[M2TW AAR] A Blade in the Shadows
A blade in the shadows.
Cairo, 1124.
Saladin stood on the street of Cairo. He knew that this is the last evening he spends in the city he was born and raised. This night he will board a ship and leave this city, leave this sultanate, leave the Muslim World. No, this is not Saladin Ayyub we all know thanks to the history. This man was not sultan. He was not a general either. He was not a noble nor he was a crafter, he was one of those, whom nobody respects but everybody fears. He killed people, but not in the battlefield. Not sitting on the steed, with a scimitar in his hands. He was an assassin. And tomorrow he will wake up on a ship, taking him far away from his homeland, to the lands of Christendom, to the lands he never saw in his life and couldn't even imagine what they looked like.
Saladin sighed. He looked at the big mosque in the center of Cairo, prayed to Allah and mounted his steed. Full of deep thoughts, he left Cairo. Maybe forever.
His master, the Head of the Assassin's Guild has ordered him to go to the port which was connected with Cairo. Saladin just had to follow the road. He was gallopping on his horse, full of thoughts. Why must he leave Egypt? His master ordered him to do it. But why? Maybe the Sultan himself wanted him to do it?
He was so buried in his thoughts, that he forgot about everything and just gallopped forth. Very soon found himself in the port. An old man met him in the port.
- Hurry up. He is already waiting for you in the docks building.
Saladin gave the old man a coin and hurried to the docks. He soon found a big old dock storage and entered it.
Inside he found a man, clothed in black. His face was hidden by a cloth mask.
- Finally you've come. As you know, this night you depart for Italy. Northern Italy is very unstable now because of the rivaling families and duchies. The biggest states are Venice and Milan. They are growing very fast and more noble families are joining these two duchies. We can not allow them to gain much power. If they become too powerful, they will turn their sights to our rich lands. Then they will convince the Pope, the leader of their church to march on us, under the excuse of Holy War. Allah will help us to crush the infidels, but if the whole world turns on us, we won't be able to resist. You are our last hope. You will get orders from there. Your mission is to kill the targets and to stop the invasion. Now go, and be Allah's mercy upon you.
Saladin nodded and left the building. He saw the ship he was told to board and proceeded to it.
He easily got onboard, as the guards knew that they must let this "noble merchant" to enter the ship.
He heard a horn. Then, a little shake, and he felt that the ship is moving. So, here it is. The ship sails to the sunny shores of Italy.
Saladin was sitting in his cabin and thinking. Will he ever return home? Will he succeed in his mission? Will he stop the invasion?
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Originally Posted by OfficerJohn
