A/N: As I have just recently found out that my time planning for the distances between the cities was ridiculously wrong, I have decided to correct my mistakes. I completely overestimated the power of a horse. I hope that I have erased all errors and beg your pardon. (The time that our heroes would need from Masyaf to ride on horseback to Jerusalem would be about 12-13 days. I have no idea how I could fuck up my calculations that bad. Also, I'm having serious issues uploading new content, so sorry for the delay.

That said, I haven't added any more plot, so there is no need to reread everything. I mostly changed numbers.)
And I know I wasn't very consistent concerning American and British spelling, which is due to the fact that I somehow hadn't been able to choose British English and my laptop always used the American spelling.

And last but not least, thanks to all my readers, especially my lovely reviewers Indra1989, Survivor12-21-12 and the newest one: wildcat717 (in no particular order). Thanks for commenting; you give me the motivation to go on with this story!

Chapter 5: Into The Fire

Tears that she had been holding in for too long stung in Ranya's eyes as she spurred Nero and Kadar's horse on. Faster, they had to be faster, why were they so bloody slow? Malik had difficulties catching up with her speed. Sticks supported his left arm so that the constant movement wouldn't do much more damage. "We need to be faster!", the thief shouted at the Assassin.

They must be three, maybe two hours away from Masyaf. A few hours ago they had seen, from a cliff on which they had paused to eat and let the horses rest - as well as checking Malik's injury - an army approaching them. The banner that they carried had been a red cross, Templars. Ranya had no idea how they could have missed them for the past days. They had immediately packed their things and had followed the army from a safe distance. They were undoubtedly en route to the north, which was also the direction to Masyaf. Ranya had tried to get closer to see who was their leader. At the tip of the thousand-men strong army was Robert de Sablé. Ranya didn't doubt one bit that he was on his way to the Assassins.

At the thought of that, Ranya reached for the bag on her back and sighed in relief as she felt the metallic sphere.

"It will not do any good if we ruin the horses by bad riding!", Malik shouted at her. She let herself fall back. Kadar's horse noticed a little too late that she was reducing their speed and almost collided with Nero. She had leashed the horse to Nero's saddle as soon as they had left the stables. Malik had wanted to do take his brother's horse, but she had pointed out to him that he had currently only one hand available, which he would need for his own horse.

"How do they even know the way to Masyaf?", she asked. Malik shrugged in response. "Maybe they have known it for a longer time, sent a spy after one of my brothers. Maybe we have a traitor in our midst. But that is not of our concern now. We need to warn Masyaf."

Ranya nodded absently and adjusted her scarf. Thankfully an army couldn't move very quickly. They would reach Masyaf long before them and then everything will be good. The Templars will not be able to pass the cliff path to Masyaf. They would not enter the village, let alone the fortress, Ranya mused.

Never before had he been so ashamed when returning to Masyaf. Never before had the master Assassin failed so badly that he would have had to fear facing his master. With an increasing heartbeat Altaïr brought his stallion to the stables and tried to converse as little as possible. The other Assassins knew of the mission he returned from; everyone knew of the new affiliation with the thieves.

He was glad that no one approached him on his way through the village. He held his head low; his hood was - as always - pulled over his head so that he didn't have to make eye contact with anyone. He knew where the parents of Malik and Kadar lived and he didn't want to risk them seeing him so the master Assassin took another, slightly longer path upwards to the fortress. Someone else would tell them that they would never see their sons again. He didn't fear their hate for him; he figured they would have a distaste for him anyway. He was ashamed of having been so reckless that not only three people were dead, but also of not having received the artefact. He wasn't particularly keen on embarrassing himself more than necessary.

He could feel the beating of his heart in every corner of his body as he was passing the gates of the fortress. He was stopped there, however.

"Ah, he returns at last." Altaïr cursed his bad luck as he saw Abbas leaning casually on the wall. "Abbas", he greeted his brother with no warmth in his voice.

"Where are the others? Did you ride ahead, hoping to be the first one back? I know you are loathe to share the glory."

