Marcus continues behind Valeria, tapping his cane in an irregular pattern. Before he can test her response, the yard gate opens and a Praetorian Captain enters, a broad-shouldered middle-aged man in a scarlet-edged cloak, polished helmet, and weathered face.
Marcus Flavius
Hold. A uniform at a private yard rarely arrives to admire our footwork.
The Captain carries a sealed summons in one hand and a witness’s wax tablet in the other. He pauses beyond the practice boundary, while Marcus shifts slightly between him and Valeria.
Praetorian Captain
Valeria Asiaticus, your amended ceremonial agreement has been recognized and entered without alteration. The demonstration’s officials require your presence at the Domus Tiberiana for a procedural briefing.
Praetorian Captain
The summons specifies payment and lawful duty, with attendance recorded before witnesses. It does not specify who controls the demonstration’s content, nor who may revise it after you arrive.
Marcus Flavius
Then the tablet is incomplete. She will not enter the palace merely to discover that an unwritten hand has taken command.
The Captain extends both documents without crossing the yard’s boundary. Murmilla remains absent while her shoulder is checked, and Valeria’s family stays home; only Marcus accompanies her here as the witnesses wait for her answer.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure written limits protecting Valeria’s independence in the imperial demonstration
“"My contract specifies that I will obey the emperor, or the head of the imperial household, which is also the emperor. It does not require me to obey you or some unknown person. Provisions added to a contract which is already agree and signed are not binding under the law."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Politics, rolled -1)
Valeria Asiaticus
My contract requires obedience to the Emperor, or to the head of the imperial household, who is the Emperor. It does not require obedience to you or to any unnamed person. Additions made after agreement and sealing are not binding under Roman law.
The Captain studies her across the boundary. Marcus remains still, while the witness holding the wax tablet, an adult human woman with a lean build, dark braided hair, and a plain undyed wool tunic lowers his stylus and waits for the official answer.
Praetorian Captain
Your distinction is legally sound. I cannot enlarge the signed obligation by command, nor can an unnamed official acquire authority from words absent from the sealed agreement.
He turns to the witness and dictates the clarification. The wax tablet records that attendance grants no control over the demonstration’s content and creates no obedience beyond the contract’s stated terms.
Marcus Flavius
Then the palace receives her under its own written terms, not beneath a fresh leash disguised as procedure.
Praetorian Captain
So recorded. The procedural briefing may proceed only within those limits, before witnesses, with no later addition binding Valeria Asiaticus without her consent.
The Captain offers the amended witness tablet for inspection. The summons now stands narrowed by the law, and the unauthorized obedience demanded by implication has been rejected.
Attend the procedural briefing under the recorded limits
Quest Complete
Secure written limits protecting Valeria’s independence in the imperial demonstration