CH 33: The first seal

As La Volpe had instructed us, me and Ezio opened the entrance at the Santa Maria Novella to the catacombs below and made our way beneath the church.

and After climbing down the ladder for a little while, we finally reached an ending and dropped to the floor.

I dusted myself off as looked around with a frown :"well, guess the situation isn't that bad if the only company we have are the dead bodies of who knows who.

E anche tutti loro scheletri, semplicemente fantastici (And their all skeletons as well, just great). questo giorno non potrebbe andare meglio (this day couldn't get any better)."

Ezio looked at me with a teasing smile as she chuckled :"what? is the big, bad, blood thirsty Ali afraid of some dead bodies~?"

I rolled my eyes at her as I remembered all the spooky memes from my past life. sure has been a long time, hasn't it?

I'm sure that my missing pieces are also having fun in their own multiverses. I side eyed Ezio as I snorted:

I'm not afraid of the dead. Semplicemente non sono abituato a questo tipo di ambiente (I'm just not used to this kind of surrounding)."

she gave a low chuckle as she shook her head in amusement and then held my hand :"well~, if you are afraid or uncomfortable, know that I'm here for you, alright, Ashkim (my love)?"

I rolled my eyes again, but with a smile this time as I gently squeezed her hand :"yeah, yeah. Dirò sicuramente al mio fantastico amante se ho paura o mi sento a disagio (I'll be sure to tell my awesome lover if I'm afraid or uncomfortable)."

she giggled adorably before giving my hand a comforting squeeze before letting go :"glad that you know. let's start our exploration now."

I nodded as I turned serious :"andiamo (let's). our only way is that way. but to go there, we have to deal with the sealed door first. there might be something below, let's go."

and my suspicion was proven right as we saw a switch <I have forgotten the name of that shit and I can't currently remember it>.

after I pulled it down, the bars went up as a stone came below. I looked at her and smirked :"e questo se ne occupa (and that takes care of it}. let's go."

after climbing up, we walked into an old room with some bats here and there and old paintings on the old walls.

but when we walked a through the room, we came across a collapsed stairwell. it wouldn't be anything most of the time, but the room was gigantic and we were really high up from the ground.

we looked at each other seriously as Ezio pointed her finger at me with a stern look on her beautiful face :"stai. attento. (be. careful.)

this place isn't somewhere we can mess around in. so watch your steps and where you are going and where you are jumping."

I nodded as this was too much of a serious situation to joke around :"intesa (understood). aprire la strada (lead the way)."

she nodded with a serious smile at my obedience before she ran and jumped on a bar before jumping on a wood and then a collapsed floor.

she continued manoeuvring and jumping around as I followed her footsteps and we came across another switch.

after she pulled it down, the bars inside of the pillar behind us opened up a path for us. just as before, I told her the location of another switch which just appeared on my mini map.

we walked through the path that was just opened up inside of the giant pillar and then jumped on some more beams before reaching the switch.

after pulling it down and it disappearing into the wall, the sturdy woods that were on the pillar were pulled back in as we saw a haystack on the ground.

there was also the quite sound of a door opening. we looked at each other and nodded before Ezio went first and I did a leap of faith afterwards.

after we walked out of the haystack <two people can be inside of a single haystack, right? Ezio and that woman in the brotherhood could> we noticed a few guards inside of the giant room that we had to go through.

guard number 1 :"How longer do we have to stand here, Saverio? It's cold."

guard number 2 :"What do you want Ilario? Messer Pazzi is paying us good money to watch the entrance, and the dead won't try to murder us. I can't wait to go home to Elena and tell her how much gold we made tonight!"

as he finished his sentence, they began to walk into another room as the doors closed down behind them.

we walked into the chamber after the guards departed and discovered the door was locked behind them.

I told Ezio that the door could be opened by a lever and made our way to it by climbing over tall statues resembling Assassins.

After assassinating two guards on our way to the top, Ezio pulled the lever and the door of the Great Hall below opened, startling the first two guards.

guard number 2 :"Merda (Shit)! The door! Keep watch while I go look. This was supposed to be an easy job!"

guard number 1 :"I told you we shouldn't have come here. If I hear anything, I'm running to the other guard post, so help me God."

as guard number 2 and the others came out, me and Ezio air assassinated two of them before I quickly killed the last one as the guard number 1 suddenly called out :"Saverio! I'll be back with the other guards!"

we quickly ran after him, but the damn bastard was one of those "agile guards", so he was really damn fast.

as we ran after him he murmured many times while the bastard continuously blocked or destroyed our path :"Have to find a way out. Before they kills me!

Must run faster!

Leave me alone!"

as the damn bastard continued to run, we finally found a way up as Ezio sped up and after a few seconds, air assassinated the damn bitch.

