[Setting: The Siberian Wilderness, High in the Altai Mountains]
The transition was violent. One moment, Leo and Lara were scrambling from the collapsed Syrian tomb—having secured a key relic and narrowly escaping Konstantin—the next, they were dropped into the brutal, unforgiving cold of the Siberian winter. They had tracked the Prophet's path through weeks of archived research, finally confirming that the true destination of the Divine Source was the lost city of Kitezh.
Now, they were high in the Altai Mountains, following the last known route of the Prophet's followers.
Leo shivered, even inside his specialized cold-weather gear. The snow was a blinding white wall, and the wind was a merciless entity. His newly boosted Stamina (15) fought the biting cold, but the experience was a severe shock to the system.
"The cabin should be just over that ridge, Leo," Lara shouted over the roar of the wind, pulling her hood tighter. She was moving with grim determination, her Advanced Grapple-Axe serving as a reliable ice pick. "It's the last known shelter before the glacier."
"We need to move faster," Leo replied, his breath frosting instantly. His Mind (16) was struggling against the sheer sensory overload of the blizzard, but his Recon Sense was active, painting the faint trail of a recent snowmobile track in the white void. "Trinity is here. The tracks are less than an hour old."
The plot was accelerating. This was the moment where the full force of the Trinity operation—led by Konstantin and his sister, Ana—was supposed to spring their trap.
They crested the ridge and saw the small, dilapidated wooden cabin nestled in a shallow, snow-filled valley. The snowmobile track led directly to the front door.
"They're inside," Leo stated, drawing his Stabilized Pistol. "We need to go stealth. If we can grab whatever research they have and bail, we can gain time."
They moved into the perimeter of the cabin. Leo's Recon Sense instantly highlighted three enemy signatures inside: two low-tier Trinity soldiers and one larger, civilian signature.
System Alert!
[CRITICAL PLOT TRIGGER: Trinity Confrontation]
Hostile Signatures: 2x Trinity Soldier (Tier 3), 1x Major Antagonist (Ana).
Objective: Intercept Trinity Leader and Secure Relic/Intelligence.
Leo and Lara circled to the back window. The glass was frosted, but they could hear muffled voices inside.
Leo peered through a gap in the frost. Inside, two Trinity soldiers were packing gear. A woman with short, dark hair—Ana—was arguing heatedly with a third person who was slumped near the stove, his face obscured.
"He's useless now, Konstantin doesn't need his weakness," Ana hissed, her voice cutting and cold.
The slumped figure shifted. It was Jonah.
Lara stiffened, a quiet gasp escaping her lips. Jonah had been tracking them, planning to meet them, and now he was caught.
"Jonah!" Lara breathed, her hand flying to the handle of her Grapple-Axe.
"Wait, Lara!" Leo hissed, grabbing her arm. "That's Ana! She's Trinity's chief strategist and Konstantin's sister! And she's holding Jonah hostage—or worse."
Leo's Mind (16) registered the shocking plot deviation. In the original game, Jonah was safe at the start. Here, he was compromised by Ana's ambush—a direct result of their previous interference in Syria.
"We have to go in silent," Leo instructed, nodding toward the snowmobile outside. "If we take the transport and Jonah, we can lose them in the storm. We'll use the Chain Lightning Trap."
Leo quickly and silently unspooled the wire of his potent Tier 3 Chain Lightning Trap. He ran the nearly invisible wire across the threshold of the cabin's rear door, connecting the salvaged power cell to the icy metal door handle.
"I'm using the Partner Bow to create a distraction. When they rush the front door, we breach the back and neutralize Ana," Lara said, her eyes hard.
Leo nodded. Lara moved to the front corner of the cabin and fired a single Hunting Arrow into the snowmobile's gas tank.
The arrow punctured the tank, and high-octane fuel began to leak onto the snow. Lara immediately fired a Fire Arrow.
WHOOSH! The snowmobile erupted into a massive ball of fire and thick, black smoke.
The two Trinity soldiers inside immediately reacted, rushing the front door to deal with the burning transport.
ZAP!
As the first soldier grabbed the metal door handle, the Chain Lightning Trap activated. A brilliant, violent arc of electricity shot from the door handle to the soldier's armored body, incapacitating him instantly. The second soldier stumbled back in shock and confusion.
Leo and Lara crashed through the back window, landing silently in the main room.
The sight that greeted them was horrifying. Ana was standing over Jonah, who was bound with ropes and slumped against the wall, unconscious but breathing.
"You really should learn to knock," Ana said, not even looking at the downed soldiers. She drew a suppressed pistol and leveled it at Lara.
"You're not going to get far with him," Leo stated, drawing both his Stabilized Pistols. "He's dead weight in a blizzard, and your transport is burning."
Ana merely smiled, a cold, calculating expression. "We have multiple assets, Mr. Croft. And your friend serves a purpose—leverage. But you two are just liabilities."
She fired a shot at the ceiling, bringing down a shower of icy timbers. As a massive wooden beam fell toward them, Ana made her move—she pulled a lever near the stove, and a section of the floor slid open, revealing a hidden escape hatch.
"Enjoy the cold!" Ana mocked, disappearing into the dark hole.
"Trinity doesn't just run! She's a saboteur!" Leo yelled, lunging toward the escape hatch, but the heavy timber beam crashed down, sealing the hatch and blocking the path.
Lara was already at Jonah's side, frantically cutting his ropes with her knife. "He's alive! He's just knocked out—probably a sedative."
The door to the front burst open, and the two Trinity soldiers, now recovered from the trap and the shock, staggered in, weapons raised.
"We have to move him, Lara! Now!" Leo ordered, unleashing a burst of precise fire that suppressed the soldiers.
Lara used her Strength (14) and Stamina (15) to pull the massive, unconscious Jonah to his feet.
"We can't leave this research!" Lara pointed to a detailed map spread on the table—a massive, crucial piece of plot intelligence.
"Grab the map! We're using the mountainside!"
They heaved Jonah through the shattered back window just as the Trinity soldiers opened fire again. The cabin was riddled with bullets.
They dragged Jonah's massive body into the blinding, raging blizzard, escaping the fiery cabin just in time. The storm was now their enemy, but it was also their only ally.
"Where do we go, Leo?" Lara shouted, pulling Jonah's weight against the screaming wind.
"Up! To the cliffs!" Leo screamed back, his Recon Sense showing the Trinity backup was already on its way. "We need to get to the Glacier Ascent! It's the only way to lose them!"