Marcus approaches Roberto, shortly after settling into his new home. "You come highly recommended, the Prima of Flambeau herself. I was sorry to have not met you when you arrived, but I was attending to some business." ((For convenience sake we will know Roberto knows some facts about Marcus. Marcus was not present at the meeting where Roberto was introduced to the magi of Mons Electi. Further, we will say that there was conversation to suggest that Marcus was not at the meeting that discussed Roberto coming on the recommendation of Ariel. So...))
Wouldn't this fit better in 1226.4?
Regardless...
[color=brown]Greetings. I am Roberto Rodriguez of Flambeau. How can I help you?
Nah... it happens in the autumn, sometime after Roberto has at least made himself acquainted with his surroundings.
Marcus is a rather ugly individual, and his robes are clearly seen to drag on the ground, and fall behind him as he moves forward. He doesn't appear to walk, either, and instead glides. His legs apparently end at the knees. "I am not presently in need of assistance. It's my understanding that your arrival here met with some difficulty. Bandits or something?"
[color=brown]I am assisting you by answering your question 
. Hermetic bandits. Yes. I plan to put an end to it.
What happened to you? If you don't mind my asking.
"Not at all, my good man. Jinn. In the Levant. It happened a long time ago." Despite his comments, it appears he doesn't want to go into it, or that saying Jinn is sufficient to communicate understanding. Of course, he's a Tytalus, he does what he wants, and answers to no one.
"They weren't bandits, not really. Calefacto's orders weren't to see you, they were to see me, and then I was to tell you what your mission here was. Garus and Apollodorus were close. Ariel has managed to secure those letters between Garus and Apollodorus. However, they were written with some kind of cipher and she thinks that the cipher can be determined or discovered here. I have reasons to suspect she's correct."
He smiles at Roberto, "And that is all the assistance I require of you, Roberto. I leave you to whatever tasks you were undertaking, and I shall not trouble you further." He begins floating off.
((You can make an awareness roll, or if you think you see what's happening here, you can RP through it.))
As I am not sure what Roberto should be percieving or understanding, I will take the roll.
Perception 0, Awareness 1 (alert), and then Roberto rolls a 6, for a total of 7.
I was trying to convey it through the dialogue rather than describing how he was saying it...quality of voice, etc.
He was brusque, and rather direct at first. His questions were pointed and leading. Describing his tone of voice initially: it was business-like and direct.
And then your comment about assisting him by answering his questions...
He became extremely nice and friendly, and describing his tone of voice, which I didn't at the beginning of this thread, because I was trying to convey it through dialogue. So, his tone of voice changed to be as sweet as honey, polite and less brusque and confrontational. And then he was done, and began moving off.
How do Tytali treat those they respect?
As equals? Peers?
A Tytalus!?
Basically, Marcus is showing Roberto a small measure of respect, but is being a bit too polite. Roberto was a bit impolite and he is going the other way. And saying your assisting someone when your are being asked some very leading questions, generally, is not amgoodmidea. So Maecus is willing to let Roberto figure out things for himself, without the assistance he can provide. And he pretty much came out and told you he was the method that Ariel would make things known...
Origin of a Phrase
"Hello, how can I help you?" is they way I answer the phone. Especially if I don't know who it is &/or suspicious about the call. I have been doing it so long it is a matter of habit.
I picked it up from my uncle (mother's brother' Greek side of my family which is the only side I associate with mainly).
My uncle is a classic character, to say the least. He taught me it was a neutral non-commital way to answer. You give them no information and you set them up to control the conversation.
Whatever they say next, you have the option to say "Sorry, I can't help you."
Example:
"How can I help you?"
"May I speak to Mark Faulkner?"
"May I ask who's calling?"
"Bill Collector/IRS/FBI/Satan."
"Sorry, I can't help you."
No lies or preverication involved. I can even add "May I take a message?".
At no time did I deny being Mark. Nor did I admit it. Or even if I know the caller, I might say it out of habit, or refrain from touching the tar-baby by placing a buffer after hello. Like when my uncle calls (he does the same often).
