Mission to Aragon

This article is about in-game events. You may be looking for the Spanish Inquisition (tribunal).

"I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and as my father and grandfathers were before me, I am an Assassin."

―Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Venice, 1491

Rodrigo Borgia, who fears for his life, has stationed Wanted posters all over Italy. Every guard has been alerted of the presence Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and are given orders to take him out on sight. Ezio, who was scouring the country for the Apple of Eden, is soon delayed when Antonio informs him of Borgia's current location.

Venice

The Thieves' Guild

Ezio received word from a thief that Antonio had summoned him for an urgent meeting, and thus proceeded to make his way through Venice

Ezio in a duel with a Borgia Guard Captain

towards the Thieves' Guild. Despite guards being ordered to attack Ezio on sight, and despite the numerous Wanted posters he sees on his way to the guild, the Assassin managed to enter the guild unscathed.

Ezio then met with Antonio, who mentions that Luis Santangel, a stranger from Spain, is in need of some help and has heard that Ezio is the "deadliest man in Italia." After introducing himself, Luis told Ezio that a friend of his, Christoffa Corombo, was to attend a meeting with Rodrigo Borgia; a name that immediately catches Ezio's attention. However, Luis suspects that the meeting is a trap, as it was called a mere day or two after Christoffa stumbled upon a significant artifact.

Ezio agreed to protect Christoffa, but warns Luis that he is not a hired blade, and that he is only doing the job in order to track down Rodrigo. Ezio thanked him for the opportunity, but stated that he did not want to meddle with Christoffa's affairs.

A Favor For a Friend

Ezio proceeded to the meeting, being careful not to alert any of the guards. Seeing an opportunity, Ezio made his way to the rooftops where civilians did not linger.

After jumping and scaling a few rooftops, Ezio spotted Christoffa speaking to a guard through a window, with Christoffa complaining that Rodrigo had not yet shown up. The guard is silent at first, but after enduring a few minutes of complaints, he approached Christoffa and told him that Rodrigo has changed plans. He then drew his sword, saying grimly that Rodrigo had no more need for Christoffa, and prepared to strike.

Before the guard has a chance to silence Christoffa, Ezio kicked down the door and prepared to enter combat. Ezio stabbed at the guard's legs and punched him in the stomach, before finally unwinding his hidden blade from his wrist, and impaling the enemy. He then threw the guard's corpse off the blade and onto the floor.

Christoffa thanked Ezio kindly as the Assassin told him why he had intervened. Ezio then questioned Christoffa about how he had arranged a meeting with Rodrigo, but Christoffa merely explained that, some time after he had located a certain artifact in an expedition, the Spaniard had somehow found him and said he wanted to fund his further expeditions.

Moments later, more guards stormed through the door and interrupted their conversation. Ezio told Christoffa to escape while he diverted the guards' attention, before running out into the open street in an effort to distract the guards from Christoffa. Both he and Christoffa eventually got away safely, and made it back to the Thieves Guild to report to Luis and Antonio.

Ezio, however, arrived at the guild a bit later than Christoffa. When he got there, Antonio stated that the two had already left, and were waiting for Ezio in a building near the Garden District. Ezio, seemingly tired, asked Antonio who those two men were. In reply, Antonio admitted that he did not know, and that Luis's choice in approaching the Thieves Guild first-hand was a bit strange.

At the Garden District, Luis and Christoffa again thanked Ezio. Christoffa told Ezio that Rodgrio Borgia had discovered their Hideout, and that his soldiers were searching for a rare artifact, an Atlas of no name that contained maps charting a Western route to the Orient. Luis stated that, in the wrong hands, the Atlas could cause great harm, and thus requested Ezio if he could retrieve it for him as a final favor, before he and Christoffa leave Italy.

Ezio agreed and headed to the Harbor District to find the Hideout and recover the Atlas.

Looking for Christoffa's Atlas

The guards in Venice had strengthened their forces, with many of the guards consisting of Rodrigo's men, who were both better trained and better equipped than the

File:Asscreed2.png

Ezio in the hideout library

Venetian ones. Ezio, after almost a dozen encounters with the guards, managed to get to the Hideout and enter the building in search of the Atlas.

Many guards were stationed within the building, forcing Ezio to cling to the walls, slide past patrols or take out the rare loner guard. The closer he grew to the Atlas, the more guards there were. A few halls away from the Atlas, Ezio spotted a heavy guard patrol consisting of two Seekers and several guard captains. Ezio thus hid in a nearby doorway and waited for them to pass, he then grabbed four throwing knives from the side of his belt and flung them sideways. In a matter of seconds, the heavy guard patrol was reduced withered corpses.

After sneaking through the library, Ezio was relieved that the Atlas was yet to be taken. He swiftly retrieved the Atlas, hoping that he was "not mistaking this for anything else.", Ezio then turned around and encountered a Brute Captain, who angrily twirls his huge halberd and attacks. Ezio readied his sword in a mock counter, but instead quickly fled to the back of the room and exited through a small, secret entrance on the ground. The door led to an underground crypt and small sewer, through which Ezio successfully escaped despite the guards giving chase.

