Rhona Dinsmore

"Ah... Captain Kenway. I'm assuming this is the friendliest face you've seen since dropping anchor?"

―Rhona to Edward Kenway, 1722.

Rhona Dinsmore (born 1688) was a Scottish Master Assassin of the West Indies Brotherhood who led the bureau in Havana during the early-to-mid 18th century.

Biography

Early life

Rhona was born in Glasgow to an absent father and an alcoholic mother. Leaving her depressed household in her mid-teens, she found work among merchants in Bristol at the age of nineteen and remained at said post for almost two years.

By the age of twenty-one, Rhona became trapped in a distressing marriage. She fled once again, traveling to the New World and seeking refuge in Boston, where she remained for six months, before moving to Jamaica. With work among farmers being exceedingly difficult to find, Rhona took to the sea and found her calling with the Assassins. Her dedication to the Order eventually led her to be promoted to the position of bureau leader.

For several years, Rhona was in a conflicted relationship of undetermined nature with Hilary Flint, an English Templar. During her time in the West Indies, she also became loosely acquainted with the pirate Edward Kenway.

Conflict with Hilary Flint

Edward: "Possibly, I had a hand in selling a "sensitive document" to one of those Templar chaps you're so fond of."

Rhona: "Congratulations. Your mission was a success."

—Rhona chastising Edward for his actions, 1717.

In July 1715, the location of Rhona's bureau was unknowingly revealed to the Templars by Edward, who had delivered them maps—created by the traitorous Assassin Duncan Walpole—which detailed the whereabouts of various Assassin encampments in the Caribbean. Consequently, Rhona's bureau was repeatedly besieged by Spanish troops.

During one of these attacks in 1717, Rhona was joined by Edward, who had come to make amends on the suggestion of James Kidd. Together, the pair managed to withstand the onslaught of guards, following which Kenway requested Rhona's assistance in locating a Templar key required to access a set of robes at his base in Great Inagua. Rhona asked him how he would respond if she were to take the robes for herself, to which Kenway pointed out that they would not fit her.

Reluctantly, Rhona agreed to team up with Edward, as she had been wounded by the troops during the last fight and was unable to conduct a proper investigation on her own. Edward was sent to Havana's marketplace to look for clues regarding a recent rash of thefts and mischief, while Rhona stayed at the bureau to do some research of her own.

Rhona and Edward making plans to sabotage Flint

After acquiring a pickpocket's map that revealed the locations of storehouses used by Hilary Flint, Edward returned to Rhona. She too had discovered the Templar's operation and realized his attempts to eliminate the Havana Assassins through running an arms race, which was being funded by thieves and pickpockets. By this point, Flint had accumulated a large stock of gunpowder, which he kept stored throughout the city for eventual use against the Assassins.

With the map procured by Edward, the pair located and destroyed three gunpowder storages, thus depleting Flint's stores and eliminating his advantage. This final act brought Flint out into the open; he promptly went to the docks to move the rest of his powder offshore.

Rhona and Edward then devised a final plan wherein she would distract Flint while Edward moved in for the kill. Although Rhona seemed anxious about carrying it out, the pair nonetheless succeeded in bypassing Flint's troops and eliminating him. In his final moments, Flint lamented that he and Rhona had not had the chance to fight together on the "correct side of things"; after Flint had succumbed to his wounds, Rhona took his Templar key and handed it to Edward.

Locating Laureano Torres

Edward: "Is Havana under curfew on my account?"

Rhona: "Hm, aye. Torres seems to think someone's coming after him."

Edward: "He's not wrong..."

—Rhona and Edward discussing Torres, 1722.

Edward giving the Crystal Skull to Rhona

In 1722, Rhona was reunited with Edward, who had come to Havana to hunt down Grand Master Laureano de Torres y Ayala, though Edward found the city to be on high alert. He showed Rhona the Crystal Skull from the Observatory and inserted Torres' blood vial into it, activating the artifact and demonstrating its purpose. Awed by the device, Rhona identified the projection as Havana's church, following which she was given the Skull for safekeeping, while Edward left to track down Torres.

