The Toga Detective IV The Mystery of the Exploding Mountain

1. The Toga Detective IVThe Mystery of the Exploding Mountain Tiberius takes over and solves one of the biggest cases yet… The Interactive Game Begin 

2. Hades • You arrive in a dark, featureless place, a denarius in your hand. Hades himself comes to greet you. • “Sorry, but somewhere along the way, you managed to get yourself killed. I’m feeling pretty nice today, so before you pay your coin to get across the River Styx, I’ll let you have a choice. You can go back to the beginning of this explosive adventure, or you can come along with me to the underworld. What do you want to do?” • Go back to the beginning Go with Hades 

3. Welcome • You, Tiberius Lucretius, have taken over your dad’s post in the ‘Vespillo Family Detective Agency’. Vespillo’s getting old and he wants to relax and enjoy the Imperial presents he’s collected over the years, so he gave the business to you and now it’s thriving. Cases have come in from all over the Empire, and Emperor Vespasian has asked for you on more than just the Flavian adventure. You remember it fondly, as it was your first case at the age of thirteen. You’re 22 now and you plan on keeping the agency for a very long time. • You hear about the mountain exploding and destroying the area around the Bay of Neapolis, and you are devastated. You had many friends around there, and your dad was buddies with a cool guy called Lucius Caecilius. His son Quintus was one of your BFFs. And now they’re probably both dead! The news hits you hard, but you never expected there was a mystery behind Vesuvius… • Continue 

4. A new case • A messenger runs into your study, where you’re just sorting out some paperwork. He is breathless and he says he has an urgent message. • ‘Emperor Vespasian’s son Titus says he needs to see you. It’s a very important matter and he’s got a cart ready to take you to Rome immediately. Titus has an important case for you, but he needs to give it to you in person!’ • You hurry and get your stuff ready, interested to know what the case is. Why is the Emperor’s son asking you to do a case, especially in the wake of the disastrous Vesuvius explosion? Surely the Imperial family are focused on other matters? • Go to Rome 

5. Rome • You arrive in Rome, which is even better than the time you went when you were thirteen. The Flavian is still not finished, but there are no ancient kings rising to seek revenge. You make your way to the Imperial Palace and gain entry, finding Vespasian’s son beckoning you into a private room. Titus sits you down on a plush recliner and talks to you. • “I’ve heard my dad say some scary stuff,” he says. “He’s mentioned Pompeii, and power, and fire, and I’ve been finding chicken entrails everywhere. I think he had something to do with Vesuvius exploding– it was more than an unexpected natural event, and the gods definitely didn’t make it happen. Vespasian’s more involved in it than he’s letting on.” • “That’s preposterous!” “Go on…” 

6. Stupidity • You like to think you know Vespasian very well, and you are sure that he would never do something like that. With the amazing presents he’s given you, it’s impossible to think that he caused Vesuvius to explode, or whatever Titus is alluding to! You laugh in his face and get up, cursing him for wasting your precious time. You had many cases piling up for you to solve, and this bumbling fool has made you travel hundreds of miles just to tell you one of his crackpot theories! • “Excuse me…?” he splutters, going red with anger. “Did you just curse me? I am a more powerful sorcerer than you, so don’t even think of cursing me!” He waves his hands around his head, summoning the power of almighty Zeus. A lighting-bolt flashes down onto your head and fries you. • Continue 

7. An inside job • “I think Pompeii was an inside job!” Titus exclaims. “And I want you to see the extent of his meddling, and bring my dad to justice. I have great rewards for you, seeing as I’m the Emperor’s son and everything. How are you going to go about solving the mystery?” • “I will collect evidence by talking to survivors, eyewitnesses and asking around.” • “I will go to the ruins of Pompeii and see for myself what happened.”

