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Amaranta's face fell, and she laid her hands in her lap, leaving her dress half undone, one breast exposed--as if she were trying to te nudity

"I need your antidote," he said "Quickly"

"Which one, my lord?" she asked She wasn't the only herbalist Straff kept; he learned scents and tastes from four different people Amaranta, however, was the best of them

"Birchbane," Straff said "Andeneral potion, then, my lord?" Amaranta asked

Straff nodded curtly A to his poison cabinet She lit the burner at the side, boiling a small pot of water as she quickly mixed powders, herbs, and liquids The concoction was her particular specialty--a mixture of all of the basic poison antidotes, reents in her repertoire Straff suspected that Zane had used the birchbane to cover so else Whatever it was, however, Amaranta's concoction would deal with--or at least identify--it

Straff waited uncomfortably as Amaranta worked, still half naked The concoction needed to be prepared freshly each tiht hi down the harsh liquid despite its bitterness Ihed--another trap avoided--as he drank the rest of the cup to be certain Aain

"Go," Straff ordered

Ah the dress's sleeve, then retreated fro in his hand He knew he held the edge As long as he appeared strong before Zane, the Mistborn would continue to do as commanded

Probably

If only I had passed over Alendi when looking for an assistant, all those years ago

19

SAZED UNCLASPED HIS FINAL STEELMIND He held it up, the braceletlike band of ht seem valuable To Sazed, it was now just another empty husk--a simple steel bracelet He could refill it if he wished, but for the

With a sigh, he dropped the bracelet It fell with a clank, tossing up a puff of ash fro every fifth day drained of speed,as if ione

The loss had purchased so steelminds on occasion, he had traveled the equivalent of six weeks' worth of walking According to his cartography copperood about the expenditure Perhaps he'd overreacted to the deaths he'd found in the little southern village Perhaps there was no need for him to hurry But, he'd created the steelmind to be used

He hefted his pack, which was h ate He'd decided to discard some of the less valuable or less full ones as he ran Just like the steel bracelet, which he left sitting in the ash behind him as he went on

He was definitely in the Central Dominance now He'd passed Faleast and Tyrian, two of the northern Ashmounts Tyrian was still just barely visible to the south--a tall, solitary peak with a cut-off, blackened top The landscape had grown flat, the trees changing from patchy brown pines to the hite aspens co fro, their ashen white bark scarred and twisted They--

Sazed paused He stood near the central canal, one of the main routes to Luthadel The canal was empty of boats at the moment; travelers were rare these days, eventhe Final Empire, for bandits were farhis hurried flight to Luthadel

No, solitary travelers were rare Ar fro ahead of him, he had run afoul of one It stood directly between hiht quietly for a htly around him It was midday; if that ar around it In addition, his steelminds were empty He wouldn't be able to run from pursuit

And yet, an army within a week of LuthadelWhose was it, and what threat did it pose? His curiosity, the curiosity of a scholar, prodded hie from which to study the troops Vin and the others could use any inforathered