The Kraken

Two Paths, One Truth (Mateotis & The Kraken)

The mention of La Volpe caused Elena to falter a moment as she looked on from her place walking in the group, her eyes falling to Luciano. The mention of the almost legendary, albeit shadowy, figure that associated himself with the Brotherhood was quite an ambitious remark, if the intention was to seek him out.

"You wish to find the Fox?" She questioned. "He is not an easy man to find. In my experience, you only find him when he wants to be found. And that is not often." Elena replied. Alessandro looked around from one to each of the members in the party, an intrigued look upon his face as they walked on. It interested him, for he never was fortunate enough to come across any such instances to involve the coordinator of the Florentine thieves.

"As smooth as could have been. Nothing we were not capable of." Elena said to the Templar's questioning of their final moments at Le Stinche.

"I'll miss it about as much as I miss my crudeli Zia, who used to make me cut potatoes for her gnocchi for days it seemed. Good riddance." Alessandro said, huffing at the memory from his childhood.

Soon enough, they all arrived at a rather busy market. Bustling carts and droves of people filled the square as the afternoon sun shone down. The four highly skilled allies walked among the crowd as if they were no more threat to anyone than a baby lamb. This would prove to be beneficial, for it seemed Luciano came here with the intentions of gathering information, and the best way to accomplish that was to not allow those around you to realize you are eavesdropping.

Tasked with spreading out in the square to seek out any signs or peculiarities that may lead to the Fox or other interesting associates, Elena and Alessandro both split up from the two Templars, walking in opposite directions as they slowly meandered about as the other people in the market did.

Elena had trained her ears after many years of hiding in the shadows, a skill that served her well here in this busy crowd to pick out voices from the overwhelming noise that others would not be able to decipher anything within. Knowing a few details about this particular market, she made her way towards the east end, where a certain band of informants was known to hang around. Unfortunately, they would be able to recognize her if she were to stroll right up, so in order to avoid detection, she chose to stick to the merchant carts that bordered the area of information, her head low and hidden. However, her ears were picking apart pieces of conversations from those that passed her by. All she hoped for was a shred.

Then, as she was looking at a handwoven blanket made by a nice Venetian merchant, she caught her spark.

"Tomorrow night, at the Santa Trinita..." She heard one voice say, from what she could tell it was a pair of men walking away.

"Si, si. I know. We are to meet... ah, merda, what was his name again?"
"Idiota. Corradin. We meet him at dusk."
"Right, right. I will not forget it this time."
"It is best if you do not."

With that, Elena casually made her way down the line of merchant carts. She wondered if her associate's had come up with anything worth checking out. For now, she thought she had enough information to get them a tail on the thieves guild within Florence. Walking back towards the center of the market, Elena made small talk with some of the citizens as she continued to keep her head low and her ears sharp for anymore pieces of information that may aide her in their mutual quest.

Two Paths, One Truth (Mateotis & The Kraken)

Well, best wishes for your trip!

I think the target is an especially interesting one, no doubt! Having our characters pursue La Volpe should provide for plenty of action and side quests on the journey forward. And nonsense about the post not being done so well, I think it is up to par with your standard, especially if you were rushed on it! I'll work on getting my reply in the next couple days.

Again, have fun on your holiday and don't worry about checking back here. You've had a great deal of patience with me so I want you to enjoy your vacation and not worry about checking in, I can surely wait :D

Two Paths, One Truth (Mateotis & The Kraken)

Alrighty, got it up! It's a wee bit long... detailed the leaving the prison a wee bit much. But, I'm much more happy with this version than I was with the previous draft I had written. I snuck in the last bit to set up the "mission" and lead our characters forward. I do suppose you are right that posts will be far shorter now, due to interaction. That will also mean I should be able to reply faster, though :D Let me know if its all good, and if you have any ideas or suggestions, etc!

