Can’t Be Tamed

**Can’t Be Tamed** is a case featured in *Criminal Case*. It takes place in the Roman Imperial region of Graecita.

## Plot

**You are experiencing the story in third-person view.**

Nighttime at Graecita, Zachary is dropping Madelina by the palace after leaving the theatre and they talked about the play. Madelina expressed to Zachary how impressed she was by Mia’s rendition of “On My Own” and that she felt like Mia may have related deeply to the lyrics. Zachary stayed silent at this suggestion, and the two made to the palace door where Madelina lifted her head, expecting a kiss. Zachary gave her a kiss and Madelina began giggling as she entered the palace, keeping eye contact with Zachary as she disappeared through the halls. Zachary got the hint Madelina was inviting him inside, so he entered the palace and began chasing her in the halls. Zachary couldn’t find her, but he noticed a shadow entering a room- Kaleb’s study, so he went inside. As soon as he got close to the bookshelves, Madelina gave him a jump-scare which was followed by a kiss. The two kissed for a good minute before Zachary lifted Madelina and pushed her into the bookshelves, causing some of the books to fall over. As they were making out, they felt the walls moving, so they stopped out of terror and moved away from the shelves. They stood in shock as they witnessed a the shelves moving, revealing a secret passage.

Meanwhile at the Roman Imperial palace, Nebet walks into the crown prince’s bedroom, all dressed up, after he had requested to have breakfast with her. Inside, Nebet finds Livius sitting and waiting for her, wearing nothing but a piece of cloth around his hip, and while his body wasn’t desirable by any means, she found herself feeling very shy around him. Livius tells her to take a seat and while they were eating, the crown prince apologized over what happened last night and told his fiancée that he has a gift to make up for it, pointing at an envelope he placed by her side of the table. Nebet opens the envelope which contained Livius’ gift- A ticket for the Colosseum. Livius hoped she would like his gift, but Nebet wasn’t pleased at all and told him that she can’t accept it. Confused, Livius asked her why which made her frown and she reminded him that she was a slave, and while she is not anywhere, she still relates to other slaves and will not take pleasure in seeing them get tortured inside an arena. Livius understood her sentiments, but he begged her to come, saying that he wants to take this as an opportunity to introduce to Rome, but Nebet snapped at him and told him she’s not coming. Nebet then sulked and admitted to Livius that the reason why she agreed to marry him is because she thought he was different from all the other nobles, that she hoped that when he becomes emperor he would bring a change to Rome and that she’s disappointed to learn that he finds humor in watching some inhumane shows. Realizing that he’s repelling Nebet, Livius denies enjoying the gladiator fights, however if he wishes to set a good image to the Roman people, he needs to be present in such events, even if he doesn’t like them at all. He then promises Nebet that once he gets crowned, he will mark a change to the empire and abolish all types of slavery, but begs her to sit by his side at the Colosseum.

While the Imperial family are yet to get ready, the team came to the Colosseum early. Unfortunately, despite arriving in such an early time, there were already a lot of visitors in the Colosseum and the security was pretty strict. So the team had their seats and they began discussing what could they do to reach the lion and release him before the fight and Marionette talked about how she promised a gladiator that they’ll save him from being fed to the lion, which made Kaleb glare at her. Norah noticed Discordia sitting on one of the steps, excused herself from her companions and went to go speak with the courtesan. With Norah gone, Kaleb and Marionette sat awkwardly next to each other, until Marionette got tired and asked Kaleb if he has a problem. As she expected, Kaleb was not pleased that she “slept with” Wu Ming, so Marionette spilled the beans and assured that she and him didn’t do anything in the room, and that she only paid to spend a night with him to inflate Kaleb’s ego. Kaleb did not believe her as he heard Marionette moaning, so she decided to do the unexpected: She masturbated in the Colosseum. As she moaned, all the arriving visitors stared at her in shock, and Kaleb was getting embarrassed and begged Marionette to stop, and that he believes her. So Marionette stopped and soon a man came into the ring and announced that a death took place in one of the cellars. The visitors began talking in horror, so Kaleb and Marionette approached the man and asked him to take them to the body. The man led them to one of the underground cellars of the arena where they found a young boy crushed by a cage which used to be a part of an elevator.

