Cosmere City: Saga I: The Timekeeper

[Curious Anamaximder]

This is the first saga of Cosmere City. I will be a Rping 3 characters. Arcus, a atium compunder aka the Timekeeper, Lord Kaythus of the Deo Sector, and Ven aka the Destroyer or Mistkiller. Here we go!

Kaythus:

Lord Kaythus of the Deo sector of Cosmere City, Shardbearer and Feruchemist glanced out of the stained glass window onto the economic Deo sector. His brawny Horneater guards waited by the door as he comtemplated his personal gallery. He nodded to his guards and they formed around him as he walked out. Kiin was waiting for him. He stood in the hallway, a massive Teoish giant in a Admiral's uniform. " Kiin!" Kaythus said. " It is so good to see you!" Kiin was not smiling. " Your ports didn't let in my Worldhopping ships." Kaythus's demeanor changed. " What! You had permits!" " No. There was a attack. The Mistkiller."

Ven:

Ven strolled down the boardwalk in Ashe sector, licking a ice cream cone. The raid had gone well despite the 4 Thugs and Brutes guarding the dock. The had been delt with. What a sunny day, Ven thought.

Unto you guys.

[Turos]

Turos sprang up along-side the government building in the Deo sector. He watched one blue line extending from his torso intensely, ignoring countless others. The line grew thicker as he neared the rooftop. A section of the building extended out; a platform for a stone gargoyle aiming out from the corner of the rectangular building. The thick metal ring hanging through it's bared fangs swung slightly under the strain of his pull.

 

When he came within five yards of it, close enough to recognize the ghastly features, he tugged on another blue line to his left. The ball clutched in a stone dragon's claws didn't move. Turos pulled himself over enough to clear the gargoyle's perch. Just before he passed it, he released the gargoyle's ring, loosened his pull on the dragon's orb, and grabbed another line that pointed to the tip of the spire; the highest point of the structure.

 

Turos rose upward and tugged metal from passing corners in turn, causing him to spiral around the spire in a gradual rise. He held the spire's line just enough to keep him midair, and let his momentum and occasional corner pulls bring him around several more times.

 

He scanned the city all around and beneath him. He kept this up as he watched for a signal. He didn't know exactly where to meet, but was told that his potential employer would flash light up to him somehow. He imagined whoever it was would use a mirror, but you never could tell in Cosmere City.

 

As he watched, memories of past missions rolled through his mind. He recalled various deliveries, each one a small package with some form of tamper-resistant seals. That didn't bother him. He hadn't cared what he was delivering. Money was nice. The challenge behind it was the real lure. He hardly ever took a job unless it would test his limits in some way or another.

 

He chuckled as he remembered the last job. It wasn't a delivery. More of a scouting mission. His employers had wanted him to tail whomever he could manage from a list of people leaving a business meeting to their residence, then return with the address. The surprise on his employers' faces when he came back with all six addresses, two at remote ends of the city, was priceless. His wing suit had come in handy for that job.

 

This next employer was a new one. He had no idea who they were, but he already liked their style of making contact. He had found the note hidden in a water-tight container at the bottom of one of Cosmere City's small lakes. The container had been resting at the back of a pipe that was sealed with a grate. His ability to store breath for later use had been useful in finding the end of the pipe. His ability to pull on metals brought the container through a perfectly-sized hole in the grate.

 

The cluster of a hundred blue lines coming from the lake bed was what caught his attention yesterday. That lake was on his usual route around the city, and there was no way he could have missed it while burning iron. When he retrieved the container, he found the lines pointed at studs all over it's surface. The message inside was brief:

 

'From the highest peak, wait for the light beneath. Come find me. Be prepared for anything.'

Edited May 19, 2015 by Turos

[Young Bard]

What time period is this set?

 

The Bard looked at the object before him. "I trust you have evidence to back up this... claim?"

