Assassin's Creed: Outlaw - Book One

A Treetop Skirmish

No sooner had Yughi safely returned Marian and Emma to Bess's lodgings than Marian defied expectation again.

"I think it would be better," said Yughi. "If you were to stay here."

"Yes," Marian responded, her tone cold. "I find that men often think that it would be better if women just shut their mouths and did as they were told. It's one of the reasons why I love to disappoint them."

"It's very dangerous-" Yughi tried to reason with her.

"Life is very dangerous at the moment," Marian replied. "Or had you not noticed?"

"All I'm trying to do..." Yughi felt he had liked it better when Marian was hitting him and poisoning him, at least he'd won that fight.

"I don't see why you're even bothering to argue," Bess chipped in. "You know she's right."

"I don't!" Yughi protested but even in its vehemence, the lie was plain. The truth was that Marian was an able warrior, better at hand-to-hand combat than the majority of the outlaws. If they should be allowed to roam Sherwood Forest taking their lives into their hands then why shouldn't she also?

The obvious answer to the question was, of course, that all the regular outlaws were men. For a woman to join the outlaws would be... well, unusual. Little John had a tendency to get upset at unorthodox strategising, he was a married man with a particular view of the world. Yughi could only imagine what he would think of Marian.

The Brotherhood, generally, did not admit women into its ranks, but there were a few who had grown up in Masyaf, generally orphaned. The female assassins were treated just like the male ones, they dressed similarly, Al Mualim had no problem with casting a Brother of the order as sexless. All assassins were assassins first and whatever else afterwards. That was what was expected.

This was probably why Yughi's resolution was so weak in this matter. Taking Marian as a potential assassin recruit she was easily as strong as Will Scarlet, she was probably better than John, Alan or even Tuck, and the latter was England's only Rafik.

"Very well," Yughi said, to the credit of the assembled womenfolk only Emma instantly looked a little smug, Bess and Marian affected an air of peevishness that it had taken Yughi so long to come round. "I will warn you, however, that your presence in the outlaw's camp will be treated as... highly unusual."

"I will deal with the outlaws," said Marian. "You just lead the way."

Yughi and Marian entered the tunnel network via an entrance nearby. The cave network, being composed of soft lime, was easily expandable. Yughi was taking careful note of the positions belonging to his allies' premises, he thought some extending might be in order to make meetings more accessible.

They emerged, a short while later, to the north of the city in a graveyard just on the edge of Sherwood Forest. When they reached the tree line Yughi turned to Marian.

"Do you know tree-running?" he asked.

"I do not," she replied, terse and defensive.

"I didn't either when I arrived," Yughi tried to reassure her that he was not trying to trick her. "There are not many forests in the Holy Land. You should learn."

Not allowing time for another argument to start Yughi spotted a suitable tree, ran to it and scaled it. He ran out onto a branch in the canopy and beckoned Marian to follow.

"Boys!" Marian complained. "Always climbing trees and scraping knees." Even so, she followed Yughi's lead, clambering up to join him.

"I'll go slow," Yughi said. "Follow where I go."