Bleeding The Leech

Bleeding The Leech was a virtual representation of one of Eivor Varinsdottir's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan in 2020 through the Portable Animus HR-8.5.

Description

Eivor met with Erke Bodilsson at the docks to hunt down the Order of the Ancients member known as The Leech.

Dialogue

Eivor found Erke at the docks, looking over a pile of bodies covered with a bloody sheet. More lay strewn across the docks and floating in the the river around them.

• Eivor: Is this The Leech's work?
• Erke: Ja, new corpses, every day.

People are scaredHow many bodies?Your lead

• Eivor: If you're the only target for your people's fear, then they will turn on you.
• Erke: They're scared. If I am to be redeemed, I owe them The Leech.
• Eivor: How many bodies is that now?
• Erke: A score has been uncovered. Definitely The Leech's work.
• Eivor: How can you be sure?

• Eivor: How many bodies is that now?
• Erke: A score has been uncovered. Definitely The Leech's work.
• Eivor: How can you be sure?

• Eivor: How can you be sure?

Eivor and Erke discussing The Leech and her work

• Erke: Their eyes are scooped out, black empty caverns. Same as Tryggr's guards.
• Eivor: There must be hundreds of people passing by here each day. Anyone see them dumped?
• Erke: It's the riverbank, vinr (friend). Every crooked dealing in this city goes through here.

The Leech is the first targetThe Leech is the second target

• Erke: Heard from Stowe yet? About The Arrow?
• Eivor: The Leech is my focus just now. Does something worry you?
• Erke: Ah, no. Just checking up on the old sparrow-heart.
• Eivor: You two are close. Like brothers.

Erke hesitated for a moment.

• Erke: Ja, ja. Close like brothers you could say.

• Eivor: Stowe has seen the same. It's not only the docks.
• Erke: How is that sparrow-heart? I worry for him.
• Eivor: Soft but unsullied. He helped me find Avgos, and that's enough.
• Erke: Avgos. I had a hunch or two about the arse-blister. Should have acted.
• Eivor: Any hunches about The Leech you want to share?

Gyda worried for her missing daughter

A woman ran toward them, shouting for Erke.

• Gyda: Erke! Tell me it wasn't her!
• Erke: It wasn't your daughter, dear Gyda. Take a breath.
• Gyda: O, thank Freyja! I have such a fear I will find her down here. She works errands for a smith who sends her to these docks, most times at night. I can't stand it.

Eivor and Erke shared a look.

She works for a smith?When did she go missing?What's her name?

• Eivor: She works for a blacksmith? Do you know where?
• Gyda: Never told me his name nor where he hammers. Tight-lipped about everything, the stubborn girl.

• Eivor: When did she go missing?
• Gyda: A few days back, left after sundown. Never came home, my Regna. Gods, if I could see her again.

• Eivor: What's your daughter's name, Gyda?
• Gyda: She's Regna, named for my grandmother, born with the same eyes. One green, one blue.
• Eivor: A beautiful name.

• Gyda: I haven't seen her in two days, and fear the worst. In Lunden, you must always fear the worst.
• Eivor: What sort of job did she have?
• Gyda: Ran errands and the like. She would make a delivery, trade it for hacksilver, and scurry back to her smithy.
• Eivor: Do you know the name of the man?
• Gyda: Neinn, but I wish I did. I would box his ears and harvest his nuts.
• Eivor: Anything else you remember?
• Gyda: I had a neighbor once tell me she saw Regna lingering for a time under the Lunden Bridge. Worried me sick hearing that.
• Eivor: That's a good place to start. Thank you, Gyda.

Gyda nodded and left.

• Erke: A shady smith, a missing child. It's a lead with some weight.
• Eivor: Lunden bridge after sundown. It's worth a look.
• Erke: Good. I'll hang about here and keep things calm. And Eivor ... don't drop your guard around these docks.
• Eivor: Do I look like one who could?

Erke walked away. Around the docks, several groups of people lingered and Eivor overheard bits of conversation. First, Eivor heard a small conversation between a couple Saxons.

• Anglo-Saxon Woman 1: (humming)
• Anglo-Saxon Man 1: What's that song? I know it from somewhere.
• Anglo-Saxon Woman 1: That's the healer's song, innit? She's always singing it when she comes by.

Eivor overheard a conversation from nearby Norsemen.

• Norse Man 1: Another one's washed up!
• Norse Warrior 1: Out of the way. Let the man work.

Eivor left the docks for the bridge.

