Defense of Masyaf
- "My men do not fear death, Robert! They welcome it; and the rewards it brings!"
- ―Al Mualim to Robert de Sable.
The Siege of Masyaf was a direct result of the disastrous Assassin's mission to recover the Apple at Solomon's Temple, from the hands of the Templars. Robert de Sable, seeking the artifact and tired of the Order's interruption in Templar affairs, besieged Masyaf in an attempt to destroy the Brotherhood.
Defending the Village
After Altaïr arrived back from the temple confessing his failure, and after Malik handed over the treasure, Malik revealed that Robert de Sable was on his way to Masyaf. Several invaders were already inside the village, and Altaïr was ordered to drive them out. As he left the fortress, he met up with Rauf, who requested for his aid. Rauf asked Altaïr to distract the Templars while he helped his men move civilians inside the fortress. Afterwards, Altaïr ran down through the village and protected it as best as he could. Villagers were beaten and executed by Templars, only adding to the panic as Assassins fought Templar knights. After making an effort to defend the village, the Masyaf guards were overrun by the reinforcements of the Templar army, and had to flee back to the fortress.
Fearless
As the last of the Masyaf citizens and guards entered the fortress, Rauf got hold of Altaïr and ordered the Assassin to follow him to the top of the tower, where he and another Assassin waited on a platform extending from it. It was not long until Altaïr witnessed Robert de Sable and his army finally arrive at the fortress gates, trying to force Al Mualim to surrender. Robert threatened that he would let the village starve, and executed a hostage in an effort to intimidate Al Mualim. However, this had no effect on the master of the Assassins. Al Mualim shouted back that his men were not afraid of death; they welcomed it. Robert then provoked Al Mualim more, asking him to show evidence of this.
Altaïr and the other Assassins delivered it to him by taking a leap of faith from the tower, and appearing to throw themselves into the deep ravine. Altaïr and Rauf were successful in their leaps and landed safely in haystacks, however the third assassin badly broke his leg. Rauf requested Altaïr to proceed without him. Over long logs of wood, Altaïr crawled his way over the gorge; high above him were the cliffs that towered over the river.
Once he reached the second tower, he climbed upwards to get inside. There, he cut through a rope, which held back a huge pile of large logs. Once released, they rolled down, crushing much of Robert de Sable's army and driving him away.
Aftermath
After driving off de Sable, the Order started to repair the damage done to the village, as well as collect the dead bodies of their brethren. Al Mualim gave recognition to Altaïr for stopping the attacking Templar, but also berated him for his selfish act that was the very reason the Templars came in the first place. Al Mualim lectures Altaïr in front of his Assassin comrades and stabs him with a blade, saying that "...(he) cannot abide a traitor".