Valeria Asiaticus
I should not fight again until my hand is completely healed. Let us take a short break and return to the Circus Maximus. The boys would love Cerealia, and worshippers enter freely.
Three days later, Valeria’s hand serves ordinary tasks again, though a tender scar crosses the knuckles and leaves her unfit for another bout. Aurelia agrees, and the family travels together beneath bright festival banners.
The Circus Maximus swells with worshippers, vendors, and racing crowds. Castor and Pollux hurry toward the best open view while Nestor keeps them within reach, and Aurelia pauses to offer the household’s prayer.
Pollux
Come quickly, Castor. If we stand near the rail, we can see every chariot turn.
Nestor
You may see every turn from behind the barrier. Stay together, and do not wager a single coin.
Near the betting stalls, Publius Varenus is already present. The betting agent notices Valeria’s arrival, then steps aside, leaving a clear passage toward a quieter corner beside the records table.
Publius Varenus
Myrina, or Valeria, as you prefer. I thought you might come today. If you still want private words, the festival gives us cover.
“"Yes, I fear I bring you some unwelcome news." She goes to the quiet corner and awaits his response, looking solemn.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Valeria Asiaticus
Yes, I fear I bring you some unwelcome news.
Valeria crosses to the quiet corner beside the records table and waits there solemnly. The festival noise dulls beneath the awnings, leaving only wheels, wagers, and distant cheering.
Publius Varenus
Then say it plainly, Valeria. Unwelcome news grows more dangerous when it is wrapped in courtesy.
Publius follows, but keeps his hands visible and his distance measured. His glance passes over Aurelia, Nestor, and the twins before returning to Valeria.
Publius Varenus
If this concerns the Circus records, I have already corrected what bore your family name. If it concerns Secundus, I may know more than I safely possess.
Publius Varenus
The agent’s face tightens as the name hangs between them, and his fingers press against the edge of the records table.
Publius Varenus
Tell me what you learned, and tell me whether anyone followed you here. I would rather face bad news in daylight than discover it after the gates close.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get Varenus to reveal what he knows about Secundus
“"I believe I owe you the professional courtesy of a warning. Some people who gambled on the exhibition match questioned me about it. They seemed to think it had been fixed. Three losers left with superficial wounds, and one was seen counting coins as she did so. I said I had fought my best and pulled no punches, and so far as I knew, no one had taken a dive. But they pressed me further, and I admitted that the first two bouts seemed like mismatches, because my opponents were weaker, but the third was a powerful, experienced fighter who had studied my technique and might have laid me low but for the blessing of Fortuna."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +1)
Valeria Asiaticus
I owe you a professional courtesy. Some gamblers questioned me about the exhibition, as though it had been fixed. Three losers left with superficial wounds, and one was seen counting coins as she departed.
Valeria Asiaticus
I told them I had fought my best and pulled no punches. So far as I knew, no one had taken a dive. When they pressed me, I admitted the first two bouts seemed mismatched, while the third was a powerful, experienced fighter who had studied my technique and might have defeated me but for Fortuna’s blessing.
Publius Varenus
She brings me a warning, not an accusation. If the losers were paid, someone is measuring which records can be trusted.
Publius’s guarded expression hardens. Beyond the awning, the Circus roars at a turning chariot, while his hand withdraws from the records table as though the wax itself might accuse him.
Publius Varenus
You did right to tell me plainly. A fixed exhibition would damage the betting books, but these inquiries suggest someone wanted the losses noticed, not concealed.
Publius Varenus
I will compare the three wagers with my sealed entries and identify who placed them. You have warned me in daylight, before witnesses, and I will not pretend I heard nothing.
Aurelia watches from the edge of the awning, keeping the twins close. Publius lowers his voice, but the warning has landed: the exhibition’s violence was followed by questions, counting, and a search for blame.
“"I hope we can clear this up as soon as possible. Some of these gamblers looked like dangerous people, and I would not like them to question me a second time. Why don't you check your records while I go get some cicer. I will meet you again in a place of your choosing."”
Valeria Asiaticus
I hope we can clear this up soon. Some of these gamblers looked dangerous, and I would not have them question me twice. Check your records while I fetch cicer. I will meet you wherever you choose.
Publius Varenus
Agreed. I will compare the sealed entries before the afternoon race ends. Meet me at the records stall after the final turn, where the clerk and my ledgers can witness everything.
Publius steps aside and gestures toward the records table, making the proposed meeting place visible to Aurelia, Nestor, and the nearby clerks. He keeps his voice calm, but his caution remains sharp.
Publius Varenus
Do not speak with those gamblers again. If they approach you, bring them to the stall and let the Circus records answer for us.
Valeria leaves the awning and joins the festival traffic. Vendors call beneath bright banners, while the smell of roasted grain and herbs leads her toward a cicer seller near the outer passage.
Aurelia
I will keep the boys close while you buy it. Publius has chosen a public place, which is better than trusting any private promise.