Ezio made his way to the Harbor to deliver the Atlas to Christoffa and Luis. After he arrived, Christoffa was very happy, but realized that a of its few maps were missing. Still, he was satisfied that the 'Piri Reis' map was in one piece, which was to be their next stop.

Ezio made it clear to Luis that, from now on, he should bring his own protection to Italia. However, Luis sadly replied that all the Assassin leaders in Spain had been captured and tortured by Tomas Torquemada and his Inquisitors, due to the order for their arrest posed by Rodrigo Borgia.

Ezio reported the news to Antonio, and mentions that his quest for the Apple of Eden was to be postponed. He then prepared to make his way to Barcelona in Spain, to make an effort to free the Assassins and get closer to Rodrigo. Antonio compliments Ezio, and told him that there was a Thieves' Guild in Barcelona with connections to the one run by Antonio, and thus it would be easy to gain the trust of the Thieves there. Antonio also stated that, while Ezio was in Barcelona, he should assassinate two other Templars that had also taken part in the jailing of Assassins.

Barcelona

Finding the Spanish Assassins' Guild

As Ezio walked through the streets of Barcelona, he noticed that the guards on the duty seemed to be novices. Ezio set out to murder the two targets Antonio had mentioned, suspecting that at least one of them knew the current location of the captured Assassins.

On his way, Ezio encountered a civilian who stated nothing more than the location of a secret entrance, before walking away. Ezio trusted that the civilian was an ally, likely a thief or an Assassin, and thus followed his instructions to the

Ezio in combat with the Spanish Guard

secret entrance.

Entering through a hatch on a rooftop, Ezio soon found himself in an abandoned Assassins' Guild. He is saddened by the emptiness, but abruptly needs to defend himself as four guards enter the room.

Ezio dispatched them without mercy, but on his way out, he encountered a Brute, much like the one in Venice, albeit with a two-handed sword. The Brute charged Ezio, who quickly rolled past him and escaped from yet another brutal encounter. After exiting the guild, Ezio found a platoon of guards chasing him, and thus ran through the streets to escape.

The Assassination of Gaspar Martinez

File:Gaspar.jpg

Gaspar Martinez

Ezio took a detour through the Barcelona sewer, and began to recollect what had just happened. However, it was not long until Ezio felt the presence of another person, pausing as the man leapt in front of him and asked what he was doing. Ezio, thinking the man was merely a civilian, told him to step aside. As Ezio began to walk past him, he stops short when the man asks him if he was a Florentine Assassin. Ezio turns swiftly and questions the man, who assures Ezio to relax, and simply states that he had seen the mark of the Assassins on his finger, and his Florentine clothing was a dead give-away.

Ezio approached the man and asks him to expound on his knowledge of the Assassins.

Ezio: "What do you know of the Assassins?"

The Man: "Only that I am one of them, sir. My name is Raphael Sanchez. I arrived here in (Barcelona) this morning, bound to the same errand as you."

Ezio: "Do you know who betrayed us to the Inquisitors?"

Raphael: "Not yet, but we know the name of the Inquisitor Prosecutor responsible for their arrests. Gaspar Martinez."

—Raphael sharing crucial information about Gaspar Martinez with Ezio.

File:Raphael.jpg

Raphael Sanchez

Ezio, now on the Barcelona rooftops, began his hunt for Gaspar Martinez, whom he found standing on a balcony looking out over Barcelona. Ezio scaled up the building and onto the balcony, surprising Gaspar and causing him to retreat nervously back against the wall.

Ezio approached Gaspar and asked him who had given him the names of the imprisoned Assassins, to which Gaspar simply responds, "What do you mean, 'Assassins'? My dungeons are for heretics." Ezio sighed, but Gaspar stated that whoever those men were, it would not matter for much longer as

File:Gaspardie.jpg

The Assassination of Gaspar Martinez.

they would soon be executed one by one. He then told Ezio that an execution was being prepared for one of the heretics right at that moment. Gaspar laughed, but he was soon silenced as Ezio angrily told him that, if the man died, he would keep the stake fire burning until the whole city was a cinder, before plunging his blade into the Templar and killing him.

Ezio searched Gaspar's body and found a list of names, those of the captured Assassins. Ezio set out to save the current Assassin at risk, as well as find Raphael to show him the list.

Ezio ran swiftly through the city streets in an effort to stop the Assassin from being burned at the stake, dodging guards who had been alerted to his presence and had given chase. Upon reaching the still unharmed Assassin, Ezio leapt down from a nearby rooftop and engaged in combat with the guards surrounding him.