 

His customer looked him in the eye. Very few people did that, now. He had a reputation. This man was either very brave or very stupid.

 

The man pulled out a photograph. It didn't look tampered with, but he would need close examination later to be sure.

 

"And how much do you want for this? If your claim is... legitimate, then my entire collection wouldn't pay the debt."

 

His customer looked at him. The Bard didn't ask him for his name. He knew he wouldn't get it if he did. Names were information. Know both a man's name and his plans, and that could be worth something.

 

"A favor. That's all I ask. One, single, unconditional, favor."

 

The Bard's mind raced. Debt was something he had tried to avoid. If you were in debt, that person had power over you. On the other hand, if this was legitimate...

 

There was, of course, a third option. Take the deal, then a quick knife in the back before the repercussions occurred. But he shrugged that off almost immediately. The Bard was as successful as he was because he had a reputation. He had never double-crossed a contract. Slipped and slided, pushing it to the murky grey area, perhaps, but never broken it. You don't want to upset customers. And, everything always came out, in the end. No. He would have to be a lot more desperate than that to break a contract.

 

Feeling the customer's gaze on him, he looked up. "Well?"

 

The Bard made his choice. "What is this favor?"

 

What are the limitations of including other humanly-controlled characters in your story? Is it not allowed, or allowed with restrictions? Please answer in worldbuilding thread.

 

EDIT: Added spoiler tags.

Edited May 19, 2015 by TheYoungBard

[Curious Anamaximder]

Arcus looked at the young man tied to the table.

" I can tell you more about the King..." the young man whispered. He was bloody and his cuts had massive chunks of lemon on them.

" You are a Surgebinder." Arcus said. "I have need for your powers."

The young man wimpered.

Arcus lifted the spike. And slammed it down. The man screamed. Arcus yanked the spike out, and plunged it into his own heart. It fit nicely with the five others.

[the winter system]

Cleo could see.

She could see everything.

Blue lines. They surrounded her, enveloping her. So fine blue lines. Cleo stood on the top of the world, Pulling softly on the iron spire. Blue outlined the world. Steel burned comfortably in her stomach. Hemulargy had changed her from a Smoker into a Mistborn. Except she still had a power left. A power she didn't have. The ability that Kae had employed to hunt her down:

Double bronze.

Double bronze would let her pierce copperclouds.

Cleo would find a Seeker. Then she would kill them for the bronze.

[Turos]

Turos:

Turos continued to look for a signal from his next employer.

 

Hugh:

Hugh sat in a booth at the Jindoese buffet, gorging himself on all of the delicious meals. As he ate a spicy dish, a woman approached with a very muscular man. Both were crossing their arms.

 

"You need to leave." She said sternly.

 

Hugh let the food drop as he held the strange utensils to his opened mouth. He set the utensils down and wiped the mess off of his face. "Leave?" He said. "I haven't eaten all I can."

 

"You have been here four hours." The woman sneered. "You may be skinny now, but you will become a very fat man. I am doing you a favor. Leave."

 

"I'm still hungry." He explained. His stomach growled loudly.

 

The woman's eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped.

 

"You aren't going to send a hungry, paying customer away, are you?" He asked, putting on his best puppy eyes.

 

The woman shook her head and frowned deeply. She pointed a finger in his face. "Something isn't right about you. You should see a doctor."

 

"I'll get on that after my meal." He promised.

 

"You will go now." She scowled.

 

"Or what?" He scoffed. "Are you going to turn this honest business into a dishonorable one?"

 

The woman glanced at her muscular accomplice, then walked away.

 

The man stepped closer and glared at Hugh.

 

Hugh kept eye contact as he lifted another meatball to his mouth and bit into it.

 

-------

 

The restaurant door swung open and Hugh flew out of it, hitting the ground in a tumble that ended with him face-first on the asphalt. He groaned and picked himself up on weak arms and legs. He turned to look back at the business. His 'escort' glared at him from behind the closed, glass door.

