Assassin's Creed 2 (issue)

Assassin's Creed 2 is the second issue of the Titan comic book series Assassin's Creed. The comic, written by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery with art by Ivan Nunes and Neil Edwards, was released on 11 November 2015.

Publisher's summary

Events in Salem turn terrifying as Assassin Tom Stoddard faces the townspeople’s rising hysteria while they bay for the blood of supposed witches. Viewing his memories, Charlotte witnesses how deep the feud with the Templars goes—and how brutal the choices to be made in her new life will be!

Plot summary

Jennifer Querry

1692: Salem Village. Charlotte de la Cruz relieves the genetic memories of her ancestor, the Assassin Thomas Stoddard, as he prepares for a meeting, having recently arrived at Salem from London. When two men walk in Stoddard greets them and explains that he brought goods from China for sale, to which one of the men asked if he had spices, specifically cassia. Stoddard suspects something is wrong and asks them for a way to travel to Andover, to which the men answered horseback, revealing that they did not know the counterphrase. At this moment Stoddard attacks the men and quickly dispatches them, however a third man approached from behind with a knife. Before he manages to attack Stoddard, he is strangled by another Assassin. The Assassin recites the counterphrase, "Forest Dark", and introduces herself as Jennifer Querry. However before she can finish her introduction, Stoddard interrupts her and berates her as they could have only learned the first part of the counterphrase from her.

Querry claims that she has a lead on the artifact that Stoddard is pursuing, and she and Stoddard climb to the top of a building, when Charlotte realized that Querry must be Joseph's ancestor. Querry introduces the town to Stoddard and explains the local situation: starting in January, a girl came down with an illness unexplained by the doctor, then other girls started having seizures, which she claims were faked, leading to the church claiming the illnesses resulted from the devil, after which hysteria took the city and people started accusing each other of witchcraft to settle grudges. She then explains that the Templars later arrived to see if there was something more to the incident.

Querry claims the Templars believe some of the girls' behaviors to be genuine. She asks Stoddard if he is truly an expert at finding Pieces of Eden, which he confirms. She then explains that she's allowed near the girls due to her being a nurse and that this is the first assignment for the Brotherhood. Stoddard suddenly stops and hides, asking Querry about a couple of men walking near them: Reverend Samuel Parris, a Templar under whom the accusations of witchcraft incremented tremendously and Justice William Stoughton, who orders the hangings of those Parris accuses. Here, Querry and Stoddard overhear a conversation between the two: due to bodies found at the docks, more guards will be posted. Stoddard once again berates Querry for allowing this to happen and demands the location of the girls.

Later, at night, Querry shows Stoddard the location, explaining that even though she's been inside the building as a nurse, she cannot account for the amount of women that go in but don't come out alive or dead. Skeptical, Stoddard still enters the building to find them using a rope to enter the building through a window, killing a guard inside. Shortly, Querry enters the building as well to find it mostly empty. Here she discovers a secret entrance behind a lit fireplace, leading deep underground. In the basement, Stoddard and Querry find women in cages, which Querry wants to free but Stoddard refuses, telling her to focus on the mission. Stoddard asks a boy called David, though the girl next to him, Dorothy Osborne, explained that he was mute and that she could show Stoddard the Piece of Eden. This prompts him to free both, as she leads them further down the basement.

Stoddard threatening Dorothy

Meanwhile, upstairs, Parris and Stoughton discus the happenings, having allowed Stoddard to track the Piece of Eden as they believe that he would lead them to it. Following this, the men head outside to a growing crowd and incite them, claiming that the Devil was inside the building. Back inside, Stoddard and Querry follow Dorothy to a dead end as the villagers begin storm the building. At the dead end, Stoddard threatened Dorothy for leading him there, promising to let the villagers kill her first.

2015: San Diego. Charlotte struggles to stay inside the Animus as she fails to synchronize with Stoddard's methods, although Kody attributes her struggle to her being inexperienced with the process. Galina and Xavier meanwhile, discuss her progress, with Galina implying that Charlotte would not be able to synchronize with Stoddard and Xavier disagreeing with her. Galina in turn compares her to Joseph, saying that people can't change who they are, and that Joseph was finally showing his true colors by allying with the Templars. Kody reports that Charlotte has stabilized but if she continues to struggle she could damage herself.

A possessed Dorothy

1692: Salem Village. Tom Stoddard struggles with David as he attempts to help Dorothy, but Stoddard pushes him away, striking him against a wall. Dorothy tells Stoddard to leave him alone and she would show him what he was looking for. Dorothy then says that there is no Piece of Eden, before she falls back, her eyes turn white as she speaks to Thomas, reciting the last words his father said, a passage from Dante Alighieri's work. Realizing that Dorothy herself is the "artifact" they were looking for, Stoddard informs Querry and tasks her with finding them a way out as the villagers attack and he fights them off.

Supplementary material

Salem

In 1692, a quiet Puritan colony was the setting for disturbing events that would echo down the ages...

In 1626, a small group of Puritans founded the town Salem on the mouth of the Naumkeag river. They obtained a charter from the British monarchy that gave them the right of free rule so they could practice their Puritan beliefs free from the interference of the Church of England. It was that charter that created the perfect conditions for the horrors to come...

The map of Salem and the surrounding areas, created by W. P. Upham in 1866, shows the location of the important landmarks and villages of the time and sets the scene for the events that unfolded. It also demonstrates the enduring fascination Salem and the Witch Trials have held for researchers, cartographers, writers, and artists down the ages. The Victorian era produced much of the research and data that informs historians today.

While the name "Salem" is mostly associated with the Witch Trials, it actually refers to both Salem Village (now called Danvers) and Salem Town. The first accusations of witchcraft were made in Salem Village, but the courts, and therefore the trials, were held in nearby Salem Town. However, the accused came from all over Essex County. In fact, the vast majority of the accused were from the nearby village of Andover, Ipswich, Beverly, Haverhill, Topsfield, and Gloucester, among others.

These towns were in the midst of economic and social upheaval in 1692, but the beginning of the tragedy that was the Witch Trials could conceivably be traced back to the arrival in Salem Village of one Samuel Parris. A former plantation owner from Barbados, and secretly a member of the Templar Order, Parris accepted the position of Village Minister and arrived with his wife, Elizabeth, his daughter Betty, his niece Abigail Williams, and the house slave, Tituba.

According to historians, it was the actions of Betty and Abigail that would lead to the deaths of nineteen people...

Cover gallery

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  Variant cover by Dennis Calero
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  Variant cover by Dennis Calero (Final version)
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  Variant cover by Adam Gorham & Jason Lewis
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  Variant cover by Joe Corroney