William of Montferrat

"We'll see how sweet they are... the fruits of your labors. You do not free the cities as you believe, but damn them. And in the end, you'll have only yourself to blame. You who speak of good intentions..."

- William of Montferrat

William of Montferrat (c.1147 - 1191) was the fifth target ordered by Al Mualim for Altaïr to assassinate. He was found in the rich district of Acre.

The Crusader Regent of Acre
Although not a giant of a man, William of Montferrat was nevertheless set in the belief that might makes right, and he spent countless hours training and berating his men to prepare them for the "coming war." Oddly enough, few of his soldiers had joined King Richard's march to the Arsuf Plains, leading people to wonder what "war" he was talking about. William demanded the best from his men--quick to point out flaws and reluctant to give praise. He was often shouting and rarely sounded happy. He was expecting a visit from Richard the Lionheart himself, and although the king had placed William in charge of Acre on his behalf, William was waiting for the meeting with a mixture of trepidation and annoyance.

Death
William of Montferrat was assassinated within his personal quarters located in the Kings Citadel, shortly after a visit from King Richard of England, giving Altaïr the opportunity he needed to get close enough to kill him. The assassin managed to stealthily penetrate into the lord's citadel fortress, and quickly put an end to his life. After observing William's and Richard's heated discussion safely under the cloak of the noble crowd, Altaïr pierced the fortress in search of his assassination target. He finally came to a cornered keep, a small fortress within a fortress. Altaïr listened as William belittled his men with razor barbed insults intended on encouraging them for better performance and stronger sense of duty. Silently approaching and skilfully eliminating archers, Altaïr finally moved into position. Remaining highly in tune with the surrounding environment, Altaïr patiently watched and waited for William to perfectly position himself for his own death. As William continued his speech and slowly paced toward the scaffold, Altaïr quickly dropped onto it, focused on his target, and before anyone even began to take notice of the impending danger leaped towards William, his Hidden Blade fully extended. Even as William took notice of the descending assassin it was too late, for by the time he realized it he was already being forced onto his back, and his throat was punctured severely by the assassin's steel Hidden Blade. Williams public assassination is recorded as the fifth major public figure to be publicly assassinated by Altaïr, and his death is the second within Acre.

Final Words


Altaïr: ''Rest now. Your schemes are at an end''.

William: What do you know of my work?

Altaïr: I know that you were going to murder Richard, and claim Acre for your son, Conrad.

William (laughing): ''For Conrad!? My son is an arse, unfit to lead his host, let alone a kingdom! And Richard? He also knows no better... blinded as he is by faith in the insubstantial. Acre does not belong to either of them.''

Altaïr: Then who?

William: The city belongs to its people!

Altaïr: ''How can you claim to speak for the citizens!? You stole their food, disciplined them without mercy, forced them into service under you!''

William: ''Everything I did, I did to prepare them for the "New World". Stole their food? No, I took possession, so that when the lean times came, it might be rationed properly. (coughs chokingly). Look around: my district is without crime- save those committed by you and your ilk!- and as for the conscription, they were not being trained to fight: they were being taught the merits of order and discipline. These things are hardly evil''.

Altaïr: No matter how noble you believe your intentions, these actions are cruel and cannot continue!

William (laughing): ''We'll see how sweet they are, the fruits of your labors. You do not free the cities as you believe, but rather damn them! And in the end, you'll have only yourself to blame...you, who speak of good intentions.''

Historical Materials
William was actually the fifth named of Montferrat, and he was additionally known as William the Old to differentiate him from his eldest son. Aside from his death in 1191, he differs in published reports from the man Altaïr met in Acre. Described as "medium, compact, with a round ruddy face and hair so fair as to be almost white," he was, according to Italian chronicler Acerbo Morena, eloquent, intelligent, good-humored, generous, but not extravagant. He was captured during the Battle of Hattin in 1187, and used as a pawn during the siege of Tyre, where his second son Conrad refused to barter for him even as Saladin threatened William with death. He was late into his sixties, and possibly living in Tyre, when he died.

Behind the scenes
Jade Raymond, producer of the game, revealed that originally they planned to have Conrad of Montferrat in the game. Their research indicated that he wasn't killed in 1191, but William, Conrad's father, was located in Acre in the same period. In order to maintain the historical accuracy of the project, William was inserted into the game instead.

Trivia

 * The map used for William's stronghold and the area where his assassination in Assassin's Creed takes place is re-used in Assassin's Creed II in Desmond's dream sequence. When Altaïr is chasing Maria, the tower in which the sequence ends is the very same above William's quarters.
 * The choice of William as a target for Altaïr was probably inspired by the fact that historically, his son, Conrad, was murdered by the Assassins in Tyre in real-life. In reality, William would have been an old man during the events of the game.
 * According to history, William of Montferrat was actually a very generous man, and often complimented his men, as well as holding his soldiers very highly.