Darko spent the next few months in Bern, Switzerland. For the first few weeks there he drank all day, until Darko decided to sober up and aid the Assassin Order by establishing the Swiss Assassins, which had not existed up to that point.

Quickly the Swiss Assassins expanded, and by early December of 1923 it had become a considerable force. The Swiss Assassins' headquarters in name was Darko's residence in Bern, though they utilised many other locations throughout Switzerland to meet up.

One day, Darko received a very unusual guest in his home at Bern. It was none other than Aleksandar Mikovic, Russian Master Assassin and long-time acquaintance of Darko.

"Aleksandar! What brings you here to Bern?"

"Times are rough for the Russian Assassins, Darko," Aleksandar said. "Vladimir Lenin, long our protector, has suffered three strokes and is now mute and bedridden. Though he's still officially leading the Communist Party, others are already beginning to fight for his position."

"And let me guess, the Templars are somehow involved?"

"Correct. Templars have infiltrated the executive committee of the Russian Communist Party, also known as the Politburo, slowly poisoning the likely successors of Vladimir. In particular is a man named Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist Party. Very recently, Joseph has turned from Lenin's staunch ally to a ruthless critic of him."

"But why come here, Aleksandar? Switzerland is far away from the Russian Empire, though I suppose it's just Russia now. You could've gotten aid from Assassins in nearby countries like China."

"Vladimir Lenin has stated that he wishes to meet you. For what reasons we don't know, but he wants to see you as soon as possible," Aleksandar revealed. "I feel that he will not live much longer on this world. We must hurry."

Bringing along a trusted Swiss Assassin, former German Assassin Paul Celtis, Darko and Aleksandar travelled to Vladimir Lenin's estate in Gorki, not far south of Moscow.

Vladimir was in a wheelchair at the living room when the Assassins arrived. As they learned on the journey, Vladimir had difficulty speaking but could write decently with his left hand, since his right side was paralysed.

"Wel…welcome," Vladimir said. "Sincerest apolo…apologies for hav…having to see me in this…this state. After…after all, I wasn't like…like this when we la…last met."

"No problem, sér. No issue at all," Darko said. "I heard that you wanted me here immediately. May I know why?"

With some difficulty, Vladimir took a letter tucked inside his coat and handed it to Darko. "Re…read it."

Reading the letter, Darko realised it was a list of names and several crucial details about them. "Are all of them…Templars?"

"Templars and…and their allies, ye…yes," Vladimir nodded his head. "It is poss...possibly my last…last act to aid the Assassin Or…Order. Use it well, Dark…o."

Less than two months later, Vladimir Lenin died in the dacha at Gorki in the evening, on 21st January 1924. Darko, who had been staying in Moscow since he had come in December, was one of the many to view his body.

"Rest in peace, friend. You have served the Assassins very well," Darko mumbled before leaving the Hall of Columns.

Now back in Bern, Darko decided to use the list of Templars given to him by Vladimir to strengthen the Swiss Assassins, since there were quite a few on that list that resided within Switzerland.

First up was a cousin of Colonel Henri Guisan, a soldier of the Swiss Army. Coincidentally, Colonel Guisan was an ally of the Assassin Order and upon being informed that a cousin of his was a Templar, Colonel Guisan gave his approval to kill the cousin.

"I wasn't really very close to Marco anyway," Henri said. "Also I never liked him. He was rather cruel and childish, even in adulthood. Him being a Templar is just one more reason to get rid of him."

Not wanting to alarm the Templars in Switzerland, Darko decided to kill Marco in a way that it would be hard for the Templars to link it to Assassins.

Darko learned that Marco had milk delivered to his doorstep every three days. Obtaining a small quantity of both cyanide and aconite, both deadly poisons, Darko made his way to Marco's apartment on a morning where milk would be delivered.

Shadowing the milkman, Darko watched as he placed the milk bottle on Marco's doorstep before leaving. Once the milkman had left, Darko opened the milk glass bottle and emptied his cyanide-aconite solution inside. Closing the bottle, Darko left the scene.

The next day, the newspaper reported that Marco Guisan, a distant relative of Colonel Henri Guisan, had been found dead in his apartment the previous day. Regarding the cause of death the authorities had no idea yet, and they were still investigating.

Darko already knew what the Templars would think. Aconite was a poison frequently used by Templars for their dirty work, and they would likely link it to something other than an Assassin's work.

Next up was Lawrenzo Payens, a French-Italian tour guide working in Bern. He was also the only other Templar currently residing in the city. He would aid the Templar Order by gathering information when asked to.

Lawrenzo was in the office of the tourist agency he worked for when Darko entered. "May I help you, Mister…?"
"Mister Mortem," Darko said, hiding a smile. "I'm a tourist from Russia and I wish to engage your services, after hearing a good word put in by a friend of mine."

He was sure he had heard the name before, but could not identify exactly where. "Ah, Mister Mortem, which friend would that be? Perhaps the name's familiar to my ears."

"A friend called death. He's expecting you very soon," Darko swiftly produced a poison dart and pierced it into Lawrenzo's neck, before pulling it back out moments later.

It was highly unusual for an Assassin to use a poison dart in close quarters, so it was unlikely for the death to be linked to the Assassins as well.

In his dying moments, Lawrenzo realised why the name 'Mister Mortem' was familiar. It was because 'mortem' was Latin for 'death'.

"Someone, someone help!" Darko cried frantically as he dashed out of the room. "Something's happened to Herr Payens!"

Several personnel rushed towards Lawrenzo's office only to find him dying in his chair. They looked around, trying to find the man who had shouted for help, but he was no where to be found.

Soon newspapers around Switzerland reported the double deaths in the city of Bern, which had occurred in as many days. Reading an article on one of the local newspapers, the Neue Berner Zeitung, or the New Journal of Bern, Darko found it interesting.

"Rumours suggest that the two victims have links to a secret organisation only known as the Templars," Darko read to Paul Celtis. "Though there are no reports to confirm this, it remains the talk of bars and coffeehouses everywhere."

"It says here that the one who wrote this article is a freelance writer named Zadar von Trapp," Paul pointed out. "I predict very soon Templars will come to visit Zadar. If we can put him out of that predicament I'm sure he'll be willing to aid the Assassins."

"Well said, Paul," Darko commended. "Get Assassins to shadow Zadar at all hours of the day."