Eivor may arrive during the day at Lunden Bridge.

• Eivor: Best wait until nightfall.

Eivor observing the man from afar

Eivor found a spot to hide behind and waited till night for someone to show. A man came by, picked some equipment, and left unsuspecting.

• Eivor: Best follow him. See where this leads.

Tailed the suspectAttacked and interrogated the suspect

Eivor began tailing the suspect.

• Eivor: Can't this clod walk any faster?

The man kept walking more hastily.

• Eivor: Careful now.

The man stopped walking for a while.

• Eivor: Is this the place? Or ... No. Just meandering.

Went unseen.Eivor was spotted.

The man ran into the Bodilsburg Garrison. From outside, Eivor could hear him greeted by one of the soldiers.

• Norse Warrior 2: Have a good amble, Alff?
• Norse Man 2: I feel like a man renewed. You have yourself a good night.

The man saw Eivor following him and started running and shouting aloud. He ran into the Bodilsburg Garrison.

• Norse Man 2: Who's there? Fuck off! There's someone after me! Help! They be sticking out of the shadows!
• Norse Warrior 2: Easy there, Alff, another stray dog spook you?

Opting not to tail him in the shadows, Eivor took a more direct approach. She struck him down and interrogated him.

• Norse Warrior 2: Hold! I'll give you anything! The purse at my belt!
• Eivor: How does a rat like you come across so much silver?
• Norse Warrior 2: I... I found it?
• Eivor: Like I might find a knife at your neck?
• Norse Warrior 2: The silver's for a blacksmith at Bodilsburg Garrison! Oija. I only run errands for the man. I don't know nothing else. Put his head on the block. Not mine! Please!

Eivor made her way to the garrison. She sneaked through and overheard two of the soldiers talking.

• Norse Warrior 3: Flinched! At a torch, like she's some sort of witch.
• Norse Warrior 4: Haven't you seen the burn scars? Lost her whole clan to the flame.

Oija questioned by Eivor about The Leech

Eivor looked around the garrison and eventually found the blacksmith's workplace.

If spotted, Eivor was attacked by the guards.

• Norse Warrior 5: Thor's thunder! Keep it down out there!

Eivor entered the blacksmith's workplace to find him working at a table. He turned towards her as he heard her enter, initially expecting his courier.

• Oija: You got the purse I'm owed? Eh, who the fuck are you?

I'm the one asking questions (Fight)I'm a friend (Level 2 Charisma)I'm a member of the Order (Chance)

• Eivor: I'm the one asking questions, soot-finger. Did you craft a set of surgeon's tools for someone called The Leech?
• Oija: You thick shit! Nor Hel or Valhall will want you once I'm done.

Eivor fought and killed Oija and retrieved a blacksmith's receipt.

• Eivor: I'm a friend, Oija. Your money's with your lad.
• Oija: What have you to do with him?
• Eivor: I'm keeping him safe. Had a fear he was being followed.
• Oija: Ah, I knew he was soft. Not like my other girl. She was hard as hog's breath, that one.
• Eivor: What happened to her?
• Oija: Fell ill a few days back. So I sent her to the Good Sister Frideswid. Healer in town.
• Eivor: Sister Frideswid...
• Oija: Got broken bones, a boil on your bum, or too much birth blood? She'll mend you quick.
• Eivor: She would need a broad set of tools for such work.
• Oija: She would, and she has it. Comes to me for all her wants, and I craft for her what she needs.
• Eivor: Not any more, you don't.

Eivor fought and killed Oija and retrieved a blacksmith's receipt.

• Eivor: I am with The Order. The Leech bade me give you a message.
• Oija: The Order, eh? I'd need more testament than your word alone.

Eivor has an Order Medallion.Eivor doesn't have a medallion.

• Eivor: I have this.
• Oija: If it's silver, I'll accept it as payment.

Eivor showed the blacksmith an Order medallion.

• Eivor: You know this is no ealdorman's coin.
• Oija: Right, so ... so what's The Order miffed about? I'm doing my duty.
• Eivor: I am here about The Leech. The tools you made were unsound.
• Oija: That's not my doing! Sister Frideswid is breaking them faster than I can smith!
• Eivor: Breaking them on the bodies of the poor and unwell? We warned her against such evil.
• Oija: Now, that's not a fair read on her work. She never kills without reason.
• Eivor: That is for us to decide. Where is she now?
• Oija: Where she always is. The old forum in the shade of the Giant's Wall.
• Eivor: Thank you, brother. And keep this to yourself.

