Alright here's the third chapter! You actually get to see Altair and Shahin in action against Templars! We're now officially getting into the plot of the game.

ONWARD!

Chapter 7: Protect Masyaf

I wrapped an arm around Malik's waist and helped him stumble away from his horse and through the gates. I took the 'treasure' away from his arms and he gave it up easily after glancing up at me, worrying me slightly at his compliance. I now saw that he had wrapped his left arm in a tight bandage as best as he could, but it was obvious that he had bled through the bandages long ago and I thought about the infection he most likely had. It would be a miracle if he had somehow avoided one after the days of travel and unchanged bandages.

As we came through the gate people immediately glanced our way and gasped and began murmuring, staring at the sorry state that Malik was in. I growled at them, my dread loosening my tongue and my usual reserve. "You've got better things to do than gawk. Get out of our way!" The people cowered at my harsh tone and I couldn't bring myself to feel remorseful. I needed to get Malik to the infirmary as soon as possible.

I picked up my pace and Malik stumbled as he tried to keep up. I leaned close and murmured, "Just a bit farther. Were almost to the castle and then you can be treated and rest in the infirmary."

Malik stiffened and shook his head, "No. I need to go to the Master. I need to tell him what Altair has done. I need to tell him that the Templars army is coming."

"Are you sure?" I demanded.

He nodded, "I saw them only a few hours ago."

My blood ran cold at his last announcement and I gritted my teeth. This was getting worse by the moment. I stopped and waited for Malik to look at me. "You have to go up alone. I need to prepare the village for the attack. Do you think you can make it?"

The man stood up straighter and nodded with fiery determination. "I'll make it if I have to crawl. But hurry. They were not very far behind me. Less than an hour."

I gave him back the heavy 'treasure' and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Go with speed and know I will cover things from my end here. Safety and peace, Malik."

His shoulders drooped suddenly and I saw so much grief and pain in his eyes. "I don't think that's possible any more for me. Kadar is…dead." His voice cracked, even at a whisper, and if my heart could drop further it did.

I closed my eyes in despair and whispered, "No. This cannot be happening. Oh, Altair." With a louder voice I let Malik see my anguished golden eyes. "I'm sorry, Malik. But we will have to mourn later. We have a lot of work to do in short time. Now go! Hurry!" I turned and ran the distance we'd covered back to the gates as Malik turned and ran up to the castle as fast as he could.

I pushed as side my quiet nature and bellowed, "Close the gates!" My voice rang clear across the passing people and they all looked at me in confusion. I felt my anger build, replacing my dread, at the people's stupidity. "Close those blasted gates!"

Some of the Assassin guards jumped up to obey me only to be called back by their superior. They froze, unsure of whom to listen to. I stalked up to the superior as he turned to me. "Who do you think you are to order the gates to be closed? Our Brothers might be coming in soon."

I lost my temper at his incompetence and grabbed him by the front of his robes and lifted the bigger man off his feet. "I am Shahin Al-Hira, Master Assassin," I announced for all to hear. It was met with some murmurs of surprise and I saw the man's face pale as he realized he'd gotten himself in deep with a powerful superior. "I am ordering you to close the gates because we have information that Templars will be here within the hour. So help me if you disobey an order again I'll have you killed and set up as an example. Now close those gates before the Templars come to slaughter everyone!" In the background I heard some women scream in horror at my news but I didn't heard any retreating footsteps to flee the approaching danger. Idiots. If I had my wings out right now my feathers would be fluffed up as large as they could go in fury. I turned my glare towards the frozen guards and yelled, "Close the gates! NOW!" They scrambled to obey me and I released the Assassin in my hands and he also scrambled away from me to help.

As they pushed the heavy wooden gates closed I spun towards the stunned crowd and shouted, "Gather whatever you need and your families and retreat to the castle or caverns! Leave no one behind! Spread the news! Go!" The people suddenly ran off to obey me and I heard the news being shouted everywhere as people sprinted to go into hiding.

I heard the loud slam as the gates were closed and the screech as the large metal bar was dropped into place. They looked to me for further instruction and I pointed sharply to one man. He jumped and looked ready to piss himself in fear as I said, "You! Go up to the castle and tell Al Mualim of the Templars. Do not stop for anything!" He sprinted off up the hill and I turned to the others. They stood at twitching attention. I pointed to the top of the gates walls and ordered in a much quieter but still steely voice, "I want four of you up there. I want you to yell as loud as you can when you see the Templars. I want to be able to hear you from the castle." They scrambled up the wood and took up sentry positions.

