Ziio; 20 November 1754, Kanatahséton Valley

It had been four days since Ziio and Haytham formed the plan for the assault on General Edward Braddock and his regiment. It took her three days to travel back to the Mohawk Valley from Fort St-Mathieu in Lexington. Today she had planned to tell the tribe about the attack. She knew that her clan had contacts with many other tribes near the area and on the east coast, which would greatly help the cause. Ziio also trusted Haytham to bring his most trusted allies for the mission.

After having a quick rest, Ziio went to go find the Clan Mother. She exited the longhouse and asked some of the men if they have seen her. After they said no, Ziio continued her search until she found her talking to one of the women. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, she waited until her mother was finished talking with the other woman.

The woman and the Clan Mother conversed for about five minutes. The woman left, and Ziio decided that it was time to confront her mother.

"Ista," she said, and placed her hand on Oiá:ner's arm.

The Clan Mother asked, "Yes, Kaniehtí:io, what is it that you need?"

"I need you to gather all of the villagers. There is something important that must be discussed."

"What is it? I must know first before our people do."

Ziio was nervous. She remembered that her mother told her strictly not to be near Haytham or any other Englishman in the future. Though she was apprehensive of her mother's reaction, she knew that everyone in the Native American tribes of the east coast absolutely despise and hate Edward Braddock. They would do anything for him and the settlers to stay away from their lands.

"Ista, do you recall that British man I told you about?"

"Yes. What happened?" Oiá:ner questioned.

Ziio sighed, "I partially lied to you when I told you that I was going out on a hunt and got lost four days earlier, and I apologize for that."

She saw her mother's face contort to anger, but before she could say anything, Ziio cut in, "But you must listen to me, Ista. When I was hunting, that same man found me. He questioned me and showed me this."

She pulled the aqua amulet with the intricate designs out of her furskin coat and handed it to Oiá:ner. The Clan Mother took it from her child's hand and carefully inspected the jewel. Her face changed from anger to that of curiosity and realization. The ornament bored the exact same designs in the First Civilization Temple. The Clan Mother looked at Ziio and urged her to continue.

"He didn't tell me much about the amulet, but later he told me about his same enmity toward The Bulldog. We both managed to get information from The Bulldog's soldiers and from a map we found at his fort." Ziio also showed her mother the map that she and Haytham had stolen from Braddock's camp.

She pointed to the map, "His men will be marching down this path. We plan to attack near the river, where they are least expected. I have told him to gather his allies and that I would do the same. Ista, if we kill Edward Braddock, then we can set an example on these settlers to not advance onto our land. We have contacts with the many other nearby tribes. I know for a fact that they would like to see him gone as well."

Oiá:ner took a moment to look over the map and think about her daughter's plan. After a while, she finally spoke, "And you trust this man so much as to follow along with his plans? He may trust you, but does he trust our people?"

Ziio was quick to defend Haytham, "He saved our people from slavery. He saved me from slavery, Ista. This man's past and his intentions of wanting to kill Braddock may be a mystery, but if he is willing to help us, then I believe we should accept his assistance."

Oiá:ner thought it through for a couple minutes. Finally, she came to the conclusion that they should work with Haytham only for the mission, then break ties with him. Though the man saved Ziio, Oiá:ner had a bad feeling about him.

The Clan Mother gathered everyone together for the meeting. Both Ziio and her mother explained the plan to everyone in thorough detail. Oiá:ner told her daughter to write several letters directed to the other tribes that are willing to help them on the assault. She then told Ziio that in a couple days time, the Kanien'kehá:ka clan's messengers will send word to the other tribes near the area.

Once everyone dispersed after the convention, Ziio and her mother both entered their longhouse. It was nighttime, and the two women were getting ready to go to bed.

Right as Ziio was about to put out the candle, Oiá:ner spoke, "I really hope that this man knows what he is doing. You are for sure he will stick to the plans?"

"Yes, I am," Ziio answered her.

"Okay," her mother nodded, "but you must listen to me very carefully, Kaniehtí:io."

Oiá:ner looked her daughter in the eye, "You must heed my instructions: Stay away from that man. I don't care if the attack goes awry or not, but afterward, you must stay away from him. I can't risk losing you, my beautiful snow."

The Clan Mother knew that her daughter was almost an adult. Almost. Though she was 23 years of age, she needed much guidance. Especially after being held captive by British soldiers, Oiá:ner didn't want anything happening to her only daughter. She had already lost her husband and didn't want to lose her daughter.

Ziio saw that her mother was genuine. She reassured her by saying, "I understand, Ista. You needn't worry. We have this under control. Let us get some sleep, we've had a very long day discussing plans."

Oiá:ner nodded, and Ziio blew out the candle.


Haytham Kenway; 20 November 1754, Green Dragon Tavern

Haytham was confident of his and Ziio's plan. He had always had a deep hatred for Edward Braddock. Though the general did help him realize the brutality of being a Templar, he left the order for his army. Not only that, he ordered his men to slaughter a family in front of his very eyes. That scene had scarred Haytham for many years. Braddock was a cruel, cruel man that needed to be killed.

Haytham left his room and concluded that it was time to tell his men of the assault. It took him five days to get to Boston from Fort St-Mathieu. During his journey back, he had thought of the plan many times in his head, thinking of any possible counters and factors that may affect the attack.

When he exited, he walked down the stairs into the bar. At the center table, he saw all five of his men sitting at the center table. Thomas was the only one with a drink in his hand while the other men conversed. Typical Thomas, Haytham thought. The men greeted Haytham. They were anticipating seeing him. After Haytham arrived from Braddock's camp, he told his men that they were going to have a discussion in the evening.

Charles spoke, "So sir, what's this discussion about?"

Haytham sat down next to William. He answered Charles's question, "Well, I was gone for the past five days because I was finally able to track down our mystery woman, Charles."

"What was her name?"

"Ziio," Haytham answered, with a tone of longing. Longing?! He couldn't yearn for her at this moment! He needed to focus, "She shares a common hatred for Edward Braddock, like us. I have concluded that in order to gain the tribe's trust, we must… eliminate him."

The men all nodded in agreement. Haytham and Charles looked at each other, "Her and I intercepted valuable information about Edward Braddock's whereabouts. You needn't work under The Bulldog anymore, Charles."

"Thank you, sir," Charles said with much gratitude.

"Not a problem."

Haytham pulled a second copy of the plans from his pocket and showed it to the men, "We plan to attack here at the bank of the Monongahela River. She is currently rallying her allies and we should assault in the later months."

The men all agreed to the plan. They needed to gain Ziio and her people's trust so they could find the Precursor Temple and activate it with the amulet.

Thomas spoke aloud while waving his tankard, "I guess we got ourselves' a plan! Now let's 'ave a drink ta celebrate!" The men cheered, and for once, Haytham felt at ease.