Eivor received a blacksmith's receipt from Oija and left him alive.

• Eivor: It's not your place to demand things of The Order.
• Oija: Maybe not, but I'm not saying shit until I hear something that makes me believe you are who you claim.

Never compromise The Order.The Order is Eternal.Father of Understanding guide us.

• Eivor: Never compromise The Order.
• Oija: You know piss-all, you cheat.

Eivor fought and killed Oija and retrieved a blacksmith's receipt.

• Eivor: The Order is Eternal.
• Oija: You know piss-all, you cheat.

Eivor fought and killed Oija and retrieved a blacksmith's receipt.

• Eivor: May the Father of Understanding guide you.
• Oija: Right, so ... so what's The Order miffed about? I'm doing my duty.
• Eivor: I am here about The Leech. The tools you made were unsound.
• Oija: That's not my doing! Sister Frideswid is breaking them faster than I can smith!
• Eivor: Breaking them on the bodies of the poor and unwell? We warned her against such evil.
• Oija: Now, that's not a fair read on her work. She never kills without reason.
• Eivor: That is for us to decide. Where is she now?
• Oija: Where she always is. The old forum in the shade of the Giant's Wall.
• Eivor: Thank you, brother. And keep this to yourself.

Eivor received a blacksmith's receipt from Oija and left him alive.

Tool Order:
To be delivered to the Forum
2 Set Pliers
15 Scalpels
1 Surgical Saw
1 Set Abdominal Forceps
2 Sets Surgical Scissors

Eivor discovered that a nun, Sister Frideswid, was The Leech. She escaped the garrison and headed to the Basilica and Forum.

• Eivor: This is where The Leech dissects her prey.

Around one side of the forum, she heard a woman begging one of the guards.

• Anglo-Saxon Woman 2: Please, please. My aunt came here for her cough. She never returned. It's been days, I must see her.
• Anglo-Saxon Soldier: Get out. And don't come around here again.

Within the forum, Eivor overheard a conversation between a patient and a nurse.

• Norse Man 3: It's only a cough! On the braids of Freyja, I swear I'm fit to go home.
• Anglo-Saxon Woman 3: Easy, dear. You're delirious. Let the Good Sister fix you right up.
• Norse Man 3: I don't want to die in here! I'm bound for better things!
• Anglo-Saxon Woman 3: You're not going to die, my dear. Have patience. We'll patch you up.

Eivor eavesdropped on another conversation.

• Anglo-Saxon Woman 4: She's confined herself to her studies for so many days and nights. Up to some strange alchemy there.
• Anglo-Saxon Woman 5: You do not imply the Devil's work, I pray? The Good Sister speaks to God alone. We should all follow her example in our devotion to Him.
• Anglo-Saxon Man 2: Gotta get out! Let me out!
• Norse Warrior 6: Easy! Come on, let's get back to your cot.

Inside the basilica, Eivor found her target.

• Eivor: The Good Sister, Frideswid.

As Eivor made her way through the building, she overheard a mother and her child.

• Anglo-Saxon Child 1: Mummy, my stomach hurts.
• Anglo-Saxon Woman 6: Bear up, love. The Good Sister will see that you feel better.

Eivor saw Sister Frideswid move around inside as her guards kept their posts.

• Sister Frideswid: (singing)
• Anglo-Saxon Soldier 2: Is that? No, all clear.
• Norse Warrior 7: You won't catch me going past Frideswid's office. Heard screaming last time.
• Anglo-Saxon Woman 7: God go with you, Sister Frideswid.
• Sister Frideswid: And with you, child.

Frideswid returned to her operating space at the back of the room and looked over the covered corpse of a child.

• Sister Frideswid: For the gift of your eyes, I thank you, Regna. One blue, one green. Sign of the One Reborn. So fascinating. So beautiful. Bless you. You have advanced the cause of our kind.

Eivor assassinated Sister Frideswid, ending her terror on Lunden. In the Memory Corridor, Eivor, surrounded by the shadows of corpses, walked towards Frideswid, who was kneeling over one of the shades, operating on it.

• Sister Frideswid: One more, that's all. I'm nearly finished.
• Eivor: That's enough.

Eivor and Odin confronting Frideswid

Frideswid stood up and turned. When she saw Eivor, she looked surprised.

• Sister Frideswid: Ah. It's you...

Odin stepped up behind Eivor.

• Odin: For all the dead we collect, dear sister, you and I are equals.

