Assassin's Creed: Renaissance

Chapter 24

Within a few days, it was all over.The power of the Pazzi family in Florence ceased to exist.Their goods and estates were confiscated, their coats of arms were torn off, and trampled upon the ground.Despite Lorenzo's hopes that they would show tolerance, the Florentine mob tracked down and killed all the Pazzi supporters, although a few important figures escaped.Only one arrested Pazzi received clemency—the Pope's nephew, Raffaele Lilao, whom Lorenzo considered too naive to be involved in any serious crime.But most of the Duke's advisers believed that Lorenzo's decision was more benevolent than political.

Sixtus IV was still furious and announced the suspension of the church in Florence, but he had little influence, and the Florentines dismissed it.

As for Ezio, he was one of the first to be received by the Duke.He found Lorenzo standing on a balcony overlooking the Arno, looking out over the river.Lorenzo's wound is still bandaged, but his body has recovered a lot, and the pallor on his face has disappeared.He proudly straightened his back and looked as though he lived up to the nickname given to him by the Florentines - "The Magnificent Duke".

After greeting each other, Lorenzo pointed to the river. "Did you know, Ezio, when I was six years old, I fell into the Arno River. I found myself drifting into the darkness, thinking that my life was over. But I woke up to the sound of my mother crying Come. Standing next to her was a drenched, smiling stranger. She explained to me that man saved my life. The stranger's last name was Auditore. This is how our two families became friends. beginning." He turned and looked at Ezio seriously, "I am sorry that I was not able to save your loved ones."

Ezio was momentarily speechless.In the cold political world, the boundaries between right and wrong are often blurred. He knows the existence of that world, but refuses to admit it. "I know that if you have the ability to save them, you will never stand by," he said.

"At least your family mansion is still under the protection of this city. I let your old housekeeper, Anita, take care of the mansion, and equipped with servants and guards. I will bear the expenses. No matter what happens, as long as you If you want to go back, it will always be waiting for you."

"You are very generous, Your Excellency." Ezio paused.He thought of Christina.Maybe there was still time to convince her to break off the engagement and marry her, helping him revive the Auditore family?But these two short years had left him unrecognizable, and he had yet another duty—to the Assassin Order.

"We have had a great victory," he concluded, "but the war is not over. Many of our enemies have escaped."

"The security of Florence is assured. Sixtus IV wants to persuade Naples to be our enemy, but I have persuaded Ferdinando not to do so, as have Bologna and Milan."

Ezio was unable to share his true victory with the Duke, as he was unsure whether Lorenzo knew the secrets of the Assassin Order. "For further security reasons," he said, "I need your permission to pursue Jacob de Pazzi."

A cloud passed over Lorenzo's face. "That coward!" he said angrily, "we tried to catch him when he disappeared."

"Is there any news about his whereabouts?"

Lorenzo shook his head. "No. They're well hidden. My spies report that Baroncheri may be on his way back to Constantinople, but the others..."

Ezio said, "Tell me their names." The firmness in his tone made it clear to Lorenzo that it would cost his life to offend this man.

"How can I forget the men who murdered my brother? If you find them, I will owe you my life. They are the priests Antonio Maffei and Stefano da Bacononi. And I Bernardo Baloncelli mentioned. And another man who was not directly involved in the murder but was a powerful ally of our enemies. He was the Archbishop of Pisa, Francesco Salviati - who was also A member of the Lirao family, another lackey of the Pope. I forgive his cousin. I don’t want to be like them. But sometimes, I also feel that I am not wise in this matter.”

"I have a list," Ezio said, "and I will add their names." He turned to leave.

"Where are you going now?" Lorenzo asked.

"To my uncle Mario in Monteriggioni. That's my base camp."

"May God be with you, my friend Ezio. I have something here that you might be interested in looking at before leaving..." Lorenzo opened a leather wallet on his belt and pulled out a piece of brown paper .Before he could unfold the paper, Ezio guessed what it was.

"I remember talking to your father about ancient texts a few years ago," said Lorenzo quietly, "and we were both very interested in them. I know he translated some of them. This is for you—I Found it in the papers of Francisco de' Pazzi's house, and now that he's out of use, I thought you might like it - it reminds me of your father. Maybe you could add it to his… ...in the collection?"