Roberto has been using it in a similar way. As a buffer and premptive inquiry. To control the conversation. He said answering the question counted as helping the guy as a sorta friendly smarmy way of telling the guy that.
So, analyizing that, and figuing the guy understood what I was doing, I suppose he respects that.
I'm guessing anyway.
The Maimonis family has many traits that one would find in magi of Tytalus as well as Flambeau.
Am I accurate?
Sure.
He who can destroy a thin controls the thing. You think Marcus doesn't recognize that?
He respects Roberto's determination to handle things on his own terms, so much so that he is letting Roberto do so.
Marcus isn't judging Roberto's desire to pound sand. No.. Really. He. Isn't.
Here's the scenario as it has played out, so far.
Guy comes to Roberto, seeks him out.
Tells Roberto some information he knows.
Roberto proceeds to be difficult. Suggesting that Marcus is the one being assisted. Marcus doesn't need assistance, thankyouverymuch, so he determines the easiest way to complete his duties and arrives at his last statement in the dialogue. And he is now floating offstage.
Wait, he's offstage. Meaning it is now incumbent upon Marcus to do something if he wants to try and assist Marcus some more... 
Roberto was totally being friendly 
I totally offered to help him and never asked how he could help me.
This is why the Flambeau and Tytali cannot get along despite being so similar. See, I the player am reacting to my instinctive caution regarding the tar-baby. Roberto is suspicious of Tytalus magi. These combined with the fact that you guys keep warning me ooc that this is the guy set up to whip me at Dimicatio (and the name of the chapter) had me all suspicious of the guy.
I can out Tytalus him if I gotta 
And he was very helpful indeed. Another clue. And now I know he is an ally (you guys had occ set him up as an enemy unwittingly).
And so he has to seek me out if he wants me to help him more or provide me with what I need to help him the way I am doing now. I am fine with that.
Or maybe I am just making excuses...
I could give two shakes about your motivation as a player, but that would be a bit too much effort.
Do what you like. I responded, in character, to what you presented in character. This is now veering into a place where I'm finding it to be less fun, and doesn't do anything to advance the story. I'm feeling as if you, the player, are trying to play me, rather than play the game or your player.
Marcus is happy to leave Roberto to his tasks, and has no issue with the desire of any man who wishes to take on his challenges without assistance. It is a very Tytalian thing to do, and deserves the utmost respect. Marcus will be noting this in his report to Ariel, indicating that he has satisfied her request, and that Roberto is fully prepared to undertake the assigned task.
Alright, I'm a bit more coherent now. I'm going to leave my last reply up. It was a bit incoherent, but it withstands my scrutiny in the morning light. It might be a bit more sarcastic or tart, but what do you expect from someone up as late as I was last night, typing on my iPad while in bed with a daughter who had stomach bug, and who (I) had also spent the previous night in urgentcare for an infection on my big toe. I was and may still be a bit cranky.
You, as in Marko, are trying to play me, as the SG, and not playing the game, or the circumstances presented. Why? Granted, I said that Roberto could know some facts about Marcus, I was more than willing to let you define those facts, and it appears you did. Marcus is generally a genial person, his area of conflict is differently focused than most Tytalus. He pretty much came out of nowhere and won the last Tribunal's Dimicatio.
You're applying a fair amount of (incorrect) OOC information[1] to your characterization of what you think Marcus is doing or going to do here. Yes, you are certainly free to do that, and I certainly entitled this particular thread so you could have some expectation of what you might be able to do here. So Roberto responds to Marcus's declaration that he needs no assistance, with a pert answer. That's fine. And then Roberto attempted to change the subject. That's fine, too. At that moment, Marcus (and I assume the person of my characters to the greatest extent possible) switched modes. He decided that he wasn't going to put up with Roberto's pert attitude, and he did it with kindness. You're certainly free to adopt the position that any character (NPC or otherwise) who approaches Roberto while holding open the hand of friendship is going to have Roberto smack it away, or get smart. As my wife likes to say, no one likes a smart butt. And I know that all too well.