Two Paths, One Truth (Mateotis & The Kraken)

Elena and Alessandro left the Templars with a nod, taking it upon themselves to exit the warden's quarters and find their way back to the main floors of the prison. They each took care to move silently, as their outfits still described them to any onlooking eyes as captives of the expansive prison. Luckily, thanks to all of the commotion that had taken place out in the yard, they did not stumble across any guards on their way back towards the mess hall.

"What do you think, Elena?" Alessandro asked quietly to his female counterpart.
"Hm?"
"Have we made a wise decision?"
"We have made the only decision, paisano."

Alessandro swallows hard and nods, realizing now what only Elena had been able to calculate before. His wits were not as quick as hers, which was why she was the leader of the two when it came to decisions and missions. He put his head down, following quietly again towards the dining hall.

Once they arrived, they found a handful of other prisoners to be eating in the caffetteria. Taking the opportunity while it presented itself, Elena and Alessandro slipped into the hall and found themselves camouflaged among others at the tables around them. Only one guard stood at the end of the room, keeping an eye on the criminals as they ate.

"Come, it is no feast, but it will do." Elena said as they moved towards the line to get what they could to sustain them. It was a great improvement from the piles of mush she got in the dark cell far below their feet, where she was convinced that the food was given sparingly enough to keep her desperate and ever so slightly yielding to the Templar hand. Alessandro grabbed Elena's plate of grain and meat, along with his own that was stacked high with as much pasta as he could convince the cuocoa to give him.

"Let us find a table with a little privacy," He said, leading them to a table where they could sit alone to eat their first decent meal in more than a week. They found a table to the side of the room, one where they could sit alone and away from prying eyes to enjoy their meal and slip out again unnoticed.

"We should hurry, the Templars will be waiting for us at the gates. There is still the matter of our dress," Elena said.
"Don't worry, I have an idea." Alessandro said before adding another mouthful of penne to his gut.
Elena eyed him curiously, but the two ate quietly for the next few minutes. Then, Alessandro took his utensil and motioned for Elena to hand him hers as well. Hesitantly, she raised an eyebrow, but obliged and handed over her fork. Alessandro took the twines of the utensil and jammed them into his hand, not enough to injure, but enough to bleed convincingly.

"Aye, merda!" Alessandro screamed, garnering the attention of the lone guard, who was now making his way over to their table. "Puttana. What was that for?" He said, looking wildly at Elena, before sliding the utensil back to her. She grabbed the fork, raising it in one hand.

"What is going on over here?" The guard said, hand ready at his scabbard.
"This pazzo woman just stabbed me!" Alessandro accused.
"Stabbed? It was self defense, he grabbed me." Elena said bluntly.
The guard looked from one to the other, unsure of what to do. He looked over his shoulder to see the other prisoners were still quietly enjoying their meals, though their attention was now turned to the three at the side of the room.
"Both of you, get up. I will take you each down to the capitano. He will deal with you."

Elena and Alessandro rose, walking out of the room and back into the empty hall with the guard walking behind them after warning everyone in the cafeteria to remain calm and leaving them in the hands of the cook until he returned. They walked for several moments, all the while the guard making unsatisfied grunts. Then, after turning a corner and spotting an alcove, Alessandro gave Elena a look before himself moving backwards on the guard and shoving him into the wall. The unsuspecting man was subdued in a matter of seconds, and Elena helped drag his body aside where he would not be found for a while.

"I will take his guard gear. Then if anyone sees us, I can say I am escorting you." Alessandro said as he began to remove the unconscious guard's clothing and replace his own. Elena helped him, then came the matter of her own attire.
"The laundry will only serve for more prison-wear. Perhaps if we found the confiscation chamber, I may find some dress and us each weapons taken from prisoners when they arrived."

The two headed towards the front of the prison, assuming that would be where the prisoners were checked in and exchanged their belongings for a uniform. They soon found it, and after some rummaging Alessandro had replaced his measly guard blade with a finer sword for their travels. Elena was looking for a woman's dress to fit her when she stumbled upon something she thought would have been destroyed by the Templars out of pure hatred: her hidden blade gauntlets and robes, along with Alessandro's Assassin robes as well.