Altaïr decided not to respond. "Silence is just another form of assent." Abbas' body language made it all too clear how much the Assassin disapproved with Altaïr.

"Have you nothing better to do?", Altaïr asked. He was growing tired of Abbas denouncing him and he didn't want to delay his meeting with the master any longer.

"I bring word from the master. He waits for you in his office. Best hurry. No doubt you're eager to put your tongue to his boot." Abbas was slightly leaning forward and gesturing wildly with his hands to ridicule Altaïr.

"Another word and I'll put my blade to your throat."

Abbas was expecting such a remark. "There will be plenty of time for that later, ‛brother'", Abbas said scornfully.

With a little bit too much drama, as Altaïr thought, Abbas walked past him, almost touching him in the process.

Altaïr stood there for a short moment, trying to gather his thoughts again. He finally sighed heavily and continued on his way to his master.

"He's alone. Why is he alone?" Ilyas looked questioningly at Rauf as they watched the master Assassin make his way upwards to the castle.

"Labib, I will leave the novices to you", Rauf said calmly. He then brought his attention back to Ilyas. "I'm sure there is a reason for him returning alone."

The thief scoffed. He hadn't trusted the master Assassin as he had first met him and he certainly didn't now. "Oh I am very positive there is a reason."

Ilyas swung himself over the wooden fence and ignored Rauf's pleas to wait until the master Assassin had spoken to Al Mualim. The cheetah stood up, unsettled by Ilyas suddenly leaving the yard. She trotted up next to him. Noticing how tense the thief was, Soraya set back her ears and ducked her head, looking for any danger.

"Altaïr", the master greeted his student.

"Master", he responded.

"Come forward. Tell me of your mission." The Assassin made a step forward, as he saw someone rapidly approaching from his side. He loosened his hidden blade, but quickly let it snap back as he saw that it was Rauf alongside that thief's brother and her pet that examined every move of him. The cat looked ready to pounce should he make any wrong movement.

"Where is my sister?", the thief asked him through gritted teeth.

"Silence, please", the master interrupted. "Altaïr, please enlighten us why you came alone."

Altaïr swallowed the lump in his throat. Why did his master not send the outsiders and Rauf away? It was bad enough that he had to embarrass himself in front of his mentor. "There was some trouble, master. Templars occupied the temple. Robert de Sablé was there."

"When does our work ever go as expected? It's our ability to adapt that makes us who we are."

Altaïr shook his head. "This time it was not enough."

"What do you mean?", Al Mualim asked, his voice slightly raised. Altaïr looked down for a moment, not having looked into his master's eyes in the first place. He noticed some dried blood on his front. He must have cut himself as he had been thrown through the room in the temple.

"I have failed you." The master began pacing back and forth behind his desk.

"The treasure?"

"Lost to us."

"And Robert?"

"Escaped."

Altaïr dreaded the next question. He mentally prepared himself for being ripped apart by the cheetah's claws and teeth in the next moment.

"I have sent you, my best man, to complete a mission most important than any that has come before. And you return to me with nothing but apologies and excuses!" His master paused for a moment to collect himself and then continued with a calmer, yet heavier voice. "This is not what I expected. We'll need to mount another force."

"I'll swear to you, I'll find go and find …-"

"No! You'll do nothing! You've done enough!" Altaïr felt another lump forming in his throat and remained silent. He did best by not angering his master any further.

Al Mualim looked from his student to their spectators. "Where are Malik, Kadar and Ranya?"

He let out a heavy breath. "Dead."

She was racing up the stairs, taking two steps in one stride. Malik was far behind her, but as they had heard at the stables that Altaïr had also just returned, she had wasted no time to reach the fortress.

She could see the Assassins' mentor standing behind his desk, focusing on an Assassin, Altaïr, she noticed. On his side were her brother and Soraya and much to her surprise, another Assassin. The cheetah looked as if she was ready to pounce on the master Assassin, and she might have, but she stopped dead in her tracks and lifted her head from her crouched position to look to where Ranya was now slowly approaching as she had been analysing the situation. She chirped excitedly as she recognized Ranya and ran to her, her head pressed into the thief's side and nudging her as soon as she had reached her. Ranya petted her head and quickly joined the rest of the party. Her brother embraced her tightly and kissed her forehead. She could see his eyes sparkling as if he was close to crying. She smiled weakly.

