Assassin's Creed: Renaissance

Chapter 1

A torch flickered and shone on the tower of Palazzo Vecchio, while only a few lights were on in the Piazza del Duomo not far to the north.A few street lamps also illuminate the quays on the Arno's embankment, where a group of sailors and porters is still dimly lit when most of the city's inhabitants have returned home as night falls. Busy in the light.Some of the sailors hurriedly repaired the rigging, rolled up the cables neatly, and placed them on the scrubbed deck, while the porters were busy dragging or carrying the goods into the nearby warehouse.

There were lights in the taverns and brothels, but there were few people on the streets.Seven years ago, at the age of twenty, Lorenzo de' Medici was elected leader of the city, and since then he has served as the leader of the feuding families of international bankers and merchants who made Florence such a great city. One of the wealthiest cities in the world - brought a certain order and calm.Even so, the city has never been content to remain silent, but a ferocious battle breaks out from time to time, as every faction vie for control of the city, some temporarily allies, others throughout. Is the sworn enemy.

It's a sweet spring night in Florence in 1476, and if the wind blows you can even forget the stench from the Arno, but even so, the outside here is by no means the safest place to be outside after the sun goes down.

The moon rises in a cobalt blue sky, reigning above the stars.Its brilliance falls on the open square where Ponte Vecchio meets the north bank of the Arno River. The crowded shops are silent without lights.The moonlight also illuminated the figure in black standing on the roof of Santo Stefano Church.It was a young man, only 17, but tall and pompous.He scanned the neighborhood below with piercing eyes, then put his hand to his mouth and let out a low but sharp whistle.As he watched, first one, then three, then a dozen people left the dark streets and arches and came out into the square.All 20 of them were as young as he was, most of them were dressed in black, some wore blood red, emerald green or sky blue hoods or hats, and all had long swords and daggers hanging from their waists.This group of young men, who looked rather dangerous, fanned out, their every move carried arrogance and confidence.

The young men looked down at their wistful expressions, and the faces, pale with the moonlight, were directed at him.He raised his fist to the top of his head and saluted defiantly.

"We stand in solidarity!" he yelled, and the men raised their fists, some with drawn weapons, as they shouted, "United in solidarity!"

The young man scrambled like a cat down the roof of the unfinished church façade, stepped onto the porch, and jumped from there, landing firmly among the young men with their flying cloaks, who surrounded them expectantly.

"Hush, my friends!" He raised a hand to stifle the last cry.He smiled sullenly. "My dearest allies, do you know why I have summoned you here tonight? To ask for your help. I have been silent for so long, but our enemies - you know who I mean, yes , that's Vieri de' Pazzi - who's going around town spreading rumors about my family, blackening our name, and humiliating us with his pathetic methods. I wouldn't condescend to deal with that in normal times Such a nasty brute, but..."

A large uneven rock flew from the other side of the bridge, landed at his feet, and interrupted his words.

"Enough nonsense, you fool," a voice called.

The young man turned his head towards the source of the voice together with the people in front of him.He already knew the identity of the speaker.Another group of young men was crossing the bridge from the south.The leader wears a red cloak with a gold dolphin and a cross on a blue background on a pin, and a black velvet under the cloak.With his hand on the hilt of his sword, he walked over swaggeringly.His face could be regarded as handsome, but his cruel lips and small chin were the only drawbacks. Although he was a little fatter, his arms and legs were undoubtedly very strong.

"Good evening, Vieri," said the young man unhurriedly, "we're talking about you." Then he bowed exaggeratedly, showing surprise. "Please forgive me. We didn't expect you to come in person. I thought the Pazzi family always hired people to do the dirty work."

Vieri stepped forward and stopped his troops a few yards away. "Ezio Auditore! You pampered brat! I must say, it's clear that your pen-handling family members are always chasing rumors. Cowards!" He gripped the hilt of his sword, "I must say, you did not take responsibility .”

"Listen, Vieri, you fat man. The last time I met your sister Viola, she liked my 'responsibility' very much." Ezio Auditore smiled cheerfully at him. Smiling, listening with satisfaction to the titters and cheers of his companions behind him.

Ezio knew he had gone too far.Vieri was already blue with anger. "I've heard enough, Ezio, you bastard! Let's see if you fight like that!" He turned to his men, raising his sword. "Kill the bastards!" he yelled.

