Retrieving A Family Sword

-Okyto, Midi, Early Afternoon-

Striding into Okyto wearing her self-repairing blue, white, and gold outfit with Argent Gloves and backpack plus Ses Revanche in her right boot and Shoki in its scabbard on her left hip, Leona was finally out in the field again after two shopping trips to Capital Crocus and a visit to Nebdoui that gave her some grave news about Chief Elijah. Today she had been called to Priestess Sumika's shrine in order to speak with her about Shoki and to speak with a local swordswoman who needed help with retrieving a sword that had been passed down in her family for five generations. Eager to get out into the field and prove why she was a Wizard Saint, Leona gladly traveled to Midi to accept this job.

Leona did her best to make sure that Shoki was carried in a respectful manner and that the end of Shoki's scabbard was not in danger of touching the ground. She calmly walked through the town and towards the shrine on the hill, drawing the glances of curious townspeople as she walked down the main street. They talked amongst themselves and wondered what the Wizard Saint of Courage was doing here. They wondered if Okyto was in some sort of danger that required the intervention of a Wizard Saint to stop. Leona pretended not to see a group of young people bring out their iLacs and ignored the flashes of her picture being taken before the sound of rapid typing sounded from the group of young people messaging their friends that the famous Leona Jarnefeldt was walking right by them in Okyto.

Leona waved to them as she passed by and they reacted with happiness that one of Earthland's most powerful mages had acknowledged them. The blonde was slowly but surely learning how to play the role of a public figure. She had learned to ignore the flashes of cameras but also to acknowledge people by waving at them as she passed by, which was a good start for someone who was not much of a people person. Maybe Samira could provide some more tips on how to be a photogenic public figure... Samira certainly had more experience with the public than the blonde and had to have a few tips that she could impart to the less experienced Wizard Saint.

After twenty-five minutes of walking the Wizard Saint had made her way through Okyto and reached the start of the path that would lead to Priestess Sumika's shrine. A brief walk of fifteen more minutes and Leona would be standing right outside the gates of the temple she had helped cleanse of the necromancer's unholy influence... and the very same temple where she had found Shoki hidden in a secret room. She wondered what Priestess Sumika had to say to her concerning the demon-quelling blade currently on Leona's left hip.

-Outside the temple-

"Hello Miss Jarnefeldt. I thank you for coming out this far to hear what I have to say." Priestess Sumika greeted Leona and thanked her for taking the trouble to travel this far to discuss business.

"I'm glad to help. Is the temple still safe?" Leona asked the priestess. The young woman nodded.

"Yes, the temple is still safe. The dead remain at rest and Okyto is safe for the time being." The priestess answered calmly. Her eyes turned towards the weapon on Leona's left hip. The blonde took the hint and removed the scabbard from her hip, holding it in her left hand to present it to Priestess Sumika should she ask for it back.

"Do you need Shoki back in case the necromancer returns and I can't get here in time?" Leona asked a question. The priestess shook her head.

"I received the letter from Blacksmith Ieyasu of Chiba after he had reforged Shoki. He told me that it has been made anew from the blessed metal you helped him recover. I would like very much to see the restored Shoki." She requested. Leona wordlessly handed over the scabbard containing the demon-quelling sword and the priestess carefully drew the sword out. She admired the shining blade and the skill of Ieyasu's repair work, but she also liked the balance of the blade; she could wield Shoki with one hand without sacrificing grip strength or precision.

"Blacksmith Ieyasu and his apprentice Hidetori did a wonderful job of reforging the weapon. And you have done a wonderful job of taking care of the weapon. Tell me, Leona. Do you wield Shoki very often on your travels?" Priestess Sumika asked. Leona looked her in the eyes and told her the truth.

"I don't wield Shoki outside of Midi, Priestess. It's not my personal weapon, only one that's being loaned to me." Leona answered with a brief explanation as to why she did not use it very often. It was not a restriction imposed by the priestess, but one that the Wizard Saint had imposed on herself. Shoki was loaned to her, not given, so she felt that she had no right to wield it outside of Midi.

"I understand." Priestess Sumika said laconically. She sheathed the sword and handed it back to Leona, who accepted it with both hands.

