exsiliumlogs | [closed] A convocation

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[closed] A convocation

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.]

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Giovanni left the Hold early but took a round-about way to the meeting place. Traveling through alleys and over the rooftops he hoped to throw any who might try to follow him off the trail. The lengthy route took him longer in the end but he felt it necessary given just how many potential enemies there were here. He hoped to mention some of these enemies during the meeting and maybe discover what the others knew of them, but first he had to meet them. He was curious to see how big the brotherhood of Exsilium might really be.

Inside the meeting place building there were several faces he recognized and several more he did not, but they were all acknowledged with a nod before he spoke.

“Mi dispiace. I did not mean to take so long but I did not wish to be followed here.”

It was a small group, not that he was expecting anything large but it would be difficult to fight so many with so few. They would just have to manage as assassins always did.

“I am sure we all have things we wish to mention but perhaps we could start with names? I am still unfamiliar with most of you.”

Maria wasn't at all certain how she felt about being here. Oh, Altaïr had been an ally and friend, but he was gone now (and she didn't know whether to envy him or not) and his comrades...she didn't know what to think of them. Ezio seemed all right, but she barely knew any of them, and some she didn't know. Most importantly, she was not an Assassin.

But here she was. It seemed she'd managed to throw her lot in with them without ever meaning to do so.

"Maria Thorpe," she said, eyeing the unfamiliar face, the one who spoke like Ezio. "I know—I knew Altaïr. We came from the same time."

Minus a month or so, but that hadn't turned out to matter so much.

"Now that we are all here," Ezio began, taking on a tone of authority, "we have several things to discuss. One of our own, Altaïr, has gone. To where, I don't know, but I should think he returned home. To those of us still present... we have much to see of our situation."

Ezio took a deep breath. He's been here a year, and yet, he has gotten no closer to any true answers. "For those who do not know who I am, I am Ezio Auditore. I wish to know if you are all doing well, and if you have found anything of use."

"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?"

So far it felt like he had been doing a lot of speaking and while he did not wish to monopolize the meeting there was something very important he felt he had to mention to the others.

"I know very little of the Initiative or the United Earth but there is a threat in town that is more familiar."

As he spoke he pulled a coded message from a pocket. The code was still very much in place but over top of the larger letters was an Italian translation. It would not help those who did not speak Italian but Giovanni continued speaking in order to explain this note for them.

"These messages were left around the Hold a month ago. One of the codes used was familiar and easy to transcribe but the other took longer to break. The message states, 'Assassin's present. Two confirmed, others suspected. Find us at the Crown and Lion on a Thursday evening.'" He paused, before reading the final part of the message so that the weight of the words would catch the attention of the others, "'May the Father of Understanding guide us.'"

Anyone familiar with the Templars would instantly recognize that phrase. It was like their signature calling card.
But, there was more still. He wondered briefly how the others would take this but pressed on ahead.

"I followed the instructions on that letter."

Yes, without mentioning it to you Ezio. Forgive a Father for still feeling the need to protect his son?

"When I entered the tavern two men fled. I caught them of course and determined they had been hired by the man who wrote this letter but they were no more involved than that and could tell me nothing of him. But, there was another gentleman in the bar, one I had spoken to previously..."

And given his manner and the oddly coincidental meeting, just happening to be there at the same time and place mentioned in the note...

"I have no solid proof, but his bracer did bear an assassin's insignia that looked as if it had been broken and I suspect he might have been behind the notes."

So in addition to all of their other enemies, they had Templars to deal with too.

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."

"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."

"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."

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.

Ezio remembered having seen the message in the city, so carefully placed and so written in a format that the curious or those who understood would be interested in it. Upon hearing that his father followed through with the instructions, Ezio frowned slightly. He knew his father's reasons, but still...

"And who was this man?" the Assassin questioned. If his father knew the man, and if the man had a bracer... Well. It wouldn't be the first time that there would be a traitor in their midst. Far from it.

The addition of Templar threats, on top of the threats from both The Initiative and United Earth, only added to the severity of their current situation. There would need to be plans to keep the Templars in check, yet by circumstance, Ezio knew that whatever their previous alliances were, they would need to stand together for the greater threats.

Something that he was not so sure that would happen, not even in an ideal place.

The frown was noticed but there was little that could be done about his son's disapproval now. He had acted without telling him and likely he would do so again. He supported his son, but this new situation and Ezio's new status would still take some adjusting to.
It almost felt bad outing this man to the rest of the group. From Giovanni's experience he had been a cordial man, willing to help those in distress, but... still a Templar and therefore he was still a threat. He did wonder though how the Templar was enjoying the structured life of Exsilium.

"His name is Haytham Kenway."

Ezio stared at his father for a moment. A name. "Then we must find out more about him, make sure he is not gathering more to his cause. We have no time or space to afford more enemies among ourselves."

Maria stared at the two Assassins, having been beaten to the news that one of their enemies had arrived in Exsilium and intended to marshal forces to his cause. She'd had every intention of bringing Haytham Kenway up, if Connor hadn't already told his allies what she'd told him that night in the woods—but the man hadn't turned up for this meeting, and it was clear he hadn't passed on the information, either.

She took a deep breath before speaking. Ezio already knew of her former affiliation, but this was not going to be the easiest thing to discuss with the others.

"I'm sorry to say that he's attempting to do exactly that," she said. "Starting with me."

In the brief pause before she continued, Maria hoped that Giovanni would be as levelheaded about her shift in alliance as his son had been. He seemed a kind and intelligent man, but she knew from experience how ruthless any Assassin could be.

"I was once a Templar myself. That changed after I met Altaïr and saw the truth behind what the Order was attempting to do," she said, making a long story very short. "I still bear some trappings of my time with them, for convenience's sake. I was in the market recently, and he saw the sigil on my cloak and mistook me for one still loyal. I allowed him to believe it. However, all I can tell you for sure is that he's alone—but would prefer not to remain so for long."

"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.

Former Templar? Narrowed eyes flicked between the woman and his son, trying to gauge the truth of those words. It was the first he had heard of any Templar abandoning their cause in order to join with the assassins, but the reverse had happened so it was possible. Ezio made no move towards her, barely even reacted when she mentioned being a Templar, so he had known? What other little secrets might he still be hiding?

It was his turn to frown, subtlety expressing his disapproval over not being informed of this before. But he too made no move to harm Maria. If her words were true she had no reason to pay for her past affiliations. Giovanni did believe in redemption. He did however decide on a more guarded approach to this meeting. Maybe he had been too quick to be so open about the discoveries he had made here.

"Then you could infiltrate his small group and discover the plans he might have in mind for this world?" Ruthless indeed, the more permanent solution to this problem was mentioned only a moment later, "Or it might be better to eliminate the problem now, while he is still alone."

"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?

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[closed] A convocation

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