Mistborn #01 The Final Empire

What did I ever do without tin?
    “Look, Ham,” Sertes said. “You won’t be able to come spar for a while. The Garrison is going to be . . . occupied.”
    “Occupied?” Ham asked. “How?”
    “I can’t say,” Sertes said. “But . . . well, we could really use a soldier like you right now.”
    “Fighting?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Must be something serious if it’s taking the attention of the entire Garrison.”
    Sertes grew quiet for a moment, and then he spoke again in a hushed tone—so quiet that Vin had to strain to hear. “A rebellion,” Sertes whispered, “right here in the Central Dominance. We just got word. An army of skaa rebels appeared and attacked the Holstep Garrison to the north.”
    Vin felt a sudden chill.
    “ What? ” Ham said.
    “They must have come from the caves up there,” the soldier said. “Last word was that the Holstep fortifications are holding—but Ham, they’re only a thousand men strong. They need reinforcements desperately, and the koloss will never get there in time. The Valtroux Garrison sent five thousand soldiers, but we’re not going to leave it to them. This is apparently a very big force of rebels, and the Lord Ruler gave us permission to go help.”
    Ham nodded.
    “So, what about it?” Sertes asked. “Real fighting, Ham. Real battle pay. We could really use a man of your skill—I’ll make you an officer right off, give you your own squad.”
    “I . . . I’ll have to think about it,” Ham said. He wasn’t good at hiding his emotions, and his surprise sounded suspicious to Vin. Sertes, however, didn’t appear to notice.
    “Don’t take too long,” Sertes said. “We plan to march out in two hours.”
    “I’ll do it,” Ham said, sounding stunned. “Let me go drop off my niece and get some things. I’ll be back before you leave.”
    “Good man,” Sertes said, and Vin could see him clap Ham on the shoulder.
    Our army is exposed, Vin thought in horror. They’re not ready! They were supposed to take Luthadel quietly, quickly—not face the Garrison straight out.
    Those men are going to get massacred! What happened?

----
No man dies by my hand or command except that I wish there had been another way. Still, I kill them. Sometimes, I wish that I weren’t such a cursed realist.

    25

    K ELSIER TOSSED ANOTHER WATER JUG into his pack. “Breeze, make a list of all the hideouts where you and I recruited. Go warn them that the Ministry might soon have prisoners who could give them away.”
    Breeze nodded, for once refraining from making any witty remarks. Behind him, apprentices scrambled through Clubs’s shop, gathering and preparing the supplies that Kelsier had ordered.
    “Dox, this shop should be secure unless they capture Yeden. Keep all three of Clubs’s Tineyes on watch. If there’s trouble, head for the bolt-lair.”
    Dockson nodded in acknowledgment as he hurriedly gave orders to the apprentices. One had already left, bearing a warning to Renoux. Kelsier thought that the mansion would be safe—only that one group of barges had left from Fellise, and its men had thought that Renoux wasn’t in on the plan. Renoux wouldn’t pull out unless absolutely necessary; his disappearance would require removing both himself and Valette from their carefully prepared positions.
    Kelsier stuffed a handful of rations into his pack, then swung it onto his back.
    “What about me, Kell?” Ham asked.
    “You’re going back to the Garrison, like you promised. That was clever thinking—we need an informant in there.”
    Ham frowned apprehensively.
    “I don’t have time to deal with your nerves right now, Ham,” Kelsier said. “You don’t have to scam, just be yourself and listen.”
    “I won’t turn against the Garrison if I go with them,” he said. “I’ll listen, but I’m not going to attack men who think I’m their ally.”
    “Fine,” Kelsier said curtly. “But I sincerely hope you can find a way not to kill any of our soldiers, either. Sazed!”
    “Yes, Master Kelsier?”
    “How much speed do you have stored up?”
    Sazed flushed slightly, glancing at the numerous people scurrying around. “Perhaps two, three hours. It is a very difficult attribute to collect.”
    “Not long enough,” Kelsier said. “I’ll go alone. Dox is in charge until I get back.”
    Kelsier spun, then paused. Vin stood behind him in the same trousers, cap, and shirt she had worn to the Garrison. She had a pack like his slung over her shoulder, and she looked