William of Montferrat

"We'll see how sweet they are... the fruits of your labors. You do not free the cities as you believe, but damn them. And in the end, you'll have only yourself to blame. You who speak of good intentions..."

―William of Montferrat

William of Montferrat was secretly a Templar and Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's fifth target, assigned to him by Al Mualim. He was located in the rich district of Acre. He trained many of King Richard's men and was known to be very skilled in combat.

Biography

Regent of Acre

"The city belongs to its people!"

―William of Montferrat

At some point during his life, William joined the secret organization known as the Knights Templar, plotting their rule over the Holy Land and aiding his Templar brothers in guarding the Apple of Eden's secrets.

As Altaïr arrived in Acre and began his investigation into William's life, he soon discovered that William was stealing food and money from the citizens. He also learned that the relation between King Richard and William was tense.

He later made his way to the front of the King's Citadel where he witnessed King Richard and William arguing. William expressed his fear that the King judged him too quickly and did not trust him enough. Outraged by this, King Richard responded that he had left William as Acre's regent. William tried to fix his error, but Richard left in a fit of rage. After observing the heated discussion safely under the cloak of the noble crowd, Altaïr infiltrated the fortress in search of his target. He finally came to a corner keep, a small fortress within the fortress. From above, Altaïr listened as William belittled his men with razor barbed insults, intended on encouraging them towards better performance and a stronger sense of duty.

Death

File:Assassins-creed2.jpg

Altaïr assassinating William with his hidden blade.

Altaïr silently and skillfully eliminated the archers, then moved into position. He patiently watched and waited for William to position himself for his own death. As William continued his speech, he slowly paced toward a scaffold, giving Altaïr the opportunity he had been preparing for. Altaïr then leapt down and assassinated William with his hidden blade.

With his dying words, William told Altaïr that he was not stealing resources from the citizens, but was simply holding them to be distributed fairly when the time was right. Altaïr remarked that he knew William intended to give the city to his son Conrad, to which William responded that the city did not belong to anyone but its people. Before Altaïr could ask any more questions, William died, and the Assassin made his escape from the fortress.

Characteristics and personality

Although not a giant of a man, William of Montferrat was nevertheless set in the belief that might makes right, and he spent countless hours training and berating his men, to prepare them for the "coming war." Oddly enough, few of his soldiers had actually joined King Richard's march to the Arsuf Plains, leading people to wonder what "war" he was talking about.

William constantly demanded perfection from his men, and was both quick to point out flaws, and reluctant to give praise. He was often shouting, and rarely seemed happy. At the time before his assassination, he was expecting a visit from King Richard himself, and although the king had placed him in charge of Acre on his behalf, William was waiting for the meeting with a mixture of trepidation and annoyance. When two of his soldiers were caught whoring and drinking while on duty, he killed them as a sign of consequence for his fellow soldiers to remember.

Final words

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William's demise

• Altaïr: Rest now. Your schemes are at an end.
• William: What do you know of my work?
• Altaïr: I know that you were going to murder Richard and claim Acre for your son, Conrad.
• William (laughing): For Conrad?! My son is an arse, unfit to lead his host, let alone a kingdom! And Richard? He also knows no better... blinded as he is by faith in the insubstantial. Acre does not belong to either of them.
• Altaïr: Then who?
• William: The city belongs to its people!
• Altaïr: How can you claim to speak for the citizens?! You stole their food, disciplined them without mercy, forced them into service under you!
• William: Everything I did, I did to prepare them for the "New World." Stole their food? No, I took possession, so that when the lean times came, it might be rationed properly. (coughs, choking). Look around: my district is without crime- save those committed by you and your ilk!- and as for the conscription, they were not being trained to fight: they were being taught the merits of order and discipline. These things are hardly evil.
• Altaïr: No matter how noble you believe your intentions, these actions are cruel and cannot continue!
• William (laughing): We'll see how sweet they are, the fruits of your labors. You do not free the cities as you believe, but rather damn them! And in the end, you'll have only yourself to blame... you, who speak of good intentions.

Trivia

• The choice of William as a target for Altaïr was probably inspired by the fact that, historically, his son, Conrad, was murdered by the Assassins in Tyre. In reality, William would have been an old man during the events of the game.
• A glitch may occur in-game if you allow William to chase you to the upper walls of citadel. From there, it is possible to climb on top of the battlements and push him off into the sea below when he climbs after you. A message will then notify you that you have failed the mission, since your target has "escaped."
• Historically, William was actually the fifth named of Montferrat, and he was additionally known as "William the Old," to differentiate him from his eldest son. Aside from his death in 1191, he differs in published reports from the man Altaïr met in Acre.
• Jade Raymond, producer of the game, revealed that originally they planned to have Conrad of Montferrat in the game. Their research indicated that he wasn't killed in 1191, but William, Conrad's father, was located in Acre in the same period. In order to maintain the historical accuracy of the project, William was inserted into the game instead.

Gallery

• Altaïr observing William and Richard from the crowd.
  Altaïr observing William and Richard from the crowd.
• William of Montferrat talking to one of his guards.
  William of Montferrat talking to one of his guards.

Sources

• Assassin's Creed