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 (1136 - 1191) was secretly a member of the Templar Order, and the fifth of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's targets assigned by Al Mualim.

William was a skilled soldier residing in the Rich District of Acre, where he trained many of King Richard's men.

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. The Assassin also learned that the relation between King Richard and William had steadily been growing strained.

Altaïr 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 attempted to apologize, but Richard left in a fit of rage.

Angered in turn by the public reprimands he had received, William returned to the citadel, and took his temper out on his men. In a corner of the keep, William began insulting his men, intending to encourage them towards a better performance, and a stronger sense of duty. To bring across his point, he had two men punished for laziness and dereliction of duty.

Death

"Everything I did, I did to prepare them for the New World."

―William's final words.

Altaïr assassinating William with his Hidden Blade.

Altaïr, who had followed William into the fortress, silently and skillfully eliminated the archers around the fortifications' perimeter. When William concluded his lecture, his men had left, and he began looking through his papers. Here, Altaïr leapt down and assassinated William with his Hidden Blade.

With his dying words, William told Altaïr that he had not been stealing resources from the citizens, but was simply stockpiling them to be distributed fairly in times of hardship. 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 perished, 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 spoke 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.

Later, when two of his soldiers were caught whoring and drinking while on duty, he killed them as an example for the rest of his men.

Final words

William's final moments.

• 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 could occur in Assassin's Creed if William pursued Altaïr to the upper walls of citadel. From there, it would be possible to climb on top of the battlements and push him off into the sea below. A message would then announce the failure of the mission, since the target had "escaped."
• Historically, William was actually the fifth named of Montferrat, and he was thus known as "William the Old" to differentiate him from his eldest son.
• Assassin's Creed producer Jade Raymond revealed that they had originally 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.
• 
  William talking to one of his guards.
• 
  William with his men inside the Citadel.

Sources

• Assassin's Creed