William of Montferrat

"The city belongs to its people."

―Will on his lasts breaths

William of Montferrat is the fifth target ordered by Al Mualim for Altaïr to assassinate. He is found in the rich district of Acre.

Description

William serves King Richard as Regent Lord of Acre, and spends most of his time training and preparing his men for the "coming war". However, few of his soldiers have actually been sent to join Richard at Arsuf, leading people to wonder what "war" he's referring to. It is implied that he was appointed by Richard to put pressure on his son Conrad who has clashed with the King.

William always demands the best from his men, and is quick to point out flaws, while being reluctant to give praise. He is often shouting, and rarely sounds happy. He is also set in the belief that might makes right, and spends countless hours training his men.

The Assassins originally believed that William planned to murder Richard and turn Acre over to Conrad, but to Altaïr's shock, William denounced his son with surprisingly vehement hatred, sneering "My son is an arse, unfit to lead his host let alone a kingdom." His true purpose was apparently to turn the city over to the Templars, and for this reason he had been taking food from the people, with the aim of insuring it would be rationed properly during "the lean times" (presumably he expected resistance to the Templar's plans), and by training and disciplining his men and people unmercifully, he hoped to instill in them the value of discipline and order, to prepare for the new world.

Death

File:Assassinscreedrumored20an8.jpg

Altaïr battles with William

William of Montferrat was assassinated within his personal quarters located in the Kings Citadel, shortly after a visit from King Richard of England, giving Altaïr the opportunity he needed to get close enough to kill him. The assassin managed to stealthily penetrate into the lord's citadel fortress, and quickly put an end to his life. After observing William's and Richard's heated discussion safely under the cloak of the noble crowd, Altaïr pierced the fortress in search of his assassination target. He finally came to a cornered keep, a small fortress within a fortress. Altaïr listened as William belittled his men with razor barbed insults intended on encouraging them for better performance and stronger sense of duty. Silently approaching and skilfully eliminating archers, Altaïr finally moved into position. Remaining highly in tune with the surrounding environment, Altaïr patiently watched and waited for William to perfectly position himself for his own death. As William continued his speech and slowly paced toward the scaffold, Altaïr quickly dropped onto it, focused on his target, and before anyone even began to take notice of the impending danger leaped towards William, his Hidden Blade fully extended. Even as William took notice of the descending assassin it was too late, for by the time he realized it he was already being forced onto his back, and his throat was punctured severely by the assassin's steel Hidden Blade. Williams public assassination is recorded as the fifth major public figure to be publicly assassinated by Altaïr, and his death is the second within Acre.

Final Words

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. (coughes chokingly). 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 labours. 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.

Behind the scenes

Jade Raymond, producer of the game, revealed that originally they planned to have Conrad of Montferrat in the game. Their researchs indicated that he wasn't killed in 1191, but William, a relative to Conrad, was located in Acre in the same period. In order to maintain the historical accuracy of the project, Will was inserted into the game instead.

Trivia

• The map used for William's stronghold and the area where his assassination in Assassin's Creed takes place is re-used in Assassin's Creed II in Desmond's dream sequence. When Altair is chasing Maria, the tower is which the sequence ends in is the very same above William's quarters.
• The choice of William as an target for Altair was probably inspired by the fact that historically, his son, Conrad, was murdered by the Assassins in Tyre in real-life.