Revisiting Egypt

by EnigmaticAssassin

August 1865. After reading through the diary of her grandmother Elise, Master Assassin Alana Rose Dorian asks fellow Assassin Maria Williams to come with her to Egypt to retrieve Bayek’s keys, and get approval to go by the Assassin Council in Crawley. Will they succeed and bring the keys back to Crawley? Please read and review!

A few lights lit up the rather dark quarters of Master Assassin Alana Rose Dorian, the daughter of the well-known Master Assassin and Council Leader, Juliette Marie Dorian. Her quarters were usually more lit up, but when she was away she would usually leave a couple of lights on to not have it fall into complete and total darkness. Alana herself entered her room with a small book in her hand, which she gently set on her desk while she grabbed a lighter to light up her room. Alana was wearing her black skin tight pants along with her frilled white blouse, while a large brown belt with a golden buckle rested on her waist. Her overshirt and cloak were on a mannequin at the foot of her bed, while her Assassin gauntlet sat at the top left hand corner of her desk. Alana sat at her desk, and undid her braid which allowed her long brown hair flow down to just past her shoulders. Before her on the table was the journal of her grandmother, French Master Assassin Elise de la Serre, who passed away five years prior at the age of ninety-two.

"Much better." Alana said, as she took a deep breath. "Now let's see what secrets her journal contains."

Alana blew the dust off of the journal's cover, and began to delve inside. Inside were accounts from Elise herself on how she became an Assassin after her expulsion from the Templar Order in 1795, and training under the watchful eyes of Alana's grandfather Arno. A few pages later Alana read about Elise's early years as a Master Assassin, where Elise successfully ended the life of Peter Carroll, her lifelong enemy.

Boy do I remember the stories both Mother and Grandmother told me about this. Grandmother was an inch away from death, but managed to evade the Reaper and take the life of Carroll. I sure hope I don't have any encounters like that.

Alana continued to read on. She read about the time where Elise and Arno foiled an assassination attempt on Napoleon Bonaparte on Christmas Eve in 1800, and the return to her home in Versailles in 1801 to retrieve a key from a vault deep underneath the Palace of Versailles. The next couple of pages seemed to stick together, so Alana skipped over them and read about her grandmother's adventures in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Disguised as a slave, Elise discovered a First Civilization vault underneath Topkapi Palace, where she succeeded in assassinating Kasim, the Ottoman Grand Master.

I remember hearing the story from Mother saying that she was actually conceived in the Ottoman capital while the Great Chain was preventing any ships from passing through. Mother always joked with Father that she was also part Turkish as well.

Alana continued to flip through the pages of Elise's journal. Alana read about how Elise had returned to Constantinople to assist her comrades Haran and Dashan Alona remove the Templar backed Sultan Mustafa IV from power.

This one never gets old. Grandmother told me that she was the one who restrained the Sultan, and when he tried to resist her, she threatened to kill him right there on the spot. I remember the exact method of restraint she used to bring him down. She quickly grabbed his left arm and pinned him to the ground, and put her hidden blade an inch from his neck.

Alana continued to read on, which included a rather late journal mention about her grandparents visiting the United States of America in the year 1803 with her uncle Francois, where they teamed up with the American Assassin Mentor Connor to bring Shay Cormac, the man who killed her great-grandfather back in 1776. By this time, Shay had ascended to the rank of Grand Master of the American Templars.

I remember hearing stories about this from Grandfather. My grandparents received a letter from Connor about strengthening their respective brotherhoods, but in reality it was an invitation for them to come over to the States and help Connor eliminate Shay Cormac. It was a journey that took them to New York and Boston, and onto Rome, where Grandfather had a change of heart, and let Shay go, telling him not to hunt for the Pieces of Eden again, or he would kill him.

Curiosity began to eat away at Alana as she she looked at the two pages that were stuck together. Alana rummaged through the drawers of her desk for an envelope opener. She smiled as soon as she saw one. Alana stuck the opener on the top of the page where there was a little bit of an opening and gently began to separate the pages. Once Alana separated the pages, she separated the bottom of the pages with relative ease. What was on the pages made Alana's jaw drop. On the right page were sketches of three objects. The first was of three pyramids, the second was of a sphere with arms radiating from it, and the third was the entrance to a temple. On the left page was a small blurb. Alana began to read.

September 5th, 1800

I have returned from Egypt, with vital information about the Origins of our Brotherhood. They were sealed in Bayek's tomb, not far from the Great Pyramid of Giza. In order to get access to the tomb, I had had to travel to three different locations in Egypt to locate these keys. I traveled to the Great Pyramid, Amarna, and the Temple at Luxor to retrieve them, all while evading Herve Sonnar's Templars. The keys are currently resting in Bayek's tomb, never to be disturbed again. For if they do, here is a reference on what to look for.

Alana examined the sketches a little more closely, and then she remembered another tale. Alana remembered the story told to her by her mother about Elise returning to Egypt to return the scattered keys to Bayek's previous tomb after they had been scattered and fallen into the hands of a group of Italian archaeologists. She had been to the site before as a little girl, but she never got to go inside the tomb. Alana's curiosity had gotten the better of her. She wanted to go back to Egypt, and visit the tomb. She scooped up Elise's journal, and exited her room after blowing out the candle. Alana walked out into the main room, where she saw Cordelia Williams, the mother of her best friend Maria, sitting at the table, examining a map of London and the surrounding areas. Alana approached the table.

"Excuse me Cordelia, do you happen to know where Maria is?"

Cordelia looked up at Alana and smiled.

"She should be finishing up her shift at the pub. What do you need from her Alana?"

"I've got a proposition for her. I'll head over to the pub and fill her in there. Thank you, Cordelia."

Cordelia nodded her head. "Anytime, Alana Rose."

Alana returned the head nod as Cordelia returned to her map. Alana made her way up the long rickety staircase, taking her time to make her way up. Upon mking it to the top, she opened the door, exposing herself to the light of the setting sun. Alana closed the door behind her, and made her way into the heart of Crawley. As she walked towards the town centre, Alana could see shopkeepers closing their shops, people rushing out with the last of their goods, and townsfolk winding down for the evening. These sights weren't common around Crawley, and Alana had had seen this quite frequently over the twenty-five years of her life. Alana arrived at her destination, the Eagle Head Pub. She peered inside and saw Maria standing behind the bar. Alana smiled and entered the bar. The smell of alcohol filled her nose immediately as she made her way towards the bar. Alana could hear boisterous laughter and clinking glasses among the people. Alana could hear several misogynistic comments from the men fueled by alcohol.

Alana made her way up to the bar and had herself a seat. Maria turned around to see Alana, surprised by her presence.

"Evening there, Alana!" Maria greeted her, brushing her black hair out of the way of her glasses. " Can I get you a pint of something?"

"Some of Keith's IPA please."

"Two then." Maria replied.

"Two?"

"Yup, two. I'm done my shift, Alana!" Maria exclaimed. "I'll be back out with two pints in a jiffy!"

Alana smiled as she watched her friend disappear behind a door leading to the barrels. Five minutes had elapsed before Maria came back out with two pints in her hand, placing one before Alana. Maria rounded the bar and sat down right beside Alana.

"Alex, I'm done for the night!"

A man with a tray of empty pint glasses nodded his head towards her and continued to pick up empty glasses. Maria placed her beer beside Alana's. Both beers were a crisp, golden color with a thick white head. When Alana took a sip, all she could taste aside from the alcohol was the bitterness of the hops and wheat. Either way, it was refreshing for Alana.

"So Alana, what brings you to the pub this evening?"

Alana placed Elise's journal on the bar and opened it up to the page with the sketches on it.

Maria took a sip of her beer. "What are these?"

"Sketches of keys found by my grandmother sixty-five years ago." Alana replied after she took a swig of her beer. "Keys used to unlock the tomb of the famed Hidden One Bayek of Siwa."

Maria's jaw dropped.

"My grandmother went on an expedition to Egypt to find these keys. It led her all the way across the country just to retrieve vital documents sealed away in his tomb."

"Fascinating." Maria took another sip of her beer. "I wonder if they are still in his tomb?"

"It's what I want to find out." Alana replied, sipping to about the halfway point of her beer. "I want to see if they are still there. I was planning on going to Egypt, barring my Mother's approval and I was wondering if you'd accompany on this trip."

Maria paused for a few moments to think about Maria's offer. It wasn't long before Maria gave Alana her answer.

"I'm in. Let's go to Egypt."

Alana smiled approvingly as she closed Elise's journal.

"Cheers, Maria!"

"Cheers, Alana!"

The two women clinked their pint glasses and finished their beers before they made their way out of the pub and back to the Goff House.

---

The moon was high in the sky as Alana and Maria arrived at the door to the Goff House. Alana pounded on the door and waited for someone to answer. Alana could hear what sounded like footsteps rushing up to the door. The door swung open, and greeting them was Jacob Frye.

"Evening there, Maria! Evening, Alana-bana!"

Alana rolled her eyes.

"Jacob!" A feminine voice shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Alana took a peek and saw that it was Evie, who was wearing her hair down. "Mother wants you down here so we can begin our theory lesson!"

Jacob groaned. "All right I'll be right down! Looks like I have to give this theory-schmeory thing a go."

He began the walk down the stairs, with Alana and Maria following suit. When Alana and Maria arrived at the bottom of the stairs, they were met by the sight of Cordelia and Juliette sitting at the table in the center of the room. Juliette looked up at Alana.

