Johannes wrote:
> A basic draft: Someone else, who wants to steal the book manages to get it 
> hidden in some furniture or something, that gets auctioned, and them buys 
> the furniture. Buyers can inspect the merchandise before the auction and 
> Synois, who has taken some pcs for protecting her money steals/replaces it 
> there, and then buys something else. A few days later the pcs witness a 
> shouting and shoving match between the buyer and the hider of the book.

Do you know if Romans had that kind of auction? Slave auctions are a
common stereotype, but this furniture auction sounds rather modern.
Would it be appropriate for upper-class Romans to have their minions
bid against each other like quarreling plebs?
 
> I'll need to come up with a good hiding place in the bed and with what 
> stuff Synois carries around with her, or has the pcs help her carry 
> around. And with some other beds to describe.

It would work with just one bed in the lot. Stuff is sold, Synois 
tries the bed, then bids on a silver goblet.
 
> New idea. The convict will be on a long chain or rope in the "bedroom", so 
> he can move a bit. Or maybe it is a cage and he is otherwise from climbing 
> out.

If it is a Roman arena spectacular, the goals would be to

- kill the convict
- humiliate the convict
- entertain the masses.

The last item requires good visibility and an unpredictable, drawn
out fight. No stage props to block the vision, and no complicated,
just-for-this-fight special scoring rules. Or no fight at all, 
just gore in excessive detail (hence the impaling suggestion). 

> What can Minucia do to keep money coming in. I guess it is unrealistic 
> that she inherits anything moneymaking, other then the taberna (small 
> shop) that is usually outside a villa. 

Take stock of her assets, divide by the remaining life expectancy,
plan to spend no more than that each year. Should be enough for a 
solid middle-class living. But does she think that way?

> I could see a setup though, where she rents out her secretary and her 
> prestiguous address to some merchant, who has not yet a representative in 
> Rome. The secretary will do all the public work, him being male and 
> civilized (he's a Greek), so that will not cause any scandal. Her contacts 
> to roman upper class women can occasionally be used, as can her contacts 
> to gladiatoral problem solvers.

But wouldn't it cause a scandal that the lady directly profits 
from deals with money-grubbing foreign merchants?

Regards,
Onno
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