All Assassin's Creed characters and references © Ubisoft
Kiara and all other OCs © Me
Thanks to MJE92 and La Bella Figura for checking this chapter and catching all my grammar mistakes.
Needless to say, the boat ride to Venice was awkward, all three days of it. It didn't help that just about every time I so much as looked in Ezio's direction, Federico's taunt came to mind. It was a good thing that I had a hood, because I wound up blushing out of sheer embarrassment more often than not. I made Federico swear he wouldn't tell Ezio about our little conversation, but that didn't stop him from prodding at me behind Ezio's back, or any time he so chose. Ezio and Leonardo were thoroughly confused by my sudden animosity towards the older Auditore brother, but thankfully the only thing Federico would tell them was that it was an inside joke that I was catching the brunt of.
Finally, Venice came into sight on the horizon, and soon after, we were introduced to the smell. One of the deckhands was quite amused at the faces we were pulling, and laughed at us.
"Better get used to it; the smell only gets better as we get closer."
He wasn't joking, by the time we docked, the stench was quite strong. According to Leonardo, the reason Venice smelled so bad is that one, they were a seaside city and two, people threw all manner of garbage into the canals. Not a pleasant thought, and I made a mental note to never take a swim.
The three of us had just carried our things with us, but it took nearly an hour and a half to fully unload all of Leonardo's. As he was checking them to make sure that they had survived the trip, a well-dressed man approached him.
"Messer da Vinci?"
Leo looked up. "Yes?"
"Buongiorno e ben arrivato! I am Alvise. Il Signor Dona has asked that I escort you to the workshop. Are you ready?"
"My things…"
"Will be sent there promptly, I assure you. Are they with you?"
Alvise motioned to us, but not out of suspicion. Since we were new to the city, we had all agreed that leaving our hoods down would be a good way to avoid any unnecessary attention. Leonardo nodded in response to the man's question. The three of us left our bags with Leonardo's things, and we were off. Alvise started singing Venice's praises not three steps into our tour.
"Ah Venezia! What other place is as beautiful, as stable, as perfect!"
And as stinky, I thought to myself.
"Come! I will show you her wonders!"
We didn't even get twenty feet before we reached our first sight-seeing destination.
"Behold! The Rialto Bridge! Behold the elegance with which she spans the Grand Canal! A symbol of Venetian unity and pride."
While Leonardo was actually interested in the architecture, the boys and I were less impressed. Our very enthusiastic guide took us by the church, and I had to admit, the bell tower was pretty cool. We rounded the corner and came upon what looked like a large marketplace.
"No other city can match the size of Venice's markets," Alvise stated proudly. "Be it spices or silk, near and far, there is…there is…"
I looked over my shoulder to see what had caught Alvise's attention, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up as a troop of guards walked by us with drawn weapons, even though they didn't even spare a glance in our direction. Ezio and Federico were right behind me and I could practically feel the both of them go on guard.
The troop approached a stand where a man was selling fish.
"You were told to stay home!" The officer snapped at the man.
"But the rent is paid! I have every right to sell here!" The merchant protested.
"Emilio disagrees."
Suddenly the guards began to ransack the merchant's tables, knocking them over and scattering the fish on the ground even as the man cried helplessly in protest.
"Let's continue our tour…elsewhere," Alvise suggested quickly, and we followed, feeling troubled.
We continued down the winding streets, which were very different from Florence's wide roadways. All at once, Leonardo stopped at one of the shops and picked up a wooden figure that had moveable arms and legs.
"Amazing!" He exclaimed as he moved one of the arms into different positions. "This would help me start portraits without the subject being present." He reached for his coin purse, only to realize that he had left it with the rest of his stuff.
"Eh…I don't suppose one of you would be willing to buy this for me? It seems I left my money with my luggage."
"And you can't come back and buy it later?" Ezio asked back, not without some humor.
As Leonardo tried to come up with a valid excuse for why we should buy the figure for him at that point in time, a group of commonly-dressed people rushed by us and one of them bumped into Ezio as she passed him.
"Hey! Mind your step, coglione!" (Jerk) Ezio barked, making the woman pause for a moment before hurrying on.