"I appreciate what you are trying to do and appreciate the respect you have for a venerable weapon, but Shoki was meant to be used. Its use was also not to be confined to a single country. It was meant to be wielded by the worthy to rid the world of evil no matter where it lurks." Priestess Sumika said to Leona, giving the Wizard Saint permission to use Shoki outside of Midi's borders if the need to do so ever arose. Leona remained quiet as she began to understand the implications of what she had just been told. She had just been given the priestess' consent to wield Shoki as she saw fit, but the Wizard Saint still had reservations about charging off into battle with the newly reforged sword.

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Leona was uncertain as to whether she should carry Shoki into battle to help the swordswoman because she did not feel like the situation was dire enough to justify it, but it was already too late to use. Shoki was the primary weapon she had brought with her for this job and she was not going to handicap herself just to prove a point. Using Ses Revanche would make things a lot harder than they needed to be when she had a reforged katana on her left hip. She would do what Priestess Sumika had just given her permission to do and take it into battle against evil.

"I'll use Shoki today to help the swordswoman reclaim her family weapon." Leona pledged to Priestess Sumika. The priestess gave a small smile and turned towards the gate.

"Mina, I would like for you to meet Leona Jarnefeldt, the Wizard Saint of Courage." Sumika called out to the gate.

A young red-eyed woman with waist-length violet hair in a white upper body covering of some kind with a long red skirt, sandals, and two katanas on her left hip strode out of the gate and towards Leona. Mina was a good six inches taller than Leona and had the look of an experienced swordswoman. She also had a strong magic signature on par with Theo Silversong's. She looked like she could go and reclaim her family's heirloom weapon any time she wanted... maybe she needed some support because the thieves were too numerous for her to deal with alone.

"Hello, Leona Jarnefeldt. I am Kasamoto Minako, but please, call me Mina." The young woman introduced herself to Leona in a friendly tone of voice.

"I am the one who sent the letter requesting your assistance, but since I do not know where Silver Wolf Guild Hall is, Priestess Sumika generously copied it and sent it on my behalf so that it would be certain to reach you. She also consented to let me use Okyto Temple as our meeting point so that we could easily find each other." Mina said to Leona, explaining how the job notice had gotten to her and why they had met at Okyto Temple. Leona was wondering how all of this came about, but she was not mad in the slightest. She was glad that Priestess Sumika was so willing to help the swordswoman out.

"I'm here to help you recover your family sword, Mina. Was it stolen from you?" Leona asked Mina. The young woman nodded.

"Yes. It happened in the plains on the road from the Imperial City to Okyto. I was leaving the Imperial City after meeting with a friend when halfway home I was ambushed by a bandit gang of over two dozen men. They beat me badly and stole my mother's ancestral sword while I lay bleeding on the ground and could do nothing to stop them. it has been at least three months since that encounter and I have trained tirelessly in anticipation of a rematch. Today with your help I will erase my shame and recover what is rightfully mine." Mina explained to the Wizard Saint the circumstances behind the loss of the heirloom weapon. Leona could sympathize with that motive and was ready to fully support Mina's quest to recover her mother's sword. She was ready to go whenever Mina was.

"I'll help you get your mother's sword back, Mina. Just lead the way." Leona told the young woman that she would help. Mina bowed to Leona.

"Thank you, Wizard Saint." She thanked Leona. She then turned to Priestess Sumika and bowed.

"Thank you, Priestess." Mina thanked Priestess Sumika for her help in making this possible. The priestess gave a small smile.

"Good luck to both of you on your quest. Please return to me safely." Priestess Sumika wished them before Mina turned around and walked back towards Okyto. Leona nodded and hurried to Mina's side so that she did not get left behind. Together the pair would find the bandits and reclaim what belonged to the Kasamoto family.

-On the road from Okyto to the Imperial City, forty-five minutes later-

"Thank you for agreeing to help me with this endeavor, Wizard Saint. I cannot handle so many bandits by myself, but with your aid they will not win a second time." Mina thanked Leona for taking the job. Leona nodded.

"It's no problem, Mina. A Wizard Saint's job is to help people in need." Leona told the young woman as the pair walked on the well-worn road from Okyto that led to the Imperial City. There was nothing but cloudless open sky above them and green grass on the plains around them. The idyllic scenery was strangely calming; a gentle wind rustled through the grass and made it wave at her. Leona could not remember the last time she had seen such a calming sight, but the Wizard Saint could not be lulled into complacency when a battle loomed ahead of them. Mina noticed Leona looking around at the vast green space all around them and commented.