"Welcome back, Alana and Maria. Please have yourselves a seat."

Alana and Maria got themselves comfortable in the chairs before them. Juliette clasped her hands and placed them on the table.

"Good evening Alana."

"Good evening, mother. How are you this evening?"

"I've been better." Juliette replied, running her hands through her long brown hair before putting it in a ponytail. "I've been hearing from fellow Assassins that many want to go to London and retake it from the Starrick regime, going against my warnings of striking when the time is right. It is not a fun thing to be hearing right about now."

"Is Marshall among the few that want to go?" Maria asked.

"No, he is not." Cordelia reassured her daughter. Maria heaved a sigh of relief.

"Now back to the matter at hand." Juliette held her hand up. "While I was talking to Cordelia this evening, you informed her that you had a proposition for Maria. What was this proposition you spoke of Alana?"

Alana looked up at her mother, her eyes beaming with curiosity.

"I was going through grandmother Elise's journal, and observed these sketches."

Alana placed the journal on the table open to the page in question. Juliette looked down at the sketches of the three keys and showed them to Cordelia before returning the journal to Alana.

"It says here the keys are from Bayek's tomb. What do you intend to do with them?"

"I intend to bring them back here for study. I want to see what they are made of, because according to the sketches, they look like they may have some ties to the Isu."

Juliette clasped her hands and placed them on the table. "What do you intend to do if there are Templars stationed in Egypt Alana?"

"Protect them at all costs and hide them to prevent the Templars from following us."

"Where are you going to hide them?"

Silence followed, until Maria broke it.

"Bayek's new tomb?"

Alana shot a quick glance over to Maria. That is a plausible suggestion.

"I'm not sure why your grandmother never told me about the keys, but now you have peaked my curiosity. You may travel to Egypt to find these keys, but if you are followed by Templars, return them to Bayek's tomb and hide them well. I'll seek a carriage to get you to Portsmouth tomorrow."

"Fantastic! Thank you mother!"

Juliette smiled at her daughter, and returned her focus to examining the map of London with Cordelia. Alana patted Maria on the back.

"We're going to Egypt!"

Maria turned around. "I'm so excited to go with you!"

"Get plenty of rest Maria!" Alana encouraged Maria as she entered her quarters. Maria smiled as she shut the door behind her. Alana turned into the door and jumped, placing her arm on her chest. Her look of shock turned into a smile as she saw who was inside. Sitting on her bed was her husband Albert.

"I heard you say you're going to Egypt?" He questioned. Alana smiled.

"Assassin business honey." Alana replied, hugging him tightly. "Maria and I are going to Egypt to bring certain keys back here to study them. How was your day at work?"

"Sounds like you're excited to visit Egypt again." He patted her on the back, and let her take off her cloak and overshirt. "My day was rather eventful. Father had me in charge of the finances today, and I was in charge of all the paperwork in the department. But I managed to leave just in time to meet you here beautiful."

Alana blushed, and planted a kiss on his lips. Albert got up and grabbed Alana by the waist, lifting her up into the air, and gently placed her back on her bed. Alana wrapped her legs around Albert and kissed him passionately until the couple fell asleep.

---

Alana awoke with her left arm draped across Albert's chest. She brushed aside the long hair of her husband as she quietly got up out of bed, careful not to wake him.

Don't mind me, honey. Alana thought as she buttoned up her overshirt. She proceeded to slide her cloak over her head until it rested on her shoulders. She walked up to her desk and slid on her Master Assassin gauntlet, and flicked out her golden Hidden Blade after fastening the straps. She grabbed Elise's diary and exited the room, quietly closing the door behind her. Turning to her right she saw Maria exit her room, all dressed up in her assassin gear. Alana always admired the vibrant colours of Maria's attire, from her vibrant red vest to her navy blue jacket and purple scarf that belonged to her father. She saw Maria hug her mother before she left the room.

"Morning Maria!"

"Good morning Alana! How are you this fine morning?"

"I'm doing good. Excited to go to Egypt?"

A huge smile came across Maria's face. "Words can't describe how excited I am to go Alana!"

A huge smile came across Alana's face as she saw the excitement emanate from her friend.

"I am too! If you are ready now we can go see if Juliette has arranged a carriage for us to get to Portsmouth."

Just as the pair entered the main hall, they heard a bell ringing from outside. Juliette looked up from her book at the women.

"Your ride to Portsmouth is here. I wish you safe travels to Egypt. Stay safe when you get there as well."

"Thank you mother." Alana replied, hugging her mother tightly. Juliette returned the hug and held onto the hug for a few moments before letting go. Maria began to make her way up the stairs to the entrance and was halfway up already before Alana made her way up the stairs. Maria waited patiently for her comrade to come up the stairs as the bell from the carriage rang again. Alana darted up the stairs quickly to meet up with Maria.

"Took you long enough." Maria chimed sarcastically. Alana returned a whimsical smirk.

"Sometimes you're one to talk." Alana retorted in the same sarcastic manner.

"You know me too well." Maria replied as the two of them walked out the door towards the carriage. Alana approached the driver.

"You Juliette's daughter?

Alana nodded her head. "I am. How much do I owe?"

"Free of charge. You can enter the carriage. Just let me get the door for you."

The driver hopped down from the seat and opened the door. Maria leaped into the carriage and sat on the right side facing the back, while Alana followed suit and sat across from Maria. Alana could feel the driver get comfortable in his seat and snap on the reins, which caught her off guard for a few moments. Alana looked up at Maria, who was still fairly tired.

"Get a good sleep Maria?"

Maria yawned. "I did, but I still feel a little tired. I'll be fine if I nap on the way to Portsmouth."

"Sounds good. I'll wake you when we arrive."

Maria got herself comfortable against the window and closed her eyes and began to nap. As the carriage began to move, Alana pulled out Elise's diary, and observed the sketches of the keys, passing the time by as the carriage led them to Portsmouth.

---

Alana could feel the carriage come to a stop. Maria was still unfazed. Alana opened the door and stepped out to take in the harbour of Portsmouth. The morning sun shined down on the sparkling water as ships passed in and out of the harbour. Alana couldn't see much of the town behind her, but she could see the towers of Old Portsmouth on the horizon to her left. People were flocking to and from different ships carrying all sorts of goods, ranging from clothes to lumber to rugs and tea.

"Maria, we are in Portsmouth."

Maria slowly awoke from Alana gently rocking her shoulder. Maria rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stepped out of the carriage. The light blinded her her at first, but the sights and sounds of the harbour came to her as soon as she could see.

"Damn, that sun is bright for the morning." Maria muttered, holding her arm up to shield herself from the sunlight. Alana and Maria made their way down to the busy docks, navigating their way through the throngs of people to look for a captain of a ship sailing to Egypt. Alana could hear the shouts of captains heading to Constantinople, Athens, Marseille, and Cherbourg. Alana kept her ears peeled until she heard the magic location.

"Ship sailing to Cairo! Ship sailing to Cairo!"

Alana's ears perked up as soon as she heard the word Cairo. Alana and Maria gently shoved people out of their way to make their way over to the captain, who had short black hair and a matching beard. He wasn't much taller than both women, who were roughly around five feet seven in height. He began to formally introduced himself.

"Hello travellers! My name is David Clyde Walters, and I am the captain of the HMS Manticore, the finest freight vessel to come out of the British Isles! I can get you to Egypt in five days to a week! What can I do for you my friends?"

Maria pulled out her pouch of coins. "How much would it be for two tickets to board your ship?"

David looked at her seeming puzzled. "Madame, this is a freighter. I'm not going to charge you anything to board my ship. I take tourists to and from Egypt frequently. I take up to ten people per trip, and I had almost given up hope until you two arrived. You are free to board."

Alana and Maria shook David's hand as they boarded his ship. The deck of the Manticore was in good condition, even after making several voyages between Egypt and England. Alana could see that some storms between the two countries had chipped away at the paint job of the vessel. David ordered his crew to lift the boarding ramp back onto the ship before they got the sails in order. Once the crewmen got in position to ready the sails, David approached the bridge of the ship, with Alana and Maria beside him.

"Half sail men! Half sail!" He yelled, as his crewmen heeded his command and got the sails halfway down. Alana crosses her arms while Maria turned turned around to watch the harbour get further and further away as they sailed. Once the Manticore was out of the harbour, David ordered his men to unfurl the sails, causing them to be full. The wind began to pick up as they exited the harbour, blowing Alana's hair back into her face. David happened to catch a glance at Alana's left wrist as he looked down and saw her sheathed hidden blade.

"What is with that wrist blade, Miss?" He asked curiously. Alana looked down and back up.

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with my friend."

David smiled. "If you insist. In the meantime you are free to visit your quarters below deck. Help yourself to some tea down there if you'd like! I'll continue sailing!"

Alana patted the sailor on the back and walked to the lower deck of the ship. Maria followed suit, eager to see their quarters. As soon as the door opened, Maria was the first down the stairs, bolting past Alana. It wasn't long before Alana heard from Maria.

"Holy cow Alana! Come down here!"

Alana came down the stairs and was greeted by several different tins of tea with kettles of hot water and tea bags beside them. Maria already had a cup of tea in her hand.

