Assassin's Creed: Renaissance

Chapter 49

A long and peaceful journey at sea finally came to an end when Ezio and Machiavelli's sailboat arrived at the marsh port near Ravenna, and was greeted by Caterina herself with several servants.

"They sent a message by courier that you were on your way, so I thought I should come and take you to Forli," she said. Very smart, because the roads are not so safe and we also face trouble with robbers. However," she gave Ezio an appreciative glance, "I don't think they can give you much trouble."

"I'm flattered that you remember me, ma'am."

"Oh, it's been a long time, but you left a deep impression on me," she turned to look at Machiavelli, "It's good to see you again, Niccolo."

"You two have known each other for a long time, too?" Ezio asked.

"Niccolò used to give me advice on...certain matters in the city-state." She changed the subject. "I heard that you have become a real assassin. Congratulations."

They came to Caterina's carriage, but she told the servants that the weather was fine and the distance was not far, and she would rather ride across.The servants saddled their horses, and when they were mounted, Caterina asked Ezio to ride beside her again.

"You'll love Foley. And you'll be safe there. Our cannons have protected the city for over a century, and the castle is impregnable."

"Excuse me ma'am, I'm interested in something..."

"Just ask."

"I've never heard of a woman ruling the Free Cities. That surprises me."

Katerina smiled. "Oh, of course, Foley used to be under my husband's rule. Do you remember him? Remember that Girolamo?" She paused, then added, "Oh, he died of..."

"terribly sorry."

"No need to apologize," she replied curtly, "I sent someone to assassinate him."

Ezio tried to hide his surprise.

"That's right," interposed Machiavelli, "we found out that Girolamo Lilao was working for the Knights Templar. He was making a map showing the location of the lost pages of ancient books... ..."

"Anyway, I've never liked that goddamned bastard," Katerina said decisively, "He's an incompetent father, boring in bed, and annoying everywhere." She thought for a moment, followed by Said: "By the way, I had several husbands later—if I had to say, I expected too much from them."

A horse without a rider came galloping towards them, interrupting their conversation.Caterina sent one of her guards after the horse, and the rest continued to approach Foley, but her entourage drew their swords.Soon, an overturned carriage appeared in front of them, its wheels were still spinning in the air, and corpses were everywhere around it.

Caterina scowled, urging the horse forward, with Ezio and Machiavelli close behind.

After advancing for some time, they encountered a group of local farmers, some of whom were wounded.The farmers came towards them.

"What's the matter?" Katerina said to the leading woman.

"My lord," said the woman, with tears streaming down her cheeks, "you have just left, and they are right behind you. They are preparing to attack the city!"

"Who's here?"

"It's Brother Orsi, ma'am!"

"Damn traitor!"

"Who is Brother Orsi?" Ezio asked.

"The bastards I hired to kill Girolamo," said Caterina sternly.

"The Orsi Brothers will work for any employer who can pay them," Machiavelli commented. "They are not very bright, but unfortunately they have a reputation of 'never miss'." He paused, Think about it. "It must be the Spaniard behind it."

"But how does he know where we're taking the Apple of Eden?"

"They're not after the Apple of Eden, Ezio, they want Lilao's map. The map is still in Forli. Rodrigo wants to know where the other ancient pages are hidden, and we can't let him have that map !"

"Never mind the map," cried Katerina, "my children are still in town. Oh, those villains!"

They urged the horses to a trot, and at last the city of Forlì came into view.Smoke billowed from the walls, and they could see the city gates shut.Soldiers on the outer parapets wear the Orsi family's "Bear and Bush" arms.But on the hill inside the city, the castle still flies the flag of the Sforza family.

"It looks like they have controlled at least part of Forlì, but not the castle," Machiavelli said.

"Treacherous bastard!" Katerina spat on the ground.

"Is there a way for me to enter the city without attracting attention?" Ezio said, taking out his ancient tome weapon and quickly strapping it to his arm, leaving the firearm and the ordinary wrist blade in the backpack.

"There is a way, my dear," said Caterina, "but it's quite difficult. There's an old tunnel over the canal that goes under the western wall."

"Then I'll try it," Ezio said. "Get ready. If I can open the gates from the inside, you'll have to fight your way through. If we can get to the castle, you're there. The subordinates can also see your badge and let you in, so we can plan our next move in a safe place."

