PoV Kelsier
Kelsier observed the Mists from the Workshop's rooftop, he was always fascinated by them, even before he Snapped, but becoming an allomancer made them all the more enticing, walking through the Mists while Burning metals felt like coming home, like hearing Mare's laugh, like sharing a bottle of wine between friends, like celebrating a successful job.
But it is the Mists reaction to Vin that is on his mind at the moment, there is something special about that girl, they reacted so strongly to Vin, with a palpable eagerness, with what he suspected the Mists to be, their reaction to her bodes well for his future plans.
Kelsier heard footsteps on the stairs with his Tin enhanced senses, he knows that tread, Docks, and waited.
In a few moments Docks joined Kelsier's side and said, "Not going out tonight?"
"I will, I was waiting for you", Kelsier answered.
"Tomorrow, our work will start in earnest. You pushed too hard, too fast, Kell. They might have backed out, they still might", Docks said quietly.
"They would not have. You and they themselves, give them too little credit, they are good men, all of them, so are you. Even with this world pushing them to be monsters, they still chose to be decent men, I do not have words to describe how incredible that is. I have my reasons for why I want them to truly own the reasons for why we are doing this. Intent is important", Kelsier asserted with confidence.
Docks exhaled heavily and asked, "What is your agenda for tonight then?"
"I am going to scout. See if other Great House's will increase their obvious defences. I have no doubt they already increased the number of allomancer and hazekiller guards. But how visible their heightened security is, will tell me something", Kelsier answered
Docks hummed in thought and asked, "Why did you kill Straff so soon, Kell? He was too high profile, his death would make other Great Houses too paranoid, yes, that paranoia might benefit our plan to start a House War, but it might just as well backfire. Even you can not fight a Mistborn, more than dozen Mistings and a small army at once."
Kelsier flashed Docks a smirk, when Docks just rolled his eyes in exasperation, Kelsier's smirk turned into a smile as he answered, "At least some of the other Great Houses must know how House Venture became so powerful, Straff's heir is an untested young man, and apparently does not have his father's ruthless streak, I want to see which Great House will move against Venture fastest. Or whether House Venture will fall due to internal strife."
Docks sighed, and said, "Just Breeze and his men, will not be enough for recruitment efforts, and Yeden is not charismatic enough to inspire the people."
"I know, for the next two weeks Breeze's job is to plant rumours about Survivor of Hathsin and the Eleventh Metal in Skaa gathering places. And prime them towards recruitment. I will deliver the recruitment pitch for the first few months, Yeden will follow after me. A few months of following me around, hopefully some of my charisma will rub off on Yeden and he will be ready to perform his actual function", Kelsier finished with a crooked grin.
Docks gave a dry look and asked, "What will you be doing these two weeks then?"
"A week to seriously train Vin in Iron and Steel, then another week to visit the Arguois caverns and come back to Luthadel, there are a few hundred rebel Skaa already making use of them. Whatever their circumstances, however they got to the caverns, they still rebelled, some among them will become part of the spine of the army we are making, I would like to visit them", Kelsier said.
Docks nodded and said, "I will reach out to my contacts in the area, arrange for a drop off of some foodstuffs by the time you arrive, perhaps that would get you a warmer welcome."
Kelsier chuckled and said, "Thanks Docks. Is there anything else?"
"Will you lead another planning session tomorrow, before you go with Vin?", Docks asked quietly.
"No, Docks. There is nothing crucial that needs to be discussed. Tomorrow will be discussing minutiae and getting to work. No doubt by the time I return we will have new problems that need to be solved, but next two weeks are mostly preparation. You all need to work out how to function as a crew without me. I have made my hopes clear, even after I am gone, I want this crew to work together. And that starts by holding planning sessions without me", Kelsier answered just as quietly.
"You ask for too much, Kell", Docks said with suppressed emotion.
And I will ask for more, Docks, far more, Kelsier thought with a smile and said, "I have faith that this crew will deliver."
"Is there anything else?", Docks asked, obviously unwilling to engage on the other topic.
"I want the most accurate portrait of the Lord Ruler you can find", Kelsier replied.
Docks gave a start and asked, "What?! Why?"