Holy cow, look at all these flavours of tea, Alana thought as she looked through the flavours as she grabbed a tea bag and mug. Alana spotted several flavours, such as bergamot, valerian root, and chai tea. Alana grabbed some of the valerian root tea and placed it in her tea bag. Gently grabbing the kettle, Alana poured the hot water onto the tea bag. Once she had filled it, she let it steep. Alana looked up to Maria, who had finished her tea.

"David's tea is really good!" Maria informed Alana, licking her lips.

"What flavour did you get?" Alana asked curiously.

"Chai. It is my mom's favourite tea and I have grown to like it myself. What did you get Alana?"

"Valerian root tea." Alana replied, before gently blowing on the tea and taking a sip. Alana could heat of the tea scrape against her throat. "I'm gonna be heading to sleep for a bit."

"Sounds good Alana. I'll be up on the deck taking in the sights and sounds of the sea if you need me!"

Maria winked.

Alana sat for a few moments and continued to sip on her tea. She sloshed the tea in her mouth which brought out the strong valerian flavour. Alana managed to finish her tea shortly afterwards. Placing her empty mug on the nightstand, Alana unfastened her Assassin Gauntlet and placed it beside her empty mug. Alana got herself comfortable on her bed and pulled the covers over up to her shoulders. As soon as her head hit her pillow, Alana was asleep.

---

*Six Days Later*

The small British tea freighter HMS Manticore dropped anchor in Cairo after a six day journey from Portsmouth. Captain David Walters ordered his men to lower the boarding ramp. Watching from a distance were British Master Assassins Alana Rose Dorian and Maria Williams, who were waiting patiently for it to be lowered. Alana approached Captain Walters.

"Thank you for getting us here in one piece, Captain."

"Not a problem, Mrs. Dorian. I'd have gotten you here sooner had it not been for the storms on the Mediterranean."

"Yeah, the storms that made me sick." Maria added.

"You definitely were looking better than you were two days ago." David added.

David and Alana shared in a laugh as Maria rolled her eyes. Alana returned her focus to David.

"Will you still be here in a few days time?"

"I will be indeed. I will be here to show off my tea at the bazaar. Are you looking to board again to go home?"

Alana nodded her head. "Yes."

"Consider it done."

"Thank you." Alana replied, shaking his hand.

"Enjoy your time here you two!"

Alana and Maria waved back at the captain, who was beginning to help his crew carry out his tea from the deck to the docks. Walking away from the docks, Maria looked over to Alana.

"Where to next Alana?"

Alana paused for a few moments and remembered where to go. The Eagle Talon Hotel and Cafe, the place where Alana and her mother Juliette stayed all those years ago. She began to wonder if the place was even standing.

"The Eagle Talon Hotel and Cafe. The place I stayed when I was here last."

"Sounds good. Let's go!"

Alana and Maria walked through the bazaar of Cairo, which was starting to die down in the early evening as Alana could see that shopkeepers were starting to close up their shops and pack away their goods, even though some remained open in an effort to get some extra sales before closing time. Straight ahead were the Great Pyramids of Giza towering over the city of Cairo in the distance. Maria stood and marveled at the ancient structures while Alana shifted her attention to the Cairo Citadel, which rested in the heart of Cairo and began to look at the mosque that was under construction when she was last there in 1847. Maria came over to her side.

"What are you looking at Alana?"

Alana crossed her arms. "The Citadel of Cairo, built in the years of 1176-1183 by Sultan Saladin."

Maria placed her hand on her chin. "You mean the same Saladin that attacked the Assassins in Masyaf?"

"The same one that ordered the execution of Umar Ibn-La'Ahad."

"It's a damn shame that someone so ruthless and cruel lived in such an elegant citadel." Maria retorted, glaring at the citadel.

Alana patted Maria on the shoulder. "Come on Maria, let's go see if the hotel is still standing."

Maria nodded her head and accompanied Alana down the roads towards the outskirts of the city, with the road slowly turning into sand with each step they took. The sun was ear the end of the road they came across a building with an outdoor patio facing the pyramds.

"Well I guess this is the place."

Alana looked up to read the sign, which said Eagle Talon Hotel and Pub. Alana found this to be a little strange because when she was a girl, it was a hotel and cafe. Nonetheless, the pair entered. A man with light brown hair and glasses was standing at it sorting out papers. He looked up and smiled as the two women approached.

"Hello there, the name is Henry Willows." He greeted, shaking Alana's hand first, then Maria's. "Owner of Cairo's most popular hotel and pub! What can I do for you two ladies?"

"Is there any way we could get a room here for a couple of nights?" Maria asked politely.

"You most certainly can my friends." He replied, writing down a booking. "In whose name will this be under?

Alana was about to reach for her pouch of coins but looked up to see Maria had hers on the table.

"Maria Williams."

"Very will, Miss Williams." Henry replied, counting all the required coins before handing her coin pouch back to her. He handed Maria a key. "You will be staying in room number 2. You are free to go to you room. You will have to pass through the pub and up the stairs at the very end. Your room will be second on the left."

"Thank you sir." Alana bowed her head, and opened the door leading to the pub. What was inside the former cafe was a far cry from what Alana had seen eighteen years ago. Instead of tables there were four booths to their left and two to their right. Also on their right was the bar, which had three men sitting at it with a man about nineteen years of age pouring pints. Alana and Maria walked past a group of drunken men sitting in a booth to their left. As they walked by, one of the men grabbed Alana's right buttock and squeezed it. Alana whirled around to identify who groped her.

"Which one of you fuckers did it?"

The four men in the booth laughed as Alana got angrier.

"Which one of you did it?"

"Come on Alana, let's just go to our room." Maria pulled Alana away from the men.

Alana broke Maria's grip. "No Maria. I want to know who of these four men grabbed my ass! I'm not leaving until I find out!"

Alana held her hands on her hips and glared at them until the man nearest her stood up and looked her in the eye. His beard was matted along with his brown hair. Alana could see his eyes were glazed over as he took a rather large sip out of his schooner of beer. He was clearly drunk off his ass.

"It was me, sweetie." He slurred his words. "I couldn't resist grabbing a fine ass like yours. So tender, so juicy, so meaty.."

Alana had heard enough. She curled her right hand in a fist and it connected with the man's jaw, knocking him out and back down into his seat. The men caught their friend and tried to lunge at Alana. Maria draped her arm across Alana and began to escort her away. Alana yelled at the group of men.

"I'm a woman, not a piece of meat you piece of shit!"

Henry walked in to see the drunk men still going after Alana. He dropped his things and quickly intervened, stepping in between the men and two women.

"What the hell is wrong with you four?" he asked, raising his voice. Before they could respond, Henry cut them off. "You know what you can do? You can get the hell out of my bar!"

Henry pointed towards the door and watched as the drunk men left his bar. He turned around to face Alana and Maria.

"I'll talk to you two up in your room in a few moments."

Maria nodded her head as she accompanied Alana up the stairs.

"Damn, that felt good." Alana smiled as she curled her right hand into a fist again. She looked down to see that three of he knuckles were bleeding.

"What are you going to do about those?" Maria asked as she took the key open the lock.

"Oh they'll heal over time." Alana replied confidently as Maria opened the door. Walking into the room, it was if Alana had never left. The bed was neatly folded and the desk and end tables stayed in the exact same spot as they did eighteen years ago. The only thing that changed was that there were two single beds inside the hotel room instead of one king sized bed. Maria walked over to her bed and placed her book on her end table. Alana followed suit and sat on her bed, twiddling her thumbs while she waited for Henry Willows to arrive at their room. Not long after they sat down, they heard a knock on their door. Alana looked up.

"Come in." Alana said calmly.

The door opened and Henry entered the room. Closing the door behind him, he sat down at the desk and turned to face them.

"Good evening ladies." He greeted them. Two head nods returned his greeting.

"Good evening." Alana replied.

"Miss, what happened in the pub? I only heard the tail end of it."

Alana cleared her throat. "Well, we were walking up to our room where one of those drunken pigs grabbed my ass. I demanded to know which one did it and retaliated against him."

"How did you retaliate against him Miss?"

Alana showed Henry her bloody knuckles. "I knocked him out cold."

Henry whistled. "My word Miss, you certainly are fierce. What is your name?"

"Alana Rose Dorian."

Henry's ears perked up upon hearing her name.

"Was your mother's name Juliette..."

"...Marie Dorian?" Alana finished his sentence. "Yes she is."

Henry smiled.

"Then you must've been the little girl who ran into me when we last met."

Alana let out a little laugh. Henry was that man she ran into when she first came here eighteen years ago. It all came back to her as soon as he brought it up.

"I was meant to give your mother this letter all those years ago, but it went over my head completely. Here."

Henry handed Alana a sealed parchment. On it was a Greek seal. Despite the letter being rather old, the letter was undamaged with no creases or bends. Alana unfastened the seal and unraveled it. Maria peered over Alana's shoulder and adjusted her glasses to see what was on the parchment. On it was the the three keys that her grandmother had drawn sixty-five years earlier, except the sketches looked rather older. Beside them were the intricately handwritten words that read Pyramid, Philae, and a word that began with the letter S that was rather unintelligible. Underneath was the letter K.

"My father told me that he received this letter shortly after your grandmother left in 1813. I found it just before you and your mother had left and failed to catch her before hand. I'm glad you came back, Alana Rose."

Alana rolled the parchment back up and sealed it up.

"Thank you Henry. This document will be pivotal in our mission here."

