Archer

... Bradley and Ralph's Independently Trained Optimal New Empire!

Mace tapped the table leg in front of him. It sounded hollow. Furtively glancing at the pair of guards glaring at him from down the hall, he slipped a knife from his belt. He quickly stabbed the leg, piercing it and likely severely reducing its value. Not that he cared. After all, it wasn't his stuff. Rhazien had invited him to the Ghostblood headquarters to ensure it was safe, so that's what he was doing. His actions during the afternoon had left holes in most of the furniture and floorboards in the building. And while he had found several empty secret compartments, a spinning wall, and a pipe that needed replacing, he had yet to find anything really dangerous. Still, it never hurt to be extremely thorough. With a grin, he got to his feet and looked around for the next location to search. He wanted to get into the vault so he could poke around, but the guards were having none of it. In fact, they'd only allowed him into the halls to the right and left of it, and of course, the massive ballroom directly above the vault. He'd slipped into some of the side rooms when they weren't looking too. But one can only look at so many torture rooms without getting bored, so he'd gone back to putting holes in expensive looking stuff. As he walked back to the main entrance, he spotted a flower vase he'd missed. It was ornate, with a pretty flower design on the front. Mace grabbed it by the neck, flipped it over, and used his knife to pop off the stamp on its bottom. It reverted to an ugly piece of shaped clay, so he tossed it aside. He'd done this to nearly ever vase and ornament he'd found so far. As he walked, he began to notice that the guards around him were looking concerned. A group of them hurried past him and into a side corridor. Curious, Mace followed. They led him to a door, solid and old looking. Two dozen guards stood looking at it, but none of them seemed willing to open it. Feigning an air of authority, Mace pushed his way to the front. "You two!" he shouted, pointing at a random pair of guards. "Don't let anyone in until I come back!" One of them moved to object, saying something about his orders, but Mace elbowed him aside. With a wink, Mace thrust open the door, and entered the room beyond, slamming the door shut behind him. The room turned out to be a simple sitting room. Mace was tempted to turn back, but at that moment a smell hit his nostrils. The smell of blood mixed with sweat. The smell of a battle. Curious, he followed it to its source. It led him to a room with a shattered door. There was blood on the floorboards, and a some ripped cloth lay discarded by the wall. It appeared that Mace had missed something exciting. Unfortunately, there was nobody around to tell him what it had been. With a sigh, Mace sat down on the floor to think.

Welcome to the Shard! Who's your favourite character?

The snowman was slowly melting. Its tempurature was gradually rising, causing it to change states. It started out as a solid, but was becoming a liquid. Currently, it was in that in between stage known as slush. If it continued to heat up, it would become a puddle. Puddles are small bodies of water made from small snowmen bodies. This is really hard to do on mobile. I've never seen any posts hit a character limit, but I guess we'll find out, Kidpen.

That's something for the ol' résumé. Vote for me, I've got the largest chest around! This makes me qualified to lead you for... reasons.

You offend me good sir! I didn't say I'm always against using it, but it would very difficult to argue that the end justifies the means. Sacrificing people is never cool. *looks directly at the camera* Kids at home, I understand that peer pressure can cause you to want to try sacrificing people to impress your friends. But if you've fallen in with the wrong crowd, there is a way out. Would you like me to recommend a good Hemalurgics Anonymous group for you Voidus? There is a path to recovery for everyone, even you. *gives Voidus a caring hug*

Thanks for correcting the party name Kidpen! I am definitely against the despicable actions hemalurgy users have undertaken. Sacrificing people is not my idea of a good time. I prefer parties! If you elect me, we're going to have some epic celebrations. Go AHP!

Welcome to the Shard Casta! I'm curious now, who's your favourite main character?

Fortunately, a small section of the area that had been recently been cleaned miraculously managed to retain its pristine condition. Thus, Mejin's work hadn't been entirely for naught.

Hello DrakenShadow ! I see Cadmium has already brought you up to speed on the important stuff, so I'll just say Welcome to the Shard! Your English is fabulous by the way, I never would have guessed it wasn't your first language. I look forward to seeing you around the forums. Cheers!

*passes @JacobClaessen a cookie* Your fortune says: You should gamble in ambiguity, because what happens in vagueness, stays in vagueness. Your lucky numbers are: 1, 2, 3, and 5. (Avoid four. Four is death.) We hope you like the Spinner Cookie™©®*!

Mace was having a relaxed weekend. Despite the stresses of the week, he'd finally been able to relax. "Fine day Sunday. In my opinion, best day of the week," he gleefully announced. But at that very moment, a Tia card dropped into his lap, seemingly out of nowhere. "AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he shouted, which was either the name of his favourite troll or a cry of frustration, it was hard to tell. Resignedly, he opened the letter and read it to himself. He was pleasantly surprised. Instead of one of those spam acceptance letters he'd been anticipating, the letter was an invitation to a party. I love a good party, he thought to himself. Conveniently, enclosed in the envelope was an additional Tia card to take him to the front doors of the mansion. Checking the clock on the wall, he decided he'd probably have enough time to inspect the grounds, leave to confirm the party's safety to his guild, then return dressed for the occasion. Smiling, he took the card in his hands and disappeared.

