They had returned to find the Templar trying to raise himself up on his elbows and while Maria wasn't unsympathetic to his desire to meet this new man on a level footing...

"Get back down on the bed or I'll tie you to it you imbecile."

The knight grimaced whether from the pain or her ear shattering rebuke Tahir was uncertain but he hovered in the background awaiting the word to approach. Maria knelt beside him and fussed over his blankets before tossing her head back to him, "You can't help him from all the way over there Tahir unless you have some relationship with God I am unaware of."

Both men winced at her careless blasphemy but neither challenged her, Tahir assumed she was nervous about them meeting and what the outcome would be. He moved closer to them and when he stepped close enough to the fire for its glow to highlight his robes he saw the man on the grounds eyes open wide.

"Is he -?"

Maria held her hand over his arm, "Yes he is an assassin but no not the one from Arsuf."

The men regarded each other for long awkward seconds with Maria between them looking from one face to the other waiting for one of them to speak and relieve the tension. Apparently neither of them had any plans to do so leaving her to be the one to bridge the chasm they were forming between them. "This is Tahir he is of novice rank in the order of the assassins and as such not a fair target for a knight of the Templars. Tahir this is Stephen a skilled and brave knight who is currently disabled with serious injuries in dire need of treatment and therefore not a fair target for a novice of the assassins. So unless you have plans to compare...swords or something, can you both just fucking relax and stand down."

Tahir took a step towards the knight who lifted his badly scalded right arm to him, "It is a pleasure to meet you Tahir."

Tahir took his hand and felt the power that years of wielding a heavy long sword had endowed on the man, "The pleasure is mine, sir eh –"

"Stephen will be fine."

Having averted the obligatory cock fight Maria visibly relaxed and took up the grains the boy had her mix earlier. "You say this makes a tea?"

The following day and night passed without incident unless you count Maria's growing concern that their detour into the hills to avoid the guards had in fact gotten them lost. "We should be seeing more signs of life Tahir; Homs is a bloody big city."

The boy sighed and tugged his rein to straighten up his horse; even she seemed to want to go another way. "We have only been travelling for three days Maria we will reach Homs tomorrow have no fear the hills are the favoured routes for us."

Clicking her tongue but making no other reply she glanced back at the knight who had finally fallen asleep after hours of complaining about feeling ridiculous being pulled along in a make shift bed. "I see he was right about not being tired at all."

Tahir grinned, "It is not easy for a man accustomed to independence to be so reliant on other people you must have patience with him."

Maria blew a stream of air at some stray hairs across her face shifting them, "I'm patient Tahir I've practically been a saint."

He had to agree for the most part she had been attentive and caring it was only when the patient became difficult her own temper had begun to fray. The seemingly endless dusty land they now found themselves crossing was doing little to ease her agitation. "We may have missed the main road into Homs but you can approach it just as easily from here."

Much to his own delight she never questioned him and such trust in his skills was rare indeed. His chest puffed up as he sat a little straighter in his saddle.

The previous evening had been spent talking about battle experiences and Stephen had shared many of Maria's less illustrious efforts to become more like the men she served alongside. He laughed along with them finding it effortless to join in with the small talk until Robert's name was mentioned then he felt the sting of the loss that man had inflicted on him and was he reminded that these two were not allied to him. Stephen had noticed his withdrawal from the conversation and asked if he was tired.

Maria replied on his behalf, "It was your story about Robert teaching you how to joust Stephen; Tahir has no love for our former leader."

"Nor should he have. I apologise Tahir I didn't know you had experience of Robert."

The boy's whispered reply surprised even him, "He killed my friend."

Maria put down her plate and rubbed her forehead. "Tahir we have all lost friends."

"What was his name?"

Maria threw a warning look at Stephen trying to signify a change in conversation was in order but the knight ignored her, "Your friend Tahir what was his name?"

"His name was Kadar he was a novice of higher rank than me but a novice still. He was killed in Solomon's Temple."

Of course Maria had known who he was talking about but that didn't make it any easier to find a suitable reply. Stephen had no such problems, "As Maria said we have all lost friends but that doesn't lessen our individual grief for the people we have lost. My war is over, for the time being at least but for the assassin there is no truce, no peace."

