*'''Roshan:''' ''Nehal? I remember. She is important to you, isn't she?''
*'''Roshan:''' ''Nehal? I remember. She is important to you, isn't she?''
*'''Basim:''' ''She is, but last we spoke I led her to believe otherwise.''
*'''Basim:''' ''She is, but last we spoke I led her to believe otherwise.''
*'''Roshan:''' ''This causes you pain. Then go and heal this wound without delay. Find me at the [[Harbiyah Bureau]] when it is settled.''
*'''Roshan:''' ''This causes you pain. Then go and heal this wound without delay. Find me at the [[Harbiyah bureau|Harbiyah Bureau]] when it is settled.''
Roshan took her leave.
Roshan took her leave.
*'''Basim:''' ''If that was indeed Nehal, I have not a clue where she went. Back home in Anbar, maybe.''
*'''Basim:''' ''If that was indeed Nehal, I have not a clue where she went. Back home in Anbar, maybe.''
Revision as of 12:14, 17 January 2024
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Roshan:An Order member is within our reach, Basim. And like those before and those yet to come, Al-Ghul's death will be just. This is a man who preys off the desperate and the disenfranchised. And such atrocities will only continue, for Al-Ghul is but a cog in a larger wheel. One that spins destructively. So long as it does, we Hidden Ones will make it our mission to slow it to a stop. Today you will lend your hand, your blade, to that very mission. And while Al-Ghul is your first target, he will not be your last. I have great belief in that. And in you. Through all my stoicism, my harsh lessons, know that you have impressed me, Basim. The Order's presence in Baghdad and beyond rests on shifting sands so long as you remain at the tip of our spear.
Basim:And that is where I intend to remain. Beholden to your guidance, Master.
Basim and Roshan looking at the caravanserai
They got off their horses and reached a rocky outcrop, where they saw the caravanserai in the distance.
Basim:As busy as a bee hive.
Roshan:Come. Set your sights on the trial that awaits you.
Basim:Merchants. Livestock. Caravans from all walks. And I thought Anbar's markets were disorderly.
Roshan:Where there is disorder, there is chaos. And chaos can bring opportunity. See what avenues present themselves. Be reactive, but patient. And trust your instincts.
Basim looked around the site and saw his target on a building's balcony.
Basim given a heron feather for the target
Basim:That is Mas'ood, on the balcony. Just as Ali described.
Roshan:Go now. Wet it with the blood of the slain. I will find you when it is over.
Basim reflected on his mission and his target, who oversaw the digging excavations where countless people have died, and the caravanserai, where he located manpower for his work.
Mas'ood overseeing the excavation works
Basim:You think your cruelties are well-hidden, Al-Ghul, for you chose those with little voice whose cries you knew would go unheard. They dug at your bidding, died at your hand and were cast aside like so much refuse. All to scour the desert for some artifact. Even now you haggle for flesh, safe in the Caravanserai. You prefer your victims chained and starved. It is time you faced a man unbound.
Roshan:The stage is yours, Basim. I will be watching.
Basim left the outcrop and approached the site.
Roshan:Remember, patience. Discipline. And when the opportunity presents itself, seize it. This is a test, Basim. For you, and you alone.
Basim reached the caravanserai.
Near the main gate, he found a group of merchants complaining.
Civilian 1:What is the delay?
Civilian 2:I am not certain. Some guards came poking around and ordered us all to wait.
Basim spoke to one of them.
Basim:What delays your departure, friend?
Caravan merchant:Someone by the name of Mas'ood saw fit to inspect my wares and so, here I wait. Who does he think he is?
Basim offering to help recover the merchant's goods
Basim:What is it you are carrying? I ask only so that I may collect it for you.
Caravan merchant:Would you do that? I would take great joy in seeing that man in a fit of anger. It is a crate of silks and spices.
Basim:I am not sure I can be of any help at the moment.
After some reflection, Basim returned and spoke to the man again.
Basim:Greetings, friend.
Caravan merchant:Ah! You again.
(Return to previous option)
As he left the merchant, Basim pondered over his words.
Basim:If I can get that merchant to leave, his abrupt departure may lure Al-Ghul out.
Basim managed to sneak into the caravanserai, where he found a crate mentioned by the merchant.
Basim:A crate with spices and silks. There cannot be too many of those around.
He carried the crate.
