The eastern records stall remains orderly. The scheduling tablet, preserved impressions, and newly witnessed access list lie across the counter while the Clerk waits beside the roster columns.
The Examiner arranges wax tablets for comparison, matching each custodian’s station, writing habits, and movements against the altered hour. Marcus watches the surrounding clerks without accusation.
The Examiner
We begin with custody, not suspicion. Each mark must answer to a place, a time, and a hand before it answers to a name.
The Clerk
My entry is here, witnessed before noon. I copied the schedule, but the tablet left my station only after I entered the filing mark.
The Examiner compares the Clerk’s compact strokes with the overwritten margin. The forms differ, though both hands use the same abbreviated filing convention.
Marcus Flavius
A shared convention proves the room, not the culprit. Look for who had reason to copy the flaw, and who gained from leaving it unnoticed.
The Examiner
The roster attendant and payment clerk remain to be examined. Their stations, times, and wax impressions may narrow the answer without disturbing the lawful record.
“"Yes, let's do that."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Valeria Asiaticus
Yes. Let us examine the roster attendant’s and payment clerk’s records.
The Examiner nods and draws two sealed access tablets from the eastern stall’s chest. A young adult woman, the roster attendant, a human woman with a lean build, warm brown skin, and a narrow, alert face, approaches in a brown tunic, her dark braid pinned with a plain bronze clasp.
The Examiner
These entries will be compared against the altered hour, the filing mark, and the custody list. Nothing is amended merely because it is suspicious.
The roster attendant places her tablet beside the schedule. Her witnessed hours account for the morning, but the altered entry falls within her recorded station duty.
An Attendant
I received the schedule before noon and passed it to the payment clerk after copying the listed bout. The scraped margin was already present when I saw it.
A middle-aged man with a broad build, thinning hair, and a stained cream tunic arrives carrying the payment ledger. He sets it down beneath the Examiner’s seal.
The Clerk
My ledger records the purse as lawful and unchanged. I handled the tablet at the eastern stall, but I made no alteration to its terms.
“"One moment, from whom did the roster attendant receive the tablet? And was anyone else present?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -1)
Valeria Asiaticus
One moment. From whom did you receive the tablet, and was anyone else present?
The roster attendant looks to the access list, then to the sealed scheduling tablet. The Examiner keeps one finger beside the altered margin, preventing any casual handling.
An Attendant
I received it from the eastern records clerk, after he entered the filing mark. The payment clerk was present at the counter, and no one else stood within the stall.
The Clerk
That is correct. I was waiting to verify the purse notation. The roster attendant held the tablet in view, and I did not touch it until she finished copying the bout.
The Examiner compares their statements with the witnessed hours. Both accounts fit the access list, but the payment clerk’s handling begins after the roster attendant’s copy was complete.
The Examiner
The tablet passed from the eastern records clerk to the roster attendant, with the payment clerk present. The altered margin was already visible then, before payment custody began.
Marcus Flavius
That narrows custody without naming a culprit. The original alteration belongs before the payment clerk handled the tablet, and the record now says so.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure a sealed custodial record of the tablet’s handling
“"The roster attendant says she noticed the alteration, but she received the tablet from the eastern records clerk, who did not. It seems impossible that both could be telling the truth, unless some third party is involved."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -1)
Valeria Asiaticus
The roster attendant says the alteration was already present, but the eastern records clerk says it was not. Both accounts cannot fit unless another hand intervened.
The orderly stall falls quiet. The Examiner keeps the tablets beneath her hand while the roster attendant and eastern records clerk study one another across the counter.
The Clerk
I did not see the scraped margin when I entered the filing mark. If it was present afterward, someone handled the tablet between my station and hers.
An Attendant
I know what I saw. The mark was there when I received the tablet, though I cannot name who placed it there.
Marcus Flavius
Then stop treating their statements as mutually exclusive. The interval between handovers is now the place to examine.