"Oh? What might this mission be?"

Maria smiled. "I'm glad you asked. Alana and I are looking for keys that belonged to Bayek, the founder of our brotherhood, and study them in England."

Henry smiled. "I hope you two succeed in your mission. I'd get some rest though. Don't want to be tired for tomorrow."

Alana nodded her head as Henry quietly closed the door behind him. Alana bent down and untied the laces at the top of her boots and slid them off of her feet. She then unfastened the buttons on her overcoat and folded it up, placing it at her bedside. Maria followed suit and placed her lengthy overcoat at her bedside. Alana unbuttoned her dress shirt, revealing a lacy tank top. She folded up her dress shirt and placed it on top of her overcoat. Alana looked over towards Maria, who was still wearing her white dress shirt and red vest. Alana shot her a puzzled look.

"You're sleeping in that?"

Maria smirked. "Yup!"

"Aren't you going to sweat to death in that?"

"Nah, I'm actually quite cool. Not very hot."

"Fair enough. Have a good sleep Maria!"

"You too Alana!"

Alana smiled as she blew out the candles on the nightstand that lit up their room. Alana got herself comfortable under the covers of her bed and laid her head on the pillows. As soon as her head hit the pillow, tiredness consumed her as she fell asleep, gearing up for tomorrow's adventure.

---

Sunlight flowed into the room as Alana woke up. She stretched out her arms as she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Maria looked up from her book and smiled.

"About time you woke up!"

Alana shot a smirk over to her friend who was fully dressed already. "How long have you been awake for?"

"Since 7 am."

"What time is it now?" Alana asked curiously as she put her dress shirt on.

"9 am." Maria said, looking down at her pocket watch and sipping out of her cup of coffee.

"Fair enough." Alana replied, as she buttoned up the final button on her dress shirt. She reached down for her overshirt and stood up to put it on. Alana looked down to fasten the four buttons of her long sleeved shirt. Once she had it on, she picked up her cloak and fastened the gold buttons on it and slid it over her neck. She looked over to the nightstand and picked up her Assassin Gauntlet, sliding it onto her left wrist. She did up the straps nice and tight, and flicked out her Hidden Blade.

"Ready."

Maria put her book down and grinned. "There you go girl! Let's go!"

Alana watched as Maria quickly got up from her bed and make her way to the door. "The Great Pyramid awaits!"

"That it does, Maria. That it does."

Maria opened the door, allowing Alana to pass through first. Once Maria exited the room, she locked the door behind them. The two Assassins made their way downstairs through the pub, where people were having coffee in the morning, with the pub serving as a cafe for the morning hours. Alana and Maria exited the pub and passed by Henry, who was at the desk. He looked up at the two women and smiled.

"Good morning ladies! Off to the Pyramids?"

Alana and Maria nodded their heads.

"Hope you find what you're looking for!"

"Thank you Henry." Alana replied politely as she walked out the door to meet up with Maria, who was very excited to visit the Great Pyramid for the first time.

---

Alana and Maria arrived at the base of the Great Pyramid after a twenty minute walk through the sands and intense heat of Egypt. Along with the tourists from around the world who flocked to the site to see the three pyramids, Alana looked all the way up to the top and back.

"Ah, I remember coming here when I was a little girl." Alana said as she sat on one of the stones.

"You've been to the Great Pyramid before?" Maria inquired. "I remember hearing about your trip to Egypt with your mother, but I didn't know about your visit to the Great Pyramid!"

"You bet." Alana replied. "My mother brought me here during her downtime after her mission in London to take in the sights of Egypt. I was seven at the time. We came here and she told me everything she knew about the pyramids. She even let me sit on the very stone I'm sitting on right now."

"That's fascinating Alana!"

Alana pulled out the note she had received from Henry Willows and looked at the first sketch. It could be anywhere around the pyramid. It could even be inside.

"Hey Alana!"

"Yes?"

"Did you go to the top of the pyramid when you were a girl?"

"No I didn't, unfortunately." Alana replied.

"Since the key could be anywhere, why don't we start at the top of the pyramid and make our way down?"

Alana returned a smile towards the young Assassin. "Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go!"

Alana quickly got up from a sitting position and began to climb up the limestone bricks with relative ease. Maria herself leaped up onto the limestone brick and began to follow Alana up the pyramid, stone by stone. As they were climbing, the pair of Assassins would stop to take a peek and see if the key was wedged in between any of the stones. Tourists who were also climbing the pyramid watched with bewilderment as the two Assassins climbed up the pyramid shouting at them.

"Be careful ladies!" A female tourist shouted.

"Are you two insane? If you slip you'll surely die!"

Ignoring their shouts, the pair continued their climb up the pyramid. After a half hour long climb that seemed longer, Alana and Maria made it to the top of the pyramid. Alana sat down to rest her legs after such an exhausting climb. Maria followed suit and sat down beside her best friend. The hot desert wind blew through their hair, which got in Alana's face temporarily until she pushed it aside. Maria looked over towards Alana.

"Do you think the key could be up here?"

"Well there's only one way to find out!"

The two Master Assassins sprang up quickly from their seats on the stone and scoured for the key, even going down a few blocks to look for traces of the key. Their constant scouting of the top of the pyramid had brought them no luck in discovering the key. The duo split up to cover more ground and continued to make their way down the pyramid, eyes peeled for anything that could lead them to the key. Alana took the North and west facings while Maria took to scouring the southern and eastern faces. No luck was found until Maria discovered the etching of a pyramid carved into one of the stones. Maria reached out for it gently, only for the stone to yawn back and reveal a hidden corridor leading into the pyramid.

"Alana! Come over here! Quick!"

Alana's ears perked up as she heard Maria shouting for her. As quick as she could, Alana darted across the eastern face, gently pushing aside any tourists that got in her way. Rounding the corner to the southern face of the pyramid, she could see Maria standing guard over the entrance. Alana made her way down towards Maria.

"What is this?" Alana asked curiously.

"I discovered an etching on this stone and as I reached out for it, it disappeared into the stone below, leading into this corridor."

"Do you think the key is inside Maria?"

"Possibly."

"Let's investigate."

Alana replied as she ducked inside. Maria followed behind her. Alana grabbed a torch, and looked up to see a chunk of flint above their heads.

Perhaps I could use that to light this torch.

Alana unsheathed her hidden blade and broke off a large enough chunk of flint. The flint piece fell into her hand. She handed the torch to Maria. Alana struck the flint, and as she did, a few sparks flew. Alana struck the flint a second time, with the same result. On the third time, Alana got sparks to fly. The sparks grabbed the torch, turning into a brilliant flame which lit up the corridor.

"There we go. Much better!"

"Took you long enough."

Alana turned around and smirked at Maria after hearing her whimsical comment. Maria darted ahead and led the way with Alana close in tow. Once the pair arrived at the end of the long tunnel they were greeted by darkness and several burnt out torches. It wasn't dark for very long as out of thin air the torches, about ten in number on each side, lit up and illuminated the vast void. Maria looked straight ahead to see the pyramid shape at the very end, carved into the stone.

"The key could be over there! Let's go Alana!"

Maria darted down the stairs while Alana took her time. Maria made it down the stairs while Alana was halfway down, as she looked at the metal-like architecture inside, with rows of futuristic lighting weaving their way through the floors, wall, and ceiling.

An Isu vault inside the Great Pyramid? This is incredibly remarkable. Mother is going to be very excited once she hears this news.

Maria was all the way at the end of the large room, marveling at the massive carving. Alana approached her with her arms crossed, looking at the four stone buttons before them.

"Where do you think the key is Maria?"

Maria stood there looking puzzled.

"Perhaps there is a code of some sorts. Maybe if we push them in some sort of sequence we could unlock the key's true location."

Alana watched as Maria pushed the first button, followed by the third, and then the fourth and second. Maria paused for a few moments, but nothing came out before them.

"Dammit!" Maria exclaimed.

Alana watched on as Maria tried twice more to get the correct sequence. Alana activated her Eagle Vision, and focused on the four buttons. The four buttons were highlighted in gold, and Alana watched as numbers formed on the buttons, indicating the correct sequence which was the fourth button first, followed by the first one second, and then the second one one third and the third one last.

"Maria, I know the sequence."

"What?"

"It goes as follows. Fourth button first, first button second, second button third, and the third one last."

"How do you know?"

"Just do it Maria. Trust me."

"If you insist."

Maria walked over to the first button and pushed it. The button stayed in. Maria rushed over to the first key and pushed it. The first button stayed in as well. Maria sidestepped to her right and pushed the second button. The second button stayed in too. Getting excited, Maria pushed the last button in the order. With the final button staying in place, a low rumbling sound echoed throughout the vault. Before them, a stone became dislodged. Maria darted over to the stone and tried to pry it out. Alana came over to assist her. The two women pried the stone out and at the back lying down was the first key they were looking for. Maria pulled it out and examined the pyramid shape on the key.

"So this is one of Bayek's keys?" Maria pondered.

"Indeed." Alana replied, patting Maria on the shoulder. "The keys that were used to seal his tomb all those years ago. All we need to do is find two more and we can go back to Crawley and study them."

"Where's our next destination?"

Alana pulled out Henry's note and looked at the destination of the second key.

"The Temple of Isis at Philae. But first let's regroup at our hotel room."

Maria joined up with Alana as the pair began to make their way out of the vault.

