The Tale of Robin Hood and Altair – By Jack Markham
It is the year 1187. A dark night dons the red sea. Crusader ships begin to land on the shores of Jerusalem. The sky turns bright red as the sun rises on the horizon in the background. A Saracen Horn sounds and hordes ands hordes of Saracen Soldiers begin to form ranks on the beach as seemingly thousands of Crusader knights disembark their ships and run into battle with the Saracens, amongst them, Robin of Locksley, making use of his legendary bow skills, fully garbed in the crusader knight uniform. As the carnage ensues and the red sun rises, the knights Templar take the beach and the Saracens retreat into the city. Arrows begin to fire from the towers of the city, taking out a number of knights. Robin, still fully disguised crafts a gunpowder arrow and fires it at the round tower, making it explode. The soldiers cheer and a black clad knight exits off the lead ship. He removes his helmet and congratulates the helmeted archer. It is king Richard. He tells the Helmeted knight to remove his helmet. It is Robin of Locksley. He kneels. The King grants him the station of commander. That following morning Robin awakens from his tent and puts on his signature Lincoln Green garb and bonnet* (colloquial for hat).
Meanwhile in the city of Jerusalem in The Bureau, the headquarters for the secret society of the assassins, a hooded figure suits up for patrol. He exits through the roof and climbs to the highest tower in the city. An eagle flies past as he looks out at the view.
The king issues a siege on the city. The crusader knights armour up, as does Robin. He and the king stand and strategize with the other commanders. He is given the task of taking out the archers and warriors atop the wall of the city. Him and his battalion lead a siege tower towards the wall while Richard's soldiers march for the city.
Richard shouts fire and a load of catapults fire at the wall, busting a big hole in it. Soldiers begin swarming into the city. Altair, atop a building on his patrol sees the attack and joins into the fray. He begins killing all the crusader knights he can see. Robin sees him from his siege tower killing the knights and fires a double shot arrow at him. Altair splits the first one in half and takes the second one in the arm. He begins running across the buildings, wounded.
Robins siege tower lands on top of the wall while catapults are still firing to and from the city. Robin's archers start pouring out and firing from the wall to every Saracen atop the wall and battlements. Robin pursues the hooded figure across the rooftops while duelling Saracens along the way. Altair takes to the streets fighting templars as the chaos continues. Robin follows. In the town square, in the midst of battle, Robin and altair see a mother and child about to be attacked by a Templar brute. Altair and Robin make eye contact and Robin stops the knight by driving his sword through his chest. Altair drops a smoke pellet and disappears. All the Templar knights see what Robin has done and surround him. Altair sees him being arrested from on top of a building.
Robin is brought before the King. The two speak, Robin explains the situation and tells Richard of the hooded figure. Richard sends Robin out later that evening into the city to find out more about this hooded character. That night, Robin waits atop a high tower to see a man clad in a white hood. He fires a zipline arrow to the building he is on and zips down to him. Altair draws his hidden blade from his wrist. Robin only wants to talk so he puts his bow on his back. Altair sheathes his blade. Altair explains that him and the other assassins only want to end the war of the holy land. Robin explains that he wants the war to end as well and the only reason he is fighting is because he was drafted. Altair tells Robin of Saladin and rumors of his secret plans to send his armies across to England to invade while their country is left defenceless.
Robin realises he must join forces with Altair to find and stop Saladin before it is too late. Altair returns to the bureau that night and speaks with the bureau leader about Robin. He tells altair to bring him in to speak to him.
Meanwhile, Robin returns to the coast of Jerusalem, to his camp. He approaches his second in command, Sir Guy Of Gisborne as tells him to take charge of his battalion while he helps altair stop Saladin. Robin Rides back to the city back to the roof where he met Altair initially. His horse is stopped by a woman in princess robes running through a back alley. She gets a fright and falls backwards. Robin dismounts and helps her stand up. He asks her why he was running. She points to a gang of armoured soldiers, dressed in black. Robin fights them all off. She thanks him and explains that she is Saladin's ward and that they were his secret Militia, sent to assassinate her. Robin ties up one of the unconscious soldiers, picks her up and rides off into the night.
