November 1761 Sleepy Hollow, River Valley
There was something eerie about the village of Sleepy Hollow. Especially when it was covered with morning mist and the bell tower of the old church was rising above it all. Shay cormac arrived in Sleepy Hollow aboard his ship, The Morrigan. He was led here by that strange letter. Haytham had uncovered the sender's identity. He was a corrupt priest named Wyatt Moss, operating out of Sleepy Hollow. Today Moss was preaching to a large crowd and he was surrounded by armed thugs, no doubt associated with the assassin brotherhood. "I have to kill Moss and get some answers from him. Now, I just need to figure out how to get close." Shay thought as he approached the church. He hid in the crowd and listened Moss' speech. "Friends, fellow citizens. I have called you here today to warn you about a great evil. The agents of the devil walk among us. They secretly control our society. They control everything. They wear the red cross as their symbol. But fear not. I am here for you. I will banish these demons from our world. But I need your help. Report any suspicious activity to me or to my guards." Shay used his eagle vision to scout the surroundings. "So this is your plan Moss? To turn the people against the templars? I'm afraid that plan is not going to work." Moss then left and walked into the cemetery, his guards accompanying him. Then Shay saw his chance. He rushed forward and took his air rifle, shooting a sleep dart onto the neck of the nearest enemy. He collapsed. Another guard turned around. "What the-" He was stabbed in the heart with a hidden blade before he could react. Shay then tossed a smoke bomb and eliminated the rest of the guards under the cover of a smoke screen.
Moss saw him and started to run. Shay gave him chase. Shay quickly dashed behind a large tree as Moss shot towards him with a pistol. "Your new world will never happen you demon! You say your ideology is for the best of this world but you only desire to enslave us all! Hypocrites!" Shay waited and then replied: "Says the man who wears the robes of a priest and shoots people with a gun." This enraged Moss. He shot towards the tree several times until he had to reload. "Damn you templar!" Shay came out and used a rope dart. He yanked the rope and Moss fell over while dropping his pistol. Shay approached and stabbed him in the throat before he could get back up. "Tell me what the assassins are planning Moss." Wyatt Moss coughed blood from his mouth as he spoke." You are...too late...my allies are already taking the governor..." "You fool! I hope your God will punish you in the afterlife." He watched as Moss drew his last breath and then slumped to the ground, dead. Shay ran back to the Morrigan. "Raise the anchor Gist! We have to get back to New York fast. The assassins are already executing their plan." "You heard the captain! Let's get her moving!" And so the Morrigan sailed down the river, towards New York City.
December 1761, New York City
Shay met Haytham in New York. "Master Kenway. Am I too late?" "I'm afraid so. A group of thugs abducted the governor from his own manor. They are presumably using him to learn the identities of our allies." "I will find him for you." "Make it fast Shay. If the assassins discover the names of our supporters, our position of power will be in danger." Shay climbed into a tall tower and scanned his surroundings with eagle vision. From the crowd he was able to spot Harold, the assassin courier. He had stolen the letter from Harold earlier. Shay jumped down into a haystack and followed Harold, carefully blending among the crowds to avoid being seen. Shay noticed Harold was now missing an ear and there were bloody bandages on the spot where his ear used to be. Harold walked into an old tavern. The building was old and in a very bad condition. It seemed like a perfect place for criminals. Shay followed him inside. There were many assassin affiliated thugs drinking in the tavern but they were too busy to notice Shay. Shay wandered around until he heard a grunt of pain coming from the backroom. The door was locked. Shay kicked open the door and there he found the governor, half-dressed, tied and badly bruised. As soon as Shay entered, the assassin thugs attacked him. Shay dodged their fists and send one man flying across the room with a powerful kick to his face. The other man grabbed Shay from behind and held him in place, while the third one came from the front with a dagger in hand, laughing. Shay stepped on the toes of his captor. The man shouted and let him go. Shay crouched and narrowly avoided the blade of the dagger, which instead sunk deep into the eye of the man behind him. The stabber was shocked as he had just accidentally killed his friend. Using this moment of confusion to his advantage, Shay tackled him and then hit his head against the nearest wall, knocking him out.
Shay untied the ropes and released the governor. "Oh thank you young man. You have my gratitude." "Always glad to help, governor." "You can call me with my real name. Cadwallader Colden, pleased to meet you." "Shay Cormac. A pleasure." "Being a governor is not an easy task master Cormac. It requires patience and a certain touch of delicacy. I was a natural scientist in my younger days and I have to admit I sometimes miss those days. They were peaceful. Now I'm always busy and this war with the French has worn me out." "I'm sure the war is over soon governor." "I hope so too my boy. I hope so too." Shay escorted the governor out of the tavern and back into his mansion. "So, did you...did they get any information from you?" Shay asked. "No. They tortured me but I didn't break. I believe the templar cause is more important than anything else, so I resisted the pain. Resisted the urge to tell them any names." "Good. I will ask the grand master to send more men to protect you. We foiled the assassins' plans for now, but that doesn't mean they won't try to take you again." "Send my regards to the grand master." "I will. Farewell governor." Shay left the building and went back into Fort Arsenal. All the time he was wondering how they could defeat this new assassin menace once and for all.