[Image Here]
****
"Okay, measures are done, now the most important part—do you have design in mind?"
I grinned.
As I pulled a parchment out of my breast pocket—I unfolded the parchment, careful not to smudge the graphite sketches I'd poured my soul into the night before. The lines were clean, confident—drenched in every ounce of Assassin flair I could summon from memory and imagination.
"This," I said, laying it on Rosa's worktable with a satisfying thunk, "is what I need."
Her eyes sparkled as she took it in. "Mio Dio… You've got taste, I'll give you that."
She traced a finger over the angular hood design, lingering on the sigils along the bracers. "This motif… ancient. Almost like runes."
"It's a symbol," I replied. "Of an old order. A forgotten war."
Rosa looked at me again—this time, not with amusement, but curiosity. And maybe… respect.
"Alright, ragazzo. I'll make it. But this kind of craftsmanship? It'll take time."
"How much time?"
"Three days if I sleep less. Two if you help me keep the fire going and fetch me leather from Matteo's in the Santa Croce district."
I nodded. "Done."
"Good." She turned, snapping her fingers toward a corner. "Put that sweet ass of yours to work. Scissors are over there. If we're doing this, we're doing it my way."
And just like that, I was inducted into the most chaotic tailoring workshop in Florence.
***
Smack!
"I swear if you move again, I will stitch your robes shut with you inside them!" Rosa snapped, brandishing a needle like it was a dagger.
"I twitched," I muttered. "There's a difference."
"Don't care. I have slain men for less."
I didn't doubt it. The woman moved like she was in a battle trance, pinning fabric with surgical precision, muttering to herself in a mix of Italian, Latin, and what I was pretty sure was just angry gibberish.
But it was working.
The robes were coming together—layers of pale ivory and battle-worn brown, adorned with subtle silver embroidery and hidden pockets perfectly placed. The bracers alone took half a day, each one carved with symbols I'd guided her through from memory. The half-cape hung with the kind of dramatic weight that made even a casual shoulder turn look like a damn cinematic cutscene.
And the hood…
That hood was a masterpiece. Deep, pointed, shadowed just enough to obscure my eyes.
It felt right.
Like the missing piece of an identity, I hadn't fully accepted—until now.
Rosa finally stepped back, wiping her brow with the back of her hand and sighing like she'd just slain a dragon. "È finito."
I stood before the mirror.
It wasn't just a costume.
It wasn't even just armour.
It was a symbol.
Of rebellion. Of resistance. Of what I was becoming.
"Dio," Rosa whispered behind me. "If I weren't already taken, I'd kiss you just for wearing it."
I smirked under the hood. "You flatter me."
"Good. Now get the hell out of here before I fall in love."
Ding!
[Assassin Ranking Function Unlocked!]
[Welcome, Initiate. The path of the blade is yours to walk. Rise through the ranks by completing quests, executing targets, mastering the Codex, and uncovering the hidden truths of the Order.]
[Current Rank: Recruit]
[Next Rank: Initiate]
Promotion Requirements:
▸ Complete 3 Assassin Quests (0/3)
▸ Perform a Perfect Stealth Elimination (0/1)
▸ Synchronize a Viewpoint (0/1)
[Rewards: +2 Skill Point, Unlock: Leap of Faith, 1000 XP (Each Assassin Quest)]
[Accept / Decline]
I blinked at the glowing prompt hovering in my vision, half-distracted by how the candlelight from Rosa's workshop flickered against my new bracers.
[Accept / Decline]
Was that even a real question?
Accept.
As for who to target?
Aren't there chicken coops all over Florence?
Every gamer in my past life ignored the chicken coops, which had assassination contracts and focused only on story missions. Rookie mistake. Those dusty bird dens were a goldmine for XP, stealth practice, and, most importantly—real targets.
This time, I wasn't going to ignore them.
I knew where to go.
***
The coop was tucked away in a shaded corner of a stone courtyard near the Mercato Nuovo. Pigeons cooed from the rooftops above, and a few hens scratched idly at the dirt beside a ramshackle wooden structure with loose boards and feathered chaos. To anyone else, it looked like a peasant's mess. But to me?
It was a contract board.
I knelt, slid a hand beneath a broken plank, and felt the familiar texture of parchment beneath my fingers. I pulled it free, the seal on it marked with the downward-swooping eagle of the Brotherhood. My HUD pinged softly.
