Niccolò Polo
Niccolò Polo was a Venetian explorer and merchant and the father of the famed explorer, Marco Polo.
He travelled extensively between 1252 and 1294 but it was in the year of 1257 Niccolò and his brother, Maffeo, travelled to the Assassin fortress of Masyaf to interview the Grand Master of the Assassin Order, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Whilst there, Niccolò recounted the history of the fortress to his brother.
During the preliminary Mongol attacks on the fortress in 1257, the Grand Master bequeathed unto Niccolò five keys, asking him to keep them safe. Altaïr also gave Niccolò his Codex, though it was lost two days later during an attack by a Mongol scouting party.
Following these events, the Polos', now honorary members of the Assassin Order, returned to Constantinople; their mission, to create an Assassins guild within the city.