Mistborn #02 The Well of Ascension

Survivor is dead," Elend said. "I never knew him, but I've listened to enough about him to learn one thing. He didn't give in to despair."
    Ham smiled. "That much is true. He was laughing and joking the day after we lost our entire army to a miscalculation. Arrogant bastard."
    "Callous," Spook said.
    "No," Ham said, reaching for his cup. "I used to think that. Now. . .I just think he was determined. Kell always looked toward tomorrow, no matter what the consequences."
    "Well, we have to do the same," Elend said. "Cett is gone—Penrod let him leave. We can't change that fact. But, we do have information on the koloss army."
    "Oh, about that," Spook said, reaching into his pouch. He tossed something to the table. "You're right—they're the same."
    The coin rolled to a stop, and Elend picked it up. He could see where Spook had scraped it with a knife, peeling off the gold paint to reveal the dense hardwood beneath. It was a poor representation of a boxing; it was little wonder that the fakes had been so easy to pick out. Only a fool would try to pass them off as real. A fool, or a koloss.
    Nobody was certain how some of Jastes's fake boxings had worked their way up to Luthadel; perhaps he had tried giving them to peasants or beggars in his home dominance. Either way, it was fairly apparent what he was doing. He'd needed an army, and had needed cash. He'd fabricated the one to get the other. Only koloss would have fallen for such a ploy.
    "I don't get it," Ham said as Elend passed him the coin. "How come the koloss have suddenly decided to take money? The Lord Ruler never paid them."
    Elend paused, thinking back to his experience with the camp. We are humans. We will live in your city. . ..
    "The koloss are changing, Ham," Elend said. "Or maybe we never really understood them in the first place. Either way, we need to be strong. This isn't over yet."
    "It would be easier to be strong if I knew our Mistborn wasn't insane. She didn't even discuss this with us!"
    "I know," Elend said.
    Ham rose, shaking his head. "There's a reason the Great Houses were always so reluctant to use their Mistborn against each other. Things just got a whole lot more dangerous. If Cett does have a Mistborn, and he decides to retaliate. . ."
    "I know," Elend said again, bidding the two farewell.
    Ham waved to Spook, and the two of them left, off to check with Breeze and Clubs.
    They all act so glum , Elend thought, leaving his rooms to find something to eat. It's like they think we're doomed because of one setback. But, Cett's withdrawal is a good thing. One of our enemies is leaving—and there are still two armies out there. Jastes won't attack if doing so exposes him to Straff, and Straff himself is too scared of Vin to do anything. In fact, her attack on Cett will only make my father more frightened. Maybe that's why she did it .
    "Your Majesty?" a voice whispered.
    Elend spun, searching the hallway.
    "Your Majesty," said a short figure in the shadows. OreSeur. "I think I've found her."

    Elend didn't bring anyone with him save for a few guards. He didn't want to explain to Ham and the others how he'd gotten his information; Vin still insisted on keeping OreSeur secret.
    Ham's right about one thing , Elend thought as his carriage pulled to a stop. She is hiding things. She does it all the time .
    But that didn't stop him from trusting her. He nodded to OreSeur, and they left the carriage. Elend waved his guards back as he approached a dilapidated building. It had probably once been a poor merchant's shop—a place run by extremely low nobility, selling meager necessities to skaa workers in exchange for food tokens, which could in turn be exchanged for money from the Lord Ruler.
    The building was in a sector that Elend's fuel-collection crews hadn't reached yet. It was obvious, however, that it hadn't seen a lot of use lately. It had been ransacked long ago, and the ash coating the floor was a good four inches deep. A small trail of footprints led toward a back stairwell.
    "What is this place?" Elend asked with a frown.
    OreSeur shrugged a pair of dog's shoulders.
    "Then how did you know she was here?"
    "I followed her last night, Your Majesty," OreSeur said. "I saw the general direction she went. After that, it was simply a process of careful searching."
    Elend frowned. "That still must have taken some pretty mean tracking abilities, kandra."
    "These bones have unusually keen senses."
    Elend nodded. The stairwell led up into a long hallway