Assassin's Creed: Renaissance

Chapter 26

He signaled his subordinates to stick to the wall so as not to overwhelm the grass and startle the snake. He walked low through the tall grass and went to the nearby corpse of an enemy.He quickly took off the man's uniform, put it on himself, and wrapped his clothes into a ball and tucked them under his armpits.

He went back to his men—they were at first taken aback by the approach of Patsy's suit—and handed the suit to one of them.Then he knocked hard on the gate with the pommel of his sword hilt.

"Open the door!" he cried, "in the name of the father of knowledge!"

A tense minute passed.Ezio stepped back so that the people on the wall could see him.Then he heard the sound of a heavy latch being pulled open.

The moment the gate opened, Ezio and his men launched a fierce attack, knocking back the guards inside.They found themselves in a courtyard surrounded by mansions divided into left, right and central areas.Salviati stood at the top of a flight of stairs in the central area.A dozen or so burly men in full armor stood between him and Ezio.There are more soldiers in the courtyard.

"Dirty trick!" roared the archbishop, "but it's easy for you to get in, but hard to get out." He growled majesticly: "Kill them! Kill them all!"

The Pazzi's troops approached and surrounded Ezio and the others.But the Pazzi soldiers had not been trained under Mario Auditore, and despite the vastly different numbers, Ezio's mercenaries were on par with the enemies in the courtyard.Ezio took this opportunity to rush up the stairs.He ejected the poisonous blade and slashed at the guards around Salviati.It didn't matter where it hurt: as soon as his sharp blade saw blood, even if it just cut the cheek, the opponent would die instantly.

"You are indeed a demon—a demon from the depths of hell!" Salviati said in a trembling voice.By this time, he and Ezio were the only living people on the stairs.

Ezio put the Shiv away, but drew the dagger.He grabbed the collar of Salviati's robe and raised the dagger to the front of the archbishop's neck. "The Knights Templar abandoned Christianity when they discovered the advantages of banking," he said in a measured tone. "Have you forgotten the words of your Gospels? 'You shall not serve God, Worshiping money again!' But now is your chance to redeem yourself. Tell me—where's Jacob?"

Salviati stared at him contemptuously. "You'll never find him!"

Gently but firmly, Ezio's dagger slashed across the man's throat, leaving a few drops of blood. "Such an answer is not good enough, Archbishop."

"We'll only meet under the protection of the night—well, let's do it!"

"So you're sneaking around like murderers under the cover of darkness. Thanks for telling me. I'll ask you again. Where is he?"

"The father of cognition knows that what I am doing at this time is for the sake of the overall situation," Salviati said coldly, suddenly grabbed Ezio's wrist with both hands, and forced the dagger point into himself throat.

"Tell me!" Ezio called.But the archbishop fell at his feet, spitting blood from his mouth, and red flowers bloomed on his gorgeous yellow and white robe.

For the next few months, the other co-conspirators seemed to disappear.During this time, he and Mario were working on a plan: they were going to retake San Gimignano, where the residents were rescued from the brutal rule of the Knights Templar.But after learning from the previous lesson, the Knights Templar firmly controlled the city.Knowing that the Templars were looking for the lost pages of the ancient tome, Ezio searched everywhere, but to no avail.The pages the Assassins already possessed were all under Mario's close guard, because to lose them would be to hand over the Assassin's secrets to the Templars.

One day a few months later, a messenger from Florence rode to Monteriggioni, carrying a letter from Leonardo to Ezio.He hastily fetched a mirror, for he knew that his friend used to write backwards with his left hand—although his handwriting was so profuse that even the best readers could hardly understand it, let alone interpret it of any kind.Ezio tore off the wax and read eagerly, his joy growing higher with every line of writing:
Mister Ezio:
Duke Lorenzo wants me to convey some news to you - news about Bernardo Baroncelli!It appears that the fellow sailed to Venice, and changed his name to the court of the Turkish Sultan in Constantinople, intending to seek asylum.But he didn't stay in Venice for long, and he didn't know that the Venetians had recently signed a peace treaty with the Turks—they even sent Mr. Bellini, the second best painter in Venice, to paint a portrait of Sultan Muhammad.So he had just arrived there when his true identity was exposed and he was arrested.

You can certainly imagine the ensuing correspondence between the Turkish court and Venice.But the Venetians are also our allies - at least temporarily - and Duke Lorenzo is a well-deserved master of diplomacy.Baroncelli returned to Florence in chains, and his interrogation began immediately.But he was obstinate, or stupid, or brave, I can't tell--he endured racks, hot pokers, whips, and heel-gnawing rats, and only told us that the conspirators used to After dark, meet in the old crypt under the Church of Santa Maria.A search followed, of course, but nothing was found.So he went to the gallows.I made a sketch of that scene and I'll show it to you next time we meet.In my opinion, that drawing is quite anatomically accurate.

your sincere friend,

Leonardo da Vinci

"It's a good thing that guy died," Mario commented after reading the letter Ezio brought, "he was the kind of guy who would steal straw from his mother's kennel. Unfortunately, we didn't To be able to figure out the next plan of the Knights Templar, without even asking about Jacob's whereabouts."

