Before Valeria reaches the magistrate’s outer court, an official messenger steps from the colonnade. He is a lean middle-aged man in a clean white tunic and dark red cloak, with a scar across one cheek and an imperial cord at his shoulder.
The Messenger
Valeria Asiaticus, called Myrina. By lawful delivery, I place this sealed notice in your hands.
He extends a narrow tablet sealed in fresh wax. The magistrate’s household guards remain near the doorway, while Aurelia stands beside Valeria, witnessing every word and movement.
The Messenger
It requests your presence at a private exhibition connected to the next festival distribution. Payment is lawful and registered. The sponsor’s name is withheld until attendance is confirmed.
Aurelia
A sealed request addressed to an arena title, with no sponsor named. That omission deserves a witness before it deserves an answer.
The messenger keeps the tablet extended, neither pleading nor withdrawing it. His eyes remain fixed on Valeria’s face, measuring recognition, alarm, or any sign that the hidden patron has been guessed.
The Messenger
The magistrate may append your answer to the record. I am instructed to wait here, and to carry back either acceptance, refusal, or silence.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose whether the private exhibition conceals patronal control
“I'm not sure why I would accept a private exhibition when the fans are crying for me at the Colosseum. What are they offering?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +0)
Valeria Asiaticus
Why would I accept a private exhibition when the fans are crying for me at the Colosseum? What are they offering?
The messenger lowers the tablet only enough to consult its attached memorandum. Aurelia remains beside Valeria, watching the imperial cord and the magistrate’s guards.
The Messenger
A registered advance of five hundred sesterces, paid before attendance. A separate purse follows each performance, with no claim upon your household or existing contract.
The Messenger
The exhibition is one bout, held before invited witnesses during the festival distribution. You may fight as Myrina, and you may refuse any private demonstration.
He breaks the outer seal in full view of Aurelia and the guards, then unfolds the schedule. The sponsor’s name appears beneath the magistrate’s recorded witness mark.
The Messenger
Lucius Cassius Varro offers the advance, the purse, transport, and medical attendance. He asks only for your presence, one bout, and permission to present you as an independent arena champion.
Aurelia
Independent, yet summoned privately by a man already named in our sealed evidence. Let the magistrate record every term before my daughter answers.
“"Sorry, I don't work for Varro. Nice offer though."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +0)
Valeria Asiaticus
Sorry, I do not work for Varro. It is a nice offer, though.
The refusal hangs quietly beneath the colonnade. Aurelia remains at Valeria’s side, while the messenger lowers the tablet and studies the magistrate’s guards.
The Messenger
I will record your refusal as given, Valeria Asiaticus. The advance, exhibition, and private demonstration are declined.
Aurelia
Record also that no household debt, contract, or promise binds her to Lucius Cassius Varro.
The messenger writes the answer on the memorandum and presents it to the magistrate’s clerk. The clerk reads it aloud, then presses the official seal beside Valeria’s refusal.
The Magistrate
The offer is refused lawfully and without penalty. Varro may not call this silence, consent, or breach of contract.
The messenger folds the sealed notice back into his cloak. He departs beneath the watching guards, carrying Varro’s rejected bargain and leaving its terms preserved in the magistrate’s record.
“"Varro must think me a fool, if he would hire me after all these threats."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -1)
Valeria Asiaticus
Varro must think me a fool, if he would hire me after all these threats.
The words settle beneath the magistrate’s colonnade. Aurelia watches the messenger, while the guards remain still beside the sealed record of refusal.
Aurelia
He mistakes an offer for erasure. A purse cannot make his threats disappear, nor purchase what you have already denied him.
The Magistrate
Let that observation be entered as context, not accusation. The recorded threats and the refused bargain remain separate matters of evidence.
The clerk adds a brief marginal note to the memorandum, naming Varro’s prior threats without altering Valeria’s refusal. Fresh wax closes the record again.
The Messenger
I will carry no further answer beyond your refusal and this recorded statement. Lucius Cassius Varro will learn that his offer failed.
Aurelia
Then let him learn it plainly. My daughter remains bound only by lawful terms, and none of them belongs to him.
“"I thank you for your attention to my case Magistrate. It is good to know that we still have honest public officials in Rome. I shall make a sacrifice in your name to Justitia."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -2)
Valeria Asiaticus
I thank you for your attention to my case, Magistrate. It is good to know that honest public officials still serve Rome. I shall make a sacrifice in your name to Justitia.
The magistrate inclines his head, accepting the tribute as a public courtesy. Valeria’s promise is entered beside the refusal, while the clerk records the intended offering in the official margin.
The Magistrate
Your thanks are received, Valeria Asiaticus. Let the sacrifice honor justice itself, and let the record show that no private favor was purchased here.
The clerk sands the fresh ink, then presses the magistrate’s seal beside the note. The temple offering is now part of the record, but its cost falls upon Valeria’s purse.
Aurelia
A small offering will suffice. We shall not turn gratitude into another household debt.
The Magistrate
That is wisely spoken. May Justitia witness the gift, and may Rome remember that lawful judgment needs no patron’s coin.
The official messenger departs with Varro’s refusal, while the magistrate’s sealed record remains secure. Valeria leaves owing only the modest sacrifice she has promised, and no more.
✓ Quest Accepted
Make the promised sacrifice to Justitia
− Scene Quest Removed
Expose whether the private exhibition conceals patronal control
“"I think we can afford a dove, and the temple is not far away. I like to stay on the good side of the gods and the municipal authorities too."”
Valeria Asiaticus
We can afford a dove. The temple is near, and I prefer to remain on the good side of the gods and the municipal authorities.
Aurelia counts the household coins beneath the colonnade, then sets aside enough for bread and oil before approving the modest offering. The magistrate’s clerk notes the payment.
Aurelia
A dove is gratitude, not extravagance. We will honor Justitia without making the household pay twice for a public courtesy.
They walk to the nearby shrine, carrying the small white bird in a reed basket. The magistrate’s sealed record remains safely with the clerk, while the refusal of Varro’s offer stands acknowledged.
The Magistrate
Go with my good will. A citizen who honors both the gods and lawful offices gives Rome less cause to trouble her.
At the shrine, Aurelia places the offering before the altar and speaks the magistrate’s name with measured respect. No promise of influence is made, and no private favor is requested.
The family returns beneath the afternoon light with their purse diminished by one modest expense, their obligations unchanged, and the official record secure.
Quest Complete
Make the promised sacrifice to Justitia