The Serpent Staff. A new Adventure. And it begins like all other before. With a fight in Croft Manor

Lara woke up the next morning and was stretching herself for quite a while. If she was at home, she allowed herself to sleep late. A look at the window showed her that the sun was not yet at its highest point and a look at the alarm clock told her that it was shortly after nine. Next to her bed there was already a tray with her breakfast and a fragrant coffee.

"Actually, every day could start like this" she grinned and got up. She grabbed her robe and put it on. With a cup of coffee in one and a croissant in her mouth, she left her bedroom. Walking down the grand staircase of Croft Manor she saw 5 men come forward behind the columns. All were dressed in black military uniforms and wore balaclavas. One by one they drew different close combat weapons and took a rather offensive fighting position. Lara raised an eyebrow when one of the men came running towards her and just before he reached her she reached out her hand and made a clear stop sign. Irritated, the soldier stopped, and Lara calmly took another sip from the cup. She then dropped it and grinned.

"Alexa. Play favorite music!"

"Play favorite music!" was suddenly heard from everywhere. Shortly afterwards a loud bell rang out.

"So NOW we can start!" Lara grinned and at the same time with the second chime she did a backflip. With one leg stretched out, she hit the soldier right in front of her and landed gracefully on the stairs. She caught the croissant she had thrown in the air just before the kick and bit off another piece with her left hand. With the third chime of the bell, the soldier landed at the bottom of the stairs and lay .

As the other 4 fighters rushed forward Lara smiled in a good mood when the music of Hells Bells finally started. With this guitar solo one had to be in a good mood. She jumped to the side and with a flip of the hand she jumped over the back of the stairs. She elegantly absorbed the three-meter drop and looked up. Two of the soldiers were already after her while the other two ran back down the stairs to cut her path off. When the first one had reached her, he swung out with a knight's sword. Lara turned away under the blow and grabbed the wrist of the second. She deflected the incoming blow and rammed the taser into the side of the first soldier. Normally, the swordsman would have had to go down, but to Lara's surprise, the man had deactivated the Taser at the last moment.

Distracted by this very second, she received a violent kick in the stomach and was hurled away from them. Still sliding, she saw the soldiers storming after her and Lara used the momentum to get back on her feet. For a few seconds she couldn't do anything else but dodge the 4 attackers. Whenever one of them allowed himself to be exposed, one of the other 3 was already there to protect him. This time Wilson had hired good men. It took a few minutes until she finally saw her chance.

With a risky jump she got right into the center of the 4 fighters and at this short distance she had the advantage. With a quick blow to the neck of one of the men she brought him down and grabbed the tonfa batons from him. Now that she was armed herself the fight went better for her. For minutes the fighters whirled through the halls of Croft Manor and little by little Lara managed to overpower one after the other, but in the meantime even she found it harder to move. She had already taken 2 light hits with the Taser and her reactions became slower. She only had one opponent left but he was the best of the team. In the right one he had the longsword and in the left one of the taser sticks. But just as the fight between the two was about to end, Wilson appeared and aimed his shotgun at the fighter. While the thunder of the shot was still thundering, the soldier crashed into one of the back walls and severely damaged it.

"Wilson?" asked Lara out of breath and a little confused. She knew that he only used the gun in an emergency and took a deep breath.

" Pardon Mrs. Croft. These gentlemen have gained access illegally."

Lara bent over to take a breath. She closed her robe again and looked up at her servant. "That means they don't belong to you? A pity! That would have been a raise in salary!"

"Too bad indeed." Smiled Wilson and loaded the shotgun. "I'm afraid I can't tell you how they managed to get past the system. Maybe I should check on Bryce."

"That would be good, and I suppose you've already called the police?"

"Of course, not Miss Croft. I know you want to spend some time with our guests first," he smiled and then asked. "Is there anyone alive?"

"Yes. I think so. I assumed they were working for you. So, I held back." She smiled and went to the next one and was about to tie him up when she saw foam on his lips. Hurriedly she ran to the others and everywhere she found the same tracks. "Damn it! Poison!" Lara crunched and looked up at Wilson who looked as surprised as she did.

"What is going on here, Miss Croft? Who have they upset this time?"

Lara looked at him for a long time and thought for a few seconds before answering. "I can think of no one who hates me so much."

"Colombians, the Yakuza, the Mafia, about 90% of the British royal family..."

"Yes, yes! Never mind," she smiled and then looked at the wall where the leader had been smashed. To their surprise, there was apparently a room behind it. "Wilson. Since when is there a room?" she asked uncertainly, and her servant came next to her.

"I must confess that I know nothing about this room." He admitted, and Lara looked at him in astonishment. Both knew every well-hidden room in this house, but this one was new. She leaned over to the corpse and pulled a flashlight from his belt. When she shone into the small room she could only see a small room of maybe 3m³ with nothing more than a small pedestal with a box on it.

Curious she went to the box and looked at it.

"What do you think Miss Croft?" Wilson asked skeptically, and Lara looked at the box from all sides.

"Egyptian, I would say. ...3000 years B.C. I'll have to take a closer look." On the front Lara could see a ruby that was embedded in the elaborate chest. She leaned closer to the ruby and lit it with the lamp. It sparkled incredibly. A flawless gemstone. But something was strange about this gemstone. It seemed as if there was a vortex inside it. The light was refracted in the stone in a way Lara had never seen before. It was as if lights began to dance before her eyes. It was simply indescribably beautiful. It was almost as if the stone attracted her gaze. She tilted her head to see the colors more clearly.

Suddenly Wilson put his hand on her shoulder and she started to jump up.

"Is everything all right, Miss Croft?" he asked anxiously.

"Of course! Why do you ask?" she shook her head slightly.

"I had the feeling that you were absent-minded."

"I tried to translate. Please cancel my trip to Asia. I must go to Egypt!" she said with deep conviction.

"But Miss Croft. We've been planning this trip for over half a year. We are being expected."

Lara grabbed the chest and walked past him outside. "Wouldn't be the first time I've ever dashed a man's dreams! I want to be in the air in an hour!" she said and headed for the door as Wilson cleared his throat. "What?" she asked sullenly.

"Perhaps Miss Croft should consider changing her clothes first. Your reputation may be unfounded, but it is bad enough."

Lara looked down at herself and smiled. "Well, I'd better get into my dress uniform."

30 minutes later Lara was standing at the gates of Croft Manor. A tight, skimpy leather hot pants and a matching olive-colored tank top. Underneath the latter one could clearly see the outline of a bra that could hardly contain her huge breasts. Her feet were in heavy combat boots and on her calves, she wore a 10mm Tangfolio Hunter Plus on each side. The huge guns were almost her trademark and she casually swung one leg over the Kawasaki Ninja and looked at the two men behind her.

"What are you waiting for?" she grinned and took off her helmet. One turn of the accelerator and the machine roared up. In barely 10 seconds it had left the driveway and flew over the streets of England. She had never felt such a desire to go on a treasure hunt before. A little lost in thought she looked startled at the street. Directly in front of her stood a man in Arabic clothes. Very old clothes. In his hand he carried a long staff whose upper end ended in the head of a king cobra. The eyes of the snake were two beautiful rubies that seemed to glow. Instinctively she pulled both brakes as hard as she could and felt the machine start to buck. The tail was about to break away and she almost lost control. At the last second, she managed to regain control and put one leg on the asphalt. She skidded across the road and could feel the burned rubber of the tires. When she finally came to a stop she looked around for the man but couldn't see him anywhere.

She worked her visor up and rubbed her eyes. When she closed her eyes, she could still see the snake well in front of her mind's eye. The 2 ruby red eyes that shone before her.