8. To Pompeii • You decide that going and seeing the ruins for yourself will give you a better clue of Vespasian’s involvement in the explosion. You get a cart and take the long journey to the city. Unsurprisingly, the roads are quiet. • You’re not prepared for the sheer amount of devastation that Vesuvius has caused. The city is in ruins, and only a few buildings rise over the horizon. There is no one to be found– who would want to visit at this time anyway? You feel a little tear coming to your eye, but you wipe it away. A man like you can not be crying like a little girl! • You walk up to the city gates, only to find them locked. There are bodies of guards still standing up, encased in ash. It’s a chilling sight, but you’ll have to get used to it. • Break in 

9. In the city • You use brute force to open the gates, which give way with little resistance. They’ve been fried by the explosion so they’re quite weak. • You step on a pile of ash-covered bodies which are piled up just behind the gates. You scream and brush bits of dead people off your sandal. You find it a bit odd that the gates were locked in the first place, and you deduce that this is why the people are piled up next to them. You note this observation in your notebook. • Now where are you going to look? • Mount Vesuvius itself The forumThe insulae • The rich villasDown the streets

10. The mountain • You start walking to the mountain, realising that this will take a long time. You notice a thick line of burnt black stuff leading to the city, and you note this down in your notebook. You feel a little uncomfortable as you get closer to the mountain, as it is really hot. You take off your toga and leave it on the ground. It was never one of your favourites anyway. • Soon you’re treading through the ruined vineyards and fields around the mountain. All you notice is a pervading smell of olive oil, but you assume that olives were grown here. You take a little sample of ash and smell it, and it really does smell of olive oil. It’s too strong to be just down to olive-growing. Even though it seems insignificant, you write it down. • Climb the mountain 

11. Climbing • You start to climb Vesuvius, the top of which is still smouldering from the explosion. You are quite scared because you think it’s going to explode again, but you suck it up and carry on. You notice the black line of burnt objects is still there, and it seems to go all the way up to the top of the mountain. Then you catch sight of a little glimmer far to your right, which intrigues you. Do you… • Investigate Carry on climbing 

12. The Summit • You follow the black trail and reach the top of the mountain after many, many hours. You’re tired, hungry and thirsty, but the views are incredible. You wish there was some sort of way to capture what you see without having to draw it and lose all of the splendour, with your rubbish drawing skills. • The smoke coming out of Vesuvius is really hot, and it singes your eyebrows off. Your skin feels hot and sweaty, and the hot smoke burns some of your arm. As you lean in to have a closer look, your tunic catches fire and you are quickly engulfed in flames. You start running around like a maniac, trying to put it out, but you slip and fall into the crater of the mountain, killing you instantly. • Continue 

13. Shiny… • You climb towards the shiny thing and you nearly fall as your foot knocks over a precariously-placed ledge of soil. The glimmer turns out to be a pickaxe, which is charred and falls to pieces as you pick it up. You dig around a bit and come across a shovel, which also disintegrates when you touch it. You notice they are in a fairly deep hollow, and above them is the remains of what looks like a soily, rocky ledge. Maybe someone was caught in the explosion and they dug a little cave to get away from the ash? It’s unlikely, as you don’t see even the remains of a bone. You write this down in your notebook. What are you going to do now? • Go to the forum Go to the insulae  • Investigate the rich villas Go down the streets 

14. The forum • The forum does not have many bodies in it, and there are the charred remains of a few market stalls. The temples and governmental buildings line the edges of the forum, and most of them are burnt shells. You creep in and look around, terrified of the eerie silence. Suddenly something grabs your ankle and starts pulling you away. You call for help and turn to see an old man trying to pull you towards him. His face is burnt and scowling, and from his throat comes a disgusting growl. • “Come here, detective!” he grumbles. “I am so hungry, and you look so tasty! I’ve been here for weeks, and finally I have someone to keep me company… or make a tasty meal!” • He’s going to eat you! What do you do? • Kill himIncapacitate himBeat him half to death • Try to reason with himGive him one of your hands to eat • Give him moneyAsk him for evidence for your case

15. Die! • You’re thankful you brought a sword with you, and you run him through. Sadly, it only gets him through the shoulder, and that just angers him further. He clamps his teeth onto your juicy calf and tries to eat you raw, so you kick him in the face, breaking his nose. You sit up with great effort and swing your sword around. The blade sinks into his neck and beheads him. The gross, bearded, rabid head rolls onto your lap, the tongue flopping out. You’ve defeated him and you’re only left with a bite mark! Good going Tiberius! • Continue exploring the building 

