Night fell upon the fleet. As the pale moon rose overhead, a lone rowboat made its way through the calm, black waters. Ahead of the boat stood the short cliffs that lined Norman Island's eastern point. A single lantern, held aloft by Thomas, lit the way ahead. Behind Thomas, Anne Bonny and Aldo Gaiani pulled at the oars, while Edward Kenway kept watch astern. The four pirates traveled together in silence. The only noise came from the oars breaking the water's surface as they rose and fell in tandem.
The craft made its way to a sea cave below the cliffs. Aldo and Anne boated their oars as the rowboat entered the cave's mouth. Kenway dropped an anchor over the boat's stern, bringing their passage to an end. It was pitch dark inside the cave. Thomas' lantern illuminated the curved, rocky walls surrounding the boat, which glowed yellow in the dim light. Waves lapped against the walls, worn smooth by millennia of tides and currents.
"You sure this is where the relic's hidden?" Kenway asked Thomas. "It doesn't look like much."
"I'm positive, Captain," Thomas replied in kind. "The charts pointed to this location."
"Maybe it's buried in the mud?" Aldo suggested.
"Doubtful," said Anne. "You'd have a tough time finding the relic again if it was."
"If I had to guess, Thomas," Kenway added, "the relic will be concealed somewhere in the cave walls. Look around for any notches or openings in the rock."
Putting down the lantern, Thomas put put his legs up on the gunwales and jumped out of the boat. His leather boots splashed into the dark waters. He felt liquid pour into his boots as his feet settled into the mud. Another pair of splashes sounded nearby, then another, then once again. Aldo, Anne, and Edward had all disembarked. Picking the lantern back up, Thomas made his way over to the cave wall, and began carefully inspecting it. After several minutes of searching, his eyes fell upon a tiny crevice in the northern end of the wall. It was scarcely an inch long, and looked just wide enough for a blade to fit through. Pushing against the rock around the crevice, he noticed it was loose. Could this be a lock of some sort? Like a doorknob?
"Edward," Thomas called rather softly, "I think I've found something."
Kenway came up beside Thomas, his boots sloshing through the water as he walked. The Welshman unsheathed his right hidden blade, inserted it into the crevice, and gave a sharp twist to the left. Ancient mechanisms came to life, sharp grinding noises sounded, and a portion of the cave wall retreated, revealing a hidden passageway beyond. Unlike the cave, with its curved volcanic walls, the passageway was neatly paved with pristine grey stone. Runes, glowing a light shade of blue, lined the walls, ceiling, and floor of the corridor. Never had Thomas seen such architectural perfection in any structure.
"This is First Civilization make," said Kenway, examining the stonework. "It's thousands of years old."
"And incredible," Aldo added.
"Aye," said Thomas. "Shall we proceed?"
Kenway pointed down the ancient corridor. "Lead the way."
The four pirates made their way down the corridor, with Thomas in the lead. The passage started off narrow, but steadily widened as the party continued deeper into the ruin. Along the way, Thomas noticed several side passages, but all were caved in or sealed shut. A tall stone staircase, wide as a cathedral's front steps, led them even further underground. At the bottom of the staircase, the corridor widened into a colossal chamber. Broad stone pillars stood at intervals along it's walls, with the same glowing runes as before providing illumination. Thomas estimated that the chamber could easily accommodate two ships of the line (without rigging). A rectangular, grey, altar-like structure stood in the chamber's center. What had this room been used for? Thomas guessed that it might've been some kind of gathering place, perhaps even a house of worship.
"What is this place?" Anne asked, her voice filled with awe. Her voice echoed off the chamber walls.
"I don't know," said Aldo. "What do you think, Edward?"
"I think this where our treasure is hidden."
"Let's spread out and have a look around," Thomas directed. "The artifact is probably nearby."
The four pirates separated and began exploring the massive room individually. Edward and Anne started inspecting the south wall, while Aldo set off to the chamber's far end, looking for any hidden passageways. Thomas himself carefully approached the central altar. He made his way forward slowly, like a commoner presenting himself to a king. Was the altar rigged with a trap? One that might kill any intruder that tried to remove the relic? Thomas had no way of knowing for sure (safely), and wasn't about to take any unnecessary chances.
Upon reaching the waist-high altar, Thomas noticed a stone lid in the altar's middle. A pair of metal latches stood at the lid's left and right sides. What could be inside the compartment? In a rather rash maneuver, the Irishman delicately unlocked the latches and lifted up the stone cover, placing it aside.
Inside the compartment, neatly fitted in a holding mount, was a longsword.
Not just any longsword. That much was instantly clear. Unlike a typical sword, this weapon appeared to be forged from pure gold. The blade, about 90 centimeters long, was double-edged, with a fuller running down its center. A straight crossguard protected the hilt, which was wrapped smartly in black leather. The pommel was adorned with the red cross of the Templar Order.
