Altaïr had been trained to kill someone in one blow from behind. Hidden as he was, Alain would never see him coming, if he wandered close enough. But a thought crossed Altaïr's mind: What if, as he himself had said, they shouldn't be fighting? What if this man was not truly an enemy? The first part of the Assassin's maxim was, Nothing is true. Altaïr should not believe everything the Gamemakers and even Alain himself told him. He should try to see things as they really were.

It was a risk, but he was determined not to break the Creed yet again by attacking someone who should be an ally. He slipped on his mask and used his second sight. Alain was awash in a feeling he could only describe as "blue." Altaïr quickly took it off and felt as if he'd run several laps. This complicated things. Driving the end of his climbing hook into Alain's throat was no longer an option even if he wanted to. He could try to incapacitate him with just his hands, but that required him to wait in the brush until his strength returned....