Immediately, a stone came through the air, but this time it was no longer a provocation.The stone hit Ezio's forehead obliquely, cutting the skin and bleeding.Ezio staggered back two steps as a rain of stones flew from under Vieri's hand.Before Ezio's men had time to regroup, Vieri's team rushed across the bridge and pounced on it.The fight began so quickly that at first the two sides did not even have time to draw swords or daggers, but only punched each other.

The fight was fierce and brutal—the punches and kicks were accompanied by the unpleasant sound of bones breaking.For a while, the two sides were at loggerheads, but then Ezio, through a blurred vision - that's because of the blood dripping from his brow - saw his two strongest men staggering to the ground, leaving the Pazzi ravaged by those scoundrels.Laughing, Vieri grabbed a heavy stone and threw it at Ezio's head.Ezio sat on the ground, narrowly avoiding the blow.At this time, the people on the Auditore's side were gradually losing ground.Ezio drew his dagger hastily before standing up, and with a wild swing, he managed to hit the thigh of the burly man who was lunging at him with sword and dagger in hand.Ezio's dagger tore through the clothing, digging deep into muscles and tendons, and the man let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground, dropping his weapon and covering the bleeding wound with his hands.

Ezio stood up recklessly, scanning his surroundings.He saw the Patsys surround his men and corner them against one of the church walls.Feeling some strength return to his legs, he walked towards his companion.He ducked to dodge another swung sword and landed a punch in the unshaven jaw, watching with satisfaction the man's missing and flying teeth as he fell dizzy to his knees.He loudly encouraged his men, but he was thinking about how to announce the retreat as gracefully as possible.Just then, a loud, cheerful, and eerily familiar voice came from behind the Patsy thugs, drowning out the noise of fighting.The voice called his name.

"Hey bro, what the hell are you doing?"

Ezio's heart was relieved, and he gasped, "Hey, Federico! What are you doing here? I thought you were having fun as usual!"

"Nonsense! I knew what you were planning. I thought my dear brother had finally learned to take care of himself. But it looks like you still need to learn more!"

Federico Auditore was a few years older than Ezio and the eldest son of the Auditore family.He was a big man with a good appetite--whether it was for wine, love, or battle.Before the words fell, he joined the battle.He gave two of his foes close heads, kicked a third, and strode through the crowd to stand beside his brother, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around him.Encouraged by this, their companions were also more courageous than before.On the other hand, the morale of the Pazzi family began to crumble.Several shipyard workers gathered to watch the battle from a safe distance. Due to the dim light, the Pazzi family regarded them as reinforcements from the Auditore family.Federico roared and threw his fists, and Ezio was not far behind, sending their opponents into a panic.

Vieri de' Pazzi's roar drowned out the noise around him. "Back!" he yelled at his men, his voice hoarse with exhaustion and anger.He looked Ezio in the eyes, roared a few indiscernible threats, and retreated into the night, crossing the Ponte Vecchio, with those still able to walk behind him, while Ezio's companions pursued the victory .

Ezio was about to catch up, but his brother's big hand held him down. "Wait a minute," he said.

"What do you mean? We beat them all away!"

"Don't worry." Federico frowned, reaching out and gently touching the wound on Ezio's forehead.

"Just a scratch."

"It's not a scrape," said the elder brother firmly, with a serious look on his face. "We'd better find you a doctor."

Ezio spat. "I don't have time to go to the doctor. And..." He paused remorsefully, "I don't have any money."

"Ha! You're wasting all your money on women and alcohol." Federico grinned and patted his brother's shoulder tenderly.

"I wouldn't use the word 'waste'. And you see, you set the example for me." Ezio grinned, but hesitated.He suddenly felt dizzy. "It won't do any harm to check it out, though. I suppose you can't lend me a few florins, either?"

Federico patted his wallet.No clinking of coins was heard. "I'm actually a little short on cash myself right now," he said.

Ezio smiled awkwardly at his brother. "Where was your money again? Mass and indulgences?"

Federico laughed. "Okay, I see what you mean." He glanced around.In the end, only three or four of them fell to the ground seriously injured, and now they all sat up, moaning and smiling.The previous fights were intense, but no one really broke a bone.On the other hand, five or six of Pazzi's followers were knocked down, and at least one or two were quite luxuriously dressed.

"Let's see if the fallen enemies have any treasures to share," Federic suggested. "After all, we need them more than they do, and I bet you can do it without waking them up." Help them lighten their burden!"