**You are now playing as Marionette Patrick.**

Marionette immediately recognized the lad as Aegidius, the virgin she and Norah rescued and liberated from the Temple of Vesta. She and Kaleb interrogated the man who found the body, who revealed that his name is Mahmoud and he was actually a slave tasked to move the winches that operate the elevator. When asked about how the cage ended up falling on Aegidius, he denied witnessing the “accident” and instead expressed how scared he is of what would happen to him and his fellows if the lacista found the elevator at the state it’s in. Kaleb and Marionette noticed how the ropes connecting the cage to the winches was cut out pretty clean, meaning they must be dealing with a murder, so they started investigating and they found reasons to suspect a gladiator by the name of Maddox, who Aegidius was a pretty big fan of, and they finally got a chance to see Hippomenes in person, who was being taken care of by a lion tamer named Damianus. As they were recapping the case, they were confronted by Flavian Lucretius, who asked them what they doing outside their seats.

To avoid getting in trouble, Kaleb and Marionette explained the situation, told him about Aegidius murder and in turn, he revealed that the boy spend a lot of time with a chariot rider called Boas, helping him maintain the chariots. The duo added both to the suspect list before putting their focus back to the murder where they found out that the victim angered Damianus for feeding Hippomenes (Who was being refered as Domitus by the Colosseum) honeybuns which are toxic for lions, and that he got into the winchmen bad side by accidentally destroying the elevator while playing with it, getting all of them in trouble, which earned Mahmoud another interrogation. The duo got back to Norah and discussed the murder with her, only to get disrupted by hearing screams and roars coming from the backstage of the Colosseum.

Kaleb, Marionette and Norah went to check what was going on and saw that Hippomenes has went wild. Damianus tried to use his whip to get him into behaving but the lion grabbed it from him and scared the tamer away. Eventually the team calmed him down themselves but as soon as they were getting into an agreement with him, the guards of the Colloseum threw a net on him, stopping him from attacking anyone around him. After their encounter with the lion, Kaleb and Marionette returned to their investigation learning that the victim rode Boas’ favorite chariot without his permission, leading to its destruction and that Maddox fell out with the victim after Aegidius told him that he wants to be a gladiator when he grows, which Maddox found toan deaf as many gladiators were forced into this life. They also discovered that Flavian found Aegidius a nuisance, as he kept disrupting his gladiators’ practices, making them play with him instead of focusing on their training for upcoming matches. After collecting enough evidence, Kaleb and Marionette went to arrest Damianus for the murder.

Damianus acted offended by the murder accusations, but after Kaleb and Marionette presented their proof, he cracked and confessed that he killed Aegidius to protect his honor. He then shocked the duo by revealing that he had an intimate relationship with “Domitus” (Hippomenes) and that Aegidius caught him raping the lion. Obviously, the kid was horrified and ran out of the scene, making Damianus fear that he’ll snitch on him and his reputation as the “greatest” lion tamer in Rome would fade away. So while the winchmen were having a break, Damianus got into the cellar and waited until Aegidius would show up to feed the animals, and as soon as he got under the elevator, Damianus cut the ropes connecting the cage to the winches, making it fall over the boy and crush him to death. Disgusted, Kaleb and Marionette took Damianus to the authorities to receive his judgement.

After handing Damianus to the authorities, Kaleb and Marionette decided to go look for Norah and while they were searching, they met with Simona Severa. The duo were surprised to see her, but they decided to greet her and eventually asked her why she was at the Colosseum, believing her not to be the type to enjoy such games. Simona revealed that she wasn’t hear for the match, but to protect against its cruelty, and how slaves shouldn’t have their lives on the line just to entertain nobles. After having a conversation with Simona, the duo went back to looking for Norah and they found her. Norah was glad to see they were done investigating the murder, as she has a plan on how to free Hippomenes, but before she could share it, they were approached by the chariot rider- Boas who needed their help.