"The next move is to hang those idiots and watch them blow in the wind!" Caterina growled. "Go, Ezio, and good luck! I'll try to get the attention of Orsi's men strong."

Ezio dismounted and galloped around the western ramparts, keeping himself low and hiding behind hills and bushes.At this moment, Katerina stood up in her stirrups and yelled at the enemy in the city wall: "Hey, I'm talking to you, you cowardly beasts. How dare you take my city? My home ?You think I'm going to do nothing? Oh, I'm going to go and rip your balls off - if you have any!"

A group of soldiers appeared on the parapet, looking at Katerina, half amused, half terrified as she continued: "What kind of men are you? Letting your employer do what you want for so little money! Wait Think it's worth it while I go chop off your heads, piss on your necks, sit on your faces! I'll stick your balls on a spit and roast them on the fire ! How does that sound?"

By this time, there were no guards on the western parapet.Finding that the canal was unguarded, Ezio swam along it for a while, until he found the overgrown tunnel entrance.He surfaced and walked into the dark tunnel.

The inside of the tunnel was well maintained and dry, and all he had to do was walk down the tunnel until he finally saw the light on the other side.He approached there cautiously, and at the same time, Katerina's voice came again.At the end of the tunnel is a short flight of stone steps leading to an inner room at the bottom of the tower on the west side of Forlì.There was no one there, and it looked like Catalina drew a decent amount of viewers.Through the window, he saw that most of the Orsi brothers' subordinates were watching Katerina's praise on the wall, applauding from time to time.

Ezio took the opportunity to come out into the street.He could see the location of the gate closest to Caterina and Machiavelli.Above the arch, an archer stood beside a heavy joystick.He approached as lightly and quickly as he could, climbed to the top of the arch, and stabbed the archer lightly in the neck, killing him.Then he put his whole body weight on the joystick, and the city gate below slowly opened with a creaking sound.

Machiavelli had been watching the city gate closely from beginning to end, and the moment he saw it open, he leaned out and whispered something to Caterina, and she immediately patted her horse and rushed forward frantically, Machiavelli and her The guards followed closely behind.It took a while for Orsi's men on the parapet to understand, and with a roar, they began to intercept, but Katerina and the others moved very quickly.Ezio took the bow and arrows from the dead guards and brought down three enemies before he quickly climbed the wall of the nearby house and began to walk around the city, following Carter on horseback through the alleys Linna and her party approached the castle.

The deeper they went into the city, the worse the chaos became.Apparently, the battle for Forli is far from over. Teams of Sforza soldiers are fighting against the Orsi Brothers' mercenaries under the "Blue and Black Eagle" banner, and the general public is not hiding in their own To take refuge in a house is to run aimlessly in this chaos.Market stalls overturned; chickens chirping at feet; a child sat in the mud, crying for its mother, who came running and carried the child to safety; the sound of fighting One after another.Walking across the rooftops, Ezio had a better view of the surrounding terrain, and whenever Orsi's men approached, he protected Caterina and Machiavelli with precise and deadly arrows.

Finally, they came to a wide square in front of the castle.There was no one there, and the surrounding streets were deserted.Ezio returned to the ground and joined the others.There was no one on the battlements of the castle, and the great gates were shut tightly.It does look as impenetrable as Katrina says it is.

She looked up, and said, "Open the door, you fools! It's me! Your Duchess! Be quick!"

At last her men appeared on the castle, and one of the captains of the guard said, "At once, my lord!" Then he gave orders to the three men, and they immediately left the wall and came to open the gate.But at this moment, dozens of soldiers of the Orsi Brothers rushed into the square from the nearby streets, blocking all escape routes, and put Katerina and her party in a dilemma: behind them were pursuers, and in front of them was the ruthless city wall.

"Damn the ambush!" Machiavelli yelled, and Ezio and his handful of guards stood between Caterina and the enemy.

"Open the door! Quick!" Katerina yelled.The heavy city gate finally opened.The Sforza guards came hastily to their aid, and stormed the Orsi brothers' men, driving them back for a while, then retreated into the castle, and quickly closed the gates.Ezio and Machiavelli (who had already dismounted) leaned shoulder to shoulder against the wall, panting.They couldn't believe they did it.Katerina dismounted too, but did not rest for a moment.She ran into the inner court and came to a door where two little boys and a nurse with a baby in her arms were waiting in terror.

