Thomas Stoddard

"Consider your origin... you were not formed to live like a brute... but to follow virtue and knowledge."

―Tom's father's last words from Dante's The Divine Comedy.

Thomas "Tom" Stoddard was a Master Assassin of the British Brotherhood in the late 17th century. He was a descendant of the 16th century Assassin Hiram Stoddard and an ancestor to the 21st century Assassin Charlotte de la Cruz through her matrilineal line.

Well-known for being a tracker of Pieces of Eden, one of his assignments was locating an artifact in the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, amidst its infamous witch trials. There, Stoddard was assisted in his mission by nurse and fellow Assassin Jennifer Querry, and discovered the artifact was not a Piece of Eden, but a young girl by the name of Dorothy Osborne who was connections to the Isu Consus.

During his mission, he and Querry were hunted by Templars Samuel Parris and William Stoughton, who intended to keep Dorothy and use her as their "oracle". This ultimately culminated in the death of Querry and the suicide of Dorothy due to overwhelming guilt. With David remaining as the only survivor, Stoddard took David under his wing, believing him to be the secret son of Querry's.

Biography

Search for the Piece of Eden

Querry: "The Templars are cautious. They believe some of the girls' illnesses and odd behaviors are real."

Stoddard: "And caused by a Piece of Eden? That much is obvious."

—Jennifer Querry and Stoddard discussing the Templars' presence in Salem, 1692.

In June 1692, Stoddard arrived in Salem after traveling from London on an assignment to locate a Piece of Eden. After witnessing the hanging of Bridget Bishop, he went to meet with his contacts in the city, who turned out to be Templars in disguise. Quickly killing them, he was then joined by his real contact, the Assassin Jennifer Querry, who explained the history of the strange 'illness' that had been plaguing Salem, and the involvement of the Templars Samuel Parris and William Stoughton.

Stoddard finds a girl named Dorothy, who promised to lead him to the artifact

The two Assassins later infiltrated a warehouse in order to track down the Piece of Eden. Finding a dungeon underneath the warehouse, Stoddard was forced to free a young girl named Dorothy Osborne and a mute boy named David, after Dorothy promised to lead the way to the artifact's location.

Unconvinced, Stoddard threatened Dorothy as he pushed the mute boy away. Querry and Dorothy eventually managed to calm him down. However, Dorothy suddenly fainted and recited Stoddard's father's last words from Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. As Querry went to the young girl's side, Stoddard had to defend the trio from an onslaught of attackers.

Querry eventually discovered an exit and Stoddard set the basement aflame as they escaped to the swamp. Seeing Querry's inability to carry the mute boy, Stoddard told David to go to Ipswich for a man named Arbour and gave him a feather. Querry disagreed and Stoddard tried to explain that the boy was slowing them down and endangering Dorothy's life, to no avail. However, there was a loud bang and Stoddard saw another wave of attackers. He was forced to leave an injured Querry and David and escape with Dorothy.

Captured by the Templars

"We let her go because you did your task well, goodman. You made her believe in your cause above all. When she turned her back on the boy, I knew she would find you or die trying. We simply followed her to your little boat... and the girl."

―William Stoughton telling Stoddard how he tracked him down, 1692.

Stoddard speaks to a possessed Dorothy

After escaping to safety, Dorothy, again possessed, revealed herself as Consus and delivered a cryptic message, intended for Stoddard's descendant Charlotte de la Cruz. Confused, Stoddard questioned Dorothy about the message but the girl was herself once again. She told him that he would have a family and blamed him for abandoning Querry and David. The pair eventually reached the dock and Stoddard was surprised to see Templars arrive.

Querry suddenly appeared and told him that she had left David behind like Stoddard had asked her to, claiming she would never forgive him for it. Thinking that she was lying, Stoddard attacked her as Dorothy tried to defend Querry from him. However, they were suddenly assaulted by Templars who had followed Querry and tied them up.

