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 has a gray beard and a soldier's way of standing, and he tells you at once what you had guessed. "Centurion of the first legion," he says, touching his chest with pride. "Forty years I've served the great Society." He studies you long enough for your hearts to beat a little faster. "You know the way? Of course you do. Your leaders will have told you." He jerks his thumb at a stairway that runs down behind him.
You start down the stairs, doing your best to look as if you live here, in the very praetorium of the Societas Potentium.
Then something goes wrong. The guard's friendly light shrinks quickly behind you, and the steps grow steeper under your feet.
All at once a deep voice seems to sound out of the stone on every side:
"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 shuts with a heavy sound, and everything goes black.
Prompt: Reply.
