The war was over in the colonies. But the war between Assassins and Templars will never be over, no matter how hard either side tries. Conner, one of the only master Assassins left in all of what is recently now known as the United States of America, knew that the relentless Templars across the Atlantic Ocean will one day return to reclaim what they had lost. When the last of the British ships sailed off the coast of New York on Evacuation Day, all was quiet for a little over a year until a new enemy arrived to the United States. New Templars that plan to and undo all the work Conner and his small team of Assassins had accomplished for this country when he's dead. From what little intel Conner had managed to receive of their early plans upon arrival, it was enough to know that the only way the Colonial Assassin Brotherhood will thrive is only if they unite and organize across the states. Originally it was his plan to slowly build the Brotherhood back up in the span of a few years, but if the threat against his life and his companions lives is as real as he believes it could very well be, it had to be now.
And that was the plan. Conner, and his 6 Assassin recruits were on horseback, traveling through the frontier on the way to the Davenport Homestead, the Assassin HQ. Conner and Achilles at the time believed it was easier and safer to keep the recruits in both Boston and New York and will be called on when needed, rather than bring them up north to the Homestead to constantly move back and forth like Conner had been doing for the last several years. But with a new war on the way, now was a good of time as ever to officially indoctrinate them into the Brotherhood.
"We will arrive to the Homestead in the morning everyone" Conner said, who was in front of the line of horses riding down the trail they were currently on. "We'll make camp at a village near here, and sleep for the night"
"So the threats are real Conner? About the Templars returning?" The blunt wielding Jacob Zenger asked him. "I thought we got them all when the war ended"
"We did. But the Templars are spread around the world and don't give up on something they want, just like us... Our advantage however is that they're supposedly focusing most of their resources into a Revolution in France next, and are only focused on sending a small amount of them back here. And the first thing they'll do is come after us"
"Shouldn't we be in France then helping prevent the Revolution if that's true?" Stephane asked.
Conner looked back at him. It made sense that Stephane specifically would want to assist the French Assassins, being raised in Quebec. "Our brothers and sisters in Paris can handle the Templars threatening the peace of France. But we need to be focused here, expanding our reach to all of the states, and most importantly making all of you official Assassins if we're going to continue the fight" Conner said and looked back in front of him. "Personally if it were up to me you were all Assassins the moment I recruited you. But for the Colonial Brotherhood to thrive in these lands after being broken for over 20 years, my word isn't good enough for this to last"
"It seems like quite a challenge... Do you think we can do it with just the 7 of us?" Jamie, the doctor and New York Assassin asked.
"Yeah. I mean hasn't the work we put in the colonies meant anything?" Clipper, the Assassins sharpshooter, asked after him.
Conner sighed. ""To answer your question Clipper, the missions you went on to liberate the colonies helped a lot. They're just as much of the reason that the Templars lost their grasp on the colonies as killing the main Templars in charge within Boston and New York. But it won't mean anything if we can't expand to more than just the 6 of you working across these lands. And Jamie, you're right. It won't be easy to work at such a faster pace... But we won't be alone. I've reached out to one of our Assassin sisters in New Orleans. An escaped slave named Aveline de Grandpre, she's rescued and recruited many slaves to our cause and also has plans to expand and secure the land just like us... She'll meet us at the Homestead as well" He said. "Until then it's just us... And I know it's been hard working with me the last few years around the end of the war, and I appreciate it more than any of you realize that you're still here"
Deborah 'Dobby' Carter rode her horse up a bit to get next to Conner. "You risked your life more times than we ever will to liberate this country Conner... We can keep going to make sure they stay that way" She said
Conner smiled a bit at that. In Conner's life he never had a chance to meet or talk to other women while working as an Assassin. Deborah was the only one he got to know very well and always appreciated how hard working she was to disrupt the Templars in New York and help the poor against greedy merchants. He knew she was a woman who didn't let her limits stop her from achieving her goals. It wasn't also a secret that she liked him as more than a friend. But then again it wasn't a secret to the other guys that he liked her back. "Thank you Deborah... That means a lot to hear right now"
Deborah smiled back at the man he looked up to a lot since he recruited her to become an Assassin. She was able to continue her work around the city helping the less fortunate against greed with the Assassins, and in fact that was able to make her efforts more effective than ever since then. The few years she's gotten to know her leader made her realize that there was still good men out there... and the snickers behind her from her companions and sly jokes about her being a suck-up reminded her how some of those good men are also annoying. She casually stretched her arms out and then tossed a smoke bomb behind her, and when the bomb went off, the other 5 horses behind her all freaked out from the bombs going off around them, shook the guys off their horses and then they all ran off. The other 5 groaned from being dropped on the hard ground so suddenly, and coughed as well from the smoke they were dropped in. "Oops" Deborah casually said.
Conner rolled his eyes, seeing the horses stagger and run off in different directions. "You're lucky we're here already"
Stephan crawled out of the smoke still coughing, and looked around the wilderness. "Sorry uh... Didn't you say there was a village here? Where is it?"
