Rome: Chapter 3 – Francesco Vecellio

Chapter 3 of the Rome Pack of the Facebook game, Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy.

In-Game Introduction Video
Now synching the DDS system. We're going to take a moment to test your emotional range. Please focus on a fond memory. Good. Now focus on a painful memory. Perfect. Just prior to the death of Pope Alexander VI, Cesare Borgia began to lose his grip on Rome. Though you won't find any mention of it in the history books, we suspect a powerful underground movement worked to overthrow the corrupt dynasty. See what you can learn.

Finely Tuned
Since my master's death i have been sent to train under Ezio Auditore. He is a skilled Assassin from Firenze who has come to lead the Brotherhood in Roma. We struggle to oppose Cesare Borgia, who, with his wretched family controls the Church as well as the city.

Dance
Requirements: 30 AP (perexecution), 4 Orsini Family Cloak, 4 Thieves, 1 Dagger, 1 Elite Assassin, 1 Helmschmied Drachen Armour.

Rewards: 72 XP, 2985 florins.

Ezio has taught me the basics of passing through a crowd unnoticed. How to drift with the ebb and flow of traffic. Today, he asks me to interact. He has sent several of his thieves into the streets and marked them with green badges. I am to steal their coin pouches without drawing attention to myself. The task sounds easy enough...
 * I spot the first mercenary, a green crest pinned to his cap. I begin to stalk him, drifting from group to group, each time gaining a bit of ground. Finally, I move towards him and push his cape aside. He does not notice me, but I cannot find a coin pouch! Is this part of the lesson?
 * Another mercenary without a pouch! I look to the rooftops for Ezio, seeking an explanation. I do not find him.
 * There! Another thief! She is so fast! I barely saw her swipe the pouch from her victim! I follow her.
 * I see my rival eyeing her next target. I am closer! I push myself hard to beat her to him and I am rewarded with a coin pouch! I slip back into the crowd before either realizes what I have done.
 * I glimpse the other thief as she dashes past me. She is returning to Ezio, no doubt. Another student? I take what little comfort I can in the fact that I have spoiled her perfect game.
 * I return to Ezio, eager to present what little spoils I have recovered. I reach for the one pouch. It is gone. Ezio laughs and apologizes, but asks me what I have learned. I tell him that I cannot always be the predator. He nods.

The High Road
Requirements: 34 AP (per execution), 1 Elite Assassin, 1 Assassin's Bow, 1 Helmschmied Drachen Armour, 3 Arrows.

Rewards: 81 XP, 4000 florins.

Ezio will teach me to scale walls quickly and to leap across Roma's rooftops. I have practiced some, but I cannot move at anywhere near the speed of my new master. While I am still asking questions, he scrambles up a wall! I struggle to keep up with him!
 * Ezio grabs the lip of the roof and pulls himself to the top! I try to mimic his movement and nearly lose my footing!
 * I watch Ezio as he navigates three rooftops. His head is always moving, always scanning for the easiest route to the next landing. He knows his next move before he even lands! I follow his path, imitating his choices. I am clumsy, but I begin to develop a feel for the technique!
 * An arrow strikes my shoulder! I scoop it up and duck behind a structure to avoid further fire. The arrow is padded. Blunt. A training arrow? I poke out to find my attacker he sends another arrow straight into my forehead. I curse at him! Ezio shouts for me to keep moving!
 * I stand again, careful to watch my path as I dash to the next rooftop. I scout for the archer and find him two buildings over. I charge!
 * His shots are accurate, but slow! The weight of the padding interferes with his precision, forcing him to hesitate before firing, but he has learned to compensate. Still, I am able to read his shots and move accordingly.
 * I leap between buildings, finally reaching the same rooftop as my attacker. He shoots an arrow into my knee, interfering with the balance of my landing and I tumble! Ezio climbs up the side of the building and then helps me to my feet. He is grinning.

Renaissance Man
Requirements: 15 AP (per execution), 1 Artist, 1 Olive, 1 Box of Components, 2 Coils, 3 Gold, 4 Screws.

Rewards: 37 XP, 1200 florins.