Not a moment after she disappeared from sight, realization crossed Ezio's face and he quickly patted at his belt until he made sure that his own money pouch was still on his person.
"I would suggest keeping that well hidden from here on out, Signore," Alvise suggested. "The pickpockets are rampant in the city."
Leonardo wasn't able to convince Ezio to buy the figure for him, but the shop owner assured the artist that he would hold one for him until he could come back. As we neared the end of our tour, Alvise took us to a large, elegant building that was surrounded by guards.
"And here we have the Palazzo della Seta, home to Emilio Barbargio."
The last name caught our attention, and we listened closer.
"Normally I would suggest going in for a closer look. But with the way things are now…"
"What's happened?" Federico asked.
"Emilio is attempting to unite all the merchants under a single banner. There's been some resistance, some of it violent."
"What kind of resistance?"
Alvise shook his head. "They say that they're fighting for the people, for freedom. It's all nonsense if you ask me."
As he was talking, Ezio and I saw the same merchant from earlier storm up to the palazzo entrance to where the guards were standing.
"They destroyed my stand! I demand compensation!"
The guards shared bored glance before one took his spear and hit the merchant in the gut with the butt of the handle.
"Here you are then."
"The Doge will know about this!" The man nearly shrieked. "I'll report you to the Council!"
"Good luck with that my friend." The captain replied, motioning for the other two to arrest the merchant.
"What are you doing?!"
"You're under arrest for disrupting commerce," One of the guards replied as they pulled him back towards the entrance.
"What?! You just invented that! There is no such law!"
"There is now."
With that, they drug the unfortunate merchant through the gate and shut the doors.
Ezio, Federico, and I all shared uneasy glances.
"If that's not the work of a Templar, I don't know what is," Federico muttered as we turned to follow Leonardo and Alvise.
We finally arrived to what would be Leonardo's workshop, which was considerably taller than his previous abode in Florence.
"And now, I present to you your workshop Ser da Vinci." Alvise stated proudly. "We spared no expense in its design. It's perfect; as if you never left Firenze. I wish you great success and hope you enjoy Venezia as much as she enjoys having you!"
With a flourish and a bow, our tour guide left us to our own devices.
"So here we are!" Leonardo said with a grin. "Exciting isn't it? Care to come in?"
"Maybe later, Leonardo," Federico replied. "We need to return to the Palazzo and see if we can't gain an audience with this Emilio."
"As you wish, my friends. I assume you'll be back sometime to pick up your things?"
We nodded.
"Very well. But, if you find yourself with some free time, or another Codex page, don't hesitate to visit. My door is always open."
"Thank you Leonardo, for everything," I said with a smile.
He made sure to give me a big hug before we left. "It was no trouble at all. Keep these boys out of trouble, Kiara."
We said our goodbyes and headed back the way we came, pulling our hoods up. We approached the Palazzo, but kept our distance to avoid suspicion from the guards as we surveyed our next move. What we really needed to do was get inside, but that involved scaling the outer wall, and there was a gap between the lower wall protrusion and a window that none of us would be able to jump.
As we tried to come up with ways to get around this obstacle, the same group of people we had seen earlier suddenly appeared, running through the gate and quickly drawing the guards away. With the entrance now unguarded, the woman that had tried to swipe Ezio's money rushed through and began to scale the wall. She reached for a handhold, only to jerk her hand back as an arrow struck the stone nearby.
"What is she thinking?" Federico hissed. "She's nothing more than a moving target!"
Despite the flying arrows, the woman continued to climb until she reached the lower protrusion. Instead of acting like she had made a mistake and climbing back down, she gripped the protrusion with her hands, braced her feet, and launched herself high enough to reach the bottom of the window, much to our surprise. However, she didn't even have time to pull herself up before taking an arrow to the leg, right above her knee.
With a cry of pain, she lost her grip and tumbled to the ground. Quickly picking herself up, the woman stumbled away from the Palazzo and right into the shadows where we were. A misstep sent her flailing right into Ezio, and he helped right her.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?" He questioned, but she had other things on her mind.
"We need to go! They're getting closer!"
