The mission part 4

Carter's POV

2 weeks, 2 long weeks is what it takes for me to meet the cardinal, over those 2 weeks were hard by blood and fights, the first 2 victories were great then set back after set back the Templar's start to retake Rome, we lost so many brothers, they had wives and children, it was hard to see a fellow assassins fall. The Templar's start to learn of our tactics and start to elude us and take us by surprise, Leonardo lost his sword hand during one of our fights, it is now replaced by a half metal sphere that could hold a hook or a dagger blade. We need to know how the Templar's start to go after us and know our tactics, how did they manage to get us and know our tactics? later we found out that we have a traitor in our midst, in the middle of the week Leonardo and I were discussing how to get the traitor down.

"We must find that traitor Leonardo, he must pay for the damage he had done."

"I know Carter and let me do the honors of taking him out."

"That I will leave to you, it is your country and your assassins, he will pay."

"He will, let me tell you this, make all your assassins retreat from the day light, we will do night operations for this."

"Sounds like an idea, night time we will go out and day light we retreat and disguise our selves."

"Good."

"I will let you go and take a sweep of the streets in search of the traitor, and I will let you take one of the apprentices, the one you will get is nearly to the assassins rank, most of the experienced ones and veterans are dead or wounded so we must rely on our apprentices, the one I'm giving you is good, very good and he is training along with his father since he is just 3 years old."

"As long as he is not reckless I will take him."

"Good cause he's 2 years younger than you and he is quite athletic and he is very smart and he is the best out of all the apprentices."

Dawn came and I went on the roof tops waiting for the apprentice to come, He came on time and he is exactly what Leonardo has described, young, athletic, black hair, brown eyes, he has a crossbow on his back along with two long Quillon daggers with a blade length of sixty centimeters as it may look like two short swords, and he is very young but I believe that he has everything a assassin must have.

"Salve Carter, I came as promised."

"Bon young man."

"My name is Ferrucci, I'm happy to meet you Carter."

"Oui je sais, I have heard allot about you from Leonardo."

"Si that man is a talker, I've of what happened, I told him that I will kill this traitor for him."

"Bon, you may better be cautious of what has happened."

"Si but you better come with me to the forum ok something has happened there."

"What happened?"

"Many of our brothers have been disappeared."

"Disappeared... you mean killed or taken hostage?"

"Both mio singore."

"I see... lets start investigating then we will find this killer, he may lead us to the traitor."

"Bene."

"But stay close ok."

We started to go to the forum of Rome over the roof tops, I have a feeling that something isn't right. We arrive at the forum and there are about seven Templar's at the forum, three on top of the ruins and 4 on the ground, I told Ferrucci to take the men on top with his crossbow while I'll take the men on the ground. The three men got shot by Ferrucci, he took the high ground and shot them one at a time, he took a windlass crossbow with him, one of the powerful crossbows there is in the world, as the Templar's are shot I started walking up to my targets and assassinate them, the first two were together and I went between them and set both my blades into their throats, the other two are more separate so I planned to take one down with my blades then I will get the other with a crossbow, and as I did the Templar's didn't notice it at all, and when they were all down I came up to Ferrucci who is on the roof of a building to warn him something, there is something not right here.

"Keep your senses alert now, there is a danger that I don't fully understand."

"Ok I will."

I start to look around and there is a body of an assassin, I came up to it and it shows a 45 year old veteran stealth assassin, as I saw the damage it looked like he has been stabbed in the guts by a dagger and the blood is all out of the body, but whats more, the body was in a sitting position that is know as the sitting assassination that we assassins practiced, then I came up to another part of a street and I saw blood, something just doesn't seem right, that type of killing technique is what we assassins do, then I saw a shadow and he killed a papal guard, then I realized it's another assassin, then I noticed that he is the traitor and I start running after him, he saw me and started to sprint, he ran with amazing speed like a guilty man but he didn't know that I was alone, Ferrucci must be running along the roof tops and he jump from it and as he was about to do the kill the traitor stopped running and Ferrucci landed on solid ground then the traitor started running again but the he got reinforcements of a small group of six Templar's, we started to fight them and the traitor just escaped easily even before we got him, he knows our tactics so he must have given away our tactics to the Templar's, but now he has escaped.

