Chapter 4

The day had finally come. I had the list of lives I had to end, all of the weapons I had been entrusted with and a full physical description of Selina herself. I was ordered to bring her back to the Council of Elders, and given that she was stubborn enough to stay in Walachia, that would not be easy. This rickety old carriage would only get me as far as Hungary. That was Balls-deep in Death Dealer territory, and home to the largest concentration of feral lycans this side of Europe.

"You've got a lot of balls coming out here. Business or pleasure?" said the driver.

"I got business in Walachia. But you'll only take me out to Hungary." The rest of the ride passed in silenced as we neared the outskirts of the capital.

"This is your stop. Get your s#!t and get out." I left the carriage and took the time to look out at the bleak horizon and grey skies.

So this is where it all started. I thought. Hard to believe the first immortals were born here. What a desolate place. I walked through the mist towards my connecting stable. Within the forests, beneath the cover of the moon, I heard the ferocious howls of the feral lycans haunting the forests. They were moving towards me, but stopped ten feet away, almost as if they know what I do for a living, and actually know fear. I was able to move to the stables undeterred.

When I reached my destination, the man outside the stables gave me the reigns to what I assumed was his fastest horse. I quickly mounted the horse and started off toward Walachia. The ride was long and uneventful until I came to a whole forest of impaled corpses. Time had not been kind and many had begun to decay, the scent assaulting my sensitive nose.

This was clearly the work of a very deranged man with way too much time on his hands. As I rode through the corpse forest, they got fresher and fresher until I noticed one that stood out and I brought my horse to a complete stop. It was a feral lycan. This must be why I hadn't seen any living in this forest. They must really hate the smell of their dead, and quite frankly, I wanted to turn around, but I had to press on. For the Order, for Selina. I brought my horse to a full gallop and hauled ass toward the Castle on the horizon.

As I rode on, I had saw a single man surrounded by seven feral lycans. From what I could tell, he was at least 6' 8". I watched with intrigue at the ensuing horror show. He took out an extremely long projectile weapon from his back and fired at the farthest of the pack. He folded and holstered the gun and pulled out a much smaller one and shot the next farthest in the head. He put his hand under his forearm in a motion I recognized as preparing a Hidden Gun shot and fired into the third lycan.

They were finally within melee range and the man pulled out a Greatsword with serrated edges on the tip. In one fluid motion, the next lycan was decapitated. One of them tried to get in behind him, but he pulled a shortsword and stabbed it. The next one leapt into the air and he gutted it with his dagger. The last one, a female, tried to pin him to the ground, but he grabbed her neck and stabbed it with a hidden blade. Her body went limp and he dropped it to the ground. He took out the long gun again, reloaded, and aimed it at me just as I got off my horse and closed the distance until the weapon was point blank aimed for my head.

"You have five."

"Put that weapon down. I was sent here on business by Ezio. Don't kill me." I closed my eyes anticipating the end, but it never came. Instead, the man before me lowered his gun.

"I know you. You're Ezios friend." I opened my eyes and his gun was on his back once more. "Come. There is much to discuss." He led me back toward the village. "I'm not going to lie. This village is doomed. The lycans come after us at night and the Ottomans come after us in the daylight. We don't have any breathing room. If Hell exists, this is it."

"I'm sure Dante would disagree. Compared to the Inferno, this sounds like paradise." The village was in shambles. The people locked in their homes and those on the screaming that God has rendered final judgment and this is our final fate.

"Dante was a madman. Earth is merely another Hell. Werewolves are its demons." We continued on until we reached what I knew by scent to be a pub. On the inside were many beleaguered villagers sheltered from the attacks. Most of them were in drunken stupors and those that weren't were close to passing out. The man who had been my companion here took me to one of the tables and motioned for me to take a seat.

I complied and he signaled the barmaid to bring two drinks our way. "You trust me to drink with you and yet I don't even know your name."

"I am Aleksander Rosenkov of Moscow. I came on behalf of the Assassin's Guild chapter there. I'm here to restore order to Walachia and to prevent the Ottomans from reaching the motherland." Our drinks arrived and he took his drink. "Nothing could have prepared us for what we found."

"What WE found?"

"I didn't come alone. I am no fool. The Guildmaster sent me with five other men. Two of them died. The other three are out with the werewolves. Mindless beasts like the rest of them." Our conversation was interrupted by the tavern's door and a young woman running in and shouting obscenities in Romanian. By her armor, I could tell she was a Death Dealer. She matched Viktor's description perfectly. 5' 8", short black hair, pale skin and bright amber eyes.

I knew that this was the one Viktor sent me for. Even in the armor she wore, she still had an odd beauty about her. She walked over to our table and took her seat beside Aleksander. "I say we just let this village burn. The Ottomans will leave us alone and we can come back later to reclaim Poenari Castle. I can't stand another day with these $$holes." She said. Aleksander decided to cut in right there.