Ezio has taught me to use several of our more complex gadgets, but I have been begging him to allow me access to the firepower he keeps hidden within his sleeve. He tells me I am not ready yet, but he will send me to a friend who can craft me something similar, for a price of course. A very large price.
 * I wait on a bench, unseen and hooded. A man arrives, also masking his identity from the crowd. I tell him I am Francesco. He identifies himself as Leonardo da Vinci! A well-respected name in Roma!
 * He asks me what I expect him to craft. I tell him I would like a hidden pistol for my sleeve, but he shakes his head and tells me Ezio warned him I might ask for one.
 * I ask if he can craft something similar. Lighter. More silent. He suggests a hidden blade, but I already have one.
 * I ask if he can arm a crossbow bolt beneath my wrist. He ponders for a moment and declares it possible, but expensive. He will need to create special bolts. The range will be small. I will have to reload it. I ask if he can make two.
 * I ask about other devices. Leonardo says he has a few for sale. Discreetly, of course.
 * Leonardo wishes me a safe evening and departs. What a strange man, interested in art and invention more than politics. Someday I will take the time to create, to paint, but not now. For now, I am a soldier on the front lines.

Stacked Deck
Requirements: 17 AP (per execution), 1 Hidden Blade, 1 Chainmail Armor.

Rewards: 40 XP, 900 florins.

It has taken weeks and my body still aches, but my training is finished. Ezio tells me I must learn more by experiencing. From today on, he will begin to give me tasks across Italia! I am eager to begin! Every day I spend in training, Cesare Borgia grows stronger.
 * I will not go alone. Ezio tells me each mission will be carried out by a group of recruits. I will be assigned to a core team, leading the missions. I am to pick the other members of my core team.
 * My first choice is the archer who brutalized me atop the roofs. Cipriano Enu. His ebony skin marks him as a foreigner. The gleaming cross around his neck likely protects him from religious persecution in Roma. He runs his fingers across the bruise on my forehead and apologizes.
 * As I walk past the line of recruits, a woman tosses me a coin pouch. She tells me it was mine to begin with. I ask for her name. Tessa Varzi. She does not wait for an invitation; she takes her place beside Enu.
 * Some of the recruits avoid eye contact. It is a sign to me that they are not ready for a real mission. I spare them the humiliation.
 * I do not doubt that several of these men are already more skilled than I. It is not a contest. I assemble the best team I can.
 * We are ready. Though we will not use the entire team for every mission, we have a solid number ready to assist us when needed. Ezio is impressed by my choices and says he would have chosen the same. He reminds us of the creed. Thanks us for standing for what is right.

We Have Our Ways
Our Brotherhood has many means to equip it's soldiers. What we do not have we take from our enemies or gain by aiding our allies. As Ezio wages war upon the Borgia here in Romagna, we must prepare ourselves, bolster our supplies while crippling theirs.

Down With The Ships
Requirements: 10 AP (per execution), 5 Assassin Understudy, 1 Assassin's Bow, 2 Assassins, 1 Kukri, 1 Caraval, 1 Fire Pot, 4 Arrows.

Rewards: 22 XP, 400 florins.

Cesare continues to displace nobles, claiming their lands. We can make these conquests much less profitable. Iacopo Appiano, Lord of Piombino was ejected from his port city. He tells us that Cesare loads his spoils on several merchant vessels, set for Roma. We will sabotage them.
 * We reach Piombino's port without incident. We approach the ships under night's cover.
 * The Borgia mercenaries are overconfident! They have received no opposition here, so there are few guards awake. Fortunate.
 * I signal Enu to eliminate the guards silently. He nocks long, deadly arrows into his unusual bow and shoots four times. Four hits! Four kills! We wait several minutes just to be sure, then advance to the first boat.
 * Enu stands watch on the ship's deck as Tessa and I head below. She is lethal! She walks from cot to cot and slits throats! Each dies within seconds as I hold them down and keep them silent.
 * I signal the rest of our men to help. We take what valuables we can carry and leave the ship. Enu tosses a torch into the hold and we haul our spoils back to the carriage!
 * We reclaimed what bounty we could from Piombino's ships and sank the rest. There is still much for the Borgia to plunder, but we have left them an awful mess in the port to hamper their progress.