Publius returns to his ledgers as Valeria secures the cicer. The family remains together beneath the festival banners, and the promised meeting waits openly at the records stall.
+ New Item Acquired
Cicer
“Valeria cheerfully shares the cicer with the family, and at the appointed time slips away, saying she will return shortly.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
Valeria returns beneath the awning with a steaming bowl of cicer. She shares it cheerfully among Aurelia, Nestor, Castor, and Pollux while the Circus roars beyond the banners.
Castor
This is better than watching from the rail. Pollux, stop counting the beans and eat them.
Pollux
I am not counting. I am ensuring Castor receives no more than his share.
Aurelia
Let them quarrel over food while they may. A shared bowl and an honest ledger are blessings enough for today.
When the appointed time approaches, Valeria rises and leaves the bowl with her family. She says she will return shortly, then slips into the festival traffic.
Nestor
The records stall is in plain sight. Speak there, and let Publius make his comparison before witnesses.
Valeria reaches the records stall after the final turn. Publius Varenus has opened his ledgers, a lean middle-aged human man with olive skin, a narrow face, and thinning dark hair beside the clerk, with sealed entries ready for comparison.
“If he is wearing a ring with the picture of a ship, this must be Secundus. She nods politely, as if they were old friends.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Beside Publius and the clerk stands a lean middle-aged man in a plain brown tunic, with close-cropped black hair and a weathered face. A bronze ring bears a ship in profile.
Valeria studies the ring as she approaches. The ship matches the mark Publius associated with Secundus, and the identification settles without needing the man’s name spoken.
She nods politely to him, as though greeting an old acquaintance. The gesture is calm, but the records clerk notices where her eyes had rested.
Secundus
Valeria Asiaticus. Your courtesy is unexpected, though perhaps not undeserved. I see Publius has opened his books.
Publius Varenus
You know one another? Then let the ledgers remain open. No private understanding should outrank a sealed entry.
Secundus turns his hand inward, hiding the ship-ring beneath his palm. The small movement raises suspicion, and the clerk reaches for a fresh wax tablet to record his presence.
The Clerk
State your name and business for the record. The comparison will proceed before witnesses, including the man who has just joined us.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose Secundus’s role in the altered records
“I am Valeria Asiaticus, a professional gladiatrix. I was questioned by men who did not identify themselves, but I took to be gamblers. They claimed that a recent match had been fixed and the records altered. I denied it, but was unable to furnish proof, so suspicion remains. I have come to meet with Publius Varenus in hopes of clearing things up before the situation becomes more dangerous.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +3)
Valeria Asiaticus
I came to give a formal account. Men who called themselves gamblers questioned me about my exhibition, claiming a match had been fixed and the records altered. I denied it, but could offer no proof. I ask that Publius compare his sealed entries here, before witnesses, so suspicion falls on evidence rather than rumor.
The Clerk
Your account is entered. Publius, produce the sealed wagers, the original entries, and every correction bearing your mark.
Publius lays three wax tablets before the clerk. Their seals match his ledger, but one margin carries a later scraping and a different hand’s narrow notation.
Publius Varenus
These are my sealed entries. The wagers were recorded before the bouts, but this alteration was added afterward. I did not authorize it, and the correction does not match my hand.
Secundus
A correction proves clerical confusion, not my guilt. You bring suspicion dressed as certainty.
The Clerk
Not so. The altered margin bears the ship mark recorded beside Secundus’s name. I will preserve the tablet and enter this comparison publicly.
The clerk seals the disputed tablet beside the untouched entries, giving Valeria a certified comparison and a public witness. Publius’s books now show the alteration occurred after the wagers were filed.
Quest Complete
Expose Secundus’s role in the altered records
+ New Item Acquired
Certified wager comparison
“"Secundus, I think you should give us some answers before people more dangerous than arena fighters come asking questions."”
SUCCESS (Fair Intimidation, rolled +1)
Valeria Asiaticus
Secundus, I think you should give us some answers before people more dangerous than arena fighters come asking questions.
The warning carries across the records stall. The clerk pauses with his stylus raised, while Publius keeps both hands beside the sealed tablets.
Secundus
You are right to warn me. I altered no wager, but I carried instructions from Lucius Cassius Varro and believed the theater’s payment was lawful.
Secundus
Varro ordered the exhibition tested, not fixed. He wanted to know whether Myrina could be driven into breaking her contract, and whether the betting records would expose the attempt.
Publius exhales sharply. The clerk records Varro’s name beside the ship-marked alteration, then presses fresh wax over the certified comparison.
Secundus
I delivered the altered instructions to the stage official and marked the Circus tablet afterward. I will identify Varro’s written order, if the archive protects my testimony.
The Clerk
Then your statement is entered under witness. Publius, preserve these ledgers. Secundus, you will remain available for formal questioning, and no one will remove this record quietly.
Quest Complete
Get Varenus to reveal what he knows about Secundus
Skill Upgrade: Intimidation Fair→Good