Story
The sun was lower when the crew returned to Solcanum. The heat had thinned, but the streets had not. The same noise rolled over the harbor road, the same shouts, the same clatter of chains. Yet something felt different now. The crew walked with six children pressed close around them. The children’s fear drew eyes the way blood drew flies.
The moment they stepped under the archway, Varro Licentus appeared as if conjured. His wife, Livia, stood beside him in a clean dress and a serpent smile. They pushed through the crowd with exaggerated indignation, voices rising high before they were even close.
“There they are!” Varro shouted, pointing directly at the crew. “Thieves. Criminals. They stole my property right out of the ruins.”
The word property hit the children like a lash. Two of them curled in on themselves. Nera grabbed Skarnulf’s sleeve and hid behind him.
Livia lifted her voice above her husband’s, clear and sharp. “Not only thieves,” she cried to the growing cluster of bystanders. “They endangered imperial workers. These children are runners. Contracted. Owned. And these foreigners stole them. Our property.”
Murmurs rippled outward like oil spilling across water. Faces turned. A circle began to form.
Varro pushed forward again, though he made sure three grown men stood between him and the Blue Marlin crew. “You thought you could sneak them out? Thought no one would notice?” He slapped a hand to his chest. “They are mine. They were in my possession. You took them.”
Someone in the crowd spat. “Foreigners think they can break our laws.”
Another muttered, “A slave thief gets worse than the mines.”
The children pressed tighter. Their trembling made them stand out like lanterns in fog.
Amaxia’s jaw clenched as she stepped forward, but Varro instantly ducked behind a larger man, still pointing from safety. “See how they threaten me? See how they behave? Criminals.”
The crew tried to answer. Words like misunderstanding or rescue or danger died under the swelling noise. The more they spoke, the louder Varro and Livia became.
“They even killed one of our workers!” Varro shouted. “Beaten to death in the ruins! Our property!”
Livia gasped on cue. “They bragged about it in my tavern. These people are dangerous.”
That was a lie. A transparent lie. It did not matter. Lies were sparks in Solcanum.
More people gathered. Curious ones. Angry ones. Opportunistic ones. The street clogged. Voices stacked on voices until the air felt hot and sharp.
Then Amaxia made the mistake.
“Let the children go,” they said plainly. “They are not property.”
The words froze everything. Even the gulls seemed to stop crying.
Then the crowd erupted.
“Free?” someone bellowed. “They want to free slaves.”
“Rebellion,” another shouted. “That is rebellion talk.”
A woman pulled her daughter close. A man shoved toward the crew, face flushed with fear rather than rage. “You want an uprising here? In Solcanum? You think chains break without blood?”
Varro seized the moment like a man snatching fallen coin. He sprang halfway from behind his human shield and slapped his hand against his chest dramatically.
“They admit it!” he cried. “They want to stir revolt. They want to overturn Imperial law.”
Livia’s voice soared above the clamor. “They are enemies of order. They defy the Emperor’s peace.”
Faces shifted. Some contorted with anger, others with fear. A ripple passed through the crowd, and suddenly the crew was ringed by bodies pressing in, too close, too loud, too eager to see the accusation stick.
Varro retreated again the moment the crew’s attention edged his way, melting into the safety of the crowd while still shouting with righteous fury. Livia did the same, slipping behind the tallest men but keeping her voice sharp and venomous.
The children clung to the crew like shipwreck survivors to driftwood. Nera shook so hard she made the others shake with her.
Someone threw the first handful of dirt.
Then the second.
The circle tightened.
The noise rose to a fever pitch.
And at that breathless moment, just before the first real blow was thrown, the street guards arrived.
The crew stood in a tightening ring of fury. The children hid behind them. The crowd shouted for justice, or blood, or both.

Overview of the Situation

When the guards arrive, the tension in the street is already at its peak. The crowd has been whipped into fear and anger by Varro and Livia Licentius, who frame the crew not only as thieves but as agitators threatening Imperial order. The presence of six frightened slave children reinforces the accusation. Even though the players acted heroically, Imperial law defines any removal of slaves from an owner as theft. The facts favor the accusers.

The guards do not come in as villains. They come in as professionals responding to public disorder. Their priority is restoring calm and determining what happened, and Imperial law gives them no reason to trust foreigners over citizens making a property claim.

The crew is now in a narrow corridor of choices with rising stakes. Their goal is not to win moral arguments. It is to survive Solcanum’s interpretation of justice.

Before the Guards Arrive

The players still have several options, even if the mood is directed against them.

Run

They can flee into the streets with the children. This leads to chaos. The crowd will try to stop them. The children may slow them. Minor fights break out. They will be branded guilty by default, and the city guards will pursue. This path leads to a chase toward the harbor and the Blue Marlin, or to capture if they misstep. If captured they face brutal execution in the arena next day unless their remaining crew attempts a rescue.

Explain

They can try to justify their actions to the guards and crowd. This almost never works. The Empire sees slaves as property. Rescuing slaves is not heroic to the citizens. It is theft and potential sedition. Explanation only delays the inevitable and keeps pressure building.

