Assassin's Creed

Agent of Altair

Prologue

1459

"Excuse me, do you want a ride?"

I glanced at the man. He and his wife smiled at me, trying to seem inviting. Their carriage was large, but I had to wonder.

"You don't even know where I'm going," I replied.

"Well, you seem to be heading in the same direction as us," the woman pointed out. "We wouldn't mind. Just tell us when you want to get off if you're not heading to Florence."

I paused and thought. If they at least offered, then I guess there's no harm…

"If you have no problem about my weapons."

The man smiled. "No problem at all."

I stared at them for a moment, then I shrugged and climbed on top of their carriage. The woman gave me a strange look.

"Wouldn't you prefer sitting inside?" she asked.

I shook my head and then lay down on the carriage. "I prefer to watch the clouds."

We traveled for a few hours before the man looked back at me. "What's a young lady like yourself doing walking alone in Italy?"

"I'm here on a mission," I replied bluntly.

"What kind?"

I hesitated. "Protection," was what I settled on.

"You seem a little young to be a bodyguard," the woman stated.

"I'm an observer. I'll judge when to become a bodyguard."

I heard the man chuckle. "So, where are you from?"

"Masyaf, near Damascus and Jerusalem."

"Ah, so you're visiting relatives?"

"You could say that."

A few minutes passed in silence. I'd almost dozed off while watching the clouds, but when the carriage suddenly halted I was jerked to attention.

"What's going on?" I asked as I crossed my arms behind my head casually.

"A roadblock," the man answered. "It looks like there was an accident up ahead…"

I sat up and looked at the roadblock. A few Italian guards were patrolling its border, and I could see some wreckage up ahead.

"I'll go check it out," I said, leaping off of the wagon and running into the forest.

I climbed a tree and quickly jumped from branch to branch, getting past the guards easily and avoiding unwanted attention. I finally settled on a branch and looked at the wreckage; it was once a carriage, but it looked like it had been raided, as indicated by the scars on its sides, and smashed to give the wrong idea.

Two guards directly below me started talking. I opened my ears and quieted my breathing so I could make out what they were saying.

"No sign of the raiders," one of them said. "Looks like they got away."

The other guard nodded. "Strange, we didn't find any bodies."

"The raiders probably took live prisoners," the other one replied. "They left no trail."

I frowned and hurried back to the carriage with the man and woman on it. They finally got past the roadblock, and that's when I joined them again, landing on their carriage from the treetops.

The woman jumped when I landed on top of it, but calmed when she saw me. "We were worried that you'd left."

"I went to check it out. It was raiders, and it seems like they took prisoners," I explained. "It'd be best to watch out for anything suspicious on the way."

"Oh dear," the woman said quietly. "I hope nothing comes to that."

"Don't worry; I know how to use my weapons." I lie back down on the carriage and shut my eyes. "Please wake me if anything seems strange."

We stopped and made camp a few hours later. I sat against a tree in the shadows, away from the fire, my eyes closed but my ears opened.

"Are you sure you want to be that far from the fire?" the man asked.

I nodded. "I like the temperature here."

I didn't hear any arguments, so I relaxed against the tree and let sleep come for me. However, as the fire started to die, I heard twigs snapping and leaves being crushed. I sighed and pulled my hood over my face, then silently slid upwards on the tree until I stood upright.

The woman glanced at me suspiciously, but said nothing. She lay down beside her husband and closed her eyes just as the final embers of the fire died. I stood there, waiting patiently, until I heard the sounds stop. I took in three breaths in three seconds, and then I heard rushing.

I snapped out my hidden blades and took two raiders in the throat, stopping them dead in their tracks, and then I grabbed three throwing knives from my belt and tossed them into the skulls of three more raiders who were charging towards the man and the woman. I ran up the tree as the last raider charged at me as he roared, his sword raised high, and I landed behind him. I smashed his head against the tree then snapped his wrists, disarming him, and then I turned him around and jammed my arm at his neck, a hidden blade touching his throat.

"Where are your hostages?" I asked. "And if you refuse to tell me, you'll end up like your friends there."

He gulped, his Adam's Apple rubbing up against my blade. "T-They're at camp! About two days walk from here! Please, I'm telling the truth!"

I retracted my hidden blade. "I believe you." I grabbed his shirt collar and tossed him away. "Run. Now."

He stared at me, and then wisely started running. When he reached about fifty metres away, I took the crossbow from my back and fired at him. The bolt hit him in the head, and his body fell to the ground instantly.

I grabbed my throwing knives from the skulls of his friends and cleaned them, along with my hidden blades, and then moved the bodies to where the last one's was. I sat back down at the tree and removed my hood, only to look into the eyes of the woman.

"Who… Who are you?"

I closed my eyes and rested my head against the tree. "My name is Suna."