"You never did tell me about how you figured out the sequence to those buttons."

"I used my gift."

"Your gift? Oh you mean Eagle Vision?"

"Yup."

"Why didn't you use it from the get-go?"

"I thought the puzzle was going to be easier to solve." Alana replied as they exited the vault. "I'm sorry."

"No worries. What matters now is that we have the first key. Come on Alana, let's head back to our hotel quickly!"

Alana watched as Maria began to make her way down the pyramid face rather quickly, avoiding tourists with every stone she landed on. Alana stood and paused for a few moments as the hot Egyptian air hit her, blowing her hair in her face. Brushing her hair aside, Alana began her descent, carefully avoiding tourists who crossed her path as well. Maria stood at the base of the pyramid, waiting for her to come down. Arriving at the last stone, Alana leaped down emphatically and landed in front of Maria with a cloud of sand billowing up from her feet. Maria stood before her clapping.

"Well done."

Alana sarcastically bowed.

"You're funny." Maria smirked.

"Off to the hotel?"

Maria nodded. "Yup. Shall we?"

"Let's."

Alana and Maria began to make their way back to their hotel, trudging their way through the deeper than normal Egyptian sands with the first of Bayek's keys in their possession, eager to head to Philae to find the second of Bayek's keys.

---

Alana sat at the desk in the hotel examining the key while she waited for Maria to return. The material the key was made of resembled the Isu architecture of the mysterious vault inside the pyramid. Alana held the key against the sunlight, watching as the pyramid etching glowed in the light. Her examination of the key was ended by Maria walking in the door, eager to share some news with her.

"I figured out how to get to Philae."

Alana smiled. "How so?"

"Henry informed me of a sailor who could get us down there in about five hours. His name is Alborz and he is down at the docks."

Alana clipped the key onto her belt and stood up from the desk, grabbing her small pouch of coins in the process. "Let's go."

Maria nodded her head, and followed Alana out the door, closing it behind her. The pair made their way through the still-empty pub and passed by Henry at the desk. Before leaving, Alana approached the desk, spooking the owner.

"Thank you again for pointing us in the right direction again, Henry!"

Henry looked up, holding his hand on his chest. "Oh, no problem Alana! No worries! You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack!"

Alana shrugged.

"Best of luck on your journey to Philae ladies!"

Maria curtly nodded her head before smiling. "Thank you Henry!"

Alana held the door open for Maria, who darted out the door and partway down the street, waiting for Alana to catch up with her. Alana caught up with her friend as the pair walked down towards the docks to meet the felucca owner who would get them down to Philae, Alborz.

---

Alana and Maria walking through the streets of Cairo led them through the bazaar. The bazaar was crowd in the early hours of the afternoon, with several people forming lines to purchase their goods. Alana could see people walking around with several items, such as meat, spices, cloth and clothing. They even saw a man with a snake propped up on his shoulder. The snake lunged at Maria. Maria jumped and hid behind Alana as he walked by.

"Jesus!" Maria yelped. "That snake better not have been venomous!"

"Hate to break it to you Maria, but that was an Egyptian Cobra."

"Was it..."

"Venomous? Yes it was."

"Well it's a good thing it didn't bite me." Maria said, wiping the sweat away from her forehead. Alana patted her friend on the shoulder as they exited the bazaar and approached the docks. The docks weren't as crowded as the bazaar, as all Alana could see were a few fishermen fishing off the dock and others cleaning their catch by their feluccas. Maria looked over to the right and saw a man tending to the sails of his felucca. Alana and Maria approached the man, who looked up and smiled upon seeing the two women.

"Hello ladies! The name is Alborz, and I have more knowledge about the Nile than any man in Egypt! What can I do for you?"

"Pleased to meet you Alborz. My name is Alana Rose Dorian. My companion Maria Williams and I are seeking a way to Philae, and we were told you could get us there. Is there any way you could get us there?"

Alborz paused and though for a few moments. "I charge for my felucca rides."

"How much?" Maria asked.

"To and from Philae will cost you thirty pounds."

Maria was about to reach for her pouch of coins until Alana cut her off.

"I got this one Maria."

Alana reached into her pouch of coin and handed them to the sailor. Maria looked over to Alana as Alborz allowed them to board his felucca. Alana sat down by Maria at the back of the boat beside the rudder. Alborz pushed the felucca off the dock and quickly leaped into the felucca. Alborz got the sails up and running and returned to his spot at the rudder. Maria was fascinated by the lush scenery along the Nile once they exited Cairo. Alborz looked over to Alana.

"What makes you want to go to Philae?"

Maria took a break from examining the scenery to answer Alborz's question before Alana could.

"I've always wanted to see the Temple of Isis with my own two eyes."

Alana agreed with Maria. She's always wanted to see more ancient Egyptian architecture ever since she last visited.

"I'm with Maria. I've just had the itch to see more ancient Egyptian architecture and I've heard the temple at Philae is some of if not the best."

Alborz nodded his head approvingly before changing the subject.

"You're British aren't you ladies?"

Alana nodded her head and smiled. "We are indeed."

"Whereabouts are you from?"

"We are from the small town of Crawley." Alana replied, as she opened the letter she received from Henry.

"Fascinating." Alborz replied.

"What about you?" Alana asked politely.

"I've lived in Cairo my entire life." Alborz informed Alana. "With my father and my sister. My family has a noted history with sailing down the Nile, and in a way I am continuing that tradition, and will probably do so for the rest of my life."

"Keep up the great work, my friend. You're an excellent sailor."

Alana patted the young sailor on his back. Alborz couldn't hold back a large smile as he focused on the waters ahead, while Alana and Maria both examined the letter as the trio navigated the waters of the mighty Nile on the way to the isle of Philae.

---

The felucca carrying Master Assassins Alana Rose Dorian and Maria Williams docked on the island of Philae after a trip that was lengthened by severely choppy waters, which caused the felucca to sway quite frequently, causing Maria to get seasick. The two Assassins got out of the felucca.

"Thank you Alborz for the safe passage." Alana politely shook the sailor's hand. Maria turned around to marvel the temple's ruins.

"Anytime madames. Apologies for the rough sailing!"

"Not a worry." Alana replied handing him a small pouch of coins. "You got us here in one piece, and that is all that matters my friend."

"Thank you, madame Alana."

"Not a worry. Will you be here when we are done here?"

Alborz looked back at his felucca, with its sails looking tattered and torn. "Looks like I won't be going anywhere for the time being. I'll pass the time by fixing my sails, but once they are all fixed, I will most certainly help you get back to Cairo."

"Thank you sir." Alana bowed her head before meeting back up with Maria, who walked with her towards the temple. Alana couldn't help but notice all of the tourists flocking to see the temple. Alana and Maria blended in with the crowd, taking in the sights of the temple. Following the crowd, Alana pulled out the letter she had received from Henry Willows and looked at the sketch of the second key. She looked to her right and saw the exact sketch carved into a pillar. As the crowd of tourists went to the left, Alana and Maria went to the right and observed the carving. Alana examined the pillar while Maria looked a little ways down. Maria discovered the symbol again, and ran her hand across the relief. Underneath her feet, Maria felt a trap door open from under her feet. Maria screamed as she fell down.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!"

Alana rushed towards the trap door and looked down. "Maria! Are you all right!"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Maria shouted back. "I think it's down here!"

"What's down there?"

"The key!" Maria yelled. "Come down here yourself!"

Alana let out a deep breath and sat at the ledge of the trap hole. Alana crossed her arms and began her long slide down the narrow corridor. After a sudden turn to the left in the corridor, Alana could see the platform Maria was on. Before her though was a rapidly approaching pit of spikes. At the edge, Alana crunched her legs up and leaped as high as she could, her legs and arms flailing in the air until she landed on the opposite platform with her left foot first. Alana looked around at the hidden chamber, looking around and noticing that there were cobwebs above on the roof, and when she looked down she was greeted by spikes and human bones, some of which were impaled on the spikes.

Alana dusted herself off and pointed towards the spikes. "You never told me about those spikes, Maria."

"Sorry about that Alana." Maria replied, rubbing the back of her head. "I just really wanted you to come down here and see what I had discovered."

Alana walked past Maria and took a look at what was before her. Before her was a small altar with a depiction of a temple above it. On the altar was another carving of the temple.

"Whoever this K person is hid these keys rather well." Maria pondered as she approached Alana's side, placing her hand on the altar and her left hand on her hip. As Maria did that, a low rumbling sound was heard. The surface of the altar folded back and revealed an internal pedestal. On it was the second key, with a carving of the temple at the base of the key. Alana took the key off of the pedestal and handed it to Maria, who latched it onto her belt.

Maria smirked. "I didn't want to alter the altar that much!"

Alana flashed a half smile after realizing that Maria had uncorked another pun from her arsenal. Alana began to look around for a way out of the chamber. She paused for a few moments to activate her sixth sense. All the important things such as the altar and the keys on Maria's belt glowed a vibrant gold. She looked up just past Maria to see a small door disguised as stone at the corner of the room.

"I just found our way out of here."

"Actually?"

"Yup! Follow me Maria!"

Maria followed Alana to the far right corner of the platform and crouched down. She pushed on the rock, which caused it to creak and lift up to reveal a secret passage.

"How'd you find this Alana?"

"I've got my ways."

"You used your gift again, didn't you?"

Alana flashed a smirk. "Yup!"