Ezio finally helps the captured Assassin to his feet, and they proceed to Raphael, who had been watching from a nearby rooftop. Raphael thanked Ezio for his help, but Ezio simply gives him the list of names. Raphael stated that he knew the listed men and told Ezio that they were being held in Zaragoza, in the kingdom of Aragon. Ezio told Raphael that Zaragoza would thus be his next destination, and asked if Raphael would join him. Raphael responded that, though his fighting skills were dwindling, he would provide aid instead as a guide, as well as find shelter for the freed Assassins.

Ezio and Raphael then began their long journey to Zaragoza.

Zaragoza

Finding the Assassins

Upon arrival in Zaragoza, Ezio and Raphael parted ways. Before leaving, Raphael told Ezio to seek out the Inquisition's Calificador, Pedro Llorente, saying that he might be "persuaded" to tell reveal where the six Assassins were being imprisoned. Ezio was then left to his own devices, as Raphael said that his face was known to the Inquisitors, and that he would need an alibi if Llorente was to suffer an untimely fate.

Ezio then began to prowl the city looking for his target, but finding Llorente turned out to be easier than Ezio thought. Not long into his search, he came across Llorente speaking to none other than Spain's Inquisitor General, Tomas Torquemada himself. Llorente humbly welcomed his superior, who had arrived unexpectedly, but Torquemada rebuffed his pleasantries. The two men turned their attention to an Assassin that had been recently captured, with Pedro stating that the prisoner had refused to "convert or confess." Incensed, Torquemada had the Assassin executed by a Brute, telling him before he died that other prisoners before him had been terrified, even though they felt God was on their side. Torquemada went on, saying that it was unbelievable that the Assassin was not afraid at all, considering that, like all his people, he refused the concept of God completely.

After the Assassin's execution, Torquemada was heard to say, "Rodrigo Borgia was right to have me arrest you and your cohorts... Your lack of faith is a disease." The Inquisitor General then left, remarking coldly, "Let the heretic bleed." For Ezio, this confirmed that Rodrigo was ordering the Spanish Inquisitors to destroy the Assassins in Spain to keep them from interrupting his plans. With his worst fears confirmed, Ezio raced to save the remaining five Assassins from sharing their brother's fate.

Ezio made his way through the sewers of Zaragoza to find and save the other Assassins. Unfortunately, guards were everywhere, but Ezio was able to dispatch them with ease. As he made his way through the tunnels, Ezio found the Assassins imprisoned at different points, stopping to save them one by one; though he was only able to free four of them. News of Ezio's efforts spread quickly, and when Pedro caught word of the Assassins' escape, he was enraged. He then ordered his guard to keep watch over the last remaining prisoner, or else "Torquemada himself will personally supervise your disembowling." However, the extra security proved useless, as Ezio was easily able to rescue the fifth and final Assassin. Ezio then made his escape via a Leap of Faith.

The Assassination of Pedro Llorente

Upon escaping the Inquisitor guards, Ezio met up again with Raphael Sanchez, who expressed gratitude on seeing that "the shadows of [his] city are moving again." Ezio shared what he had learned from his eavesdropping, and Raphael informed him of Torquemada's position. Ezio mentioned that Rodrigo Borgia had ordered the imprisonment and execution of the Spanish Assassins' Guild, and at this, Raphael cursed their bad luck, stating that he and his fellows had suspected contact between the Templars and Inquisitors all along. Raphael went on to say that Llorente would be easy to track in Zaragoza, but looking for Torquemada would be another story, to which Ezio replied, "I'm a patient man, Sanchez." then he left to deal with Llorente.

After sneaking past and killing numerous guards, Ezio confronted Pedro in the city square. After being rebuked by the Inquisitor, Ezio demanded of Pedro how he had been contacted by the Templars. Pedro scoffed at Ezio's claims, insisting that the Templars had been disgraced and disbanded in 1312, quipping, "Rumors of their activites are as reliable as fairy tales." Ezio responded that, if that were the case, they couldn't be around to save Pedro. He then struck down the Inquisitor on the spot and retreated back to Raphael.

When the two met, Ezio reported his murder of Pedro, but also that he had not seen nor heard from Torquemada. Raphael replied that he had expected as much, adding that Queen Isabella hadn't told him that the Inquisitor General would be in town. Flabbergasted and stunned, Ezio asked how Raphael was able to speak to the Queen of Spain, to which Raphael answered that he served her court as Royal Treasurer. Ezio expressed amazement that an Assassin was able to infiltrate the highest ranks of the Spanish Royal Court, as the Templars were more proficient at gaining favor and working their way into positions of power in Europe. Raphael assured him that Isabella and her husband, King Ferdinand, knew nothing of him being an Assassin, but also warned him that, though they held one of the Queen's ears, the Templars held the other. Raphael offered to explain more, but Ezio politely declined, saying it would be best that he return home to Italy. Raphael, however, was adamant, insisting that the Templars had a horrible scheme in the works to assume control of Spain. Thus, putting his priorities aside and surrendering once more to his sense of duty, Ezio followed his brother Assassin south to the Moorish stronghold of Granada.