 

Hugh stood up and walked away. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and checked his remaining funds. He had two fire chips and a five boxings. That meal had cost him his last sky mark, but it had been worth it. He patted his stomach to quell its complaining and tapped one of his many metalminds strapped to his arms and ankles. His stomach stopped grumbling and his flesh filled out a little more. He could taste the spicy flavor of authentic Jindoese cooking again and smiled.

 

Hugh had been away from Cosmere City for the past six months. Nobody would remember his many 'faces' by now. The riches of successful businessmen were like a steaming buffet waiting for him to dig into again. It was good to be back.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Turos

[Unodus]

Tusurker:

Tusurker Neothused woke up with a start. Bad dreams again, memories of the day of recreance echoed across his fading mind. Trying to shake off his phantom guilt, Tusurker looked around the small crumbling room. The four others he was sharing the room with were still in deep sleep. Unable to afford his own place of residence in the city, Tusurker had joined a street gang in order to stay off the streets at night because more and more people were "disapearing" these days. Only those who stuck together survived- and so Tusurker had pushed down his pride again in order to stay alive, joining the gang so he could sleep in their hideout. Grumbling, he got up and raised the curtain barring the cracked windows. A dark red night covered the city- it would be hours before the dawn came, perfect. Still wearing his Shardplate, Tusurker threw on his heavy cloack and put on his bandana to hold back his hair. Seeing the garish glow coming from his boots, Tusurker smiled warmly and whispered as to not disturb his roommates
"Etne, get out of there- we have work to do."
A white rabbit with scarlet eyes peeked its head out of the boot, and then suddenly disappeared in a puff of scarlet smoke.
"Yknow Etne, I think today is the exact day I left Roshar three years ago- kind of strange to think of it like that. I wonder whats happening out there?"
The rabbit, ears twitching, reappeared on Tusurkers shoulder as Tusurker stood up from his makeshift bed.
"Actually, that's just relativity." Etne sighed quietly "You've seen the other Surgebinders in the town who escaped Roshar- but not ones from the day of recreance. At least three hundred years have passed on Roshar while only three have passed for you, and if the knights radiant has returned then so has the final battle. We need to return."
Tusurkers face darkened, he had no intention of returning- but if he didn't Etne would die. How long could he put off returning?
When Tusurker first met Etne, the rabbit form had initially seemed embarrassing to Tusurker, what was it? where was the shell? How could something so pathetic serve a radiant? However, over the years though, Tusurker had grown fond of Etnes form- a testament to the ability to adapt to survive ones environment combined well with the ideals of a willshaper. The thought of losing Etne was just as terrifying as facing the voidbringers.
"We will return" Tusurker promised, "But first we have our duties to these people."
With a long sigh, the white rabbit evaporated back into scarlet smoke- and circled around Tusurker outstretched wrist. A long white two handed broadsword condensed from the smoke, leaving a trail of scarlet smoke in its wake.
"Let us be done quickly then" Etne, now a Shardblade, said "This city has started to change you."
Unnerved, Tusurker nodded- and threw open the door to the apartment. Running out into the night, Tusurker made his way to the appointed meeting point where he would be meeting another member of the gang to discuss tonight's plans.

[Mistrunner]

Mist hummed as she munched on a bar of chocolate. It was a good day. Well, except for that one guy who had tried to steal her hat. She liked this one. It was a fedora. Fedoras are cool.

 

But in this section of Cosmere City, there was always someone attempting to steal from her, whether it was her metals or her coins or her hat. They should really know better by now. She was a tineye. She could tell when someone was sneaking up.

 

Finally. She was at the place. She studied the shabby exterior and raised an eyebrow. Strange place for a metallurgist. Unfortunately, he was the best in town. Before she'd dealt with Amben, in the city, but his prices were eating through her savings. She could deal with this new man's... eccentricities.