Basim carrying the crate
Basim:Hmm... pungent. This must be the caravan merchant's crate.
After leaving the tavern quietly, he carried the crate back to the merchant.
Caravan merchant:Is that what I think it is?
Basim:Is this your crate?
Caravan merchant:Ah! It is indeed! The guards returned it to you?
Basim:In a manner of speaking.
Basim asking the thankful merchant for a request
Basim:Very good, very good. I must repay you. You seem like a man who enjoys a good meal. Care for some spice?
Basim:Not today, no. But I will ask that you loudly proclaim your departure. Make sure Mas'ood notices.
Basim:Ha! We share the same mind. My thanks to you, ya sadeeqi (friend).
Basim mingled with the merchant and his followers as they entered the caravanserai while bypassing the guards.
Basim speaking to a trapped worker
Basim managed to get inside the caravanserai. In one of the buildings, he overheard an impatient worker.
Civilian:You there. Come over here, quickly. Get us out and I will make it worth your while. Please! We were promised steady work and fruitful returns. Now we're being made to slog in the desert! We were deceived. Please, you must help us!
Basim:Tell me what I can do to help.
Civilian:The man who brought us has a deed that binds us to Mas'ood. If he has not collected his fee he should still be here.
Basim:I plan to, it is only a matter of how. Wait here, I will return.
Basim left to think, then made his way back and spoke to the man again.
Civilian:You've returned! Will you help us?
(Return to previous option.)
Basim:If I can relieve these men of their duty, it will not be long before Al-Ghul catches wind of his disbanded work force.
Basim went to speak to the merchant with the deed.
Basim:Well met, traveler. The caravanserai is rich with wares today. I was wondering if you had any goods to sell.
Merchant:I only deal in dirham, and what I sell are not goods, boy. Though I suppose that depends on who you ask.
Basim:I am not sure I understand.
Merchant:I sell men. Laborers. But my lot is spoken for.
Basim:Could I change your mind? I have coin to spare and could use men such as yours.
Merchant:Fifteen thousand.
Basim paid the man.
Basim:That is absurd. Who has the means to pay so much?
Merchant:It is better to keep that question to yourself. Be on your way now.
Basim:If I am going to free those laborers, I will have to steal the deed.
Regardless of methods involved, Basim managed to get the deed.
Basim:Now to free those men.
Merchant:Oh, where... where is... wha... The deed! Have I dropped it? No, no, no. No!
Basim returned to the worker.
Basim:I have claimed the deed from your handler. You are bound no longer. Go!
The worker left.
Basim:The laborers run amok. Al-Ghul will take notice. I must be ready to strike.
The workers gathered in front of the courtyard and protested.
Civilian:We have come with the promise of work. Why bind our hands like this?
While in the caravanserai, Basim came across an argument between two civilians.
Basim:A strange thing to happen upon. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage?
Civilian:You must think me a fool. How dare you speak to me that way!
Civilian:If you want me to stop then you should move along. If not, I will gladly raise my fists in place of mincing my words.
Basim:Those two men are having a loud dispute, but not loud enough. How might I push them over the edge?
He entered a rug-decorated alcove and spoke to the merchant there.
Basim:Greetings, my friend. What sorts of goods are you travelling with?
Merchant 1:Ivory and honey. And you? Are you seeking to trade?
Basim:Perhaps. For now I will browse for a little longer.
He left and found a food merchant in another alcove.
Basim: As-salamu'alaikum. (Peace be upon you.)
Merchant 2: Wa'alaikum as-salam. (And peace be upon you.) Could I interest you in some fruits and today? My pomegranates are ripe and succulent!
Basim:Is that what you have come to trade? Let me think on it.
A crowd forming in front of the balcony
An angry crowd began forming in front of the balcony, with Basim in attendance.
Basim:Word will surely get to Al-Ghul. Come out and spectate, coward.
As he expected, Mas'ood came out to the balcony.
Basim:There he is. Now is my chance.
Al-Ghul:What is happening out there?
Basim got up to the roof of the building presiding over the balcony.
Basim:Al-Ghul deserves a fate far worse than the one at the edge of my blade. My message will reach the Order, loud and clear.
He approached a scaffolding.
Basim:This ends now.
