Forty feet from the entrance, in the middle of the great hall Prudence came upon a deep well. She could see the surface of the water. The moon reflected off of it through a hole in the cave. Prudence felt she must have lost track of time and wondered why it was already night. There was a rope attached to the well with its other end in the waters of the well. She began to pull the rope and noticed something was glowing down there–faintly glowing. She had to pull sixty feet of rope before she could see what it was. It was armor–plate mail and a shield–reflecting the light from the moon. It glistened as she pulled it out. Attached to it was a small pouch and a strange spear-like rod. The armor and the rod were made of silvery, bright metal. The rod was about four feet long and sharpened to conic points at both ends. She opened the pouch and found a platinum ring of two bands twisted about each other. She donned the armor and the ring. She kept the rod at her side under her belt.

She approached the end of the hallway and torches along the hallway lit up magically. Prudence could feel a magical authority here. Before her she could see a pair of eyes form and a smile. Soon the goddess Diana appeared. The goddess was young and slim with light gossamer clothing. She levitated as her eyes penetrated Prudence in a long silence. Diana touched Prudence’s head, mouth, and bosom with magical energy. Prudence felt a magic force enter her, endowing her with persistence, courage, and passion. She was filled with a spiritual exaltation that transcended all reason.

With this done, the goddess disappeared and Prudence noticed a hole in the wall before her. Above it was a golden mirror. Prudence saw herself in the mirror. She noticed her own blonde, sinuous hair and her blue eyes looking back at her. The hole was about four feet in diameter. A steady, low noise was coming from it.

Prudence stepped back as a huge serpent came forth. It filled the hallway with its mighty bulk and lifted its head a good five feet above Prudence. She handled Ironheart, her brother’s bow, and slid out one of the arrows that used to be his. The serpent looked at her with its slit eyes, ready to strike. Prudence let her arrow fly, but the arrow missed its mark. Sticky strands of webbing grasped the ceiling where it hit. The giant snake struck with a downward stroke. Prudence stepped out of the way just in time, but fell hitting her head against one of the archways. She sat against it, trying to reorient herself. The serpent quickly struck again, plunging its venomous fangs into her lower torso and left leg. Prudence didn’t make a sound, but she was dizzy with pain and poison. She whispered to the bow, “ironheart,” and it immediately changed. It’s metal took the form of a sword. The serpent did not let go and it coiled itself around Prudence and the archway, crushing her against it. She struck its head with the sword too weakly to penetrate it. It made another coil and tightened even more. With the last bit of her strength she lifted the sword above her head with both hands and brought it down through the demon’s serpentine skull and probably through her own leg though she couldn’t discern it from the pain she already had. The serpent jerked violently and debris fell from the ceiling. Prudence could hear the archway crack. The serpent opened its jaw to lift its head. Prudence turned the sword and stabbed upwards, penetrating the great monster where the head and neck met. Its coils relaxed a bit as it snapped its head back so quickly that Prudence lost the sword. As the snake continued to toil, Prudence found herself falling asleep. She opened her eyes and tried to push the monstrous body off of her. The snake gave its last tug and died.