 

And as if the universe was trying to prove her point, the door slammed open in front of her, and a wildly bearded man in a grey suit stared out, wild-eyed. His calm voice didn't match his appearance at all.

 

"I assume you're Mist. I have your metals."

 

"I see you already know of me."

 

"Well... yes. Come in. You don't want someone else trying to steal your hat today."

 

"Yep."

 

Mist knew enough- even without her zincmind- to know this man was a paranoid genius with a lot of informants. However, she had had no idea his web of spies stretched this far.

 

"Tin, I seem to recall." The metallurgist slid behind his counter. The store wasn't lit. Mist nodded, though he'd already turned his back. "Solution, dust, or bars?"

 

"What's the price for a bar?"

 

"Six clips."

 

"I'll do three."

 

"Four," he countered.

 

"Deal." Mist rummaged around in her pockets for her money pouch, pulling out the clips.

 

A few minutes later, she emerged from the store with her tin and caught a heard a the unmistakable sounds of a trolley. She ran over to the next street, where one was rumbling by. Mist jumped up and caught the pole on the back, swinging around it and pulling out her chocolate again.

 

It was a good day indeed.

[Turos]

Hugh:

A lanky figure strolled into Amben's store, but not before turning to watch someone run past him. He noted her spinning around a bar on the back of a passing trolley.

 

"People these days..." He muttered before stepping into the metallurgist's shop.

 

"You again." Amben said as Hugh marched up to the counter.

 

"You remember little ol' me?" Hugh asked in a deliberately exaggerated, rural skaa accent. "Careful now. You'll make me feel all special inside."

 

"What do you want?" The storekeeper asked, ignoring Hugh's shenanigans.

 

"I want to know what's going down in the big city, Amben." He spoke in his normal voice.

 

Amben shrugged as he filled vials with various solutions and capped them. "Lots of things are 'going down' right now. How much do you want to know?"

 

Hugh slapped a hand down on the counter top without breaking eye contact. "I'm listening." He said, then slid his hand off of the counter, revealing one of his remaining fire marks.

 

The red light cast a weak glow upon Amben's face as he glanced down at it. He palmed the mark and resumed his work. "There's word of a nuisance in town." He paused, looked at Hugh with a sniff, then turned his eyes back as he capped another vial. "A new nuisance."

 

"Oh?" Hugh asked.

 

Amben nodded. "They are calling him - her - it the Mistkiller."

 

"Mistkiller." Hugh let the word roll off his palette.

 

"Yep." Amben continued.

 

Hugh cleared his throat.

 

"That's what they call him." Amben reiterated.

 

Hugh sighed, then pulled his wallet out, and fished out the other fire mark. He slapped it on the counter and Amben pocketed it.

 

Amben turned and set his rack of vials on a shelf labelled with a series of numbers. "Seems this Mistkiller isn't afraid to march right in and take goods straight form the most respectable of shipping companies."

 

Hugh perked up at this and leaned in. "You don't mean..."

 

Amben let out a single laugh. "Apparently, old Kiin didn't think anyone had the spheres to strike while he was barely inside the customs office at port."

 

"No." Hugh said disbelievingly, eyes wide open. "That would have been right after I jumped ship."

 

Amben eyed him. Hugh laughed and stuttered. "From my uncle's vessel, a fisherman's craft. Heh. Uncle. Bless his soul. He made a trip just to pick me up form the western islands."

 

Amben shook his head. "Don't be getting in over your head now." He said.

 

"Is that concern for my well-being I detect?" Hugh asked with a smile.

 

Amben patted his pocket and smiled a greedy smile. "Yep."

Edited May 20, 2015 by Turos

[Young Bard]

Life in Cosmere City was dicey for an informant. They were constantly straddling two worlds, that of the rich, upper classes, and the low-down crime thugs. And each group hated the other. The rich classes were disgusted at the constant thievery of there property, and wanted information on street gangs movements. The street gangs, on the other hand, found the upper classes snobs and fools, and were more than envious of their money. Both groups knew that you were affiliating with their enemy, but they couldn't do much about it. Top-class informants were priceless.