Pay

They can offer coin to Varro and Livia. This is the simplest path and the one the guards will quietly encourage. Payment ends the dispute immediately. The crowd grumbles but disperses. The Licentius couple walks away richer and proud. The players walk away insulted but unharmed.

Lie

They can claim they purchased the children earlier or made a legal arrangement. This splits the crowd. Some locals know Varro and his ways, and know that fraud is certainly not beneath him. Others assume the foreigners are lying. The guards dislike lies but will entertain them if the players present a confident story or show documentation. Ayesha or Nasheem can shine here. Failure results in harsher treatment. Success avoids payment.

Intimidation

They can threaten Varro and Livia. This makes the couple retreat deeper into the protection of the crowd, but it inflames the onlookers. The guards will respond aggressively to perceived foreign violence. This is rarely a winning tactic unless used subtly to silence Varro without appearing hostile.

Fight

A terrible idea. The crowd is large, furious, and convinced the crew is dangerous. Many will attempt to swarm them. The guards will move to subdue with lethal force. Describe things so that this is clearly a bad option, which will result in excessive bloodshed on all sides.

When the Guards Arrive

The guards will arrive in force, they have no interest in fair fights. The mood shifts immediately. The crowd does not disperse, but its noise becomes focused. Accusations turn into rapid explanations to the guards. Varro and Livia immediately present themselves as victims. The players become defendants whether they like it or not.

The guards behave with rigid formality. They will:

• separate the crew and the Licentius couple
• inspect the children to confirm ownership
• ask for ownership documents
• ask the crew for proof of purchase or transfer
• insist on calm while keeping hands on weapons

Their tone is not cruel. It is bureaucratic. But bureaucratic cruelty is still cruelty.

At this point the viable options narrow to two.

Pay

Money resolves everything. The guards see the exchange, deem the matter settled, and order both parties to disperse. They care more about restoring order than truth. Paying feels humiliating, but it ends the confrontation safely.

Lie convincingly

If the players stick to a believable claim, especially if backed by a good negotiator, the guards may accept that Varro sold the slaves and is trying to reverse the deal. Documents are rarely checked, but a citizen's word weighs heavier than a foreigner. This outcome requires confidence and good roleplay, but also gives Ayesha a place to shine. Failure results in detention.

Outcomes

Successful Payment

The Licentius couple leaves gloating. The crowd disperses. The guards warn the crew to avoid trouble. The players keep the children and return to the Blue Marlin. Emotional sting included.

Successful Lie

The guards side with the crew. Varro and Livia sputter in outrage but cannot overcome a formal decision. They retreat furious and humiliated. The crew walks away with the children and a small reputation as dangerous or slippery, depending on how the story was spun.

Failed Lie

The guards see through the bluff or simply decide the locals are more credible. The crew is detained. Possible events:

• The children are seized and returned to Varro and Livia
• The players are held overnight
• They face a spectacular execution in the arena the next day

This sets up a rescue scenario that can include unseen help from Samden.

Successful Escape

If the crew runs and reaches the ship, Solcanum declares them criminals but does not pursue once they are beyond harbor range. The Licentius couple stews in their anger. The players avoid payment but gain an enemy and a reputation.

Capture after escape attempt

Arena, next day. Rescue needed. Harsh tone but dramatic.

Tips for Playing Varro and Livia Licentius

They are small time tyrants

They bully downward and grovel upward. Any higher rank guard receives immediate fawning respect. Any foreigner or slave receives venom.

They weaponize fear

They know the Empire fears rebellion more than anything. They frame the crew’s actions as seditious, not merely criminal.

They perform respectability

Varro uses legal language and civic pride. Livia uses sweet tones, practiced shock, and moral pleading. Both are transparent opportunists.

They never confront directly

As soon as the crew threatens them, they duck behind the crowd, letting others take the risk while they continue shouting safely from behind bodies.

They twist every detail

Any kindness shown to the children becomes proof of manipulation. Any attempt to explain becomes an attack on their honor. They spin everything.

They crumble instantly once things turns against them

If the guards favor the crew, they retreat immediately, dragging their dignity behind them like a torn cloak.

Act Summary

By the end of the Solcanum arc the players should understand something fundamental about the Empire. It is not a place where good intentions matter. It is a place where law, fear and convenience shape justice. Saving children from death still brands the crew as criminals if they disrupt the accepted order. Crowds can turn hostile in an instant. Officials value calm more than truth. And small time tyrants thrive because the system rewards their behavior.

The players should walk away with a sharper sense of the world’s stakes. Violence is not always an option. Words carry risk. Choices ripple outward. Compassion costs something. Yet despite the pressure the crew keeps the children safe, escapes the city’s grip and returns to the Blue Marlin stronger in identity and purpose. They have seen the Empire up close, without armor or ceremony, and can no longer pretend it is distant or abstract.

This arc does not punish them. It prepares them. Solcanum teaches the crew that the world will challenge them not only with monsters and mysteries, but with people and systems that cling to cruelty as normalcy. The way they navigate those challenges will define who they become for the rest of the campaign.

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