Arriving in Casablanca, capital of French Morocco in the middle of August, the Assassins made their way to the Assassin headquarters there, only to find it ablaze, with men using simple cloth wrapped around their mouths to conceal their identities literally adding fuel to the fire.
Darko shot a Phantom Blade at the first man, bringing him down instantly. It brought the attention of the other men, but they were poorly armed and were unable to defend against Johnny, Gautier and even George.
In seconds, the attackers were all down. Without wasting a moment the four Assassins rushed into the Assassin base. Inside, the Assassins were trying to evacuate, but flaming debris was everywhere and it was difficult for them to see. But with their intervention most of the Assassins managed to evacuate.
"Thank you for your help, Assassins," the leader of the Assassins in French Morocco, a French-Muslim underworld figure only known as the Militant de Concord, or the Fighter of Peace, as they gathered in another Assassin base in the city.
"Some opposition from the Templars of late?" Darko guessed. "It was quite obvious that the fire at your headquarters was caused by arsonists, likely Templar-affiliated ones."
De Concord nodded. "It's been pretty tense for the past few days, but this is the first arson we've experienced here. The Templars are stepping up their game, and I feel it's time we did too. Luckily you lot are around."
"Heard a lot about you, the Militant de Concord, an underworld brute with a conscience," Johnny said. "I'm Johnny Guvera, an Assassin from Spanish Morocco."
"Same with you, Johnny," he said. "An underworld weapons dealer who sabotages weapons being sent to his enemies, mostly Templars."
Johnny laughed, before saying, "What are the Templars up to here?"
"Not entirely sure, but our assumption now is that they're trying to take us down. It wouldn't be surprise if that was the case. The newspaper called the attacks on us 'a series of unfortunate events orchestrated by rebels', do you believe it?" De Concord reported.
"Any place you know of that's seeing Templar activity here in Casablanca?" George asked.
"Everywhere. But in particular a teahouse in the Derb Omar district. In recent years the Derb Omar district has become filled with Chinese immigrants. It almost feels like you've travelled halfway across the world!" De Concord realised he was going off-topic and paused. "Anyway, the teahouse, named Shi Long Teahouse is owned by a man from Formosa, or Taiwan, a Templar named Shi Long. You know what to do."
Shi Long Teahouse was one of the more popular teahouses in the district. Hence, there were quite a few civilians inside when the Assassins arrived.
"Ah, welcome to Shi Long Teahouse! I am the owner, Shi Long himself. Do take a seat," he said warmly. "Would you like some tea? We have a new shipment of tea leaves from India. Very exquisite, I admit."
"We're not sure if you've this tea," Gautier said, albeit softly. "I heard it's pretty rare. It's an Irish tea called Shay Cormac. Do you have it?"
"Shay Cormac tea? The American one?" they could see that Shi Long was testing them.
Johnny shook his head. "No, no, it's the Irish one! Do you have it?"
"The famous Shay Cormac Irish tea, of course we have it! Just arrived, too. Come with me to the back, you can take a look for yourselves."
"By the Father of Understanding, you westerners sure know how to identify fellow Templars," Shi Long said once they were in the staff-only area of the teahouse. "I didn't know it myself until I thought about it."
"We have come under the orders of General Miguel Primo de Rivera, Grandmaster of the Spanish Templars," Darko lied. "We have come to aid the Templars and their allies here in French Morocco."
"Then you've no worry. The Assassins here are weak and beaten," Shi Long said triumphantly. "Wait, General de Rivera? Another man came here not long ago, saying that he was a Templar under his command. I believed him because he looked the part, with a Templar ring and all."
"Oh god," Darko acted, looking at his Assassin comrades, looking concerned. "What did he look like?"
"Italian-looking, with a prominent beard and moustache. He said he was Colonel Sebastiano di Medici from Madrid, a member of some military organisation called the Tercio de Extranjeros."
Johnny gritted his teeth. "That was an Assassin impostor, Shi Long. Colonel di Medici was poisoned to death two weeks ago in his home in Madrid."
Shi Long swore in Chinese. "I told that bastard everything I knew!"
"I suppose there's no point crying over spilt milk," George said. "Why don't you tell us everything you told him? It could give us a hint on how to hunt the impostor down."
Over the next few minutes, Shi Long fell for it and told the Assassins everything.
"…and that impostor says he will return here by the end of the day to discuss more," Shi Long revealed. "I can't wait to stick a knife into him."
"Let us wait here until the 'Colonel' returns, then," Darko said, sitting down on a nearby stool.
Hours later, as promised, Colonel Sebastiano di Medici returned to the teahouse, this time accompanied by a group of armed Templar goons. "Shi Long?" he called out. "I'm back, as promised!"
To his surprised it was someone else who opened the back door. A Serbian, or Russian by the looks of it, and an Assassin.
"Well, well. If it isn't Darko Kerzhakov, the famous Master Assassin," Colonel di Medici said mockingly. "I suppose you're here to 'liberate Casablanca from tyranny', am I correct?"
As if on cue, his henchmen drew their weapons, though Colonel di Medici raised a hand to stop them from attacking. "What have you done to Shi Long? Kill him? Or even 'interrogate' him?"
"What lies," Shi Long said, stepping out into the alleyway. "How dare you impersonate one of us? You will pay for your sins!"
Before Sebastiano could register what was happening, Shi Long plunged a dagger into his stomach. "Go to hell, impostor!"
Only that Sebastiano had released a Hidden Blade of his own and had parried the attack. "I will not be killed by a fool whose mind is so easily swayed. Slay all of them!"
As the goons were busy attacking Shi Long, Darko and Gautier, they did not notice Johnny and George sneaking up on them from behind. With expert precision, Johnny fired a berserk dart into Colonel di Medici himself.
"Sir, are you alright?" a goon asked, only to have the Colonel shoot him in the head a moment later.
With the goons distracted, the Assassins, with the aid of Shi Long, massacred the Templar goons. Colonel di Medici died after the effects of Johnny's dart wore off.
"Thank you for your aid," Shi Long said. "If you all hadn't intervened I would have fell for the impostor! I must say, the Assassins have really stepped up. Their Templar impersonation technique has certainly improved!"
Out of the blue, Gautier thrust his Hidden Blade into Shi Long. "What if Colonel Sebastiano di Medici was correct? What if we are all Assassins, and he really is a Templar?"
Darko stepped forward, a pistol in his hand. "You have my sincerest apologies for tricking you, Shi Long. Goodbye."
A gunshot rang out and the Formosan went limp. The Assassins then made their leave, before the local law enforcement arrived.