So I started my Servants of Gaius campaign set in Egypt last night. The adventure began in Rome, 38AD, during winter. The players had just been recruited into the Emperor's secret order "The Servii Gaii", and were requested by Pallas (Claudius' freedman) to investigate a dead body found on the banks of the Tiber--due to concerns the murder was related to Caligula's war on Neptune.

I should empasize here that they were asked to be discreet and not announce themselves as servants of the Emperor. They have no official imperium to throw around, but unnofficially they do thngs ike arrange arrests and (in some cases) executions.

So the PCs arrived to find a headless body of an Equestrian by the banks. Following clues, they discovered some leads and the identity of the victim (Gaius Publius). Publius knew the secret location of Cleopatra's tomb (passed down for generations in his family) and whoever killed him wanted that information and was also wrapped up in a conspiracy based in Alexandria involving a shipment of statues of Caligula from Ostia (basically the statues were to be placed in the Jewish temples to explode the tensions between Alexandian Greeks and Jews).

The PCs tracked down the ship carrying the statues and followed it tp Aegyptus (it had a two day lead). Arriving in port they found the ship but it was empty and its whole crew slaughtered (if they had asked witnesses they would have learned the attackers were legionaries). They went to a local magistrate to ask about the ship and what had occured.

One of the PCs immediately said they were on a mission from Rome and the Emperor's authority to investigate the criminals aboard the ship. So the magistrate said offered them an audience with the prefect. Because the prefect is in on the plot, and because they announced their affiliation with the emperor, he said he would aid their investigation and give them bodyguards. So he ordered a full century to escort them around the city and "protect" them from harm. So basically they are in the prefect's custody at this point.

Because the ship carrying statues had already arrived and placed its cargo in the temples, rioting and bloodshed was breaking out all over Alexandria (which is why the prefect used a full century to guard the PCs). While they did end up captured (and if they dont escape will be sent to the arena), the party learnef the location of cleopatra's tomb and also where the conspirators plan to bring the queen's body.