Tatsumi and Seamus both were running at full speed across the rooftops. The Capital was a massive city and it took awhile just to move through just one of the districts, much less to the other side of the city. "Where's Flint?"
"He's already there, he sent one of his homeless network over to get us." They jumped across the narrow street to reach the building on the other side.
"What about Mors?" Tatsumi asked while pulling himself up to the roof.
"The Upper and Lower Market aren't part of his jurisdiction, if he did show up it would be awfully suspicious." Tatsumi and Seamus both jumped across the street and landed on the roofs of small shops on the other side of the street.
"Makes sense." Tatsumi replied.
The two assassins stopped at the edge of a house and overlooked the market bazaar. Hundreds or maybe even thousands of people were flowing through the massive construction. "Good you're here." Tatsumi looked back towards the voice and saw Flint approaching.
"Flint." Seamus said exchanging nods.
"So what is it you needed our help with?" Tatsumi asked while he started to kneel down on the roof top.
"That right there." Flint pointed at a company of soldiers marching down the road with two mounted officers riding at the head of the column. Normally they would pass for guards but it was their banner that made Tatsumi concerned, a red cross on a white field. "Whatever it is it's certainly important for the Templars to send so many men."
"How many do they have?" Tatsumi asked.
"I counted thirty men in this column plus those two officers. My network has reported roughly five other groups. They all seem to be about this size, all of them Templar troops not guardsmen." Flint said.
Tatsumi studied the soldiers, most had swords but a handful carried guns. Their armor seemed to be chainmail, unlike the guards usual plate mail. At the head of the column of men however he noticed someone. A man wearing a uniform of the Imperial Navy. Tatsumi recognized him from his earlier years in the brotherhood.
"Hide!" Tatsumi said as he jumped over the other side of the peak of the roof.
Seamus and Flint quickly followed, "Hey what was all that about?" Seamus said to Tatsumi
"I saw someone that I hope we can avoid." Tatsumi said as he peered over the peak.
"Who's that?" Flint asked.
"Admiral Roger Woods, commander of the South Sea fleet and known Templar. I meet him a few years ago."
"On an assassination?" Seamus asked.
"No. At Alamut." Tatsumi responded to be meet by several looks by his two comrades. "Ok they've passed." Tatsumi stood up and began walking towards the edge of the roof. "Come on we need to follow them."
"Tatsumi!" Flint yelled. Tatsumi looked over back at the other two assassins.
"Tatsumi, what's going on?" Seamus asked.
"Seamus, Flint trust me. I know what I'm doing and I'll explain everything to you later. For now we need to follow this column and try to listen to the Admiral and this commander's conversation." Tatsumi quickly looked around. "I want you to follow them from the roof tops and cover me while I follow them from the ground."
"If I see an opening to Assassinate the Admiral do you want me to take it?" Seamus asked what seemed like a normal question.
"Under no circumstance will you."Both Seamus and Flint looked at Tatsumi funny. "Just do what I ask you to and I promise to explain everything after we are done here today." The two assassins hesitated a moment before they nodded."
"Will you be safe on the ground?" Flint asked.
"Adelaar should be able to keep me out of sight unless I do something to attract their attention. Remember follow and do nothing to bring attention to yourselves. They both nodded and started to move along the rooftops. Tatsumi jumped down off of the roof and started to quickly move through the streets.
He quickly approached the column and started walking past the first few soldiers to the rear of the column and closer to the unit's commander and Woods. As he approached he began to hear whispers from them. "You should learn how to keep your mouth shut old friend." The unit's commander sai to the admiral. "One day the Grand Master is going to do something and I doubt anyone including Budo will be able to do anything to stop him."
"Prime Minister Honest, has driven our nation's people to Civil War and it's coffers empty. Doing these things are treacherous enough but doing these things for his own personal gain sickens me. Isn't that why you and your friends have been running around in the dark behind the order's back?"
'So wasn't just Liver who was plotting against Honest.' He thought as he slowed his approach so the Woods wouldn't see him. Even though the Adelaar's aura that helped his stealth the Admiral was still a dangerous threat.
"How'd you know about that!" The commander yelled at him quietly.
"Don't threat dear friend. No one who would threaten your plan knows. Being so far from the Capital I have to keep my eyes and ears open. So I've acquired a small retinue of eyes to keep me informed of the goings in the city."
The commander sighed, "Well I've become just a bit more paranoid."
Woods responded to the statement by laughing. The two officers halted in front of a tavern and the rest of the column quickly stopped as well. "So wait is it that the Grand Master has you doing now?"