Wondering what Boas needs help with, Kaleb and Marionette agreed to go speak with him and ask what was wrong. Boas explained to the duo that some of the gladiators participating in today’s match are only good at range attacks, so in order to give them a fair shot in the arena, the lacista agreed to have them fight while mounting chariots, and throw their spears at the lion. Boas was supposed to be their rider, but his chariot is missing a wheel and he doesn’t have the time to make a new one. He revealed that he asked Aegidius to make one this morning, but he doesn’t know if he put it or whether he even did his task, so he asked the duo if they could look for the wheel for him. Kaleb and Marionette looked around the workshop and they did find a chariot wheel, but unfortunately it was broken. Luckily, the team had good technology with them and they managed to piece the wheel together, giving it back to Boas. After they helped Boas, Marionette thought about Wu Ming and she asked Kaleb if they could go talk to him. Resistant at first, Kaleb eventually agreed and so the two went to check on Ming. Ming was relieved to see them and the duo promised him that he and his fellow gladiators will be safe, but they begged him to try not to hurt the lion, unless it was necessary. Ming was reluctant, as he didn’t want to be a meal to the lion especially without a fight, but he promises the duo that he’ll try to survive the match without harming the lion.

Hoping to free Hippomenes today, Kaleb and Marionette went to see what Norah’s plan is, and she revealed it: She will participate in the match as a gladiator, drag it for as long as possible, while both them will find a way to open the Colosseum gates so the lion could make his escape. Kaleb protested against the idea, knowing the risks Norah is putting herself in, whether the lion attacks her or not, but seeing that they have no other plans, he eventually decided to go with it. But for the plan to work, they needed to find a disguise for Norah, so they head to the Ludus Magnus and began inspecting, finding a pile of weapons laying on the ground. The trio looked through the pile and they found a set of armor fitting for Norah’s frame. Norah wore the armor and put on a helmet to hide her face, and she was all ready to fight in the Colosseum. However, she wasn’t about to go just yet, as she needed to do one thing- Guarantee that Hippomenes won’t attempt to kill her. So the team snuck into the Colosseum underground cellars and decided to have a chat with the lion. When the lion saw them, he growled at them, believing they were a threat, but Norah calmed him down, claiming she just wants to talk. Norah then revealed to the lion that she knows who he is, and that she’s friends with his wife- Atalanta. Hippomenes then listened eagerly, and Norah told him that Atalanta is being kept at Graecita where she is well taken care of, and promised that they’ll get him out of here and take him back to her if he agrees not to harm her (Norah). The lion got excited and soon the team began hearing footsteps coming close to them, so Kaleb and Marionette went quickly to hide. The footsteps belonged to Flavian Lucretius, who spotted Norah and mistook her for a gladiator. Flavian was not happy to see one of his gladiators trying to escape the fight, so he yelled at Norah and ordered her to go back to her ranks. After they were both gone, Marionette and Kaleb came out and they began discussing what they should do. Kaleb assured Marionette that he’ll take the responsibility of opening the gates, and that he wants her to distract Flavian so that he doesn’t call for his guards to intervene while he and Norah are breaking Hippomenes out.