 

Until, of course, another informant came along.

 

This... Amben, was growing to be quite the nuisance. He had lost customers. Losing customers meant losing information. Losing information meant being less valuable. And, suddenly, that protection, from being valuable...

 

But, he would deal with that in his own time. He had business to do.

 

He had assurances that Turos was reliable. It had been a simple matter, placing a message in a place almost no-one besides him would notice. Now, time for a bit of spectacle. He didn't want any stragglers in the area.

 

He had learnt a little secret from a man a few years ago. Infuse a single breath into some gunpowder, set it on fire, and you have one hell of a light show.

 

Of course, the people under him didn't know anything about that. They had fireworks, sure, but this put the Great Koloss Head-Munching Day fireworks to shame.

 

Standing on the balcony above, he looked around. First up, to check that Turos was indeed there, and then down at the street. 

 

A pinch was all he needed. Not enough to cause harm, he didn't want the police coming in, but enough for a bit of spectacle.

 

Releasing it as he lit the flame, it must have looked like a giant bird of doom was bearing down on them. When people think their life is in danger, they can move surprisingly quickly.

 

He made his way down, and was unsurprised to see that Turos had beat him down. Quickly checking he still had his disguise, he made his way onto the street.

 

The Bard prided himself on his ability to determine what was a lie. It wasn't magical, just training from centuries of practice. Part of the reason he was such a successful informant was that he never passed on false information. So, he had decided to meet Turos in person, in a location that couldn't be traced back to him. Paranoid, maybe, but it paid to be safe.

 

Determining so much of his information from clients through slips and mistakes, the Bard was very careful in his own language.

 

"I have two tasks for you."

Turos gazed back. "I have two words for you."

The Bard raised an eyebrow.

"Hurry up!"

"I want you to tail a man. He hired my services recently, and I want to know who he is, and what he's up to."

Turos thought for a moment. "How do I know it's him?"

"Here's a photo. He may have been wearing a disguise, however. You'll know it's him, because at midday tomorrow, he'll be at a certain address. I'll give that to you later. You'll tail him from there."

"Fine. What's the second task?"

As the Bard spoke, Turos' face gradually grew pale.

Edited May 20, 2015 by TheYoungBard

[Curious Anamaximder]

Ven rested on top of the Elariel Building in downtown CC. They were on the move. They were hunting him. Only one person wasn't. Ven dropped off the skyscraper, plunging off the building. He burned steel and duralumin and pushed towards Daa. He burned duralumin and pewter and landed. He swallowed a collection of metal beads, and walked into a building. Amben barely had time to look up before Ven backhanded him. He slumped over his desk, unconsious. What a idiot, Ven thought. He picked up a collection of vials and walked out.

[the winter system]

Cleo saw a figure jump off a building. Cleo leapt after them. Who are you? She wondered.

[Turos]

Turos:

"You want me to what?" Turos stared at his new employer, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

 

"I understand if you aren't up to it." The stranger said. "It does pay well, however. Very well."

 

Turos folded his arms, frowning. "Consider it done." He said, staring at his employer. A wide smile crept onto his face. This certainly would be a challenge.

 

Hugh:

A very fat figure sat on a bench a couple hundred feet down the street from Amben's workshop. Mr. Gamble, dressed in his usual cheap sports jacket and trousers tugged on his fake mustache. He watched the stranger leave the shop with a bag full of goods. It reeked of a chance to turn a big profit. Risky, but tempting. Mr. Gamble wasn't one to turn up his nose when money flaunted itself before him.

