Well of Ascension

by Brandon Sanderson

  "So you don't have any atium at all?" Cett said. "None that we're willing to sell," Elend said. "You've searched the city?" Cett asked. "A dozen times."

  "The statues," Cett said. "Perhaps the Lord Ruler hid the metal by melting it down, then building things out of it."

  Elena shook his head. "We thought of that. The statues aren't atium, and they aren't hollow either-that would have been a good place to hide metal from Allomancer eyes. We thought maybe that it would be hidden in the palace somewhere, but even the spires are simple iron."

  "Caves, tunnels...."

  "None that we can find," Elend said. "We've had Allomancers patrol, searching for large sources of metals. We've done everything we can think of, Cett, short of tearing holes in the ground. Trust me. We've been working on this problem for a while."

  Cett nodded, sighing. "So, I suppose holding you for ransom would be pointless?"

  Elend smiled. "I'm not even king, Cett. The only thing you'd do is make the Assembly less likely to vote for you."

  Cett laughed. "Suppose I'll have to let you go, then."

  36

  ONCE THIS WAREHOUSE HAD HELD swords and armor, scattered across its floor in heaps, like some mythical treasure. Sazed remembered walking through it, marveling at the preparations Kelsier had made without alerting any of his crewmembers. Those weapons had armed the rebellion on the eve of the Survivor's own death, letting it take the city.

  Those weapons were now stored in lockers and armories. In their place, a desperate, beaten people huddled in what blankets they could find. There were very few men, none of fighting quality; Straff had pressed those into his army. These others-the weak, the sickly, the wounded-he had allowed to Luthadel, knowing that Elend wouldn't turn them away.

  Sazed moved among them, offering what comfort he could. They had no furniture, and even changes of clothing were becoming scarce in the city. The merchants, realizing that warmth would be a premium for the upcoming winter, had begun raising prices on all their wares, not just foodstuffs.

  Sazed knelt beside a crying woman. "Peace, Genedere," he said, his cbppermind reminding him of her name.

  She shook her head. She had lost three children in the koloss attack, two more in the flight to Luthadel. Now the final one-the babe she had carried the entire way-was sick. Sazed took the child from her arms, carefully studying his symptoms. Little had changed from the day before.

  "Is there hope, Master Terrisman?" Genedere asked.

  Sazed glanced down at the thin, glassy-eyed baby. The chances were not good. How could he tell her such a thing?

  "As long as he breathes, there is hope, dear woman," Sazed said. "I will ask the king to increase your portion of food-you need strength to give suck. You must keep him warm. Stay near the fires, and use a damp cloth to drip water in his mouth even when he is not eating. He has great need of liquids."

  Genedere nodded dully, taking back the baby. How Sazed wished he could give her more. A dozen different religions passed through his mind. He had spent his entire life trying to encourage people to believe in something other than the Lord Ruler. Yet, for some reason, at this moment he found it difficult to preach one of them to Genedere.

  It had been different before the Collapse. Each time he'd spoken of a religion, Sazed had felt a subtle sense of rebellion. Even if people hadn't accepted the things he taught- and they rarely had-his words had reminded them that there had once been beliefs other than the doctrines of the Steel Ministry.

  Now there was nothing to rebel against. In the face of the terrible grief he saw in Genedere's eyes, he found it difficult to speak of religions long dead, gods long forgotten. Esoterica would not ease this woman's pain.

  Sazed stood, moving on to the next group of people.

  "Sazed?"

  Sazed turned. He hadn't noticed Tindwyl entering the warehouse. The doors of the large structure were closed against approaching night, and the firepits gave an inconsistent light. Holes had been knocked in the roof to let out the smoke; if one looked up, trails of mist could be seen creeping into the room, though they evaporated before they reached halfway to the floor.

  The refugees didn't often look up.

  "You've been here nearly all day," Tindwyl said. The room was remarkably quiet, considering its occupancy. Fires crackled, and people lay silent in their pain or numbness.

  'There are many wounded here," Sazed said. "I am the best one to look after them, I think. I am not alone-the king has sent others and Lord Breeze is here. Soothing the people's despair."

