Assassin's Creed: Outlaw - Book One

A Stealthy Rescue

The instant his feet made contact with the ground Yughi felt his legs cramp. He ignored the pains from having lain still for so long. Scrambling up the wooden column the gates to the stable area were hung from the aches soon subsided.

In a few quick movements he was on the roof of the stable. He ducked low and ran in to hug the wall of the upper floor of the inn. Once he was stood in the shelter of the eaves he took a moment to compose himself.

The risk associated with his actions was insane. He was visible to anyone who should look up from the courtyard of the inn. He had not had time to procure sensible attire for his current location. All he had was his long grey cloak. When that was unpinned and allowed to fall about his shoulders it would hide his clothing from view.

Had Yughi found himself in a city then the cloak may have been enough to blend in. As things stood he was in a small village in an unfamiliar land. He was painfully aware that some people he could encounter would kill him because he was a stranger.

He inhaled a slow breath of air in through his mouth. He held it for a moment and expelled the breath in a measured way through his nose. The Indian wise man he had learned the technique from called it pranayama. It had been Yughi's defence against blind panic on many occasions.

He realised, in that instant, his concerns made no real sense. The nature of where he was and what he was doing had not changed since he had made land here in England. He was no safer in a hay bale on the back of a cart than he was here. Danger was to be expected, it was what he had resolved to encounter by taking the mission from Al Mualim.

With his mind calmed this way he allowed his senses to open up. This gave him access to the eagle vision, as he had learned during his training. In this state he could tell that he was alone up here. No one nearby was paying any attention to him and no one nearby was an enemy.

He got the vague impression that there were people who would be hostile in the main room of the inn. There must have been a few because the eagle sense could not reach through walls. Slowly, deliberately, not losing a grip on his focus, Yughi moved forward. He was intent on peering through the windows of the inn, to find the stranger whose life he would save.

The search did not last long. Two windows over a man sat at a table enjoying a hearty repast. The eagle sense gave the man a halo that told Yughi this man was Miles Godfrey.

The inn's windows were small and cheap. They did not do much more than provide basic interior illumination during daylight hours. Godfrey was a stocky man but he should fit through the window. This was still going to be a tricky operation to pull off smoothly.

Yughi pulled his scarf over his nose and mouth. He considered leaving the man to his fate. Then he remembered that Miles Godfrey had brought a number of fighting men with him to this place. It was likely not his life that would be saved by Yughi today.

His course decided, Yughi opened a compartment of the hardened leather pouch he wore at his waist. He pulled out a small globe of thin glass. The globe contained a liquid that would effervesce immediately upon contact with the air.

He had learned the craft of bomb making during his time with the guild in Constantinople. This small bomb was one of his own design intended to send a single target into a deep slumber. The advantage of the bomb was that it was small and so he could carry six at once. The down side was that the bombs were difficult to carry, being so delicate. The pouch in which he carried them had cost him a lot of money.

Hoping his expenditure should prove itself worthwhile Yughi reached out his spare hand. With the tips of his fingers, where the nails needed paring, he scratched at the window. He intended to reproduce the noise of a bird's claws on glass.

There was no reaction to this the first time he did it. The second time he heard some kind of inquisitive grunt from the room's occupant. Yughi let the man think that the two scratches were all that would come. Then he repeated the action more insistently a third time.

The man, irritated, got up from his repast and stomped across the room to investigate. He pulled a small wedge of wood from the side of the window frame. Window swung outwards, allowing the occupant to look for the birds disturbing his meal.

Swift and sure Yughi threw his bomb down at Godfrey's feet. He had to withdraw a little. The liquid hissed and gurgled creating a cloying cloud of invisible vapours. Yughi smelled a whiff of the potion, an odour of sweet rotten fruit that made him light headed.

He sensed Godfrey shift on his feet, ready to tumble. Yughi inhaled a deep breath of clean air. He turned to catch the man under the armpits. Yughi did not want a falling body to alert Godfrey's men that something was amiss.

For a moment he held Godfrey's dead weight, assessing how it lay and how much strength he would need to lift it. Leaning in Yughi put Godfrey's right arm over his neck. He shifted his arms to grasp the stocky man around the waist.

Intent on not dropping his burden Yughi almost lost his footing in that moment. He recovered, not to be denied the execution of his plan now. He stopped again, allowing Godfrey's weight to settle once more. One final time Yughi readjusted his footing and then hauled Godfrey out of the window.

It was a slow task. The window nearly wasn't big enough to allow Godfrey's torso and Yughi's shoulders out. Moving carefully Yughi managed to get the man out of the window.

Yughi carried Godfrey across the stable roof. He clambered back down into the courtyard. He pulled the cart back a little way so the hay stack was visible looking down from the roof. Once he had done this he climbed back up and rolled Godfrey into the stack. Before climbing back down again Yughi ensured that the Godfrey's bedroom window was closed.

A few moments later the sleeping man was covered with hay. Yughi was careful to leave a good hole in the stack for air. He rolled the cart forward again into the cover of the stable.

Now all he had to do was wait.