Sure enough, I looked over my shoulder to see a couple of guards approaching with drawn weapons.
"Over there! There's more!"
"Ah, merda," Federico growled, drawing his own sword. "Where do we go?"
"To the water," the woman replied, already turning to go.
"That doesn't really narrow it down!" Ezio protested even as we ran after her.
I started to reach for my bow, but Federico intervened.
"Save your arrows, we may need them later."
We continued to flee through Venice's alleys and backstreets, with our wounded companion leading the way. We tried on several occasions to convince her to stop running so we could at least bandage her leg, but she refused, saying she didn't need any help. She was limping and bleeding badly, though, and it was a wonder that she had made it this far.
We came to the end of the alley and paused for a bit, our companion braced herself against the alley wall, breathing hard with beads of sweat visible on her face. She swayed a bit, but when Ezio put his hand on her shoulder to steady her, she swatted it away.
"Hands off!"
Having regained her second wind, the woman peeked out around the corner, and then made a mad dash across a very open square. We followed, but hadn't gotten halfway before a contingent of soldiers suddenly appeared.
"There they are! Get them!"
In a moment we were surrounded and fighting for our lives. Even as occupied as I was, I couldn't help but be amazed by how fiercely the other woman fought. It didn't matter that she was out-muscled by the guards – or had an arrow embedded in her leg – she killed them anyway. Me on the other hand…it was almost embarrassing. I ducked, wove, and countered to avoid being hurt, but just couldn't bring myself to kill one of the men, even though there were several opportunities.
A soldier advancing on me abruptly had his throat slit and fell face down on the cobblestones while our companion wiped her short blade on her already bloodied pants.
"You fight like a woman," She nearly spat, only to pause and peer under my hood. "Oh, that explains everything. You are a woman."
My pride seriously wounded, I was about to retort but instead had to catch her when she suddenly crumpled to her knees in pain.
"Ah! My leg!"
Ezio was there in a moment and scooped her up. For a second she looked like she was about to protest, but reluctantly gave in.
"Where to?" Ezio asked.
"There, go that way," The woman replied, pointing in the aforementioned direction.
With Ezio leading the way, we headed toward another canal.
"I never did catch your name."
I rolled my eyes. Of course.
"Rosa."
"Onoroato, Rosa. I'm Ezio." (Honored to meet you)
"I know."
"Ché?"
Ezio didn't have time to pursue the matter further; we arrived at our destination, where a man was waiting with a gondola. Seeing us, he immediately drew his sword.
"What's this?!"
"Rosa's been wounded," Ezio replied.
He gave us a doubtful look, but put his weapon away. "Pass her here; we'll go the rest of the way by boat."
Ezio handed Rosa over, who was transferred to the boat. The all too familiar zippp and crack of an arrow narrowly missing us made us all jump. I spotted the archer first and grabbed for my bow as we all ducked for cover. As the man was reaching for another arrow, I popped around the corner and nailed him in the chest, causing him to fall into the canal. Behind me, I heard Federico give a heavy sigh.
"Go! We'll take care of the guards!"
The man, Ugo, as Rosa had cursed him when he accidentally jostled her leg, pushed off and directed the gondola downstream. Unfortunately, even moving with the current, the gondola couldn't move very fast, so we were forced to wait for them.
"Why are we helping them so much?" I half-whispered to Federico. "We have no idea who these people are."
"They knew Ezio's name," He replied. "That must mean something. Besides, the faster we make allies, the sooner we know what's going on around here."
As our group made our way down the canal - and by that I mean they floated, we free-ran – the guards kept showing up out of nowhere.
"Kiara, see if you can get to the rooftops. Scout ahead for us." Federico ordered.
Throwing my bow over my shoulders, I climbed up to the roof, and hurried ahead as far as I dared. I quickly discovered something about Venice rooftops, with the humidity in the air moss grew everywhere, which made some of the clay shingles very slick. Growling under my breath, I dodged it the best I could and continued on.