It seems too obvious, but my working theory about her Dad is that he escapes. From the sample chapters, we know he's pretty noble and heroic. To abandon his fellow pilots would go against his character. We also know that he's motivated to leave, saying "I’ve always wondered if I could get through." I think during the battle he spotted a hole, like the one he pointed out to his daughter earlier, and he took the opportunity to escape the planet. It was mentioned that he got shot down for cowardice, but this is a Sanderson book, so there's always plot twists. Maybe there was a conspiracy among the pilots to lie to the clan, or maybe he used special teleportation powers to escape right before the ship blew up. I don't know. What I do know is that I hope (and am confident that) we will see him again, alive and well. Edit: the UK edition of Skyward's cover appears to show someone escaping while she looks on. Her father maybe?

Luckily, Hoid knew the best way to find sugar for rolling in. "The first step is to do this," Hoid said, demonstrating the simple action that could save all of their lives. Unfortunately, no one could see how to do it because the stomach was very dark. And the acid was burning their eye holes.

Welcome! Who's your favourite Sanderson character?

"WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLUMBER?" Archer's voice boomed. "OH. I SEE YOU BROKE THAT WALL AGAIN. RELEASE THE MIMES! " The mimes promptly got to work fixing up the hole in the fourth wall, using a cement truck to do it. Once they'd glued the truck onto the hole, they rode their invisible elevator back to their invisible fishing tournament.

Rashan had finally learned the name of his opponent. Strangely though, the revelation didn't please him as much as it should have. His body was tingling all over, it made it hard to think. His peripheral vision began to fade. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he felt his blood seeping from his body. He suddenly felt very tired. Looking beyond his opponent, the world seemed to grow blurry. It was as if the spectators had all turned into wisps of shadow. Is this what it feels like to die? he thought to himself as unconsciousness embraced him. *** As his foe slumped to the ground, it was all Devaan could do to stay on his feet. He felt dizzy, and when he looked down at his body- Devaan fell to his knees to puke. As the adrenaline began to fade, he began to truly feel for the first time that day how weary he was. Everything ached. His skin was caked in blood and dirt. As he looked up, the world around him and Rashan had turned into a runny watercolour. No matter, he couldn’t bring himself to focus on much of anything at the moment. All he knew was that he was very, very tired. *** From his viewpoint in the stands, Mace was busy directing the dozens of people rushing around the arena. Snapping his fingers, he pointed to the two frozen combatants in the middle. “Is everyone ready? Somebody tell the pulser under the stadium to drop her bubble, the boxes of stormlight have arrived.” Pointing to someone else, he barked another order. “Kandlar! Get those medics in position! And make sure they have plenty of unsealed gold metalminds! And where’s that Elantrian?” Leaning over his desk to grab the loudspeaker, he began an announcement. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner,” his voice boomed throughout the stadium. “Give it up for today’s champion, Devaan!” The crowd gave a tremendous cheer. As the team of medics reached the combatants, Mace rose to his feet. It had been a good fight. Maybe to celebrate he’d go grab a drink at The Alleyway Bar. With that thought, he tipped his hat to the winner and strolled out the door.

^ That's also a good cure for headaches.* /s *TUBA is not responsible for any gods of wisdom that may spring from your head in the process.

Mace gave up and tore the armour apart with a burst of strength. He was just going to melt it down anyway. "Thank you for your hospitality, Sudo," Mace said with a bow. "I have long been an admirer of the elegance of ChayShan. It is an honor to meet a master of it." Mace's eye flicked around the room. The house wasn't very defensible, but it would do. His eyes lingered on decorative scroll on the wall, he thought he recognized the symbol, but he couldn't remember where from. No matter. If Kane thought this place was safe, he would trust that his host knew how to keep them safe.

At the house, Mace turned to his travelling buddy. "Thanks for the lift Kane! I appreciate it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to burn my clothes and comb through my hair. You should do the same, it will hopefully get rid of any tracking devices anyone tagged us with." He then tried to figure out how to get his bulky armour off without strangling himself accidentally. Armour is like sandpaper, he thought. Hard to make good analogies with. Spying a forge outside the house, he chucked his gun on the fire to turn it into molten slag. No sense keeping the evidence lying around.

Mace was oblivious to any swapping of personas. He just wanted directions to a good safehouse. "Where are we going?" he called to his companion as the man he knew as Kane suddenly turned to the left to run down a thin alleyway.

Mace acknowledged Kane, but kept running. Kane began to do the same beside him, giving them the chance to talk. "Hey, Kane! Do you know of any good hiding spots I could hang out at for a few days? I'm worried some people might try to avenge the rock's death."

Mace shook his head. He had to stop eating so much sugar, it was giving him hallucinations. Having cleared his head, he resumed his fleeing the scene of the crime.