Ezio found time to visit his mother and sister, who still lived a peaceful life in the convent under the care of the gracious Abbess.He was sad to see that Maria was doing much better than before.Her hair turned gray prematurely and tiny crow's feet appeared at the corners of her eyes, but she found peace in her heart and spoke of her dead husband and sons with affection and pride.But when she saw Petruccio's pear box with eagle feathers on the bedside table, tears filled her eyes.Claudia had become a novice nun, and although Ezio felt that she was wasting her youthful beauty and vitality, the radiance on her face prevented him from contradicting her decision and was happy for her.He went to see them again at Christmas, and in the New Year he resumed his training, though impatience was welling up inside him.To help him counteract this emotion, Mario asked him to assist in command of the castle, and Ezio took the trouble to send out his spies and scouts again and again to the countryside in search of prey he had never found.

Finally, his subordinates got the news.One morning in late spring, Gambalto appeared at the door of the map room where Ezio and Mario were, with a blazing gleam in his eyes.

"Sir! We have found Stefano da Bacononi! He is hiding in the monastery of Asmodeus, a few leagues to the north. He has been hiding from our noses all along. under!"

"These guys like to roam like wild dogs," snapped Mario, his thick craftsman fingers darting to trace a path on the map in front of him.He looked at Ezio. "But he's the lead one. Jacob's secretary! If we can't get anything out of him—!"

But Ezio had ordered that the horse be prepared for him.He quickly returned to his room, took out the weapons recorded in the ancient books, and chose the ordinary wrist blade this time.On the suggestion of the doctor in Monteriggioni, he replaced the original hemlock extract with hydrangea, filling the poison sac in the handle.He decided to use the poisonous blade cautiously, after all, there was always the possibility of accidentally injuring himself.Because of this, and because his fingers are full of tiny scars, he now wears thick leather gloves no matter which wrist blade he uses.

The monastery is near Monticiano, and an ancient castle sits high above the hill town.The monastery itself is situated on a gentle sunny slope surrounded by thick cypress trees.Its age is not long, perhaps only a hundred years old, built with expensive imported yellow sandstone, within the walls is a vast courtyard, and in the center is a church.The iron gates of the abbey stood open, and the monks there, in their customary ocher robes, were to be seen in the surrounding fields and orchards, and in the high vineyards; the wines produced by the abbey were so famous that they were even exported to Paris.Ezio had prepared a set of monk's robes in advance, and after handing over the horses to the inn's grooms, he rented a room under the guise of a messenger, where he changed into his disguise.

Not long after entering the monastery, he spotted Stefano, who was concentrating on talking to the head of reception at the monastery, a monk who seemed to drink a lot of wine, so his body became the shape of a wine barrel.Ezio managed to move closer and avoid being noticed while eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Let us pray, my brother," said the monk.

"Pray?" Stefano's black body was in complete contrast to the bright colors around him.He looked like a spider on a pancake. "Pray for what?" he added sarcastically.

The monk showed surprise on his face. "Pray for God's blessing!"

"If you think that God has any interest in our affairs, Brother Girolamo, you are very mistaken! But if you want to get by, go ahead and deceive yourself."

Friar Girolamo looked shocked. "What you say is blasphemy!"

"No. I'm just telling the truth."

"It is possible to deny the supreme existence of God..."

"Denial is the only rational answer to the 'invisible madman' statement. And believe me, if there is any credibility in our precious Bibles, God is long gone rational."

"How can you say such things? You're a priest yourself!"

"I'm just an enforcer. I put on this priest's robe just to get close to the damned Medici so I can cut them in half for the real master. But first, we have to deal with that Assassin named Ezio .He has always been a thorn in our side and we have to get him out."

"That's true. That wicked demon!"

"That's right," Stefano said with a smirk, "at least we agree on this one."

Girolamo lowered his voice. "They say the devil himself bestowed upon him extraordinary speed and strength."

Stefano looked at him. "Devil? No, my friend. Those are the talents he acquired through years of rigorous training." He paused, bent his thin body, and fell into deep thought.Then he said: "You know, Girolamo, I'm deeply troubled by your reluctance to attribute people's achievements to their own efforts. I think you even take the whole world to blame .”

"I forgive your lack of faith and your lies," replied Girolamo reverently, "you are still one of God's people."

"I told you..." Stephen wanted to say something, but then he spread his hands and gave up his rebuttal. "Oh, what's the use of it? I'm so fed up! It feels like I'm following the wind!"

"I will pray for you."

"Whatever you want. But keep quiet. I must remain vigilant. No Templar must be distracted for a moment until we have dealt with that Assassin once and for all."

The monk bowed and left, leaving Stefano alone in the courtyard.The prayer bells rang and all the monks and nuns assembled in the church.Ezio emerged from the shadows like a ghost.The noon sun was silent and heavy.Stefano paced thoughtfully up and down the northern wall like a crow.

He showed no surprise when he saw Ezio.

"I'm unarmed," he said, "I fight with my head."

(End of this chapter)