Thomas heard footsteps behind him. Lots of them. He looked around rapidly for the source, and noticed they were coming from the staircase. In a near panic, Thomas picked up the longsword and took cover on the altar's far side. Edward, Aldo and Anne all hid behind pillars. Aldo unsheathed a pistol, but Edward motioned him to hold fire. The Welshman then gestured Thomas to stay put. Curious to identify the intruders, Thomas removed his tricorner hat and peered around the altar. First came the glow of torchlight, then muffled voices, and finally the unwelcome guests revealed themselves.
They were marines. British marines. A whole platoon of twenty men. A naval officer, possibly a Captain, was leading them, along with a marine Lieutenant.
Thomas looked back at Kenway. Their eyes met.
"Templars," Edward mouthed silently.
Thomas nodded in agreement.
"The relic should be here," said the Captain with a Scottish accent. "Lieutenant, take some men with you and inspect that altar."
"Aye aye, sir."
The Lieutenant made his way toward the altar, with four marines following behind him. Thomas remained still, petrified by fear. If discovered, he and his shipmates would be arrested. All four of them were known pirates. The reward for capturing them would be quite high, and their execution would draw a sizable share of publicity. That mostly ruled surrender as an option. If they challenged the marines and their Templar officers head-on, the pirates would be slain. Their corpses would swing from gibbets outside of harbors, or end up buried at sea, dumped and forgotten like pieces of rubbish. Was there any escape from this predicament?
As Thomas pondered his fate, the longsword began to glow. The relic, whatever it did, was activating. That gave Thomas an idea. Why not use the artifact against the Templars? But expose himself to the enemy's muskets? It seemed to be a suicidal plan. But then again, Thomas really didn't have any other choice.
The Irish pirate captain donned his hat, hefted the ancient sword, and leapt to his feet, turning to face the Templars. He held the blade out ahead of him, ready to fight.
"Who are you!" the Lieutenant demanded as he aimed a pistol at Thomas. "What are you doing here?"
"He's an Assassin, Mr. Creely," said the Captain. "Shoot him."
Lieutenant Creely pulled his pistol's trigger. The hammer fell, the powder flashed, and the ball flew... but never hit Thomas. The shot went wild and slammed into the ceiling, yet Thomas and Creely stood just two meters apart.
"What the-" Creely tried to ask. Thomas was upon him be he could finish.
The Irishman roared and rushed forward, jumping over the altar and stabbing Lieutenant Creely in the chest. The young man crumbled dead to the floor, lifeless and with a look of surprise still on his face. The four marines leveled their muskets at Thomas and fired, but their shots missed as well. Thomas closed on them and began slashing his weapon madly. Aldo, Kenway and Anne sprinted to join the Irishman. A pistol discharged somewhere.
"Marines, make ready!" The Templar Captain shouted.
The remaining sixteen marines formed line and leveled their muskets, aiming at the Irish pirate. The order came when the fourth marine fell to Thomas' blade.
"Fire!" roared the Templar.
The marines fired their weapons. The crackle of musket fire echoed loudly in the stone chamber. A split second before the shots reached Thomas, a shield of yellow light appeared ahead of the young pirate. The lead musket balls flattened themselves against the shield and fell harmlessly to the floor.
Edward struck the marines' right flank, with Anne beside him. Aldo came up behind the marines and attacked their left flank. A melee erupted as the marines fought to defend themselves. Anne fired a pistol at one marine, who fell, and slashed her cutlass at another, who dodged her blow and tried to club her. Anne ducked the attack and stabbed the marine in his middle. Two marines attacked Edward at once. Kenway dodged one musket, blocked the other, and struck down both men with his cutlasses. Aldo punched a marine across the face then slashed him across the ribs. He fell to the floor screaming.
The Templar leader, meanwhile, had drawn his saber and was trying in vain to maintain order. Thomas charged at the man, ready to end his life. The Captain, aware of his attacker, sidestepped Thomas, who stopped and turned after running by. The two men faced each other, weapons at the ready, like two members of the gentry about to engage in a duel.
The Captain jumped forward, slashing his blade downward. Thomas blocked the blow and countered with downward strike, which the Captain dodged. He swung his saber upwards at Thomas' ribs, only to have his attack blocked and to receive a punch to his face. The Captain staggered and clutched at his broken nose. Thomas attacked once more and stabbed at the Templar's chest. His blow drove through the man's heart, killing him instantly.
Thomas paused after this brief duel. Around him, the sounds of fighting had ceased. All of the marines were dead or dying. Thomas knew that none of them would leave the ruin alive. The Assassins couldn't risk the Templars returning to this place.
Anne sheathed her cutlass and ran up to Thomas. She hugged and kissed him.
"You're a fool, Thomas," she said with a mix of passion and rage, "but a damn brave one!"
"Are you alright?" Thomas asked.
"We're fine," Kenway said. "Now let's get out of here. You and her can make love back aboard your ship."
With that, the pirates departed, leaving behind twenty-two bodies, and an empty altar. The golden longsword remained in Thomas' right hand.