Episode 14.2.a
>The Praetorium of the Societas Potentium, Aegyptus, 80 CE<
"Good! Good!" says the probator. "Keep it always in your minds how shamefully Cicero died for his opinions. They nailed his hands to the rostra, and his head, and his tongue, to the very platform he had loved above all things. And Caesar, whatever he said aloud, never truly fought for either party. He fought for himself alone.
"Yes. You are ready. Now the door to the Lapis appears!" He is smiling to himself as he says it.
In that same moment the ground begins to tremble under your feet. On the far side of the court a door of stone swings open where no door had been, and beyond it lies a new chamber. You had been certain that wall was solid. But in this place things are seldom what they seem.
Then Marcus comes running through the court, and many guards come running with him.
"Recentii!" he shouts. "I owe you a great deal already. You have led me to the hidden chamber!"
The probator had not expected to see Marcus here. He steps back, slowly, into the shadows between the columns, and seems to pass out of sight altogether. There is no time to think about that now.
"I searched for this chamber," Marcus says. "I searched and could never find it. But you have found it, and now you will serve me, as slaves serve a master. You have swords, I see, and spears. You think you can fight? It makes no difference. Guards, take these children!"
The guards come toward you. And now, at last, you know his true name. He is Marcus Maecenas.
Prompt: There is no way out. The guards are many. Fight for your lives!
