Nepene

Maybe the war was between Honor and Cultivation as Leuthie suggested, and Odium came in and told both Cultivation and Honor that he'd be their buddy and he'd help them take the other one out?

Alfie jerked and swayed in the wind, reflexively tightening his paws whenever they went faster. He felt very worried not flying under his own power. He understood he couldn't just go soaring into the night but it felt very dangerous. And he could feel the slight lack in control. Eventually they arrived. Alfie loosed his grip slightly, ready to jump off they were going too fast, looking all around for metal sources. "Thanks for the ride, but I may drop off..." And he got ready to leave if the fall was too hard. Better Satsu didn't have a screaming cat wrapped around his neck.

Nice find, thank you. Incidentally, I've added this to my Realmatic Theory and Magic 101 post along with your name so any newbies can see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=J8Jv4LZBqtI#t=76s You might be surprised then.

It's like doing that in a story where Orion, the real Orion, is a magical man who we meet several times. I don't see any harm in this being worldbuilding or magic. I'm not gonna find the magic in his books dull if these stars turn out to be magical, I'm not going to hate him if it's just another pretty passage describing the world. It is a longshot that this is anything weird. They probably are just stars. But I see no harm in them being stars or not. On it being a planet, it was described as a swathe of things, not as a singular Mars like red planet.

http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/1999-writing-for-charity-interview/ Even though cultivation has some spren that doesn't mean surgebinding has to be from here. Given its association with the knights radiants, people of Honor, I'd assume it's Honor magic. Cultivation presumably has her own magics which her spren may power.

Alfie refilled his metals with what Satsu had given him. He sighed with relief as he felt the familiar pools of power in his chest return, the rich piles of power. He could not use them though. He was remaining metal silent. He wasn't sure how well seekers could track powers- could they track individual people's powers? "Thank you. It feels uncomfortable, very weird, but I am avoiding burning any metals at all at the moment." He climbed up onto Satsu's shoulders and wrapped himself tightly around. The gauntlet was what was hurting him? "I wish you strength and willpower."

Ah no, the second part was just meant to be theorizing. I thought that was clear from me saying that it would make sense that it was end negative, as opposed to stating it as a fact. Evidently not. Could you give me your exact standards? Would you say all speculation on this thread where theories are presented as fact is wrong? For example is That bad? On the main topic, I wonder if Cultivation has a creative process counterpart like Ruin and Preservation. If there were four creative shards that would make them fit nicely into a group, like with four groups of four metals of Scadrial.

I suppose technically compatibility doesn't require things to be alike, though normally compatibility involves some shared properties. This thread is about speculation, talking about voidbinding and death quotes which we know almost nothing about. We can't discuss it in any depth without making mental leaps. For example earlier, We don't have any information on this so it's very hard for us to make well founded statements. You could go through this thread and pick holes in almost every post. As a fan though, I enjoy speculation. When the second book comes out we can see how accurate our speculation was and speculate more.

He could be Voidbinding, or doing whatever magics Cultivation has. Honor mentioned that Cultivation was good at seeing the future and http://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/1a3fj0/discussion_of_the_week_shadesmar_truthspren/c8veqw0 Brandon has said that Cultivation is most like Ruin, and so it would make sense that her magics were end negative. He could be cultivating death.

Alfie waited nervously for the blow to fall, for that powerful pull that ripped his spikes clean out. And waited. Nothing happened. He looked up. Satsu was pacing back and forth, a heavy fall to his feet. He looked nervous and angry. And thoughtful. He might just survive this. He licked his shoulder again, taking in a bit more electrum. Ahh, the old images. Nothing in the near future spelled death. He always felt worried, without these images in front of him. He could cycle through an hour in a few heartbeats and see everything that could happen. He'd never got why these humans worried so much about age. The next hour was a lot more important and could kill you long before a growth or a sickness would. Satsu was playing with his food. Alfie approved. That showed the meat not to talk back to you. "Yes, I am ready." He started walking. "Though I am almost out of steel and electrum. Do you have any spare, in case we face any danger?"

I suppose it's possible that Odium had an out of planet asteroid base for torturing heralds.

http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/2357-the-most-useless-uses-for-useful-powers/ We've thought of many other ways to squander away extremely valuable powers too. But joking aside, I can see some uses for lerasium alloys. Suppose you were a general and you wanted an army to attack someone. You might not want your soldiers to have too much power or they might overthrow you. So you might give them the powers you want and nothing else. You could give it to someone to strip them of their mistborn powers. If you had a shortage of lerasium you might only be able to afford enough to make a misting.