Stoddard and Querry being tortured by the Templars

Taken to a dungeon, the two Assassins were tortured by William Stoughton for information. When Stoughton threatened to hurt David, Querry ignored Stoddard's command to stay silent. Consus once again possessed Dorothy and as the Templars were distracted, Querry took the opportunity to kill a guard and free Stoddard. However, she was shot dead before she could free David. Stoughton also shot Stoddard in the arm and told him that he would use the captured women to create more "oracles" like Dorothy.

Escape and new life

"I have bore witness to many deaths in my lifetime. So many. Why can I not see these as just two more?"

―Stoddard, regarding Querry and Dorothy's deaths, 1692.

Overcome with guilt, Dorothy decided to kill herself by walking into a fire, which enraged Stoughton. Before the Templar could shoot Stoddard, his accomplice Samuel Parris, who disagreed with his violent methods, interfered and shot Stoughton in the shoulder. Parris then turned his pistol to Stoddard, intending to kill him so that there would be no witnesses to "this horror". However, the Assassin was able to convince him to stand down by quoting a line from Dante's The Divine Comedy.

Stoddard and David released by Parris

Parris then decided to let Stoddard and David go, and gave the Assassin the keys to the cells where the captive women were held so that he could free them. Stoddard did so and later buried Querry and Dorothy atop a hill near Salem. As he did so, he reflected on how these were the first deaths he had witnessed during his Assassin career to affect him, and he decided to change his ways, becoming less brutal.

Stoddard also decided to take David under his wing and raise him in Querry's memory, having deduced that the boy was secretly Querry's son. He began by giving him his copy of Dante's Inferno and offering to teach the boy how to read.

Legacy

At some point in his life, Stoddard conceived at least one child, who became an ancestor of the 21st-century Assassin Charlotte de la Cruz. In late 2015, Charlotte relived Stoddard's memories in the Animus to learn the fate of the Piece of Eden he had been tasked with finding in Salem. After spending time in the Animus, Charlotte acquired some of Stoddard's skills, such as parkour, through the Bleeding Effect, which enabled her to save Galina Voronina from Joseph Laurier.

In February 2017, Stoddard was referenced once again by Charlotte in an attempt to intimidate a member of the Instruments of the First Will.

Personality and traits

"We were tasked to take a great power from the Templars' hands. And I will do so, even if it costs a hundred little boys. It will save ten-fold that number."

―Stoddard to Jennifer Querry, 1692.

The son of a harsh farmer, who taught to his son to respect the rules above any personal considerations, Tom Stoddard grew into a cold and tough individual, keeping his emotions to himself.

Stoddard was not one to abandon a mission in order to help someone in need and was considered one of the most ruthless Assassins of his time. Capable of threatening the life of a little girl to further his goals, Stoddard was nevertheless a strong follower of the Creed and while conflicted about it, he avoided killing innocents even if they were directly threatening his life.

Equipment and skills

Stoddard was an exceptionally skilled freerunner capable of scaling the buildings of Salem. He also proved to be skilled in unarmed combat, easily incapacitating an attacking villager without killing him. Stoddard also appeared to have high pain resistance, enduring severe torture at the hands of his Templar captors. His most notable skill, however, was his natural talent for tracking down targets and artifacts, which had earned him a legendary reputation among the Assassins.

In terms of equipment, Stoddard possessed dual Hidden Blades, concealed underneath his sleeves, as well as a sword and dual pistols.

Trivia

• When he was a young boy, Stoddard's father gave him a copy of Inferno, written by the poet and Assassin Dante Alighieri.
• There is some inconsistency regarding Stoddard's hair color, with some comic pannels depicting him with blonde hair while others show him having dark hair.

Gallery

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  A close-up of Stoddard
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  Stoddard
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  A hooded Stoddard
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  Stoddard threatening Dorothy
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  Stoddard and Querry facing Puritans