Mission to Aragon
| This article is about in-game events. You may be looking for the Spanish Inquisition (tribunal). |
- "I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and as my father and grandfathers were before me, I am an Assassin."
- ―Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Venice, 1491
Rodrigo Borgia, who fears for his life, has stationed wanted posters all over Italy. Every guard has been alerted of the presence Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and are given orders to take him out on sight. Ezio, who was scouring the country for the Apple of Eden, is soon delayed when Antonio informs him of Borgia's current location.
Venice
The Thieves' Guild
Ezio received word from a thief that Antonio summons him for an urgent meeting, and proceeded to make his way through Venice
towards the Thieves' Guild. Guards have been ordered to hunt down Ezio on sight, and Ezio saw numerous Wanted posters on his way to the guild. Even with this at hand, Ezio managed to enter the guild unscathed.
Ezio meets with Antonio, who mentions that Luis Santangel, a stranger from Spain, is in need of some help and has heard that Ezio is the "...deadliest man in Italia...". Luis after introducing himself, tells Ezio that a friend of his, Christoffa Corombo is attending a meeting with Rodrigo Borgia. Ezio's posture brightens a bit as Luis continues. He suspects that it is a trap, as the meeting was called a mere day or two after Christoffa stumbled onto a significant artifact.
Ezio agrees to protect Christoffa, but states that he is not a hired blade, stating that he is only doing the job for Borgia. Ezio thanks Luis for the opportunity, but states that he does not want to meddle with Christoffa's affairs.
A Favor For a Friend
Ezio proceeds to the meeting, being careful not to alert any of the guards. Seeing an opportunity, Ezio makes his way to the rooftops where civilians do not linger.
After jumping and scaling a few rooftops, Ezio spots Christoffa speaking to a Guard through a window. Christoffa is complaining that Rodrigo hasn't shown up yet. The guard acts silent at first, but after a few minutes of complaining. The guard walks forward to Christoffa and tells him that Rodrigo has changed plans, he then draws his sword and pokes Christoffa with it. The guard says in a grim fashion that Rodrigo has no need for Christoffa and is about to strike.
Before the guard gets a chance to silence Christoffa, Ezio kicks down the door and prepares to enter combat, Ezio stabs at the guard's legs and punches his stomach area, and unwinds his hidden blade from his fist, impaling the guard, and then throws the guard's corpse off the blade and onto the floor.
Christoffa thanks Ezio kindly as Ezio tells why he saved him. He then questioned Christoffa, about how he arranged a meeting with Borgia, but Christoffa said that 'The Spaniard' miraculously found him after finding a certain artifact in an expedition and wanted to fund it.
Moments later, Guards stormed through the door. Ezio slew them as he told Christoffa to escape while he diverts the guard's attention. Ezio runs into the open street in an effort to distract the attention of the guards after Christoffa. Christoffa and Ezio get away safely and make it back to the Thieves Guild to report to Luis and Antonio.
Ezio, however arrived a bit later than Christoffa to the guild. When he gets there, Antonio states that they have already left and are waiting for Ezio in a building near the Garden District. Ezio, seemingly tired, asks Antonio who these two men are. In reply, Antonio states that he does not know, and that Luis's choice in approaching the Thieves Guild first-hand was a bit strange.
At the Garden District, Luis and Christoffa again thank Ezio. Christoffa tells Ezio that Rodgrio Borgia has discovered their hideout and his soldiers are searching for a rare artifact, which is an Atlas of no name. It contains maps charting a Western route to the 'Orient'. Luis says that in the wrong hands, the Atlas could cause great harm and kindly tells Ezio if he could retrieve it for him as a final favor before they leave Italy.
Ezio heads to the Harbor District to find the Hideout and recover the Atlas.
Looking for Christoffa's Atlas
The guards in Venice have strengthened their forces, many of the guards were replaced by Borgia's men, which were better trained and better equipped than those of the
Venetian ones. Ezio, after almost a dozen encounters with the guards, manages to get to the Hideout and enters the building in search for the Atlas.
