Eagle Eyes c10s1

When the characters show up at The Pig and orders a few mugs of wine they are soon approached by a lonely man who asks if he can join them and have a chat like last time. Since they are waiting for some sort of company they say that he of course can do that. He buys another round of wine and asks if they heard what happened the other day. Apparently a wolf crossed Forum (romanum) which is a potent omen and means that the next senate meeting has to be cancelled. All according to a senatrix named Aelia Falernus Censa. They chat a little and he leaves and in doing so he also hands them a small papyrus saying that their friends are wondering if she actually witnessed that. They realise that someone wants them to find out whether senatrix Falernus actually saw a wolf cross Forum or not but is it The Eagle? Is it some other discrete player that knows that they have dealt in information earlier but on the other hand that's on a whole other level than before. Then it has only been about minor burglaries or scam. Hostus reach over the table and lifts one of the earlier used mugs where he noticed that the man put something earlier during the conversation. It's a small piece of broken pottery with something carved into it on both sides, on one side a simplified eye and on the other side a much simplified bird of prey - most probably an eagle. That settled the last question. The Eagle has given them their first real mission: Find out whether senatrix Falernus actually saw a wolf cross Forum or not.

At Paulla's and Hostus's home they discuss how to digging in this and decide that they should start by visiting the temples situated by Forum romanum and while doing that try to find out if the pontifex (priest) or their assistants have seen anything regarding the wolf and the senatrix.

The next day, early, early, even before sunrise when the donkey and ox drivers are taking the goods into the city (which must be done before the dawn to have the streets cleared when regular citizens use them) Claudius go to Forum or rather the areas close to Forum to search for people that might have seen something. He finds a donkey driver that noticed both a people's tribune and a senatrix at Forum at about the right time.

A little later that morning Paulla dress up in her toga, buys some wine and herbs and goes to the temple of Venus and Roma pretending to be somewhat stressed this morning. She "just happens to" mentioned the event of the wolf and the senatrix as a reason to offer something this specific morning since it disrupts the meeting order of the senate. The deputy priest tries to calm her and says that these things happen and Roma has still continued to prosper. Also, he says, the senatrix and her company that was at Forum that morning didn't seem upset either. The deputy priest didn't see the wolf himself (another assistant did though) and sadly he didn't recognised the senatrix. He just assumed that it was Falernus. The deputy priest and Paulla performs the offering and Paulla leaves with some more information than before; a wolf did actually cross Forum and a senatrix was at Forum about that time with her company.

The same morning Hostus also visits Forum and the notice pillar where decrees and Today's paper is nailed. Today's paper can often contain some interesting gossip about the upper class and now and then some real information but today Hostus look for the paper that lists the latest decrees that have been made (not the whole decrees) and the next senate meeting, hearing and similar events. He then finds out that the next meeting is on the seventh day counting today as the first day. That gives them their absolute latest deadline for finding out whether Falernus saw the wolf cross Forum or not.

They work through the day with their regular slightly provocative plays and monologues while earning some tips and scouting for victims for their favourite scam, selling expensive greek vases to plebeians that either are collectors or want to come off as art connoisseurs.

Hostus stands in a corner of Forum and has monologues and stand-up comedies about the assumed wolf running across Forum but without witnesses trying to provoke someone to contradict him and in that way contribute with some usable information. Paulla stands in the audience trying to observe the other people and also if possible converse people in the audience to get more information. A toga clad woman with a scribe slave or similar suddenly accuses Hostus of dragging honourable citizens in the dirt with his jokes and accusations of people making the whole thing with the wolf up. After a short rethoric fight between her and Hostus Hostus manages to make it look like she too was an artist and gives her the money earned so far. She gets very upset, throws the money back after Hostus and turns on the spot and walks away. Both Hostus and Paulla follows her and finds her joining the last of a short client queue at a client reception at a nice domus. Paulla hangs around like she waiting for someone and manages to pass by when the slave comes out to invite the woman they followed and thereby gets her name, Lucia Maemilius.

Eagle Eyes c10s0c

After being acknowledged after their test mission the player characters have spent some time with their normal halfway criminal lifestyle. Each day one of them go to the same herbs and spices merchant at one of the fora in the city. Each day a bundle of coriander is asked for and each day a bundle of coriander is paid for but one day Claudius suddenly also get a small piece of rolled up papyrus at the same time. He leaves and teams up with his friends in crime and they check out the paper "At The Pig after workday's end". That's it, the only thing. A very concrete and simple instruction. The Pig is one of the crappier wine places not to far away from the two apartments Claudius and Hostus plus Paulla rents on the fourth floor in a five floor insula. They go about with their regular mix of low level street plays and scouting for possible scams or information to sell to other criminals (like storages that might be easy to empty of valuable items). They actually find an unguarded and unlocked smaller storage area with amphoras at street level in an insula and sell this information at one of the shady wine places they frequent irregularly to sell similar information.