Maria watched the boy waiting for his next words and when they came she felt her heart ache a little, "Our main goal is peace both within the world and within ourselves. There can be no peace for me until I resolve the bitterness I feel for your former friend but I strive to banish the darkness from my heart."

An easy silence fell over the small group as each withdrew inside themselves contemplating the path which had brought them to this point. It was Maria who broke the silence but for once it was not to shatter the mood. "I've done things I know to have been a sin but I have equally been sinned against, there must be an amnesty of sorts or this conflict will never end. I used to view the enemy as just that... the enemy nothing more or less in fact it helped if I could see them as being somehow worse than they truly were and they probably think the same about me yet despite my sins I don't think I'm all bad."

Tahir smiled at the woman he knew to be mostly decent in spite of her rough manner and spoke again. "If you find a darkness in your heart after a sin you did, know then that in your heart there is light, because of this light you felt the darkness."

Both Crusaders looked at him and he blushed, "Again I cannot take the credit I offer the words of Ibn Al Jawzi, they seemed appropriate."

Stephen again tried to push his body farther up; his interest peaked at the chance of a meaningful conversation. Maria helped him into a more upright position and listened to the men exchange ideas and quotes for a time but their words reminded her of another man, one she had been missing far more than she was happy to acknowledge. "I'm going to sleep you two bore me."

She had gone to sleep thinking of his mouth and his eyes then his annoying habit of only talking about things that she claimed held no interest for her but the truth was she was interested, interested but afraid that she would never be able to fully understand the things he spoke of and in the end he would see through her facade and find an empty headed woman beneath.

Tahir heard the knight moan as he shifted in the small cot he was being transported in and marvelled at how the few hours of conversation they had shared the previous night had given him more insight than the words of ten books. Perhaps in time it would be possible to think of the men who served the Templars as human beings and not just something to be despised and mistrusted however he doubted that understanding would ever extend to Robert De Sable.

Altaïr passed the watchtower on the edge of the land his order controlled and let the sense of homecoming this place always gave him wash over his tired bones and lift his spirits. The men patrolling bowed to him and offered respectful greetings which he returned in kind. Another hour and he would enter Masyaf; feel the soil beneath his feet and the air in his lungs. Malik had been right it was high time he returned and focused his mind on the order and trusted the more day to day tasks to the men he now led.

A small smile played across his lips as he turned the final corner and saw the towers of Masyaf castle and not a moment too soon if the clouds overhead decided to spill what they threatened. He hoped Malik and the boy would be able to find shelter but knew it would be harder for Maria; the road to Homs was barren and mostly uninhabited. Dropping from his horse he nodded to the men at the gate and walked into the village and began the process of truly leading this order and its people.

Rauf crouched low to avoid hitting his head as he entered a small cavern at the foot of a hill, there was heavy rain on the way and he had no intention of suffering it while waiting for the woman to pass. Unsure if she had passed before he arrived or had gotten lost on the road but either way he could see almost as much of the road from his dry hide as he could from the edge of the last village before Homs if she passed he would see her.

"This infernal dust would drive anyone insane how do you live your life in such conditions?"

Tahir shrugged opting to ignore her latest complaint, one in a long line it had to be said. The woman was beginning to suffer from the heat and despite his suggestion she should rest for a while she had ridden on regardless to the point where she was now irritated and sun burnt. Jumping down from her horse she wasted yet more energy trying to remove the thick layer of dust now covering both her and her clothing.

Glancing overhead he eyed the dark clouds with distaste then once again scanned the landscape around them. "We won't find shelter before the rain comes, the best we can do is to adjust the material on his cot and make a small shelter for him."

"That fabric provided a comfortable roof for us both on the first night if we make a low shelter we can all lie under it."

It wasn't enough and in the end they settled for covering the knight as the rain began to fall in large heavy drops on and around them. Maria crawled into the shelter beside him and quickly gave him some water, he refused the food. "Tahir I think you should make another batch of that mud the stuff covering him now is beginning to stink."