Many guards are stationed in the building, which forced Ezio to cling to the walls and slide past patrols or take out the rare common loner guards. The closer he gets to the Atlas the more guards there are. A few halls away from the Atlas Ezio spots a heavy guard patrol consisting of two Seekers and several guard captains, Ezio hides in a nearby doorway and waits for them to pass, he then grabs four throwing knives from the side of his belt and flings them at a sideway angle. In a matter of seconds, a heavy guard patrol became withered corpses.
After sneaking through the library, Ezio was relieved that the Atlas has yet to be taken. He swiftly sneaks off from the stand and onto his hands and opens it up; "...not mistaking this for anything else.", Ezio then turns around and encounters a Brute Captain, the Brute angrily groans and twirls his huge halberd. Ezio readies his sword and prepares to do battle, but called it bluff, as he quickly fled to the back of the room and exits through a small secret entrance on the ground, which was already opened. It led to an underground crypt and small sewer. Ezio successfully dodged the fight.
To Ezio's dismay, Guards were following him and gave chase, but they proved no match for the aspiring Assassin.
Ezio makes his way to the Harbor to deliver the Atlas to Christoffa and Luis. After he arrives Christoffa was very happy, but states that a few maps were missing. Still, he was satisfied that the 'Piri Reis' map was in one piece, which was to be their next stop.
Ezio made it clear to Luis that from now on he should bring his own protection to Italia, to which Luis sadly states that all the Assassin captains and leaders in Spain were captured and tortured by Tomas Torquemada and his inquisitors. Ezio then changes his mind and tells Luis to continue, Luis says that all Assassins in Spain are to be arrested immediately due to Rodrigo's paranoia of being killed by them.
Ezio reports to Antonio about the bad news and mentions that his quest for the Apple Of Eden is to be postponed as he prepares to make his way to Barcelona in Spain, to make an effort to free the Assassins and get closer to Rodrigo Borgia. Antonio complements Ezio and tells him that there is a Thieves' Guild in Barcelona that has connections to the one run by Antonio and that it should be easy to gain the trust of the Thieves there. Antonio states that while Ezio is in Barcelona, he should assassinate two targets that are Templars that have also taken part in the jailing of Assassins.
Barcelona
Finding the Spanish Assassin's guild
Ezio walks through the streets of Barcelona, guards are on the duty, but seem to be novices. Ezio sets out to murder the two targets, he states that at least one of them should know the current location of the captured assassins.
On his way, Ezio encounters a civilian who states nothing more than the location of a secret entrance (name not revealed by the civilian), then walks away. Ezio trusts that this civilian might be a thief or an assassin, although he is not sure. Ezio follows the instructions guided by the civilian and soon
approaches the secret entrance.
It appears to be a hatch on top of a rooftop, Ezio opens it and soon finds himself in an abandoned Assassin's Guild. He is saddened by the emptiness, but soon finds himself unsheathing his sword as four guards enter the room.
Ezio runs into one guard, stabbing him through the stomach, he then blocks an attack with his Hidden Blade and kicks the attacker in the stomach, the attack falls to his knees as Ezio spares him for a second, grabbing another guard and slicing at his neck, he then returns to the downed guard and impales him. The remaining guard tries to flee, but gets tackled by the Assassin, Ezio digs his Hidden Blade into the guard's back. Finishing the guards with no mercy.
On his way out, Ezio encounters a Brute, much like the one in Venice, albeit with a two-handed sword. The Brute charges Ezio who rolls under a gap in the Brutes placing and escapes yet again from another brutal encounter.
After exiting the guild, Ezio finds a platoon of guards chasing him. Ezio runs throughout the streets in an effort to escape the guards. Again, they were no match at all for the ever-growing speed of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, an assassin not to be trifled with.
The Assassination of Gaspar Martinez
Ezio took a route through the Barcelona sewer, and began to recollect what had just happened, it was not long until Ezio felt the presence of another person. The person leapt in front of Ezio and asked him what he was doing, Ezio thought he was a civilian and told him to step aside. Ezio begins to walk past the man but stops short when the man asks him if he is a Florentine Assassin, Ezio turns swiftly and questions the man. The man tells Ezio to relax and simply states that he saw the mark of the Assassins on his finger and the Florentine clothing is a dead give-away.
