Venice was alive with Carnevale, its canals crowded with lantern-lit gondolas while masked nobles celebrated beneath the rule of the Merchant Republic. Ezia had just slipped from a Templar's palace when a young Venetian nobleman caught her landing on his balcony, blood darkening one sleeve beneath the edge of her cloak. Rather than raise the alarm, he silently offered her his mask as footsteps approached. Ezia studied him for a moment, surprised by his composure, then accepted it and stepped close enough to pass as his companion.

"I don't believe you know quite what you're involving yourself in, messere."