Malik came up the steps, breathing heavily and clutching his arm as he stepped up next to Ranya.

"You!", Malik yelled at the master Assassin.

"Where is your brother?", Al Mualim asked Malik.

"Gone, because of you!" He pointed at Altaïr.

"Robert threw me from the room. There was no way back, nothing I could do."

"Because you would not heed my warning. All of this could have been avoided. And my brother … my brother would still be alive! Your arrogance nearly cost us victory today!"

"Nearly?", the master inquired.

"Ranya went back to bring what your favourite failed to find", Malik explained.

It took Ranya a second to understand that this was her cue to bring forward what they had found.

She took her bag and grabbed the sphere to hand it to Al Mualim. He eyed it with awe.

"But we have come with more than their treasure. There is an army of hundreds of men approaching Masyaf with Robert de Sablé at their tip. They were close on our heels for the past few hours. There is not much time to prepare."

"So he seeks a battle. Very well, I will not deny him."

He beckoned two other Assassins to come closer. "You will inform the others to begin preparations." The Assassin nodded and went off. "And you will bring Malik and Ranya to the hospital wing." The Assassin nodded and motioned for the female thief to follow him, but she protested.

"I am not injured. I am a good archer, I will help defend Masyaf." There was no way she would hide somewhere and wait until the Templars came to slaughter her. She thought of escaping Masyaf, but quickly shook off the thought. There was an army not far away and she figured it would be safer in the fortress with hundreds of trained Assassins, rather than fleeing and probably stumbling into the Templars. She had no doubt that Robert would recognise her.

Al Mualim nodded. "Very well, then. Go and prepare. As for you, Altaïr, our discussion will have to wait. You will help to destroy the invaders, drive them away from our home."

The female thief hurt all over. She had been on horseback for the past, what has it been? Four weeks? With greater breaks, of course, but she truly missed walking. After the Templars' attack, she decided, she would need a few days of rest.

Ranya had followed Malik to the hospital wing after all. She has had some time to accompany him before the Templars reached Masyaf and she felt strange somehow to leave him after all this time. His arm had gotten worse as a servant had undressed him. As the nurse inspected the wound, Ranya had tried to best explain everything that had happened to Ilyas who had not left her side. She told him that there had been Templars in the temple and that they have been attacked by them. She told him that after Kadar's death, she went to find the artefact and that it was on the Ark of the Covenant, which had probably been inside the temple all the time. Ilyas wasn't surprised that she had used the Vault to escape.

Her brother had then left her to support the Assassins as word has reached them that the Templars had managed to break through the gates and were now coming into the village. Some of the villagers were still not in the protecting walls of the fortress and needed to be saved. She knew it was selfish of her to not immediately join them but she couldn't bring herself to leave Malik's side while he was still conscious.

"You should not stay here because of me", the Assassin said with a husky voice. She gave him something to drink, which he accepted thankfully.

"I wish I could help my brothers", he sighed.

"I will do it for you. And my brother will do in the place of your brother."

Malik smiled weakly. "Thank you. For everything."

She shook her head with a frown. "This is no goodbye. I am going to come back after the Templars have been driven from Masyaf."

He nodded and then groaned in pain and the nurse apologised.

Suddenly there was a lot of noise coming from the front door to the hospital wing. Ranya grabbed her blade ready to fight off any Templars but relaxed as wounded Assassins and villagers entered.

"Go now, Ranya. Good luck." She gave him one last smile and left the hospital wing with Soraya.

"All men who can still fight get down to the gate! Our brothers are completely overrun!" The Assassin shouted further orders and Ranya took her bow from her back while walking to the front yard of the fortress. Thankfully she had thought of changing the bow her uncle had given her against the one she had secured to Nero's saddle. She was an expert on archery, but even the best needed some time to become acquainted with a new bow.

