Ezio's feet pound across the red tile roof as he sprints towards the edge. With a huff of exertion, he leaps out across the empty void between the buildings and lands on the adjoining roof, tucks forward in a roll that brings him back to his feet and he pushes on.
The yells of the guardsmen behind him are softer for a moment as they attempt to cross the considerable gap between rooftops. Ezio makes a soft grunt as he drops down a few feet to a lower roof and crouches, his back against the sun-warmed bricks.
He pants as quietly as he can as he listens for the guards to arrive. The sounds of the small Florentine village gently fill the air. Salesmen advertise their wares, shouting at every passerby to get business, a flock of pigeons coo amongst themselves on the edge of the roof beside Ezio and a hawk cries off in the distance.
Ezio takes a deep breath and allows his eyes to glaze over with the 'eagle vision' ability that runs in his bloodline, enabling him to pick out three distant guards posted on rooftops ahead of him. They are of no threat right now. His attention is focused on using his now heightened senses to detect the guards that pursue him. Bit by bit, he blocks out the sounds of the city below in favor of the sounds of its canopy, the pigeons slowly fall silent as the only sounds are the soft and steady beat of his heart and the distinct sounds of boots on clay roofing.
Ezio's brow furrows as he attempts to count the number of guards. 'Only three; better than the seven that were after me initially,' Ezio thinks to himself. They are drawing near and Ezio takes a deep breath and closes his eyes to clear his vision and return his senses to normal. With a soft sigh, he gets to his feet and slips down one level and continues moving, putting some distance between himself and his attackers before returning to the rooftops. He leaps to a pole, swings out, catches a wooden beam and pulls himself up to the roof. His boots click softly on the red clay as he moves swiftly towards a nearby hiding spot.
Ezio jumps up onto a chimney and glimpses the secluded balcony with a draped garden trellis that serves as a hiding spot before dropping back down. Ezio lowers his profile as he closes in, and as his feet come to the slope of the roof, they start to slide, and with an uncomfortable lurch of his stomach Ezio hits a wet area and falls to his side.
He grunts roughly as the edges of the hard tiles jab into his forearm and hip and he slides off the roof into the balcony. He drops onto the bench beneath him and tumbles none too gracefully onto the floor and hits the back of his head and shoulders on the base of the wooden trellis. He stifles a cry of pain and quickly gets to his feet and flips over the waist high railing of the trellis and into the seclusion of the hanging red cloth.
He sits down with his back against the wooden wall and catches his breath as his head throbs and his right side aches from where he first fell on the roof. He does a once-over to make sure that he is not severely injured and deems that the only major trauma was to his ego and that after a few minutes, his head would stop throbbing and he would be able to return to his safe haven in the hideout he knows to be only a mile away via rooftop.
Ezio rests his head on the wall behind him and closes his eyes, wishing fiercely for a flask of some strong spirits to dull the headache and soreness. He sighs softly and opens his eyes, reaching to the corner at his left side to grab the small brown flask of water that is kept in this, and essentially every other draped trellis box in Firenze to help ease the heat of the Venetian sun on the Assassins as they travel across the rooftops.
After pulling back his hood, he opens the leather pouch and produces the small steel flask and unscrews the top, smells the water to make sure its fresh, and before drinking it, pours some in his hand and rubs his across his neck and forehead. Only then does he take a gracious gulp of the cool clear water. After screwing the top back on, Ezio replaces the small flask into its leather pouch and nestles it back into the small pile of vegetation that hides it in the corner. "Time to get moving, signore," he thinks to himself as he gets to his feet and climbs cautiously out from the small box and takes in his surroundings.
He hears boots on the tiles above his head so he takes to the shaded second story grates that are covered in lush decorative vines. He comes up to the next building and leaps up to the edge of the roof, listens for guards, hears none and pulls up, then moves towards his safe house. He jumps from one roof to the next, and then has to follow a lower level roof for a short distance to hide from a heavily guarded church building.
He comes up to the wall and runs up, then pushes off to grab the edge of the roof. He pulls himself up and comes face to face with a startled guard. He lets out a shocked cry just before Ezio grabs him, covers his mouth with one hand and extends the hidden blade on his other, slipping the ornate blade between the guard's ribs and piercing his heart. The guard sinks slowly to his knees and Ezio lays him down and quickly removes the blade while retrieving anything of use to him as well as the meager pouch of florins on his belt before moving on swiftly.
A short tower rises up out of the next roof, signaling the halfway point and Ezio picks up the pace. He comes up to the tower and quickly turns the corner, right into three guards. Ezio skids as he stops and the three men turn around and train their crossbows on the Assassin.
"You there! Stop! You are not allowed up here!" They shout as Ezio turns tail and jumps to the next building, catching the edge of the roof and pulls himself up. A crossbow bolt strikes his left shoulder and pierces through the light leather shoulder guard, jabbing into the muscle of his shoulder. Ezio grits his teeth and pushes on.
The clatter of boots on the roof behind him spurs him on as the guards give chase. Another two bolts strike his left shoulder and upper back causing him to stumble. Ezio snarls a curse and pushes harder towards the next jump, leaping with a yell and landing heavily on his side. He shoves himself to his feet and runs.
He turns to the left and drops down to a lower roof and leaps across the gap above the street and onto the next roof, climbs up the wall and onto the roof. Then he sees the pigeons. A stab of relief and jolt of adrenaline run like lightning through his veins as he nears the edge.
"Oi! Stronzo! Smettere!"
Ezio smirks as he comes within yards of the edge, "Fammi, bastardo!" He yells and takes the last few strides towards the edge. Something hard and heavy strikes his left leg and ankle and he stumbles, leaping weakly off the roof, severely off balance.
The ground rushes up at him and the pile of hay is not close enough.
"Merda…this will hurt…" Ezio snarls, then lets out a pained cry as his feet hit the ground hard and he crumples into a painful roll. The crossbow bolts snap and the tips are pushed deeper as he rolls over them. The height was too great for the roll to be effective and Ezio groans as his ankles are seized by stabbing pain. Ezio's body tumbles to a stop a few feet from the pile of hay and he comes to rest on his right side. He coughs and drags himself into the hay, dazed and in severe pain.
His heart pounds in his ears as pain lances through his body and all he can do is lay there and try to keep quiet as the yelling guards flounder about in search of the Assassino. Ezio fights to maintain his grasp on consciousness until the guards at last give up and leave.
With a groan, Ezio quickly slips out of consciousness.
Ok, tell me what you think! More to come! Promise! I am just cleaning up the next bit so it flows and all^_^
Still figuring out how to work this.
I'll post Italian translations here to save you guys some work too, so if you dont know it... scroll down!^^
signore-sir
Oi! Stronzo! Smettere! - Oi! Asshole! Stop!
Fammi, bastardo!- Make me, bastard!
Merda - shit