"Just a thought I had while talking with Vin. There should be one somewhere, it has been awhile since I last saw the bastard, I remember you telling me having an encounter with him recently", Kelsier answered with a shrug.
Docks took a moment, struggling with asking what thought Kelsier had, but he knows Kelsier too well, he knows when Kelsier is being evasive for the sake of drama and when Kelsier is being close-mouthed to keep something close to his chest. And finally said, "I will look for it, some overly religious noble should have commissioned or bought one. But it will probably take some time."
"You have six months, if can not find one by then, we will have to steal one from Canton of Orthodoxy, I am sure they have a few", Kelsier answered with an easy shrug.
Docks gave a look questioning Kelsier's sanity, but those are common enough from Docks.
Docks sighed, gave a nod and went downstairs.
Kelsier reached down into the rucksack at his feet took out his mistcloak, donned it and flew off into the mists.
-xxxxxxxx-
Returned from his scouting mission, still in his mistcloak, Kelsier knocked at Vin's door. With his Tin enhanced ears he could hear her wake and come alert at the first knock, Vin padded near silently towards the door, stopped a few feet away from it, and asked quietly, "Who is it?"
Kelsier answered in a conversational tone, "It's me, Vin, see to your necessities, pack two spare sets of clothing and join me in the kitchen."
And Kelsier strode away.
In less than ten minutes Vin appeared in the kitchen, Kelsier with a new baywrap in his hand gestured Vin towards a plate with three baywraps in front of an empty seat.
Vin took the invitation and started eating at Kelsier's insistence.
Finishing his third wrap, Kelsier dusted off his hands and said to Vin, "We are going on something of a training trip for a week. We will continue your general instruction on all basic eight allomantic metals, but the focus would on Iron and Steel."
Vin nodded her understanding, but continued to eat, Kelsier saw her slip a wrap into her trousers pocket, gave her a smile, and called for one of the kitchen workers to get Vin another wrap.
She eyed in the new wrap speculatively, no doubt debating whether or not to squirrel it away. But she decided to eat it, she clearly developed the skill all street Skaa children seemed to inevitably develop, eat however much they can and squirrel some away for later. That is not something Kelsier ever had to learn, Kelsier and his brother grew the first ten years of their lives as nobility, minor nobility but nobility all the same. Even when their mother's ruse was finally discovered, their mother prepared for that inevitability, Marsh and Kelsier had enough money to survive for years, and by the time that money ran out they found their own ways to earn a living.
Hah, earn a living, Kelsier you lived better than nine tenths of nobility, and you couldn't match that last one tenth because you could not openly spend your money.
It was actually the Pits of Hathsin that introduced Kelsier to starvation, it had not been a pleasant acquaintance.
As Vin finished her plate, Kelsier reached into his bag, took out the mistcloak he ordered to be made for her size. And said, "Wear this and let's go".
Vin tentatively reached out to her mistcloak and asked softly, "You are just giving me this? Don't I have to earn it?"
Kelsier chuckled, and answered, "What is there to earn Vin, you are Mistborn, you are Mistborn with or without the cloak, the cloak just helps to hide you better in the mists, and warns any guardsmen that see us to stay clear of our way."
Even with what he said, Kelsier knew getting and wearing a mistcloak for the first time will always be a little special. Kelsier just wanted to reinforce the fact that Vin can have things, be given things, without having to earn them.
Vin donned the mistcloak with an eagerness that she tried hard to not show.
Kelsier smiled, hung his rucksack on his right shoulder, took hold of the case's handle and led the way out.
The dawn is still an hour away and the Mists still shrouded the streets, Kelsier gave Vin a vial already mixed with basic eight allomantic metals, and gave her another small aluminium case, much like the one Kelsier gave her to keep her earring yesterday, filled with metal dust and said conversationally, "Only allomantic metals appear as reserves when we ingest them, so ingesting an unknown metal is dangerous, if it is not what you thought it was, you have just poisoned yourself, that is why you only ingest metals prepared by a trusted metallurgist, you can find them in any city. Another reason to have a trusted metallurgist is, allomantic metals need to be pure. Even the alloys need to be of precise percentages, you can Burn impure metals, they will be less efficient than pure metals or do not produce any effect, and they will make you sick, anywhere between a bad headache to needing bed-rest for a week. So only Burn metals from a trusted source. With me so far?"