My mind is strong, my pen is itching but I lack the tools to be the the best. Teach me, Professor Chaos, show me the lines of magic and science which will keep me safe against the zerg hords of the chalklings.

Alfie looked down, feeling ashamed, sad, happy. Confused. Whatever punishment he deserved he'd take. He flew forward through the air, slamming against the ground. He felt the metal cotton slam against his stomach, slicing it. He fell down to the ground and felt his throat churn. He vomited against the floor, voiding most of the contents of his stomach. Blood too. He felt dizzy. Woow. He couldn't see straight. He blinked and burnt tin, what remained of it. He felt his vision come back into clarity and listened to Satsu's words. He forced himself to speak, agreeing. "I shall not be sidetracked by revenge again." Does pissing on his corpse count? "I shall avoid dispersing them in the future." Hadn't that been what he wanted? Some distraction to lure them apart, to isolate them? Why wouldn't he want them isolated? Maybe he wanted a big fight. He seemed much more aggressive. Angry. Satsu took the spike. He clenched his paw lightly. It was his... no. At least it wasn't it Harmony's hands. He saw the duralumin slice into the man's flesh. Blood. Pretty. Should we go back? "I agree with whatever you support, master." The man really wanted a big fight. Would this do any good? They were dispersed, had guns, a lot of powers. Some would surely escape even if Satsu won. Should he hold his tongue? Let him do whatever he felt was right. No. He didn't want someone else to avenge. He had to speak. He couldn't have another dead master right after avenging the first. "No, wait, I don't. They outnumber you a lot, they have a lot of guns. They'd kill you. They have seekers who'd likely see you burning steel from a mile away. Just before you were talking about a distraction or luring them away. What happened to that? They'll be distracted as hell. I thought about this. A gang of people held together by a connector is a lot harder to kill than a bunch of scared people running about. We can pick them off one by one, maybe with you as Ironeyes. If you must fight now I could get close to them and I could burn steel, draw some out. I screwed up, yeah, but I did it while doing your plan, distracting them and isolating them so you could take their powers. They're ripe for the picking. The only man who saw me I drove mad. It's not that bad. Don't run off and get killed. I need you." He stopped speaking. He'd said too much. He felt the fire in his chest die down. Was about to die? He hung his head, and waited.

I just typed it in from the book without really thinking. I'll edit it so it's clearer.

On the Azish man, there are two possibilities. Sigzil, the bridgesman is one. Sigzil is a worldsinger, which offers intriguing possibilities of his knowledge. He has dark skin too. It seems likely he is the Azish man if the man is mentioned in the book, though the patch isn't mentioned. He tried to kill a darkeyed man but failed (despite thinking he had succeeded), and his master is Hoid. . From chapter 68. Seems unlikely as a possibility. For the second man, there's too many possibilities for me to easily guess. He is paranoid, Alethi, and thin. That could describe half the men in the kingdom most likely. He is the only obvious guess.

Alfie stumbled onwards, lost in thought. He was a pet, a savior, a killer. An Inquisitor. What was he really? He wondered if those he killed had families, like his. Revenge. He remembered one of his master's children. He'd been a steel feruchemist. He used to sneak out at night to have trysts with his lover, one of their house servants. A thin, lithe lady, with long flowing hair and a rather plain face. Eventually she had started moving on and had been sleeping with one of their maids while still with him. He'd cried his eyes out worrying, having heard the rumours. She had denied everything. He didn't know for sure until later when he spied on the new lovers making out in the middle of the family farm. While the two new lovers had their fun the master's child used his speed to gather every possession that either of the two had. Their clothes, family possessions, the wine she'd bought, every penny, and gave it to a traveling doctor. He'd not be short of rags to bandage wounds for a while. Then he got his father and told on the pair. They were thrown out for sleeping on the job with nothing but the clothes on their back. If he got revenge it must be good. He walked into Satsu. He started shaking. He didn't want to die. He had to report. He spat out the spike and started speaking, his voice halting and breaking. "The man... at the house. The bandit lord. He was the man who killed my family, slaughtered them before my eyes. I snapped. I killed him. I pushed his connector spike right out of him." He drew a deep breath and continued. "There's one person alive who saw me. I told him I was a Kandra, and... drove him mad with my zinc." He brushed his eye, rubbing away some of the liquid. "I think I got dirt in my eyes when I... flew. That's why... this." Yeah. That had gone well.