"Let's try it out," Ezio said and moved his hand.Within a few minutes, he found enough gold coins to fill their wallets.Ezio turned his head triumphantly, looked at his brother, and shook the gold coin in his hand for emphasis.

"Enough!" cried Federico. "Better leave them some money for their journey home. After all, we're not thieves—we're just picking up some loot. And your injury worries me. We'd better Take the time to see a doctor."

Ezio nodded, then turned to take another look at the Auditore's victory.Federico lost his patience and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Let's go." With that, he turned and strode away, with the exhausted Ezio struggling to follow, but whenever he fell too far behind or took a wrong turn in an alley, Federico would stop, or scurry back to correct his course. "Sorry, Ezio, I just wanted to take you to the doctor as soon as possible."

The walk was not too long, but it took a toll on Ezio.At last they came to the gloomy room, full of curious instruments and glass and brass vials, either on dark oak tables or hanging from the ceiling, among other things. There are large bundles of dried herbs.This is where their family physician operates.At this point, Ezio was barely able to stand still.

Doctor Ceresa, who was woken up in the middle of the night, was not particularly happy, but once he took the candle and inspected Ezio's wound up close, his displeasure turned into concern. "Well," he said gravely, "you've hurt yourself pretty badly this time, young man. Have you nothing better to do than fight each other?"

"It's a matter of honour, my good doctor," Federico put in.

"I see." The doctor said calmly.

"It's really no big deal," Ezio said, fighting back his dizziness.

As always, Federico used humor to mask his concern. "Sew him as well as you can, friend. This handsome face is all he has left."

"Hey, fuck you!" Ezio pointed his middle finger at his brother.

The doctor ignored them both. He washed his hands, touched the wound lightly, took a bottle, and poured a little of the clear liquid onto a linen cloth.He wiped the wound with the cloth, and Ezio nearly jumped out of his chair in pain, his face writhing in pain.After wiping it clean, the doctor removed a needle and threaded a thin piece of gut.

"Be careful," he said, "it's going to hurt a little."

When the wound was stitched up and bandaged, Ezio looked like a Turk in a turban, and the doctor smiled encouragingly. "The charge is three florins for now. I'll be at your house in a few days and I'll take out your stitches. Then it'll be another three florins. You'll have a severe headache, but it'll be over soon. Get over it. Rest as much as you can - just do what you usually do! Don't worry: it's not as bad as it looks, and the good thing is that it doesn't leave any scars, so you won't disappoint the ladies too much in the future!"

When they returned to the street, Federico immediately hooked his brother's shoulders.He produced a bottle and handed it to Ezio. "Don't worry," he said, noticing Ezio's expression, "this is my father's best grappa. It's best for a wounded man."

They all took a few sips, feeling the warmth brought by the hot liquor. "It was a good night," Federico said.

"Indeed. I just wish I could be like that—" Ezio saw the big smile on his brother's face, and cut himself off quickly, "Oh, wait!" He corrected himself with a laugh, "Just be with that It's just as fun as ever!"

"Nevertheless, I don't think there would be anything wrong with eating and drinking before we go home," Federico said. "I know it's late, but there's a pub close by that doesn't close until breakfast, and..."

"And you and the tavern owner are good brothers?"

"How did you guess that?"

Ezio drank Brunello and ate steak and pea soup, and after an hour or so, full of wine and food, he felt as if he hadn't been hurt at all.He was young and healthy, and at this point he felt the lost energy come back.Of course, the joy of defeating the thugs of the Pazzi family also played a big role in his recovery.

"It's time to go home, brother," said Federico. "Father must be wondering where we've been, and he's expecting you to help him with his banking business. Luckily I'm not good with numbers, I guess he is." That’s why they want me to go into politics!”

"Be a politician or go to a circus—that's the only thing you're good at."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

Ezio knew that although his father trusted him more in the family business, Federico did not hold himself against it.If Federico were to spend his life in the bank, he would be too bored to live.The problem was that Ezio felt like his brother too.But for the present, with some time to go before the day when he would don the black velvet coat and gold chain of a Florentine banker, he resolved to enjoy this time of freedom and freedom as much as possible.But he didn't know how short this period of time would be.

"We'd better hurry up," Federico was saying, "if you don't want to get scolded."

(End of this chapter)