"This is in service to the Motherland. Besides. I told you we would get paid before you return to the other Death Dealers." Suddenly, Selina became aware of my presence and looked over me, noticing the robes and armor of the Assassins Guild.

"So, who are you? One of the Assassins from Moscow returned from the dead?" she asked.

"No," I said. "I'm under Ezio Auditore's tutelage. The name's John Ledra."

"That's ****ing great. Now we got the Templars breathing down our necks?" Selina asked.

"Not yet. Only nine live here, and only nine need to die."

"So, you here to complete the Trial of the Flying One." Aleksander said. I nodded and he pulled out a few of his weapons, laying them out on the table. Of particular interest was his Greatsword, with the claw-like handguard and spike at the end of the pommel.

"Ah, you see my greatsword. It was designed by the madman that freed Scotland from the English. William Wallace. I don't know if he was a genius or a madman."

"Do all of your weapons have such history?"

"Some more than others. The shortsword I have is called a Xyphos. It was owned by Leonidas, king of the Spartans. It killed nearly half-a-million Persian immortals at the battle of Thermopylae Pass. It is one of my most prized possessions." He motioned to his gun and a special blade which looked like the blade of a Florentine halberd I had been on the receiving end of on more than one occasion. "This blade actually screws onto the rifle. I don't have to choose between a rifle and a halberd on my back."

"I see where you're coming from. I only have four blades." I revealed my hidden swords and standard hidden blades, then retracted them back into my bracers. "But they've served me well."

"Interesting." Aleksander said.

"That's the Dead Man's Hand. Lucian designed it. How'd you get it?"

"Lucian never built them," I said. "I had a friend of mine in Venice build them for me. As for the design, it was left to me on the day I was born."

"We've dealt with the first wave, but more werewolves will come soon. I'll be outside." With that, Aleksander left us alone to handle some things outside the tavern. I heard him from inside. "You, Help me with this steak. Shove it in there!" I heard a werewolf howling in pain and did not want to know why.

"Has it ever crossed your mind that you're Russian friend is as crazy as Vlad the Imapler?"

"Not really. He just has some anger issues. Explains why he impales the werewolves."

"What about the Lycans? How does he feel about them?"

"He sympathizes with them. He too was born a slave in Moscow, risen to the Czar's favor after saving his life. Me, I couldn't care either way. I kill them because I have to, not because of a personal desire for revenge. What about you? How'd you fall in with Ezio?"

"I was already used to killing, but mostly as a means of survival. I fought the Lycans in Florence to protect its people from a potential outbreak. Unfortunately, the Florentine guard didn't see things the same way I did, so I was the most wanted man in Florence for a while. I met Ezio while I was on the run from the law, and he invited me to his villa in Monteriggioni. I trained with him for a day, and he sent me here to complete the Trial of the Flying One. Even though I already have orders from Viktor to bring you back to Italia."

She stood up and stared me down. "Viktor sent you, yet you wear the garb of the Assassins guild. What the hell are you?"

"I'm a vampire, just like you. But, for some reason, the sun does not hurt me." As those words left my mouth, I realized I may have said too much. Fortunately Selina was unfazed.

"We call them daywalkers. I also happen to be one of them. I got it from Marcus Corvinus, my father. It is truly a rare gift among our kind." She walked out towards the door to the Tavern and I followed. "The next wave should be coming in soon. We have to get fighting." I followed her out to the village gates and the guards closed the gates behind us. In the glow of the full moon, I overheard the enraged snarls and howls of the werewolf hoard. I extended my blades and Aleksander screwed the halberd blade into the barrel of his gun. Selina drew her twin kilij swords just as the horde's vanguard came over the horizon.

Fifty others came behind the Vanguard and as they charged, I noticed something odd about the leader. He was clad in the robes of the Assassins Guild. This was one of Aleksanders men. We charged to meet their assault head on. Knowing what I did, that werewolves never fight without the leader, I tried to engage the former Assassin. I tried to throw him off guard with one of my throwing knives. While he was dodging, I tried to land a strike with my blades, but I only cut him. He leapt at me and I leapt back and out of the way. I charged him again and sliced at his ankle, severing his foot from his body.

As he writhed in pain, I felt pity not for the beast, but the man within. But in this case, I would set free another soul corrupted by the werewolves' curse. In one clean motion, I slit the creature's throat and watched him bleed out. I muttered a short prayer for the man and threw myself back into the battle to find Aleksander and Selina driving back the horde. Aleksander was absolutely brutal with the Halberd and Selina moved through the ranks chopping the werewolves in half by the scores. Suddenly, they turned tail and retreated towards their point of origin.

That's when Aleksander called to me. "Ledra! Get on your horse and follow them. We'll handle the damage control!" I quickly mounted my horse and took off to follow what remained of the horde back to where they came from. As I came to the end of the hill, my worst fears were confirmed. The Lycans themselves were residing in Poenari Castle, home to Walachia's greatest leader. I had to tell Selina, and rally the villagers to take action. I rode on back to the Village, praying that we could bring an end to at least one of Walachia's problems.