Ezio approaches the man and asks him to explain his knowledge of the Assassins;
- Ezio: "What do you know of the Assassins?"
- The Man: "Only that I am one of them, sir. My name is Raphael Sanchez. I arrived here (Barcelona) this morning, bound to the same errand as you."
- Ezio: "Do you know who betrayed us to the Inquisitors?"
- Raphael: "Not yet, but we know the name of the Inquisitor Prosecutor responsible for their arrests. Gaspar Martinez."
- —Raphael then shares crucial information about Gaspar Martinez with Ezio.
Ezio, who is now on the Barcelonese rooftops, begins his hunt for Gaspar Martinez. It does not take Ezio long to spot Gaspar's location; standing on a balcony out in the open happily looking over Barcelona, Ezio scales the building and hops onto the balcony, Gaspar shakes his head nervously and moves back to the wall.
Ezio approaches Gaspar and asks him who gave him the names of the imprisoned Assassins, Gaspar questions Ezio and states;
"What do you mean, 'Assassins'? My dungeons are for heretics." Ezio sighs, Gaspar states that whoever these men may be, it won't matter for much longer and states that
they will soon be executed one by one, he then tells Ezio that as they speak an execution is being prepared for one of the heretics, Gaspar laughs but he is soon silenced as Ezio interrupts him and angrily tells him that if this man dies, he will keep the stake fire burning until this whole city is a cinder. Gaspar grunts as Ezio plunges his blade into the Templar, a moment passes and Gaspar Martinez crumples to the ground, no longer is he a Templar, but a helpless corpse.
Ezio searches Gaspar's body and finds a list of names; the names of the captured Assassins. Ezio sets out to save the current Assassin at risk and in time find Raphael and show him the list.
Ezio runs through the city streets, as fast as he can in an effort to stop the Assassin burning at the stake, unfortunately guards are alerted to his presence and have given chase, Ezio loses most of them but his effort is undone when he finds a mass of guards near the Assassin, who is unharmed. Ezio leaps down from a nearby rooftop and engages in combat. Ezio draws his sword and charges at an unaware guard, he then impales the guard and kicks another nearby guard in the stomach, the guard drops his sword and Ezio drives his fist into that guard's chin, Ezio then pulls his sword from the other guard's chest and slices at the wounded guard's neck. Two other guards run from behind a wall to the east. Ezio pulls out his throwing knives and throws them directly at the guards. The guards get knocked back as the knives hit and impale their stomach area, the guards make a useless effort to run at Ezio but weaken and collapse in a heap to the ground.
Ezio helps the captured Assassin up and they proceed to Raphael, who is spotted on a nearby rooftop. Raphael thanks Ezio for his help, but Ezio ignores him and gives Raphael the list of names. Raphael states that he knew these men and tells Ezio that they were captured in Zaragoza, in the kingdom of Aragon. Ezio tells Raphael that Zaragoza will be his next destination and asks Raphael if he will join him, Raphael tells Ezio that his fighting skills are dwindling and that he won't be able to aid in fighting, but will provide as a guide since he knows the town well, he also states that he will find shelter for the freed Assassins.
Ezio Auditore and Raphael Sanchez begin their long journey to Zaragoza.