I came to her side before slowing down and huffing in annoyance :"damn was this bastard fast. be careful, Ezio, there seem to be guards around."

she nodded as we silently walked into the hallway and noticed a door with some guards in it. I put my index finger and shushed before pointing at a sealed door which we needed to climb to reach.

she nodded with a serious look before we both walked to the wall while those guards were doing whatever they were doing and climbed up.

we noticed that the same assassin symbol with the skull inside was on this door. Ezio nodded at me before opening it like before.

after walking silently inside, we saw light through a window as the voice of someone was heard :"Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti descendat super vos et maneat semper (And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father and of the Son and Holy Spirit descend upon you, and remain with you always)."

as we kneeled beside the barred window, we looked inside to see five people standing around a table with weapons on it.

we looked at each other with serious looks before focusing back on the room as Francesco said :"Grazie, padre (Thank you, father). Bernardo?"

a slightly fat man with red clothes pointed at the table :"It's all here, Swords, staves, axes, armor, bows. Our men will want for nothing."

the father looked at him :"I take this gift to mean the Pope consents?"

the hooded Rodrigo Borgia walked into the room as he put his hands on the table :"He gave his blessing to the operation... "as long as nobody is killed."."

Francesco :"We are all set for the Duomo in the morning, Signore (mister). The bait's been laid, but it wasn't easy. His fool brother keeps changing his plans...

Bernardo :"Sì! (Yes!) We'll need to be on hand to make sure Giuliano even gets out of bed for church tomorrow!"

the group except Rodrigo Borgia laughed as Jacopo de' Pazzi worriedly shook his head. Rodrigo noticed it.

Rodrigo: What is it, Jacopo? Do you think they suspect something?"

and just when Jacopo opened his mouth to say something, Francesco interrupted :"Impossible! The Medici are too arrogant or too stupid to even notice. Likely a bit of both."

the group laughed a little at that before Jacopo pointed at him :"Do not underestimate our enemies, Francesco! Or have you already forgotten how your son was murdered?"

the damn animal didn't even have a look of sadness at the mention of his dead son as he turned to Rodrigo :"We'll suffer no such surprises this time, Maestro. You have my word."

Rodrigo nodded at his small bow :"Molto bene (Very well). I should be off. I've some other business to attend to before I return to Rome. Gentlemen. Tomorrow, a new sun rises over Firenze. May the Father of Understanding guide us."

Templars :"May the Father of Understanding guide us."

as they all began to leave, me and Ezio looked at each other with serious faces as I frowned :"merda (shit). questo non va bene (this isn't good). we need to prepare."

she nodded seriously :"you're right. but we shouldn't panic. let's go and explore what's there first. we may find a clue to the sanctuary."

I nodded as we walked further into the pathway. and when we reached inside, we saw a statue that was identical to one of the statues in the sanctuary!

me and Ezio immediately looked at each other with excited smile as she said :"you were right! it really was related to the sanctuary! one of the seals must be here."

I nodded as I folded my arms in front of my chest :"yeah, there are also a few gold chests here. how generous."

she gently slapped my arm with a small glare :"non pensare all'oro tutto il tempo (don't think about gold all the time).

there is the grave of the deceased assassin. andiamo, dovremmo rendere omaggio ai morti (come on, we should pay our respect to the dead)."

we both walked forward and bowed our heads a little with our hands on our chest as a means of respect :"Requiescat in pace (rest in peace)."

she then kneeled and pulled on the skulls eyes sockets inside of the assassin's symbol once again as the coffin opened up.

while she got that, I made quick work of the 3 chests as I got 250f from each. it honestly wasn't much with how much I already had inside of my waist bag, but I still liked money, what can I say?

after Ezio retrieved the seal, I then pushed the adjacent wall, which opened into a passage that ultimately led us to an exit on the banks of the Arno river. There, we spotted La Volpe waiting for us.

after exiting the catacombs, we walked and sat with La Volpe as Ezio began the conversation :"we know where Francesco will be and when, But..."

Volpe :"What is it?"

Ezio :"we overheard something... They have weapons, enough for a battalion. Even the Pope has given support!"

Volpe :"Typical of Sixtus, but... What the hell are they planning?"

Ezio :"I couldn't understand the specifics. But it involves the Medici. And it begins tomorrow morning at the Duomo."

Volpe :"The Medici will all be there for Sunday service... Along with the rest of Firenze. They are going to do it right in the middle of High Mass..."

Ezio :"But it's also a chance for us to blend with the crowd, get close, and stop this madness."

Volpe :"If they succeed.. If we lose Lorenzo, and Firenze falls to the Pazzi..."

Ezio :"It will not come to that. I promise."

Volpe :"I hope you're right..."