First Order

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First Order was a virtual representation of one of Basim Ibn Ishaq's genetic memories relived through the Animus.

Description

Basim is tasked with his first assassination of an Order member.

Dialogue

Basim met with his mentor Roshan outside their meeting room with Ali ibn Muhammad.

• Roshan: Come, Basim.

Basim followed Roshan to the outskirts of the Water Mill, where they got onto horses. They ride towards the Caravanserai.

• 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.

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: That is Mas'ood, on the balcony. Just as Ali described.
• Roshan: I see him.

Roshan handed Basim a feather.

• 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 oversees the digging excavations where countless people have died, and the caravanserai, where he locates manpower for his work.

• 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.

Approach 1Approach 2Approach 3

Near the main gate of the caravanserai., 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?

I may be able to help.Can't help you.

• 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: Ready your camel. I will see what I can do.

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: 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: 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.

Basim mingled with the merchant and his group of followers as they entered the caravanserai while bypassing the guards.

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!

What can I do to help?I need to consider my options.

• 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: 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.

(Pay)(Don't pay)

• 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: 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?

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 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.

• Al-Ghul: La'anaka Allah. (May God curse you.)
• 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: 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 does 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: 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)
• 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 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: 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.

References

• Assassin's Creed: Mirage