Cearbhail: And we're moving along. This chapter is pretty short but it moves the story along so I'll go with it.

[Malik Ishtar]

Dear journal,

My first day in Nottingham has been quite exciting and fulfilling. I do admit, I am a master at finding natural talent. I ran across a thief in the woods and allowed him to steal from me so that I could test his stealth. I ended up meeting this thief in Nottingham and pushed him for information, while introducing myself as an Assassin. He was most impressed. He then began to show me around the town when we heard a woman scream.

We raced across the rooftops as all Assassins do to reach our destination. We found a lone woman being harassed and abducted by a known Templar supplier. We harassed him back, killing his men and chasing him off. I would have killed him myself but I am forbidden to kill high-up Templar agents. It might backfire and cause damnation to my Order. Of course, just harassing the Templars could insight the same thing. But, where would be the fun in that? If I'm going to be here targeting Templars, I might as well have fun with it.

So, this new possible recruit. His name is Robin Locksley but everyone calls him the 'Hood'. I don't know much more than that. I do know he runs his own team of thieves and mercenaries. They are now at my disposal. He is a valuable ally to say the least. He knows the area well and he knows my enemies well. He also hates the Templars and pledges his help in messing with King John. Today, this Robin fellow is going to show me around town, show me all that needs fixed. Not my job, but might as well while I'm here. If it will mess with the Templars, then I will do all I can. We are also visiting a witch by the name of Little Red. What an odd name.

Malik Ishtar, Assassin.

…

Hood had a small camp outside Nottingham. It was probably a mile into the forest. Their camp was well hidden. I would never have guessed that they would have housed their little base in such an area. It was marshy. No one would needlessly come back here. Well, you know what they say: to avoid detection, make camp where no one would ever want to go. The camp was at the top of several hills surrounded by marshy swamps and thick trees. They used some small disposable tents that barely had any coverage. They barely had any food, any cleaned water. It was amazing that they survived off of this lifestyle for so long. With the numbers they had and the skills they possessed, this small team could easily take over a small settlement and claim it as their own. But, they didn't. They chose to stay out here in the woods. It was an honorable thing to do, to say the least. It gave me some respect for them. But this is no place for an Assassin. I need a base, not a marsh.

Good thing I had brought my own tent with me when I made this journey to England. It was enough to keep me warm while I rested last night. Even though it got pretty bitter in the evening, the thieves refused to light a fire. Creating a fire in the dead of night or even in the day would send a signal to all surrounding scouts to the base's location. So, whatever cooking that needed done were done at least two miles away from the campground. Hood's crew seems to have made enemies while fighting the King John. If they've made enemies, it means that they are good at their job. I expect the best out of his men, though I haven't yet seen them fight.

I had the opportunity to observe Hood while he talked tactics with his men. His men really respected him. They came to him for every problem that they encounter: the lack of food, the storm pulling in, the knights firing arrows down at us, the shortage of tights. You know, normal stuff.

When it came to the knights' attack, it was a pretty fast reply. It was an attack of maybe ten knights that stumbled on our camp. The knights looked over at us, started firing arrows, and pretty much just tried to kill us. Hood returned fire, amazingly killing almost every knight in a few minutes. I would have attacked, but I was busy putting my robes on. They are a hassle to get on so by the time I got everything on, the fight was already over. Damn robes. Boots too.

The attack lasted a few minutes. I was resting my eyes when it started. Then I heard people screaming, crying out orders for attack. I heard the Hood's voice next. "Archers, east side, 20 meters! Take cover!"

It was at that time that I started pulling my robes on. After a minute of messing around with it, I pulled my hood up and found it flying up my face. I had thrown my robes on backwards. So, I had to spin my robes around. By the time I got that done, I had to attach my sash. That was easy. Then I had to attach my knives. By the time I got that done, several arrows had flown through my tent, whizzing past me.

I had just finished pulling on my second boot before Hood stuck his head into my tent. "Where were you at? I thought you'd have been out there fighting."

I gestured to my outfit and shrugged. "Do you think I just sleep in all this? I'm wearing nearly six layers of complicated clothes that have to look perfect every second of the day. It takes me a while to get dressed."