  Sazed nodded to the side, where Breeze sat in a chair, ostensibly reading a book. He looked terribly out of place in the room, wearing his fine three-piece suit. Yet, his mere presence said something remarkable, in Sazed's estimation.

  These poor people, Sazed thought. Their lives were terrible under the Lord Ruler. Now even what little they had has been taken from them. And they were only a tiny number- four hundred compared with the hundreds of thousands who still lived in Luthadel.

  What would happen when the final stores of food ran out? Rumors were already abroad regarding the poisoned wells, and Sazed had just heard that some of their stored food had been sabotaged as well. What would happen to these people? How long could the siege continue?

  In fact, what would happen when the siege ended? What would happen when the armies finally began to attack and pillage? What destruction, what grief, would the soldiers cause in searching for hidden atium?

  "You do care for them," Tindwyl said quietly, stepping up.

  Sazed turned toward her. Then he looked down. "Not as much as I should, perhaps."

  "No," Tindwyl said. "I can see it. You confuse me, Sazed."

  "I seem to have a talent in that area."

  "You look tired. Where is your bronzemind?"

  Suddenly, Sazed felt the fatigue. He'd been ignoring it, but her words seemed to bring it in like a wave, rolling over him.

  He sighed. "I used most of my wakefulness in my run to Luthadel. I was so eager to get here " His studies had languished recently. With the problems in the city, and the arrival of the refugees, he hadn't had much time. Besides, he had already transcribed the rubbing. Further work would require detailed cross-referencing to other works, searching for clues. He probably wouldn't even have time to ...

  He frowned, noting the odd look in Tindwyl's eyes.

  "All right," she said, sighing. "Show me." "Show you?"

  "Whatever it was you found," she said. 'The discovery that prompted you to run across two dominances. Show it to me."

  Suddenly, everything seemed to lighten. His fatigue, his worry, even his sorrow. "I would love to," he said quietly.

  Another job well done. Breeze thought, congratulating himself as he watched the two Terrismen leave the warehouse.

  Most people, even noblemen, misunderstood Soothing. They thought of it as some kind of mind control, and even those who knew more presumed that Soothing was an invasive, terrible thing.

  Breeze had never seen it that way. Soothing wasn't invasive. If it was, then ordinary interaction with another person was comparably invasive. Soothing, when done right,*-was no more a violation of another person than it was for a woman to wear a low-cut gown or speak in a commanding voice. All three produced common, understandable, and- most important-natural reactions in people.

  Take Sazed, for example. Was it "invasive" to make the man less fatigued, so he could better go about his ministrations? Was it wrong to Soothe away his pain-just a bit- thereby making him better able to cope with the suffering?

  Tindwyl was an even better example. Perhaps some would call Breeze a meddler for Soothing her sense of responsibility, and her disappointment, when she saw Sazed. But, Breeze had not created the emotions that the disappointment had been overshadowing. Emotions like curiosity. Respect. Love.

  No, if Soothing were simple "mind control," Tindwyl would have turned away from Sazed as soon as the two left Breeze's area of influence. But Breeze knew that she wouldn't. A crucial de
cision had been made, and Breeze had not made that decision for her. The moment had been building for weeks; it would have occurred with or without Breeze.

  He had just helped it happen sooner.

  Smiling to himself, Breeze checked his pocket watch. He still had a few more minutes, and he settled back in his chair, sending out a general Soothing wave, lessening people's grief and pain. Focusing on so many at once, he couldn't be very specific; some would find themselves made a little emotionally numb as he Pushed too strongly against them. But, it would be good for the group as a whole.

  He didn't read his book; in truth, he couldn't understand how Elend and the rest spent so much time with them. Dreadfully boring-things. Breeze could only see himself reading if there were no people around. Instead, he went back to what he'd been doing before Sazed had drawn his attention. He studied the refugees, trying to decide what each one was feeling.

  This was the other great misunderstanding about Soothing. Allomancy wasn't nearly as important as observational talent. True, having a subtle touch certainly helped. However, Soothing didn't give an Allomancer the ability to know someone's feelings. Those, Breeze had to guess on his own.