Drawing his grey hood further over his face he moved closer to the tent, "I'll look at it when you are finished but I've never known it to smell any worse than it does when you first mix it."

Maria worked her way out of the canvas crawling backwards, "He seems weaker Tahir anything we can do to make him more comfortable would be good."

His burnt skin was not even close to healing but he could see the balm he applied was still doing its job and keeping the area clean and dry but she was right about there being a smell just not the source of the stench. Pulling the dressing gently away from his neck wound he gasped and pulled his head back. The flesh around the wound was beginning to turn black that coupled with the heinous smell was enough to tell him the knight was in far more trouble than they feared.

Maria stood with the pot in her hand waiting for him to emerge but his expression told her he would not be mixing more balm, lowering the pot she turned her face into the rain. She had known the smell, had been unlucky enough to experience it many times on the field of battle. Cleaning and covering the wound had not been enough. "I'll be back soon Tahir, keep an eye on him will you?"

Climbing into the saddle of the ugly horse she had stolen on the night Altaïr had taken her up into the hills she rode on into the rain without waiting to see what the boy had to say. Knowing where she was going and what she was going for made the task that much easier, they had passed it on the road about an hour before but now she wasn't hauling Stephen behind her she could kick her horse and let her open up to her full speed.

Tahir spent the next hour listening to the knight muttering and thinking about Gwen. The rain never bothered him in the least it would stop and his clothes would dry but meantime there was nothing he could do, much better to focus his mind on the girl. Then he heard the hooves of the horse pounding and lifted his head to see mud flying in all directions as Maria raced back toward them. He smiled to see her return, he hadn't expected her to panic but at least now she seemed to have found the courage to face this and help her friend face his death.

Pulling a small bundle from her belt almost before she had fully dismounted she strode past him and crept into the tent. "We've seen this done before Stephen and we've seen it work. Don't give up now."

Just now noticing the blood on the cuffs of her tunic he leaned his head as close as he could and watched her unfold the fabric. "Maggots..."

"Yes Tahir maggots. Remember that dead horse we passed some way back? I checked and thankfully a nice colony of maggots was feasting on the corpse."

Closing his eyes against the vision of her digging into the ugly hole left by animals who had fed on the carcass to retrieve the maggots he gulped. "You have a strong stomach Maria."

Wiping a bloody hand on her leggings she removed the dressing from his neck, "I didn't enjoy it but what choice did I have?"

Stephen was thankfully out like a light and wouldn't have to spend the night wondering where the maggots were going. "I've seen men claw at their wounds and scream for hours believing the maggots have crawled inside the body, we won't mention this to him unless we have to."

She nodded as she dropped the creatures onto his wound then lightly placed a cloth on top, "We have to keep them alive they need air and I have more here for when those little fellows have eaten their fill."

Rain dripped from her hair onto the knight's chest and not for the first time Tahir wondered what life had done to have so sharpened the edges of a soft hearted woman. She moved back out into the slackening rain rubbing her hands together to wash off the blood her face screwing up with disgust as she recalled what had bloodied them.

'It bothers her but she did it none the less.'

His sodden robes were useless to him for now so lifting his hood over his head he approached her and used it to clean her hands. "When the rain stops I'll look for dry wood and we can heat some water to clean them properly for now this will suffice."

"The only dry thing for miles is that useless lump lying under the canvas over there." Smiling as she tossed her head in his direction she lowered herself to the ground. "I understand why you hate Robert so much if I ever meet the bastard who caused this suffering I will cut off his hands and nail them to a tree!"

Roland lifted the hem of his cassock and stepped carefully around the worst of the puddles forming at the entrance to the herb garden. It was almost fully dark but he had been here on this same errand many times and knew what he sought was at the end of the rows. The Master liked to have tea made from boiled mint leaves before he slept and he was here to retrieve them for that purpose. He glanced to the kitchen entrance of the fortress and grinned at the two young kitchen maids standing in the doorway smiling at him, one of them in particular caught his eye. Forcing his attention back to the rows of herbs he banished the vision of her inviting curves from his mind but he knew they would return later when he was alone.