Even from where we were, I could see that the canal we were following lead to open water, so I ran further ahead, taking out an archer that was waiting for us, but leaving me with only two arrows left. Damn…
I shouted out the positions of incoming guards, and Ezio and Federico took care of them. We reached the canal opening, and Ugo directed the gondola to the left, which meant we had even farther to go. We continued to follow, only to run into more archers. I used the last of my arrows, muttering a silent apology to Lorenzo that they had been used up so fast, which left only one man for Ezio and Federico.
Finally, Ugo reached his destination and turned the gondola into a small waterway access that was built into a rather decrepit looking building. The three of us clambered up and over the building and met them on the other side. Unfortunately, one of their companions lay dead in the front of the boat. Ugo went to move the larger man, only to have Rosa snap at him.
"He's dead idiota, say a prayer later. I need to see – ah! – Antonio."
Ugo rolled the man into the water with a curse, and tried to heft Rosa to her feet, only for her to cry out in pain and slump back down.
"Be careful!" Ezio interjected. "I'll take her. You go get help."
When Ugo hesitated, Rosa elbowed him. "Do as he says, Ugo!"
Growling something about how he couldn't believe he was taking orders from Ezio, Ugo ran past us. Ezio hurried down to Rosa, who looked like she was about to pass out despite herself.
"Hey, hey! Stay awake."
He picked her up and hurried as fast as he could the way that Ugo had gone, leaving Federico and I nothing else to do but follow. We reached a courtyard where Ugo was ordering some other men to clear a table and lay down a pallet or stretcher for Rosa. As Ezio put her down, she seemed to wake up a bit.
"Where are we?"
"Safe," Ezio replied. "They've sent for help."
"Thank you…"
A nearby door opened and a rather wiry looking man hurried out, dressed in finer clothes than the rest of his companions.
"Rosa! What happened?"
"Just get this thing out of my leg," She gritted out.
"Soon, soon," The man replied, who I assumed was Antonio. "Let's have a look at this."
He carefully inspected the arrow that was still embedded in her upper leg. "Clean entry and exit through the thigh. This is good."
"Get. It. Out."
"Rosa, we must take care not to—"
"Now!"
Holy crap, was she always like this? I personally knew how badly something like that hurt, but jeez…
"Come vuci." (As you wish) Antonio motioned to Ezio and Ugo. "Tenetela." (Hold it)
The two men held Rosa down as Antonio broke off the fletching and yanked the shaft from Rosa's leg, causing her to nearly shriek.
"I'm sorry, piccola." (little one) Antonio apologized, only to have Rosa tell him exactly what to do with his 'sorry'.
Unfazed by her foul language, Antonio turned to a nearby man. "Go fetch Bianca, and be quick!"
Then to Ezio, "Help me with this. Grab that linen. When I remove my hand, press the cloth to the wound, ready?"
Even though he already knew what to do, Ezio nodded, and in a moment had the cloth wrapped securely around Rosa's leg.
"Bene fatto. (Well done) You work well under pressure."
By this point, Rosa was beginning to fight back and Antonio just chuckled.
"She's spirited, this one. Avanti! Get Rosa inside so Bianca can close the wound." He gently touched Rosa's face in comfort. "You'll be alright. The worst is past."
Rosa shoved his arm away and began spewing curses at him. I had to admit, she was certainly creative. As she was carried away, Antonio turned back to us.
"Thank you, all of you. Rosa is most dear to me. If I had lost her…"
Ezio smirked. "I've always had a soft spot for a woman in distress."
"So I've heard. Don't look so surprised, Ser Ezio. Your family's work in Firenze and Tuscany is well known. Good work too, if a little…unrefined."
"Then you know why we are here." Federico said.
"I can guess. Follow me, there's much to discuss."
Antonio let us to what looked to be his office and he ushered us inside.
"Now that I can properly welcome the three of you to our guild's humble home, can I offer you anything? Biscotti? Un café?" (A coffee)
"What's café?" Ezio asked, and I hid a grin.
"An interesting concoction that was brought to me by a Turkish merchant." He held out a tumbler. "Here, have a taste."
Ezio accepted the cup graciously and took a sip. "A little bitter, if you ask me, and quite strong. It seems as if it could use something…sugar maybe? Or a little milk?"
Good Lord. Ezio had just invented the latte.