  It all came back to what was natural. Even the most inexperienced skaa would realize they were being Soothed if unexpected emotions began bouncing around inside of them. True subtlety in Soothing was about encouraging natural emotions, all done by carefully making the right other emotions less powerful. People were a patchwork of feelings; usually, what they thought they were "feeling" at the moment only related to which emotions were currently most dominant within them.

  The careful Soother saw what was beneath the surface. He understood what a man was feeling, even when that man himself didn't understand-or acknowledge-those emotions. Such was the case with Sazed and Tindwyl.

  Odd pair, that one. Breeze thought to-himself, idly Soothing one of the skaa to make him more relaxed as he tried to sleep. The rest of the crew is convinced that those two are enemies. But, hatred rarely creates that measure of bitterness and frustration. No, those two emotions come from an entirely different set of problems.

  Of course, isn't Sazed supposed to be a eunuch? I wonder how this all came about....

  His speculations trailed off as the warehouse doors opened. Elend walked in-Ham, unfortunately, accompanying him. Elend was wearing one of his white uniforms, complete with white gloves and a sword. The white was an important symbol; with all of the ash and soot in the city, a man in white was quite striking. Elcnd's uniforms had to been crafted of special fabrics designed to be resistant to ash. and they still had to be scrubbed every day. The effect was worth the effort.

  Breeze immediately picked at Elend's emotions, making the man less tired, less uncertain-though the second was becoming almost unnecessary. That was partially the Terriswoman's doing; Breeze had been impressed with her ability to change how people felt, considering her lack of Allomancy.

  Breeze left Elend's emotions of disgust and pity; both were appropriate considering the environment. He did, however, give Ham a nudge to make him less argumentative; Breeze wasn't in a mood to deal with the man's prattlings at the moment.

  He stood as the two men approached. People perked up as they saw Elend. his presence somehow bringing them a hope that Breeze couldn't emulate with Allomancy. They whispered, calling Elend King.

  "Breeze," Elend said, nodding. "Is Sazed here?"

  "He just left, I'm afraid" Breeze said.

  Elend seemed distracted. "Ah, well." he said. "I'll find him later." Elend looked around the room, lips downturned. "Ham. tomorrow, I want you to round up the clothing merchants on Kenton Street and bring them here to see this."

  "They might not like that, Elend." Ham said.

  "I hope they don't." Elend said. "But we'll see how they feel about their prices once they visit this room. I can understand food's expense, considering its scarcity. However, there is>no reason but greed to deny the people clothing."

  Ham nodded, but Breeze could see the reticence in his posture. Did the others realize how strangely nonconfrontational Ham was? He liked to argue with friends, but he rarely actually came to any conclusions in his philosophizing. Plus, he absolutely hated fighting with strangers; Breeze had always found that an odd attribute in one who was hired, essentially, to hit people. He gave Ham a bit of a Soothing to make him less worried about confronting the merchants.

  "You aren't going to stay here all night, are you. Breeze?" Elend asked.

  "Lord Ruler, no!" Breeze said. "My dear man, you're lucky you managed to get me to come at all. Honestly, this is no place for a gentleman. The dirt, the depressing atmosphere-and that's not even making mention of the smell!"

  Ham frowned. "Breeze, someday you're going to have to leam to think about other people."

  "As long as I can think about them from a distance, Hammond, I shall be happy to engage in the activity."

  Ham shook his head. "You're hopeless."

  "Are you heading back to the palace then?" Elend asked.

  "Yes, actually." Breeze said, checking his pocket watch.

  "Do you need a ride?"

  "I brought my own carriage," Breeze said.

  Elend nodded, then turned to Ham, and the two retreated the way they had come, talking about Elend's next meeting with one of the other Assemblymen.

  Breeze wandered into the palace a short time later. He nodded to the door guards, Soothing away their mental fatigue. They perked up in response, watching the mists with renewed vigilance. It wouldn't last long, but little touches like that were second nature to Breeze.