"I understand that you are from Desierto, where there is little but sand as far as the eye can see." Mina said to Leona.

"Yes, Mina. I lived in Desierto for sixteen years and didn't see any greenery until I traveled to Fiore for the first time two years ago." Leona replied to the swordswoman's comment.

"I have spent my entire life in Midi but one day long to travel beyond its borders. What is it like living in the desert?" Mina asked Leona in all seriousness.

"It's mostly hot and dry in the day but it gets really cold at night. Clean drinking water's also hard to come by and it's easily worth its weight in gold. Unless you live in one of the Tri-Council Cities, you either live in an adobe house or you live in a canvas tent. I lived in a canvas tent with my mother and older brother." Leona gave a short version of her experience living in the desert. Mina nodded and went quiet for a moment. The pair looked at the scenery around them and the wind blew again, rustling the grass and producing a soothing sound Leona was enchanted by. The Wizard Saint looked towards her companion and Mina looked like she wanted to ask Leona another question before thinking better of it and turning away for a few moments before suddenly speaking.

"We still have a few hours of travel before we reach the site where I was robbed, Wizard Saint." Mina informed her as the pair walked down the road to the Imperial City that seemed to stretch forever.

Minako Kasamoto:

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-On the road to the Imperial City, three hours later-

After a lot of traveling and the occasional rest stop, Leona and Minako were still on the road to the Imperial City. Leona wondered how much farther they had to travel because it had been at least three hours since they had set out from Okyto and Minako claimed that they still had a good distance to go. The Wizard Saint kept any negative remarks to herself and listened to the wind and the rumble of the occasional wooden cart rolling by them. The blonde found herself wishing that the pair could just hitch a ride on the next passing cart and save themselves a bit of travel time, but she did not want to look weak in front of Minako, who was regarding Leona with great interest.

"I understand that you are a Wizard Saint, one of the strongest mages currently alive." Minako said to Leona. The blonde nodded.

"I'm the Wizard Saint of Courage." Leona confirmed and gave her Wizard Saint title. She was not the strongest Wizard Saint by a long shot. Samira Nassar, Serilda Sinclair, Mythal Ragnos, and Johann Von Weiss were all stronger than Leona. She was not the smartest Wizard Saint either. Virtually all of them were smarter than the blonde. None of that mattered to the young swordswoman at her side.

Despite those shortcomings Minako saw Leona as a hero for agreeing to help her.

"I can tell that you have seen a lot of hardship over your lifetime. I can tell that adversity has made you strong and has given you the strength of character to be worthy of your title." Minako continued speaking to the Wizard Saint. Leona nodded. Minako was right about the blonde seeing a lot of hardship over her lifetime. Images of the famine that happened when she was eight or ten years old came to mind, as did the very first time she killed a raider during an attack on her village when she was twelve. Leona was not entirely sure if any of that had made her strong enough to bear her title, but those incidents had definitely left an indelible mark on her psyche.

"I grew up in the desert and far outside the protection of the Tri-Council Cities. Out in the desert times are hard even when have food and water. You have to work day in and day out just to stay at the level you're at, let alone get ahead. Things are much harder when there's a famine due to crop failure or a spate of bandit raids." Leona said to Minako. The young swordswoman listened with genuine interest to the Wizard Saint's firsthand account about life in the desert. Leona knew from experience that there was a wide gap between the romantic vision of desert life as shown in TV shows and movies and the much less romantic reality of desert life. Farming was difficult due to a lack of arable soil and difficulties with water supplies. Desert raiders were not charismatic rogues who were landlocked pirates... they were unpleasant and unscrupulous people who would kill anyone in their way to get what they wanted, even children.

"I had to fight off bandit raids on my village starting when I was twelve years old. I'm eighteen now, so I've been fighting for over six years." Leona added.

"I can tell." Minako said with respect. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of screaming coming from nearby, which prompted the pair to draw their blades and investigate the source. They sprinted further down the path and after three minutes of sprinting they found a gang of bandits surrounding an abandoned wooden cart with three people lying dead in the middle of the path. Leona clenched her teeth to fight back emotion. Was she too late?

