Marcus guides Valeria through the rear passage into the records annex beside the Basilica Julia. Dusty shelves hem the narrow room, and lamplight trembles over wax tablets.
Titus Celer crouches before an open index chest, rifling execution tablets with urgent hands. A clerk stands between him and the only public exit, gripping a staff.
Titus Celer
Flavius. You brought Asiaticus here. Then the palace has already found the trail.
Marcus Flavius
We came because your name was counted beside hers. Step away from the tablets and tell us what you found.
Celer lifts one tablet. Beneath a scraped layer of wax, the Asiaticus name remains visible beside an execution date and a magistrate’s abbreviated seal.
The Clerk
No one leaves through this door until that tablet is returned. I will not be blamed for another missing record.
Footsteps approach from the Forum side, measured and numerous. Marcus shifts nearer Valeria, while Celer holds the altered entry against the lamplight.
✓ Quest Accepted
Help Titus Celer escape with his testimony preserved
“She addresses the clerk, "Please calm down I can see that you are an honest public official, of which we have too few, and I certainly don't propose to threaten you with my sword, nor will we rifle through your records. All I need is for you to prepare a certified copy of this document, and then we will leave you in peace. And, of course, I will pay the required fee." She offers him a handful of silver.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +2)
Valeria Asiaticus
Please calm down. I can see you are an honest public official, of which we have too few. I do not threaten you or your records. Prepare a certified copy, and I will pay the lawful fee.
Valeria offers a handful of silver. The clerk eyes the coins, then the sword, and finally the altered tablet held by Celer as footsteps continue beyond the annex.
The Clerk
For the stated fee, witnessed and entered properly, I can certify a copy. The original remains in the chest, and no one here will be accused of theft.
Titus Celer
Make two copies, clerk. One for the Asiaticus household, and one for the public archive. Let the palace contest ink before it contests memory.
The clerk accepts the silver, unlocks the writing chest, and presses fresh wax onto a clean tablet. He copies the visible name, execution date, and abbreviated magistrate’s seal.
The Clerk
The certified copy is complete. Here is your receipt and the archive mark. You may leave in peace, provided the original remains under my custody.
He hands the certified tablet and receipt to Valeria. Marcus guides her toward the public exit as the approaching footsteps pass the annex without entering.
+ New Item Acquired
Certified execution tablet
“"Well, that is done. Now let us make the promised sacrifice. We have much to be grateful for."”
Valeria Asiaticus
Well, that is done. Now let us make the promised sacrifice. We have much to be grateful for.
Valeria carries the modest offering beneath the temple portico. The certified tablet and receipt remain safely tucked away, while Marcus follows at her shoulder and Celer keeps to the records crowd.
the temple attendant
Come forward, then. State your thanks, and place the offering upon the altar.
At the appointed place, the attendant receives the dove and clay token. Incense rises in a thin blue thread as the temple servants complete the quiet rite before the watching petitioners.
Marcus Flavius
A lawful record, a living household, and a victory honestly earned. Rome has given you reasons enough to be grateful today.
The offering is recorded in the temple ledger. Valeria leaves the altar with her purse lighter by only the lawful cost, and with the certified copy secure against any palace revision.
Quest Complete
Challenge any improper account before the Forum clerk
Skill Upgrade: Politics Great→Superb
“Feeling lighter in spirit, Valeria goes home to give her mother the prize purse and rest up for the next bout.”
SUCCESS (Good Health, rolled +3)
By evening, Valeria reaches the Asiaticus house with Marcus’s escort ended at the street. The familiar hearth, worn shutters, and patched roof greet her without ceremony.
Aurelia rises as Valeria enters. Valeria places the prize purse in her mother’s hands, its weight earned in the arena and untouched by palace claims.
Aurelia
Then this belongs first to the household, and not to some smiling patron. You have brought home more than money tonight.
Aurelia counts the coins with Nestor beneath the lamplight, setting aside lawful necessities while preserving the remaining purse for debts and repairs.
Nestor
The account will show every coin. Bread, oil, and the next installment come before comfort, but this purse gives us breathing room.
Castor and Pollux whisper from the doorway until Aurelia sends them to fetch fresh water. The house settles into ordinary sounds, gentler than the theater’s roar.
Valeria rests beneath clean linen with her injured hand supported. Outside, Aurelia seals the purse’s accounting, while the next bout waits beyond a night of recovery.
“"It all went very well. The crowd loves me, and I didn't even have to kill anyone. Oh, and we made a sacrifice of thanks at the temple. A wonderful day." Having delivered these cheerful words, she falls into a deep sleep.”
Valeria Asiaticus
It all went very well. The crowd loves me, and I did not even have to kill anyone. We gave thanks at the temple. A wonderful day.
Her cheerful words linger beneath the patched roof. Aurelia closes the household ledger, while Nestor finishes counting the coins and the twins settle near the hearth.
Aurelia
Then let this wonderful day be remembered for what it brought us: lawful earnings, a safe return, and gratitude freely offered.
Nestor
The account is sound, the offering recorded, and no creditor can claim more than is written. Sleep now, child. Tomorrow can wait.
Clean linen supports Valeria’s injured hand. The house grows quiet around her, carrying the faint scents of oil, bread, and temple incense from the evening’s offering.
Aurelia
For one night, she has returned victorious, independent, and unharmed beyond a swollen hand.
Valeria falls into a deep, undisturbed sleep. Beyond the shutters, Rome murmurs in the darkness, while the family’s purse, records, and hard-won peace remain secure until morning.
“She awakes at dawn and does her exercises, in preparation for the next bout.”
SUCCESS (Good Health, rolled +1)
At dawn, Valeria rises before the household stirs. She binds her swollen hand securely, steps into the cool courtyard, and begins measured stretches beneath the paling sky.
She works through footwork, lunges, balance drills, and controlled cuts with her sword. The injured finger complains, but the bandage holds and each movement remains precise.
Valeria Asiaticus
The hand is stiff, but it holds the sword.
Marcus Flavius
Shorter cuts. Keep the wrist quiet. Tomorrow’s opponent will punish vanity before she punishes weakness.
Marcus watches from the doorway, correcting her distance with sparse gestures. Valeria repeats the sequence until her balance settles and her blade returns cleanly to guard.
Nestor
Enough for the first lesson of the day. You need bread and rest as much as you need discipline.
By sunrise, Valeria has completed her exercises without reopening the injury. Her muscles are warm, her sword arm prepared, and the next bout no longer finds her unready.
“(The stiff finger is on her left hand, not the right. It may possibly interfere with her shield blocking, but not the use of a sword.) Having eaten a modest breakfast, she goes with Marcus back to the theater.”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +1)