 

He struggled to his feet, waddled down the street and turned pulled open the door to a crowded bakery, and snagged a bag of fresh doughnuts from an unsuspecting customer. As he forced his way through the crowd, his size began to diminish. He tugged off his jacket, snagged his extra large pair of trousers from off his foot, and walked out the other door, skinny and clean shaven, dressed in his usual clothes.

 

Hugh was very glad to have such stretchy material to hide under his disguises. He opened the bag as he exited the bakery, pulled out a warm doughnut and popped the entire thing into his mouth.

[Curious Anamaximder]

Ven bounded along the factories of Daa sector, pushing on tin roofs. He looked behind him. A figure chasing him. Mistborn. Ven cursed then duralumin-Pushed to the left. He shot into the sewers. I have lost her, Ven thought. He ran along the sewers, heading for hideout.

Gathus, Son of Kaythus and Prince of the Deo sector, burst into Amben's metalurgist shop, Shardblade forming. A dozen Pewterarms followed, lifting rifles.

"Hello young prince." A silky voice said. Charden, the King's Investigator, stood in the room.

" Charden! What are you doing here?" Gathus yelped. " Smooth as ever. I am hunting the Mistkiller. His name, it is suprising. He has never killed. You I presume, heard about the stolen atium?" Charden asked. " Yes. We need to get to the bottom of this." Gathus said.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Venture Mistborn

[Kestrel]

Resool

Resool walked, barely looking at anything. He was lost in thought. Or rather, memory. It was strange, tapping into his own memories. It made him less aware of the world around him. But in a weird place like this, one had to keep a map on them somewhere. So, he kept his in one of his copperminds.

To be honest, he had no idea where in the world he was going. But that was okay, for now. He had no reason for being here, at the moment. He was just walking. This part of the city was alien to him, and Resool felt the need to poke around, if only for a little bit.

This part of the city gave him the chills. It was older, more run down than the other parts. He knew he might get something stolen, a metalmind or a few coins. He didn't intend for that to happen. And so, he walked fast, trying to keep his thoughts off of getting attacked in this setting.

[Mistrunner]

When the trolley slowed to pick up passengers, Mist stowed the bars of metal and chocolate back in her pockets and jumped down to the side of the tracks. A gust of wind picked up, and her hat flew off her head. Mist nearly cursed, caught herself, and stumbled forward to catch it, still off balance from landing.

 

She chased after that hat for nearly a block before smacking straight into a tall Terrisman and crashing to the ground.

 

"Ow. Oh- I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, I mean, are you okay? And did you see my hat?"

[the winter system]

The figure that Cleo was chasing flew out of her sight. Cleo burned bronze, but- like every other time- the ability to pierce copperclouds evaded her. There were no allomatic pulses coming from that direction. Cleo growled in frustration and just went in the general direction. She thought she saw the figure dissapear to the left, so she Pulled herself that way.

[Kestrel]

[Eh, spoiler tags are too hard on kindle

I have to manually type in all my code manually]

Resool, who was not paying attention too much to the hat, or his surroundings, for that matter, didn't see the young lady until it was too late; she crashed right into him, throwing him off balance and herself onto the ground.

Already anxious about this place, Resool jumped, the collision giving him quite a fright, but when he realized who it was, he relaxed slightly. But not too much. One never knew about the people here. She could be a pewterarm or coinshot, which would give him trouble in a fight. She certainly wasn't Terris however; he all but towered over her. If she had any Feruchemist blood, it must have been a very small fraction. [unsure about her height but Resool is pretty dang tall].

She seemed flustered however, so if she was an actor, she was a very good one.

"No, you're fine. Don't worry about it," Resool said with a slight chuckle, reaching down to offer her a hand. "Or rather, I'm fine. I don't know about yourself, as I am not you. So tell me, are you okay?"

[Mistrunner]

"Oh- yes, of course," she said, almost laughing. Mist grabbed the Terrisman's hand, pulling herself up. She peered off into the side streets, suddenly looking concerned. "I don't mean to be rude, but... well... I liked that hat," she said. "I guess it's gone now." She straightened her jacket with one hand, jangling the zincminds on her wrists and looked up at his face.