The Examiner
Agreed. I will compare the filing mark’s wax impression with the transfer interval and inspect the counter’s witness seals. A third party may have touched the tablet without entering the access list.
The Examiner records the contradiction without assigning blame, then orders the transfer interval preserved as a separate inquiry. The tablet remains sealed, and the possibility of an unlisted hand is now entered into the record.
“"Wait a moment. We haven't spoken to the steward, who also handed the document."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Valeria Asiaticus
Wait a moment. We have not spoken to the steward, who also handled the document.
The Examiner halts her hand above the tablets. The contradiction remains recorded, while a messenger is sent through the adjoining stalls to summon the steward without disturbing the seals.
The Examiner
Quite right. His custody falls within the transfer interval, and his account must be entered before we draw any conclusion.
A middle-aged man with a spare build, close-cropped gray hair, and a weathered face arrives in a dark brown tunic. A bronze key ring hangs at his belt.
the school steward
I was called from the southern passage. I carried the tablet from the roster station toward the records chest, as the access list states.
The Examiner
Then tell us precisely when you received it, whether the scraped margin was visible, and who stood near the counter during that handover.
the school steward
I received it after the roster attendant’s copy. The margin was visible then. The eastern clerk remained nearby, and the payment clerk waited at the counter.
“"May I ask why you weren't at the practice bout today?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -2)
Valeria Asiaticus
May I ask why you were not at the practice bout today?
The question enters the record beside the steward’s custody statement. The Examiner’s stylus pauses, and the steward’s hand tightens around his bronze keys.
the school steward
I was not absent from the Colosseum. I was in the southern passage, summoned to settle a damaged storage seal. I reached the records route only after the practice exchange had begun.
the school steward
By then, Decimus had already opened the practice space, and the weapon inventory was being witnessed. I did not enter because my summons concerned the seal, not the bout.
He produces a small wax chit from inside his tunic. Its corner is broken, and the southern storehouse mark is blurred, but the time notation remains legible.
The Examiner
The chit supports his explanation, though its damaged corner weakens the proof. I will attach it to the inquiry, and the steward’s absence from the bout will remain noted.
the school steward
You were right to ask. I should have reported the summons before leaving the practice area’s vicinity. That omission now places my movements under examination.
“"Who was it that summoned you?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +0)
Valeria Asiaticus
Who was it that summoned you?
the school steward
The southern storehouse keeper, Gaius Marcellus. He sent the chit through a porter, saying a storage seal had been broken and required my authority.
The steward places the damaged wax chit beside the custody tablets. Its blurred mark bears the southern storehouse sign, while the hour agrees with the interval under examination.
The Examiner
Gaius Marcellus summoned you, then. I will record his name, the porter’s delivery, and the seal’s reported damage. The chit now has a traceable source.
the school steward
Yes. I can identify the porter and bring the storehouse ledger. I did not invent the summons, though I accept that leaving without notice weakened the custody record.
Marcus Flavius
Now the inquiry has a named sender and a reason for the steward’s absence. That is evidence, not accusation. Follow the ledger before judging the hand.
The Examiner seals the chit into the inquiry packet and writes Gaius Marcellus beside the transfer interval. The steward’s movements are now documented from summons to records chest.
“"Might the record have been altered while you were distracted with the storage seal?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +2)
Valeria Asiaticus
Might the record have been altered while you were distracted with the storage seal?
the school steward
Yes. While I examined the broken seal, the tablet was not in my sight. The porter could have carried it past the southern passage before bringing me the chit.
The steward’s admission joins the custody interval to the damaged summons. The Examiner draws a fresh line beneath the hour, marking the period when the tablet was outside his view.
The Examiner
Then alteration during that interval is possible, but not established. We will compare the storehouse ledger, the porter’s route, and the tablet’s wax impression.
the school steward
I can name the porter, and the ledger will show when I left the seal. If the tablet passed through that corridor, its movement should leave a witness or a time mark.
Marcus Flavius
Good. We have a genuine gap, not a convenient accusation. Preserve it, then test it against the records.