"Thanks Alana. Without it we'd have been stuck in here."

Alana smiled as she entered the secret passage and accompanied Maria at her side. She looked down to see the two keys on Maria's belt, knowing that they only need one more key to find before they can go home.

---

"Never scare me like that again!" Alana stated sternly as Maria followed her out of the Temple.

"At least I didn't get impaled on those spikes!" Maria retorted.

Alana looked down at the letter to see the third and final sketch. Alana finally figured out the S on the letter. The S stood for Simbel. The final key's location was at the great temple of Abu Simbel.

"What matters is that we have the second key. The third and final one is down river at the temple of Abu Simbel, across the river."

"Then let's go Alana! What is it you always say? Time is of the essence?"

Alana placed the letter in her pocket and walked with Maria to the dock, where they asked the owner of a nearby felucca if they could use it to get across the Nile. The owner said yes and allowed Alana and Maria to board. Alana unfurled the sail after the owner gave them a little push to get them on their way across the severely windswept waters of the River Nile.

---

As the felucca carried the two women across the Nile from the Temple of Isis at Philae, a man in elegant robes watched on as two thugs surrounded him at his side at the docks.

"So are those the two Assassins you are after boss?" The first thug at his left asked.

"They don't look very threatening, boss." The second thug chimed in.

"Confidence is quiet my friend. They are going to be tough to fight. They are well versed in combat and weaponry." The elegantly robed man replied, with an Italian accent.

"Still don't sound very tough to me boss."

"Very well. Bring two more of your thugs to the temple at Abu Simbel, where Alana Dorian and Maria Williams will fall, and another part of Bayek's legacy will be destroyed once those keys are in my hands! They've beaten me to the first two but they won't get the third. Now go get your thugs and meet me back at the docks when you're done!"

"Yes, Grand Master Enrico."

"We know where to get some in the village across the river!"

Enrico walked down to the docks as the thugs hopped into a felucca and went across the Nile behind him. He claimed a derelict but still in decent shape felucca to get him and his men across the river. He watched as the two women were nearing the opposite shoreline. His impatience was growing. After a twenty minute wait sense of relief swept over him as soon as he saw four thugs instead of two.

"About time you two came back!" Enrico shouted. "Those damned Assassins have nearly conquered the waters!"

"We had the same issue as well, boss!"

Enrico nodded his head. "What matters is that you got help. Hop in the felucca. We don't have much time left."

He hopped into the felucca, followed by two of his thugs. The third thug pushed the felucca out into the water before hopping into the felucca himself, sending the five Templars sailing on the Nile's rough waters.

---

The felucca's bow dug into the shoreline. Alana and Maria jumped out of the felucca and landed in a couple of inches of water. Alana looked down at her feet to see sand sticking to her boots. She looked up to see the temples of Abu Simbel in the distance.

"Let's go Maria! Time is of the essence!"

Alana began to walk towards the larger temple, with Maria following suit behind her, the two keys jingling on Maria's waist. After about a twenty minute walk, Alana and Maria made it to their destination and looked up at the colossal statues standing guard over the temple, one which was broken. What remained of the statue was just shy of the temple's entrance. A small hill of wind-swept sand was just to the right of the entrance.

"Incredible!" Alana exclaimed. "Those statues are of Ramesses the Great!"

"The temple itself was dedicated to his triumph over the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh!" Maria exclaimed.

"Let's go inside, the key has to be there!" Alana began walking towards the entrance of the temple. Walking through the temple, Alana and Maria observed numerous reliefs on the main corridor of the temple, depicting the many battle victories of Ramesses the Great. Some of them even had paint remaining in them after centuries of being abandoned. Within the main room of the temple at the end of the corridor, was a statue of Ramesses the Great with four of the most prominent Gods in Egyptian mythology.

"That's Ramesses with Ra-Horakhty, Amun-Ra, and Ptah!" Maria exclaimed, looking at the statue. "I've read in my books that Ramesses was immortalized as a God in this statue! The statues have seen better days though."

"That's because the statue is thousands of years old, Maria."

"Yeah, just like Ramesses is." Maria chimed back.

"Now to look for the key. The sooner we are done in here, the sooner we can go home and study the keys."

The two Assassins looked around the room for the key for a matching glyph. Alana ran her hands across the top of the statues hoping to find a hidden button. Alana was about to look somewhere else until a Stone that was jutting out just a little bit above the crown of Amun-Ra caught her attention. Alana pushed her hand down on the stone. A low rumbling sound came from between Ramesses and Amun-Ra's statues to reveal one of Bayek's keys. Alana took the key out of where it rested and handed it to Maria, who clipped in onto her belt.

"What blows my mind is that how someone was able to place these keys here before the rest of the temple was dug out." Maria pondered.

"I'd like to find that out too..." Alana began before she was abruptly cut off by a loud male voice.

"Stop right there, Assassin scum!"

Alana whipped her head around to see a richly dressed man in black robes, sporting slicked back black hair and a bushy, well kept beard. On his left shoulder was the Mark of Cain, the insignia of the Templar Order. Surrounding him were four thugs, each wielding a jagged dagger.

"Who the fuck are you?" Alana shouted are the man. Maria glared at him sternly.

"Oh, you don't know?" The man questioned, with a cocky tone of voice. "The name is Enrico D'orreli. Master Templar of the Italian Rite. I've been doing the same thing you are. I've been looking for Bayek's keys as well, except with what we want to do with them."

"What is it you want to do with them?" Maria asked, cautiously clutching the keys on her waist.

Enrico smirked. "I want to destroy them. I want to destroy them because I want to erase a piece of Bayek from history! I want to succeed in doing what my lost comrades failed to do all those years ago, and you two led me to the final key!"

"Not happening." Alana spat.

"It'll be a cold day in hell before these keys touch your hands!" Maria added.

"Very well." Enrico replied, followed by a sigh. "You leave me no choice. Men, kill them!"

He gestured for his thugs to encircle Alana and Maria. They heeded his command, and circled around the two women. Alana readied her hidden blade while Maria readied her pistol and hidden blade. Alana and Maria stood back to back. Alana turned her head enough just to catch Maria in her peripheral vision.

"You owe me a goddamn pint, Maria."

"Alright, fine!" Maria muttered, before firing her pistol at the first thug, killing him instantly. The action was fast and intense. Alana confronted her thug head on, ducking and dodging every single one of his strikes while landing a few slashes to his chest with her hidden blade before ending his life in a spray of blood with a quick slice to his jugular. Maria was confronted by two thugs, the first one charged at her and she ducked his attack and stabbed him in the heart from the back, killing him where he stood. Maria quickly reloaded her pistol and shot the second thug in the right shoulder, temporarily knocking him down.

Alana and Maria readied themselves for more of Enrico's thugs to confront them. All of a sudden, smoke clouded the room. Alana was trying her hardest to navigate her way through the smoke, pistol at the ready, only to feel a sharp punch to her left shoulder, causing her to drop her kukri and pistol. Reaching for it frantically, her attempts were cut short as a hand grasped across her mouth, and began to drag her back out of the smoke. The captor had Alana's left arm behind her back. Before she knew it, a jagged dagger was at her throat. She saw a Templar ring on his right ring finger. Upon realizing that it was Enrico who held her captive, Alana tried to use her right hand to free her other arm, only to be greeted with the blade closer to her throat. Maria ended the life of the final thug, stabbing him in the throat. Maria glared back at Enrico.

"Unhand her you bastard!" Maria shouted.

"Oh no, little Miss Williams." Enrico retorted pressing the blade on Alana's throat, which nicked Alana's skin causing the cut to bleed. "In order to get her back, you have to give me something in return."

"Name it."

"Drop your weapons and we will continue this talk."

Maria pulled out her kukri, and dropped it on the ground. She followed by gently placing her pistol on the ground beside her.

"Good." Enrico stated. "Now, in order to get your friend here back..."

"Name it already, you bloody lout!"

"Feisty. I like it." He replied, as he eyed the three keys on Maria's belt. "In order to get her back, you need to hand the keys over. Refuse, and your friend dies."

Alana watched Maria paused for a few moments to ponder her decision. Alana began to panic, worsening as Maria removed all three keys from her belt. Alana's heart began to race. Her life was flashing before her eyes.

There's got to be a way out of this hold somehow. Come on, Alana. Think...

---

Sixteen year old Alana Rose Dorian stood before her grandmother, Elise de la Serre, who sat in a rocking chair in the clearing out behind the Goff Mansion. The sun was shining high in the sky as her mother Juliette spied the pair out in the clearing. Juliette walked over to them to see what they were doing.

"What is Grandmother Elise going to teach you today, Alana?" Juliette asked, with her white blouse blowing in the gentle breeze.

"I'm going to be teaching Alana-bana here about what to do if you are held captive by someone" Elise informed her daughter, before returning her attention towards Alana. "Alright now, Alana, turn around and give me your left arm."

Alana hesitated for a few moments before lifting her arm behind her. Elise grabbed it gently and placed it behind her back.

"Oh I remember Leonard teaching this to Sam, Cordelia, and myself." Juliette said as she crossed her arms.

"Now Alana, what would you do in a scenario of certain death like this?"

Alana paused to think for a few moments before giving an answer.

"Try and wiggle my arm out of their grip?"

"How would you make that possible Alana?" Elise asked curiously. "Think like an Assassin."

Alana paused once again to think.