As she reached the courtyard she was greeted by chaos. Assassins and civilians were crowding the area. Some were wounded and those that were still able to walk hastily rushed past Ranya to get to the sanctuary of the hospital behind her. Women were weeping over their dead or dying sons while others cried and yelled in pain. How could the Templars bring up such a force in so little time?

She grasped the bow tighter to herself. Two Assassins who were stabilising an old man were coming right towards her. Ranya just managed to jump to the side in time and almost bumped into Soraya. The thief could feel her heartbeat quicken and sweat was forming on her forehead, her arms, and legs - everywhere. Needing to support herself she stumbled backwards until she felt the cliffside against her back.

Her mouth went dry and she felt a dizziness as if she were going to faint soon.

Something warm was touching her hand. Or rather bumping into it. She glanced down to see Soraya nuzzling her head into Ranya's side. Her hands were covered with dried sweat as she lifted her hand to pet her friend's head comfortingly.

She then realised that she had somehow dropped her bow. She looked around and saw it just two feet away from her. She quickly went to retrieve it and exhaled deeply. Whatever had overcome her, she was glad it was gone, even though she could still feel the yet quickened thud of her heart. Her hands were slightly shaking as she gripped her bow and she tried to will it away, but to no avail. How was she supposed to aim if she couldn't hold her hands still? She breathed deeply a few times to relax her body. She couldn't let her brother down; she needed to get into the village. "Let's go, Soraya."

The male thief was fighting alongside Altaïr and the Assassins at the gate. The master Assassin couldn't believe how easily the Templars had broken into the village even with their preparation. Masyaf had never been attacked like that and this incident just proved to him how negligent they had been in the past. There was also the possibility that someone from inside had assisted the Templars in some way. Whatever means the Templars had used, Altaïr would talk to his master about the issue.

"Break the attack and retreat! Al Mualim commands it!"

Some of his brothers immediately fled the battle scene. Idiotic, Altaïr thought. The Templars wouldn't just let them get away so easily. Arrows flew and he could see one Assassin clutch at his back in an attempt to remove it. Altaïr looked at the others Assassins who were still in the fight and not able to break it so easily. As he was currently without an opponent to fight, he rushed to help one of his brothers.

"Altaïr! We need to get everyone back into the castle!", Rauf called out to him. The master Assassin slit open the neck of Rauf's opponent and nodded at him.

Together now, they rushed to the remaining Assassins and helped them finishing the Templars. The last few of them retreated, obviously not wanting to die in a hopeless attempt to slay some of their enemies.

"Ilyas, are you hurt?", Altaïr heard Rauf asking the thief. They seemed to have grown quite familiar since Altaïr had left Masyaf.

"Just a few scratches, I'll be fine. You?" Rauf nodded him off and they followed the other Assassins who had already started to climb up to the castle.

That damn cat, Ranya thought as she ran through the village trying to find her cheetah. Just as an Assassin had called out the order to retreat, the big cat had run off and down into Masyaf. There were still Templars and Assassins fighting everywhere and from here, she couldn't really make out who was gaining the upper hand. She just hoped that no Templar would notice her.

She took her bow back in her hands. Just a precaution, she told herself. If Soraya was in need of help, it might come in handy when she was ready to shoot.

Ranya wasn't as anxious as before, but she could still feel her body tensing up and her hands had become so cold that she could barely feel the leather sheathing of her bow.

She didn't dare to cry out for the missing cat and tried to stick to the house walls. Her hood and scarf were covering her head, but she guessed the Templars would quickly find out that she was neither an Assassin nor a citizen of Masyaf. There was no way that de Sablé hadn't informed his men of the intruders that had stolen the relic.

"No! Don't touch her!"

Ranya was on the second level as she heard a high-pitched voice. It must belong to a young woman. The thief couldn't find the source. Most houses had been left in a hurry and there were open doors everywhere. That, and she were afraid that Templars were in some of these houses and looted them.

But the woman was crying now and pleading someone to let go of someone else. Ranya could clearly hear her voice now. She felt deeply sorry for her, but she was in no condition to help her. She could probably overpower one distracted Templar, but she doubted that there would only be one. And she was alone; no one could back her up.