[Contract Acquired: "The Spice of Betrayal"]
[Target: Pietro Lorenzi]
[A spice merchant by day, a Templar courier by night.Currently operating out of the Piazza della Repubblica, smuggling coded messages to Templar cells across Florence.]
[Objective: Eliminate without alerting city guards.]
[Bonus Objective: Retrieve the coded scroll he carries.]
[Reward: +1000 XP | +1 Assassin Quest Completion | 75 Stealth XP | Unknown Item]
[Track / Decline]
Track.
I tucked the parchment into my robes and stood, letting the hood fall deeper over my face. The bustling chatter of the market in the distance mingled with the clatter of carts and merchants haggling over spices, cloth, and fish. The Piazza della Repubblica was always a hive of movement. That would work in my favor.
Crowds made for good cover.
I moved fast, but not rushed—blending into the cobbled streets as if I belonged, just another shadow slipping through Renaissance Florence. My new robes made me feel like I glided rather than walked, every motion cloaked in the weight of purpose. The hidden blade rested against my wrist like a sleeping fang.
[Pietro Lorenzi – Last Seen: Near the west fountain, arguing with a baker.]
I followed the marker blinking on the corner of my HUD. It was a faint glow, almost like the shimmer of moonlight, guiding me toward the fountain plaza. My steps slowed as I arrived—eyes scanning.
There.
Middle-aged. Well-fed. Wearing robes far too rich for a simple spice merchant. He had the Templar look—the kind of arrogance you could smell before you saw it. He was bartering with a vendor, gesturing dramatically with gold rings flashing in the sun, a burlap sack slung over his shoulder. That scroll was probably tucked inside.
And around him… two guards.
Not official city guards. Mercenaries. Light armor, curved short swords, one with a limp and the other watching the crowd too closely.
Too many eyes. Too much exposure.
A frontal approach was suicide.
I slid back into the alley, ducking behind a crumbling brick wall. The rooftops above beckoned like old friends.
Time to climb.
...
Parkour came back to me like muscle memory. A low crate, a jutting balcony beam, and a rooftop awning gave me the lift I needed. My boots barely made a sound as I pulled myself up onto the tiled roof. Florence stretched out around me like a living maze—clay rooftops, spiraling towers, laundry swaying in the wind.
From up here, Pietro was just a dot below.
Perfect.
Eagle Vision.
I focused—my vision tinged blue. Pietro glowed gold. His guards shimmered red. Civilians melted into soft silhouettes of white, moving like drifting fog.
The path was clear.
There was a ledge above him, supported by rusted wooden struts. A perfect drop. I moved into position, slow and silent, letting my shadow merge with the overhang.
One breath in.
One breath out.
Jump.
I dropped like a blade.
Thunk!
The hidden blade punched clean through the base of Pietro's neck, muffled by the sudden pull of my arm around his chest. His body spasmed once—then slumped. I caught him, cradling him like a dance partner, dragging him into the alley behind the vendor stalls before anyone noticed. The guards were slow—they didn't see it. By the time one turned, I was already gone.
[Perfect Stealth Elimination Completed!]
[+1 Assassin Quest Completed!]
[+1000 XP | +75 Stealth XP | Codex Fragment: "Ciphered Truth" Acquired]
[Level Up!]
[+2 Skill Point]
[Assassin Path Unlocked: Connor Kenway (Ratonhnhaké:ton)]
[Current level: 2 (975/2000)]
I looted the scroll from Pietro's sack—it was sealed with crimson wax and marked with a Templar sigil shaped like a serpent eating its tail. Dangerous stuff.
[Codex Entry Unlocked: "Ciphered Truth" – Fragment I]
"Even among the Templars, there are those who doubt. Lorenzi's scrolls hint at a schism—an inner conflict rising within their ranks. The cipher is ancient. Only a Master Assassin could break it. Seek the one who still bears Altair's wisdom…"
A grin broke across my face.
This was it.
Not just another side mission. This was threaded into something bigger. Something hidden. An inner fracture in the Templar ranks? That was the kind of intel that could shape the future—not just of Florence, but of the entire war between Assassins and Templars.
And if there was one thing I knew from both history and gameplay?
A fractured enemy is a vulnerable one.
I tucked the scroll securely beneath the folds of my new robes and turned my gaze back to the skyline of Florence. The tower of the Palazzo Vecchio loomed to the north. A perfect perch.
[Objective: Synchronize a Viewpoint – Pending]
No time like the present.
***
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