evidence, ready for presentation before a magistrate.
✓ Quest Accepted
Leave the colonnade with the sealed witness record
“"The case is sound, but there may be additional evidence available. Perhaps Decimus Severus knows something of this. It would make sense that people would bring complaints to him."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Valeria studies the sealed statements, then the altered bout tablet. Her reasoning follows the chain of custody toward the arena director, where complaints about fighters and contracts would naturally accumulate.
Lucius Fabius
Decimus Severus would know. Fighters bring him disputes when a school threatens their purse, liberty, or place on the schedule.
Lucius opens a second register, narrower and newer than the disciplinary file. Its entries concern complaints received at the Colosseum gate and matters referred for private inquiry.
Lucius Fabius
Here. Marcellus appears twice. One complaint concerns an indefinite term; another names a threatened fighter who withdrew before giving a formal statement.
Marcus Flavius
Decimus may hold the missing testimony, or know why it never reached a magistrate. His record can establish whether this pattern continued beyond the two witnesses.
Lucius copies the entries onto a fresh tablet and seals it with the witness record. The case now has a lawful request to place before Decimus, without turning suspicion into judgment.
Lucius Fabius
Ask him for complaints received, referrals made, and statements withheld. He can answer those questions without surrendering confidential custody.
“"That sounds like good advice. I'll speak to him."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +2)
Valeria leaves Lucius’s table with the sealed request and preserved tablet, her injured palm wrapped cleanly. Marcus walks beside her toward the Colosseum.
At the records gate, Decimus Severus receives them beneath the stone arcade. His expression hardens when Lucius Fabius’s seal becomes visible.
Decimus Severus
Bring that inside. If Marcellus has touched a scheduled bout, I want the complaint entered before anyone calls it private business.
In his office, Decimus compares Lucius’s copy with the gate register and the altered tablet. Marcus remains present as witness while the seals are examined.
Decimus Severus
Two complaints were received. One was referred to a magistrate and vanished from the reply. The other fighter refused a formal statement after Marcellus’s men visited her school.
Decimus Severus
I will certify the entries, preserve the withheld statement’s reference, and send the complete packet to the proper magistrate. Marcellus does not own this record.
Decimus adds his seal beside Lucius’s and records the custody transfer. The complaints, witnesses, and falsified bout condition now stand together in the official file.
Quest Complete
Obtain a lawful inquiry into Marcellus’s coercive acts
New Gift: Proven Investigative Intuition
Quest Complete
Leave the colonnade with the sealed witness record
Skill Upgrade: Thievery Mediocre→Fair
+ New Item Acquired
Sealed inquiry packet