The Stone of the Ruteni

It’s late autumn and the Custodes are at Augusta Taurinorum. Decius Nepos, an official of the Cohors Auxiliaria Arcana, heads toward them with parchment in hand. He’s walking slowly
on the icy street, in the morning cold.
“You have been selected for a mission we deem to be of utmost importance for the Empire. Several dispatches have indicated the presence of a sacred or magic stone in a village of southern Gallia, called Rutemagus, an object that apparently has curious powers, of extraordinary and perilous vastness. Our job is to investigate the existence of this object and its properties, and eventually gain pos- session of it. We must be more careful than ever before: the people of Rutemagus are backward, superstitious and always on the brink of rebellion. Any questions?”