Assassin's Creed: Outlaw - Book One

Planning The Tavern Job

"You want us to risk our necks to buy a pub for a thief?" John demanded, cutting, as always, to the heart of the matter.

"It's not that simple," Yughi protested.

"I don't know," John shouted. "It seems pretty bloody simple to me, as must you be if you think Robin will even entertain the idea."

"I think we should do it," Robin said, immediately undermining John.

"I don't believe this," John said. "It's one thing going after some corrupt bishop or what-have-you, but this is stealing from the king to pay off thieves."

"Really," Will Scarlet said. "It's stealing from Nottingham to help out my brother."

Usually Scarlet tended to come down on John's side in these matters, but today he had a personal interest in seeing the job done for his family.

"I don't know," Alan chipped in. "I don't really see as there's much romance in it. How do I write the ballad of Robin Hood helping the scoundrels of the city? It doesn't sound virtuous."

"That's because it's not," Friar Tuck said. "But it is prudent. Our assassin colleague here is right. If we have the thieves on our side it will be as good as having the key to Nottingham City."

"I thought you were tired of fighting on the back foot," Robin addressed John directly. "We pull this off and we will be taking the fight to the Sheriff, we will be on the attack, as you always wished."

"But it's just not right," John said. "I go to prayers on a Sunday, I eat fish on Friday, I fear none but God. This scheme to rob money and give it to the Master Thief of Nottingham does not sound like a pious act."

"Where do you think Nottingham got the money from?" Tuck asked. "You think he only takes money if God would say it's allowed? Because if so I may have some bad news for you."

"Two wrongs... isn't that the way of it," John asked, but Yughi could tell that his will was beginning to falter.

"I only propose this course of action because it is the way the assassins operate when they move to a new area," Yughi said. "I will not just be making connections with the thieves, I should also like to find a band of mercenaries we can build a relationship with, and also we will need to befriend the local courtesans guild."

John's eyebrows had knit, at the mention of 'courtesans' they shot up like they were trying to escape from his head and fly away.

"Whores!" he cried out. "You want us to cosy up to a bunch of whores!"

"Doesn't sound so bad," Scarlet said quietly. John shot him a poisonous glare.

"Might I remind you that gathered in this room we have a noble, a clergyman, two married men, of whom I am one, a thief and a foreign assassin. I can't help but notice that it's the latter two who have taken over planning and strategy."

"We are all outlaws," Tuck pointed out, "Clergy, noble, married or otherwise, we are all the same in the eyes of the justice at this time. I never saw you as a prudish man John."

"I am not, but Sarah, well, she..." John trailed off, blushing furiously.

"As it happens," Robin cut in before the conversation could make his right hand any more uncomfortable, "I have a job for you John, that will keep you out of the way of thieves and whores."

"Glad to hear it," John rumbled, "am I to make friends with the local graverobbers, mayhap?"

"Not quite," Robin said. "I shall explain to you in a moment. The rest of you are happy to look into any job that might land us the money to buy The King's Rest, yes?"

Everyone except John nodded.

"Then I'll leave Yughi in charge," Robin said. "Come, John, let's get you away from all this low talk."

Robin and John walked away leaving Yughi, Tuck, Will and Alan to their talk.

"So, what do we do, Master Assassin?" Scarlet asked Yughi.

With the use of the words 'Master Assassin', Yughi felt immediately uncomfortable. He knew Will was using the term in the same context as he would 'Master Thief', that was not the same thing as a Master Assassin at all. Yughi had to look at what he was doing, he was acting as a Master Assassin, even though he had not earned the rank, and he had no Assassins to train himself.

He had to reconcile the necessity of what he was doing inside himself with his feelings regarding his competence for the job. That lead onto wondering what the job actually was. He was here to find Ra's Will and to return it to Al Mualim. He was so far from the Holy Land that he understood some latitude had been given as to how he achieved his goal.

Was this the best way to go about things? Join the outlaws? Help them grow in strength? Build a quasi-Assassin's Guild in Britain? Were these necessary steps in achieving his goal, or was he just doing it because he believed in the outlaw's cause?

The time for questions was passed. He had started down this path now. He was committed to his course.

"We must go into Nottingham," Yughi said. "Find out, in our own ways, where we might source the 500 pounds necessary to buy the deed to the inn. Make a note of any opportunity. We don't want to do more than two jobs to get the money, this must be a single strike. We will meet here again, tomorrow, at sundown, the next day we must act."

"Very well," Alan said. "I will go see the minstrels in Nottingham, where there is a minstrel there is often a party, and such celebrations are filled with gossip."

"Aye, I will join my brother's people, we will hunt for a source," Scarlet said.

"There are still some clergy who recognise my vows," Tuck said. "I will go into Nottingham and see what money the Sheriff's clergy have stocked away. What will you do Yughi?"

"I will attempt to make contact with the courtesans of Nottingham," Yughi said. "They will also have many tales to tell."

Will Scarlet smirked at this.

"I would never have pegged you as much of a ladies man, Yughi," he said. "So the rest of us will be working and you'll be, what, dipping your wick in the name of research?"

"I need to befriend these women, not exploit them," Yughi said. "My interaction with them will be about business."

"Good luck," Scarlet said. "Those women don't trust men, not any of them."

"I tend to find," said Yughi, "that this is because men have given them little enough reason to."

"We'll see," Scarlet said, almost under his breath. "We'll see."