Heavy-heartedly, Ranya sneaked past the house. That was when she heard a growling sound, which ended in a hissing.

Soraya! Ranya rarely heard her friend making these sounds; it was an indication that she was highly stressed and close to attacking someone.

Her bow wouldn't do her any good in such a small space, so she put it on her back. She tried to remember the combat lessons her uncle had given her when she was younger, before she had decided to stick to archery. With the Assassin's sword in her hand, she dared to take a peek through the door into the house. She could see three armed Templars cornering a young woman whose face she couldn't see, but she could clearly hear her heart-breaking cries. And then she saw why. One of the Templars had a child tight in his grip. The child was kicking its legs at the offender and sobbing along with the young woman. Next to the woman was Soraya, spitting at the intruders. Ranya was certain the cheetah had already noticed her, but she was glad that she didn't alarm the Templars of her presence.

Ranya's mind was racing. How could she disable the Templars without causing the one holding the child to harm it?

The thief counted on the cheetah's intelligence and rushed into the room. She didn't get very far. As she tried to aim for the throat of one of the Templars not holding the child, the other alarmed his comrade. Her sword clanged against his. His blow was hard and she stumbled back a few steps. In the corner of her view she could see Soraya pouncing on the Templar who was now struggling to keep the child in his grip. She bit into his leg and caused him to let go of the child. The third Templar rushed to his aid and tried to attack Soraya, but she was faster than that. The man in front of Ranya was now moving towards her again and the woman understood that this was her only chance to get out. Ranya didn't have to yell at her to grab the child and run, she was already out before the Templars could intervene.

One of them was shouting something in French at the other. She couldn't guess what he had said, but he was moving for another blow. She managed to block it, but couldn't get her defence stance back up again fast enough and he kicked at her. She fell backwards and collided with the wall. Only that she didn't remember the wall to be so close and it gave in as she fell into it. Ranya braced herself to defend herself against another attacker. She turned around and raised her sword, but she didn't expect to see a friendly face. As friendly as it could be, given it belonged to the arrogant master Assassin. Better than another Templar, though, she thought.

Altaïr shoved her out of the way and quickly attacked the Templar. Another Assassin rushed in, along with her brother. Soraya let go of the enemy's leg and left the house with Ranya, who put away her sword. The thief checked her friend for any injuries and thankfully she couldn't find any.

"You are hurt", a female voice pointed out behind her. Ranya got up and turned around. It was the woman from before, the child was sitting on her hip; its head nestled into the fabric of its mother's dress and its fingers clawing at the fabric. It turned out to be a little girl and she was still sobbing quietly. The woman was looking at Ranya's arm and she followed her gaze. The Templar's sword must have grazed her. The material was cut and she could see some blood, but the black fabric made it hard to estimate how deep the cut was. It didn't hurt much, though, and she hadn't noticed it by herself, so it couldn't be that bad.

"It's nothing", Ranya said.

"Thank you for saving me. I don't know what they would have done if it weren't for you. How can I ever repay you?"

The woman was looking at her earnestly and it was hard for Ranya to hold her gaze. If it weren't for Soraya, she wouldn't have stepped in. What a coward she was.

"It was nothing. I didn't even overpower one of them."

In that moment, the other men came out of the house. Her brother rushed right to her side. "Rani, are you hurt? Did they harm you?"

Ranya waved him off. "I'll survive. You?" He shook his head slightly and she knew he had taken some hits. Nothing major, but she knew her brother well enough. She wouldn't inquire any further, however. Not now.

"We have to get into the castle, now!", Altaïr announced.

As it turned out, the other Assassin had been Rauf and the woman was his sister. Sarah hadn't managed to retreat because of her daughter who had hidden herself in their house. As Sarah had finally found the frightened child, the Templars had found them and that was where Soraya had come in. Ranya made a mental note to give the cat a treat later; she had earned it.