Edward later returned to her bureau, revealing that the man he had assassinated had been a decoy, and instructed Rhona to warn Ah Tabai that Torres was headed for the Observatory. Rhona then returned the Skull to Edward, following which the captain headed after his target.

Later life

"I am as busy as I have ever been, but, it all feels so terribly bland. What happened to the grand adventures that saw us racing against the Templars for a powerful artefact that time forgot?"

―Rhona reminiscing about her younger years, 1751.

With the death of Torres in 1722, Rhona was able to expand her branch of Assassins, securing full control of Havana for years to come. As the Seven Years' War loomed, she focused on keeping the city safe from territorial squables, but missed the "grand adventures" she had experienced in her youth. The Templar Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer took advantage of this and seduced Rhona in 1751, using the opportunity to steal her correspondence with other Assassins, as well as several ancient maps of the Yucatán Peninsula that she been bequeathed by Ah Tabai.

Although her Assassins wanted to go after de Ferrer, Rhona decided to keep them stationed in Havana, hoping to safeguard the city against a conflict between Empires. She then wrote to Achilles Davenport, whom she knew from the time that he trained under Ah Tabai, asking him to keep an eye out for de Ferrer and to eliminate him if possible.

Personality and traits

"Hm... I see you haven't lost your charm."

―Edward to Rhona, 1717.

Not afraid of speaking her mind, Rhona's weapon in conversations was wit and sarcasm. In her interactions with Edward Kenway, she rarely missed an opportunity to poke fun at his lesser qualities, for she knew him to be a troublemaker. In a similar manner, she tended to make light of certain situations, even dangerous ones that she found herself in.

Edward meeting Rhona at the Havana bureau

Despite this tough front, Rhona was actually quite compassionate and friendly, as her jokes at Edward's expense quickly ceased once he proved himself trustworthy. When Edward returned to Havana as an ally of the Assassins, she greeted him warmly and even sent him off on his mission with a hug, wishing him good luck. As well as this, Rhona showed reluctance in killing Hilary Flint herself, since she still had some lingering affection for him, in spite of their conflicted relationship and his position as a Templar.

Skills and equipment

As evidenced by her position of Master Assassin, Rhona was capable of holding her own against multiple enemies, using explosives and mid-range weaponry to thin out attackers before defeating the remaining ones in close combat. Although she possessed the traditional pair of Hidden Blades, she primarily used her sword and flintlock pistols, with which she was very proficient. Her position as leader of Havana's Assassin bureau also required her to be familiar with the city's general layout and activities.

Trivia

• Rhona is a name derived from either the masculine Ronald, the meaning of which is "well-advised ruler", or the Hebridean island Rona. Dinsmore is a surname of Scottish origin, referring to the old lands of Dundemore near Lindores, Fife. It is composed of the Old Gaelic elements dun(dh), meaning "fort", and mor, meaning "big, extensive".
• Melanie Lemay speculated in several Abstergo Entertainment database entries that Rhona had actually been a con artist, claiming it would explain the Assassin's constant transition from place to place.
• Out of the four Assassins with whom Edward worked together to acquire the Templar keys, Rhona was the only one that could potentially take out the Templar target herself.
• Rhona's bureau is presumably responsible for the Assassins who were sent to rescue Bartholomew Roberts from Templar custody given that this mission occurs in Havana, though unlike Ah Tabai, she does not seem to hold any anger towards Edward for his role in the Assassins' deaths.

Gallery

• 
  Concept art of Rhona Dinsmore
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  Rhona firing at her attackers
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  Rhona asking for Edward's assistance
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  Edward and Rhona with the dying Flint
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  Rhona giving Flint's Templar key to Edward
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  Rhona and Edward looking at the Crystal Skull's projection
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  Rhona, Edward and Anne at the bureau

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Black Flag
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue (mentioned only)