I looked to the remaining five and said seriously, "It is quite possible that the army will get here before our Brothers do. Let me make this very clear. I don't want to see any of you die. We are the first defense and we will hold them here until the others get here. Do not be afraid to drop away if you are injured. I like you all better wounded and alive than dead. Do you all understand me?"

"Yes, Brother!" they chorused and I felt a rush of power sweep through me and I smiled. I could really get used to this.

I drew my sword and placed myself in front of the gate with only 15 feet between me and it. I motioned for them to form a semi-circle around the gate. The superior came and stood to my right, his sword drawn. "Do you really think we'll really hold them here? And live?" he asked, voice and hand on sword shaking. The others heard the question and turned to hear my answer, even the four on the wall, bows at the ready to take out as many Templars as their arrows would allow.

I allowed him to see my grim smile. "We are Assassins. We have trained our whole lives for moments like this. Every day of our lives was spent training so we could bring victory for the Brotherhood. We are ready to hold them here. And after words we'll shout the victory from Masyaf's walls."

I saw him grin and his hands steady and more confidence come into his stance. "We will follow you, Shahin. Brother." The others nodded in agreement and I felt a small warmth in my chest. Not as warm as the one Altair has caused, but enough that my dread lessened. I'd only been rough and forward with them and I already had their loyalty.

I glanced up at the four men up on the wall with the bows and called, "I do not want any of you to die either. Shoot as many Templars as you can, but, for Allah's sake, dodge the arrows when they shoot back." They nodded in understanding and focused back on the road.

I looked over my shoulder and up at the castle, Malik should've reached Al Mualim already and my runner should go through the gates any minute now.

I looked at the Assassin guards waiting for the Templars to come. They were young, my age of 22 maybe, and most of them were probably Journeymen with their superior being a ranked Assassin. I wasn't sure if they would all make it through this alive, but I would damn well try my hardest to make sure they did.

Suddenly, all four of the men on the wall screamed, "TEMPLARS!" They drew arrows from their quiver and started firing. I heard the chaos in the village behind me stop for a moment as they heard the scream and then start up again, louder than before and more frantic. But it was slowly but surely getting quiet as the villagers disappeared into the caverns or sprinted up to the castle.

I saw the others tense and I resisted the urge to do so as well. Instead, I cleared my mind like I did in training. It was surprisingly easier than it had been in the past week and I called out for the men, "Peace, Brothers. You cannot go into a fight with the intention of ending the chaos if you are chaotic as well." They all glanced at me and saw my relaxed defensive stance. I was proud to say that they at least achieved a bit of calm.

I heard the pounding feet and the yells of the Templars as they came at the gate. One of the men on the wall cursed and dropped down to dodge an arrow. He looked down at me with alert eyes and yelled, "Robert de Sable leads the army!"

I gritted my teeth as the gate thundered and shook as the Templars hit it. "Then he will die here!" I shouted.

I was distracted when one of the men shouted, "Look! The others are coming!" I looked over my shoulder and indeed saw a stream of white and grey as the Assassins in the castle rushed down to fight the Templars off. I grinned and turned back to see the cloaked figure of a man in front of the gate.

I watched with horror as he lifted the metal bar from the gate. "Stop!" I shouted and the others turned to see what was wrong. I reached for a throwing knife, but it was too late. The bar was lifted and the gate, as well as the cloaked man, were thrown a side.

And the Templars rushed in yelling battle cries. Time slowed as I saw my men falter at the fearful never ending swarm of Templars. I did the one thing I knew would gather their moral. I took a deep breath and bellowed at the top of my lungs to be heard above the Templars. "FOR MASYAF!"

I watched with amazement as they straightened and got a determined look in their eyes. They echoed my cry and charged forward with me.

I met the nearest Templar and sliced his throat while throwing a knife in the eye of another Templar one handed. I moved to the next one and ran him through, drawing my dagger to hold off the attack of another Templar. I withdrew my sword from the corpse and spilled the guts of this Templar. As he fell to the ground I moved to the next and the next. It was a blur. Blood, screams, yells, metal on metal. But through it all I was able to consciously keep an eye on all my men. We were only 6 people so a good amount Templars obviously got through and went on to the near deserted village, but we held back many of the attackers. I was proud to see each man move with confidence and agility from one opponent to another. When I saw one of them beginning to get overwhelmed I would send a throwing knife or two their way to help them out and they would look at me with gratitude briefly before striking again. The men on the wall fired arrow after arrow from the store we always kept up there for an occasion like this. They were making a lot of progress despite having to always dodge arrows seeing how they couldn't really miss in the mass of Templars.

