Three weeks later, Valeria returns to the Asiaticus house as evening settles over Rome. The purse from the Colosseum has bought bread, oil, and time, but the household remains poor.
A man waits at the doorway beneath the fading light, holding a wax tablet. Inside, Aurelia studies its seal while Castor and Pollux whisper near the hearth.
Aurelia
You are home at the right moment. This creditor has brought more than a demand for payment.
The Creditor
A lucrative exhibition contract, offered elsewhere in Rome. Your daughter’s name has value now, and I am prepared to advance against it.
Aurelia turns the tablet so its cramped clauses face Valeria. The promise of coin is plain, but so are the penalties, the dangerous venues, and the obligations hidden beneath polite legal language.
The Creditor
She keeps her independence, provided she survives each engagement. No patron owns her. The arena, however, will not be gentle.
Aurelia
Food has bought us time, not freedom. This bargain may purchase both, or take the last of my daughter from me.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure an exhibition contract that preserves Valeria’s independence
“"Tell me more about this exhibition. It involves no dwarves, I hope?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +0)
Valeria Asiaticus
Tell me more about this exhibition. It involves no dwarves, I hope?
The creditor’s mouth tightens before he understands the question. Castor and Pollux fall silent, while Aurelia keeps one hand upon the tablet’s edge.
The Creditor
No dwarves. It is a three-day display at the Theater of Marcellus, staged between musical performances and public recitations.
The Creditor
You would fight two bouts, perhaps three, against contracted opponents. The organizers promise blunted endings when the crowd has had enough, but accidents remain their responsibility.
He taps the wax tablet where the clauses narrow. The advance is generous, yet the contract claims a portion of every future purse and requires her to appear under the name Myrina.
The Creditor
There is no imperial patron named here, and no palace appearance. But wealthy spectators will attend, and one sponsor may demand a private demonstration before the final day.
Aurelia
Then the danger is not hidden in the arena alone. Read every clause aloud before this house agrees to anything.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the exhibition contract’s hidden obligations
“She reads the contract.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +0)
Valeria takes the wax tablet from Aurelia and reads beneath the failing light. The household falls quiet except for the hearth and distant street calls.
Valeria Asiaticus
The exhibition lasts three days at the Theater of Marcellus. I fight two bouts, possibly three, under the name Myrina.
Her finger follows the cramped lines: contracted opponents, blunted endings only when the crowd is satisfied, and accidents charged entirely to the organizers.
Valeria Asiaticus
The advance is deducted from future purses. The organizers also claim a share of every payment, even after this exhibition ends.
The Creditor
That is the customary security. The remaining clauses protect the sponsors if you refuse an appearance or fail to perform.
Valeria reaches the final provisions. No imperial patron is named, but a wealthy sponsor may demand one private demonstration before the closing day.
Valeria Asiaticus
There is no promise of safety, and the private demonstration is not voluntary. The coin is useful, but this contract buys more than three days of fighting.
Quest Complete
Expose the exhibition contract’s hidden obligations
+ New Item Acquired
Exhibition contract tablet