16. Incapacitate! • You don’t want to kill the man, but you want him to be unable to eat you. You don’t quite have the heart to beat him up, so you swiftly execute an arm-breaking move. His elbow cracks and you jump up and run away. The old man is still conscious, and angry, so he runs after you. You turn around and hit him round the head, knocking him out. Phew. He’ll probably wake up soon and he’ll want revenge, so you tie him up with your tunic’s belt. • Continue exploring the building 

17. Beat! • You get your thug on and start punching him. He lets go of your leg and curls up in a ball to defend himself. You continue punching, your signet ring cutting him quite deeply. The old man wails in pain and tries to fight back, but you are too strong and eventually the man is reduced to a quivering, bleeding pulp. It was just a ruse, however, and he counter-attacks ferociously, poking your eyes and blinding you. Now you can’t see a thing, and you realise all too late that you’re being seasoned and parboiled. • Continue 

18. Reason! • You ask what you can do to stop him eating you. He simply spits at you and starts rubbing you with ash, which apparently makes for a tasty flavour. You plead with him and tell him that you’ve got a wife and kids (which you don’t) who will miss you if you’re eaten. He doesn’t care, and he scores your chest and rubs in some oil. Then he ties you up and places an apple in your mouth. He drags you to the top of Mount Vesuvius and holds you over the crater, which smokes you nicely. You are still painfully alive, and the old man chops off your hands and feet. Then he chops off your head, and you die. • Continue 

19. Hand! • You hastily chop off one of your hands and throw it to the old man. He lets go of you and starts nibbling on your fingers. You stare at your stump, crying, and run away. You look through the building, your stump bleeding loads, until you die of blood loss. • Continue 

20. Money! • “I don’t need your money!” he shouts as you pelt him with denarii. You’re dragged further and further into his clutches until you are practically hugging him. He prepares you for cooking and soon you are a fragrant, tender roast. • Continue 

21. Evidence! • You take out your notebook and try to ask him what he saw when Vesuvius exploded. He ignores you and starts eating you from the feet upwards. The bottom half of your legs is soon gone, and you finally struggle out of his grasp. You crawl away and distract the man by throwing him one of your fingers. He stops and eats it up, but then continues his pursuit. There is no way you’re going to escape, especially with half your legs missing, so you give up and let him eat you. • Continue 

22. Exploring • You carry on looking through the government building. It seems like the windows have been knocked out, because there are stones just inside next to every window. Someone must have purposely smashed them, so you write this down on a fresh page of your notebook. You also notice lots of fire damage and next to the stones, some burnt-out torches. Did someone set fire to the building on purpose? You write this down in your notebook. • Where are you going to go now? • Mount Vesuvius itself The insulaeThe rich villas • Down the streets

23. The Insulae • You look around the remains of the insulae, which didn’t survive very well after the disaster. There is just rubble, and the remains of hundreds of amphorae. You don’t find the amphorae weird, just the fact that they’re all in these houses weird! Usually amphorae would be in a wine shop or a rich person’s house, and even then not this many of them. You see one that’s still intact, and it’s full to the brim with wine. There is one next to it that’s full of olive oil. You note down this curious find. Where are you going to go now? • The mountainThe forumThe rich villas • Down the streets

24. Rich peoples’ villas • The villas have survived better than the insulae, because they were built with more care. You scrub away some of the ash off one of the walls and see a slightly faded frieze, which you admit is beautiful. Then you remember that this was the exact same frieze that graced the walls of your friend Quintus’ house! You look through the villa and find a fallen wall blocking your path. Under it is a body, and the unmistakable facial wart tells you it’s Lucius Caecilius! You put a coin in his ash-covered mouth, even though it’s probably too late and he’s standing at the banks of the Styx trying to haggle with Charon. • The whole place is quite eerie, but you take some notes and discover that outside every villa is a couple of amphorae, or the remains of them. The intact ones are filled, one with wine and one with olive oil. • Go to another rich villa 

25. Villa • You go into another villa and nearly trip over the mosaic floor, which is completely overturned. In the middle of the floor is a massive crater and a hole, and it looks like someone’s blown it up from underneath. Do you… • Carry on looking through the house  • Go down the hole and explore 

