Assassin's Creed: Renaissance

Chapter 7

He was about to walk towards the source of the cry when a shadow behind him moved and lifted something over his head.Ezio twisted and grabbed the heavy silver candlestick that was being thrown at his head.He dodged the candlestick from the man's hand suddenly, and the other party let out a scream.He threw the candlestick into the distance, grabbed his attacker by the arm, and pulled the man into the light.There was a killing intent in his heart, and the dagger was out of its sheath.

"Oh! Master Ezio! It's you! Thank God!"

Ezio recognized the voice, and then saw clearly in the light the face of his housekeeper Anita - a vigorous woman from the country who had served his family for many years.

"What happened?" He grabbed Anita's wrist and almost shook her in pain and panic.

"The city guards are here. They arrested your father and Federico—they even took little Petruccio, dragged from your mother's arms!"

"Where is my mother? Where is Claudia?"

"Here we are," said a trembling voice from the shadows.Claudia helped his mother out of the shadows.Ezio held up a chair and made his mother sit down.In the dim light, he saw Claudia bleeding, her clothes dirty and torn.Maria didn't answer.She sat in a chair, shaking with tears.In her hand she clutched the box of feathers that Petruccio had given her two days ago—but it felt like a lifetime ago.

"My God, Claudia! Are you okay?" He looked at her, anger welling up in his heart, "Did they..."

"No—I'm fine. They beat me because they thought I knew where you had been. But mother... oh, Ezio, they took father, Federico, and Petruccio to Vecchio Omiya!"

"Your mother was startled," Anita said. "She tried to stop it, and then they—" She stopped suddenly. "Those bastards!"

Ezio thought quickly. "It's not safe here. Anita, can you take them somewhere else?"

"Oh, yes... go to my sister. They'll be safe there." Anita could barely get the words out: her sobs choked with fear and pain.

"We've got to leave quickly. The guards will be back for me for sure. Claudia, mother - don't waste any more time. Take nothing and just follow Anita. Quick! Claudia Ya, hold Mommy."

Although he himself was still in shock, he escorted them out of the messy mansion, and did not turn away until the faithful Anita regained his composure and led his sister and mother away.Chaotic thoughts occupied Ezio's mind, and his world was shaken by the sudden turn of events.Desperately trying to make sense of what happened, he wonders how he can save his father and brother... He first figured out one thing: He must find a way to meet his father and understand the reasons for the attacks and atrocities committed against his family. reason.But that was Palazzo Vecchio!They must have locked his family in those cramped cells in the palace tower, he was sure of that.Maybe he could figure it out...but the defenses there were like a fortress, and tonight it must have been extraordinarily heavily guarded.

He forced himself to remain calm and clear-headed as he made his way through the streets to Piazza della Signoria.He clung to the walls around the square and looked up.The battlements and tower tops were littered with torches, illuminating the fleur-de-lis that represented the city, and the great clock at the base of the tower.Ezio squinted and looked higher up, where he saw the faint light of a candle in the barred window near the top of the tower.There were a few guards outside the huge double doors of the palace, and even more on the battlements.Ezio did not see any guards on the battlements at the top of the tower, only that it was higher than the window to which he was going.

He walked along the edge of the square until he came to the alley away from the square and leading to the north side of the palace.Luckily, there were still a decent number of people around, strolling leisurely, enjoying the evening air.Ezio suddenly felt as if he was living in another world, even though three or four hours earlier he had been like these people.He thought angrily that nothing would change in the lives of these people, while his family was falling apart.His heart welled up with almost uncontrollable anger and fear again, but he forced himself to turn his attention to the task at hand, a look of determination flitting across his face.

The walls before him were steep and dizzyingly high, but the walls were shrouded in darkness, which would be to his advantage.In addition, the stone materials used to build the palace are very rough, giving him sufficient support points when climbing.There might be guards on the battlements to the north of the palace, a puzzle he would have to solve once he climbed up.He could only hope that most of the guards were by the main entrance on the west side of the palace.

He took a breath, scanned his surroundings—the dark alley was empty—then jumped up hard, grabbed the wall, and began to climb up.

