“True,” Dockson said, looking up from his notes. “But, was it worth it anyway? The work we did—the things we accomplished?”
Breeze and Ham paused, then they both nodded.
“And that’s why we stayed,” Dockson said. “Kell said it himself—he picked us because he knew we would try something a little different to accomplish a worthwhile goal. You’re good men—even you, Breeze. Stop scowling at me.”
Vin smiled at the familiar banter. There was a sense of mourning regarding Marsh, but these were men who knew how to move on despite their losses. In that way, they really were like skaa, after all.
“A house war,” Ham said idly, smiling to himself. “How many noblemen dead, do you think?”
“Hundreds, at least,” Dockson said without looking up. “All killed by their own greedy noble hands.”
“I’ll admit that I had my doubts about this entire fiasco,” Breeze said. “But the interruption in trade this will cause, not to mention the disorder in the government … well, you’re right, Dockson. It was worth it.”
“Indeed!” Ham said, mimicking Breeze’s stuffy voice.
I’m going to miss them, Vin thought regretfully. Maybe Kelsier will take me with him on his next job.
The stairs rattled, and Vin moved reflexively back into the shadows. The splintery door opened, and a familiar, black-clothed form strode in. He carried his mistcloak over his arm, and his face looked incredibly wearied.
“Kelsier!” Vin said, stepping forward.
“Hello, all,” he said in a tired voice.
I know that tiredness, Vin thought. Pewter drag. Where has he been?
“You’re late, Kell,” Dockson said, still not looking up from his ledgers.
“I strive for nothing if not consistency,” Kelsier said, dropping his mistcloak on the floor, stretching, then sitting down. “Where are Clubs and Spook?”
“Clubs is sleeping in the back room,” Dockson said. “Spook went with Renoux. We figured you’d want him to have our best Tineye to keep a watch.”
“Good idea,” Kelsier said, letting out a deep sigh and closing his eyes as he leaned against the wall.
“My dear man,” Breeze said, “you look terrible.”
“It’s not as bad as it looks—I took it easy coming back, even stopped to sleep for a few hours on the way.”
“Yes, but where were you?” Ham asked pointedly. “We’ve been worried sick that you were out doing something … well, stupid.”
“Actually,” Breeze noted, “we took it for granted that you were doing something stupid. We’ve just been wondering how stupid this particular event would turn out to be. So, what is it? Did you assassinate the lord prelan? Slaughter dozens of noblemen? Steal the cloak off the Lord Ruler’s own back?”
“I destroyed the Pits of Hathsin,” Kelsier said quietly.
The room fell into a stunned silence.
“You know,” Breeze finally said, “you’d think that by now we’d have learned not to underestimate him.”
“Destroyed them?” Ham asked. “How do you destroy the Pits of Hathsin? They’re just a bunch of cracks in the ground!”
“Well, I didn’t actually destroy the pits themselves,” Kelsier explained. “I just shattered the crystals that produce atium geodes.”
“All of them?” Dockson asked, dumbstruck.
“All of them that I could find,” Kelsier said. “And that was several hundred pockets’ worth. It was actually a lot easier to get around down there, now that I have Allomancy.”
“Crystals?” Vin asked, confused.
“Atium crystals, Vin,” Dockson said. “They produce the geodes—I don’t think anyone actually knows how—that have atium beads at the center.”
Kelsier nodded. “The crystals are why the Lord Ruler can’t just send down Allomancers to Pull out the atium geodes. Using Allomancy near the crystals makes them shatter—and it takes centuries for them to grow back.”
“Centuries during which they won’t produce atium,” Dockson added.
“And so you …” Vin trailed off.
“I pretty much ended atium production in the Final Empire for the next three hundred years or so.”
Elend. House Venture. They’re in charge of the Pits. How will the Lord Ruler react when he finds out about this?
“You madman,” Breeze said quietly, eyes open wide. “Atium is the foundation of the imperial economy—controlling it is one of the main ways that the Lord Ruler maintains his hold over the nobility. We may not get to his reserves, but this will eventually have the same effect. You blessed lunatic … you blessed genius!”
Kelsier smiled wryly. “I appreciate both compliments. Have the Inquisitors moved against Clubs’s shop yet?”
“Not that our watchmen have seen,” Dockson said.
“Good,” Kelsier said. “Maybe they didn’t get Marsh to break. At the very least, maybe they don’t realize that their Soothing stations were compromised. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to sleep. We have a lot of planning to do tomorrow.”
The group paused.
“Planning?” Dox finally asked. “Kell … we were kind of thinking that we should pull out. We caused a house war, and you just took out the imperial economy. With our cover—and our plan—compromised … Well, you can’t honestly expect us to do anything more, right?”
Kelsier smiled, staggering to his feet and moving into the back room. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“What do you think he’s planning, Sazed?” Vin asked, sitting on a stool beside the cellar’s hearth as the Terrisman prepared the afternoon meal. Kelsier had slept through the night, and had yet to rise this afternoon.
“I really have no idea, Mistress,” Sazed replied, sipping the stew. “Though, this moment—with the city so unbalanced—does seem like the perfect opportunity to move against the Final Empire.”
Vin sat thoughtfully. “I suppose we could still seize the palace—that’s what Kell always wanted to do. But, if the Lord Ruler has been warned, the others don’t see that happening. Plus, it doesn’t seem like we have enough soldiers to do much in the city. Ham and Breeze never finished their recruiting.”
Sazed shrugged.
“Maybe Kelsier plans to do something about the Lord Ruler,” Vin mused.
“Perhaps.”
“Sazed?” Vin said slowly. “You collect legends, right?”
“As a Keeper I collect many things,” Sazed said. “Stories, legends, religions. When I was young, another Keeper recited all of his knowledge to me so that I could store it, and then add to it.”
“Have you ever heard about this ‘Eleventh Metal’ legend that Kelsier talks about?”
Sazed paused. “No, Mistress. That legend was new to me when I heard of it from Master Kelsier.”
“But he swears that it’s true,” Vin said. “And I … believe him, for some reason.”
“It is very possible that there are legends I haven’t heard of,” Sazed said. “If the Keepers knew everything, then why would we need to keep searching?”