26. The hypocaust • You jump down the hole and enter the hypocaust, which is still really hot. It’s not too ruined, but you have to take off your tunic to cool you down. You find the furnace where the heat comes from and you see the remains of absolutely tons of logs. There are even little ashy rings around the hypocaust that look like the remains of fires! On the day of the disaster, the occupants of this house must have been absolutely roasting. But it was summer! Who would even have the hypocaust on? • When you explore more villas, you see that this is true for every single one. All the hypocausts were turned on really hot. Where to now? • Go to the mountain Go to the insulae  • Go to the forum Go down the streets 

27. Exploring • You carry on exploring, thinking the hole would probably lead you to your death. Who knows what– or wh0– could be down there!? • The villa is covered in ash, and there are the bodies of the family clustered around the lararium– the shrine to the household gods. This sight brings a tear to your eye. • Then you see movement from one of the ash-covered bodies. Thank the gods! One of them is still alive! There’s a raspy voice coming from the biggest body, asking you for help. Do you… • Help them Ignore them 

28. Hallucinations? • No one could be alive now! You must be hallucinating. You knew not to try those mushrooms you saw on the way here… • Then you keel over, the mushrooms’ poison taking over your body. You start vomiting, and your fingers and toes turn black and fall off. You hallucinate even more, seeing Lucius Caecilius and Quintus coming to save you, and a massive cup of wine which is overflowing and drowning you… • Suddenly you die. • Continue 

29. Ash • You kneel down and start to brush the ash off the body. It’s laid on really thick, and it’s really hard to get it off. You scrape it away with your hands, and you start coughing as you inhale big lungfuls of it. You find it hard to breathe all of a sudden. You battle through it and eventually free the person, who is only just alive. You feel like you’re drowning on dry land, as the ash has settled inside your lungs and turned into cement. Collapsing, you wish you’d never got into this messy business. • Continue 

30. The streets • You wander down the streets of Pompeii, trying to ignore the freaky bodies littering the ground. You notice hundreds, of not thousands, of broken amphorae outside houses and shops. You write this down in your notebook and find it very peculiar. As well as this, you see piles of what look like burnt logs absolutely everywhere. Next to them you often see a burnt-out torch, meaning that someone was lighting fires on purpose! Why? Was Titus right about this being an inside job? • “Speak of Hades…” you think as Titus’ guards march up to you. • “It’s getting late and we’ve been ordered to collect you and take you back to Rome.” You reply… • “No, I want to look at the rich villas, or climb the mountain, or go to the insulae, or go to the forum.” • “Yes, I am ready to solve this case.” • “Yes, I’ve been everywhere in the city, but I need to collect evidence from eyewitnesses and survivors first.”

31. En route • The guards take you away and put you in a cart. The road is bumpy and the journey is long, but you use this time to look through your notebook. • Gates of city locked, bodies piled up just inside, trying to escape. • Line of burnt objects from city to mountain, manmade. • Strong smell of olive oil on mountainside, however did not notice a huge amount of olive trees. • Pickaxe and shovel in a deep hollow/cave. Unlikely to be shelter as no bones found. Equipment disintegrated upon touch. • Hollow/cave underneath dangerous ledge. Equipment was used to make ledge perhaps? • Stones and burnt-out torches thrown through windows of government buildings. Someone has tried to set fire to them. • Hundreds of broken amphorae around insulae, intact ones filled with wine or olive oil. • More amphorae in rich peoples’ villas. • Floor of villa seems to have been exploded. • Hypocaust seems to have been turned on really hot on day of disaster, remains of fires everywhere. On such a hot day, what was the point? • Perhaps the floor was exploded by the heat of the hypocaust??? • Streets filled with yet more amphorae. Why are they everywhere? • Piles of logs and burnt-out torches litter street. Someone has set fire to them, perhaps the same person as the one who smashed government buildings’ windows? • Suspecting Titus was right, these things are too strange to be a coincidence. • To Rome 

32. Oral accounts • You get out onto the streets of Rome and see the city bustling. You don’t know what the best option for getting eyewitnesses or survivors is, but you have lots of things to do. After placing a graffiti sign on a public wall, you get many enquiries from people who were there. There are loads of people waiting outside your inn to be interviewed. Who do you talk to first? • A slave from a rich person’s houseA soldier • A rich manA gladiatorA shopkeeper • A random plebA wine-makerAn election candidate