As soon as he climbed the battlements, he squatted down, and the tendons in his calves tensed.There were two guards on the battlements, but they both had their backs to him, looking down into the lit square.Ezio waited without moving for a moment, until he could confirm that they were unaware of his presence.He lowered his body and approached quickly, then hooked their necks with two arms respectively, and pulled them hard, using the weight of their bodies and surprise to make them fall on their backs.Next, he quickly removed their helmets and slammed their heads together hard—they were knocked unconscious before they could even look surprised.Ezio knew that if this did not work, he would not hesitate to slit their throats.

He stopped again, gasping for breath.The stone used for the tower is much smoother, and it will be much more difficult to climb.To make matters worse, he had to climb from the north side of the tower to the west side, because the window of the cell was over there.He could only hope that those in the square and on the battlements would not look up.He didn't want to fall short because of the flying crossbow arrows.

The junction of the tower's north and west walls was hard and steep, and for a while Ezio stood there, looking for a point of support.He lowered his head and saw a guard raised his head on the battlements far below.He could see the pale face clearly.He could see the man's eyes.He pressed his body against the wall.In this black suit, he stands out like a cockroach crawling on a white tablecloth.But inexplicably, the man lowered his head and continued his patrol.Did he see him?Ezio didn't even dare to breathe.It took a while before he relaxed and started breathing again.

After exhausting all his efforts, he finally reached his destination.He stepped on the narrow ledge under the window and looked into the small cell.God is merciful, he thought.He recognized the figure of his father, who turned his back to the window and seemed to be reading something by the faint candlelight.

"Father!" he called softly.

Giovanni turned sharply. "Ezio! In God's name, how did you—"

"Never mind that, Father," said Giovanni, and Ezio saw that his hands were bloodstained and bruised, and his face was pale and haggard, as Giovanni approached. "God, father, what did they do to you?"

"I was tortured, but nothing happened. More importantly, what happened to your mother and sister?"

"They're safe."

"With Anita?"

"Correct."

"Praise God."

"What happened, father? Did you expect this?"

"I didn't expect it so soon. They also arrested Federico and Petruccio - I think they're in the back cell. If Lorenzo had been here, things wouldn't have turned out like this. I'd You should be prepared.”

"What are you talking about?"

"No time to explain!" Giovanni almost yelled. "Now, listen to me, you must go home. There is a secret door in my office. There is a chest in the room behind the secret door. Take everything in the box. Do you hear that? Everything! There are many things that may be new to you, but each one is very important."

"Okay, Father." Ezio shifted his weight slightly, his life now dependent on the bars on the window.He didn't dare to look down, and he didn't know how long he could hold on.

"Among them you will find a letter and accompanying papers. You must take those things immediately—tonight! to Alberti!"

"You mean the Chief Executive?"

"That's right. Now, let's go!"

"But father..." Ezio said hesitantly, wishing he had done more than deliver a few documents, he added, "Is it the Pazzi family who are behind it? The note. It says..."

Then Giovanni signaled him to be silent.Ezio could hear the key turning in the lock of the cell door.

"They're taking me to trial," said Giovanni grimly, "and get out of here before they find you. God, you are a brave boy. You deserve this fate. Well, at last I Say it again - go!"

Ezio moved his feet off the ledge and pressed them against the wall away from the window, listening to the guards lead his father away.He could hardly bear to hear it.Then, he bit the bullet and prepared to climb down.He knew going low was always harder than going high, but in the past 48 hours he had built up a lot of experience climbing buildings.His hand slipped once or twice as he climbed toward the ground, but caught hold of the hold just in time.When his feet hit the top of the wall, the two guards were still lying on the ground.Another unexpected stroke of luck!He'd smashed their heads together with all his might, but if they happened to come to life while he was climbing the tower and shouted the warning... well, he couldn't even think about the consequences.

Indeed, there is no time to think about such things now.He leaned over the battlements and looked down.Time is precious.As long as he finds something that will stop his fall, he will risk jumping.As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he saw the awning of an abandoned stall against the wall.Should he take the risk?If he succeeds, he can save a few minutes of time.If he fails, the best outcome is a broken leg.He must have enough confidence in himself.

He took a deep breath and leaped into the darkness.

The awning was crushed under his weight, but the resistance it provided was just enough to offset the force of his fall.He was out of breath and had a few bruises on his ribs, but he came down after all!And none of the guards sounded a warning.

(End of this chapter)