"I suppose it's something of an acquired taste." Antonio admitted as Ezio passed the cup to Federico to try. The older brother didn't care much for it and quickly gave it to me. Ezio was right; it had been made so strong it had a bitter aftertaste to it, but the coffee also had a rich flavor. Water it down a bit, add some sugar and milk, and it would be just about perfect.
"Enough about that." Antonio said, interrupting my musings. "Where were we?"
He walked over to a wooden miniature of what looked to be the Palazzo de la Seta and picked up a roughly carved figure.
"Our failure at the Palazzo cost us dearly. Several groups of our thieves worked to distract the guards, but they were more prepared than we anticipated. Rosa is not the only wounded, and there are many dead. It will take us time to recover. No doubt Emilio will use this pause to strengthen his defenses, and continue his oppression of the marketing district."
"So we've heard," Ezio replied, "What exactly does Emilio get out of it?"
"When he has control of the entire district, and he will very soon, Emilio will be able to regulate what comes in and goes out, and who knows about it. Not only does he rule the other merchants with an iron fist, but he also practically owns the entire Venetian police force, ensuring that no one can resist."
"I overheard a brief conversation between him, Rodrigo Borgia, and Jacopo de Pazzi. It seems as if Emilio is also in charge of supplying the Templars weapons." Federico added.
"This does not surprise me," Antonio replied. "I know you do not share our motive, Auditore, but you do share our goal."
"Why not regroup your men and try again?" Ezio asked.
"To act in haste would only bring more losses, and we have suffered greatly today. We must regroup and make new plans."
"We can ill afford to sit around and wait," Federico said.
"Nor would I want you to, but I don't think you three realize how long this will take. Emilio is very deeply rooted in Venice, and his network runs throughout the entire city. He has many men and assets at his disposal, something we do not have. Lately, Emilio's forces have been making a point to eliminate as many thieves as they can, and we have been forced into hiding to ensure our guild survives. We are spread incredibly thin and income has slowed to a crawl. My friends have to steal simply to eat anymore. This failed attack is the final straw for now."
The three of us glanced at each other, but the situation was out of our control.
"What can we do to help?" I asked.
"I'm glad you asked, Signorina Kiara. Work with my men, there is much to be done. I've heard good things about your skill with a bow, my dear, a skill we could sorely use here. When we have better weapons, perhaps you can teach us some of that skill.
I was a little surprised, but nodded. Looking quite pleased, Antonio rubbed his hands together.
"Bene. Now, I know you three have had a long trip and certainly enough excitement for now. We have rooms waiting for you so you can rest and find something to eat. Tomorrow is always a new day."
We thanked Antonio for his hospitality and he told us which building our rooms were in. As he saw us to the door, I noticed a strange, circular scar that encompassed his entire ring finger on his left hand. I remembered seeing something similar on Giovanni's hand, but it had been mostly hidden by his wedding ring. Curious, I made a mental note to look closer when we went back home.
The sun was beginning to slip behind Venice's taller buildings as Ezio, Federico, and I found our rooms for the night, we would pick up our bags from Leonardo tomorrow. My bed smelled a bit musty, and the sheets were rather scratchy, but I was glad to have a break for the time being. Antonio was right, tomorrow was a new day.
A/N – So…yeah, sorry about another ridiculously long wait. That's not fair to you guys, I know it's not, and I have no idea why this chapter took forever. So, my new plan is to work on shorter chapters so I can get them out faster.
Just to put thing in perspective…
- Current year: Late spring of 1481
- Federico's age: 25
- Ezio's age: 22
- Kiara's age: 21
Thanks to all who reviewed, especially those who reviewed to inform me that they were in dire need of an update.
ishibby
I'm not a hipster
RettoPolka4Ever
tbroski46
shooki6
XxKiwahxX
Kayla
Kahurangi Tarakona
miruka67
Moonfoxgazer
Battler127
Flowers of Dusk
kenokosan
Leap of Fail
Flying Machine
CalderstonesXD
Savage Kill
Wishfulhamadryad
Callophilia
Sophia Gray
ChidorixCixBritannia
Trigger
shippolove844
Till next time!
~TKD Dragon