 

He was bald, skinny and wore stewards' robes. He had a kind face, but one never knew in this city. Still, it never hurt anyone to be nice. Well, except that one time, when she had tried to have a conversation with a mugger. Her arm still hurt from that exchange, as did her money pouch.

 

Still flustered, she stuck out a hand. "Oh- I'm Mist, by the way." She had to angle it upwards to his level- she wasn't exactly short, but he was Terris. They were all annoyingly tall.

[Turos]

Hugh:

Hugh turned off of the side street and walked along the sidewalk of one of the major streets. It was a good day, if not a little too sunny for his tastes. He grabbed the last doughnut from the white paper bag, closed his eyes and lifted it to his mouth. Something hit him in the face.

 

Hugh jumped in surprise, dropping the empty bag, but gripping the doughnut carefully. He opened his eyes, but couldn't see. Whatever was on his face prevented him from breathing with ease. He lifted his free hand and pulled the thing off.

 

It was a hat.

 

"Well I'll be..." Hugh remarked with a smile. Luck was on his side today. Giving the handsome fedora a flip, he placed it on his head and sighed. "Much better."

 

He continued his aimless stroll while calculating the details of his next move, after pausing to sample the still warm doughnut. Chocolate frosting. His favorite.

[Kestrel]

"Resool. Nice to make your acquaintance, miss," he replied with a smile, shaking her hand. At the mention of a hat, he frowned, looking off to the direction she had. "Well, your hat couldn't have gone far. Let's go look. Can't hurt to look."

Resool had, however, noticed the metalminds by the sound. So she was part Terris. He wondered what metal, but didn't work up the courage to ask, not yet. Mist did, however, wear clothing from another time period than himself. So she could be a Twinborn. He'd never met a Twinborn. Wouldn't that be something.

"Well, let's see how far we can get. And hope nobody picked it up."

[Mistrunner]

"Well- thanks- Resool, was it?" Mist hardly waited for an answer. She started skipping forward through the streets, whistling. For a moment, she tapped zinc, which sped up her thoughts enough to ascertain where the hat would have gone. "This way! Come on!"

 

She darted through the crowds with the dexterity of one who has lived in the city for years, looking up for the hat. She looked back to see if Resool was following and her mouth fell open in shock.

 

"Hey! He's wearing my hat!" Mist pointed as a man with a fedora- her fedora- turned a corner. She started running.

[Turos]

Hugh:

Hugh turned left at the intersection. He passed through a crowd of pedestrians and mulled over his plans. He needed to determine this Mistkiller's motivations. If he were a big time thief, new to town, what would his next target be?

 

He decided that the best way to figure that out would be to compare future targets to known past targets. The first thing the Mistkiller had done was raid a world hopping merchant vessel. Valuable goods from other worlds covered a large range of things. It could be dyes from Nalthis or Sel. Those were always in demand, especially in the Deo district. Business people had to appear fashionable.

 

Another possibility would be minerals. There wasn't an abundance of mistings in the city, at least not before he had left half a year ago. There were enough to keep a local metallurgist in business, but he couldn't imagine anyone attacking a ship for basic metals. Those were in abundance.

 

Hugh recalled the strange figure who had visited Amben's store after himself. The man had been in a hurry, not afraid to show off his steel allomancy. He had left with a rather large sack. The contents were obviously Amben's goods - vials of metal.

 

Hugh knew Amben had a specific cataloging system that only Amben could understand. The purpose was to prevent robberies. Anyone wanting a specific metal would have trouble figuring out which vial held which. The only one who could afford to down any metal without risk of not being able to burn it would be...

 

"A mistborn, huh?" Hugh grinned. "That does change things."