Alfie hurtled through the air, the air whistling past his teeth, his head forced back against his shoulder. His heart beat faster, his skin felt icy, his fur felt like it was going to be ripped off him. He felt a bullet coming close and pushed against it. It deflected into the cloak, missing his tail by a fingerspan. His steel was almost out. He hoped it would last. Free of the alarm, rushing through the cold night, he started burning tin. Everything suddenly felt icier than before, sharper. He took a moment to focus and peered through the city. He hadn't had much vertical momentum and was coming down hard towards a building. He peered through it. Someone's stove. Big and heavy. Good. He shut off his tin again, along with his electrum, and used a strong steel push to send him flying off it, upwards again, soaring to where Satsu was. He hoped this sudden changed of direction would confuse any seekers. They could see his push, but could they see what way he was going? And they shouldn't know He peered through the night, looking out with a soft steel sight. There, beneath him. Satsu. He was going in the right direction. But he was still going too fast to slow down without breaking a leg. He pushed against a pole in the street. He felt his metal run out. He no steam left. He was gonna crash. Die. None of his other metals could help him. What could he do? Then he remembered. That metal cotton that Satsu had given him. There was some steel on his right shoulder. He licked. He felt a rush of power. As he soared over the location where they had been he pushed against every steel thing he could find in front of him. The mistblanket flew off him as he slowed down. He was coming down to a roof. He pushed, slowing down more. He landed right on the edge. Spinning round he grabbed the edge with his paw as he fell off. Safe. He dropped down to the ground and headed back towards where he and Satsu had been, walking through alleyways and avoiding contact, with all of his metals off so that seekers couldn't see him, hiding in the shadows. He took a rather circuitous route, not on the direct path he'd taken with his steel. He was safe. What had he just done? He'd killed Harmony, the man who slew his family. He'd taken his spike, which hung safely between in his teeth. He could taste his own blood where it'd cut him. He'd killed a bunch of people in the house. Blamed it on the Kandra. Do you mind, Harmony? That I blamed it on your agents? That I murdered people? "I don't mind." A voice spoke in his mind. Harmony? "You killed them. I saw it all. You murdered a cook good. It was beautiful the way that knife thrust into the cook. Beautiful. You drove them insane. I never could do better." Oh. The woman. He felt himself shaking. He was a murderer. He wanted electrum. He started feeling his skin crawl. "Remember thrusting that nail through the man's chest, feeling his organs give out as you speared them? You make poetry of their bodies." He stopped walking. Still a while to go. He had to continue. "And you did it with a smile on your face. You were happy." He had. He felt bad. Sick inside. He needed something, to be closer. He found a bin and hid behind it, away from prying eyes. Someone could walk by and see nothing. He spat out the spike, held it in his paw. He had stared at this spike with his tin eye before. He knew exactly how to position it. He pressed it to his chest and pushed. He felt a little trickle of blood run down his chest. It hadn't gone. He wasn't strong enough. The pain felt good though. He put the spike back in his mouth and felt a trickle of water down his face. Crying. His body hurt all over. He was shaking. He missed them. He felt happy though. Revenge felt good. This rage had been inside of him all that time. Hatred, a grudge. An old wound from the past. That bastard Harmony. He deserved every ounce of pain he'd gotten and more. He'd learnt the consequences of crossing him. He'd felt the pain of having a part of him ripped out forever. Alfie cried tears of happiness. He got up and continued on, the tears still wet on his face, a happy fire burning inside of him.

I approve of your mass reading of books and welcome you to the site.