They quickly made their way into the castle, where they were greeted by chaos. Thankfully, the gate was still open and an Assassin told them that they didn't expect the Templars to come up here for another two hours or so and so the thieves departed from the others. Sarah thanked Ranya again and pulled her in for a hug after she had given her daughter to Rauf. If the woman had noticed the scars on Ranya's face, she didn't let herself show any sign of disgust. As Rauf explained to them where they should meet him later, Ranya noticed that Altaïr had already left them.

"We will put on a show for our enemies. You shouldn't miss it", the Assassin explained excitedly. Ilyas promised him that they would be there on time and finally, the twins were alone. Well, as alone as they can be in the crowded castle. Soraya was trotting behind them as they made their way into the inner courtyard from where they could access the kitchen rooms. They quickly found something and retreated into their rooms.

"You look uneasy, Rani. Are you okay?"

Ranya was sitting on her cod, stroking through Soraya's fur. Her brother eyed her suspiciously and she knew he wouldn't let go of the topic unless she told him what bothered her. "I don't know. I didn't expect this to end so brutal. This is all happening too fast."

Ilyas nodded and slurped down the rest of his soup that was probably cold already.

"We're safe here, this fortress cannot be taken by the the Templars."

"They already got this far. Ilyas, you've seen the mountains. They shouldn't have come so far so easily."

Soraya stretched herself on the blankets and pawed at the material. Her claws would undoubtedly leave holes in it.

"You think there is a traitor."

"At least one. But that's not our problem. I want to leave this place as fast as possible."

Ilyas sighed. "We have to wait for what Al Mualim says. We can't risk our mission by acting rashly." He noticed her attention drifting away from him. She was obviously tired and he desperately wanted to know everything that happened, but there would be enough time for that later.

Ranya almost kicked Soraya when they heard someone shouting. The troops were coming up to the fortress.

The thieves met up with Rauf on the battlements. The Assassins had gathered there as villagers swarmed the courtyards; some wounded or maybe already dead people were in the sand of the battle ring. Ranya could only imagine the chaos that must be the hospital wing. She hoped Malik was well.

"There you are! The Templars have come sooner than we expected, but you needn't worry; we had enough time for preparations", Rauf explained.

There were numerous archers standing on the battlements and awaiting orders. They had their bows drawn and were ready to shoot if given the command. Ranya could see the army of Templars making their way trough the village.

"I will meet with my brothers now. I promised you a show, didn't I? You will witness it soon." Rauf smiled reassuringly at the siblings and disappeared in a tower. The Assassins' mentor joined them and stood close to the balustrade as he eyed the situation.

A murmur made its way through the waiting crowd on the battlements as the enemies drew closer.

"They have hostages", Ranya could hear. She pried down, but couldn't make out much for the chaos of horses and footmen. They had taken Soraya with them but Ranya wished now that they would have left her in their room. She was affecting the Assassins as some of them would occasionally turn around to make sure the animal hadn't moved.

Ranya made her friend come closer to her and sit down next to her to calm the restless Assassins.

"Rani", her brother addressed her. She looked at him and followed his gaze upwards to the tower on their left side. On the side that was facing the village was a big opening in the wall. Three planks were protruding from that opening and on each of them stood an Assassin. "One of them must be Rauf", her brother whispered.

"Heretic! Return what you have stolen from me!" Robert's voice was booming, but his heavy accent and their higher ground made it hard to understand him.

"You have no claim to it, Robert! Take yourself from here before I'm forced to thin your ranks further!", Al Mualim retorted.

Robert didn't seem to be bothered by it. "You play a dangerous game!"

"I assure you, this is no game." Ranya was amazed by how calm the Assassins' mentor could sound. Ranya was high on adrenaline and she caught herself fumbling with the hem of her clothing.

"So be it! Bring forth the hostage!" Robert's rough voice made Ranya shiver. She peered down to get a look at what was going on and all colour left her face at once.

"No …", she whispered.

Two Templars were bringing a struggling Assassin forward whereas it took two Templars to hold the other hostage up. The middle-aged man didn't have a hood on and the sun was burning onto his head.

"I assume you know who that is. As I've heard you hide two of his apprentices. One of which is responsible for the death of some of my men."