As Odin bowed his head towards Frideswid, the nun looked around at all the corpses.

• Sister Frideswid: Quite a charnel house. I lost count of how many. I suppose I've been greedy in my research. But not for lack of care. The Ancient Ones, the arbiters. They built us out of simple pieces. So easy to break. So difficult to mend.

Frideswid knelt down next to one of the shadow corpses again.

• Sister Frideswid: There must be an improvement. We should be stronger, faster, smarter. I could have fixed us. I could have made us better.
• Eivor: We are blood and bone and spirit, Frideswid. Perfect as we are.

Frideswid stood and faced Eivor once more.

• Sister Frideswid: You've such beautiful eyes. Finish it ... would you?

Frideswid "dragged" to her death

Frideswid held out her book of human anatomy, with her Order medallion, to Eivor. As Eivor took the book and tucked it away, two corpses began to drag Frideswid down. Accepting her fate, Frideswid closed her eyes and her spirit vanished. Back in the basilica once more, Eivor looked closer at the body on the table.

• Eivor: A young girl. Her eyes have been removed. I have a feeling this is the missing Regna.

Eivor also came across a note on her death.

Vivisection Notes:
A young girl of sixteen. Peasant. Regna she was named.

One eye blue, the other green. Imprint of the ancient ones.

What secrets will I find locked in this prison of meat and bone?

Eivor and Erke talk about Frideswid's medical journal

Eivor left the forum and returned to the docks to report to Erke. She found him seated on a bench, looking over the Thames.

• Eivor: It is done.
• Erke: Ah, The Leech is bled out. And did you catch a name?
• Eivor: A nun, name of Frideswid.
• Erke: What? The Good Sister? That can't be right. She was a saint. A healer and a... Gods. That brick fits this week's wall of shit.

You knew The Leech?I found RegnaThis is her leechbook

• Eivor: You knew her?
• Erke: She saved me. Mended a broken leg. Thought I'd lose it. But not with Frideswid. You wouldn't know it was ever broken. The sands will run backwards now. Without her, we'll return to balancing humors.
• Eivor: All of that for this. Secrets of the human form. How she saved lives.

• Eivor: Brick of shit sounds about right. She was making dog meat out of Regna when I found her.
• Erke: Fuck.
• Eivor: You knew her?
• Erke: She saved me. Mended a broken leg. Thought I'd lose it. But not with Frideswid. You wouldn't know it was ever broken. The sands will run backwards now. Without her, we'll return to balancing humors.
• Eivor: All of that for this. Secrets of the human form. How she saved lives.

• Eivor: All of that for this. Secrets of the human form. How she saved lives.

Eivor sat beside Erke on the bench.

• Erke: And how she ended them. It might be the ravings of a madwoman.
• Eivor: Not every problem has a clean solution.
• Erke: True, very true. I've built my name selling the hard fix. I'll live with it.
• Eivor: This was her fix. All her ideas and discoveries written here. Ill-gotten gains.
• Erke: I have a mind to burn that bloody tome. Is that the right call?

Burn itKeep it

The book being burned

• Eivor: Too many died for this book. It isn't worth its weight in blood.
• Erke: You're right, it would be like plucking straw from shit. Too much bad with the good.
• Eivor: Odin and Freyja weigh the worth of our lives, not some cunt in a wimple.
• Erke: Aye, get rid of it then. And tell no one of this.

Eivor tossed the book into the fire in front of her.

• Eivor: It has cures for everything. From boils to broken bones. It's worth keeping. We fight wars to save those we love, and pay in blood for what we win. This book ... This is your Good Sister's battlefield. Her kingdom.
• Eivor: You may be right. We can't return the dead to life, but their sacrifice can mean something.

• Erke: If you need me, I'll be at Saint Paul's, searching for something on The Compass. Thanks for all this, Broga.

Erke left Eivor at the docks.

Outcome

Eivor hunted down The Leech, revealed to be a nun, Sister Frideswid.

Behind the scenes

After the mission, players have the option of having Eivor keep or destroy Frideswid's medical book. While there are no ultimate consequences for either decision, keeping the book will ensure it stays in Eivor's room in her longhouse.

Gallery

• 
  Eivor and Erke observing a pile of corpses
• 
  Eivor and Erke discussing the rats infesting the docks
• 
  Tools forged by Oija for The Leech
• 
  The pile of corpses left by Frideswid
• 
  Eivor confronting Frideswid
• 
  Erke waiting at the bench

References

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla