The alley tightens around Valeria as the crowd surges back from the cellar mouth. The broken seal is proof enough for half of them, and danger enough for the rest. Then the first iron-shod boots ring closer, hard and measured.
The Hooded Stranger
Now. If you mean to live, choose. Vanish into the lanes, or face them while they are still listening.
Heads turn toward Valeria. The nearest bystanders recoil, then lean in again, hungry for whatever comes next. Somewhere behind them, the patrol’s whistle cuts short and sharp.
Valeria Asiaticus
Valeria moves before the crowd can harden into a cage. She steps onto the cellar threshold, dispatch held high enough for all to see, and the nearest faces follow the motion like a thrown torch.
The Hooded Stranger
Good. Make them look at the paper, not at you.
The Praetorians enter the alley mouth in a rough line, lanterns bobbing, shields catching the light. One officer slows at the sight of the gathered crowd, and the whole street balances on the edge of arrest, riot, or flight.
✓ Quest Accepted
Survive the Praetorian confrontation
“Fighting Praetorians doesn't seem like a good idea. She runs down the narrow alleyways, keeping her eyes open for a chance to get some less conspicuous clothing.”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled -1)