Ranya could feel her heartbeat quickening. Her hands began to sweat and she didn't dare look up into anyone's eyes. She could feel her brother shift closer to her side as if to protect her.

"I am not trading the life of anyone in this fortress", Al Mualim exclaimed.

Ranya didn't know what to do. She had no idea how her uncle fell in the Templars' hands nor what was expected of her. Should she go forward and sacrifice herself? Would Robert even agree to barter?

"Your village lays in ruins and your stores are hardly endless! How long before your fortress crumbles from within? How disciplined will your men remain when the wells run dry and their food is gone?"

Ranya looked back at the courtyard where hopelessness was already nagging at the people. So many dead bodies.

"My men do not fear death, Robert. They welcome it, and the awards it brings." Ranya looked unsure at Ilyas, who tried to reassure her with a smile. It didn't reach his eyes.

"Good! Then they shall have it all around!"

"Show this fool knight what it is to have no fear. Go to god!"

Ranya subconsciously grasped her brother's hand as they watched the Assassins who had stood on the tower's platform leap into their certain death. Ranya couldn't see them hitting the ground and she couldn't hear them break their necks but the fall must have been deadly. All around the fortress were mountains and cliffs. She squeezed her brother's hand. He and Rauf seemed to have grown close in her absence. She couldn't believe the Assassins would waste their brothers' lives just like that.

"Do you think this impresses me? I will give you one last chance, give back what your new friends have stolen or I will destroy you and your little organisation."

Al Mualim waited a few moments before he shot back his answer. "Death will rain upon your order!"

Ranya couldn't see the Templar's face, but she could feel his rage. He shouted a command in French and another Templar impaled the Assassin on his sword. Without thinking, Ranya let go of her brother's hand and reached for her bow. But she wasn't fast enough to nock an arrow as suddenly the Templars were buried under big and heavy logs. Someone must have set the wood off from the tower behind their enemies.

Ranya couldn't see her uncle in the mess but judging by his previous state, he was in no condition to run off to save himself. Ilyas seemed to have the same thought as he searched for eye contact and nodded. They rushed down into the courtyard, Soraya closely behind and waited for the guards to open the gate. The Templars that hadn't been slain by logs were meanwhile escaping. Some arrows went flying from the battlements onto them, but few were hit as most had already reached the village.

The gate was pulled up. The thieves had troubles searching the ground for their uncle. The logs had actually buried some bodies underneath them and some hadn't found the sweet embrace of death yet and were struggling to stay alive. Ranya tried to avoid their faces and searched for the darker clothing of her uncle.

"I'm here!" Ranya looked up and saw the hunched over figure of her uncle leaning heavily against a tree. She and Ilyas went up to him as the thieves' mentor slowly let himself sit on the ground.

"Uncle! Are you hurt?", Ilyas asked.

"I think my leg is broken, but I will be fine. Are you two okay?"

Ismail's face was pale and his eyes were glazed over. He was probably terribly dehydrated, Ranya thought.

"We are, what happened? How did they get you?"

Ismail had difficulties to swallow before he could answer his niece's question. "They somehow found the entrance to the Vault." Ranya lowered herself onto her knees. Her heart felt heavy in her chest.

"They gave us a choice. Either we surrendered or we were killed. They have taken the members somewhere else; I was the only one who was brought to Robert."

Ranya felt her throat tightening as it became harder and harder to breath. "This is my fault. I led them there."

"That was hardly your intention, Rani", her brother said. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder but it didn't do much to calm her.

"Ismail. These are truly unfortunate events to meet each other after such a long time." Al Mualim and some other Assassins had come to he thieves' side. "Rauf, Labib! Help him up and bring him to a room next to his niece and nephew. I will send someone to look at your wounds as soon as someone is available. We will discuss everything else when you have rested, my friend."

Ismail thanked the Assassins' master and the men pulled him up. Ranya was surprised to see Rauf but didn't ask any questions. She was sure to get the answer to her questions soon. Behind them, she could hear Al Mualim raising his voice. "And now to you, Altaïr."