Altair smiles down at the three golden coppers in his hand. It had been a long time since he even saw this much money. He peers out of his hiding place at all the people hurrying around in the market place; it would be easy to get out of the market unnoticed. After all, who would notice a small, homeless boy when they have chores to finish before sundown?
Getting up he tucks the coins deep into his pickets and head out, keeping his head bowed and weaving through the crowd. When he glanced up briefly he caught the glimpse of a blue purse strapped to the back of a white robed man's belt. Without thinking Altair starts following the man at a distance, that purse was just begging to get pick-picketed.
The man keeps a steady pace as he walks through the crowd, heading towards the rich district. Altair quickens his pace when he realised the man is close to entering the rich district. There Altair won't be able to blend into the crowd anymore because of the rags he wore as clothes. His heart was racing with fear and excitement, any thoughts that he might get caught disappears. He starts reaching out as he closes the distance; only a few more steps now.
Altair takes three more steps quickly and reaches for the small golden buckle when the man spins around, clamping his bug hand around Altair's wrist. Altair squawks in alarm and flails wildly, but the grip on his wrist only increases, threatening to break the fragile bone.
Altair snarled and stomped down on the man's foot as hard as he can. The man was obviously not suspecting that and his grip loosened enough to allow Altair to yank himself free.
He stumbles back and stares at the man for a moment before turning on his heel and running down the street, not caring if he attracted attention to himself by pushing roughly through the crowd. Behind him he hears more shouts of disapproval and glances over his shoulder only to see the man a few steps behind him, also pushing through the crowd.
He quickly darts into a side alley and slides through a hole in the wall; he had used this trick many times before to get away from the guards. He doesn't stop running, even if the man is stopped by the wall he will continue to search for him. Altair glances over his shoulder to only to see the man glide over the wall as if it was the most natural thing there is.
If the circumstances where any different Altair would have stopped and gaped at the skill of this man, but there was no time for that now. Especially since the man was running after him.
Rounding another corner into an alley he skids to a stop when he sees it's a dead end. Gasping for breath be turns around to get out of the alley only to find it blocked by the man. All hope vanishes and the sick feeling of dread gathers in his stomach. What would happen to him once this man has him in his clutches? Surely he would be beaten to death, stealing was a crime.
The man starts walking down the alley slowly; he wasn't even out of breath! Altair shuffles back until his back hit the wall. There was no way to escape. The man was still advancing and by now Altair was almost paralyzed by fear. He just hoped his death would be quick. The man comes to a stop before him and crosses his arms across his chest. Altair looks up and frowns slightly as he notices the man smiling, amusement showing in his eyes.
When he spoke his voice was deep and gruff, "Tell me boy, have you ever heard of the Assassins?"