I gritted my teeth when I heard the superior to my right cry out in pain and sent a knife to the Templar who dared to hurt him. I saw the superior move stiffly as his shoulder bled from the attack he'd taken and I moved towards him a little in case he needed quick help. I spun with all my speed and bodies piled up in my wake. I exhilarated in the sick pleasure of seeing and feeling my training pay off after all these years.

I was striking down another enemy when I heard loud yelling behind me and knew the other Assassins had arrived to help fight. At that point I'd sheathed my sword and was attacking with my knives, since I was more familiar and comfortable with them.

As I was taking out another Templar I saw one coming at me from my right. As I spun to meet him he was suddenly taken to the ground by a white blur. The Assassin glanced up briefly and I saw it was Altair. I grinned at him and dispatched another attacker. "Decided to join the fun, Altair?" I saw him smile before taking up a spot at my side.

We fought in harmony. I would attack viciously with almost superhuman speed while Altair moved gracefully with his sword. While he was fighting I saw him use a strength that shouldn't have been possible. He crushed chest plates with an almost effortless kick, stopped an oncoming axe with one hand, and broke swords with his own. I realized that what he lacked in speed he made up in his incredible, almost superhuman, strength.

It was after an indeterminable of time that I noticed that less and less Templars were coming through the gate. As I looked up I saw Abbas appear on a nearby roof and shout, "Retreat to the castle! The Master commands it!" I saw an entire new wave of fresh Templars coming through the gates, turned on heel, and sprinted up the steep road with the other Assassins. I passed the bodies of the Templars who had gotten past my men and I and saw the few bodies of the Assassins who had fallen fighting them. I picked up a Novice who had fallen as I went and had to duck to dodge an arrow in the process. I mentally cursed the archer as I finished coming up the hill. The portcullis dropped quickly behind the last man. Altair and watched as the Templar army thundered up to a stop just in front of the gate. In the lead of the army was the giant bald man Robert de Sable.

I was suddenly distracted when I heard someone call, "Altair! Shahin!" I looked up to see who the hell knew my name and saw it was Rauf. Rauf seemed to know everyone so it didn't bother me that he knew who I was. We went up the slight incline that led up to the base of a tower with a ladder leaned up against it. Rauf was thrity feet up and motioning us to come up. "Altair, Shahin, come. Al Mualim's not done with us yet.

Altair went up the ladder first and I followed close behind. "Where are we going?" Altair demanded once we reached the top.

Rauf glanced over his shoulder as he walked up to another ladder that would take us to the top of the tower. "Up there. We've a surprise planned for our guests. Just do as I do. It should become clear soon enough." He hauled it up the ladder and we followed. Up on the observation area of the tower were a dozen or so Assassins waiting quietly. One entire wall was without railing since there were four wooden platforms extending out several feet. Rauf looked at us again and motioned for us to be quiet. "Stand on those platforms," he whispered as he went out on to a platform. The one to the far left was already taken up by another Assassin, so Altair and I took the remaining two with Altair the closest to the waiting army. We all looked stoically forward.

"Heretic!" Robert de Sable shouts up at Al Mualim standing with other Assassin archers on the walkway above the portcullis. "Return what you have stolen from me!" he commands. He looks a little red in the face even though it didn't look like he had fought at all.

Al Mualim stands tall and proud with his chin raised. He looked down his nose at the bald Templar leader. He replies loud enough for all to hear, "You've no claim to it, Robert! Take yourself from here before I am forced to thin your ranks further!"

Robert looks down right furious, "You play a dangerous game!"

"I assure you, this is no game!"

"So be it! Bring forth the hostage!" Robert waves his hand forward and two Templars come forward with a struggling man in Journeymen robes. They wasted no time in running him through with a sword. The man froze in shock and collapsed to the ground when the sword was withdrawn from him, dead. His blood pooled around him and looked like a brighter red than usual in the afternoon sun. There was a moment of silence as the Assassins took in that one of their Brothers had been killed and there had been nothing they could've done about it.

I felt sad as I kept looking forward. I know I am cold and unfeeling. I didn't know the Journeymen, so I felt nothing but sadness at the waste of his life.

Robert waved an arm at the village down the steep slope. "Your village lies 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?"

Al Mualim shook his head, "My men do not fear death, Robert! They welcome it, and the rewards it brings!"

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

Rauf turned his head towards us and quietly murmurs "Follow me and do so without hesitation." We give no sign that we understood like good Assassins.

Al Mualim swings his head towards us and orders "Show these fool knights what it is to have no fear!" He raises his arm in a dramatic gesture and shouts "Go to God!"

All four of us step forward in synch and jump off the platform. I close my eyes and let my body do what it knows. As the air rushed past my face and I thought that this is as close as I'll ever get to flying without wings. My heart races as I flip myself over so that I face the sky and stops for a moment when my body hits the cushioning hay.