33. Slave • You bring the slave in and ask him if he saw anything strange on the day of, or the days leading up to, the disaster. • “Well this man, who was wearing… I think, a black hooded cloak, came up to me and offered me 100 denarii– yeah, 100 denarii!– to turn up the hypocaust really high for the next few days, which were the days before the mountain exploded. On the day of the disaster, the hypocaust was baking hot. The guy never told me why he wanted me to do it, but the money was great.” • Talk to more people 

34. People • Who do you talk to? • A slave from a rich person’s houseA soldier • A rich manA gladiatorA shopkeeper • A random plebA wine-makerAn election candidate • No one, I’m finished 

35. Soldier • “I work for the Emperor,” he says. “and I was sent on a special mission to Pompeii. My centurion told me to stand outside the city gates and if anyone tried to get out, kill them. It was horrible, because there were people just inside the gates, banging and screaming to get out. The gates were locked as well! What was the Emperor thinking, not letting anyone out? Surely his best interest should be the welfare of his citizens? The whole Imperial family is messed up. Bring back Claudius, I say.” • Talk to more people 

36. Rich man • You ask him if he noticed anything unusual around the time of the disaster. • “A couple of days before, this man in a black hooded cloak came to my door and tried to give me these amphorae, one filled with olive oil and one filled with wine. I sent him away, because I thought he was a murderer, trying to kill me with those poisoned amphorae. The next day, I saw the scoundrel had pulled the same trick with all the houses on the street, and there were amphorae outside all our houses! When the mountain exploded, the heat of it made the amphorae explode, which was deadly! Lethal! Do you think the man put them there because he wanted them to explode? He might have been a soothsayer…” • Talk to more people 

37. Gladiator • He doesn’t look like he fared too well after the disaster, as he is covered in burns and cuts. • “I was trying to restore some order during the event, so I was helping people get to shelter and herding them down the streets. Some idiot thugs thought it would be funny to light fires in the middle of the streets and have people fall into them! I sorted them out soon enough, but not after many lives had been claimed by their ridiculous fires. It was as if they wanted the disaster to be worse, and wanted all the buildings around the place to catch fire! If they hadn’t done that, I’m sure the city would look a lot better.” • Talk to more people 

38. Shopkeeper • “I noticed this little black-cloaked man walking up and down my street lugging amphorae about, placing them outside the shops. He got to me and handed me two smallish amphorae, one filled with wine and one filled with olive oil. I said ‘thank you very much’ because I didn’t want to decline free stuff! But when the mountain exploded the amphorae went BOOM and nearly killed me. It must have been the heat or something.” • He pauses, then adds something: “I also saw a massive avalanche of soil going right down the side of the mountain, and it knocked down quite a lot of the city!” • Talk to more people 

39. Random pleb • The pleb looks a little shaken and she’s obviously still scared by the disaster. You reassure her and use your Vespillo charm to calm her down. She starts to flirt with you, then tells her story. • “As you can imagine, Tiberius Lucretius, lots of people wanted to escape from the city. All the people from my insula ran to the gates, but they were locked! These men wearing black hooded cloaks stabbed people that tried to break open the gates. Eventually someone opened them, but they were killed by some soldiers standing outside. We managed to escape by breaking the walls down with a massive tree trunk. The black-cloaked men followed us and tried to get us back to the city, like they wanted us to die! Awful!” • Talk to more people 

40. Wine-maker • The wine-maker looks a little disgruntled as you take him in. • “A day before the explosion, I was working in my vineyard, checking out this year’s grape harvest. Then I saw this group of black-cloaked hooligans running about with jugs of something, which they were splashing on all the vineyards and fields on the mountainside. When they got to my vineyard, I threatened them with a beating, but they went ahead and poured this stuff all over my grapes. When I inspected it, it turned out to be olive oil. I thought, ‘why are they doing that?’ until the mountain exploded, when I saw the entire mountainside on fire. The olive oil combusted in the extreme heat and ruined all the crops! How did those people know that was going to happen? It’s sorcery if you ask me…” • Talk to more people 

