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Thinking of her, he glanced at the stained-glass window at the back of the study, and was surprised to see it was dark.
That late already? Elend thought.
"My dear man," Breeze noted. "When you told us you needed to go and gather a few important references, you might have warned us that you were planning to be gone for two full hours. "
"Yes, well," Elend said, "I kind of lost track of time. . . . "
"For two hours?"
Elend nodded sheepishly. "There were books involved. "
Breeze shook his head. "If the fate of the Central Dominance werent at stake—and if it werent so fantastically enjoyable to watch Hammond lose an entire months earnings to the boy there—Id have left an hour ago. "
"Yes, well, we can get started now," Elend said.
Ham chuckled, standing up. "Actually, its kind of like the old days. Kell always arrived late, too—and he liked to hold his meetings at night. Mistborn hours. "
Spook smiled, his coin pouch bulging.
We still use boxings—Lord Ruler imperials—as our coinage, Elend thought. Well have to do something about that.
"I miss the charcoal board, though," Spook said.
"I certainly dont," Breeze replied. "Kell had atrocious handwriting. "
"Absolutely atrocious," Ham said with a smile, sitting. "You have to admit, though—it was distinctive. "
Breeze raised an eyebrow. "It was that, I suppose. "
Kelsier, the Survivor of Hathsin, Elend thought. Even his handwriting is legendary. "Regardless," he said, "I think perhaps we should get to work. Weve still got two armies waiting out there. Were not leaving tonight until we have a plan to deal with them!"
The crewmembers shared looks.
"Actually, Your Majesty," Dockson said, "weve already worked on that problem for a bit. "
"Oh?" Elend asked, surprised. Well, I guess I did leave them alone for a couple of hours. "Let me hear it, then. "
Dockson stood, pulling his chair a bit closer to join the rest of the group, and Ham began to speak.
"Heres the thing, El," Ham said. "With two armies here, we dont have to worry about an immediate attack. But, were still in serious danger. This will probably turn into an extended siege as each army tries to outlast the other. "
"Theyll try to starve us out," Clubs said. "Weaken us, and their enemies, before attacking. "
"And," Ham continued, "that puts us in a bind—because we cant last very long. The city is already on the edge of starvation—and the enemy kings are probably aware of that fact. "
"What are you saying?" Elend asked slowly.
"We have to make an alliance with one of those armies, Your Majesty," Dockson said. "They both know it. Alone, they cant reliably defeat one another. With our help, however, the balance will be tipped. "
"Theyll hem us in," Ham said. "Keep us blockaded until we get desperate enough to side with one of them. Eventually, well have to do so—either that, or let our people starve. "
"The decision comes down to this," Breeze said. "We cant outlast the others, so we have to choose which of those men we want to take over the city. And, I would suggest making our decision quickly as opposed to waiting while our supplies run out. "
Elend stood quietly. "By making a deal with one of those armies, well essentially be giving away our kingdom. "
"True," Breeze said, tapping the side of his cup. "However, what I gained us by bringing a second army is bargaining power. You see, at least we are in a position to demand something in exchange for our kingdom. "
"What good is that?" Elend asked. "We still lose. "
"Its better than nothing," Breeze said. "I think that we might be able to persuade Cett to leave you as a provisional leader in Luthadel. He doesnt like the Central Dominance; he finds it barren and flat. "
"Provisional leader of the city," Elend said with a frown. "That is somewhat different from king of the Central Dominance. "
"True," Dockson said. "But, every emperor needs good men to administrate the cities under their rule. You wouldnt be king, but you—and our armies—would live through the next few months, and Luthadel wouldnt be pillaged. "
Ham, Breeze, and Dockson all sat resolutely, looking him in the eye. Elend glanced down at his pile of books, thinking of his research and study. Worthless. How long had the crew known that there was only one course of action?
The crew seemed to take Elends silence as assent.
"Cett really is the best choice, then?" Dockson asked. "Perhaps Straff would be more likely to make an agreement with Elend—they are, after all, family. "
Oh, hed make an agreement, Elend thought. And hed break it the moment it was convenient. But. . . the alternative? Give the city over to this Cett? What would happen to this land, this people, if he were in charge?
"Cett is best, I think," Breeze said. "He is very willing to let others rule, as long as he gets his glory and his coins. The problem is going to be that atium. Cett thinks it is here, and if he doesnt find it. . . "
"We just let him search the city," Ham said.
Breeze nodded. "Youd have to persuade him that I misled him about the atium—and that shouldnt be too hard, considering what he thinks of me. Which is another small matter—youll have to convince him that Ive been dealt with. Perhaps hed believe that I was executed as soon as Elend found out I had raised an army against him. "
The others nodded.
