Episode 12.3.b
>The Praetorium of the Societas Potentium, Aegyptus, 80 CE<
The stone door swings inward without a sound. It is enormous, and the guard moves it with one hand.
He is a man of middle years with a gray beard. He looks like a Roman veteran, and he confirms it at once. "Centurion of the first legion," he says proudly, and touches his chest. "Forty years I've served the great Society." He looks you over for a while, and your heart beats a little faster. "You know the way? But of course you do. Your leaders will have told you." With his thumb he points to a stairway going down behind him.
You go down the stairs, trying to look as if you live here, in the very praetorium of the Societas Potentium.
Then something goes wrong. The guard's friendly light behind you dwindles fast, and the steps grow steeper under your feet.
Suddenly a deep voice seems to sound out of the stone all around you:
"What is my name? Say my name, and the light will shine again!"
There is a pause. Then Mission Control speaks in your ear. "Ah, this is a bit unexpected, frankly, Operatives. . ."
"I am the thing that made Rome strong. I am what was there in the beginning. Do you take me for the Lapis? I laugh at that! What is my name?"
Behind you the door closes with a heavy sound, and everything goes black.
Prompt: Reply.
