Under the blazing sun, the road east seemed to never end. Lora stopped to think, as her rage had clouded her reason. She cursed as she remembered that Spiritwood was to the south, and headed there, leaving the road. Suddenly, a screech echoed in the air. She looked around, but the land was still. She lifted her head, but was put off by the sun. She felt a blow on her back, and was forced to fall forwards. As she looked up, she saw a winged humanoid soaring, and it came back towards her.
It was a harpy, with claws sharp as newly-whetted knives, and although it was a winged deformity of a human, its face still bore feminine beauty. Again it charged, and Lora rolled over to avoid it. Getting up, she pulled out her Mystic Sword. As the harpy attacked again, Lora slashed at it with her sword, but the agile creature flew past it. This time, it flew towards Spiritwood slowly. Lora thought that following it might bring her to the cave, so she went after it. The harpy travelled slowly to allow Lora to keep up with it, and, within a couple of hours, they were in Spiritwood. The harpy landed on a large evergreen tree, and stayed there for a few seconds.
Lora did not realise the trap. From the harpy nest in the evergreen, another three younger harpies descended and attacked Lora. These three bore a certain resemblance to the first, especially in their facial features. They were just as attractive, and, if properly disguised, they might lead any man into their trap. One of them attacked Lora from the side, and she sidestepped to avoid it. But at the same time, the elder harpy came from behind, and knocked Lora to the ground. The other two attacked simultaneously from opposite sides, and Lora dove out of the way so that they came together with a crash. Another attack from the other two prevented her from killing them, so they got up and charged again.
Four harpies were too many, and although she avoided the first two, another pinched her sword, scratching her hand with its claws at the same time. As the fourth attacked, she grabbed onto its leg, and was lifted into the air with it. Lora grabbed its neck, as the harpy tried to elbow Lora off. She noticed another harpy coming towards her with her own sword when it was nearly too late. She let go of the harpy and fell into the harpy nest, and as the harpy she was on turned round, the Mystic Sword ran through its breast.
Lora had come on soft landing, and when she opened her eyes after the fall, she found herself on a man. This man was full of blood - his side was ripped, and claw marks ran down his neck. She backed away in disgust, and fell out of the nest just when the harpy with the sword was coming towards her; instead it ran the sword through the already dead victim. The other two harpies came at Lora from the same direction, and she looked for something to hit them with as they came. Meanwhile, the dead harpy fell onto the nest, and toppled it all on the other two harpies as they flew towards Lora.
The best she could find was a stick, but she found a good sturdy one, and kept it ready as all three harpies came at her. When they reached her, she dove onto the floor, and, when they had passed, threw the stick at them. It hit one of them on the head, and that harpy crashed into a tree. Lora jumped onto it and caught hold of its neck, immobising it. As the other two attacked, she lifted the harpy, stretched its hands, and threw it at them. This way, its own claws killed them, and the Mystic Sword flew into a tree. She retrieved it, and proceeded to find the middle of Spiritwood.
She only found it two days later, and the entrance was a hidden stairway behind a tree. She crept in, and followed a narrow corridor. At its end, she could see two guards playing chess. Crawling up to them, she went under the table over which they were playing, and drove her sword into their stomach. Beyond the guard outpost, a door was straight ahead, and the corridor divided into two around it. She picked the left, and the corridor was lined with doors. Continuing, she soon came to a door at the end of the corridor, which led to a large room. The room was empty, but there was a door at the other end.
Sneaking in, she found another two guards guarding another room, which was barred like a jail. Lora ran at them and got locked into combat with both. However, they were dead before they could call for reinforcements. One of them had the key to the next room. As she opened the gate, she gasped. "The vault!" It was full of riches, but what stood out most were the Mystics themselves. She found all the sets that were missing. This time she could not afford to take only as much as she could carry, as she might never see them again. So she loaded all of them onto her, and crept out like a snail, loaded with their weight.
The Mystics sets made some noise, although very little, as Lora struggled
to get them outside before anyone could notice. Soon she saw a ray of light,
and she knew then that the entrance was near. However, footsteps approached,
and she soon found a number of people on her.
"Ah, now even worms come to take our things!" a woman mocked.
"Those are not thine!" Lora retorted, and wore Mystic Armour.
"Then why were they in our hold?" A man continued the mockery.
Lora put on an air of sarcasm. "That is what I should ask you!" she yelled,
and all of them attacked.
More than ten people were attacking Lora. It was like a legion of swordsmen advancing, with swords pointed out, and some of them had shields to block any possible self defence from Lora. She threw down the extra Mystics near the entrance, and walked towards her attackers. She was enraged, and gripped the sword firmly. Then, in an outburst of fury, she ran at them and swung the Mystic Sword with all her might. A shield broke with the impact, and the person bearing it was killed.
A myriad of swords pushed at her, and she waved the sword left and right continuously to block them. She was so fast and strong in her blows, that half of the swords moving towards her ended up in pieces. Some withdrew by a few steps, but Lora attacked on. It was as if the sword she was wielding gave her power. Although they greatly outnumbered her, the criminals could not stop her. Man after man, woman after woman fell to her revenge, and to that of the Mystic Sword.
When the battle was over, several broken bodies lay on the floor. Lora had still conceded some injuries, but her vital organs, which were protected by the Mystic Armour, were untouched. She had taken some cuts on her arms and legs, and a couple on her head, but nothing serious. Lora was exhausted, but her rage gave her the strength to finish what she came for. As she picked up the Mystics and left, a thought passed through her mind. She had killed abut ten bandits, but surely Jengar, the murderer and several others were still alive. For now, she planned to take the Mystics safe in her home. Then, she would make it her duty to eliminate the criminals. With that, she went to her ship, and set sail for Yew.