Mission to Aragon

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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

The Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze, after assisting his allies, Luis Santangel and Christoffa Corombo, discovered that Rodrigo Borgia, who feared for his life, was hiding in Spain. Christoffa's Atlas, a map detailing the discoveries of the New World, which was now in the possession of the Spanish Inquisitors, also lay in hidden in the country. Ezio sought to recover this atlas, and find Rodrigo.

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 was saddened by the emptiness of the guild. He abruptly had to defend himself as four guards entered 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.

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 stopped short when the man asks him if he was a Florentine Assassin.

Ezio turned swiftly and questioned the man, who assured 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.

The Assassination of Gaspar Martinez

File:Gaspar.jpg

Gaspar Martinez

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

Raphael: "Only that I am one of them, sir. My name is Raphael Sánchez. 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, the Spanish Assassin, sharing crucial information about Gaspar Martinez with Ezio Auditore

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

File:Raphael Sanchez.jpg

Raphael Sánchez.

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 responded, "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 helped 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 gave 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 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 disemboweling." 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 Sánchez, who expressed gratitude on

File:Pedro.jpg

Pedro Llorente

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, Sánchez." 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 activities 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 returned 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.

Granada

Weakening of Granada's Finest

Raphael and Ezio Auditore advanced towards the entrance of Granada, according to Raphael Granada (at the time) was unstable and minor battles and wars took place frequently. One side, the Moors, continued to fight; Raphael suggested that the Moors would soon have victory due to their nearly developed siege equipment. Ezio shrugged and asked Raphael of the plan, to which he replied that "it was nothing serious, but a mere sweep of the area." Their goal was to penetrate the guard forces and weaken their command, as well as scout a potential path in order to get closer to Ezio's target.

Being marked on his map, Ezio's prey, the captain guards, were easy to find. Stationed on rooftops, Ezio impaled, stabbed and pulled guards off ledges. He was soon approached by Raphael; who said that the job was soon to be done. He explained that almost all guard captains were dead; though some still remained, and that they were bashing civilians in an effort to interrogate them concerning the deaths of their fellow soldiers. Ezio sought justice and Raphael sought peace and a better future for Granada. They both set out to save the civilians. Raphael told Ezio that they would meet in a chapel to the east when their jobs were done.

Hours had passed as Ezio finished the job: the majority of the civilians were saved. Soon before his arrival at the chapel, Ezio was ambushed by over a dozen soldiers. Ezio slew them all, but was almost bested. He walked into the outskirts of Granada, retaining some major injuries that would later be healed by Raphael Sánchez.

Upon his arrival at the chapel, Ezio was told by Raphael that a Templar spy was in Granada, fetching information about it's King for the Templars (who were to aid the Moors in their siege of Granada).

Ezio travelled through the city of Granada to search for the spy, who escaped to the underground catacombs. Ezio then traversed the same catacombs to find Juan de Marillo and kill him. He stealthily came across Torquemada talking to him, saying that he was surprised that the Queen let the Moor King live. He ordered Juan to expel anyone who denied allegiance to the Pope and kill anyone who refused to leave. He left with Juan's guard captain, leaving the spy alone. Ezio ran up behind the spy and assassinated him before he could do any more harm.

He returned to Luis, only to find that Corombo had left for Paris to finance his journey. Ezio found him before he could be harmed and killed his attacker. With the Queen's change of heart, Corombo was financed to travel to the New World safely.

The unexpected events

Ezio was about to leave for Italy, to find the Apple, but before he could Luis was alerted that Torquemada had sent Inquisitors to kill him. Ezio went around the palace and sealed off all the doors to stop any further attacks. He saved Luis and then went to stop Raphael from being killed, and both told him to bring Torquemada to justice. He infiltrated Torquemada's palace and eventually found him, but before he could kill him some gates barred and blocked him from Torquemada. He then returned to Luis and Raphael with the news, and set off back to Italy.

Source

• Assassin's Creed II: Discovery