Assassin's Creed: Outlaw - Book One

The Rescue of Will Stutely

It was no more than two hours later that Yughi scaled one of the watchtowers that surrounded  Mammesfeld town. It felt good to be acting and moving like a true assassin once more.

Yughi also felt more ease in his heart that he had forged a link between Robin and John in this matter. In the short time that he had shared the presence of the two men the relationship between them had shown itself clearly. Yughi could easily tell that these were men who had called themselves brothers for many years.

Like all familial bonds, whether inherited or chosen, there was bound to be friction. John and Robin had developed in different directions. John Little, the names reversed to give his outlaw title, was a man of passion from his head to his toes. He fought like a battering ram, seeking to overwhelm a foe with force.

Robin, on the other hand, displayed a tactical mind that was more like an assassin. The outlaw chief understood that a force inferior in numbers must employ different tactics in order to win the day. Thus the rift between himself and John had come into being.

The way of the assassin mirrored this, a way of prudence and passion. Too much prudence and one became distant, cold. Too much passion and one became an easy target for a mighty foe; a heart on a sleeve was easy to pierce.

In this matter, the liberation of Will Stutely, there was a simple chance to combine these facets of the assassin's way. As such there was a chance to heal the rift between these two brothers also.

The Sheriff had stationed a single guard on the watchtower. Yughi dispatched the man with his hidden blade. As always there was a necessary pang of regret in such an arbitrary kill, but these moves were necessary when engaged in the battle for freedom.

In the arena of war, the time for words had passed. Your enemy must be killed swiftly, decisively. Even so, the assassin must never lose sight of the compassion inherent in such a casual act of murder.

Yughi had never developed a taste for killing. He tried to avoid death wherever possible. What an irony, then, that he should have devoted his life to an order whose name was whispered, a ghost story for soldiers. The assassins killed silently, and without remorse.

From the watchtower, Yughi could see across two rows of houses to the town square. Peering down the inside wall of the tower Yughi could see a protruding stone boss near enough parallel to the rooftops of the houses beyond.

Before beginning his controlled descent Yughi took a moment to perch on the wooden lintel running across the inner edge of the tower. He opened his senses and took in all the streets and houses as far as his eye could see.

All assassins were expected to master such tricks of reconnaissance. Only those with the eagle sight could take in the finer details; Yughi felt that the sight was a boon of his own blood he could not fully explain. He regarded himself as a man of peace, but his own blood gave him the gifts of war.

Passing into the peaceful frame of mind of an assassin at work Yughi swung himself down off the ledge and scaled downwards towards the protruding boss below.

Once there he used the purchase to spin and leap across the street to the rooftop opposite. In the Holy Land, the forces of the Crusaders and the local sultans had stationed men on rooftops, knowing that this was an environment the assassins favoured for transport.

One concern that Yughi had voiced before the outlaws had come forth to this place was that none of the outlaws was as proficient in climbing and navigating the rooftops as he was, he felt that this would mean the outlaws may have difficulty gaining entrance to a walled town. Both Robin and John had assured him that this would not be an issue.