At Rome's outer road, dusk gathers beneath the shrine's weathered columns. Beyond the fields, the Republic's war with Phillip of Macedon has filled the road with soldiers, slaves, and rumors.
A slave tutor bursts from the shrine-side path, clutching wax tablets to his chest. Armed men pursue him, shouting that he has stolen from his master.
He stumbles into Frumius's path. The pursuers halt when they see the gladiator's scars, gladius, and shield.
A raven drops from the shrine roof and strikes the stone altar. Its wings beat once against the sacred basin, and every voice dies.
Gaius Neratius
Do not give them the tablets. They contain lessons, not coin. The truth of Rome's sons is written here.
Lucius Varro
I am Lucius Varro, overseer of this household. Slave, step aside. Hand over the fugitive, and no blood need stain this road.
The tutor tightens his grip on the tablets. Lucius raises one hand, holding his armed men back, while the raven fixes its black eyes on Frumius and the altar waits in silence.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the tutor's cooperation
✓ Quest Accepted
Reveal the truth contained in the wax tablets
“I keep my shield raised and question Lucius's claim.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled -1)
Frumius
Your claim rests on your word alone. What makes these tablets stolen property rather than lessons?
The shield stays high at the edge of your sight, its rim cutting Lucius from the tutor. The armed men shift, but none advances.
Lucius Varro
They bear the household seal, and the slave carries them without permission. That is theft enough. Their contents are not your concern.
Gaius Neratius
No. The seal belongs to the house, but the lessons belong to the boys who learned them. Varro wants the tablets destroyed because they name the men who profited from false accounts.
The tutor lowers the wax tablets just enough to show their marked edges, then steps behind the altar's corner. His fear remains, but he no longer flees. He has chosen your protection.
Lucius Varro
So the gladiator takes a slave's accusation over a Roman overseer's word. Remember this defiance, Frumius. It will reach the ears of those who still claim you.
Gaius Neratius
Keep your shield between us and them. I will tell you what the tablets record, but not while his men can seize them.
Quest Complete
Secure the tutor's cooperation