Conner's response was to point down the hill they were on. Further at the bottom was a Native village with thick walls and wooden huts. "This is the abandoned village of the Kanien'keha. My Tribe that was forced to move west" The recruits all recovered from the surprise smoke bomb and looked down at the village, impressed by everything about it and fascinated to know more about Conner's life. The 7 of them made their way inside of the village just as the sun was beginning to set for the night. Once inside they also were able to see it was currently accompanied by a few Frontiersmen, all of them know of Conner. "We'll stay here then keep heading north tomorrow. You can relax for now" He said to the recruits.
As the 7 walked further inside and the recruits took a look around the village and its huts, one of the well known Frontiersmen waved at Conner from the fireplace. "Conner! Good to see you again" Daniel Boone said. "How's my favorite explorer in the Frontier? And who are your friends?"
Conner walked over to Daniel at the fire. "Hello Daniel... We're just passing by and staying here for the night then off by morning" Conner said. "This is Stephane, Duncan, Clipper, Deborah, Jacob, and Jamie"
"Nice to meet you all... Names Daniel Boone" Daniel said to them. "Make yourselves at home"
"Go on guys. I'm sure Daniel will chew your ear off with new myths and stories... Stephan, Duncan, you two come with me. I'll show you where you two will take the first shifts for night watch"
"Night watch? You're not worried of a surprise attack or something are you?" Duncan asked.
"Oh no. Nothing like that... Well, not entirely. It's just in case any predators enter the village in the night. Since my people left nobody has been handling the hunting in these woods so who knows what's out there these days" Conner said back to him.
Clipper, Jacob, Deborah and Jamie all sat down at the fire while Conner, Duncan and Stephane continued their walk around the village. "So... forgive me for asking, but is Conner ok about you guys moving into this place?"
Daniel picked at the fire while he let out a chuckle to the question. "At first no. When he learned the news about his people leaving so suddenly and without a word, he had a mixture of shock and anger, not at us, just at the Patriots for letting it happen and whatnot... But after a while he learned to accept it and would come around every now and then whenever he goes on a hunting trip" Daniel said. "Me and the others still keep this place in neat condition. It makes a better encampment than our usual ones when we go on our explorations"
"Wait, the Patriots drove his people out of their own village?" Deborah asked. "He never talked about that before"
"Really huh? I would've thought if he brought you all to this place he thinks very highly of you all. I guess there's some things best not to talk about" Daniel said. "But yeah. With no more British interference Congress can pretty much do whatever they want"
"Oh god... I had no idea. None of us did" Deborah said with a bit of shock that that happened to their leader.
Daniel sighed. "It happens more often than people think since the British packed up and left. Most people have different forms of what it means to be free from government control. But in the end it's always the same. The ones in power who make all the rules just end up making it for themselves. Been like that long before these lands were ever even founded to begin with, and I'm sure it'll continue"
"Gosh... I wish Conner opened up more to his life like this" Deborah said. He knew bits about the man, mostly as an Assassin. His personal life was always a mystery.
"Oh please you're just saying that to get closer to him" Clipper said and nudged his Assassin sister. "We all know you got the hots for him"
Deborah scoffed and pushed him away a bit. "I do not" She said. "He's just... a very fascinating guy"
"Ah sure... It doesn't take a genius to know he likes you too by the way" Jacob said. "I mean its clear he's more focused on his Assassin duties than his... Well his manly duties. But I'm sure if he wanted to he could always call on you for that like an assassin signal eh Dobby?" He asked with a chuckle.
"Oh shut it!" Deborah said back as the other guys at the fireplace laughed as well. Deborah ended up leaving the fireplace a flustered and embarrassed mess from the teasing. It was accurate teasing but didn't make it any less brutal for her.
Night time approached. All was quiet in the village. As half the Assassins slept, 2 of them were keeping watch while staying in hunting stands that were built up in the threes around the village. Yet even while they had a watch crew, Conner stayed up and could only star out into the water at the end of the village. The moon shined down on the water and the stars in the sky were bright and full of life that he couldn't sleep. Especially with everything going on a so much in thought. It wasn't until he heard footsteps approaching him from behind that he snapped out of the trance to look behind him. He saw Deborah approaching him. "Ah... Hello there Deborah" He said.
"Trouble sleeping too?" Deborah asked him as she got closer.
Conner sighed. "It's... Normally like this for me I guess. I've become so used to getting limited sleep that I guess I just don't need it" He said.
"That sounds like such misery Conner" Deborah said to him pretty bluntly. "Are you sure you're ok? I can't imagine how hard it is to have the entire weight of the Assassins future on top of you like this"
"Well when you've spent 15 years fighting an army like I have you grow used to things like that too. The sacrifices we're forced to make in the name of liberation is too much for most people to handle, especially on their own... Which is why it's more important than ever to grow and expand across the states. And ensure that we're made to last"
Deborah and Conner would then stare out into the lake in front of them accompanied by the midnight clear sky above them. The moment of silence and sight seeing would end once again when Deborah spoke up. "Conner... Daniel mentioned a few things about your people that lived here. Specifically that they were... uh..."
