Episode 6.1.a
>Caecilius's Villa, Pompeii, Italy, August 79 CE<
Caecilius opens the door himself. Not a slave: Caecilius, in person, beaming, his eyes bright with something he can barely hold in.
"You came! You came at last!"
He pulls you into the atrium. Tiberius is standing by one of the columns, watching you, and he is not smiling. He says nothing at all.
Caecilius takes your hands in both of his. He has the look of a man holding something enormous and precious.
"You kept it from me! A thing this size, and you kept it from me!" He is delighted, not hurt. "Sinistrus told me everything. You have been working for Caesar himself. Now I understand. You couldn't tell me, of course you couldn't, you had to work in secret. But it's out in the open now, and now we work together, as friends."
He looks at you, and there is pride all over his face.
"I am trusted by Caesar. A servant of Caesar! Sinistrus was pleased with my work, that is why he came all the way to Pompeii. Caesar himself has heard of me. Caesar! Of Caecilius Iucundus, a banker out of Pompeii!"
Then the bad feeling comes, the long sick sense of something falling. Sinistrus is nowhere in the house, but the feeling stays.
Tiberius catches your eye. He still says nothing. He doesn't need to.
Caecilius is pacing the atrium now, his hands moving as he talks. He is no longer a banker in his own mind. He is a man dear to Caesar, and you can see that this is what he has wanted his whole life.
"So," he says, turning back to you. "Tell me everything. What were you looking for in Pompeii? What have you found in Herculaneum? We all serve Caesar now. Out with it!"
He pours you wine and waits.
Prompt: Use your knowledge of Roman culture, politics, and history to come up with a plausible story of your mission for the emperor. You should also try to figure out anything you can about what Sinistrus told Caecilius, and about Sinistrus's own mission. Remember: Caecilius believes he is now your ally in the emperor's service.