"He's wanting me to deal with the local Thieves Guild that's formed in the Market." Tatsumi watched as the commander placed a hand on Admiral Woods shoulder, "Be safe my friend. Do not travel into the Canal District the Assassins here have managed to capture the district."
"Worry not, I've booked passage on a passenger ship running out of a small fishing village to the south. I will see you the next time my friend." Woods started off and waved good bye to the man that he was traveling with.
"ALRIGHT MEN DISPERSE INTO TEAMS OF THREE AND SPREAD OUT! IF YOU FIND ANYTHING REPORT IT DIRECTLY TO ME! YOU TWO COME WITH ME!" Tatsumi watched as the soldiers quickly dispersed into smaller teams and scattered around.
Tatsumi quickly ducked into an alley as Seamus and Flint approached him from the alley. "Did you learn anything? I couldn't hear real well." Seamus asked.
"Yeah they're trying to locate and wipe out the local thieves guild."
"What are you wanting to do?"
"Well, if the Templars are hunting them, then they must have some reason. We'll have to stop them."
"How do you suggest that?" Flint asked.
"First let's find one of the soldiers and interrogate him. They've separated into smaller teams to try and find something so it'll be easier to capture him." Tatsumi looked at Seamus, "Seamus, cover me from the rooftops."
"Got it." Seamus said to Tatsumi before climbing up one of the buildings.
"Flint, I need you to lure the patrols into an alleyway so we can eliminate them easier."
"I understand." Flint said.
Tatsumi and Flint approached the corner with Tatsumi in the lead. Tatsumi held a hand up signaling for him to stop. Flint and him watched as a patrol of the Templar soldiers walk by. In the center was the captain that he saw talking to the Admiral. Tatsumi and Flint watched as they walked by. Tatsumi turned towards Flint and nodded his head.
Flint ran out into the street and grabbed a large rock. "You bastards!" The three soldiers looked back. "You're the reason for our problems! You and your fat minister!" Flint hurled the stone and hit the center soldier square in the nose.
The captain felt his nose and pulled his hand away and saw the blood. The Templar looked at Flint with fury burning in his eyes. "Gut him." He withdrew his sword and was followed by his subordinates. Flint took off down the street and was followed by the Templars. Tatsumi started to run after them but was sure to remain a steady distance from the soldiers. Suddenly Flint turned right into an alley far away the central market.
Tatsumi approached the corner and looked into the alleyway. The three Templars were backing Flint into the end of the alley. Tatsumi looked up at the end of the rooftop and saw Seamus sitting up on top of the building. Seamus was beginning to fix his rifle on one of the soldiers. Soon enough a shot rang out and the soldier fell. Tatsumi grabbed his crossbow and shot one of the soldiers in the back of the head to the right.
Flint grabbed the captain and disarmed him then pushed him up against the wall. "If you scream we'll gut you." Flint quietly said to in a low and threatening manner.
"Who are you trying to fool, Assassin? I think we both know what will happen at the end of this." The soldiers said trying to struggle from Flint's grasp.
"I promise that I will allow you to leave as long as you tell us what we want to know." Tatsumi said as he approached the soldier and Flint.
"Would you really?" The soldier as he stopped struggling.
"I promise that when you answer my questions to my satisfaction, I will allow you to go." Tatsumi said calmly.
"I-I-If I do the Templars will hunt me down." The captured soldier said with the smallest hint of fear in his voice.
"Then leave the city and flee south. I doubt Honest would hunt you across the Empire." Tatsumi said. 'Of course he would but I'm just glad I'm a damn good liar.' He thought right after trying to calm the Templar into telling him what he wanted.
"Fine. What would you like to know?" The soldier asked.
"What are you orders? We know that you looking for the local Thieves guild, but why?" Tatsumi asked continuing his kind manner.
"The Minister has ordered me and several others to lead men into the Market Districts and eradicate the Thieves before they have a chance to assist you and continue harming our orders actives."
"Why not just try to recruit them? I'm sure that the Templar's would profit from it to have both the Merchant's Guild and local Thieves Guild under your control." Flint asked the soldier.
"We've tried that but we never been able to make contact with them. All we know is that they're lead by someone known only as The Rose. We've never been able to contact him."
"Do you have any hint to his location, or some clue that would help me find him."
"No unfortunately. No one has been able to find any information about him, his methods are cautious to say the least."
"Are you sure that is all you know?"
"Yes sir. I'm only a simple soldier, the Grandmaster doesn't reveal his plans entirely to me."
"Thank you, you've answered my all of my questions and I will keep my word." Flint retracted his hidden blade into the soldier's chest. "My friend on the other hand didn't promise."
Flint let the man's body fall as he cleaned the bloodstain from his hidden blade. "He's right you know. My network has been feeding me rumors about this 'Rose' character."