He had been with a woman, one not so different from the temptress in the doorway now. She had taken the eldest son of the Lord by the hand and led him to the pantry. Him barely fifteen and her closer to nineteen, there was never any doubt who would have to take the lead but only that one time on the occasions they had snuck away together after that Roland had more than held his own. Her stomach began to grow as was wont to happen and the boy had been filled with holy terror at the idea of having to tell his father of his part in it. His fear had been unwarranted his father laughed and clapped him on the shoulder assuring him that he wasn't the first noble to sow a few oats with the prettier girls of the lower class, assuring him there was no need to worry the boy accepted this without question beginning to mentally prepare himself for the inevitable wedding. No wedding came, not for him at least. The girl was sent away with a coin purse full of money and a young stable hand that would wed her and raise the bastard as his own and since there was money enough to pay for the raising of three he was glad of the deal.

It seemed Roland was the only person who found the deal distasteful but unwilling to challenge his father he had gone on with life trying to forget what he missed every day, until he overheard some of the servants talking about her saying it was a shameful waste of such a fair woman. Taking one of them aside he enquired what had happened. Apparently her husband ever suspicious of her fidelity had scarred her face to ensure no other man would want her and the girl had thrown herself, babe still in the womb from a tower. He never mentioned it to his father he simply informed his family of his desire to live a life in service to God and had joined the priesthood. Still a novice he had not yet taken his vows but as time passed he began to feel he would have to find another way to serve God, his taste for women had not lessened with the donning of the robes as he had hoped they would and the idea of spending a lifetime without a wife felt more and more unlikely with each passing day. He had decided to speak to Master Donjon about his thoughts and ask about staying on in a hospital role rather than a priestly one.

Passing the women on his way to the Master with the prepared tea he hoped the smile he offered them was seen as friendly and that none of the desire he felt had crept to his face. Knocking on the door he stood waiting for a reply, none came. He tapped the door harder this time adding the old priests name to the request for entry, again no response. "Pere Donjon it is Roland I have your tea may I enter?"

Cautiously tugging the cold metal ring to open the door the young man stepped inside, there was no sign of the priest until he reached his desk and saw his body lying on the floor beside the chair. Placing the tea on the table he knelt beside his mentor and felt for any signs of life. His face was twisted and his eyes were closed but there was a pulse, weak and irregular as it was. "Help, we need help in here the Master is ill."

Lifting the old man's too light body from the ground he moved him to a nearby rug and began loosening the clothes around his neck. Within moments the room was filled with men far more qualified to help the Master than he was so Roland stood back to give them room, his fingers working along the beads of his rosary as he mumbled desperate entreaties to his Lord on behalf of his master.

The Grand Dai stood on the cart and launched himself at the rider closest to him, knocking him from his horse as they both plummeted to the earth. Malik drew his sword before he had fully landed and embedded it into the gut of the bandit. Another came to him sword in the air already swinging but Malik ducked under the dead man's horse and easily avoided the wild swing. The bandit flashed a glare so hate filled at the assassin that Malik almost smiled. 'They hate that a one armed man is fighting them.'

He leapt from the back of his horse and landed solidly in front of the assassin full of swagger and bravado, "You wish to die to protect your paltry goods so be it!"

The other men dismounted and began to form a circle around the soon to be dead fool standing in front of the cart. Malik backed toward the cart instinctively trying to assume the best position to protect the boy but realised he had allowed himself to be boxed in. Looking at the faces of the men moving in on him he judged which of them was the least ready to face his sword when he heard Kaderi barking. The dog nipped at the men almost dancing between them gracefully avoiding their indignant kicks. She lunged at one of them and suffered his boot as her teeth locked onto his lower leg. The men all paused momentarily in sheer disbelief at this scrawny mutt now fighting beside her crippled owner, Malik saw his chance and decided to make them pay dearly for their dip in attention.

He swung his sword at the chest of one of the marauding bandits, stunning him with his speed and skill. The victim fell to the ground clutching at the gaping hole which used to be his chest imploring his friends to save him with his eyes, so full of fear now that the end of his life approached. Malik heard Kaderi yelp but had no time to react as the other two men moved in to finish off this one armed bastard who had dared to stand up to them. His body moved as if by its own accord, never again allowing his assailants to gain a positional advantage; if they were going to be victorious this day it would be a victory earned not given.

