ASSASSIN'S CREED: THE NELSON'S CODE - PART 1

Chapter 1 – Are You Jacob Nelson?

The National Library of France was dark and rather eerie during the night, it was at this time that Jacob Nelson liked it the most. The cool night-time breeze of Paris drifted lightly through the large vacant building and the lack of people allowed Jacob to teem over his history books in peace. Ever since he was a child Jacob was fascinated by the events of the past and the miraculous stories that it unveiled. Twenty-six years later and he was no different, except that now he was a professor of history and had access to some of the greatest archives in the entire world.

'There you are.' Jacob said aloud, as he reached over and pulled from the shelf and old leather bound. A thin layer of dust had settled over the top of the book and it broke apart as Jacob blew the dust into the air with a soft puff. The book was actually an encyclopaedia that was titled 'King Harold Godwinson, The Last Anglo-Saxon King of England.' Jacob sat the old encyclopaedia down at his table and he began to read. Only about five minutes after he had started, and Jacob was interrupted by the loud creaking of the library doors as they were pushed open. A cold rush of wind and snow howled into the dark library.

'Who on earth could that be at this time of night?' He muttered, frustrated by the distraction. Jacob tried to look down the isle through the dim lighting of the silent library, but he could see no one. Then out of the darkness came a man, he seemed to be middle aged, perhaps in his late fifty's. The man wore a thick brown trench coat to fend off the cold of a winter's night in Paris. His hair was grey and thin, with strokes of white running through it, and his bleak expression turned to something of joy as he sighted Jacob.

Behind the old man stood a woman, she must have been in her late twenties. Her long hair was died dark red and it sat comfortably on her shoulders. The woman wore and white coat that suited her well over her slim body, in her arms she carried a clipboard and a small bag with something in it.

'Are you Jacob Nelson?' The man asked timidly.

Jacob closed his book, sat up straight and shot the man a puzzled expression, 'Yes,' he said, 'Why do you ask? Who are you?'

The man stopped and stood before Jacob. 'I'm sorry, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr Robert Hill, ex-employee of Abstergo industries. And this is my assistant Mrs Stacy White.'

Jacob looked over to Stacy and she gave a light smile, she had a very pretty smile.

'No offence, but why are you here?' Jacob asked sternly.

Dr Hill took a seat next to Jacob at the table, 'What can you tell me of the great Admiral Lord Nelson?' he asked.

Jacob was perplexed by the odd question but he answered it all the same.

'He was a great British war hero during the Napoleonic Wars of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, he was shot down at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. He died fighting for his nation.'

Dr Hill gave a small nodding of understanding, 'Are you related to the man?' he asked again.

'My name is a coincidence,' Jacob answered, 'According to historical records Lady Hamilton, his current lover at the time, died in poverty not long after his own assassination and his only daughter, Horacia Nelson, was raised in the house of her step father. Last I checked the ancestry could be traced to a family living in Canada.'

Doctor Hill was quiet for a moment. 'You see, Mr Nelson, that is where I believe you are wrong. I believe that there are a lot of things about Lord Nelson's life that the world never really knew.'

'And what makes you say that?' Jacob challenged.

Just then Dr Hill snapped his fingers, signalling Mrs White to reach into her bag and pull out a small, leather bound journal, about the size of someone's hand. She handed the journal to Dr Hill and he placed it flat on the table in front of Jacob.

'This, my dear Jacob, is the written word of Lord Nelson himself and it tells a very different tale to the one that we all know.'

'How did you get that?' Jacob asked, suddenly very intrigued. As far as he knew, that book didn't even exist.

'Abstergo has friends in powerful places. This journal was found it the possession of your grandfather, just before he died.' Dr Hill explained, 'But you see, I am not so much concerned with the events of Lord Nelson's life or is ancestry. No, what I want lays at the end of it, treasure.'

At that Jacob began to laugh, but then stopped himself. 'So you're telling me that this journal has the location of some secret treasure buried away by Lord Nelson?'

'Oh no,' Dr Hill said solemnly, 'Lord Nelson would never risk revealing the location of his secret riches. That, Jacob, is where you come in.'

'How am I supposed to help?' Jacob asked.

'Come with me to my lab in London, and all will be revealed there.'

Jacob considered the offer for a moment, and then gave his reply. 'This all sounds crazy to me, but you have caught my attention. I will join you in this treasure hunt but let me gather my things first.'

Dr Hill stood up and then offered a handshake, 'I will send for you first light tomorrow morning. Oh, and Jacob, you will not be disappointed.'

With that Dr Hill and Mrs White left the darkened library and once again all was completely silent.