Marcus wasn't looking for information from you, he was your designated contact, and you totally peed in his Wheaties. So, I repeat, what happens next is entirely up to Roberto. I am not going to change Marcus's actions[2], because it's not true to his character. You may, as a player, characterize him as a puto, to borrow a phrase you used elsewhere, but that would be an incorrect assumption.
[1]As far as what happens in the Dimicato, Marcus will be in a different portion of the ladder than Roberto. If no one else steps up to run the Tournament, I'll be running it, and what happens to Marcus will be more random. It is possible that Roberto and Marcus could meet in the finals. Or not. Though no one else knows this, as players, but might they might have been able to figure this out: Marcus is in a cabal to fix the Tournament. The motivations of the cabal, his status within it, or his own personal ambition/purpose have yet to be settled. He's already fixed the Tournament's result once. He may see no need to undertake a repeat performance. Or maybe he's going to try do something on a grander scale... Who knows, certainly the characters don't know any of this.
[2]I merely pulled back the curtain to demonstrate that my NPCs have their own motivations, and I set them on a course, establish their personalities and then act accordingly. Sometimes I give course corrections, but I think it out...long and hard. Like what I did with Ra'am and Ulrich.
Jonathan, you misunderstand me. I am not trying to play you. Just explaining myself and what little I understood. That's all. I also like talking about myself and drawing analogies from my personal life.
In many ways, Roberto is what I wish I could be: bold, forceful, confident, and strong.
So I ask you to take a step back. I will too. What is fun for me may be annoying to you. I need to redirect and use different protocol.
I'm not upset. I might be cranky, since I noted that. I try really hard to divorce myself from the characters I write.
Whatever happens next, the ball is in Roberto's court. He can go directly to Marcus, with hat in hand, so to speak, or he can go through the route of the Prima. Regardless of what has happened, Roberto now knows for certain, if he's going to trust that what Marcus is saying is the truth, that Calefacto was jobbed, big time.
hmmm...
Is it a Hermetic crime to bust a magus outta jail? Probably, but that may be a gray area.
Roberto would prefer working with someone that appreciates his assistance. That is me trying to keep in character. It would probably be better to go to Marcus hat in hand. I know that as a player. But Roberto would probably feel otherwise.
Calefacto has been released on his own recognizance, or will be if Valerian is to be believed. They will retain an AC to him, and it will likely be fixed (see my house rules regarding fixed ACs). He is expected to appear at Tribunal, he may, of course, be tried in absentia, but that's pretty close to saying, hey, it's ok to March me. 
Roberto can do as he wish, seriously. Marcus did as he wished, and as much as was required of him. Roberto has a better idea of what the score is, and the fact that there are a couple of Tyatlus assisting the Prima of Flambeau...
You can try and uncover some additional facts about the events and personalities Roberto has been exposed to, beyond what I've already explained. Talking to other PCs could be done, too. I'm thinking of merging the posts you've done in Enter the Kangaroo over here, since they are applicable. And of course, the actions Roberto undertakes may affect what he does for the seasons leading up to the Tribunal. I outlined three possible paths for Roberto to take based on Marcus's revelation. And these events are closely tied to the actions Roberto is taking in Kangaroo. So close, they probably need to be merged, and that time frame retconned to this time frame. It's not reasonable that Marco would wait around for a few seasons having learned what he learned just now, and this is possibly the impetus for action over in Kangaroo.
Well, I suppose I need to seek out Marcus for help after all. Is he still around? If not, maybe Korvin or another can help me.
Whomever it may be, Roberto asks
[color=brown]How can I contact Califacto? Where can he be found?
Marcus hasn't gone far, he doesn't glide all that fast. "Presently? I'm not sure. If Valerian's word can be trusted, and I see no reason why he can't be in this area, he will be released to his own devices. He is living at Val Negra. I'm unsure if he is a member of the covenant, or occupying a Protected Guest status, much as I am here. Never thought enough about it to care, or ask."
He smiles at Roberto, "Or are you asking me to find his exact location right now?"