 

The Mistkiller. Had the mistborn he had seen been the newcomer he was looking for? Hugh chewed a finger nail as he thought. If that man was the Mistkiller, then Hugh had another target to work off of. The Mistkiller had a plan. To do anything risky, he would need more than the basic metals. In order to get the rarer metals, he would need a lot of the basics. Hence Amben's shop.

 

He adjusted his fancy fedora and thought some more. The Mistkiller had raided Kiin's ship, the same ship Hugh had stolen away on to get to the City. What did he know about the cargo on that ship? Hugh had jumped on board in Elendel. Metals were definitely on board. He recalled a locked room he hadn't been able to get into thanks to a guard posting for the entire trip. What was loaded into that room? Whatever it was, Hugh had a feeling that it was important.

 

Until he found out what exactly had been stolen from that ship, he wouldn't be able to narrow down the details enough to figure out the next target.

 

Hugh heard the voice yell over the crowd behind him. He made out the words "MY HAT" and turned, gripping the brim of his new lucky fedora.

[Mistrunner]

Mist knew that there were many fedoras in the city, but this one was hers. She could always tell. She had a weird sort of connection to her hats. Even the annoying ones.

 

Mist finally caught up with the man who had now turned to face her, a shocked expression on his face. She stopped a moment to catch her breath.

 

"That... is... my hat," she explained, reaching out a hand.

[Young Bard]

Walking down a street in Daa, the Bard reflected on the past few days.

 

First of all, these strange reports on 'the Mistkiller'. Despite much digging, which would be valuable when people would invariably ask him about it, he had been able to glean very little information about this mysterious figure. And the annoying thing was, he had almost certainly had contact with the person. After all, had he not had a transaction in which he was asked when the dockyard guard would be at it's weakest?

 

On the up side, the meeting with Turos had gone down successfully. He'd had a loaded gun in his pocket, in case, but it had proved unnecessary.

 

And then, there was the strange matter of the man who had given him a veritable fortune in exchange for a single favor. What inspired the man to do such a thing? Furthermore, he still hadn't gotten any answers, as the man hadn't shown up as agreed, but instead had asked to delay the meeting.

 

The Bard muttered a curse as he heard some people arguing about a hat. The hat in question, a fedora, didn't seem to be taking kindly to the argument. Of all things, why a hat?

 

Passing by a Terrisman earnestly trying to make his way through the crowds, he turned into the street where Amben lived. He treated other informants as an invasion of his territory, and he liked to deal with them personally. Then he noticed the people standing outside the shop, wearing uniform.

 

He found a street urchin across the road. He pulled out a few coins, not much, but still probably more than that boy would see in a week. "What happened here?"

 

The boy moved to grab the coins, but the Bard pulled his hand back. "A man woz 'ere, stayed a few minutes, then left again. Then another man came, with a big sack, then left with it all filled up. Then, that stick-man arrived, all skin and bones, looking like death himself he did, and is still in there. Then, those there cops showed up, led by that toff's son. The one from " His voice shrank to a whisper. "They say that man had some atium pinched. They say the mistkiller did it."

"And what did that second man, the one with the sack, look like?"

"Hard to say, sir, what with my eyes and all. Not wot they once were, you see."

The Bard looked at the urchin, gazing innocently upwards. "Let me guess. A little more gold might change that story?"

"Well, now you mention, seeing as the bloke was all strange-like, I might 'ave made a little special effort."

The Bard sighed, and tossed over a few coins.

"Well, 'e didn't seem so special, at first glance, sir. Not until you noticed the cloak. Tasseled, it woz, with strips 'anging every which way. Can't be too many people with that in the city."

So, the man was a Mistborn. That in itself narrowed down the possibilities to only a few. From there, all he needed was information on where all the Mistborn were at the time of the attacks.

 

As for Ambus, this latest uproar would scare away any customers for quite some time. The Bard was satisfied. He quickly paid the lad a few coins, told him not to mention the story to anyone else, and wandered away. All in all, a good day's work.