Alfie saw the window smash open with his gun fire. As the glass littered the floor and the ground he took stock of the situation. Two guards maddened by his continual flashes of allomancy, potential witnesses, a host of allomancers closing on the house, one gun, a dead gang leader, a spike in his mouth. Damnit. He should have waited, or planned this out better. Now he had to deal with this, get away. He started burning tin just a little. Argh. It hurt, with the noise. But he needed the clarity. He grabbed the blanket with his teeth and levitated to the centre of the room. He then had an idea. Maybe he could blame this on the... kandra. That was it, kandra. People were already paranoid. Maybe he was just another kandra serving Harmony. He called out to them. "The Kandra are angry at your betrayal of Harmony, your use of his name. Sazed is angry at you. Repent or Iron Eyes will come with his mistborn Kandra." That was done. What did he have? Metals. Steel. Very very low. He could make it last for a while or push very hard for a short time but it was gonna run out. They had no idea how hard he could push. Brass. Not great, but ok. Electrum. Maybe a minute left remaining and none of the futures looked bright. Zinc. He had ample zinc. Tin too, that was ticking over fine. He swung the blanket over his back, like a cloak. It was jagged at the back, black. It fluttered behind him. A mistcloak. Heh. He couldn't charge out like that though. Too many witnesses. He wrapped it around his head to protect him from any glass and conceal his form. He looked at his electrum futures. Risky. He needed a distraction. He looked around him. The building was filled with metals. Pipes. Nails. Traps. Metal in the paints, in the stones, though he could barely touch those. Blue lines ran out from him in every direction. He could trip every trap in the house, rip out a lot of the nails without much force at all, maybe even break some of the weaker parts of the house. Maybe he could smash the house. It should distract those outside at least. But he didn't want to get caught between his pushes so he had to move forward. He could see men with guns, and the blue lines to those too, and he didn't want those guns pointing at him when he left. He hovered to the window, so that the entire house was behind him, and pushed everything. The remaining window exploded, sending glass shards flying out as he shot from the building like a bullet. OOC. Assuming you approve this attempt of mine, smashing up the building, Satsu should have a fun sight to see when he comes.

Ah yeah I agree, good point, they could be doing that as well.

Perhaps, though if so I shall be sad at the lack of immersion since Mythbusters busted it being doable to safely catch a blade in your hand. And given that he is also wearing a robe, I think it is unlikely he is a pure soldier.

I was rereading way of kings when i noticed something curious in the artwork. http://brandonsanderson.com/images/wok/tWoK_EPHEMERA-1_CODES-webres.jpg You can see on the right that there is a robed man dodging a sword. He is presumably using a surge to bind half his weight upwards and meditating while dodging an attack. On the left another man, also in robes, is catching a sword in his bare hands. It's possible that he is likewise using a surgebinding power, like the ability to reshape metal to make it dull, or the ability to bind their flesh to make it harder. Either or both pictures also hint at something else. The surgebinding powers were used on humans, not just against whatever void monsters exists.