-At the site of the bandit attack-

Leona arrived first and saw that the bodies were those of two middle-aged people and a young man. All of them were dressed in farmer's clothing and all of them had wounds on their backs where they had been killed while trying to run for their lives. Minako arrived moments later and was furious. The bandits were too busy swarming over the cart and sifting through some coarse cloth sacks in the back to notice the two swordswomen standing in front of them. Eventually one noticed the pair and pointed them out to his fellows.

"Well well well, looks like we have a pair of do-gooders wanting to play hero!" A burly man in brown pants and sandals said. In his left hand was a long wooden club studded with metal protrusions. The rest of the gang gathered around their boss and began sizing up Leona and Minako.

"Those swords they're carrying look pretty good. And we can sell those women on the underground mark-" The man started before an annoyed Leona wordlessly pointed her left finger at him and fired a Wind Bullet that hit him in the head and knocked him backwards onto the road, where he skidded for five meters before coming to a stop and passing out cold. The rest of the men shouted expressions of outrage and how that was a "cheap trick." These goons thought that they could easily subdue her and Minako, then sell them into slavery and take their swords for trophies. It was time to show them just how badly they were mistaken. They were dealing with a Wizard Saint who had fought in many battles all across Earthland and a swordswoman motivated by shame to avenge her earlier defeat and reclaim what was hers.

"YOU BLONDE BITCH! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT DIRTY TRICK!" The man with the club fumed. Leona laughed a little. A bandit leader talking about honor? That was a good one.

"You complain about dirty tricks but you and your gang just killed three farmers who couldn't even defend themselves. I bet you're real proud of yourselves for winning such a tough fight. If you guys keep training you might be able to challenge a whole village of farmers one day." Leona allowed herself a rare sarcastic remark to see how they reacted to the taunt. The club-wielding man and his gang were incensed by Leona's unimaginative insult... she must have struck a nerve. Motivated by money and revenge, the gang charged at Leona and Minako in an uncoordinated mass of sword-wielding thugs.

"Get ready!" Minako said to Leona. Leona was ready for them. Recalling the lesson from the journey to the mountains with Luna Mira, the Wizard Saint was not going to underestimate these men just because they were shabbily dressed and unwashed and wielded cheap swords. She would take them seriously.

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The entire group of eleven bandits charged at Leona and Minako to try and overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Leona was ready for them and raised her left hand, casting a Wind Blast that sent five of them sprawling to their backs like bowling pins that had been knocked over at a bowling alley. One bandit closed on Minako, who stood her ground and channeled magic into her sword, which was glowing blue. Once the opponent got within striking distance Minako swung the blade in a right-to-left diagonal slash that fired a crescent blade of ice at the enemy.

"ICE CRESCENT!" Minako called out. The crescent blade of ice hit and the man bellowed as he was knocked off of his feet by the sharp blade that cut deep into him. Another bandit rushed for Leona, who was ready and waiting for him. She held Shoki in a guard position and received the attack, then maintained the blade lock by holding Shoki with her right hand while drawing back her left hand and slugging the enemy in the face with a Mach Straight that sent him sprawling. The Wizard Saint had learned a few tricks from her years of fighting across Earthland and breaking blade locks was one of them.

Minako clashed with an opponent who had engaged her and maneuvered deftly with a well-timed sidestep to avoid allowing the opponent to run her through with a lunging stab. She dodged that attack and clashed with a second opponent who parried two of her strikes before the third found its mark in his chest; a diagonal slash from collarbone to hip put the bandit out of action. The first man had recovered and attempted to stab Minako in the back, prompting Leona to use a Zephyr Dash to close the distance and stab the bandit through the back before he could do the same to Minako. He yelled and dropped his weapon when its point was only a matter of inches from the swordswoman's back. Leona had cut it close, but she had saved her partner and client from a debilitating injury.

Minako turned to face Leona and spotted danger, which she warned the blonde about.

"Behind you!" Minako warned Leona. The Wizard Saint spun around and found a bandit who had his sword raised for a two-handed downward slash. Leona just stabbed him through the chest and killed him almost instantly.

"Thanks." Leona thanked Minako for the warning. The bandits, seeing that they were failing to make headway against two women, faltered when "easy" prey was anything but easy and backed off. The club-wielding leader, unable to tolerate the incompetence of his underlings any longer, got personally involved and made a beeline for Minako.

