APPLe: Phew, I'm so relieved to see you safe and sound, Vertin!
APPLe: We heard the sounds of fighting from below, and Ezio decided to check if any of you were in trouble.
Vertin: Sorry for worrying you. But Ezio ...
The sound of fighting has ceased for a while.
The dead silence feels ominous.
APPLe: I'm certain Mr. Ezio can handle it. He knows what he's doing.
Ezio: The Templars came prepared today. I'll go handle them. You stay here.
APPLe: Are you certain? What if it's a trap? I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should go toge—
Ezio: You don't need to worry. I've dealt with the Templars for many years.
The Assassin flicks his wrists, the cold sheen of the hidden blades flashing in the shadows.
He's always ready.
Ezio: This is just yet another battle the Templars will lose.
Ezio: Besides, you are my friends. I won't let them put you in danger.
The Assassin descends the stone steps in bounding leaps.
As he moves, he looks up and gives APPLe a final reassuring smile.
Ezio: I promise you ...
Ezio: We'll meet again, friend!
Vertin: ...
APPLe: He's a selfless man.
Vertin: And exceptionally perceptive. These Templars are indeed well-prepared today.
Vertin: I came out of the central nave because Sotheby and Leonardo were knocked unconscious by some kind of sleeping gas.
APPLe: What?!
Vertin: The priest named Alberto was likely behind it.
Vertin: I've hidden the two of them behind the altar, but there's no telling how long they'll be safe there.
APPLe: This is bad. We still haven't figured out the trick to opening the secret chamber; let's hurry, and we can exchange information on the way.
Step by step, the two climb up the long and narrow stone stairs.
Vertin: Optical filters ... Uccello ... Bird ...
APPLe: Yes, that's all we've managed to uncover so far. What about your side? Any new clues?
Vertin: ...
She instinctively glances over the dim stairway below them.
Vertin: ... Nothing substantial.
Vertin: But combining what you mentioned about the fresco and what the father said ...
Alberto: Hmm ... yes, there's another fresco in the dome, but it was suspended midway by the sponsor, the Arte della Lana.
Alberto: More than a dozen artisans and artists, including Mr. Uccello, the chief painter, participated in this project, but none of them received a single florin for their work. God bless them ...
Vertin: If I might speculate, I think that the fresco isn't a puzzle or the key to any mystery, but rather a reflection of the experience of the artists themselves as they were painting the cathedral.
APPLe: The artists' real experience? But how would you explain this surreal-looking stone?
Vertin: What if it's not a stone in the first place? Perhaps it's that optical filter you proposed?
APPLe: You mean that Uccello had an optical filter, too? Oh, that's smart!
APPLe: Even in this era, an optical filter wouldn't be impossible to make—all you need is something that reflects the light properly, for example, a small piece of stained glass.
APPLe: Anyway, we just need to get to the secret chamber to confirm it for ourselves—we're almost there.
APPLe: Huh ...? When did he ...?
A priest stands in the supposedly empty room, hands behind his back, he looks as if he had been there the whole time.
Alberto: You seem surprised to see me here, Mr. Golden Apple and Miss "Apprentice"?
Vertin: ...
Vertin: So you were working with them, just as I suspected.
Alberto: You hid your discovery about linear perspective from your friend to avoid being spied on, didn't you? That was wise.
Heavy footsteps come from behind the two outsiders.
A group of Templars emerges from the shadows; pouring out like cobwebs in the dim light.
Vertin: But it seems we weren't clever enough to see through your lies about emptying the cathedral.
Alberto: I never lied. What a baffling accusation. All I have done is call in my dear friends who had been exposed to the scorching sun while you were sleeping on the job.
APPLe: I don't understand ... You seem like a respectable man of the cloth; why would you betray your faith to serve the Templars?
The priest's face darkens.
Alberto: Betray? I've been a Templar all along. There was no one to betray.
APPLe: But isn't Leonardo your friend?
Alberto: Even the closest of friends may keep a secret or two from one another, don't they?
Alberto: It's not so different from his secret connections with the assassins.
APPLe: This truly is an era of distrust.
Alberto: Ah, and speaking of our friend Leonardo and that ... model girl, I admit you hid them quite well—it took our men some time to find them.
Vertin: gasp
Ignoring the anxious look from the young woman, the priest casually paces in front of the fresco, admiring it as if it were any other painting.
Alberto: So beautiful. I've always liked the way the lime layers peel away. Like buried sins, exposed to the light.
Alberto: Layer after layer stripped away; it's a kind of purification.
He turns around and reverently makes the sign of the cross over his chest.
Alberto: Now, open the chamber if you still care about the safety of your friends.
APPLe: L-Let me warn you: Ezio Auditore is on his way here.
APPLe: He will stop at nothing to destroy you Templars!
The declaration seems to have no effect on the priest.
Alberto: Ezio, you say? Ah, I'm afraid I must be the one to tell you—he's not coming back.
APPLe: What? What do you mean by that ...?
Alberto steps to the window, looking down at the red-tiled rooftops below.
Alberto: You will find we're also quite experienced—in dealing with assassins.
Alberto: He will find his eternal rest here in Firenze this day.
