Assassin's Creed Chronos_Retribution (Ezio x OC)

06 - Selfish

February 18, 1500

Rome, Italy

Ezio dismounted his horse as he came into the courtyard, eyes scanning it quickly. It was one of the nicer parts of the city, settled on one of the edges not terrible far from Isola TIberina; perhaps a few minutes by horse. He lamented how long it had taken him to come to this place, but things had waylaid his progress. Despite meeting Machiavelli so soon and talking of a great many things—of gathering allies and bringing the city to their side—starting it was slow. He still needed to recover, for one, his wound bringing him more pain and ache than he liked once the medicine had worn off. He could not hope to fulfill his goals, though, if he could not fight to his full potential. So he had spent about a week nursing his injury at the new lair of the Assassins, hidden within the Isola, and also planning.

The storehouse had been a great boon from Fabio Orsini—cousin to Bartolomeo—whom he hoped would remain an ally and provide his strength when needed. The man, unfortunately, was in a precarious position and could not openly support them. He was, after all, a commander in Cesare's army, but he had no love for the Borgia, even if he was married to the cousin of his leader. Indeed, the man was very much so on their side, and even seemed to admire him—Ezio was both honored and a little amused Bartolomeo had spoken so highly of him to the Orsini—but he could do no more than provide the old storehouse. It would be enough, though, and served to give Ezio the safety he needed before he began his work.

Thus far he had altered the building to suit their needs, setting up a place to conduct plans and keep a map of the city to lay their mark upon. Machiavelli had brought food and supplies, and extra coin—to help speed things along. He'd also showed the Assassin the secret tunnels around the city, and with the extra coin he would earn from his work—be it from requests or claiming income from the buildings he bought—the other portals could be repaired. They would be vital to his work, and so he made sure to mark their locations down whenever he could. Beyond that, Niccolo provided what information he could; particularly the locations of some of his allies he would hope to bring to his cause.

Yet, he could not move so quickly, even after his wounds had fully healed. He needed more coin and influence, and the Borgia's hold was strong. It could be broken, though, as he had done the same day he'd spoken with his fellow Assassin. The loss of the Captain had loosened the hand of the Borgia, providing a means to grow the influence of his brotherhood. And so he had begun to work, slowly and in the shadows, by removing what Captains he could. Some were still beyond his means—the Vaticano distract especially was an impossible feat at the moment—but already he had rid the Borgia flag from a handful of sections of the city. It wasn't much, but it showed; the people looked more relaxed and did not look at soldiers with the same fear.

It had taken a long time, but he was ready to begin acquiring his allies—not unlike back home and in Venezia. Thieves. Mercenaries. Courtesans. All people of Roma, and his best hope of improving his chances of overthrowing the Borgia. Machiavelli had recommended visiting Bartolomeo in the countryside at his fortress, the Caserma di Alviano,where he aimed to take on the French army led by Octavian de Valois. Ezio deemed that particular route too risky, however—to face both Borgia and the French at once, even with Bartolomeo was too soon a task to manage. He needed more allies first. He'd considered the thieves next, but he did not know any of them there, and they could be tricky. They might not know who he was as they did in Venezia, nor might they dislike the Borgia as much. He would have to approach them eventually, but for now he considered his third potential allies.

Courtesans he knew how to handle. He had most of his life—up until the woman he loved stole his heart. Their charms no longer could sway him, but his worked just fine, and that was an advantage he could not ignore. The women would be useful, too, in approaching nobles and men high up in the Borgia ranks. They had the coin to spare for such pleasantries, and men's tongues moved quickly when sex was involved. That was something Ezio greatly needed: nobles talking. Catherine was hidden somewhere in, then it was the nobles that would know about her, or at least have some inkling of information. They would perhaps speak of a "guest" with the Borgia, anyways, and that would be something. A little more time and he might even obtain her exact location, be it here, the Vaticano, the Castel or even outside the city. No matter where she was, he would go, but he needed to know where she was.