Brooding, Ezio crouched on a pier of worked stone that jutted from the very top of the Coliseum. The latest clue to the Vault had proven no less confusing that all its predecessors -- if only he could find a...
"Wow. That's a beautiful view."
Only years of rigid self-control prevented Ezio from starting in surprise and plummeting from his perch to the ground below.
"Rome's gorgeous this time of year."
Ezio stood and turned with a suddenness that should have surprised anyone but another assassin, but the man behind him didn't even flinch. He wasn't even looking at Ezio, who took in his profile as the stranger stared out over the panoply of the city below. Whoever he was, he wasn't Roman, not with that blond hair. Maybe Milan or Trento, but not Rome. He was dressed all in grey leather, the jacket and the trousers of a strange cut, and shod in heavy leather boots in the same grey.
How in the name of Hassan i-Sabbah did he get up here without me hearing a thing? Within arm's reach, yet? Ezio wondered. Even I make some sound when climbing.
"Parkour," the man said, then finally glanced his way, revealing blue-grey eyes and a grin that Ezio thought was equal parts taunting and good-natured. "You were wondering how I got up here where you were. Parkour," he repeated, not waiting for Ezio to answer. "'Course you wouldn't be familiar with the word, but you get the idea, right? Good exercise, great fun. But you know that already -- I've been watching you running through, around, and on top of buildings all week." His grin grew a bit larger. "Figured I'd give it a try."
In an odd gesture he raised two fingers to his brow and then pointed them at Ezio. "See you 'round," he said, then threw himself off the Coliseum. Ezio blinked, then looked down from his perch to see the blond man roll laughing out of a wagon full of hay, look up, and wave to him.
Numbly, Ezio waved back.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
"Wow. That's a beautiful view."
Only years of rigid self-control prevented Ezio from starting in surprise and plummeting from his perch to the ground below.
"Rome's gorgeous this time of year."
Ezio stood and turned with a suddenness that should have surprised anyone but another assassin, but the man behind him didn't even flinch. He wasn't even looking at Ezio, who took in his profile as the stranger stared out over the panoply of the city below. Whoever he was, he wasn't Roman, not with that blond hair. Maybe Milan or Trento, but not Rome. He was dressed all in grey leather, the jacket and the trousers of a strange cut, and shod in heavy leather boots in the same grey.
How in the name of Hassan i-Sabbah did he get up here without me hearing a thing? Within arm's reach, yet? Ezio wondered. Even I make some sound when climbing.
"Parkour," the man said, then finally glanced his way, revealing blue-grey eyes and a grin that Ezio thought was equal parts taunting and good-natured. "You were wondering how I got up here where you were. Parkour," he repeated, not waiting for Ezio to answer. "'Course you wouldn't be familiar with the word, but you get the idea, right? Good exercise, great fun. But you know that already -- I've been watching you running through, around, and on top of buildings all week." His grin grew a bit larger. "Figured I'd give it a try."
In an odd gesture he raised two fingers to his brow and then pointed them at Ezio. "See you 'round," he said, then threw himself off the Coliseum. Ezio blinked, then looked down from his perch to see the blond man roll laughing out of a wagon full of hay, look up, and wave to him.
Numbly, Ezio waved back.
![[+]](/images/collapse_collapsed.png "[+]")
Spoiler-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.