The Examiner adds the unobserved interval to the inquiry packet and orders the storehouse ledger brought under seal. The tablet remains untouched, while the steward’s account becomes a precise lead.
“"Here I can give my own testimony. At this time, I noticed two attendants pass without carrying any equipment and then return by a different route. I had never seen them before."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +1)
Valeria Asiaticus
I can give my testimony. I noticed two attendants pass without carrying equipment, then return by another route. I had never seen them before.
The Examiner records Valeria’s words beside the unobserved interval. Marcus turns toward the adjoining passage, while the steward lowers his gaze to the damaged summons.
The Examiner
That places two unknown attendants within the relevant movement window. Their lack of equipment and altered route are material observations, not an accusation.
Marcus Flavius
Good. You noticed what did not fit, and you have named no culprit. Now the route can be compared with the porter’s account and the storehouse ledger.
the school steward
I did not see them pass while I examined the broken seal. If they used the southern passage, the porter or the storehouse keeper may remember them.
The Examiner adds the attendants’ passage, return route, and unknown status to the inquiry packet. The tablet remains sealed, but the custody gap now has independent testimony.
The Examiner
Your testimony is entered and witnessed. We will seek the route records and question the porter without treating unfamiliar faces as proof of wrongdoing.
“"Then we should talk to them."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -1)
Valeria Asiaticus
Then we should talk to them.
The Examiner sends a clerk along the adjoining passage. He returns with the two attendants: a young woman with a russet cloak and cropped curls, and a young man with a narrow build, pale tunic, and a chipped bronze buckle.
the female attendant
We passed the practice space carrying no equipment. The southern passage was crowded, so we returned by the eastern route.
the male attendant
We were sent to find a missing tally board. We saw the steward near the broken storage seal, but we did not approach the records counter.
The Examiner records their names, errand, route, and sighting of the steward. Their accounts agree on the detour and place them within the custody window without putting hands on the tablet.
the female attendant
A porter crossed behind us carrying a wrapped bundle. I did not know him, and he turned toward the southern storehouses.
the male attendant
His bundle had no equipment shape. We can show you where we turned and identify the porter if he remains on the storehouse route.
“"Then we should try to find him and identify this bundle he was carrying."”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +0)
Valeria Asiaticus
Then we should find him and identify the bundle he was carrying.
The female attendant leads Valeria, Marcus, the Examiner, and the steward through the southern passage. At the storehouses, they find a young adult man with a wiry build, dusty black hair, and a faded green tunic beside a shuttered stall.
the porter
I carried that bundle from the records route to the southern storehouse. I was told it held damaged tally boards for inspection.
He unwraps the brown cloth beneath the Examiner’s seal. Inside are three cracked wooden tally boards, a broken cord, and a small wax tablet bearing the southern storehouse mark.
The Examiner
The contents are tally materials, not weapons or arena equipment. The wax tablet records a storage-seal inspection at the same hour as the custody gap.
the porter
I received the bundle from Gaius Marcellus’s assistant at the southern passage. No scheduling tablet was among it, and I never approached the records counter.
The Examiner seals the tally boards and wax tablet into a fresh packet, recording the porter’s name, route, sender, and hour. The bundle is identified, while the inquiry gains a documented link to the storehouse.
“She examines these materials closely.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Valeria examines the three cracked tally boards beneath the Examiner’s seal. Their splinters are old, but the broken cord is fresh, its fibers crushed rather than cleanly cut.
Valeria Asiaticus
The cord broke under tension after the boards were bundled.
She studies the wax tablet next, comparing its southern storehouse mark with the filing impressions preserved on the scheduling record. The marks share a tool, but not the same pressure or hand.
The Examiner
You have found a distinction worth recording. The storehouse tablet belongs to the inspection, yet its wax was pressed by another hand using the same authorized stamp.
Along the tablet’s edge, Valeria finds a shallow smear of pale wax and a minute brown fiber caught beneath it. The fiber matches the porter’s wrapping cloth, not the scheduling tablet.
the porter
That cloth was tied around the tally boards when I received them. I did not open the bundle before reaching this stall.