Alessandro saw Elena's pause and made his way over to her, finding her holding the Brotherhood seal from the belt of her robes.

"I don't suppose we will be needing these anymore..." Alessandro asked.
"No, we won't." Elena said, tossing away the belt and the robe, but picking up her gauntlets. "But I will be taking these."
She found a dress to fit her, with a shawl that fit over so as to hide her gauntlets easier. A woman on the streets of Florence could not be seen carrying a weapon as it were, so her favored blades would serve her well again.

They finally exited the prison, approaching the two Templars standing outside near the gates. It was time for business already. Walking out of the gates of the prison was somewhat liberating, even though their time spent there was short and unjust. Elena hoped she never had to see the likes of Le Stinche again. The streets of Firenze were already beckoning her back.

"I have in my knowledge the names of several Brotherhood allies who might be of some use. They are informants, good ones who will surely prove to have something useful." Elena offered. Part of scoping out the informants would prove useful for herself and Alessandro, seeing if the information of their death was passed along properly and if they could rest easier for even a moment.

"I, too, think we should seek out some of the Brotherhood's information. Before being tasked on our last mission, I heard a murmur spread throughout the guild. The details, I do not know. But it had some of the capos quite anxious. If this serves to aid your cause, of course." Alessandro added.

Two Paths, One Truth (Mateotis & The Kraken)

I loved the post, it was very detailed with the varying perspectives and gave enough of a push for what's to come in order for us to move the story along better now. I thought it was well written :D

I had most of a post written, but I was unsatisfied with how the last bit of it turned out. So, I will rewrite the last half tomorrow during/after work and have my reply up! Considering Rodrigo's warning to Luciano, I will have my post suggest gaining some valuable information from some assassin associates in some covert ways, which can lead us to the discovery of the next piece and effectively save all of their arses from the head Templar's rage :P

After that, we can discuss in more detail how we want the mission(s) ahead to go in relativity to the main story line, as we had discussed taking some different routes and whatnot. I'll have my post up for you as soon as I can!

Two Paths, One Truth (Mateotis & The Kraken)

Mhm, I like the idea of perhaps taking a detour on Rodrigo's rise to Pope status, that way we do not significantly change the events of the time period but we are able to mingle in our characters enough to alter and interact with some things. Changing Ascanio's stance on the bribery is a good way of doing this, I applaud your AC knowledge here.

Indeed, sleuthing is the best way to go about things for now, or else the faked deaths would be in vain. Artifact hunting we go then!

Two Paths, One Truth (Mateotis & The Kraken)

Well since it has been mentioned before by Luciano that the Assassins may know of a different artifact similar to the Apple, we could pursue that? Only Elena and Alessandro wouldn't have exclusive knowledge of its existence or whereabouts, but now that they have switched sides, the Templars have a hefty list of Brotherhood allies and conspirators that could be approached and interrogated for information that they otherwise would not have had.

This could turn into some artifact of our own creation or we could tie in with the original story line and lead our characters and big bad Mr. Borgia to the papal staff, since it was the second piece of eden in Brotherhood.

I suppose the biggest surprise at first would be the Brotherhood thinking it succeeded in its assassination of the two traitors, then watching their allies mysteriously drop like flies and be confronted with the two they thought to be rid of. Then there's Elena confronting her brother, each on opposite sides of the fight at that point. Family drama is always fun.

Lots of little tidbits, but it's all I have at the moment. If any of it seems interesting then we can build upon it, and if not we can pursue other avenues.

Two Paths, One Truth (Mateotis & The Kraken)

There it is! Little long and not much goin on with it, didn't have much to actually move the plot forward since the resolution of the post was to answer the cliffhanger of a question. But I got a little bit in there. Hope all is well!

Two Paths, One Truth (Mateotis & The Kraken)

The perpetual calm that the Templar had for dealing with Elena was something to be envied. No matter how she cursed or what kind of scene they young woman caused, he steadied with a level head and enduring patience. Perhaps the Templar Order did have some desirable traits to be learned yet.

