"We should head back. Father will worry about us," Frederico looked up at the moon, which hung like a luminous pearl in the sky. "Up for a race?"

"Sure," I grinned at him. "To where?"

"Eh... top of that church. Ready? Go!" Frederico ran down an alley to the left.

Why go to the side when you can go straight up? I wondered as I climbed swiftly up the church wall. I stopped when I stood on the roof and waited.

Frederico smiled when he saw me standing, waiting for him. "Well done, Ezio," he said. "But I want to show you something."

He leads the way up to the very top of the bell tower. He stopped to let me admire the view.

"It is a good life we lead Brother," he said, grasping my right arm.

"Indeed," I said, copying the gesture. "May it never change."

"And may it never change us."

We were silent for a while until Frederico walked to the edge of the tower. "I'm going home. Are you coming?"

"No, I'm not tired," I said. "See you tomorrow."

"Va bene. Tomorrow then," Frederico jumped into a cart full of leaves. When I saw him climb out and run off, I jumped down.

I wandered the streets until the clock on the guard tower struck midnight. I still didn't feel tired, and I still didn't want to go home. I hunted around for a good place to sleep. Eventually, I found a pile of leaves in a back street and settled down.

The next morning, when I woke up, a flash of metal caught my eye. But when I looked, nobody was there. I stared for a moment longer before heading towards home. I had gotten myself turned around the night before, so it took a moment to figure out where I was. After I got my bearings it didn't take long to get home.

The door stood open slightly. I hesitated. The door never, ever stood partway open. I felt uneasy as I pushed the door open. Something slammed into the back of my head.

"OW!" I stumbled and caught myself on a wall.

"Master Ezio! I'm so sorry!" Jessie said, dropping the iron pan she was holding.

"Ezio?" Claudia crept out of the shadows. "Thank goodness! We were worried that they had gotten you too."

"Who?" I looked from Jessie to Claudia.

"The guards. They came and took Father and Frederico. When Guinovhicci tried to stop them, they took him too! You need to save them Ezio!" Claudia was clearly worried.

"I will try," I promised. "Jessie, take them somewhere safe. I need to find the rest of my family."

I assumed they would be kept in the guard tower. I ran through the streets as fast as I could manage. The guard tower had plenty of hand and footholds. I climbed up hoping that I hadn't passed them.

"Ezio!" someone said quietly.

I stopped and looked through the nearest barred window. Inside, Guinovhicci was sleeping while Frederico and Father looked up at me.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"For now," Father looked at me intently. "Go into the hidden room in my study. Take everything out of the chest. Wear the clothes and the necklace and take the papers to Uberto."

"But-"

"Help will show itself one way or another," Father said softly. "Go quickly Ezio."

I looked down at the ground and was startled to see a robed figure with two swords and several pistols standing on the roof below.

"Go Ezio!" Frederico urged.

I glanced down again. The figure was gone. I climbed down the tower and headed cautiously back to the house. I thought I did pretty well. I only had to loose guards eight times.

The wall slid to the side, revealing a small room with a chest and a mirror. I unlatched the chest and looked inside. The chest held a folded, black, armored robe, a black shoulder cape that was red on the underside, a silver sword in a leather sheath, two knives that shot out if I flexed my hand backward, throwing knives, a stack of paper, and an anchor-shaped pendant on a short chain. I quickly put everything on, as Father had instructed. 

I picked up the paper and carefully walked into the streets, feeling like a swan in a group of ravens.

First right, then left, then the seventh door on the... right? I hope this is right. I knocked, hoping that, if this was Uberto's house, that he was awake.

The door creaked open. "Ezio?" Uberto looked surprised. He eyed me carefully. "Why have you come? And so late as well!"

I held out the paper. "Father said to give these to you."

Uberto took the paper. "I see. Would you like to come in for the night?"

"No, thank you," I said. I didn't want to sleep inside any houses right now. Houses for me meant dead ends.

"Suit yourself," Uberto closed the door.

Now, I thought. Where's that leaf pile?