The Examiner records Valeria’s findings: the bundle is genuine, the inspection mark was reused, and the porter’s materials were separate from the altered schedule. The inquiry narrows without accusing him.
“"That is the second time we have heard the name Gaius Marcellus. It is time we talked to him."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -2)
Valeria Asiaticus
That is the second time we have heard the name Gaius Marcellus. It is time we talked to him.
The Examiner records Valeria’s request and sends the porter to the southern storehouse. The inquiry packet remains sealed, but the delay costs Valeria the afternoon’s scheduled recovery walk.
After a measured wait, Gaius Marcellus arrives, a human man: a middle-aged man of broad shoulders, dark thinning hair, and a weathered face, wearing a stained ochre tunic and heavy work sandals.
Gaius Marcellus
I am Gaius Marcellus. I summoned the steward over the broken seal, and I sent the tally boards by my assistant. I did not handle your scheduling tablet.
Valeria Asiaticus
Tell us when you discovered the broken seal, who entered the storehouse, and who carried the bundle afterward.
Gaius Marcellus
At the second hour after noon, I found the cord parted and the seal disturbed. My assistant fetched the porter, while I kept the ledger open. No scheduling tablet entered my stall.
He produces the storehouse ledger and points to the hour, assistant, and porter’s names. The account places Gaius at the broken seal during the custody gap, raising suspicion without proving guilt.
“"What materials were under seal, before the seal was broken?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Valeria Asiaticus
What materials were under seal, before the seal was broken?
Gaius Marcellus
The storehouse held three tally boards, a bundle of replacement cords, and a wax tablet recording seal inspections. Those were the materials under it.
Gaius opens the ledger to the relevant inventory line. It lists three cracked boards, cordage, sealing wax, and the inspection tablet, all entered before the disturbance.
Gaius Marcellus
The boards were tied together with the cord you saw. The tablet rested beside them, not inside the bundle. Nothing bearing your scheduling marks was stored there.
The Examiner compares the inventory with the porter’s packet. The tally boards and broken cord match, while the scheduling tablet remains absent from the storehouse record.
The Examiner
That answers the material question. The broken seal protected tally supplies and an inspection record, not the altered schedule. Gaius’s ledger is now evidence.
Gaius’s name is entered beside the inventory and the custody gap. The inquiry gains its answer, but Valeria’s afternoon recovery walk is lost, and Marcus marks the cost with a terse glance.
“"All perfectly obtuse: Someone breaks the seal on a bundle of unimportant tally boards, causing Gaius Marcellus to summon the Steward and providing an opportunity for someone to alter the scheduling tablet, which so far as I can determine didn't actually change anything. Brilliant planning and immaculate timing for a conspiracy which seems to have accomplished nothing. Unless we're missing something. Perhaps Decimus Severus can throw some light on this."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +1)
Valeria Asiaticus
The broken seal concerns only tally boards, and the scheduling tablet was not changed. Perhaps Decimus Severus can clarify what we are missing.
The Examiner records the question and sends a sealed request to the Colosseum. By late afternoon, Decimus Severus arrives at the southern storehouse with the practice roster under his arm.
Decimus Severus
You are right about the immediate result. The schedule, purse, and bout terms were not changed. That does not make the interference pointless.
He studies the broken cord, the inspection tablet, and the custody notes without touching them. His expression remains hard, but his attention settles on the recorded hour.
Decimus Severus
Someone created a believable delay, placed the steward away from the records, and tested whether an altered margin would pass unnoticed. The target may have been the chain of custody, not the bout.
Marcus Flavius
A rehearsal, then. If the terms stayed fixed, they learned who notices, who speaks, and who can be moved by a summons.
Decimus Severus
Exactly. Your independence makes you inconvenient, Myrina. Whoever arranged this may be measuring the room before attempting something that cannot be dismissed as harmless clerical work.