The glimmer of the key that would relinquish the pair from their captivity caught Elena's eye, but it was Alessandro's outstretched hands that caught the small piece of metal and made quick work of each of their chains. The weight that fell to the blood stained ground brought a great relief to Elena's wrists, which had formed sores from struggling against the restraints for the past days.

It was as curious as it was suspicious for the two Templars to let Elena and Alessandro move about unrestrained. It would be easier now, had they the strength or could rustle up some weapons off of the fallen guards, to engage their captors. However, this act further proved a growing trust in the pair, and so (though hesitantly) Elena moved forward to follow Luciano and Emerico back inside the walls of Le Stinche, Alessandro only a step behind.

The sudden stop and then jolt of movement by the party leader caused Elena to flinch, but she and the others soon followed him inside to find a guard pinned to the wall, blade pressed firmly against his throat in something more than a threat. From the ongoing conversation being had, it was quick to gather that this man was an inside informant in the prison. Supposedly reporting on Elena and Alessandro's condition during captivity, but from his blabbering in the face of accusations, it seemed he had reported for them to be disposed of.

Alessandro took a step forward in anger, wanting his own answers, but he was too late. The rat slid down the wall as he gagged on his own blood, falling into a slump as he hit the floor. Alessandro was angered, spitting on the corpse.

"Pezzi di merda."

"Don't be," Elena spoke up in response to the Templar's apologies, "He is better off that way."

The whole thing seemed to be too perfect to Elena, who still could not believe that the Brotherhood would turn on them and act out an order to kill. Especially her brother, her real brother, who held enough power in the Assassin ranks to stop any bounty that was on her head. Was he so foolish to believe she was a traitor to the Brotherhood? Or could he not convince the likes of Niccolo Machiavelli and the others? Nevertheless, the Assassins who showed up today had arrived with the intent to end both she and Alessandro's life. The image of the Assassin lunging at her in the yard just moments before this one beamed in her mind again before Alessandro grabbed her arm, breaking her from her conflicting thoughts to follow the Templar yet again.

Arriving in the warden's quarters, it seemed the two Assassins (or rather, exiled Assassins) were out of time to ponder the recent events that had fallen upon them. It did not take long for the Knight Templar to speak up, leaving his apprentice outside to guard the door. The words he spoke were true, and both Elena and Alessandro knew that. The two stuck close to each other, standing side by side as they have many times before. This decision would affect the both of them permanently. Alessandro looked down eagerly at Elena. His mind was already made, but he waited patiently for her to speak first, as he always did. Quickly taking in the situation around her, Elena realized two things: (1) They would not make it out on the streets on their own without aid if the Brotherhood had already made its mind up about them, and (2) they would not make it out of this room alive if their answer was not to the liking of the Templars or their benefit. It seemed her mind was made up without her doing much thought at all.

"It appears you have made an offer that we would be ignorant to refuse," Elena lifted her hand out to seal the deal, accepting the Templars offer and effectively severing her ties as an Assassin. Alessandro again followed the young woman's actions, repeating them himself and giving a satisfactory nod and a firm shake.

"Where do we go from here?" Alessandro asked, curious of his new role in the grand battle.

"Would it not be best to conceal our fate from the Assassins?" Elena piped up, wondering how hard the Brotherhood may pursue them if they do have a growing influence as the Templar admits. "All they know is that their agents did not survive here today, they do not know however, that their attempts at our lives were not first successful. Though they will soon find out, unless we have the warden fake our deaths."

"And," she said, realizing now that each were supposed allies now, "I suppose formal introductions are in order. I'm Elena Carrozza."

"Alessandro de Gonella."

Two Paths, One Truth (Mateotis & The Kraken)

Another great post as always! :D The action is illustrated nicely, and the way you brought back the rat inside the prison to pin it all on him will definitely have some heavy influence on the two since they were just attacked by their own and now here is a stammering idiot (for lack of a better term).

I will try to work on my post tonight or tomorrow after work and have it up for you so that we can move along!