Venetian conspiracy

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After learning from a letter taken from one of the Pazzi Conspirators, Ezio Auditore da Firenze learns that the Templar's presence was not limited to Florence only, for the letter made mention of the city of Venice. This, paired with the fact a man from Venice was present during the meeting at the countryside of Tuscany, proves that the Templars intend ill upon the city. With the intention of stopping the Templar's plans, Ezio makes his way to the floating city.

Side-Trip to Forli

Trouble at the Mountains

Leonardo: "Venezia! Such a beautiful city! So many sources of inspiration! Ponte di Rialto, Piazza San Marco, L'Arsenale..."

Ezio: "Shh!"

Leonardo: "What's wrong?"

Ezio: "We're not alone"

—Ezio, detecting the presence of Borgia's men

Ezio made his way to the Apennine Mountains, where he managed to catch up with Leonardo da Vinci, who was having trouble with his carriage. Ezio helps him by lifting the carriage as Leonardo fixes the wheel. As he did, Ezio sees from the back of the carriage, a bat-like contraption made of wood. When he asked Leonardo, he revealed that it is an invention that can make man fly. Laughing about the subject, Ezio climbs aboard the carriage along with Leonardo, and then made their way to Venice.

File:EzioLeo1.jpg

Ezio and Leonardo at the Apennine Mountains

While Leonardo was fantasizing the beautiful sites of Venice, Ezio hears a faint noise. Just then, the silence was broken by soldiers on horseback attacking the carriage, presumed to be Borgia's men who was searching for Ezio. Leonardo hides in the carriage as Ezio tried to fend off the attackers by trying to manoeuvre the carriage into shaking them off.

As he continued to make his way out of the countryside, soldiers light the small, wooden bridge along the way, but it wasn't enough to hinder Ezio's progress, as he managed to make it through the burning bridge unscathed. Continuing onward, as the soldiers tried to further damage the vessel, Ezio asks Leonardo to go on without him, and tells him that he will catch up.

Taking command over the vessel, Leonardo leaves the mountains, as Ezio fended off the attackers. After a tedious fight, Ezio successfully dispatches all of them. After this, Ezio made his way out of the countryside, and soon found himself in Forli.

Damsel in Distress

Leonardo: "Be careful, Ezio. Do you know who that was?"

Ezio: "My next conquest?"

Leonardo: "I don't think so, Ezio! That's Caterina Sforza, daughter of the Duca di Milano…"

—Leonardo, informing Ezio on whom he just met

It was 1481, and Ezio, making his way through the city and out at the countryside, managed to reach the harbor where Leonardo was waiting for him. Expecting a simple passage to the boat, he was stopped on his tracks by the ferry man, saying that he needs a pass to enter the boat since Leonardo couldn't provide one. Just then, Ezio hears a call for help by a woman who was stranded at a small land form. He gets a hold of a gondola and rowed it to the woman's direction. Taking her back to the harbor, she revealed her name to be Caterina Sforza. Caterina, returning the favor to Ezio, talked to the ferryman to grant Ezio safe passage on to the boat.

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Ezio and Leonardo, en route to Venice, with Caterina Sforza still visible at the background

Leonardo informed Ezio on who she was after he boarded the boat. He reveals that Caterina Sforza was the husband of Girolamo Riario, the count of Forli, and also the Duke of Milan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza. Leonardo continues, and says that it is best that Ezio should refrain from doing anything that he might regret. Ezio only replied a faint chuckle, and remarked that she is his type of lady. After this, the boat continued en route to Venice.

Venice

Settling in

Ezio arrives at Venice with Leonardo, who was organizing his things along the Ponte di Rialto. As they conversed, the two was greeted by Alvise, who was instructed by Leonardo's employer to give him a short tour of Venice. Ezio and Leonardo walked the streets of Venice, with Alvise as their guide, he who pointed out the city's most famous landmarks, such as the Rialto Bridge, an old church, the Venetian Markets, and the Palazzo dela Seta. Along the tour, they see guards abusing merchants about their right to sell at their stands, and if neglected, they quickly use force to make them leave.

Alvise explained to Leonardo and Ezio, while looking at the large Palazzo, that the man who resided at the Palazzo's premises, the wealthy Emilio Barbarigo, wanted to unite all of the Venetian Merchants under his banner. He continues, and mentions that there are some who refuse to cooperate, and often resulted in unwanted violence. Alvise thinks of it as nonsense, as Ezio look on at the Palazzo, seeing the guards abuse their authority even further.

The tour continues, and as they walked further into the city, Ezio catches sight of a woman dressed in rags, rudely knocking him over as he conversed with Leonardo. After this, the tour concluded with Alvise introducing Leonardo to his new workshop, and boasted that they spared no expense in making it as presentable as possible, remarking that it is as if Leonardo never left Florence. Leonardo, giving Alvise a simple thanks, asks Ezio if he is to stay. Ezio replies that he plans to gain an audience with Emilio, the man who lived at the Palazzo.

Leonardo remarks that his door is always open for Ezio if he is in need of help, or assistance in deciphering a Codex page. Ezio and Leonardo then hugged each other brotherly, bidding each other farewell. After this, Leonardo prepares to organize his belongings, as Ezio leaves for the Palazzo.

