"So we're at the Arcenal."
Ezio scanned the area, slightly assured to see no sign of guards to stare at him searching. It was one good thing. But he still needed to find Yusuf, and that was final. He turned back to Karışık and waited for her to tell him where the hiding spots were.
"What?" She blinked. This made him almost want to throw her in the water. Almost.
"Where are those hiding spots?" He questioned.
"Oh!" She giggled before pointing up to the crows-nest of a big ship. "Sometimes cats climb up that big pole and get stuck, maybe he did."
Nodding, Ezio walked up onto the ship, ignored the startled crew, and started to climb up the mast. But soon, impatience got the better of him, and he started to use his hookblade to propel himself up. It worked for a while, until the blade cut the rope and he fell back down to the deck with a loud CRASH (and screaming "CAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZOOOOOO!" all the way down). The noise jolted Yerman from his thoughts and made Annette almost to run up and see if he was okay.
But of course, this is Ezio we're talking about. It doesn't matter if he hit is spine on a box at top speed. He just got back up, brushed himself off, and started to climb again. Although this time he didn't even use his hookblade out of fear of falling again.
A fight and whining drew Yerman's attention away from Ezio scaling the mast to see Karışık kicking a defenceless puppy. He ran up and stopped her before checking the dog to be sure it was fine. Unfortunately, she brutalized the poor thing, and him being a dog person and all, he picked it up and tucked it close to him before returning to Annette. And dragging that anti-canine-cat-lady by the ear in the process.
"Is that a puppy?" Annette asked, surprised.
"Evet," Yerman answered.
"But why-?"
"You're watching that thing," He told her harshly, pointing a thumb to Karışık, who was glaring at the small puppy murderously.
Sighing, Annette stepped sideways, just a little closer to the cat-woman. Then she looked up to see Ezio in the crows-nest, looking down at her. She could just barely here him.
"HE'S NOT UP HERE!"
"COME BACK DOWN THEN!" She shouted back.
"NO I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR RACK!" He replied loudly.
"THE HELL?" She yelled at him. "I SAID TO GET BACK DOWN HERE!"
"WHAT'S WITH YOU AND BEERS?"
Annette facepalmed before pointing to the ground at her feet and glaring up at him. "GET. BACK. DOWN. HERE. NOW!"
"OH!" Ezio then looked around before announcing. "I THINK I'M STUCK!"
"JUMP INTO THE WATER OR SOMETHING!" She advised.
She watched as Ezio lept off from the crows-nest and hit the water with a 6 meter splash. When he surfaced, he was holding his side and just barely managed to drag himself on the docks. "Owwwww..." He groaned.
Yerman and Annette both crouched down beside him and the latter asked, "What happened?"
"I hit the bottom..." He grumbled before ringing out his robes and taking off his boots to shake out the water. "I will never climb up there again..."
"What took you so long?" Yerman asked, oblivious to the shouting just a couple minutes ago.
"I found a book location." Ezio answered, standing up and walking off the docks to a patch of dirt before digging up a book with his hands. "See?"
Both recruits never could be sure what Ezio's real motive for climbing that mast was.
He smiled in content as he studied the map. They had made so much progress.
"Lord Shahkulu!" A soldier whined, holding his stomach dramatically. "I'm starving, can we please stop and take a break?"
This made the easily irritated man groan and helmetpalm. "Who else is hungry?" He didn't know how much he'd regret the answer.
Almost everyone moaned and groaned with "I AM!", "Yes, I am SOOOOO HUNGRY!", or even "PLEEEAAASE LET US TAKE A BREAK!"
Upon hearing the complaints, he grumbled in irriation, stormed out of the tunnel, killed a couple of riflemen, took the rifles and shot two Jannissaries having a picnic out in the park. He picked up the basket, and, eating a kabob through his helmet, he walked back. There he threw the basket at their feet where they all went to it like a bunch of starved dogs and attacked the basket in hopes of finding a morsel to eat.
One held up the basket in disappointment, "Lord Shahkulu, there's nothing in here!"
Crossing his armed, the phyico-vengence-bent-Ottoman-hating-torturer glared through the eye slits of his helmet. "If you are so hungry, then you will eat the basket."
Upon hearing this, almost all of the soldiers returned to their pickaxes and hammers to continue digging. Well almost all of them. One of them, a scrawny, pitiful thing they threw armor on and called a soldier, hung by the basket and soon picked it up and begun to chew on it. but he wasn't doing this for very long, because Shahkulu decided he would stop him.
"No." He pushed the basket and hand down from the man's face and took the woven material from him before dropping some coins in the palm. "Here's some coins, go buy yourself a proper meal. But be back here within a half hour."
Thankful, the soldier hugged Shahkulu before running off to purchase some food. Everyone else just stared at Shahkulu in shock and annoyance.
"Why'd you give him money?" The first complained.
"Because he was starving to the point where he'd eat a basket." Shahkulu answered harshly. "Now back to work before I run my spear through all of you!"
Everyone got back to work while Shahkulu continued to look at the map.
Yup, Shahkulu has a heart. It's just small, shrivelled up, black, and has been through years of disuse.
Yusuf was walking down another alley way with Sevmek when he heard a familiar voice.
"Zo Iz am ze newz leaderz!"
All the fur along his spine stood, it was that dog! Didn't one fo the cats blind him or something? And didn't he drown? Oh well! He was alive!
"Dis is going to bes so much funs!" The other really stupid dog chimed excitedly.
"Myz firzt orderz ofz buzinezz iz wez goz and killz that fleabagz catz." The new leader announced.
"Where is he?" He wondered aloud, and begun to pace towards the voices before he saw the new leader, with claw mark scars over his eyes and across one, the other was still working fine, standing on a box with the dizzy dog by his side. Unlike him, that dog's eyes were fine, there was just scars over them, which he assumed they were both blinded by the blood getting into their eyes at the time. There were maybe twenty-six other dogs all turned and facing him, if not more.
"Thiz iz forz ourz old leaderz!" He barked. "Findz himz and bringz himz back herez!"
Sevmek was crouching now, ready to bolt, but Yusuf only stayed frozen stiff in shock. He was still surprised that those two mutts even lived!
"How did this guy become pack leader?" One complained lowly.
"I don't know," the one beside him agreed. "But his choice in right paw dogs is terrible..."
Suddenly, the ears on the new second-in-command flew up as he jumped in excitement. "BOSS! I FOUNDS HIM! I FOUNDS DA PUTTY CAT!"
"GETZ HIMZ!" The leader growled.
Before Yusuf could run, all the dogs turned to face him, he could only stand there before Sevmek bit his scruff and practically DRAGGED him away and into a crevas in the wall as the dogs thundered past in prosuit.
"What's wrong with you?" She hissed quietly. "Are you trying to get us killed?"
"I just-" He found himself stammoring, he couldn't even explain why he hadn't moved. "I don't..."
"Great Ancestors, Yusuf! I swear, if it weren't for me, then you would have been dead so many times." She sighed before laying down. "We might as well wait them out..."
He nodded and let his weak legs buckle underneath him. Maybe he could get to the headquarters when those dogs had past.