Zaragoza
Finding the Assassins
Upon arrival in Zaragoza, Ezio and Raphael parted ways. Before leaving, Raphael told Ezio to seek out the Inquisition's Calificador, Pedro Llorente, saying that he might be "persuaded" to tell where the six Assassins in the city were being imprisoned. Ezio was then left to his own devices, as Raphael said that his face was infamous to the Inquisitors, and that "[he'd] need an alibi" if Llorente were to suffer an untimely fate. Ezio then began to prowl the city looking for his target, but finding Llorente turned out to be easier than Ezio thought. Not long into his search, he came across Llorente speaking to none other than Spain's Inquisitor General, Tomas Torquemada himself. Llorente humbly welcomed his superior, who had arrived unexpectedly, but Torquemada rebuffed his pleasantries. The two men turned their attention to an Assassin that had been recently captured. Pedro stated the prisoner had refused to "convert or confess." Incensed, Torquemada had the Assassin executed by a Brute, telling him before he died that other prisoners before him had been terrified, even theough they felt God was on their side. Torquemada went on to say that it was unbelievable that the Assassin wasn't afraid at all, considering that, like all his people, he ridiculed the concept of God completely. After the Assassin's execution, Torquemada was heard to say, "Rodrigo Borgia was right to have me arrest you and your cohorts...Your lack of faith is a disease." The Inquisitor General then left, remarking coldly, "Let the heretic bleed." For Ezio, this confirmed in his mind that Rodrigo Borgia was ordering the Spanish Inquisitors to destroy the Assassins in Spain to keep them from stopping his plans. With his worst fears confirmed, Ezio raced to save the remaining five Assassins from sharing their brother's fate.
Ezio made his way through the sewers of Zaragoza to find and save the other Assassins. It wasn't an easy job, as guards were everywhere. Fortunately, Ezio was able to dispatch them with ease. As he made his way through the tunnels, Ezio found the Assassin's imprisoned at points along the way, stopping to save them one by one. Unfortunately, he was only able to find four of them. News of Ezio's efforts spread quickly. When Pedro Llorente got word of the four Assassin's escape, he was enraged. He realized what was up, and ordered his guard to keep watch over the last remaining prisoner, or else "Torquemada himself will personally supervise your disembowling." But the extra security proved useless, as Ezio was easily able to rescue the fifth and final Assassin. Ezio then made his escape via a Leap of Faith.
The Assassination of Pedro Llorente
Upon escaping the Inquisitor guards, Ezio met up again with Raphael Sanchez, who expressed gratitude on seeing "the shadows of [his] city are moving again." Ezio shared what he had learned from his eavesdropping, and Raphael informed him of Torquemada's position. Ezio mentioned that Rodrigo Borgia ordered the imprisonment and execution of the Spanish Assassin's Guild, and at this, Raphael cursed their bad luck, stating that he and his fellows had suspected contact between the Templars and Inquisitors all along. Raphael went on to say that Llorente would be easy to track in Zaragoza, but looking for Torquemada would be another story, to which Ezio replied, "I'm a patient man, Sanchez." then he left to deal with Llorente.
After sneaking past and killing numerous guards, Ezio confronted Pedro in the city square. After being rebuked by the Inquisitor, Ezio demanded of Pedro how he had been contacted by the Templars. Pedro scoffed at Ezio's claims, insisting that the Templars had been disgraced in disbanded in 1312, quipping, "Rumors of their activites are as reliable as fairy tales." Ezio responded that if that were the case, they couldn't be around to save Pedro, and he struck down the Inquisitor on the spot. As the hue and cry went up, Ezio beat a hasty retreat back to Raphael.
When the two met, Ezio reported his murder of Pedro, but that he hadn't seen nor heard from Torquemada. Raphael replied that he had expected as much, adding that Queen Isabella hadn't told him that the Inquisitor General would be in town. Flabbergasted and stunned, Ezio asked how Raphael was able to speak to the Queen of Spain, to which Raphael answered that he served her court as Royal Treasurer. Ezio expressed amazement that an Assassin was able to infiltrate the highest ranks of the Spanish Royal Court, as the Templars were more proficient at gaining favor and working their way into positions of power in Europe. Raphael assured him that Isabella and her husband, King Ferdinand, knew nothing of him being an Assassin, but warned that, though they held one of the Queen's ears, the Templars, it seemed, held the other. Raphael offered to explain more, but Ezio politely declined, saying it was best he return home to Italy. But Raphael was adamant, insisting that the Templars had a horrible scheme in the works to assume control of Spain. So, putting his priorities aside and surrendering once more to his sense of duty, Ezio followed his brother Assassin south to the Moorish stronghold of Grenada.