"Breeze?" Elend asked. "How does Lord Cett treat the skaa in his lands?"
Breeze paused, then glanced away. "Not well, Im afraid. "
"Now, see," Elend said. "I think we need to consider how to best protect our people. I mean, if we give everything over to Cett, then wed save my skin—but at the cost of the entire skaa population of the dominance!"
Dockson shook his head. "Elend, its not a betrayal. Not if this is the only way. "
"Thats easy to say," Elend said. "But Im the one whod have to bear the guilty conscience for doing such a thing. Im not saying that we should throw out your suggestion, but I do have a few ideas that we might talk about. . . . "
The others shared looks. As usual, Clubs and Spook remained quiet during proceedings; Clubs only spoke when he felt it absolutely necessary, and Spook tended to stay on the periphery of the conversations. Finally, Breeze, Ham, and Dockson looked back at Elend.
"This is your country, Your Majesty," Dockson said carefully. "Were simply here to give advice. " Very good advice, his tone implied.
"Yes, well," Elend said, quickly selecting a book. In his haste, he knocked over one of the stacks, sending a clatter of books across the table and landing a volume in Breezes lap.
"Sorry," Elend said, as Breeze rolled his eyes and sat the book back up on the table. Elend pulled open his own book. "Now, this volume had some very interesting things to say about the movement and arrangement of troop bodies—"
"Uh, El?" Ham asked, frowning. "That looks like a book on shipping grain. "
"I know," Elend said. "There werent a lot of books about warfare in the library. I guess thats what we get for a thousand years without any wars. However, this book does mention how much grain it took to keep the various garrisons in the Final Empire stocked. Do you have any idea how much food an army needs?"
"You have a point," Clubs said, nodding. "Usually, its a blasted pain to keep soldiers fed; we often had supply problems fighting on the frontier, and we were only small bands, sent to quell the occasional rebellion. "
Elend nodded. Clubs didnt often speak of his past fighting in the Lord Rulers army—and the crew didnt often ask him about it.
"Anyway," Elend said, "Ill bet both Cett and my father are unaccustomed to moving large bodies of men. There will be supply problems, especially for Cett, since he marched so hastily. "
"Maybe not," Clubs said. "Both armies have secured canal routes int
o Luthadel. That will make it easy for them to send for more supplies. "
"Plus," Breeze added, "though much of Cetts land is in revolt right now, he does still hold the city of Haverfrex, which held one of the Lord Rulers main canneries. Cett has a remarkable amount of food a short canal trip away. "
"Then, we disrupt the canals," Elend said. "We find a way to stop those supplies from coming. Canals make resupply quick, but also vulnerable, since we know exactly which route it will take. And, if we can take away their food, perhaps theyll be forced to turn around and march home. "
"Either that," Breeze said, "or theyll just decide to risk attacking Luthadel. "
Elend paused. "Thats a possibility," he said. "But, well, Ive been researching how to hold the city as well. " He reached across the table, picking up a book. "Now, this is Jendellahs City Management in the Modern Era. He mentions how difficult Luthadel is to police because of its extreme size and large number of skaa slums. He suggests using roving bands of city watchmen. I think we could adapt his methods to use in a battle—our wall is too long to defend in detail, but if we had mobile bands of troops that could respond to—"
"Your Majesty," Dockson interrupted.
"Hum? Yes?"
"Weve got a troop of boys and men who have barely a years training, and were facing not one overwhelming force, but two. We cant win this battle by force. "
"Oh, yes," Elend said. "Of course. I was just saying that if we did have to fight, I have some strategies. . . . "
"If we fight, we lose," Clubs said. "Well probably lose anyway. "
Elend paused for a moment. "Yes, well, I just. . . "
"Attacking the canal routes is a good idea, though," Dockson said. "We can do that covertly, perhaps hire some of the bandits in the area to attack supply barges. It probably wont be enough to send Cett or Straff home, but we could make them more desperate to make alliances with us. "
Breeze nodded. "Cetts already worried about instability back in his home dominance. We should send him a preliminary messenger, let him know were interested in an alliance. That way, as soon as his supply problems begin, hell think of us. "
"We could even send him a letter explaining Breezes execution," Dockson said, "as a sign of good faith. That—"
Elend cleared his throat. The others paused.
"I, uh, wasnt finished yet," Elend said.
"I apologize, Your Majesty," Dockson said.
Elend took a deep breath. "Youre right—we cant afford to fight those armies. But, I think we need to find a way to get them to fight each other. "
"A pleasant sentiment, my dear man," Breeze said. "But getting those two to attack one another isnt as simple as persuading Spook over there to refill my wine. " He turned, holding out his empty cup. Spook paused, then sighed, rising to fetch the wine bottle.
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