"Dannazione! il bastardo e scappato."

"I know."

"I couldn't believe my eyes that it is him."

"You know him?"

"That was Dentierent, he is one of the brotherhood in the holly lands, he left for some reason and became an agent to the Templar's."

"He has skill, I can give him that."

"He must be stopped as quickly as possible."

"We will but not tonight, day break is coming and we have to take shelter, we must first find the captured assassins and free them from the Templar's claws."

"Good idea."

"Then if possible we may even try to lure him out."

"Then I will get my crossbow ready for that night."

In the morning and during the day we stayed at the HQ, then dawn started to come, Ferrucci and I are going to go out during sun set witch is still pretty risky but still we must keep out of sight. We started to go out to a place where we figure there are more Templar guards, we believe that the captured assassins must be there.

"Ok here is the plan, you will create a diversion, try to lure the guards away from the bars ok, use any means you can, and make sure that you get the keys from them."

"Bene."

He left me and start to go down and try to get the Templar's away from the prison cells, after some time before the sun was completely down all the guards are gone, this is the opportunity that I am getting, as I got down I saw and grabbed the keys that were laying on the ground, I came up to the cells and opened them, all of the assassins were the veterans who have more experience than any of the assassins, as I freed them we started to run to the HQ, we came up to the HQ but there is trouble, the Templar's have came there and started attacking, many of the apprentices are out defending the HQ, the veterans came into the action and so did I, they start to us their hands and feet to try to disarm them and use their own weapons against them, as we defeated them Bentierent showed up and made him self visible.

"You may have won this one I will come back and have my revenge."

He started to run of and I start to sprint after him, he was running fast and I was closing in on him but then Ferrucci came out and aimed his crossbow on him and fired as quick as lightning, as Dentierent fell with a bolt in his heart, he has seconds to live so we went up to him and he start to confess why he did these stuff.

"My land, my home, and my people have been taken by one of the popes children, and some of the brothers was part of that, the Templar's took me in and I start to take my vengeance, but now I will join my fathers."

He took one last breath and died, I closed his eyes and give him a final blessing.

"Rest in peace brother."

The next few days on the end of the second week of waiting I am finally meeting the cardinal, we start to enter his office in his chambers, he is a man of about thirty years old and he was sitting behind his desk.

"Cardinal Renaldo I am happy to see you again."

"(Looks up) Crist be praised, Leonardo I am Happy to see you to, good god you lost your hand."

"I know but it is fine, I am alright, but you know why we are hear right?"

"Of coarse, Carter brother of king Phillip of France what brought you here?"

"(pulling out the scroll and giving it to the cardinal) I am searching for an ancient artifact build by those who came before, a race that is still alive today and even some of the kings, nobles are members of that race, the Templar's have their hands on one of them, and I want you to translate what this scroll says."

He studied the scroll carefully and read the words, he even had a curious look in his eyes, he read the scroll further and he looked up with a suspicious look, and he has questions as well.

"This is some thing that I don't understand, it said Claves artificiati ad templum invenire deum mortalis vide infans intus cum ipso imperatore ambulabam in ostiis, meaning to find the artifact find the keys at the temple of the gods, then look for for a mortal child, with him you could go through the doors inside the house of the emperor. so you must be crazy to seek this ancient artifact and this is a riddle, but this said that you should look in a temple of pagant gods so think you should try the pantheon first, the pagans worshiped their before we came in, and the emperors house that is the ancient imperial palace is more like the place for the search."

"Thank you, but what you said could be true but I warn you, try not to get involved with a pagan, or you may get damnation."

"I know but this one is in danger so he must be rescued."

"Alright, you go do your quest but be warned, be carefuller with the pagan."

"I will your grace and I will do any thing to get this artifact to safety."