The match has started has started and the Imperial family finally arrived bringing Nebet and the ladies-in-waiting with them. Norah was dragged into the arena where she stood with the gladiators in their positions. The gladiators were nervous and when a gate opened revealing the lion to the arena, they all began running. Some of the gladiators, including Ming, hopped into Boas’ chariot and they fought the lion by throwing their spears- Ming deliberately missing as he promised the team. But because each one had only one spear, they had to get out to retrieve their weapons before heading back to the chariot- Some of them dying from the process. While the fight was going on, Marionette remembered her task and went to sit next to Flavian where they chatted about the match and even flirted a little. Suddenly, some of the visitors began waving flags and they began a protest against the games- Simona acting as the leader. Flavian was not pleased at seeing people protesting in the Colosseum, so he excuses himself from the conversation to have his guards throw the protestors out. With Flavian distracted by someone else, Marionette thought her job here was done, but she was soon approached by Sussus Amogus. Displeased, Marionette asked him why had he come to her and he answered her with the smirk, telling her that his mother went to see the crown prince and that he felt bored, so he decided to go seek company with her instead. He then brought up what had happened last night and asked Marionette if there is a chance they could meet up again to “give it another try”. Marionette refused and when Sussus asked for her reasons, she told him she is neither attracted to his looks or personality and that she only agreed to fuck her the first time as he made her believe he was well-endowed, when he is not. Sussus got offended and suggested that Marionette needed to lower her standard as every girl he’s fucked thought he was great. Marionette then asked him how many of those girls stuck around and in response Sussus told her he’s ditched them after getting what he wanted from them. Marionette then suggested that maybe all those girls lied about experiences to not hurt him, but Sussus refuses to believe this possibility, claiming that they all had orgasms in front of him. So, to put Sussus in his place, Marionette fakes an orgasm making half the audience stare at her. Some snickered at Sussus, which made him feel so embarrassed, he finally left Marionette alone and went back to his seat. Meanwhile, Livius is watching the show peacefully, sipping from a goblet of wine and he was approached by one of Claudilla’s ladies-in-waiting, who was holding a goblet similar to his. The lady flirted with him and subtly offered to be his queen, where Livius responded by asking her if she wasn’t aware he’s already engaged. Embarrassed, the lady-in-waiting sat back next to Claudilla and Livius took another sip of his wine. Nebet was watching the show in horror and not being able to take the gore of it, she ran from her seat and made an exit from the Colosseum. Sussus noticed her and believing she was pretty, he decided to follow her. Livius eventually notices his fiancée was missing and observed the Colosseum to find her, spotting her leaving with Sussus running after her, making his blood boil. Not wanting Sussus to hit on Nebet and “steal her” from him, Livius got up from his seat and followed them too. Meanwhile at the arena itself, only a few survivors remained: Boas (who was riding the chariot), his horse, Ming, Maddox, Norah and the lion himself. Hippomenes caught up Boas’ chariot and jumped on its horses, forcing it to stop. Scared, Boas got out from the chariot and went towards the audience, raising his hand for the senators to pull him up to save him. But instead the senators laughed at him and one even stepped on his hands when they managed to reach the steps. The lion eventually got near him and became beyond terrified, Maddox tried to use this an opportunity to take the lion by surprise, but Ming threw his spear at Maddox’ leg, making him fall and scream in pain. Before Hippomenes could kill Boas, Norah got in between them and calmed the lion down. Suddenly, one of the gates of the Colosseum opened and Norah nodded at the lion, confirming that this is his chance to escape. The lion immediately went for the chance, surprising the whole audience, and Norah followed after him knowing she’d get in trouble if she stayed at the arena. At that point, Flavian was aware of what happened and ordered his guards to go after the lion. The match was now over, Ming and Maddox survived and a number of guards came to bring them back to their cages. Marionette caught them dragging Ming and left her seat to go and stop them. Marionette reached them and starting yelling at the guards, asking why Ming isn’t being freed yet. The guards explained that surviving one fight is not enough to grant a gladiator his freedom and that he needs to bring to the Colosseum a certain amount of money before being able to buy his freedom. Marionette continued arguing with them and eventually realizing that she can’t free Ming, she pulled him from the guards and gave him a kiss. Ming was shocked- after being done kissing him, Marionette looked into his eyes and asked him to promise her he will survive. The guards dragged Ming away from her, and she turned, realizing that Kaleb was there the whole time and saw the kiss. He was heartbroken.

