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"Those bastards wont be at all happy when they hear about this," Cett said.
Elend shook his head. "Does everything you say have to contain one vulgarity or another?"
Cett shrugged. "Whats the point of speaking if you cant say something interesting?"
"Swearing isnt interesting," Elend said.
"Thats your own damned opinion," Cett said, smiling. "And, you really shouldnt be complaining, Emperor. If you think the things I say are vulgar, youve been living in Luthadel far too long. Where I come from, people are embarrassed to use pretty words like damn. "
Elend sighed. "Anyway, I—"
He was cut off as the ground began to shake. Vin was on her feet in seconds, looking for danger as the others cursed and reached for stability. She threw back the tent flap, peering through the mists. Yet, the shaking subsided quickly, and it caused very little chaos in the camp, all things considered. Patrols moved about, checking for problems—officers and Allomancers under Elends command. Most of the soldiers, however, just remained in their tents.
Vin turned back toward the tents room. A few of the chairs had fallen over, travel furniture disturbed by the earthquake. The others slowly returned to their seats. "Sure have been a lot of those lately," Ham said. Vin met Elends eyes, and could see concern in them.
We can fight armies, we can capture cities, but what of ash, mists, and earthquakes? What about the world falling apart around us?
"Anyway," Elend said, voice firm despite the concerns Vin knew he must feel, "Fadrex has to be our next goal. We cant risk missing the cache, and the things it might contain. "
Like the atium, Reen whispered in Vins head as she sat back down. "Atium," she said out loud.
Cett perked up. "You think itll be there?"
"There are theories," Elend said, eyeing Vin. "But we have no proof. "
"It will be there," she said. It has to be. I dont know why, but we have to have it.
"I hope it isnt," Cett said. "I marched halfway across the blasted empire to try and steal that atium—if it turns out I left it beneath my own city . . . "
"I think were missing something important, El," Ham said. "Are you talking 1about conquering Fadrex City?"
The room fell still. Up until this point, Elends armies had been used defensively, attacking koloss garrisons or the camps of small warlords and bandits. They had bullied a few cities into joining with him, but they had never actually assaulted a city and taken it by force.
Elend turned, looking back toward the map. Even from the side, Vin could see his eyes—the eyes of a man hardened by two years of near-perpetual war.
"Our primary goal will be to take the city by diplomacy," Elend said.
"Diplomacy?" Cett said. "Fadrex is mine. That damn obligator stole it from me! Theres no need to worry your conscience about attacking him, Elend. "
"No need?" Elend asked, turning. "Cett, those are your people—your soldiers—wed have to kill to get into that city. "
"People die in war," Cett said. "Feeling bad about it doesnt remove the blood from your hands, so why bother? Those soldiers turned against me; they deserve what theyll get. "
"Its not that simple," Ham said. "If there was no way for the soldiers to fight this usurper, then why expect them to give up their lives?"
"Especially for a man who was, himself, a usurper," Elend said.
"Either way," Ham said, "reports describe that city as being very well defended. It will be a tough stone to break, El. "
Elend stood quietly for a moment, then eyed Cett, who still looked inordinately pleased with himself. The two seemed to share something—an understanding. Elend was a master of theory, and had probably read as much on war as anyone. Cett seemed to have a sixth sense for warfare and tactics, and had replaced Clubs as the empires prime military strategist.
"Siege," Cett said.
Elend nodded. "If King Yomen wont respond to diplomacy, then the only way well get in that city—short of killing half our men breaking in—is by besieging it and making him desperate. "
"Do we have time for that?" Ham asked, frowning.
"Besides Urteau," Elend said, "Fadrex City and the surrounding areas are the only major sections of the Inner Dominances that maintain a strong enough force to be threatening. That, plus the cache, means we cant afford to simply leave them alone. "
"Time is on our side, in a way," Cett said, scratching his beard. "You dont just attack a city like Fadrex, Ham. It has fortifications, one of the few cities besides Luthadel that could repel an army. But, since its outside of the Central Dominance, its probably already hurting for food. "
Elend nodded. "While we have all of the supplies we found in the storage caches. If we block off the highway, then hold the canal, theyll have to surrender the city eventually. Even if theyve found the cache—which I doubt—we will be able to outlast them. "
Ham frowned. "I guess. . . . "
"Besides," Elend added, "if things get tough, we do have about twenty thousand koloss we can draw upon. "
Ham raised an eyebrow, though said nothing. The implication was clear. Youd turn koloss against other people?
"There is another element to this," Sazed said softly. "Something we have, as of yet, not discussed. " Several people turned, as if theyd forgotten he was the1re.
