Back in Decimus Severus’s office, the former fighter waits beneath the open gate register, while Marcus remains beside Valeria and the eastern witnesses stay at their stall. Valeria’s palm is still wrapped in clean cloth.
Decimus compares her account with the complaints already filed. An elderly, narrow-faced Examiner in a dark wool cloak studies the preserved tablet, his ink-stained fingers careful around its wax.
The Examiner
The steward named Herennius appears in the witness’s statement. Did he have access to the bout records, or only to Marcellus’s private contracts?
Decimus Severus
He had no authorized access. But authorization and opportunity are different matters.
The Examiner sets the altered tablet beside two office copies. A filing mark appears on one margin, while the corresponding line is absent from another, exposing a narrow interval in custody.
The Examiner
These copies do not agree. Someone inside the arena administration could have shown Herennius the records, or altered them for him.
Decimus Severus
Then we examine every handover before we accuse the steward. Valeria, the next question is yours.
“"Who has charge of these records?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -1)
Valeria Asiaticus
Who has charge of these records?
The question stills the office. Decimus glances toward the open register, while the Examiner draws the copied margins into a single ordered stack.
The Examiner
The official charge rests with Decimus Severus, as arena director. The eastern records clerk keeps the daily custody register, but only under his authority.
Decimus Severus
That is correct. I control the arena’s official records and their transfer. The eastern clerk may receive, copy, and post them, but cannot authorize changes.
The Examiner marks the answer beside the filing discrepancy. The distinction separates lawful custody from the unaccounted interval that allowed Herennius to see or influence a copy.
The Examiner
For this inquiry, Decimus is the responsible custodian. The eastern clerk is responsible for the register entries, and every handover should be traceable between them.
Decimus Severus
I will produce the custody list, the clerk’s entries, and every authorized transfer. If Herennius received anything, the record will show through whose hands it passed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine who gave Herennius access to the arena records
“"Our next logical step is to question the eastern records clerk."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Decimus sends Valeria, Marcus, the Examiner, and the former fighter to the eastern records stall. The sealed archival receipt remains in Valeria’s uninjured hand.
The eastern records clerk is a thin middle-aged man with a receding hairline, ink-darkened fingertips, and a faded blue tunic beneath a brown work cloak. He rises behind crowded shelves.
Valeria Asiaticus
Who handled the bout record between its arrival, copying, and posting? State each handover, and show us the entries.
The Clerk
The roster attendant received it from the payment clerk. I copied the public notice, sealed the register entry, and gave the copy to the herald for posting.
The Examiner compares the receipt with the clerk’s register. A missing interval appears between the roster attendant’s receipt and the clerk’s recorded copy, while the receipt fixes the hour and seal.
The Clerk
That interval is not lawful custody. The roster attendant left the tablet on the side shelf before bringing me the notice. Herennius could have seen it there, though I did not see him.
The clerk signs a witnessed statement naming the attendant, the side shelf, and the unrecorded interval. The Examiner attaches it to the sealed packet, giving the inquiry its first precise custody breach.
“"If you didn't see him, perhaps the roster attendant did."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +2)
Valeria Asiaticus
If you did not see him, perhaps the roster attendant did.
The clerk’s gaze shifts to the side shelf. The Examiner orders the roster attendant brought forward, while Decimus keeps the receipt and seal in view.
A young man in a russet tunic steps from behind the shelves, narrow-faced with cropped black hair and a nervous habit of rubbing ink from his thumb.
An Attendant
I saw Herennius there. He stood beside the unattended tablet during the missing interval and read the public notice before leaving.
The Clerk
Then the breach was witnessed by the roster attendant, not by me. He should have entered Herennius’s presence immediately.
The Examiner records the answer plainly: Herennius had access to the bout record during the unlogged interval, and the roster attendant saw him there. His statement is signed and attached to the packet.
The Examiner
We now have the answer to Valeria’s question. Herennius was seen with the record before its lawful copying, though who permitted his access remains for inquiry.
✓ Quest Accepted
Present the custody breach to Decimus
“"I think we have enough evidence now to question Herennius."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +0)
Valeria Asiaticus
We have enough evidence now. I want Herennius questioned about his access to the bout record.
Decimus Severus
Agreed. The clerk will summon him under the authority of this inquiry, and his answer will enter the register.
Before the eastern stall closes, Herennius arrives under escort. He is a middle-aged man with a lean build, close-cropped gray hair, and a dark work cloak fastened at the throat.
Herennius
I came because Decimus ordered it. I have no wish to be made responsible for a clerk’s disorder.
Valeria Asiaticus
You were seen beside the unattended tablet. State how you gained access, who sent you, and whether you read or altered the bout record.
Valeria keeps the sealed archival receipt visible while the Examiner records each question. Her calm precision leaves Herennius no safe refuge in accusation or evasion.
Herennius
Marcellus sent me to inspect the notice before posting. I read it, took a wax impression, and carried the copy back to him. I did not alter the tablet, but I knew the added condition would be made.
Quest Complete
Secure the former fighter's testimony for the magistrate
New Gift: Honed Investigative Intuition
Quest Complete
Determine who gave Herennius access to the arena records
Skill Upgrade: Thievery Fair→Good
Quest Complete
Present the custody breach to Decimus