From the corner of his eye he saw Tazim take position on the edge of the cart and torn between the need to tell him to lie back down and the pride he felt at the boy's courage Malik stepped towards the men; he now the aggressor. This should have been easy a cripple and boy should have been an easy payday for the men backing away from the silent man now closing in on them but they never needed to hear his voice to know they had made a huge mistake, his eyes shone with the promise of their own death to be delivered without hesitation. He would ask no quarter and none would be offered, the men knew it was a matter of him or them. "Take this arrogant fool down."

But his friend never got a chance to reply his death came from an unexpected source, the boy who had hidden beneath the canvas in the cart threw himself at him with his newly sharpened blade aiming for his neck. Luck or God was on his side had the blade not hit the mark Tazim would have been thrown to the ground and killed before Malik could have done anything to stop it but his blade sank deep into the bandits neck and the boy either driven by hate of panic drew it further along causing as much damage as he could before his body hit the ground beneath the dying thief.

The now lone bandit looked like he wanted to run, he looked like he regretted ever suggesting they stop the cart approaching them to see if they had anything worthwhile but it was too late for regrets and Malik was in no mood for mercy. He moved to him and their swords met, it was over before it had begun, the bandit saw the markings on the one armed man's waist armour and knew they had been foolish, even a one armed assassin would be a tough target for his men and so it proved. Malik never toyed with him the man died quickly and probably more painlessly than he deserved. Stepping over the body he moved to pull the boy out from under the dead weight holding him down.

"I told you to stay hidden." There was real anger in the rebuke but it was fuelled more by relief, he imagined it was the same thing a parent felt when a missing child returned safe and sound.

Tazim tried to stand but he was shaking violently and his hand could no longer grasp the handle of the blade he tried to recover from the man's neck. Malik reached past him and took the blade before leading the boy back to the cart and lifting him onto the back. Kaderi hobbled to them limping worse than she had when he first saw her but a quick examination showed it was a new blow to her other leg her old wound was untouched. After lifting her up beside the boy Malik slumped against the cart hardly able to believe what had transpired.

"Are you angry with me Malik, I only wanted to help and I promised Tahir I would care for Kaderi I never meant to disobey you."

Facing the boy now paler in the face than most Europeans Malik patted his shoulder, "Not angry Tazim but it could have all ended so differently you were impetuous."

"Rauf trained us to do what felt right in the heat of battle." Looking down at his blood soaked robes he shuddered, "I feel ill brother do you think I am hurt?"

"We should move away from here before a patrol happens by I'll check further along but I would guess the only damage you incurred today was to your innocence Tazim. You killed a man and that is never easy."

"I'm not sorry Dai but I am not happy either, they were bad men. Do you think the Master will let me be an assassin now? I know I can't afford the loss of another finger but I did what I had to do."

His young mind had already processed and made sense of the death which came at his hands and had now moved on to matters more pressing, Malik envied him his resilience. "I'm sure the courage you have shown will be taken into account now drink some water and rest Tazim we will find somewhere to sleep tonight and tomorrow the mountains of Masyaf will come into view."

Altaïr gazed out of the huge ornate window which covered most of the wall behind his desk but all he saw was his own reflection, darkness had fallen and hidden the outside world from his eyes but still he looked. They were out there somewhere and he hoped safe and well. He was sure Maria would have let Tahir speak she was not so ill tempered that she would strike a man dead without hearing him out. They were most likely at the Hospitalier fortress by now and he hoped she was learning of her dead friend's innocence although that would mean another target from them to hunt down and kill but for her peace of mind he would gladly chase another ten men.

Malik would be here tomorrow at some point when together they would resume the tasks his departure for Cyprus had delayed. The brotherhood had difficult days ahead but he felt sure they were ready to grow and change if he was patient with them and convinced them of the wisdom in these changes his brothers would be willing, most of them at any rate. One final glance in what he knew to be the direction of Homs before he turned and made his way back to the desk, he would work for hours before his body felt the comfort of his mattress.