"Behind you!" Leona returned the favor with a warning. Minako calmly turned to face the man and her sword glowed silver. When the bandit leader got within striking distance Minako stepped forward and delivered a single horizontal slash to the man's waist. The burly man took three more running steps before dropping his club and clutching his waist. Minako walked over to him and kicked him in the stomach, separating the two halves.

The bandit leader had been dispatched in decisive fashion, leaving his underlings to flee the battle and take any of their fellows who were still alive with them. Leona and Minako were still standing and were in control of the field. However, their victory came too late for the three farmers who had been killed before Leona and Minako could rescue them. The Wizard Saint was not in a mood to celebrate their victory.

"I am sorry. Please forgive my failure." Minako apologized to the dead farmers before cleaning the blood from her weapon, sheathing her sword and walking away. Leona said nothing but cleaned Shoki of blood, put it away, and followed Minako in silence. At least some of the bandits responsible for their deaths had been brought to justice.

-Down the road, one hour later-

Ever since the skirmish with the bandits Leona and Minako had not said much of anything to each other. Both of them were unhappy with their failure to rescue the farmers and both of them wished that they could have been a little bit faster so that the farmers could have lived. All the wishing in the world would change nothing now. The pair heard more screaming coming from up ahead and broke out into full runs. This time they were not going to be too late.

This time they would make it in time to save lives.

After two minutes of running at a full sprint they arrived to find roughly two dozen men menacing people in white who were lined up on the side of the road. Another three men were busy scrounging through the people's belongings. Leona recalled her travels with Toshiro and remembered that the people in white were religious pilgrims. Leona and Minako arrived and the leader of the bandits, a slender shirtless man with a scar on his chest and two swords on his right hip, faced them and laughed.

"Well, if it isn't that swordswoman from three months ago! Did you come all this way to give us your other sword?" He mockingly asked Minako. The violet-haired swordswoman frowned. He turned to Leona and looked her over.

"You've brought a friend this time. Looks like I'm getting two swords today!" He taunted Minako. Leona looked at him and saw that one of the swords was in a red scabbard while the other was in a black one. She wondered if the sword in the red scabbard was the Kasamoto heirloom.

"I tell ya what, Blondie. Give us the sword and maybe we'll let you walk away so that you don't get hurt along with your friend who wants to play swordswoman." The bandit leader "offered" Leona a chance to walk away from what promised to be a lopsided fight.

"I'll give it to you all right. You won't like how you get it, though." Leona retorted. The bandits laughed at her and the leader smiled.

"That's big talk coming from a foreigner. But can you back it up?" He asked Leona before making a hand gesture. The men ignored the pilgrims and moved to surround Leona and Minako. The blonde started to think fast. She needed to even the odds and knew just how to do that.

A bandit broke ranks and charged Minako, but the young woman was ready for that and sidestepped his clumsy charge, then quickly circled around and killed him with a stab through the torso before he could attempt a second strike. She turned around and faced the skinny man.

"You will not win today! I will erase my shame and retake what belongs to the Kasamoto family!" Minako declared while facing the bandit leader.

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While the bandits closed in Leona thought on her feet and called in one of her few ground-based summons to even the daunting odds against her and Minako. Despite Minako's bravery and training she would not last long against over two dozen men even with Leona's help, but with a little help from Leona's summons they might just make it through this. When the spell was ready Leona used it to bring in Guardian Lion.

"GUARDIAN LION!" Leona telepathically summoned the metallic lion. He appeared in front of Leona and gave the bandits an unpleasant surprise.

"I long for battle!" Guardian Lion said aloud.

"See those guys wielding swords? They're our enemies. Don't attack the people in white or the violet-haired woman." Leona telepathically instructed him.

"Finally! A real battle!" Guardian Lion exclaimed before charging the nearest clump of enemies. When he charged a group of the bandits the rest broke formation and charged at Leona and Minako. Instead of facing roughly thirty men they were now facing only sixteen, which gave them a bit of breathing room thanks to Guardian Lion being such an effective distraction. Leona took advantage of the moment to activate her special adrenaline rush for a power boost and the pilgrims took advantage of the moment to run for the Imperial City.

One bandit charged at Minako and she met the charge with a single horizontal swipe of her sword that cut the man in half just like the club-wielding bandit leader from earlier.

"WIND SCYTHE!" She called out after the fact.