"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Your Excellency."

"I think you will, too," Lorenzo said, in a tone that made Ezio wonder how much he knew, "hope it can help you."

Before packing his bags and preparing to leave, Ezio hurried to his friend Leonardo da Vinci with the page from the ancient book that Lorenzo had given him.Despite the turmoil of last week, Leonardo's studio is operating as usual.

"I'm glad to see you safe and sound, Ezio," Leonardo greeted.

"It looks like you're not hurt at all," Ezio replied.

"I told you - they didn't bother me. They must think I'm either too crazy or too dangerous! Come and have a drink, I should have some cake here, if it's not broken - My butler is so useless - and then you tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm leaving Florence."

"So fast? But they told me, you're the hero of the moment! Why don't you stay and enjoy it?"

"I do not have time."

"There are still enemies to pursue, are there?"

"How did you know?"

Leonardo smiled. "Thank you for coming to say goodbye," he said.

"Before I leave," Ezio said, "I have brought you another page of the ancient tome."

"That's really good news. May I see it?"

"of course can."

Leonardo looked at the paper carefully. "I'm getting the hang of it," he said. "I still don't know the real purpose of this ancient tome, but I'm getting more and more familiar with the text. It looks like a description of another weapon." He stood up and put a stack of rather fragile ancient books on the table. "Let me see... I have to say, whoever wrote these words, his ideas must have been far ahead of his time. Just this structure..." His voice became weaker and weaker, and then fell into a mused. "Oh! I see! Ezio, here are the blueprints for another weapon - one to replace the blade of the one on your arm, if necessary."

"What's the difference between the two?"

"If I'm not mistaken, this weapon is pretty scary - it's hollow in the middle, see? Through the tube hidden in the blade, the user can inject venom into the victim. Really One sword kill! This thing can make you truly invincible!"

"Can you do it?"

"The request is still the same as last time?"

"of course."

"Okay! How long am I this time?"

"By the end of the week? I still have some preparations to do, and... I have someone to meet... and say goodbye to. But I need to get out soon."

"The time is really tight. But I still have the tools from the last production, and my assistant will help, so it should be no problem."

Ezio used this time to attend to his business in Florence, pack his bags, and send a letter to Monteriggioni.He put that off again and again, but he knew he had to.Finally, the night before his scheduled departure, he made his way to the Culverzies' mansion.His feet were as heavy as lead.

But when he got there, he found that there was no light in the house, and the doors and windows were closed.He knew he must look crazy in the eyes of outsiders, but he climbed up to Christina's balcony, only to find her windows tightly shut.The nasturtiums in the pots on the balcony are dead.He climbed down wearily, feeling his heart was heavy.He stood in front of the gate in a daze. He didn't know how long he stood there, but someone must have seen him, because a window on the second floor next to him finally opened, and a woman poked her head out.

"You know, they've already left. Mr. Calfossie saw that things weren't right, so he took his family and moved to Lucca—the hometown of his daughter's fiancé."

"Luca?"

"Yes. I heard that the two of them have a very good relationship."

"When are they coming back?"

"I don't know," the woman looked at him, "did I see you somewhere?"

"I don't think so," Ezio said.

That night, he kept dreaming of Cristina and of Francesco's tragic death.

The morning sky was cloudy, but it suited Ezio's mood very well.He went to Leonardo's studio, thankful that he had chosen to leave Florence today.The new blade was ready, made of matte gray metal, strong enough, sharp enough to cut a silk handkerchief falling on it in half.The holes in the tip of the sword are also very small.

"The venom is stored in the handle. You only need to stretch your arm muscles and touch the button on the inside to inject the venom. Be careful, it is very sensitive."

"What kind of poison should I use?"

"What I added for you is hemlock extract, which is quite poisonous, but after it's used up, you can find a doctor to ask for it."

"Ask a doctor for poison?"

"Drugs that can cure can also kill, given high enough concentrations."

Ezio nodded sadly. "I owe you another favor."

"Here are the pages of your ancient tome. Do you have to leave so soon?"

"Florence is safe—for now. But I have work to do."

(End of this chapter)