The Venetian Thieves

"Don't look so surprised. We know all about you, Ser Ezio. Your work in Florence and the rest of Tuscany. Good work too, if a little unrefined."

―Antonio, on Ezio's work in Florence and Tuscany

Ezio, looking through the small passage to the Palazzo from afar, plans his move to enter the heavily guarded fortress, but sees no other way, other than a window with a gap Ezio can't jump. As he looked for another way, men in rags suddenly ran towards the guards, breaching the Palazzo, thus causing the guards to give chase. As the guards leave, however, the same woman Ezio bumped into earlier during the tour, suddenly appears, and tries to climb the Fortress' walls. The woman amazingly jumped the large gap, but it proved to be a vain effort, as Archers guarding the rooftops opposite the building managed to land an arrow on the woman's thigh, injuring her, and causing her to fall.

The woman, fleeing the Palazzo, came to Ezio, catching her breath. She asks for his assistance, as Ezio recalls her face. When Ezio offered his help, the woman asked him to take her to the water, much to Ezio's confusion. Before he could ask anything, the woman quickly fled after seeing more of the guards headed their way. Ezio follows the woman through the streets of Venice, and along the way, dispatched all of the soldiers that stood in their way. When Rosa was no longer able to continue, she fell to her knees, gasping for her breath. Ezio carries her with him to safety, and as he did, he learns the woman's name; Rosa. When Ezio revealed his, however, he learns that she already knew his name, much to Ezio's confusion.

As he carried Rosa to safety, Ezio reaches one of the edges of the canal, with Rosa's friends awaiting her with a gondola in tow. Ezio leaves her with her friends so they can attend to her needs at the moment. However, they soon learn that there are guards stationed by the canal, ready to finish what they began at the streets of Venice. Ezio takes it upon himself to deal with these guards as the gondola carrying Rosa moved through the canal. After Ezio took out one guard after another, the gondola successfully makes it way to safety, as it reaches the Venetian Thieves Guild. After positioning the gondola, Rosa's friend tried effortlessly to take her to the other thieves by carrying her, but only inflicted more pain. Out of her rage, she angrily demanded her friend to fetch Antonio. Ezio suggests that it is best to leave Rosa to his care. Both agree, as both do as they're told.

Ezio carries her to the other men, and carefully places her on a work table cleared by the thieves. Just then, the man Rosa called for, Antonio, comes to Rosa's aid. He sees the bolt, and carefully examines it. Rosa demanded it to be removed, out of her rage. Antonio then proceeds to break the bolt's lower half, and then pulling the other half out. He then instructs Ezio, who was watching it all unfold, to get a clean piece of cloth, and very quickly, place it on top of the wound after he removes his hand. He successfully does, and the man deem the effort a success, as the thieves carry Rosa back to the base, who was screaming and loudly cursing Antonio while being taken away.

Antonio then thanks Ezio for his assistance. He reveals that he and his people knew him from his work in Florence and the rest of Tuscany, commenting that it was quite remarkable, if not unrefined. He then asks him to come to his office when he has some spare time, for they have much to discuss.

Preparations

"Our failure at the Palazzo cost us dearly. It will take time to recover. No doubt Emilio will use this pause to strengthen his defences, and continue his oppression of the district. You may not share our motive, but I know you share our goal."

―Antonio, on the failure at the Palazzo della Seta

Ezio comes to Antonio's office, who offered him some coffee, a drink still unfamiliar to some of the Italians. Antonio then tells him that their efforts have been wasted yet again, remarking that they need time to recover. He asks Ezio for help, remarking that although he has a different motive, they both share the same goal. Ezio asks why not just regroup, and try again. Antonio remarks that if they are to act in haste, it would only result in more casualties. He continues, saying that they should resupply, and plan anew. Ezio tells him that he can't just sit around and wait. Antonio tells him to help instead of wait in order to hasten the preparations, and tells him to seek out his men for work. Ezio agrees to this, and proceeds to leave the office, in order to help the thieves.

His first job was from one of Antonio's men to inspect three sectors of the Venice, where they have seen their allies caged by the guards. After inspecting these areas, Ezio was able to set all of the thieves free. He is then instructed by Antonio to get rid of the traitors of the guild, who was reporting their actions to the guards. After successfully doing so, Ezio was then tasked to steal a new shipment of archer uniforms from chests located all over the Middle District. After doing so, he delivers the uniforms to the guild via gondola. The preparations spanned a total of four years, with Ezio constantly aiding the guild, all the while learning from them, such as new methods of climbing and scaling buildings and scaffoldings.

By 1485, all of the preparations was deemed complete by Antonio, and then instructs Ezio to meet him at his office, where he will inform him of the plan to takeover the Palazzo dela Seta once more.

The Corrupt Merchant

Ezio: "Do not be afraid."

Emilio: "I feel no fear, assassin. Only regret. I sought unity. Stability. Order."

