Michael stood at the stern of Kidd's Schooner, watching as the island where the current mentor of the Assassins was hiding. He didn't like that the Templars knew where the Assassin leaders were hiding and it kept him from thinking about the Clock of Eden. It was when he started thinking about how he had gotten into this mess that Michael realized that he hadn't been thinking about going back to his time at all. He shook his head and started to let his mind wander when he heard someone walking up behind him. Michael turned to see Kidd behind him and raised his brow, "I haven't seen you come on deck the entire voyage here," he commented as he looked back to the island a couple of knots in front of them.
"I don't spend too much time above deck," Kidd replied as she leaned on the railing of the ship, "she's beautiful, ain't she?"
"Natural areas are beautiful," Michael agreed as he closed his eyes, "but one day instead of towering trees to hide in, we'll have buildings taller than mountains."
"Oh, and are you some sort of fortune-teller," Kidd asked with sarcasm in voice, "or is it because you've seen the future with your own eyes?" She laughed to herself until she saw Michael's gaze into nothingness, "You really believe that don't you?"
"You'd have to see it," Michael said as he came out of his gaze, "maybe I'll draw you a picture, but right now we have to make sure the order is protected above all costs."
"Right, there isn't any proper docks, so we'll have to swim once we get close enough to shore," Kidd told Michael as she secured her belt and holster, "I hope your gun isn't loaded because once we get in the water, you'll have to re-powder it."
"I know perfectly well what happens to gunpowder when it gets wet," Michael said as he smiled, "I also found a way past it," Michael took out a small piece of cloth in the shape of a cylinder, "the cloth has gunpowder inside, and has been coated with a water resistant material that is quite common, but the material is also combustible, meaning that once I pull the trigger and the hammer hits it, it will explode."
"Were you a dandy back where you come from?" Kidd asked as she grabbed the firing packet.
Before Michael could answer her, she put the packet in her pocket and jumped into the water, indicating that her question was rhetorical. Michael shook his head as he dived in after her. It took Kidd's schooner about eleven days to get to the island, and that was with bad winds on the first half of the voyage. His frigate should have left four days ago, and with good wind he calculated that it should get to the island in about a day and a half. He imagined that getting all of the things he needed to do on the island done would take the rest of the day. His crew would arrive just in time and he couldn't help but smile as he got onto shore.
"Why are you so happy?" Kidd asked as she looked back at Michael, she had taken her bandana off and let her hair fall down. Michael had to admit that she was quite a pretty girl, but understood why she hid her gender.
"My frigate should be here by tomorrow if the winds remain good," Michael told Kidd as he let his hair fall down on his shoulders, "If all is well, we'll be prepared for the Templars if they decide to come," he made sure that his sword was ready to come out of its sheath and that his gun's flint hammer was working. He put his gun back in its holster and started walking inland with Kidd, the other assassins nodding at them as they walked towards the center of the island.
Kidd lead Michael to a native islander, most likely to be the mentor due to how Kidd's demeanor changed around him, "Mentor," they both said as they bowed their head.
"Mary," the Mentor said as he looked at Kidd, then to Michael, "I do not think that we have met before."
"I am Michael Arias," he responded as he looked up, "I was also the one that killed Duncan Walpole."
Kidd looked at Michael at the same time as the Mentor, "You killed him? I was under the impression the one called Edward Kenway was the one responsible for the traitor's death."
"If it wasn't for Edward I wouldn't have been able to," Michael answered as he nodded, "he happened to shipwreck the both of them on the same island that I had been on for a few weeks."
"Would you care to enlighten us on how you came to be on that island?" The Mentor asked as he tilted his head suspiciously. He motioned for Kidd and Michael to walk with him as he started walking deeper into the ruins.
"That isn't important right now," Kidd interrupted, "the Templars know that we are here, they could be here any day now."
Immediately, the mentor's thoughts shifted from Michael's story to his and Kidd's original purpose on the island, "Gather the brothers and sisters, we must prepare for this enemy. It seems Walpole's treachery has outlived him. Michael I know we can expect your help, and I sense that you may already have some ideas on how to defend our home?"
Michael nearly laughed when the Mentor asked him to help, he nodded and crossed his arms, "I have a few, some of them involve some traps," Michael continued with the Mentor as Kidd ran off to gather the fellow assassins around the island.
"Now Michael, finish telling me how you got onto that island," the mentor ordered as they reached an open room in the ruins.
"I know I can trust you to keep a secret," Michael said as he looked around, "I found a device, a piece of Eden, called the Clock."
"Where did you find it?" the Mentor asked as he looked at Michael, "Where is it now?"
"The where isn't important, its when..." Michael took a deep breath, "I found it over three centuries in the future, and as to where it is, the Templars have it."
"The future?" The mentor repeated as he looked up to see the first assassin's starting to fill in the area in front of them, "we will have to continue this discussion later, for now, we have more prevalent matters."
Michael nodded and faded into the crowd of assassins, but he was very visible due to his outfit. He didn't feel comfortable being the odd one out in the presence of other assassins, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. Michael crossed his arms and waited for the Mentor to give a speech or some orders.
"Brothers and sisters, we lost brothers in Havana when we attempted to take the life of Duncan Walpole and capture the Sage. There we discovered that Walpole had already been killed, but his treachery did not end. He gave the location of our home to the Templars, and that would have spelled our defeat had it not been for Mary and Michael. They sailed her as soon as they could to warn us of this imminent threat. We must now prepare for the coming storm and hope that this warning is enough to keep our order alive!" The Mentor didn't receive any cheers, a simple silent confirmation that the rest of the assassins were ready for what would inevitably come, "Go now, and make your mental preparations while I come up with a battle strategy. Michael, Mary come."
Michael nodded as he walked out of the crowd and walked towards the Mentor with Mary, who also was in the group of assassins. The two followed the Mentor inside one of the buildings where a map of the island was on a table inside, "Alright, let's get started."
Jacob Carver stood at the helm of the Liberty, watching as the winds beat into the sail of his ship. He would be at the island in a day, and that meant that the captain would be back soon. He was never one to take up leadership positions because he couldn't bare the responsibility. Michael on the other hand seemed to enjoy the idea of being responsible for others, like he was born for it. It was as he was lost in his thoughts that he noticed a familiar flag waving in the distance, "Jackson!" Jacob shouted as he turned the ship, "get me a spyglass!"
The African man came up to Jacob with the object asked for, and Jacob used it to spot the horizon better. About ten knots away were two Spanish frigates and a brig. They were heading on the same course that they were, but they weren't going at full sail, "Jackson, get the Spanish flag from the cargo hold and raise it on the main mast, then tell the men on deck to get those uniforms on."
"Why, sir?" Jackson asked as he took the spyglass back from Jacob and looked at the ships.
"Because, I have a feeling that those ships are heading in the same direction that we are," Jacob answered as he turned the wheel so that they would eventually meet up with the small fleet.