Alfie rubbed his sore shoulder. After a while of having spikes removed you gained some resistance to it, but it still felt horrible. "Let's go and get them. My metals are ready. My muscles are strong. My electrum burns dark. Hopefully we are safe from the Terris now. They might try to track us." This is the result of an irc chat between me and Satsu that went on entirely too long given our responsibilities, and was totally awesome and fun. Everything was in order, nya. The meat, tin and steel pellets packed. Servants seemed to be asleep. I also took a revolver loaded with bullets of different metals, just in case. I wasn't a very good shot. On the opposite side of the house, Alfie burnt each of his metals in turn. Steel for strength. Electrum for vision. Zinc for rage. Tin for hearing. Brass for soothing. All were ready. He gripped his coin tight in his hand. Before he had left, before the incident had happened he had been playing with his master's children, returning coins for them. He had taken this coin all the way from over there... He walked through the house up to Satsu and rubbed his face against his foot, speaking softly. “You ready yet? I responded quickly. "I am ready, nya. Just remember to speak quietly. I leave the house, leading the way." I took out a map and showed Alfie where we were going, the spike in the sixth octant. http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/2411/elendelcaton.png Alfie followed at Satsu's heel, walking behind him, not speaking. He didn't want to be caught. He felt a lot more confident in Satsu's company though. He gripped the coin in his hand tightly. As we move through the alleyways, I notice a few shadow figures in the deeper shadows. So far, they just seem to take my measure. Alfie burnt tin to better see the figures, and whether they have guns or weapons. He trusted Satsu to protect himself, but didn't want to get caught in the middle of a gun fight. Several of the figures had knifes, one had a shabby gun. They were not organized, just street hoodloooms so far. This is not the best place in town. Alfie mrowed out a warning. "Mrow mrow mrow" (some danger, no aggression.) I move my clothing so that my revolver would be more clearly visible in the feeble light of failing street lamps. Some of the figures seem to slink into the shadows. Alfie walked proudly down the alleyway, confident that these people were too scared to attack them. Some seem to become more hostile, but seem to think better than to attack Alfie noticed a few of the men huddle together and move away into alleyway, speaking quietly Alfie burns electrum, and asks his future self what he would hear had he gone to hear their words. He didn't want to go away from Satsu and get mugged but he was curious what they were saying. His conversation to his future self was limited, but essentially "Let's go tell the boss" Alfie relayed this to Satsu as best he could in cat. "Men are going to talk to boss man about me." As I listen to Alfie's words, I start burning pewter, revelling in returned power. However, his words alarm me somewhat. "About you specifically, or us?” They shouldn't have been alarmed by Alfie... Alfie paused for a moment and thought. He wasn't used to speaking cat and there was no word for us in cat. They were solitary creatures. "About the group of you and me." "I see. Probably off to report that armed and rich guy is wandering dark streets alone." I look around. The last of the figures seem to be going now, but I can't be sure. "Could you look around and see if they left anybody to trail us?" Alfie assents, and burns tin carefully, looking all around and listening carefully. The place looked brighter than day to him with his tin. There was indeed a guy in the far shadows looking at us intently. He seemed to be able to see well enough. Alfie softly burnt zinc and strengthened the man's curiosity. He mrowed to Satsu that they were being watched. The man cautiously moves closer. Alfie wanted the man to reveal himself to Satsu. Alfie kept burning his zinc, and ever so lightly burnt brass to dampen any aggression the man was feeling. I try not to look in the direction Alfie indicated, and listen carefully. I can hear a man, but pretend to be oblivious to draw him closer. I consider the course of action. "Some small amount of intimidation seems in order" Keeping his burn on, Alfie waited for Satsu to do something, ready to support whatever he said with his metals. "I flare Pewter and feed it with Investiture, as I estimate the man to be close enough. I turn and move, quickly, before he can react, stopping close to him. As he did this, Alfie started burning zinc stronger, and increasing the man's fear. After that he darted behind a bin to hide and watch the events, glancing around with tin and steel to see if the man had any buddies. "Ah, good sir, you surprised me" -I say to him, smiling sweetly. I could see the guy was seriously spooked by my movement and that was the moment Alfie started rioting him Alfie thought the man might piss his pants if Satsu got any closer. The man mumbles apologies and runs off in the direction the previous group have gone. I detect a slight scent of urine. OOC. He rolled a 3. 