Basim jumping down onto Mas'ood with his Hidden Blade
Basim jumped down onto Mas'ood and stabbed him with his Hidden Blade. He grabbed him by the neck and tied him to a nearby rope before jumping down and throwing him down the balcony, displaying a scene of the Order member hanged by his neck. In the Memory Corridor, Basim spoke to Mas'ood who's on the ground.
Basim:Turn your hate inward, Mas'ood. It is your wickedness that has led you here.
Al-Ghul:Wickedness? To whom? The unenlightened? The feeble who have cast their lot? It is our divine will to rule over them. Our duty to exact their contribution.
Basim and Mas'ood in the Memory Corridor
Basim:Contribution to what?
Al-Ghul:To what could be. The very knowledge of which lies buried beneath these sands.
Basim:Some things are meant to stay that way.
Al-Ghul:No, no, no, no... These... are gifts. Destined to be recovered. They speak to us. As you well know...
Basim:Me?
Al-Ghul:Oh, yes. A Hidden One you may be, but not just...
Mas'ood passed from his wounds, and Basim took the feather and dipped it in his blood. Once he did so, the surrounding turned to black and he heard a groan, reminiscent of his nightmares from years ago. Having killed his target, Basim dispatched two of the nearby guards. As he look on, he spotted what seemed to be his old friend Nehal in the distance.
Basim spotting Nehal in the distance
Basim:Nehal?
Roshan:Basim!
As Roshan called and pulled him away, Basim found that Nehal had disappeared. Nevertheless, he left the caravanserai with his mentor and returned to the outcrop, where he sat down in a meditation stance.
Roshan:Clear your mind.
Basim: (deep breath)
Basim and Roshan reflecting on his first kill
Roshan:Al-Ghul's relentless pursuit at the expense of human lives has come to an end. It is a day of victory. Not only for those spared of his cruelty, but for the Hidden Ones. The Order's grand plot in Baghdad may still be a mystery, but we can at least be certain Al-Ghul's role in it has been vanquished.
Having cleared his mind, Basim stood up and spoke to Roshan.
Basim:I believe what he sought to uncover were more strange objects like the one I took form the Winter Palace. What does the Order want with these relics of the past? And why guard them with so much effort?
Roshan:You are beginning to ask the right questions, Basim. We shall find the answers together.
Basim:Lately all I have are questions.
Roshan:What do you mean?
Basim:Nothing. Forget I said anything.
Roshan:How am I to guide you if you will not speak openly?
Basim telling Roshan about his nightmares
Basim reluctantly opened up about his nightmares.
Basim:I have... I have... struggled with nightmares. In these dreams a jinni torments me until I wake up panicked and soaked with sweat. In Alamut, I had nearly forgotten about it. But when I killed Al-Ghul, I felt its presence again. And I am left asking why. Why here? Why now? Why me? Piling questions and no answers. I meant to tell you, but...
Roshan:You were afraid I would think you weak of mind.
Basim nodded.
Roshan:We are only as weak as we allow ourselves to be. To shed a weakness, you must do what is necessary to men that which causes you pain.
Basim:Will you permit me a brief respite? I wish to seek out an old friend.
Roshan granting Basim time off to heal
Roshan:Nehal? I remember. She is important to you, isn't she?
Basim:She is, but last we spoke I led her to believe otherwise.
Roshan:This causes you pain. Then go and heal this wound without delay. Find me at the Harbiyah Bureau when it is settled.
Roshan took her leave.
Basim:If that was indeed Nehal, I have not a clue where she went. Back home in Anbar, maybe.
Outcome
Basim assassinated Al-Ghul. After fulfilling his task, he spotted his old friend Nehal among the crowd. Wanting to make peace with her, Basim asked Roshan for a small leave in order to search for her at their old hideout in Anbar.
Gallery
Basim following Roshan to the caravanserai
Mas'ood on the balcony
Basim finding a group of stranded merchants near the main gate
Basim following the merchant group into the caravanserai
Basim overlooking Mas'ood on the balcony
Basim bringing Mas'ood with him to the nearby rope
Mas'ood hanged to death
Basim placing his feather near Mas'ood's bloodied neck
Nightmares from Basim's past returning to haunt him
The djinn in Basim's nightmares
Roshan pulling Basim away
References
↑A time jump occurs during 'Taking Flight'. As such, it is unclear how much time Basim takes to complete his training, though this memory and the ones that follow must be placed before 867, the year in which Assassin's Creed: The Golden City takes place.
