The Adventure Never Ends | By : A.K.O.Shifting-Shadow Category: +A through F > Assassin's Creed Views: 2268 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Assassin's Creed. I make no profit posting this fanfiction. |
Chapter Three: A Tentative Friendship
Connor had not returned for almost three weeks, the Native American Indian had warned that this might happen but Desmond had not expected the man to take so long. When Connor had finally returned Desmond had integrated himself with the people and when the man found him he found Desmond working with the farmers.
“So, you have to do this every day?” Desmond was asking Prudence as he panted beside her. He had spent most of the hour chasing pigs and trying to herd them into their pen, not an easy feat.
Prudence chuckled. “Connor struggled with it too; those pigs have a mind of their own. Thank you Desmond for your help.”
“My pleasure.” Desmond answered.
“I see you have settled in.” Connor greeted once Desmond had moved away from the woman. “The people here are treating you as one of them. Have you had any problems?”
“No, none, they have all been very welcoming.” Desmond answered. “But I miss Ezio and Altair. When can we get started hunting the Templars and their artefacts?”
“That is why I am here, I have caught wind of my father being in Boston, I would like for you to accompany me.”
“Who’s your father?”
“His name is Haytham Kenway and he is a Templar.” Connor answered. “Despite being my birth father he has not raised me and I do not follow his Templar ideals. However he has helped me on occasion when it suits him, hopefully he will be willing to help us to uncover more information.”
“You wish for us to work with him?” Desmond asked.
“I know, I know, Achilles says I must kill him too, but he is my father and I would…”
“I understand.” Desmond interrupted. “Say no more, I’ll go collect my equipment and a horse, I will wait for you outside the inn.”
“Alright.” Connor agreed eagerly. “I will be there shortly.”
Desmond sighed as Connor walked away, it was clear this situation would be more difficult than Desmond first suspected. He could not expect Connor to kill his father, in truth he did not want his new friend to kill his father but if he didn’t get the artefact he would never return to Ezio or Altair. “I hope this works out well.” He muttered as he finally strode to the inn.
Not ten minutes later both men met outside the inn, both had their horses already prepared and as soon as they saw each other they mounted more than ready to go. Connor took the lead at a light trot which Desmond matched as they left the valley and rode up the steep hillside to the frontier. “So, what can you tell me about yourself?” Desmond asked. “How did you father meet your mother?”
“My mother told me that my father came from England, he was sent to uncover an artefact from an ancient place on this land. He helped her and her people narrowly escape slavery and demanded she aid him when he later found her. At the time my people were under threat and so she demanded he take out a threat in return for her aid. He helped her and several other tribes take out their immediate enemies and then she took him to one of the ancient places. He did not find what he sought however and he was disappointed. They shared a night which resulted in my contraception before he disappeared back to Boston.” Connor answered. “My people lived in peace for a long time but suddenly Charles Lee turned up, he is one of my father’s associates. He attacked me but let me live and leave, when I returned to my home I found my village burning to the ground…my mother…she was trapped and I was dragged away before I could save her. I vowed then and there that I would avenge her and I know Charles Lee had something to do with it. But now I also fight for humanities freedom, I do what I can to insure all have their freedom whilst the Templars work to enslave us all.”
“What do you know of the items your father seeks?”
“I know they are magical items but that is about it.”
“They are more than that. These items they can control the mind of men. They force every person to obey the person holding the items. The Templars believe that by using the items and forcing everyone to obey one figure, one individual, they will achieve peace. They plan to take away the individuality of humanity and its freedom so that there will be no more wars. It only takes one object to enslave hundreds, if not thousands of people. The assassin’s work to collect these objects and to hide them from humanity forever so they can never be used. Ezio, Altair and I have worked many years, travelling the globe, to collect the objects and to seal them away. Only us three and a few select others know where these tombs lay. We have destroyed the entrances and all the tunnels so that there is no path to reach them. But…unfortunately there are so many items that we have not been able to find them all and as long as any can be found humanity is in danger.”
“The Templars must be stopped.” Connor agreed his eyes wide as he heard Desmond explanation. “You’ve given me much to think about.”
“In truth I’ve only given you a partial version. Let me tell you the full truth.” Desmond stated. “The items were made by the people who came before man; we call them a first civilisation. We have no idea why they made these items or what they used them for but we do know they can control a man’s mind. The ancients died out, something caused their civilisation to fail. Before they left our world they left clues of their presence, they left messages. Ezio himself met one of these ancients, it was a…spirit. If I remember correctly her name was Minerva…You know, I can’t remember. Anyway…Minerva warned me through Ezio of a coming catastrophe. I have no idea what is coming or how it relates to the Pieces of Eden, but I do know we have much more to worry about than just the Templars and their hunt for these items.”
“So we have to worry about the Templars and their desire to control men’s minds and we also have to worry about some sort of catastrophe? Well it looks like we have our hands full.”
“You’re telling me.” Desmond muttered. “But for some reason the ancients are focused on me, or they had been focused on me as if I am somehow able to avert the oncoming tragedy. I have no idea how or why I am the one to stop it, before I met Ezio and Altair I was just a weak, normal human who worked as a bartender.”
“Could the item have learned you are ready and bought you to a time when you could avert the tragedy?” Connor offered as an answer.
“No. I don’t think so. Apparently the tragedy was closer to my time in the 2000’s.” Desmond answered. “I do think the Piece of Eden has done this for a reason but I don’t think it’s that, I think it bought me here because another Piece of Eden is here and in use.”
“Well perhaps the Piece of Eden you have will lead us to the other piece.” Connor suggested.