  It was getting late, and few people were in the hallways. He made his way through the kitchens. Nudging the scullery maids to make them more chatty. It would make their cleaning pass more quickly. Beyond the kitchens he found a small stone room, lit by a couple of plain lamps, set with a small table. It was one of the palace's boothlike, solitary dining rooms.

  Clubs sat in one corner of the booth, gimped leg stretched out on the bench. He eyed Breeze with a scowl. "You're late."

  "You're early," Breeze said, sliding into the bench across from Clubs.

  "Same thing," Clubs grumbled.

  There was a second cup on the table, along with a bottle of wine. Breeze unbuttoned his vest, sighed quietly, and poured himself a cup as he leaned back with his legs up on his bench.

  Clubs sipped his wine.

  "You have your cloud up?" Breeze asked.

  "Around you?" Clubs said. "Always."

  Breeze smiled, taking a sip, and relaxed. Though he rarely had opportunities to use his powers anymore, Clubs was a Smoker. When he was burning copper, every Allomancer's abilities were invisible to those burning bronze. But more important-at least to-Breeze-burning copper made Clubs immune to any form of emotional Allomancy.

  "Don't see why that makes you so happy," Clubs said. "I thought you liked playing with emotions."

  "I do," Breeze said.

  "Then why come drink with me every night?" Clubs asked.

  "You mind the company?"

  Clubs didn't answer. That was pretty much his way of saying he didn't mind. Breeze eyed the grumpy general. Most of the other crewmembers stayed away from Clubs; Kelsier had brought him in at the last moment, since the Coppercloud they usually used had died.

  "Do you know what it's like, Clubs?" Breeze asked. "Being a Soother?"

  "No."

  "It gives you remarkable control. It's

  "Sounds delightful," Clubs said flatly.

  "And yet, it does things to you. I spend most of my time watching people-tweaking, Nudging, and Soothing. That's changed me. I don't... look at people the same way. It's hard to just be friends with someone when you see them as something to be influenced and changed."

  Clubs grunted. "So that's why we never used to see you with women."

  Breeze nodded. "I can't help it anymore. I always touch the emotions of everyone around me. And so, when a woman comes to love me ..." He liked to think he wasn't invasi
ve. Yet, how could he trust anyone who said they loved him? Was it he, or his Allomancy, that they responded to?

  Clubs filled his cup. "You're a lot sillier than you act."

  Breeze smiled. Clubs was one of the few people who was completely immune to his touch. Emotional Allomancy wouldn't work on him, and he was always completely f a wonderful feeling, being able to influence those around you, always feeling like you have a handle on how people will react."orthcoming with his emotions: everything made him grumpy. Manipulating him through non-Allomantic means had proven to be a fruitless waste of time.

  Breeze regarded his wine. "The amusing thing is, you almost didn't join the crew because of me."

  "Damn Soothers," Clubs muttered.

  "But you're immune to us."

  'To your Allomancy, maybe," Clubs said. "But that isn't the only way you people do things. A man always has to watch himself around Soothers."

  "Then why let me join you every evening for wine?"

  Clubs was silent for a moment, and Breeze almost thought he wasn't going to respond. Finally, Clubs muttered, "You're not as bad as most."

  Breeze took a gulp of wine. "That is as honest a compliment as I think I've ever received."

  "Don't let it ruin you," Clubs said.

  "Oh, I think I'm too late for ruining," Breeze said, topping off his cup. "This crew ... Kell's plan ... has already done a thorough job of that."

  Clubs nodded in agreement.

  "What happened to us, Clubs?" Breeze asked. "I joined Kell for the challenge. I never did know why you joined." "Money."

  Breeze nodded. "His plan fell apart, his army got destroyed, and we stayed. Then he died, and we still stayed. This blasted kingdom of Elend's is doomed, you know."

  "We won't last another month," Clubs said. It wasn't idle pessimism; Breeze knew people well enough to tell when they were serious.

  "And yet, here we are," Breeze said. "I spent all day making skaa feel better about the fact that their families had been slaughtered. You spent all day training soldiers that-with or without your help-will barely last a few heartbeats against a determined foe. We follow a boy of a king who doesn't seem to have a shade of a clue just how bad his predicament is. Why?"