Altair and his Past
Chapter 4: Return of the Father and Clues
As Altair got up early in the morning and took a bath, then decided to get dressed before hearing the voice, or should I say SNORING of Malik, 'still must be asleep', he thought as he continued dressing up, once he was done he headed to the dining hall where he and the rest of the novices at their breakfast before going our to the courtyard to stretch and do exercises before they started their lessons. Altair was jogging laps around the courtyard with Malik and a few other novices while having himself burried deep inside his own thoughts that he didn't hear Malik calling him. He was so wrapped on how to get out of here that he didn't know what was happening around him or who was calling him, not until Malik came near him and nudged his arm hard enough to snap him out of his trance, "Huh? Malik, what is it?", "Altair, I've been calling your name a couple times now, I couldn't get you to reply until I nudged your arm, are you alright?", Malik asked, worry evident on his face and in the tone of his voice, Altair sighed and replied to him, "Yeah, just got a lot on my mind", Malik smiled then smirked at him which made Altair a tad uncomfortable, "So... what was on your mind that made you not reply to my calling?", Malik said, it showed on his face that he found Altair's minor dilemma amusing, and that made Altair want to punch him, but instead he held back and just replied, "I'm trying to figure out how to sneak out of Masyaf without being detected", on upon answering Malik, before he could even respond to what he thought was a suicide thing to do the mentor, Arham, called all the novices to gather for their practices.
"Altair, you do know what you are asking, and what you may do, might get you punished severely by the master, or worse", Malik said with haste as a whisper, Altair knew this well, but he just needed to know how to get out, nothing more, nothing less, "Of course I know this Malik, I just need to know how to get out, just in case if something happens", "*sigh*, Altair...", Malik stopped, trying to find the right words to tell his friend and brother, "I don't know what to tell you anymore, try asking a few of the other novices, cause I have no idea how to do that, just be careful", "Of course, Malik", they finished their conversation as they reached their mentor. Most of the day they just practiced climbing, dropping, grabbing, sword fighting, free - running, the tennents, and the Creed, the rest of the morning has been uneventful, that is until they were having lunch at the dining hall.
"EVERYONE! EVERYONE! Umar Ibn-La'Ahad has returned! Gather at the courtyard, we will see him there!", one of the mentors announced, Everyone has been surprised at this, but no one could be even more surprised than Altair himself, and at this everyone got up and started running and shoving just to see Umar, father of the favorites of he mentors, Altair Ibn-La'Ahad. Once gathered in the courtyard, everyone lined up to see Umar come back from his assassination mission. As Umar entered the courtyard he saw everyone lined up and smiled at this, he then saw 10 year old Altair stand tall and straight, held a straight face and looked the most disciplined and strong from among the rest. Umar walked up to him and ruffled his hair making Altair make a little bit of an annoyed face, he just smiled at this and resumed walking towards Al Mualim's study. Once Umar entered the tower or Masyaf, everyone disbanded and resumed with their usual routines, Altair, Malik and the other novices left and continued practice, but on their way there Malik decides to start up conversation with him.
"Altair! Happy to see your father return?", Malik asked while smiling at him, that smile just made him frown, "How do I put it?... He was never more as a father, but more like a mentor rather, he taught me from the day I was born, on how to be an assassin, so I look up to him more as a mentor than as a man who made me", was Altair's answer and Malik only laughed at this while shaking his head causing Altair to, once again, make another frown and continued walking towards their practice. The rest of the day was uneventful as Umar coming back was the only eventful thing that has happened, so once they were done they went to the dining hall where they ate and had idle chatter about the happenings of the day, what was to come the day after, and what kind of women they liked (Which in Altair's case thought it was a stupid thing to discuss but Malik said it was not and they ended up arguing about it throughout most of the dinner time), once they were done, they headed to their quarters.
Once Altair was at his own, he closed the door behind him slowly, lowered his head and sighed, 'Today has been exhausting, to much thoughts in my head, father coming home, and I still need to find a way out of Masyaf and how to get out of my memories, this whole mess is just so... it's bullshit!', Altair finished his own thoughts and turned around but jumped and made a quiet scream full of shock, his father was there sitting on his bed watching him, "Al ab, what are you doing here?", Altair asked after he regained his posture, "Altair, Ib'ni, I have something to talk to you about", when Umar said this, Altair feared for the worst, he would never say something like this unless it is about an incident he had done or witnessed and did not do anything.
After Umar's talk, which of course, was about his and Abbas' fight the days before, they stayed silent and did not say anything to one another. The silence was broken when Altair spoke, "Father... is there a way out of Masyaf, besides the gate? One where no one would look to find and is secret?", Umar gave Altair a confused look as Altair asked his question, "Why do you want to know?", "Father... what if something happens, and I need to get out? What if I have to do something, but the master does not allow it? What if danger approaches and the gates are blocked or lost?", Umar looked at him, then he looked down staring into his hands which were together, as if waiting, "Altair, my boy, if I tell you if there is one, promise me to only use it when necessary, otherwise don't use it at all, hmmm?", Altair's face perked up a bit when he heard his father say this, "Of course father! I promise", Was all that Altair said. Then Umar started explaining that near the cave Altair found to talk with Malik(The Voice) on the right side of the tree near the shallow river was a wall, not any wall but a secret entrance wall, he told Altair that the lever to open the wall was on the tree, he also explained that that entrance was for emergencies only, such as the things Altair has asked before. Once he was done explaining Umar got up and left, Altair felt happy about this and was still thinking about it until Malik interrupted his thoughts again.
"So Altair...","Gah! Malik! What are you doing?!", Altair said as he was [Extremely] startled by the sudden voice of Malik in his head, "I heard that you found your way out of Masyaf","Yes, I did", "So does that mean you will be leaving soon?", "No, not yet, I still have to find out why I'm in here, let me gather some more information and see if there are people in Damascus, Acre, or Jerusalem who know of my situation", Altair finished, "Ah, but of course. Well, tell me when you've found something because I will have to get out of your room and do all the paperwork that YOU left behind, so I will not be back for about two to three days, understand?", Malik said with irritation creeping up his voice as he was saying this, "Why, of course, Master Malik, is there anything else you want to tell me?", Altair said with slight amusement in his tone as he found this situation quite enjoyable, "Kol ayre wle, Hmar!", and with that Malik left (mentally I suppose) leaving Altair laughing at what he had said, 'better rest, I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be an eventful day, and not in a good way'