Three men charged at Leona, who stood her ground and waited until they got close, then did a quick draw and a horizontal slash with Shoki that left a blue streak in the air, a technique called Blue Flash. The blue streak faded and the three men fell apart at the waist, but the fighting was not yet over. Guardian Lion roared and a bandit screamed in terror before being silenced by a heavy paw to the head that broke his skull with the force of the impact. Around the metallic lion was scattered four dead bandits and he had just added a fifth to his tally. The surviving bandits slowly backed away from the lion, who had finally found the real fight he had wanted that the living grilled cheese sandwiches did not give him.

Leona made a one-handed swing that cut through the sword of her opponent, who dropped the useless sword and fled the battle. Two more bandits took up the fight and engaged Leona, leaving her unable to aid Minako, who was surrounded by five men who were all poised to  attack at once. The swordswoman did not seem perturbed by this at all and only channeled magic into her sword, which began to glow silver. The five men moved to attack and Minako performed a quick 360-degree spin attack that left a silvery halo around her.

"HARVEST MOON!" She called out. The five men fell over dead like wheat that had been cut in a field. Considering the spinning and the silvery halo that were part of the spell, "Harvest Moon" was an appropriate name for such a spell. The bandit leader was starting to show signs of concern that he might actually have to get involved himself and started to back away, but Minako would not let him escape with the Kasamoto family sword a second time.

Leona was still busy with her two opponents as Minako began her charge for the bandit leader. The Wizard Saint had to catch up quickly, so she stepped forward and delivered a two-handed horizontal slash that cut through their swords. They dropped the useless weapons and ran away, leaving Leona free to follow Minako and make sure that she was not ganged up on again.

"Why do you run? FACE ME!" Guardian Lion bellowed in anger as he stood alone. The men surrounding him had either fled the battle or were hurrying to keep Leona and Minako away from their leader. Guardian Lion gave chase and caught one hapless bandit, slamming him to the ground and tearing into him while two bandits watched in horror before fleeing when he turned his attention to them. Minako closed the gap with the frightened bandit leader and Leona put herself between Minako and the four bandits who had tried to go to their boss' rescue. The quartet backed away and kept their weapons at the ready while Leona kept Shoki at the ready... this time Minako would have a one-on-one fight, not a twenty-four-on-one beatdown.

"Where is your courage now?" Minako asked the bandit leader. With his men either dead, running away, or busy fighting Leona or Guardian Lion, the man had lost his bluster. He still drew his sword and prepared to give Minako a fight.

"SHUT UP! YOU DIDN'T WIN THIS FIGHT! YOU HAD TO GET THAT BLONDE FOREIGNER TO HELP YOU WIN AGAINST ME!" The leader yelled in an attempt to insult Minako's pride. The swordswoman was not having it.

"And three months ago you had to get all those men to help you win against me. According to your logic, you did not win against me." Minako shot back. The man's face turned red with anger when she pointed out his hypocrisy.

"SHUT UP!" He screamed and rushed at Minako. She calmly stood her ground and waited until he got close, then casually disarmed him by knocking his sword out of his hands with a single swing. The four men moved to help him and Leona cut down one who had tried to run past her. The surviving three regrouped and tried to rush her at once, but a Daunting Roar at close range scared them off and left Leona free to join Minako for the conclusion to the drama.

"Your swordsmanship is pathetic and you are nothing without your underlings." Minako summed up the man's fatal flaws. He dropped to his knees and quickly offered up the sword in the red scabbard. Minako snatched it from him.

"This fight is finished. Go and live with your humiliation like I had to live with my humiliation for the past three months." Minako bade him and turned away. Leona followed suit. The blonde heard the sound of metal being unsheathed and heard the sound of running.

"THIS ISN'T OVER!" The leader shouted. Leona turned around, stepped towards the running man holding a knife, and ran him through with Shoki as she embraced his right shoulder.

"I told you that you'd get my sword." Leona reminded him of her pledge. He turned to face her, laughed a little at the grim joke, and dropped to the ground before dying.

With the battle truly finished this time Leona turned off the adrenaline rush and Guardian Lion roared triumphantly. Leona dispelled him and together Minako and Leona headed back towards Okyto. It would be a long walk back, but this time the pair had managed to arrive in time to save the pilgrims from being murdered by the bandits who had stolen the Kasamoto family sword. Leona had completed another job for Silver Wolf and had gotten back out into the field for the first time since her adventure in Fulci a few weeks ago.

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