The Circus offices prepare for another day’s business as Valeria approaches with the false temple packet displayed in her hand. Racing lists, wax tablets, and betting ledgers crowd the shaded passage.
Publius Varenus
You are making certain that someone notices it. Come behind the records screen before the wrong eyes decide what you carry.
Publius Varenus draws Valeria behind the screen, where the betting stalls remain visible through a gap. His ledgers stay open, while the temple escort waits outside the office threshold.
A broad-shouldered middle-aged herald in a white-edged red tunic enters, his shaved chin and broken nose giving him a soldier’s severe appearance. He lowers his voice beside the ledgers.
the herald
Three unfamiliar men have asked about Secundus’s testimony. They claim to be creditors, but none carries a recognized account or sponsor’s mark.
The Clerk
I can enter the warning beside Publius’s sealed comparison. But the record would show where the packet traveled, and that may expose the temple’s protection.
Publius Varenus
Then we choose carefully. A public entry may protect the evidence, or teach Varro exactly which road to block.
✓ Quest Accepted
Draw the watchers away from the temple sanctuary
“Valeria opens the decoy document, swallows the wax seal and throws the papers in the bin. "What testimony? Nothing here. That gladiatrix must have passed it off to someone."”
FAILURE (Legendary Agility, rolled -4)
Valeria Asiaticus
What testimony? Nothing here. That gladiatrix must have passed it off to someone.
Valeria breaks the packet beneath the records screen and thrusts the wax seal into her mouth. It catches in her throat; she coughs sharply, forcing it back into her palm.
She tears the blank papyri into strips and throws them into the office refuse basket. The pieces conceal no writing, but the intact temple wax remains visibly marked by her teeth.
Publius Varenus
Quietly, Valeria. You have destroyed the decoy’s papers, but not its seal. Anyone watching now knows the packet was handled in haste.
The Clerk
I saw nothing written there, and I will record that fact. But I cannot say the seal was swallowed or lost. It is still evidence.
the herald
Then leave it on the ledger table. A marked seal invites questions, but hiding it would make your denial look like an admission.
Publius closes one ledger over the torn papers while the temple escort remains outside. The decoy has vanished as a document, yet its damaged seal now ties Valeria visibly to the attempted deception.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the temple sanctuary’s location secret from Varro’s watchers
− Scene Quest Removed
Draw the watchers away from the temple sanctuary
“Valeira holds the wax seal over a candle until it is an unrecognizable lump, smashes it, and adds it to the garbage.”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +1)
Valeria holds the damaged wax seal over a small office candle. It softens, blackens, and collapses into an unrecognizable lump beneath the flame.
She drops the lump into the refuse basket and crushes it beneath torn papyri. No mark remains that could identify the temple or its route.
Publius Varenus
Good. The decoy has served its purpose, and nothing in that basket points back to Demeter’s archive.
The Clerk
I will record only that the packet contained no writing and that its seal was destroyed as refuse. The evidence remains elsewhere, properly sealed.
the herald
Then the watchers saw haste, not a document. Let them chase a story while the true tablets stay beyond their reach.
Outside the screen, the temple escort signals that the passage is clear. Publius closes his ledger, and the office resumes its ordinary noise of wagers and racing lists.
Publius Varenus
Go openly. I will preserve the comparison here, and if those men return, they will find records, witnesses, and no decoy to seize.
Quest Complete
Keep the temple sanctuary’s location secret from Varro’s watchers
Attribute Upgrade: Strength Good→Great