1 would have him faint Alfie darted back behind Satsu and spoke very quietly to him. "Should I follow him from the rooftops and see what they were saying?" "I wonder what he pegged me as"- i tell quietly, confident that Alfie would hear me regardless, "Yes, but do not move too far. We are close. Just make sure they aren't" The watcher catches on to them and babbles about Feruchemist or possibly Ironeyes. Alfie indeed could hear the slightest whisper, especially when he was burning tin so hard. Using his steel to soften his footsteps, he ran up the side of the building and went to the roof. He then sneakily went above them and listened to their conversation. Even from this distance he could see the metals in their bellies and hear the words on their blue lips. The watcher looked pretty panicked. Some others laughed, though they seemed a bit concerned. Alfie used a pulse of zinc to boost the laughter and the happiness of those laughing. Perhaps they would speak more freely. "Didn't seem like Ironeyes to me." -says one of them "Probably Feruchemist or Zinc twinborn" They were not very happy, so Zinc had little effect beyond calming them down. One of themseems to notice emotional manipulation. He looked around, but couldn't see Alfie. He assumed that they are close enough to the hemalurgical man. "Seems like somebody is rioting me" he says "the bugger must be a twinborn" Another spoke. "Good thing we didn't attack him. We should hurry to the boss" Alfie avoided burning any metals, and listened carefully to their conversation, listening for any titbits of information. The others seem to respect the paranoid guy, possibly because of his size, or a pistol Alfie stares at the paranoid guy and fixes his steelshape in his mind. They agree and move in the general direction of 5-6th canal. Alfie thought. This man is a leader of some sort, of this group. Fearing that they might have a seeker elsewhere, Alfie avoids following them and returns to Satsu, relying all if there is no one around to listen. ooc No one is a seeker ooc That is nice to know. Rewind! Flattening off his metals to a bare minimum, Alfie followed them over the roofs, listening to their conversation. Happily his hearing was already excellent, even without tin. Without tin he could hear the flutter of a bird's wings from a hundred feet. With tin, he could hear its heartbeat. They don't talk much as they approach a building near the train station. He saw the location, saw them enter, and fixed the location in his mind and returned to Satsu. Speaking, he carefully noted in a quiet voice where they mobsters went, describing the train station in detail down to the color of the bricks (reddy brown). I see Alfie return, as I approach a spot I visited the previous night After listening to him I shrug. I am not sure where they went, though presumably that is where the "boss" is. As I do, our cat contact floats down from the roof softly (steel), and nods greeting. She waited until it was clear to arrive - not much of a fighter. Alfie whispers a welcome to her. She nods greeting, and quetly trills introduction, then fixes her gaze on me. I remove a prepared package and place before her. She sniffs the air, and nods. Once again I notice human mannerisms that she seems to have adopted. She then starts speaking: [3:59pm] Satsuoni: Alfie gently paced around steel softening his step, and peers into the passage with steelsight and tinnose Sha says, quetly, so I have to strain a little, though Alfie should hear well enough. "I have located Harmony. He has been in Inquisitor's spike, as usual. Loud. A map. I remove a map of Elendel from my pack, and place before her "Here" - she points out a cluster of building somewhat east of where we had reports of gang activity. "Is where he lives now. Not a bad place, for his likes. Well guarded. Allomancers. Feruchemists. Bloodmakers you wanted have ben subsumed into his gang too. There are three of them. They sometimes speak of themselves as new vanishers. Here" - she points at the area near the train station "are where another gang headquarters are. Normal people, these ones, so they have to bow before Harmony. They tolerate that." She is silent for a few more moments. Alfie considers all that she said. "A powerful gang leader rules them all. If we tried to attack them directly they could likely overwhelm us." She nodded "Indeed. Maybe too well guarded. Tomorrow, Harmony ordered a hit on these warehouses." - she points at the area near another train station not too far from mine. The bloodmakers will be there. Harmony won't. If they keep to their plan, maybe ten people in all. All mistings or ferrings, though. What else would you want?" -she sits down and waits. I nod to Alfie and walk a litlle distance away from her, motioning him to follow just so I could speak above whisper. I turn to him and say "Well, what do you think?" Alfie follows him, careful to avoid bursting her eardrums. "We could perhaps take them- you would have to muster the catquisitors in force. But it would be a massive risk. And I can't fight. Alfie daintily twisted a paw up and down in the air, as though he was checking for broken nails. I agreed."Indeed, nya. We are few. Some of the others are like her, and cannot fight either. And we may take unacceptable losses. Alfie continued. "Some of our foes may escape too, and tell all of who we are." I thought this was a fair point. "Quite so. I wonder if we could distract Harmony by setting that other gang against him. Or we need some way to lure only a bloodmaker or two away from the group tomorrow. I pause to consider. OOC s. Maybe Alfie can riot/soothe them? OOC n. Perhaps alfie could be like the white rabbit in alice and wonderland? “come follow me to wonderous sights and views!” aka the bottom of your shop, your table, and a spike. OOC s. Heh If he tells them that they will possibly run. To you or from you is a question though. OOC n. He's just a cute non speaking cat burning zinc. I came to a conclusion. "Yes, I believe removing them from group tomorrow is our best bet" Alfie looked up at Satsu. "I am sure you are strong enough to beat a single one with ease, or a pair." I continued. "They will be more emotional, and there will be less of them. Yes, especially if I can touch one. I'll wipe his reserves, and then beat him" I smile beatifically in the darkness, This time revealing catlike canines and slightly reduced front teeth. Alfie agreed. "The healthiest few seconds he shall ever know." I spoke. "Indeed. Still, I think it wouldn't be bad