The children ran towards her and she hugged them and called them by name. "Cesare, Giovanni—don't worry." She patted the baby's head and said softly, "Hello, Galeazzo." Then she looked around, then at the nurse.

"Nezita! Where are Bianca and Ottaviano?"

"Forgive me, ma'am. They were playing outside when the enemy attacked, and we couldn't find them after that."

Katerina was terrified, and she was about to answer when the Orsi soldiers outside the castle let out a loud roar.The captain of the Sforza's guard ran to Ezio and Machiavelli. "They've brought reinforcements from the other side of the hill," he reported. "I don't know how long we can hold out." Turning to an adjutant, he said, "Get to the battlements! Manipulate the cannon!"

The lieutenant hastened to arrange for the gunners, who hurried to their posts, while the enemy's archers unleashed a hail of arrows on the inner court and the parapet above.Caterina urged her children to hide to safety, while shouting at Ezio: "Take care of the cannon! It is our only hope! Don't let those bastards break the castle!"

"Come on!" cried Machiavelli.Ezio followed him and ran towards the location of the cannon.

Several gunners had been shot dead, along with the captain and the adjutant.Others were also injured.Those who survived were struggling to adjust the heavy barrels to the Orsi soldiers in the square below.Battalions of reinforcements were arriving, and Ezio watched as they rolled siege engines and catapults into the streets.At the same time, a group of Orsi soldiers directly below moved the battering ram.If he and Machiavelli didn't come up with a plan soon, the castle was bound to fall.But to suppress the enemy's offensive, he must aim the cannon at the target in Forli City, and in this way, he may injure or even kill some innocent citizens.Leaving Machiavelli in charge of the gunners, he ran to the courtyard to look for Caterina.

"They are storming the city. In order to stop them, I have to shoot at some targets inside the walls."

She looked at him calmly. "Do what you have to do."

He looked up at the parapet, where Machiavelli was standing, waiting for his signal.Ezio raised his arm, then swung it down hard.

The cannon roared, and at the same time, Ezio sprinted back to the parapet.He ordered the gunners to fire freely, and saw the siege engines crumble to pieces one by one, and then the catapults followed in their footsteps.The troops of the Orsi brothers were difficult to dodge in the narrow streets, and after the cannons showed their power, the archers and crossbowmen of the Sforza family began to eliminate the surviving invaders one after another.In the end, the remaining enemy troops were completely driven out of Forli City, and those Sforza soldiers who survived outside the castle also took back the outer wall.But the victory didn't come without a price.Several houses in the city were reduced to smoldering ruins, and Katarina's gunners inevitably killed some of their fellow citizens in an attempt to retake the city.And, as Machiavelli pointed out, they had other troubles to face: they drove the enemy out of the city, but they didn't retreat.Forlì is still under siege by Orsi's forces, with food and water cut off - and Katerina's two older children are still missing.

Not long after, Caterina, Machiavelli, and Ezio stood on the outer parapet, surveying the large army encamped nearby.Behind them, the citizens of Forli City are doing what they can to restore order to the city, but food and water won't last long, and everyone knows that.Caterina looks haggard and worried about her missing children - the older Bianca is nine years old, and Ottaviano is a year younger than Bianca.

They had not yet encountered the Orsi brothers themselves, but on that day a herald appeared in the middle of the enemy's army and sounded the horn.The soldiers drew back to either side, as if parting seas, to let two men in chain mail on sorrel horses pass, flanked by retinues bearing the arms of the bear and the bush.They stopped short of the longbow's range.

One of the riders stood up in his stirrups and yelled, "Caterina! Caterina Sforza! We guess you're still hiding in your precious little town, Caterina - answer me then !"

Katerina leaned out of the battlements, a look of rage on her face. "What do you think?"

The man laughed openly. "Oh, nothing. I just wanted to know, did you lose...a few kids!"

Ezio stood beside Caterina.The man who spoke looked at him in surprise. "Ah, ah," he said, "you are Ezio Auditore, if I'm not mistaken. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"In my opinion, you are the Orsi brothers," Ezio said.

(End of this chapter)