"What do we Assassins wear on our wrists?" Juliette asked.

"Oh I know now!" Alana exclaimed, pretending to stab Elise in the gut with an invisible blade. "You stab them in the gut with your Hidden Blade!"

"Precisely!" Elise exclaimed, letting Alana go. "As soon as you are in a state like this, even if your Hidden Blade is behind your back, you can still stab him in the chest not to kill, but to escape. Be sure to practice that with your mother when you receive your Hidden Blade."

"For sure, grandmother!" Alana leaped into her grandmother's arms, giving her a big hug. Juliette assisted in helping her mother get up from the rocking chair. Juliette walked by her side as Alana held her Grandmother's hand.

"Now Alana, let's go inside and learn more about the Assassins, and the three Ironies of our Creed."

---

Just as Maria was about to hand the keys to Enrico, she suddenly pulled the keys back. The same look of anger stayed on Enrico's face.

"Remember the deal, Miss Williams! Hand the keys over, or she dies!"

Maria looked back up at Enrico and smirked. "No."

"Very well. You leave me no choice."

Just as Enrico was ready to run the blade across Alana's throat, Alana let out a loud scream. She unsheathed her Hidden Blade from behind her back stabbing Enrico right in the kidneys. It was enough to get Enrico to drop the blade he was holding and clutch his wound. Alana fell to her knees to catch her breath. Maria came to her side.

"Are you alright, Alana?" Maria asked, sounding concerned.

Alana took a few deep breaths while wiping blood from her throat. "Yeah, I am. Let's go get that son of a bitch."

Maria helped Alana to her feet, and the duo made their way over to Enrico, who began to plead with them.

"No, no, no! Ladies, you don't understand!"

"You had your time to beg, but we know your true motivations of what you want to do with the keys." Alana stated sternly.

"Bayek's key's aren't meant to be in Templar hands."

Enrico let out a pained laugh, as Alana and Maria readied their Hidden Blades.

"You...you British Assassins and your damned game of keep-away. Why don't you do something profitable with them instead of just hiding them from us?"

Alana and Maria exchanged smirks as Enrico continued to talk.

"We Templars would..."

Alana and Maria had heard enough, and thrust their blades into his chest, with Alana's piercing through his heart. Enrico began to choke on his own blood, flopping on the ground. He began to speak, although his words were muffled.

"My wife will make you pay, Alana Rose Dorian!"

He immediately went limp. Enrico D'orreli was dead.

"I would like to see her try. Requiescat in Pace." Alana whispered, as she closed Enrico's eyes. Maria looked down at the keys in her hand, and then back to Alana, who was still catching her breath.

"Are you sure you're alright Alana?" Maria asked, sounding concerned. "You sound winded."

Alana smiled, with her hands on her knees. "Positive."

Alana got back up to her feet, and helped Maria carry out Enrico's body out of the temple. Maria began to dig a small pit with her hands until Alana handed Maria a shovel which was left behind by Enrico's thugs. Alana placed Enrico's body into the pit and crossed his arms. She watched as Maria began to shovel sand onto the body, slowly covering the remains of the Templar. Alana sat down in the sand and crossed her hands over her knees as Maria grabbed two thick twigs and placed them in the shape of a cross over his makeshift grave. Alana looked up at the keys, which were on Maria's belt.

"You know where we are going to go next, right?"

Maria looked down at the keys on her belt.

"Hotep Cavern outside of Siwa?

"You know it." Alana smiled, dusting the sand off of her bottom. "Let's finish up here and meet up with the driver, who is back in Philae with his own felucca."

Alana and Maria went back into the temple and moved the bodies of the slain thugs out of sight into the corridors of the temple. Once they were finished, Alana and Maria exited and made their way to the shores of the Nile where their felucca waited. Maria hopped in, double checking that the keys were still on her belt. She got herself comfortable as Alana pushed the felucca out into the open water. Shaking off her overshirt to free it from moisture, Alana took to the back end of the felucca and began to steer towards Philae with the setting sun at their backs.

---

The moon was just rising into the sky as the duo of Alana Rose Dorian and Maria Williams docked on the island of Philae. After thanking the owner of their previous felucca for allowing them to use it, Alana scoured the docks for the felucca owner who got them here, while Maria stood in bewilderment of the Temple of Isis, marvelling at the architecture of the ancient place of worship. Alana spotted the young man, easily identifiable by his black hair.

"Alborz!"

The man's head shot up and flashed a smile. "Alana! Welcome back! How was your trip to Abu Simbel?"

Alana gestured for Alborz to be quiet.

"We succeeded in our mission, but now we need to get back to Cairo." Alana whispered. "Sooner the better."

"I sure can, I'll have my felucca's sails up in a jiffy! You may want to get your friend. Don't want to leave without her."

Alborz pointed towards the temple. Alana followed his finger to see Maria examining hieroglyphs at the base of a pillar.

"Maria!" Alana called out. "It's time to go!"

"But I want to see if I can decipher this!" Maria yelled back. Alana looked back to see that Alborz had the sails at the ready. Alana hopped onto the felucca.

"Last call, Maria!"

"Dammit." Maria muttered as she walked towards the felucca. Maria hopped into the felucca and sat at the bow, looking disgruntled. Alana joined her.

"I know you wanted to have a longer look at it, but we have an urgent manner to attend to, remember?"

A frown was still on Maria's face. "I know, I just really wanted to see if I could decipher it."

Alana placed an arm around Maria. "Don't worry. I'm sure that we will be back for sure, and we can decipher those hieroglyphs."

A smile came across Maria's face as the pair faced the waters of the Nile as Alborz got the felucca out into the open waters. He rigged the sails to achieve his desired speed and took his place at the stern of the boat by the rudder. Shortly after takeoff, Maria yawned and fell asleep on Alana's right shoulder. Alana continued to watch the moon rise over the calm Nile waters as the felucca carried them back to Cairo with all three keys that belonged to Bayek in their possession.

---

Alana jolted awake as soon as the felucca owned by Alborz hit the dock. Alana looked over to Maria, who was getting off of the felucca. Alana walked over to Alborz who was tying the felucca to the dock. Alana shook his hand.

"Thank you for the safe travel up and down the Nile my friend. Your are true to your word in the truest form."

"Anytime my friends." Alborz replied. "Wherever your journey leads, I wish you nothing but the best."

Alana nodded her head and smiled as she stepped off his felucca to go meet up with Maria, until she heard Maria's voice a short distance away.

"Alana look!"

Alana looked up to see Maria standing with Henry Willows.

"He says he's got a carriage that can take us to Hotep Cavern."

Alana patted Henry on the shoulder. "Thank you, Henry. Who's the driver?

"You're looking at him."

Maria stood there smiling. "Shall we head back to the hotel to you know...check out?"

"Good idea. Let's go." Alana replied.

Alana, Maria, and Henry Willows began their long walk back to their hotel to check out. After navigating their way through the early morning bazaar rush and through the surprisingly busy streets to make it back to the Eagle Talon. Alana noticed that there was a carriage parked outside the building, with horses tied to a post.

"I see the carriage, but where are our things?" Alana asked curiously.

"Got you covered." Henry replied politely. "I loaded them into the back of the carriage before I came down to the docks. Now come inside you two, I have some papers for you to sign."

Alana and Maria followed Henry inside and on their way out of the pub were those three drunken men from two nights ago, emerging after a heavy night of drinking. Alana glared at the men as the same man she knocked out was eyeing her butt again.

"That is still the most beautiful butt I have ever seen on a woman!" He said to his cohorts.

Alana had heard enough. Alana extended her left wrist and pointed it towards the man. She flicked her wrist out and her blade slid out, and stopped an inch away from his throat. The man panicked, causing him to fall into his friends and out the door, with all three falling to the ground. Alana giggled.

"Watch your step asshole!"

Maria turned around to see the door had closed and that Alana was walking up to her.

"Did you sign those papers?"

"Yes I did." Maria replied as Henry places the papers under his desk. "They were to be signed for us to officially check out."

Alana nodded her head approvingly.

"Shall we get going?" Henry asked curiously.

Alana and Maria accompanied Henry out the door, where Alana saw the three men stumbling their way down the road. Alana allowed Maria to climb into the carriage to sarcastically wave at the men, who got angry at her again from a distance.

"What was that all about?" Maria asked with a confused tone in her voice.

"That same man was checking out my ass again, so I held my blade an inch away from his throat, which caused him to fall into his friends and out the door!"

Maria's giggle turned into a full scale laugh as Henry walked up to the window on the door and gave a thumbs up to the two women, indicating that he was ready to go. After a few moments, Henry got the carriage moving, gliding across the sand and past the pyramids. Alana and Maria watched as the pyramids became smaller as the carriage winded on into the enigmatic Qattara Depression.

---

"Well, that was a bumpy ride."

"Indeed it was." Alana replied, as she pried the door open, letting the hot sun of the Egyptian desert contact her skin. She let out a deep breath as she stepped out of the carriage. Maria followed shortly afterwards. Henry approached the two women.

"I'll be here waiting for you while you deal with your business inside the tomb my friends!"

Alana nodded her head as a sign of thanks before looking down at the three keys on her belt. She began to make her way towards the cave known as Hotep Cavern. Maria tagged along beside her.

"Do you know where we are gonna put the keys in the tomb, Alana?" Maria asked curiously as they walked deeper into the cave, which was still fairly light inside.