41. Election candidate • “I was running for aedile at the time, and on the day of the disaster I was preparing a speech in one of the government buildings. Suddenly a rock flew through the window and after it, a flaming torch. We made to put it out, but at that moment Vesuvius exploded and we had to watch as the torch set everything in the building on fire. Some thug had done it on purpose!” • Talk to more people 

42. More evidence • You finish your last interview and you’ve collected some interesting notes. You have enough evidence from eyewitnesses and survivors now, so you think the best way to find out if Vespasian was involved in the disaster is to go to the Imperial Palace and do a bit of snooping. How will you go about it? • Barge right in and confront Vespasian  • Disguise yourself as a slave and eavesdrop on his conversations  • Ask a few of his close friends and political allies  • Get Titus to confront Vespasian 

43. Arrest? • You storm into the Imperial Palace, stabbing anyone that tries to stop you. You find Vespasian in his bedroom with his wife and you throw her out of the bed, plonking yourself down next to the naked Emperor. You tell him you think he caused Pompeii to be destroyed, and you demand some sort of explanation. • “What are you talking about?” he yells. “Why are you in here? What are you doing? TIBERIUS??? Is that you?” He calls for some Praetorians, who come and execute you for treason. • Continue 

44. Tiberius the slave • You take off your toga and put some dirt on your face, making you look a little more like a slave. You walk around the Imperial Palace, not getting any strange looks. You need to know where Vespasian is, so you pick up a random pile of clean togas and ask a Praetorian where the Emperor is. He asks you why you need to know, so you explain that you need to deliver these togas to him. He points you in the right direction, and you find yourself outside Vespasian’s study. You press your ear into the door and listen in. • Eavesdrop 

45. Eavesdropping • “Very good soothsaying, Nocturna,” Vespasian says. • “Thank you. I had to read many chicken entrails to find out the date of the disaster,” a gravelly voice replies. • “Now Pompeii is gone and Rome can breathe a sigh of relief. Thankfully no one has suspected our black-cloaked saboteurs, or even suspected me!” • This is incriminating evidence! What should you do? • Barge in and arrest him!  • Keep listening  • Go and find more evidence 

46. Arrest! • You rush in and accuse Vespasian of destroying Pompeii. • “You can’t do that… first, I’m the Emperor, no one bosses me about. Except the Senate. But that’s another story. Second, I didn’t destroy Pompeii, the mountain did! I simply helped it to kill more people!” • “Away!” Nocturna says, pure red-hot fire dancing out of her fingertips. You are engulfed in flame and soon burn to death. • Continue 

47. More eavesdropping • You keep listening in, but after a minute you hear nothing. Then there are footsteps, and Nocturna and Vespasian open the door. They trip over you and look down to see you eavesdropping. They are shocked, and Vespasian kills you on the spot. • Continue 

48. More evidence • You walk away from the room and go elsewhere. As you walk down a corridor, a table coughs. Then there’s a voice, which hisses “Ti… Ti… Ti!” You look around, confused, then the table screams “TIBERIUS!” You find Titus crouching behind the table. • “Are you ready to solve the case?” he asks. • “Yes, I’m ready!” • “No, I need to find more evidence in the Palace by talking to Vespasian’s friends and allies.” • “No, I need to go to Pompeii to collect more information.”

49. Confrontation • You go to Titus’ room and ask him to confront the Emperor for you. He goes into Vespasian’s study and you hear lots of shouting, then a messy-sounding thud. You walk in to see Titus’ dead body on the floor and the Emperor quickly coming for you, a blood-stained club in his hand. You are hit once on the head and you fall unconscious, and it takes Vespasian three more hits to finally kill you. • Continue 

50. Friends and allies • You go and find some senators, who are all having a nice dinner. They invite you to sit down and you ask them what they know about Vespasian and Pompeii. • “Before the disaster, Pompeii was very powerful,” one of them says. “Some say they were going to become the new capital of the Empire!” • “Vespasian has asked us on many a Senate meeting what to do about it, but no one came up with a good idea. The disaster was almost too well-timed to be a coincidence.” another one says. • You thank them and leave. • Go 