I take a breath to slow my heart and jump out quickly when I hear the nameless Assassin start screaming. As Rauf orders the Assassin with a broken leg to be quiet, I approach them. Rauf then turns to Altair and I who are waiting patiently. "I'll stay behing and tend to him. You two will have to go ahead without us. The ropes there will lead you to a trap we've set. Go and release it. Bring death upon our enemies!" He tells us in a shushed voice.

We nod and turn to the thick ropes in question. I sprint across it without hesitation, knowing my balance will keep me steady. Altair follows at a much more cautious and slow pace, but does not fall too far behind. We cross all three ropes and avoid any slips that might lead us to fall into the water far below.

We stand at the base at the supposed abandoned tower that sits outside the gate. It had not been used in years and I figured that it was empty. Obviously, I was wrong if there was a trap up there. "Come on. Let's get this over with," Altair whispers and we climb it as fast as we can. We took different paths up but remained even until we got to the top. The balcony is empty and dirty from disuse. I see the wall looking at the castle is only a wood barrier that comes up to my waist and three pieces of wood connecting the carrier to the ceiling. It was almost as if those pieces were holding the barrier there. I suddenly knew what we had to do and approached the barrier with Altair. Without looking at each other we knocked out two of the pieces of wood. Altair used his sword while I kicked mine out.

I heard the wood crack loudly and suddenly heard the sound of heavy things hitting each other. I looked down at the army and saw large tree trunks roll out from an area beneath the balcony I was on and crush the army. Screams of terror and pain rang in my ears as I watched with detachment as Robert de Sable's army was decimated and scattered.

This fight was over.

But I wondered as to what was to come after.

—Altair's POV—

Altair wasn't watching the death of Robert de Sable's army. He was watching Shahin crouch and look over the few remain men alive. One of them being Robert de Sable.

He felt hate and anger flow through him as he watched the man ride away relatively unscathed on his horse, bellowing threats to Al Mialim that he didn't hear. If only that man hadn't have thrown him from the room in Solomon's Temple he wouldn't have failed. Malik would've been fine and Kadar would be alive. If he had been able to remain in the room he would've been able to kill the Templars and the nuisance that was Robert de Sable. He would've returned to Masyaf with the treasure and news of Robert's death. But no. Things had gone to hell. He had returned to Masyaf with nothing more than failure. His punishment would've been lighter had Malik not shown up and told Al Mualim that he had broken all three of the creeds. Now he knew he was in deep trouble. He almost felt a little fear at what might come to happen.

Shahin looked up at him from his position and asked, "Are you okay?" He forgot to hide his face in the shadows and Altair saw the concern written there.

Altair felt irritation flare. The Master Assassin should not doubt him enough that he was worried or concerned. Altair was the best. He sneered at the other Assassin, "Of course I am alright."

Shahin tilted his head in a way that made Altair think the man really was part bird like him. He thought for a moment before murmuring, "Physically, yes, but mentally? Emotionally? No. You are not." Altair remained silent and Shahin straightened from his crouch. "What happened on your mission, Altair? Why did Malik come back injured with the treasure and not you?"

Altair gritted his teeth. "You are too curious. Do not ask so many questions that are not your business to know."

He saw Shahin blink and knew the man was turning over his words in his head and coming to conclusions. Shahin approached him slowly and drew him in for a hesitant embrace as if he was afraid Altair would reject it and hurt him. But it was what Altair wanted just then, even if he did not return the hug. He was more frightened than he wanted to admit to himself.

The punishment for breaking all three creeds was death.

Shahin withdrew after a moment and Altair instantly missed the warmth. Shahin met his eyes before saying clearly, "No matter what happened on your mission or what is to come, know this, Altair, I will always be by your side, supporting you and helping you where you need it and where you want it."

Those words made something in Altair's chest to tighten to the point of pain. Shahin's golden eyes were so earnest and honest that he knew he could believe the other man. But he pride made him snap, "I don't want your help. I don't need it."

Shahin smiled sadly and stepped away from him towards the edge. "But you will have nonetheless." With that he climbed down the tower to get back to the castle to help with clean up.

WOO! Finally some action! And I have now set the ball rolling for this story. No more dillydallying. Third chapter update for the day and I hope you really like how I did this one. Let me know how I did on the fighting scenes. Im not sure if I did well or not. And I know I had some cheesy scenes in this chapter, but I was just writing whatever came to mind. I don't think I'll ever do a chapter this cheesy again. So please just put up with it this once and this will be the third chapter update today! Yay! I'm back on schedule!

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