"Kicked off their land?" Conner asked, finishing her sentence. "Yes it's true. They were forced to leave thanks to the people I helped win this war" He said and sat down on the sand. "When I began the life of an Assassin, it was with one single purpose. To protect my Tribe and our village from the Templars looking for secrets that we kept hidden from the world. The only way that would happen was to eliminate the British control in the land, their main ally within the colonies. To do that, I had to side with the Patriots during the Revolution. At first it seemed like a great opportunity to keep killing the Templars and give the people that freedom all deserve... But over time I realized that they were no better than the British, nothing will change with the way freedom is established. And I chose not to believe it because I was only focused on my people's safety. But on Evacuation Day, when I saw the ships leave I also saw African slaves being auctioned a few feet away from me. That was when I knew that nothing would ever change with the new people in charge... Sure enough I was right when I returned here a few weeks afterwards"
"Oh gosh. That's awful Conner... I'm sure you did everything to help them" Deborah said as she sat with him. "I can't imagine how hard it was for you. With all the work you did for the Patriots..."
"At first it was... But after a while and a deep conversation with... uh... a friend named Juno, It was clear that the secrets on my peoples land would be safe forever, and even if they were forced west, they're still together. So in the end it was worth it. And in my time I've also learned some very important things about the Creed we follow. The Assassins and our Creed are possibly the only path to a free world, but we cannot be limited to either side of political conflict or we'll end up losing the point of what we're all about"
"Our creed goes beyond politics and ideology... I understand that" Deborah said to him. "Ever since I was an orphan, I spent my life helping the less fortunate like me. You can imagine I made a lot of people mad because of it. But I don't care how many soldiers come after me, I'll never stop doing what I do for the poor"
"I'm glad to hear that Deborah" Conner said and put his hand on top of hers to pat it.
Deborah looked down at the hand on hers and blushed a bit from it. Thank god the dark night was able to conceal her face enough to keep the shade of her face hidden. "Conner... uh... Remember when we spoke in that tavern, about when you think you were ready for a love life... Do you think it's time?" She asked.
Conner looked at the woman he's spent so much time with throughout the time in the Revolution. He cares about every one of his recruits equally, but Deborah was special in a different way. The last few years made that clear. And yet... He still felt like he wasn't ready. The life of an Assassin is dangerous, especially for loved ones, as the Templars will use any method they can use to out best their enemies. He moved his hand and looked away from. "... No. I'm sorry Deborah, I know you think very highly of me and I'm grateful for that. And I know you have a bad history with partners like you mentioned... But there's a better man out there for you than me"
Deborah didn't know how to feel hearing that. She half expected him to say no, but hearing him say it still hurt her in a way that made her feel like an idiot for bringing it up. "Ah... Right, I understand" She said and moved some hair over her ear. "Just checking, obviously"
Conner let out a sigh. "I'm sorry Deborah-"
"No no it's fine! There's plenty of fish out in the sea for a gal like me" She said and got up. "I should get some rest... I'll see you in the morning Conner" She turned and walked away, hiding her sad face from him.
Conner watched her walk way, knowing she was just playing it cool in front of him. He looked back out to the midnight sky above the lake, doing some well needed soul searching about the future. Not just for the Assassins he and his recruits pledged their life to, but his own future as well. He needed to think for himself if he'll live a peaceful and happy life as himself or die an Assassin.
He'll have to make that decision sooner than he realizes, because as he spent the night deep in thought, he nor the lookouts didn't notice far up in the rocky cliffs east of the Kanien'keha village, where Conner began his journey out of his home village at only 13, they were being spied on by a man with a monocular telescope. Staring down at the village with the death glare of a predatorial animal, he soon moved his telescope down to put it away. The man moved his red cape with a white cross out the way to put it away in his black and dark red coat, his coat specifically that was tightly held together with belts, holsters and had various ammo pouches to hold his variety of weapons. The coat as well had a specialty made cloth mask sewn into the coat collar that had a big red Templar cross on it.
This particular outfit he had on was famously known by both Assassins and Templars as the "Assassin Killer Outfit" owned by only one man. Shay Patrick Cormac
Shay made his way back up the cliffs, to meet up the few of the mercenary scouts he brought with him to survey the area. Once he got with them he pulled his mask down to reveal his quite older but very firm facial features. He was a much older man than he was in the 7 Years War, but not even slightly less deadly now than he was back then. Even more in fact through his experience in killing and sailing the open seas. And after spending 16 years tracking down the dangerous Precursor Box around the planet, he didn't hesitate on the opportunity when asked to lead a team of Templars and hired mercenaries back into the colonies and kill the Assassin responsible for the death of the Templar Colonial Rite. "Get the rest of the men ready in Black Creek... We attack at dawn"