"I'm not sure Maria. I know we will find a spot once we get inside."

Maria smiled as they arrived at the entrance of the tomb. She began to read the inscription.

"Hmm...Arrows will...rain down on those who desecrate her remains."

"How'd you know what that said?" Alana asked curiously.

"My father gave me lessons in Greek when I was a girl."

I wish I got to learn Greek.

Alana pushed down on the rock beside the inscription, jumping back as the door moved back and to the side, allowing the women to enter. The two women looked slightly to their left to see the sarcophagi of Bayek and Amunet, the founders of the Assassin Brotherhood. Their bodies lie in large slabs of granite with intricately decorated lids with a painted portrait of the founders on the top. Alana looked around the tomb at the portraits of Amunet and Bayek on the wall across from her. Maria darted over to examine the portrait on Bayek's sarcophagus while Alana looked around his sarcophagus for a place to place the keys of his former tomb. Alana walked up to the front of Bayek's sarcophagus and began to dig three holes, only about a few centimeters deep, and placed the keys in each of the three holes she had dug. After Alana had buried the keys, Alana paused and observed the sarcophagus of Bayek. Her moment of reflection came to a screeching halt.

"OH GEEZ!"

Alana's head jerked up just in time to see the sarcophagus of Amunet plummet into the abyss. Alana alertly looked over to her left to see Maria's black gloves wrapped around a stalagmite. Alana walked up to the edge and beckoned Maria to grab her hand. Maria reached out for Alana's right hand and pulled her out. Maria dusted herself off and joined Alana at her side, looking down into the crevasse that was just created.

"Maria, what the hell just happened?"

"I...I don't know." Maria replied, sounding quite shaken. "I was just looking at Amunet's portrait, and the ground just sank in before my very eyes! Who builds their tomb over a bloody sinkhole?"

"Bayek and Amunet, apparently."

Alana patted Maria on the back and began to walk back to the entrance of the tomb, while Maria stood and looked down at Amunet's sarcophagus.

"Hey Alana."

"What is it, Maria?"

"I guess you can say the ground caved in!"

Alana groaned. "Let's go, Maria."

Maria smirked and trotted over to Alana at the exit. The pair walked out of the tomb's main chamber. Alana turned around to seal the tomb. The two Assassins exited the tomb and entered the darkness that engulfed Hotep Cavern. Following the light, Alana and Maria made it out of the cave and into the heat of the desert. Standing outside the carriage, the driver put out his pipe and opened the door to the carriage. Maria entered first, followed by Alana. Before she entered, the driver stopped her.

"Back to Cairo, Madame?"

Alana pauses a few moments before replying.

"No. Take us back to the base of the Great Pyramid. But would you be able to take our luggage to the Manticore docked in Cairo."

"Very well, Madame." Henry said as Alana got herself comfortable inside the carriage, sitting opposite from Maria.

"Hopefully we make it back in time for our ship's arrival." Maria pondered.

"I'm sure we'll be back in plenty of time." Alana reassured. "In the meantime, when we get back would you want to climb up the Great Pyramid again to enjoy the view while we wait?"

"Let's do it!" Maria replied eagerly. "It's gonna take a pharaoh mount of time to get to the top!"

Alana cracked a half smile after hearing Maria's pun. That half smile turned into a full on laugh as the carriage carried on through the desert on its way back to the Great Pyramid.

---

Alana and Maria got themselves comfortable atop the stones nearest to the top of the pyramid, and sat down on their jackets and overshirts, letting the wind blow through their hair. The sun was setting off in the distance as Alana glanced over to Maria.

"Wild past few days, hey?"

Maria turned around and smiled. "Oh God yes. I sure as hell hope your shoulder is okay!"

Alana rubbed on her injured left shoulder and smiled, joining Maria in a laugh.

"It's okay enough for me to do this!" Alana replied, before placing Maria in a light sleeper hold. "Don't you ever drop your weapons before an enemy again! You scared the living hell out of me!"

Maria laughed as she got out of the hold. Both women let out deep breaths.

"Was it worse than when Amunet's coffin caved in?" Maria asked jokingly.

Alana returned a nonchalant look towards Maria.

"That was bad, but it wasn't as bad as what happened inside the temple at Abu Simbel."

A little smirk came across Maria's face. Alana patted Maria on the back.

"On a serious note, who do you think that K person was who wrote that letter all those years ago?" Maria asked.

Alana clasped her hands and looked down at the stone beneath her.

"I'm not sure who it could be. It could be anyone for all I know. My mother's spoken of a woman named Kassandra, who was a mercenary from Sparta during the Peloponnesian War. All those years ago it is said that she was rendered immortal. With all that knowledge, she could have found out about the keys and hid them in those different spots. It's something I'm going to talk to my mother about."

"As soon as you find out, let me know will you?"

"For sure Maria. For sure."

Alana patted Maria on the back again as her eyes looked out beyond the city of Cairo.

"How did you meet your husband, Albert?" Maria asked curiously. "You have never told me how you two met."

Alana blushed as Maria got herself comfortable on the limestone.

"I met Albert when I was nineteen when I accompanied my mother on a trip to Nottingham. While we were in the pub, Albert offered to buy me a drink." Alana began, holding up her arm. "From there I fell in love with him. His long brown hair was just like mine. I would get lost in his green eyes, and every time our lips would lock, a shiver would go down my spine. I begged my mother to let him come back to Crawley, and he did the same with his father. He returned to me and informed me that his father was moving his lumber company to Crawley. His family moved to Crawley, and we have been inseparable ever since. He's even talked about having children."

"Oh?" Maria smirked. "Are you gonna take him up in that offer?"

Alana returned a smirk of her own. "Wait and see down the road."

"Albert is super cute. You two are a match made in heaven."

Both Maria and Alana giggled.

"What about you Maria?" Alana asked curiously. "You keep bringing up this Erwin fellow, but I don't know who he is. What can you tell me about him?"

Maria flattened her red vest and placed her hands on her thighs.

"I met Erwin when I traveled to Germany shortly after my father's passing." Maria began. "He approached me upon hearing that I was after the same target, which was the Templar who massacred my family. After a year of planning and bonding we succeeded in ending his life. I'm sure your mother has told you about it. I intend to visit him in Hanover when I have some down time. I miss his short, slicked back blonde hair and chiseled jaw."

"You two sound like two peas in a pod."

Maria blushed and clasped her hands together.

"Thank you for accompanying me on this adventure, Maria." Alana said, as she clasped her hands together, and looked out to the distance. "Couldn't have done it without you."

Maria smiled. "Thank you for the opportunity to join you, Alana."

The two women exchanged hugs, and returned their eyes out to the city of Cairo.

"Alana, what made you want to become an Assassin?"

Alana clasped her hands upon hearing Maria's question.

"That is a really great question." Alana began. "Growing up, I was really inspired by the actions of my parents and grandparents as Assassins. I wanted to be just like them. I also heard about the corruptions of the Templar order from my mother, which motivated me even further to become an Assassin to prevent the injustices they were creating. So, after my mother took me here to visit, I began my training under my parents, who guided me through the thick and thin. Twelve years of training turned me into the woman sitting here beside you."

Maria's mouth opened wide. "That's really fascinating, Alana. It was almost as if you were destined to become an Assassin from birth."

"In a way, yes." Alana replied, with a chuckle. "That's how I see it at least."

Maria smiled at her friend.

"What about you, Maria? What made you want to join the Brotherhood?"

Maria stretched for a few moments, and paused to think about her training under her father in Horsham, and training with Alana in Crawley under Juliette's watchful eye. She began to put on her overcoat and button it up.

"Much like you Alana I was inspired by the actions of my parents." Maria began. "After my father's death, I trained under Ethan and your mother in India briefly before returning to England to continue training with Marshall and Caelan, along with yourself. My father's death nearly made me quit my training, but it was the wisdom of both our mothers that pulled me out of my doldrums and motivated me to continue my training, and become the Master Assassin sitting here beside you."

Alana patted Maria on the back. "You have done an excellent job of keeping the legacy of your father alive. He would be incredibly proud of the woman you've grown up to become."

Maria's eyes began to cloud up with tears as she began to reminisce about the times she had with her father. She set her glasses down on the limestone and let her emotions get the best of her. She leaned into Alana's right shoulder, and cried. Alana rubbed Maria's right shoulder as she continued to cry. Looking out to the city below, Alana watched as the feluccas sailed along the mighty Nile under the warm Egyptian sun. Maria got up from Alana's shoulder as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Alana continued to watch the feluccas sail up and down the Nile until she caught wind of a ship in the harbour with the Union Jack as it's emblem. Alana recognized it as the Manticore, the small freight ship that got them to Cairo had returned from its journey down the Nile.

"Maria, look! It's the ship that got us here to Cairo!" Alana exclaimed as she put on her overcoat.

Maria rubbed her eyes and put her glasses back on. She looked over Alana's shoulder to see the ship resting in the harbour.

"Best not to keep it waiting if we are to get home."

Alana shot a glance over towards Maria, followed by a smirk of confidence.

"Race you down the pyramid?"

Maria returned the smirk. "You're on!"

The two women leaped down from the stones they were sitting on and continued to leap downwards, landing on each stone with incredible precision. Alana looked over towards Maria, who was keeping up with her a few feet away and smiled, knowing that Alana and her best friend had succeeded in keeping Bayek's keys out of the hands of the Templar Order.