Ezio: "At too great a cost"

—Ezio to Emilio, moments before dying

Antonio, finally ready to initiate the takeover, fills Ezio in on his role on the attack. He is to dispose of the archers guarding the Palazzo opposite the building, where their archers will pose as the disposed guards. Afterwards, he is instructed to meet him and the others on a nearby area no too far from where he is now. Ezio agrees to this, and after successfully dispatching the guards, he meets up with Antonio and Rosa. He is then instructed by Antonio to dispose the guards on the ground level by using his men. Ezio agrees to this, and leaves to return to the Palazzo's footsteps.

Ezio, with thieves in tow, orders them to cause a distraction in order to open a way for him. Successfully doing so, Ezio quietly sneaked inside the Palazzo. Scaling the walls using the methods taught to him by Rosa, Ezio managed to reach the top of the Palazzo unscathed and undetected. From there, he was able to observe a brief conversation between his target, Emilio Barbarigo, and another man named Carlo, who, based on his appearance, was a government official. The official thought it was best for Emilio to leave his Palazzo, for the assassin was seen on numerous occasions around Venice, much to Emilio's surprise. He was shocked by the sudden announcement of the assassin's presence, which the official quickly reprimanded.

Emilio remarks that he has been busy because of the constant orders of weapons that he has been receiving. Whatever the case was, the official left, bidding Emilio safety. The Merchant, fearing the assassin's possible presence, orders his men to fetch him a boat. Wasting no time, Ezio made his way inside the Palazzo, and then slew the old merchant. Before dying, Emilio admitted that he felt no fear, but regret, for he only sought unity and order. The guards that inhabited the Palazzo was then taken down by Rosa and the thieves who posed as archers. Ezio, after speaking words of respect for the Emilio's corpse, comes along with Rosa to open the Palazzo doors for Antonio and the others.

Antonio gleefully greets Ezio on his success, and remarks that they are now free of Emilio's tyranny. When asked for what he wanted in return, Ezio only asked for two things; Money, and the full name of a government official by the name of Carlo. He received both from Antonio, a sack of Florins, and the name Carlo Grimaldi, a member of the Council of Ten. After this, Ezio leaves the Palazzo, as the thieves celebrate on the victory they won.

Meeting at the Streets of Venice

"The plan is this: Doge Mocenigo will die tonight. And once the deed's been done, Marco shall take his place."

―Rodrigo Borgia

After some time of scouring Venice, Ezio locates some of the Templar's officers, and eavesdrops on their conversation. He spots Silvio Barbarigo and Carlo Grimaldi, who, presumed from their greetings, lacked trust for each other. As they moved, so did Ezio. Carlo reveals that he has been trying to befriend and gain the trust of Doge Mocenigo but reveals that Mocenigo keeps his personal circle close, and has others giving him suggestions and opinions. Carlo continues, telling him that befriending the Doge was harder than expected, due to the fact that Mocenigo doesn't hold him in high regard. Silvio sarcastically wonders aloud why, to which Carlo quickly answers that it is not his fault. Silvio continued to belittle him, calling him that he is coming of as a sycophant to Moncenigo, rather than a friend. Carlo, enraged, angrily answered back to Silvio, telling him that he does not know what it is like to be in his position. Continuing his tirade, Carlo reveals that he is close to recruiting Mocenigo to the their cause, and only asks for more time.

Arriving at the courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale, the two meet up with Silvio's cousin, Marco Barbarigo and his personal bodyguard, Dante Moro. He quickly reveals the death of Emilio, telling him that the assassin has managed to strike the merchant in his own Palazzo. He continues, saying that their plans have changed, and reveals that it must happen before the week ends, despite Grimaldi's pleas. He then reveals, as they walk, that Rodrigo Borgia has arrived from Rome in order to dictate the others on their plans. Making their way to the meeting place, the three speculate who is to become the Doge once Mocenigo is dealt with. Favoring themselves, they were quickly reprimanded by Borgia, who tells them that it was never up to them to decide. Borgia reveals their new scheme; They plan to murder Doge Mocenigo by nightfall, and after doing so, he is to be replaced by Marco as the new Doge of Venice.

Leaving the poison to Silvio's care, and the poisoning to Carlo's, the group arrive at the Rialto Bridge at the end of their discussion. Marco asks why Borgia has come to Venice, just to handle their plans and roles. He tells them that he feels the need to involve himself more directly, due to the Pazzi's failure at Florence. Silvio then reassures him of any worry, and continues by mocking the Pazzi. Borgia, quickly reprimanded him, saying that it was due to the assassin's meddling that brought the Pazzi into rubble, and not because of their arrogance and foolishness. He then continues, saying that they should keep an eye out for the assassin, and be cautious not to underestimate him. After this, he leaves the plans to the Barbarigo's care, as he returns to Rome.

Ezio, who was observing from afar, quickly lost trace of the Templar's tracks. Concerning himself on the business with Mocenigo, he proceeds to make his way to the Palazzo della Seta, now a den for the thieves he befriended, in order to speak with Antonio.

A Way at the Skyline

Consulting with Antonio, Ezio reveals what he has learned from the meeting. Telling Antonio the scheme to murder the Doge, Ezio is accompanied to the Palazzo Ducale by Antonio in order to find a way inside.