He nodded to me. "Well, I was going to say that there was something odd about the way you dress. But…I'm wearing tights so…I really can't judge." Then he arched an eyebrow. "You know, I spent some time in the holy land and…it's really hot down there. Aren't you cooking to death wearing all that clothing?"

I shrugged. "I'm not the tailor; don't ask me why they make our robes this way. But yes, it gets very hot underneath this hood." I stuck out my hand for him to help pull me up. When he didn't, I shrugged and pushed myself up. This clothing was light enough that I didn't feel all that bad when I wasn't sprinting for my life. It's not very good at blending in either. Maybe I should get some new robes? "So, are we going to take that walk of the town?"

"Would you rather change out of your robes first?" He asked in return. "We have extra tunics if you prefer to dress like one of my men."

I shook my head to that. Hell no I was not going to dress up in green tights. "No thank you. I'll stay in my own robes for now. Besides, you're my new apprentice. You should be wearing initiate robes." Ha! Think on that.

He cocked an eyebrow. "I'm your… apprentice?" He started chuckling in a confused manner. Was it so hard to imagine? It sounded like my idea was complete absurd. He did join my cause. If he was going to be a valuable ally, he needed to be trained as an Assassin. "I guess I did join your cause. Are you making me into an Assassin then?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"In time. One foot forward and then another." I nodded to him. "But first, I wish to meet this Little Red. I was assigned to make an Assassin den here. The more recruits I have, the easier it will be for me to train others. I can easily teach you all combat basics and then move onto other stuff." I walked past him and out into the camp. I could see that he had robbed the dead knights of their possessions: armor, gold, weapons. Good, they know how to make the most of their dead enemies. Best not let these supplies get back to their source.

I looked down at one of the knights, pointing to his armor. "You know how to put all this on, right?"

He nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"The best training tool is an actual enemy. When the training starts, I'll have you try to 'kill' me while I wear that armor. I'll show you how to exploit all their weak spots. I will have to spend time among the knights to learn their fighting style. Only then can I teach you how to defeat it. We have time. So…that walk?"

…

So, we walked to Nottingham. I hadn't really noticed it last night but that well was actually outside the town. I'm guessing they had another on inside. I can only guess because the entire town was walled off. Just like most towns, it had a giant security wall built around it. How did I miss that last night. Must have been too dark for me. But…I must have gotten over that last night to get inside the town. Whatever. I'm an Assassin. I'm not afraid of any wall. I'll climb this wall so amazingly quick with little to no effort, using mostly my fingers. That'll show this Hood who's the badass around here.

As we approached the wall, I motioned Hood to stop. "That wall surrounds the whole town? I can climb that. Watch…and learn." I said as I pushed forward. I planted my foot on a loose brick sticking out a little and started running up the wall until I found another loose brick to grab onto. I was already almost halfway up the wall. I bet the Hood was impressed by my ability.

"Sir!" Hood called. "You really don't have to…"

"No, I understand. You don't have to do this yet. I don't expect you to put this much effort into getting to your objective. Truly, this is a skill only an Assassin can perform." I called down to him as I started pulling myself up to the next block, nearly leaping straight up.

"But…there's an easier…"

"No, no." I yelled back. "Don't call out to me. I might get distracted and fall down." I didn't hear him comment back so I went back to climbing up the wall. I put my effort on finding foot holes, places to grip with my fingers. I wished I had some of those hand-spikes that helped people climb up stuff. But, if I got those, what would I do with my fingers? I sighed a relief as I found my hand gripping the top of the wall. When I pulled myself up, I could see the Hood already standing in front of me, arms crossed, amused grin on his face.

"It's about time. You missed tea hour; I hope you're happy." He said.

"How?" I asked. He got up here so quickly. Dammit. He beat me.

He gestured to my right with a point of his finger. "As I was trying to say…there's a ladder right there." I looked and I could see it only twenty feet or so away from where I was still dangling.

"Ah…" I said. Well, damn. "That was…a…test. And you passed. Good job. An Assassin must always be aware of his surroundings." I said as I pulled myself up. I dusted off my already dirty white robes. Damn robes. These never stay clean for long.

After we jumped over the wall, we stayed mostly on the rooftops as we started around the town. Our first stop was the main gate, where the knights monitored the people coming in and out of Nottingham. As I looked down at the gate, I could see the strict policies already taking place as carts of food and other supplies were heavily taxed and basically stolen from their owners.