“I don’t have it, Ezio and Altair have it, the item only sent me, not itself.” Desmond stated. “I have no idea why or how, I only know what has happened. I do know that I’ve been sent through time twice by the items; perhaps it has affected me in such a way that I can sense the items? I don’t know until I get close to one.”
“Alright, let’s see if we can get you close enough to a few Templars and find out if you can sense these ancient devices.” Connor commented. “Right now though we have to avoid the patrols. Follow me and you’ll be fine.”
“Okay. This might give me a chance to practice horse-riding without being molested.” Desmond stated with a grin. “Can you teach me some tips? Whenever they tried it failed, but I would really like to learn to ride like they do.”
“Of course.” Connor answered pleased. “I’ll be glad to teach you. You clearly already have the basics down so why don’t I teach you some tricks? Tricks require trust between horse and rider and they require skill so they should make you a better rider. Let’s start with the sharp turns and jumps and then we’ll work up to more skilled moves.” The man suddenly pulled the horse around; the animal seemed to turn on the spot and was suddenly facing back the way they came. “Now the horse’s legs are fragile, but they can do some sharp turns if you perform them right. Turn your horse.”
Desmond obediently turned and a pleased smile appeared on his lips as the animal easily copied the move. He followed Connor as the man turned again and sped up into a light canter. The two riders cantered into the trees, Connor leapt over logs and fallen trees, Desmond followed closely behind. Desmond knew the man knew the forests better than any other but he still watched with awe as Connor cantered through the trees with ease, he made each twist and turn look easy, it looked like Altair and Ezio weren’t the only brilliant riders, Connor was very skilled.
In contrast Desmond was not so good but he was not bad either, the horse did not completely trust him but obeyed him as he asked for jumps and turns. Desmond was a little disappointed in all honesty, Altair and Ezio had tried to teach him with different levels of success, it looked like he was just not a good rider.
“Don’t look so sad.” Connor stated. “You have done brilliantly. You have to understand that a horse has a mind of its own. Animals can sense things about a person and your nervousness is clear to the animal, because you don’t trust the horse, it does not trust you. You’ve shown today that if you put your mind to it you can do it; now all you have to do is keep practicing. A bond between you and the horse will grow, you just have to trust the horse and you have to show the horse that it can trust you. Spend time grooming the animal and feeding it, nurture the fragile bond between you and it will grow.”
“I will try.” Desmond murmured, he received a brilliant smile in return before Connor turned and led him down the road.
“You will get more practice in town, it is very crowded there and your duty will be to guide your horse safely through the mass of people.” Connor stated.
“When did you learn to ride?” Desmond asked.
“Would you believe I only started riding a few years ago?” Connor asked. “I’m proof that time and care can make a bond between animal and man. That’s all you need Desmond, just time and care.”
“Yes I understand.” Desmond answered. “I get lectured about it all the time, especially from Malik when he is not yelling at Altair.”
“Malik?”
“Malik is…an old friend of Altair. Long ago Altair made a mistake that cost Malik his arm and his brother, Malik hated him for a long time but Altair earned his forgiveness and they rekindled their friendship. Malik is one of the few people who have the guts to tell the Great Altair off.” Desmond stated warmly. “Despite being a lover of Altair, Malik admitted that he quite likes me when I’m not being impatient and arrogant.”
“And what does he think of Ezio?”
“Well he likes Ezio and Altair but he’d never say it aloud, he has an image to keep. He’s supposed to be stern and mature but we all know that there is more to him.” Desmond answered. “Get him talking and you find he has good humour, he has a very dry wit and enjoys heavy irony.” At this Desmond chuckled. “His favourite pass-time is getting revenge. Altair’s youngest son is a bit of a prankster and his favourite target is Malik, Malik enjoys tricking Altair or the boy into the boy’s own trap.”
“Wait you mean…?” Connor laughed at an image bought forth in his mind.
Desmond grinned. “Sef once set up a prank that would send Malik down through water and into a man sized tub of flour. Malik walked over the trap-door Sef had set up and carried on to Altair’s office. Sef confused had walked over his own trap wondering why the trap door had not opened only to find that Malik had stepped over the trap door having already known it was there. We did not see Sef for a long while after that and when we did see him he complained about the flour getting everywhere, Malik just sat there with a large grin on his face.”
“Let me guess…Malik always knows when something is going on?”
“He’s as skilled as Ezio and Altair.” Desmond replied. “Sometimes people forget that he is an assassin just like them, they see his missing arm and disregard him as no threat but in truth Malik is more than capable. He can climb up to view points despite having one arm and he can kill. I remember we were under attack once, he grabbed a sword and took down just as many men as the rest of us. I have never seen Assassin’s stunned into silence before, even Ezio was shocked, the only ones who weren’t were Malik’s lover and Altair.”
“I would love to meet this Malik, he sounds like an incredible man.”
“He is.” Desmond agreed. “He’s incredibly intelligent too, when I am not training or on a mission with Altair or Ezio I am with him in the library, his knowledge is extensive and impressive. I am honoured to have gotten to know him.”
“You miss him as well?”
“I miss them all. They’ve become my family. I knew there was a risk of being taken away again when I was dragged there in the first place, but now I’ve gotten to know them it hurts to think that they’re in the past and that now they’re long dead.” Desmond answered.
“Perhaps the items you seek will allow you and your friends to settle in one time once the deed is done, whatever that deed is.”
“I fear the ‘deed’ is dangerous.” Desmond answered. “Whatever the ancients want benefits them not us, we have to proceed with caution. But…I hope you’re right, I hope once I’ve done what they’ve wanted me to do they will let me settle with Ezio and Altair.”
“I will help in any way I can.”
“Thank you.”
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