During the Renaissance, if Ezio Auditore da Firenze committed an illegal act in an Italian city, officials, who were respected members of society, would accept Templar bribes and begin to falsely declare that they had personally witnessed him committing those acts. As his notoriety grew, Ezio would often seek out officials and assassinate them to silence their testimonies. However, most of the officials throughout Italy were paranoid and would flee upon sight of the Assassin, unless he was blending with nearby civilians.