Vin nodded in understanding. Kelsier held her eyes, made sure to emphasis certain words and said, "Usually, an Allomancer carries their metals in glass vials like this", Kelsier gestured to a mixed vial in his hand and continued, "That carries a risk of another allomancer Pulling or Pushing on the metal in the glass. Unfortunately, that is a risk we must take", Kelsier's eyes went to the small case in Vin's hand, and said, "our enemies Pushing and Pulling on the metals we carry is a risk, to minimize that risk, most allomancers do not carry, any metal on them, except, for the vials", Kelsier finished his explanation, with his eyes still locked on the small aluminum case in Vin's hand.
Vin locked her eyes with his, slipped the small case into a hidden pocket sewn in her waistband and nodded.
Clever girl!
"I will continue to supply your metals of course, but I will also introduce to the metallurgist I use in Luthadel. Do not overly worry about getting bad metals, metallurgists who make impure metals or imprecise alloys do not survive in the business. You should get in the habit of mixing your own vials, though", Kelsier spoke while walking, Vin beside him.
"What are the higher metals?", Vin asked, her voice curiously monotone.
"The two widely known higher metals are Gold and Atium. Their use is difficult to explain. Burning Gold lets you experience, as my own mentor put it, 'who you could have been in the past, had you made different choices', it is an unpleasant experience. And Gold is paired with Atium, that is what mined in the Pits of Hathsin. Burning Atium lets you see a few seconds into to the future and enhances your mind so that you can process all that additional information. While Burning Atium, a Mistborn is an unparalleled killer, and the only sure way to negate Atium's advantage in an enemy is to Burn Atium ourself, then the fight comes down to skill", Kelsier answered, hopeful that Vin caught his emphasis on few words.
"Shouldn't Gold be paired with an alloy of it?", Vin asked, still in that curious monotone.
"That would be logical, would it not? But it is not true. It has been common knowledge for centuries that Gold and Atium are paired and the higher metals are only accessible to Mistborn, which means there are no Mistings for Gold and Atium", Kelsier answered, imitating the same monotone she used.
Vin turned to Kelsier, caught his eye and held it, Kelsier read acknowledgement in her eyes.
Did you though? She has the mask of inscrutability down pat.
"If there are only ten allomantic metals, where did your Eleventh Metal come from?", Vin asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.
Kelsier chuckled, clever, clever girl, answered with a smile, "Perhaps the Lord Ruler tried to bury the secret of Eleventh Metal and I just stumbled on it. The stories and legends I heard are very definitive about it being able to kill the Lord Ruler. So, Lord Ruler has every incentive to keep it a secret."
"So is it real? What does it do?", Vin asked, still curious and a bit hopeful, huh, was the hopeful bit a farce or truth? I can not tell.
"If you mean by real, is it an Allomantically viable metal? Yes, it is, you can Burn it. As for what it does? I do not know, not truly, I have an inkling, I used it on Straff Venture before I killed him, Burning the Eleventh Metal does something. I haven't puzzled out what yet", Kelsier answered truthfully.
Vin did not ask any other questions.
As they neared the city walls, Kelsier crouched down and said, "Climb on my back, we need to get up the wall."
Long seconds passed, Kelsier was about to straighten and turn to Vin, obviously Kelsier misjudged something, but before he could, Vin slight weight settled on his back and her hands circled his neck.
Kelsier dropped a coin, flared Steel and Pushed against the coin, in a few seconds they crested the wall, Kelsier Pulled on the iron embedded in the walls lightly and landed. As soon as he touched down, Vin scrambled down from his back.
Kelsier turned to her and raised an eyebrow, but she did not say anything.
So once again Kelsier started the converstion with, "Are you Burning Steel and Iron?"
Vin just nodded.
Kelsier looked outside the city, dropped a small bar of metal, gestured Vin over and said, "See the line connecting to that metal bar?"
Once again she nodded, and Kelsier continued, "Burn Pewter, it enhances your sense of balance. Jump down and Push on the bar straight down to float."
"What if I fall?", Vin asked, with a faint tremor in her voice.
"I will catch you", Kelsier said confidently.
Vin looked at him for a long moment, looked down. And jumped, Kelsier looked down after her in wonder and thought, I had to be pushed.