[closed] A convocation

[mentore]

Date & Time: Late August 6
Location: Within the city, an abandoned building
Characters: Ezio Auditore, Connor, Maria Thorp, all the Assassins because they're a lot
Summary: One of their own is gone, so it's time to get a headcount
Warnings: Assassins.


[Altaïr had gone from the city, as many others have come and gone. To Ezio, it was both a blessing and a curse: one less to their cause, but one more returned to their home.

By way of the devices, Ezio had requested for the presence of the Assassins and those who are a part of the cause. He needed to know how many were still here, and, if anything, to form a solid plan to dismantle both sides.

That and to know how much each person knew of each other. So many different timelines, with so much different information... best to know all the information before meeting with discrepancies and missing details.

The meeting is held out of the way of the main city. Ezio couldn't risk having a building in the middle of the city when the natives are being more hostile than usual. The area is not overly populated, but there are enough people coming and going so that transports moving about wouldn't cause concern.

The building's wall has a small white mark on it, a simple A-seeming shape with curves for ends. To those who know the mark, this is their place. To others, it means nothing.

Ezio brought his new recruit Gamora here, too. Might as well have her meet the rest of the Assassins.]

Comments

[deadlybanker]

"You knew him? Che bello. I did not have the pleasure of meeting him before he left."

If he had well, maybe it would not have been considered a pleasure. Ezio had mentioned Altair was some thing of a handful. But to him, Altair was still the Master Assassin who helped to found the very order he believed in so strongly and he would have loved the chance to speak to him.

"I am Giovanni Auditore da Firenze," He waved a hand in the direction of the apparent leader of this little band, confirming what he assumed would be asked next, "Ezio is my son."

This place was difficult enough with people you knew around, he could only imagine how tough it could be for some one alone. And with the Masyaf assassin returning home as suddenly as he had...

"Altair leaving so suddenly must have been a surprise, but if there is anything you ever need the rest of the Brotherhood will be there for you. Have you been a member of the Order long?"

[givetheslip]

Maria raised her eyebrows in surprise at the explanation of their family tie. His son? But unless Ezio looked very old for his age, surely there was no way—

Ah, of course. The difference in time that could occur. And she already knew from Altaïr that membership in the Brotherhood was passed down from parent to child.

It struck her that Ezio was lucky to have family here, and a parent that supported his vocation at that.

"It was very much a surprise, but then, so was arriving here in the first place," she said, casting her gaze downward. "It seems we have no choice in coming or going."

She'd been dismayed to learn of his sudden, utter absence, but she could cope. Explaining her past without him, however...that was bound to be more challenging.

"I'm not truly a member," she said. "But I would consider myself an ally. Altaïr and I had just taken care of some business in Cyprus together before I was brought here."

[deadlybanker]

"We have no choice yet. This is not a situation that needs to remain as it is."

Giovanni was new to the prison world and still full of hope that they would be able to change things for the better. He believed it was only a matter of time before they found a way to harness the machine that had brought them all here and use it to send those who wished back home. And he would fight against the Initiative if they sought to prevent that from happening. They had no right to kidnap others for their war, no matter how desperate they had become.
As for her not being a member of the order, she must at least have been very trusted to have been invited here. Since Ezio did not move to eject her, Giovanni decided to follow his example. Giovanni knew so few people here he had to trust in his son's decisions on who was worthy enough to be here.
Although Maria was a beautiful lady, he could not help but wonder...

"How long have you been here? I am curious to learn what the Order might have discovered before I arrived."

[givetheslip]

"Some for months," she said, and shook her head a little in disbelief. "It's not such a long time in the grand scheme of things, but it's far longer than I expected. They say our lives are waiting for us, but I'm not so sure. I'll have to live it here until I find out."

The second question was a little trickier. Maria had no intention of hiding her former alliance, not when most of the people here already knew of it, but this wasn't the time to reveal it to those who didn't.

"Not much, I'm afraid. Those who brought us here are at an advantage if they don't share all they know."

[deadlybanker]

Others who apparently believed those words had mentioned this to him before too. This was what was said to calm the fears of 'transports' but how much of it was true? It really did little to satisfy Giovanni. He had been in the middle of a very potentially dangerous situation and the idea of leaving his family behind to face Borgia and what ever plans he had for Firenze was not a pleasant thought. Maria would hold the family together and Federico would help her, but he still wanted to be there!
The only comforting thing was that Ezio was here and so much older. If he had grown into such a fine man then... everything at home must work out for the best?

"They have done a lot to ensure we are kept in the dark, but there should be some way to weaken their control. If nothing has been discovered yet, maybe this meeting will provide a means to change that."

There was a library that he had been frequenting, but this was best for learning more about the distant past as the more current texts were peppered with anti-United Earth sentiment. Not that it was not justified but it did make it difficult to know what was real and what was only propaganda.

"How the Initiative can not see that what they are doing is wrong is... the most tragic. They have a decent cause, if they had only asked people instead of compelling their cooperation."

It was nice to speak freely of his doubts among the like-minded assassins. He had been a touch more guarded around the others.

[givetheslip]

"Their society is in shambles. It seems they believe that suppressing people's freedom is the best way to order."

The clash of priorities was a familiar one—or maybe it was just the fact that she was here, a former Templar at the gathering of Assassins, that prompted her to think of it in those terms.

"It's fortunate that many of us can count familiar faces among those brought here, at least."

Or not so fortunate, when it came to certain familiar Orders whose members had also arrived in recent weeks. But what she had to say about Haytham Kenway could wait a little longer.

[deadlybanker]

"In difficult times it is easy to believe that forcing people to comply will bring order to the chaos, but at what cost?"

For him the price was too great. The people here lived in shambles while the Transports were treated so well. They wore rags for clothing, scraped by on whatever small bits of food they could find, lived in boxes instead of homes. It was no wonder that the were so quick to turn their anger on the Transports who received all of these things easily without having to steal them.

"If they spent even half of the resources they waste on bringing us here the situation of the people might not be so dire. They could have solved their own problems without resorting to kidnapping."

He grew silent when she said her final statement. Was it fortunate or would they have been better off left at home? How much trouble had Ezio seen here?