Daybreak, the assassin's bureau. Altair, Robin and Sonja throw water over the unconscious guard. They wake up the unconscious guard but he refuses to talk of Saladin's plan. Robin heats up an arrowhead in a forge and shows it to the soldier. He draws his bow with the heated arrow point blank at the man's head. He spills everything.
Saladin's plan is to commandeer Richard's ships when the city is taken by Richard's men, fill the ships with his secret underground army of 1000+ vicious mercenaries and overthrow the british empire, leaving the crusader knights stuck in Jerusalem. Robin, Altair and Sonja realise that Richard will have the city in a matter of days so Saladin could act at any moment. They have to Stop Saladin's plan before it is too late. The three make a plan to sneak into Saladin's palace and sabotage his army before they strike.
Later that night…
Altair and Sonja scale the palace walls and take out the guards to find Saladin. Sonja, in disguise, shows Altair how to get around the castle and where the secret underground army is at work. Altair and Sonja use stealth to navigate the caves. He sneaks in to what seems to be Saladin's quarters, a tented area. The two eavesdrop on Saladin and his fiendish fellows strategizing the war. When the other officers leave, Altair and Sonja bust in. They order Saladin to Surrender but the other officers see what's going on. Altair and Sonja engage Saladin and the other guards and officers that are around. As they are fiercely outnumbered, they gradually become surrounded and held to their knees. Saladin approaches them and Pulls their hoods down. He is shocked to discover it is Sonja, as she WAS his ward since she was a child.
He calls her a traitor but she is adamant that it is of his own doing why she turned against him. He mocks the two for attacking him outnumbered. Altair scoffs at this and tells him he should rethink this claim.
Promptly, Robin Hood, swings in on a rope and shoots four arrows at Altair's and Sonja's capturs. He blow's on his signature Sherwood horn and Guy of Gisborne and a garrison of archers armed with explosive dynamite arrows emerge from the shadows and form up on the steps into the cavern. He orders them to fire and they start blowing up factions of Saladin's secret army. Altair and Sonja break free and start fighting through the hordes, Altair goes after Saladin and the two of them have a duel. Meanwhile, Robin and Sonya fight their way through the hordes. A Soldier grabs Sonja and holds a knife to her neck, so Robin shoots his hand and sticks his hand to his forehead. Sonja sees this and tells Robin it is the second time he has saved his life, so she pulls him in towards her and kisses him.
Altair is soon being overpowered by Saladin, whilst Robin and Sonja head straight for the forge. Robin puts the top of two arrows into the forge, heating the arrowheads to white-hot. Robin gets in a duel with the guardian of the forge, a black-hooded brute so he tells Sonja to fire the arrows at Saladin. Just as Saladin Raises his Sword to Finish Altair, Sonja looses the arrows and they both rip straight through Saladin's chest. His chest starts bleeding and fizzing.
Robin grabs a nearby rope and boots the guardian of the forge straight into the fire.
Saladin makes one more desperate attempt at Altair, but he soon receives a hidden blade to the chin.
What's left of Saladin's secret force lays down their arms and surrenders. The battle is won. Robin, Altair and Sonja walk through the smoke up the steps, out to the daylight.
The three sit upon a palace wall watching the sunrise enjoying their victory. A saracen soldier begins shouting about the destruction. Altair, Robin and Sonya see two horses below and they jump to them. Robin and Sonya on one, Altair on the other. As arrows fire upon the three and they are pursued by a handful of Saracen cavalry, Robin tells Sonja to take the reigns and keep going, he hops off as Sonja and Altair ride through a castle wall Portcullis. Robin cuts a rope and the Portcullis goes down. As it lands, the rope reels upwards and Robin holds tight, the rope taking him to the top. Robin then uses the rope to climb down the other side of the wall and join Altair and Sonja on horseback while the Cavalry are trapped on the other side. Altair Drops a smoke pellet and the three heroes, atop two noble steeds, disappear.
So ends the tale of Robin Hood And Altair.