"As you can see, this is the supply taxation that King John has allowed. These people come here to do business but end up leaving with little more gained than when they showed up. Royalties demand that some of their stock go to the castle, and a tax is supplemented on any goods that are actually sold: both on the buyer and the seller. The seller leaves with little to no stock and with little to no coin. The buyer can only take as much as is needed, the other goes to the throne to be given to the knights. It's sick." Hood told me as I gazed down at the gate.

"Who is in charge of these knights? Is it the king?" I asked.

"Not directly. The King tells the Sheriff of Nottingham what he wants done and he sees to it. The man is no saint and is probably even worse than the King. You might want to add him to your list, Assassin. He is poisoning this city."

"So, my list includes: The Sherriff of Nottingham, the man known as Wolfe, and King John. Who else must taste my blade for the next few weeks to come?" I asked as I felt for my throwing knives.

"The Bishop is no holy man. He is actively protesting the lives of the coven here in town and does nothing to assist in protecting them from Wolfe. He is also in league with Sherriff. Besides that there is the Market Guild. They are supposed to be for the people, to keep the market stalls fairly priced, while also keeping the conditions of the working folk clean and healthy. They have taken bribes from the Sherriff as well, raising tax prices on all goods. This Guild is the main source of the strife in the town. No one can afford to eat or cloth themselves, let alone continue living. Nor can they leave town without facing repercussions of the Crown." Hood glanced over at me, almost smiling. "I am glad you have come, Assassin. If you promise to fix our town, I will pledge myself to your cause, 100%."

I nodded. I could see the pain on the people's faces as they walked through the town. This is what the Master always warned me about. The Templars rule with an iron fist, taking all the rights away from the people. Eventually, the people become silent lifeless forms that take orders and just try to live one day at a time. Their faces were defeated. This was worse than I thought. I couldn't leave until I did something to fix this. "I've seen enough. Let's go meet Red."

…

So, I thought we'd seen the worst of the town, but I had no idea this town had its own little dark alley. The part of town where no one adventured within expecting to be mugged. This place was so messed up even the knights wouldn't go in because they knew better. This was my part of town. This was where I could operate best.

Little Red's house was in the middle of this hell-hole. When we got there, Hood rapped on her door and then quickly backed away. I stepped back as well, not sure what was going to happen. I activated my Sight as I glanced around the other houses. People glanced at us with judging eyes. I did not feel safe here and I did not want to start ripping throats apart.

"Who's there?" I heard a soft angelic voice call from the other side of the door.

"Red, it's me, Robin." Hood called.

There was a sliding noise and the door flew open. Red was much shorter than I expected. She came only up to my chest. She looked around for Hood and then flew into his arms, hugging him. She looked worried. "Was that you that saved me last night?" She almost cried. "I thought…I thought Wolfe was going to kill me."

Hood rubbed the back of her head, making light shushing noises. "It's ok. I was there. You're safe now." When she calmed down, he pulled her away and directed her gaze at me. "Little Red, this is my friend, Marik Ishbar."

"My name is Malik Ishtar." I corrected him. I stuck out my hand to shake Little Red's hand. "Welcome, Little Red. I believe you and I should have a little talk."

She looked me up and down. "What the heck are you wearing?" She asked, pulling herself closer to Hood, completely ignoring my hand sticking out for a handshake. What is with these people and not shaking my hand?

I crossed my arms. "I'm an Assassin. I was the one that saved your life last night."

She nodded. "Yeah…I remember seeing a flash of white fall from the ceiling. So…you're the one covered in chicken crap then?"

All I did to save her life…and that was what she remembered about me? Figures. And she credited Hood for saving her life. "I washed my robes after we were done with Wolfe. Speaking of which, that is why I've come here today. You are clearly a target for the man. And he is using your friends as payment for weapons and armor for the Templar soldiers. I want to do everything thing I can to hinder his supply runs. So…I need to protect you and your 'coven'. May I meet them today?"

She looked confused for a second before glaring at me. "Ok, you need to explain yourself better. Shall I prepare some tea while you tell me your story?"

I nodded. "Sure, why not."

Cearbhail: And next chapter, going to have some fun.