to scout a little today. Not sure I am up to the task, though - not very good with scouting" I can see her motioning to come closer Alfie nodded. "Yeah. We should scout them out. Perhaps we can find some place where they are easier to assault. We can see if they have guns." I approach her carefully, close enough to hear "I can show Alfie the place" - she says. "You are too loud. Alfie can hear her with tin Alfie nods, and quietly walks over to her, then speaks, whispering. "I will follow." She steel jumps to the roof of the building and heads south. I am left alone in the alleyway, so I sit and wait patiently. She leads Alfie to a small cluster of buildings inside the intersection near the cat's eye on the map Alfie follows her with steel running and goes south with her. Before he runs off he waves goodbye to Satsu. She speaks. "Harmony sleeps there" -she whispers, pointing out the largest of the building. Beyond that window - do you see him?" Alfie nods. He then burns electrum and sends several ghosts of the future to scout in the room and tell him what is going on in there, while looking all around with his steel sight. She lacks full proficiency of his steelsight, but can see clearly for kilometers across, zooming as necessary, and points out things she can see as necessary. Together they pierce together a picture. They see a metal outline of a man with duralmin bracers on him There is a gun on the stand nearby. Some trap mechanisms are barely visible near the door. Presumably there are more traps if you get closer to look. The man's steel outline hints at vaguely familiar shape. In other, smaller buildings there are about 30 people, many with metal vials close by or bracers of Ferrings. ooc s. At night , Harmony can't use connection (being asleep), so he is a bit paranoid about 30 metal users close by. Alfie speaks."He's afraid of his army. Maybe we could use that against him.” She waves her hand "I can hear them. Maybe. I watch. I rarely interfere. Fights are too lound, especially those guns. When he is asleep, and when he stores, he is vulnerable. Afraid" Alfie nods. "I would not want to fight them either. Satsu can do that for us. Perhaps we could sneak in somehow. Though with the traps it would be hard. Are there any other entrances?" She nods "Strong enough, for some. That Harmony, he is like us, but worse. There is soul metal in him. Sneak in. Yes. In this house." She quietly leads the way, pointing out a small crack between the roof and the wall to the attic. As she approaches the crack, the stops burning tin for a moment. Theeffect is numbness, so she could squeeze in without hurting too much. Alfie follows and tries to follow her in. He uses his steel vision to see the path ahead and enters behind her. Wriggling up along the passageway he smells her bum. Curious. It smells more human than cat. Inside was a dusty attic. They could smell mice. Alfie looks around, taking stock of the area. He ignores the mice. He is full, and eating while full of metals disturbs his powers. The attic is largely empty, and seems rarely visited. Maybe the house is a bit too big for its new owner. There are several boxes with something that seems like rotten rope, and other odds and ends. The main trapdoor is closed Alfie paces over to the main trapdoor, and inspects it for, well, traps.The door seems locked securely enough. There do not seem to be any traps. The lock also happens to be on the other side. She shudders slightly as she burns her tin again, and points to the opposite corner the house is opulent for this are, but is not in the best repair. This close, Alfie can see that most of the traps seem to be located around a single bedroom. He looked at the bedroom. Was there a room above it that they could smash through? There was a sturdier roof above the bedroom, the attic covering only part of the building. Satsu could punch through, but he could not get through, especially without an anchor above him. He also noticed a dark hole in the corner she was pointing to. Alfie advanced towards it, carefully monitoring it with his steel the hole, however, seems to lead to one end of the trap-ridden corridor, the safe end. Harmony evidently didn't trust his traps alone, though. There were guards with guns and metals (coinshots by the look of the metal in their stomach) on the chairs beyond the trap area. One was sleeping and one was bored, idly playing with his massive gun. Perhaps he could make him shoot himself, but he judged it a hard move, and then the other would likely wake up. And the man in the bedroom. Alfie stared at his steelform. He recognized him. That was the man. The man who had killed his master and stabbed him with that steel spike. Who made him bleed and scream, who cracked his bones with his club, made him die with his gun. Alfie got in the moment. He was gonna kill him. Alfie looks around for any pushable metal objects in the attic. Weapons. There were none. All he had was his metals, his wits, and one coin. He made a mental map of the area, rough but ready, and entered. http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/2852/drw.png He could see no clear path that would allow him to kill him, nor any way to make the traps kill him or lead him into them.He bit down his rage. He had to return. Yet... he could still see what his dead master looked like. Alfie spoke to her. "You should get away from this place. It's about to get loud." She nods. "You know the way. I must return anyway", and squeezes back through the crack [ Alfie started to sneak through the crack to get a better angle on the corridor. He stopped short of the exit. The guard did not notice him. He began gently using zinc to riot the boredom of the guard and his tiredness. He used zinc to likewise riot the tiredness of the sleeping guard. He eased his way out, and hid in the shadows, still gently rioting