Meanwhile, Nebet was looking for a way out of the Colosseum but was suddenly approached by Sussus Amogus. Sussus started to flirt with her, making Nebet uncomfortable and she asked him who he is. When he gave her his name, she knew who he was and told him that the crown prince spoke a lot about him and he didn’t have pleasant things to say on him. Sussus thought Nebet must be a whore, and she corrected him by claiming the crown prince is her fiancé, making the nobleman laugh. When he suggested that she’s only marrying Livius for his title, she defended their engagement, announcing her love for the crown prince and how he’ll transform the empire into a better place and bring freedom to all its slaves. That made Sussus laugh ever harder, and he asked Nebet if she seriously thinks Livius would keep to his promise, and that he doesn’t have the balls to make this move and risk the fury of nobles. By now, Livius has found the two of them and was furious. Sussus tried to act friendly but Livius kicked him in the nuts and punched him on the face, scaring him into running away while holding into his balls. Livius then grabbed Nebet’s arm and was going to take her with him back to their seats, but Nebet refused and began crying. Tearful, Nebet begged him not to take her back here as she couldn’t tolerate seeing the gladiators getting killed and asked him to stop the fighting. Realizing how traumatized Nebet was, Livius felt bad for bringing her here and embraced her, apologizing for not considering how scary this was to her. He then decided that the two of them return to the palace, but suddenly, he collapsed. Nebet was horrified, she tried to get him up, but he was in so much pain and before he passed out, he told her to tell everyone that he’s been poisoned. Nebet did as he told her and went to the arena to announce what happened. The audience began panicking, Audenzia looked at the goblet the crown prince was drinking for, and realized someone has poisoned it so she immediately grabbed it.

Livius was rushes back to the palace. Thanks to Audenzia bringing the goblet with her, the team managed to come up with an antidote to save the crown prince. Nebet and the Imperial family gathered inside Livius’ bedroom waiting for him to wake up, until Carolus decided that they must leave the room. However, Audenzia chose to stay and take care of him. Claudilla acted snarky and told Audenzia that Livius isn’t going to take her back just because she stayed with him, and Audenzia responded by telling her that she knows and she doesn’t and yelled at her to get out. After they were gone, Audnezia bitterly wetted a piece of cloth and placed it on his forehead. Eventually, Livius woke up and the first person he asked about was Nebet. Audenzia assures him that Nebet is okay and that he needs to take a rest as he needs it to fight the poison. Livius did as she said and he apologized for the comments he made back at the orgy, and Audenzia promised him that she’s forgiven him and that he shouldn’t thing about it. Livius then decided to ask her for a favor, telling her that he is worried that whoever attempted to assassinate him might probably do it again and that he wants Nebet to be out of harm’s way. So he Audenzia to have someone take her to her sister where she would stay until the day of his coronation. Audenzia kissed Livius on the cheek and head to the rest of the Imperial family to tell them of the good news: Livius is awake. She then told everyone about his orders, which disappointed Nebet and she asked Audenzia what she has said to him. Audenzia assured her that she didn’t tell Livius anything and that he just wants to ensure her safety.

It was now nighttime and Norah finally came back to the palace where the team were waiting for her in their room. Kaleb asked about Hippomenes and she told him she looked around all of Rome but she couldn’t find him. Kaleb recommended that they look for him later and Shirley asked if anyone had asked them about her while they were at the Colosseum. Kaleb told her no and questioned on who she was hoping to hear from which made Shirley sigh and tell him it was “nobody”. Norah and Shirley decided to have a rest but Kaleb caught Marionette singing in the balcony and decided to approach her. Marionette pretended she didn’t see him and continued singing, so Kaleb announced that he will bury Yvette. Marionette became silent, and Kaleb hoped that it this moment she will take him back, but she didn’t say a word. Kaleb tried to reach for a kiss but Marionette turned him down and he became frustrated, asking her what else she wants to hear from him. Marionette eventually spoke up and told Kaleb that his promises mean nothing unless he acted on them, and that she doesn’t trust him to actually bury Yvette’s body. Kaleb insisted that he’s being truthful to her, but Marionette still refused to take him back until they return to Graecita and actually witnesses him going by his promise.

## Summary

### Victim

* **Aegidius** (Crushed to death by an elevator)

## Suspects

MahmoudDamianusMaddoxFlavian LucretiusBoas
## Quasi-suspects

Simona SeveraNorah of CambrightHippomenesWu MingSussus AmogusNebetGaius LiviusAudenzia DiodoraMarionette Patrick
## Killer’s Profile

* The killer knows physics.
* The killer eats beans.
* The killer uses chalk.
* The killer has facial hair.
* The killer was bitten by mosquitoes.