"The mists," Sazed said. "Fadrex City lies well beyond the mist perimeter, Emperor Venture. Will you subject your army to fifteen percent casualties before you even arrive at the city?"
Elend fell quiet. So far, hed managed to keep most of his soldiers out of the mists. It seemed wrong to Vin that their army had been protected from the sickness, while the villagers had been forced to go out in the mists. And yet, where they camped, there was still a significant amount of mistless daylight, and they also had enough tents to hold all of the soldiers, something theyd lacked when moving the villagers.
Mists rarely went into buildings, even cloth ones. There had been no reason to risk killing some of the soldiers, since theyd been able to avoid it. It seemed hypocritical to Vin, but so far, it still made sense.
Elend met Sazeds eyes. "You make a good point," he said. "We cant protect the soldiers from this forever. I forced the villagers of Vetitan to immunize themselves; I suspect that I will have to make the army do the same, for the same reasons. "
Vin sat back quietly. She often wished for the days when shed had nothing to do with such decisions—or, better yet, when Elend hadnt been forced to make them.
"We march for Fadrex," Elend said again, turning from the group. He pointed at the map. "If were going to pull through this—and by we, I mean all the people of the New Empire—were going to need to band together and concentrate our populations near the Central Dominance. It will be the only place that can grow food this summer, and well need every bit of manpower we can muster to clear ash and prepare the fields. That means bringing the people of Fadrex under our protection.
"That also means," he said, pointing toward the northeastern section of the map, "that well need to suppress the rebellion in Urteau. Not only does the city there contain a storage cache—with grain we desperately need for a second planting down in the Central Dominance—but the citys new rulers are gathering strength and an army. Urteau is well within staging distance of Luthadel, as we discovered back when my father marched on us. I will not have a repeat of that event. "
"We dont have enough troops to march on both fronts at once, El," Ham said.
Elend nodded. "I know. In fact, Id rather avoid marching on Urteau. That was my fathers seat—the people there had good reason to rebel against him. Demoux, report?"
Demoux stood. "We had a steel-inscribed message from Spook while Your Majesty was away," he said. "The lad says that the faction controlling Urteau is made up of skaa rebels. "
"That sounds promising," Breeze noted. "Our kind of people. "
"The
yre . . . quite harsh with noblemen, Lord Breeze," Demoux said. "And they include anyone with noble parents in that group. "
"A little extreme, Id think," Ham said.
"A lot of people thought Kelsier was extreme too," Breeze said. "Im certain we can talk reason into these rebels. "
"Good," Elend said, "because Im counting on you and Sazed to bring Urteau under our control without the use of force. There are only five of these caches, and we cant afford to lose one. Who knows what well eventually discover in Fadrex—it might require us to return to the other caches to find something we missed. " He turned, looking at Breeze, then Sazed.
1"We cant just sneak the food out of Urteau," he said. "If the rebellion in that city spreads, it could cause the entire empire to fracture back into splinters. We have to bring the men there to our side. "
The members of the room nodded, as did Vin. They knew from personal experience how much power a small rebellion could exert on an empire.
"The Fadrex siege could take some time," Elend said. "Long before summer arrives, I want you to have secured that northern cache and subdued the rebellion. Send the seed stock down to the Central Dominance for planting. "
"Dont worry," Breeze said. "Ive seen the kinds of governments skaa set up—by the time we get there, the city will probably be on the edge of collapse anyway. Why, theyll likely be relieved to get an offer to join the New Empire!"
"Be wary," Elend said. "Spooks reports have been sparse, but it sounds as if tensions in the city are extreme. Well send a few hundred soldiers with you as protection. " He looked back at the map, eyes narrowing slightly. "Five caches, five cities. Urteau is part of this all, somehow. We cant afford to let it slip away. "
"Your Majesty," Sazed said. "Is my presence required on that trip?"
Elend frowned, glancing back at Sazed. "You have something else you need to be doing, Sazed?"
"I have research I would do," the Keeper said.
"I respect your wishes, as always," Elend said. "If you think this research is important . . . "
"Its of a personal nature, Your Majesty," Sazed said.
"Could you do it while helping in Urteau?" Elend asked. "Youre a Terrisman, which lends you a credibility none of us can claim. Beyond that, people respect and trust you, Sazed—with good reason. Breeze, on the other hand, has something of a . . . reputation. "
"I worked hard for it, you know," Breeze said.
"Id really like to have you lead that team, Sazed," Elend said. "I cant think of a better ambassador than the Holy Witness himself. "
Sazeds expression was unreadable. "Very well," he finally said. "I shall do my best. "
"Good," Elend said, turning to regard the rest of the group. "Then theres one last thing I need to ask of you all. "
"And what is that?" Cett asked.