the man's tiredness. The man holstered his gun, leaving it undone. He wondered if he could shoot through the wall... no, it was too thick. Brick carrier wall. Alfie ten waited patiently for the man to nod off.Alfie, avoiding interacting with anything on this trap covered floor, pushed a metal rod deep beneath him. He then slowly floated across the corridor towards the door, keeping an eye on the guard, and rioting him gently to keep him asleep. After a while the man dozed off. Alfie knew there were likely traps. He peered through the floor and found several pipes in the building. Perfect. Extending his range he floated on them through the room. Ooc n. flying cat is a coming for your doom! Ooc s. oh my, I rolled bad on that one. Harmony was many things, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that Coinshots would see the trap-covered floor, and try floating, if they try to go this way. Hence, he made a few black tripwires without metal closer to the ceiling. Into one of which alfie floated straight on. Fortunately, they were designed for humans. Ooc n. Why was he floating near the ceiling? Ooc s. He wasn't? Ooc n. He was floating at the head height of the guards so that if the woke up they would clearly see the cat floating towards them malevolently and fear them. Ooc s. ok, I'll reroll Alfie avoided the black wire by a hair, blissfully aware that his smaller stature and a great deal of luck had just saved him from a great deal of pain. He could see that the door was heavily locked. Many traps on it. But if you had the key, which the guard had in his pocket, there was just one trap. An alarm. He could see the shape of the thing, in its aluminium casing. Once that went off everything would go crazy. Alfie burned tin again, and checked the area for traps. Ooc s. A 1 is bad right? He saw nothing he had not seen before, the traps and the guards and the key. He was safe. With no idea what was happening he finished inspecting the guards and then checked again for traps near the guard. This time he saw more, saw the traps on the ceiling. He was glad he'd avoided them. He floated to the guard. Alfie began to flare tin and ever so softly, balancing on the steel pushes, pulled the key out of the guard's pocket with his teeth. The guard started to moan briefly and wake up, and Alfie used brass to sooth him again. He then took the gun from its holster, holding it awkwardly in both hands. The man awoke. Alfie burnt zinc and boosted the man's tiredness and burnt brass and soothed his curiosity and awakeness. The man fell asleep again. He floated behind him. This was getting rough. Then the man brushed his hand against his empty holster. He jolted awake and looked around. damnation. He must be trained in detecting emotional allomancy. Abandoning all attempts at subtlety Alfie flared his brass and smashed it into the spirits of all three men in turn. The previously awake man collapsed in a cationic heap on the floor, awake but uncaring, and the other two men fell deeper into sleep. Harmony slept as a rock. He looked at the door. A big oaken thing with a small keyhole. He floated forward and used his steel to push the key out of his mouth, then twisted it, shutting his tin down completely as he did so. It swung open, well greased. The alarm started ringing loudly. Harmony awoke. Alfie had trained with a gun. He remembered that first day. Satsu had offered him some food, and told him about the many opportunities as a catquisitor. He hadn't understood a word, but the food was delicious and so he had agreed. Soon be became... one of those things. Not a cat. They had trained him well in gun use after that. He would shoot Harmony dead. Use what had become. The man was just lying there, under his blanket, three meters away, scrabbling to get out. What could go wrong? He missed. The unexpected recoil tossed him and the gun outwards at the guard outside, smashing him in the head. Alfie flared brass at him to keep him quiet and repositioned himself. The guard had seen him. And the brass was doing squat. The guard was in too much pain to calm down, but he looks at the flying cat and rubs his eyes. damnation. He had to stop Harmony now fast. He burnt steel as hard as he could and saw the spike in him, and pushed, anchoring against the trap in the wall behind him and nails in the corners. The trap exploded, blasting a shotgun shot downwards. Alfie heard people below him start to move. But only the spike mattered. He felt so close to Harmony now. So intimate. “Stop it!” Yelled Harmony, moaning like a gutted pig. Alfie spoke. “I'm doing this for you. I love you man. I forgive you for hurting him. These spikes are evil. Evil I say. I never wanted this, to be a monster. I'll save you from them.“ ooc s. says a cat with about 12 of them. Harmony tried to reach the gun on the desk but failed as the spike ripped out of his chest, all covered in blood. Alfie no longer felt any love for him. Alfie felt the metal coin in his hand. The one he never let go of, his last memory of his master. He then pointed it at Harmony and pushed hard with his steel, firing it at Harmony's body. The coin smashed through Harmony's head like a gun through a sheet of paper, embedding itself in the wall. He was dead. It was over. Well not quite over. The guard was still there, having shaken off his confusion. He flared zinc and smashed his allomancy against the man's spirit, trying to crush him like a bug, lighting up his fear and his rage and his lust and his happiness and his sadness. Not looking to the result, Alfie went to Harmony's body and grabbed the spike. He put it in his mouth, safe and sound. Delicious blood. He then picked up the gun, breathing fast, and pointed it at the window. The guards were getting closer. Everything was about to go wrong. He had never felt more alive. He pointed, aimed, and squeezed the trigger.