"What have they been telling you?" Tatsumi asked.
"He appears to be some sort of Robin Hood figure. You know the type. I honestly took no stock in the stories of this Rose, but if the Templars are devoting resources into this it must be worth looking into."
"Alright. Go and use your network to see if you can find some specifics."
"Got it. Flint began walking away as Seamus began approaching Tatsumi.
"What do you want me to do, Tatsumi?" Seamus asked when he got close enough.
"I need you to come with me. We're going to find this Rose and his thieves."
"How? I thought no one was able to find them."
"Well no one has looked the right way."
A few hours later
Tatsumi and Seamus were walking through the market street. They hadn't really done all that much really, mostly just walking around. Tatsumi's also been buying a ton of stuff from the vendors, mostly just useless stuff. Seamus stood by the corner of a building watching Tatsumi buy an an apple from a fruit stand. Tatsumi started to walk back over by Seamus with his apple in hand.
They both began walking down the street again. "Tatsumi."
"Yeah, Seamus." Tatsumi said as he took a bite from his apple.
"I think that we're wasting our time. We've been searching for hours and found nothing, I think that if we were to use Mors's connections within the guard we might be able to…."
"Why would we need to bother Mors? I'm sure that he would prefer that we allow him to go about his mission of making sure that the Canal District is secure." Tatsumi to cut Seamus off.
"Well then how about we use Flint's homeless network to…." Tatsumi cut Seamus off again.
"If Flint found anything he would have reported it." Tatsumi took another bite out of his apple.
Seamus was starting to become extremely frustrated. "Fine, then what is your plan to find this Thieves Guild then?"
"First we must find a thief who will then lead us back to his boss."
"And how do you expect to do that?" Seamus coakley asked.
Suddenly a young boy ran into to Tatsumi and stumbled. The boy stood back up and looked at the two men, "I'm sorry sir." The boy immediately started to run down the street again.
Seamus, watched the boy run away and then looked at Tatsumi. "Did he just pick pocket you?" He asked his friend."
Tatsumi reached inside his pocket and withdrew a coin purse. "He tried anyway."
Seamus studied the coin purse and looked back up to Tatsumi. "What did he take?"
A young boy who looked about the age of twelve smiled at the haul that he pulled in. He pulled out the coin purse that he grabbed of the guy he just stole from. He looked at the coin purse, but something was wrong. Instead of seeing the nice and fat coin purse he expected, in it's place he saw a half eaten apple.
The boy looked at the apple oddly. "Didn't anyone ever teach you never to take somebody else's food?" Suddenly someone grabbed the apple out of his hand. When he looked back he saw the hooded man that he robbed, or tried to rob. The boy got up and tried to run away however he ran into another man similarly dressed as the one with the apple.
"If you're desperate to swap spit with someone I can show you the ropes." The second man said as he reached down to pick the boy up.
"Be nice Seamus, we still have some questions to ask him." The first man said walking up to him.
As the first man approached him the boy grabbed a small knife from his belt. However as soon as the he pulled out the knife out the man that had grabbed him held a wrist mounted blade to his throat. "Tell us where you boss is, now, or else." Seamus whispered into his ear.
"Or else what?" The three of them heard a new voice and looked towards it. To see a very nice looking young woman with a set of large….assets and long red hair. "Are you done? Good." She approached the the assassins and the boy. "I'll make you two a deal, let the boy go and I'll tell you where The Rose is." She said.
Tatsumi nodded his head signaling Seamus to let the boy go. Seamus dropped the boy and almost immediately as his feet hit the ground he ran off and out of the alleyway. Tatsumi turned towards the women. "Alright the boy is free. Would you mind telling us where The Rose is? I really need to speak with him."
The woman smiled, "First, why do need to speak with him?"
"Have you noticed the surge in guardsmen patrolling the district?" Tatsumi asked
"It's hard for a thief not to notice a guard, impossible not to notice a freaking army of guards." The woman said cockly, "However they're completely different from the common guardsmen that we've faced. Why are you asking?"
"We're members of an order that seek to fight the men that these particular guards are working for." Tatsumi said. "Seamus and I figured that if we could work together it would be beneficial for both of our groups."
"Well you sure know how to build trust." She said referencing the boy that they just released.
"It's not as if you left us your address." Tatsumi quickly replied.
"Fair enough." She said and started walking off. "Well come on I'll bring you to a nice place where you can talk without anyone hearing you. Although only one of you can come."
Tatsumi turned towards Seamus, "I'll meet you at Jacob's tavern." Seamus nodded and began to walk away. Tatsumi looked back at the young woman. "Alright let's go and meet your boss."